Perfect with You

Chapter 17 - Dusty Outline of a Frame

The air suddenly froze around her, her warm breath creating a bubble that kept out the horrifying sounds coming from her friend lying on the ground, her skin getting pale and her coughs weaker. Not even a gust of wind could be felt passing by; the only sound she could hear was her own heart thumping inside of her chest. She knew she was looking at the gun Ethan was holding, but could not focus, making everything seem blurry. Ethan took a short step forward, his brown bangs falling down his face, covering parts of his eyes and most of his forehead. His face was slim but not skinny, and the visible line of his cheekbone shaped his jaw in a burly way. His lips were dry, making them seem white while showing a small crack in the corner of his mouth. He didn't say anything, his last words were still hanging in the air which the bystanders obviously heard, but didn't know what they meant. One person was still on his phone, telling the address to the officer on the other line. The one next to him was a young adult, his body was stiff and he could not take his eyes away from the bleeding girl on the ground. Suddenly, a group of people stormed out the entrance to the mall to see what all the commotion was, but when they saw what was happening, they all stopped in their tracks. One woman screamed, making Ethan look over, prepared to shoot anyone who got too close. Suddenly the bubble around Max broke, and all the noise stormed through her, the people passing the yell around, making it impossible to hear the sound of Chloe trying to slowly crawl away with a pattern of dark blood following her.

"He's got a gun!" Someone yelled.
"Call the police!" Another one demanded.
"Do something!" A third person said loudly.
"She's bleeding!" "What is going on?!" "Get back inside!" "He's dangerous!"

All of them were panicking, making annoying howling noises like scared dogs, distracting Max from finishing a single thought in her head. The sounds began echoing, making Max close her eyes and curl her hand into a fist, pressing the nails into the palm of her hand. It was a fucking circus.

"SHUT UP!" Max yelled as loud as she could to all the people behind her.
"BE QUIET FOR ONE FUCKING SECOND!" She continued, making all the people close their running mouths and just stand still, looking pathetically shocked.

The first thought that she finally managed to complete was to rewind time. A thought that seemed like the only option when she looked at her moribund friend. However, Ethan would be prepared for that, he expected her to do exactly that. The only other option she could visualize was to wait for the police to arrive, but there was no guarantee that they would even be able to arrest Ethan. The chance was actually slim. She had to incapacitate him first, making him unable to rewind time.
On the other hand, if Ethan expects me to rewind time, why wouldn't he just do it himself? Why take the chance and wait for me to do it? Is it a test?

A soft thump broke Max's chain of thought as she saw her friend had fallen down onto the pavement with her face down and her body lying lifelessly in the sun. There was not enough time to think about an alternative option, she already felt cruel for having spent these seconds trying to come up with a plan. As much as she tried not to, Max took a final glance at her friend, her face buried in the ground and her arms spread away from her body. It made every nerve in her body, feel like they were being stretched to unbearable amounts. Her arm shook so much she could barely control it when she slowly lifted her hand up, feeling a heavy crow made of pure iron, finding the comfort on her arm, weighing it down and digging its claws through her skin. She forced herself to breathe slower, to loosen her body, detach her fears and close her eyes.

Everything is alright. I'll be home with Chloe soon. She thought to herself in an attempt to calm her body and pinpoint her focus. She held her breath and then tensed her arm so much that it hurt. All the people around her were blocked off and she could only see colors of blue and red creating patterns on her closed eyelids.