Never The End

Chapter 27 - Pain

Daring to catch a swift glance to my right, I saw Jason's hand held outright - the gun only meters away from the warden's pale face. "Step back." Jason growled.

His hands were shaking.... Not as much as the warden's hands. "Jason please, put the gun away." I pleaded. "This has gotten way out of hand. Jason!" I hit him hard on the arm. Anger swept over me as I kept hitting him, slamming my fist into his arm, screaming. "Jason! Don't be stupid!"

"Olivia, there's no other way." He whispered, pushing me off him gently. He looked at me, smiling. His eyes were full of sadness.

I shook my head, tears still falling. He looked at the floor. "I have to Olivia."

The security guard edged forward. Jason brandished the gun. He poked it forwards menacingly. His hands had stopped shaking. The intensity of his face terrified me.

"Come on, just give me the gun." The guard held his hand out slowly.

"No! If I do, you'll take me back and lock me up. I can't go inside, don't you get it?" Jason had a tear rolling down his cheek. He looked so scared and vulnerable. His hand wavered momentarily before he reinforced his grip with his other arm.

Meanwhile the security guard stood his ground. No blood was in his face - ghostly white. The badge loosely attached to his uniform glinted. "James Athern - Police Warden of Manchester Metropolitan Police."

He was just doing his job. How had it got to this? Each move Jason made caused me to wince. Everyone was holding their breath, willing him not to shoot. Even he looked hesitant but he tried desperately to cover it up. My stomach churned violently as Jason's grip tightened round the weapon. "Jason.... you don't have to do this." I whispered.

"I do Olivia!" He shouted, tears flowing more freely. His nose was running but he quickly wiped it on his sleeve, his face getting redder. Each breath the warden took seemed to aggravate Jason. "I said, step back. Don't make me use this."

He sounded terrified.

A click echoed as Jason removed the security tag. One small move of his finger could end an innocent man's life and there was nothing I could do about it.... nothing at all. My whole body was frozen with sheer horror. Jason tapped the gun slowly, knowing he held all the power.

Jason drew back him finger, waving the gun in the guard's face. Suddenly, the gun was flung into the air as Jason was tackled from behind by another guard. The weapon landed by my feet. I stared in horror as Jason was pinned to the ground, struggling by a man twice, if not three times his size.

"Ge- Olivia, g-" His voice broke. He tried to scream at me but I couldn't hear anything. He thrashed around violently, crying and yelling.