Bullet of Justice (Town of Salem #1) ✔

What Happened After

WHAT HAPPENED AFTER

The unbearable pain on my abdomen struck me awake. I groaned and felt my shoulder muscles strain. As I opened my eyes, the light blinded me unusually... very different from what I felt before.

The minimal appearance of the white walls surrounded the place. It was like a peaceful haven... a hub of pure solace. I remembered everything about its familiarity. This is where I was brought during the first night. Terrified as I was, I tried to escape... but a girl approached me when I was going really insane. The image of Hayley surrounded my mind.

Hayley.

My smile slowly disappeared as I woke up from a bad dream. Drops of red liquid-- no, scratch that-- blood-- scattered all over the floor. Blood. The splattered red droplets startled my oblivious body. It resembled her. Suddenly, I thought of her silky, red, flowing hair and how it made her who she is. The girl who bravely jailed me and spared my precious life.

The tiny droplets unexpectedly multiplied, leading to something more than just small spots that splashed the floor. What was once a droplet became a pool of blood diffusing all over the ground. Lying on the floor, I saw her. Stains of blood were clearly visible on her shirt.

My eyes widened upon seeing the unveiling scene. I punched the floor real hard, staining my clean hand with her innocent blood. I closed my eyes for I couldn't bear the guilt consuming me whenever I see her like this.

"What have you done, Evan?" I told myself, not even recognizing my own voice. "Goodness, what have I done?"

I roughly pulled out my hair and melancholically lamented. I leaned over her stagnant body, tapping her cheeks and silently hoped she would still wake up. That everything is just a dream.

"Hayley, can you hear me?" I sighed. I tried my best to hold my tears back as they came out of eyes, freely falling like waterfalls. "Wake up! Please answer me! Tell me you're alive! Tell me this is all just a dream, Hayley... because I am badly scared."

I peered over her, her chest wasn't moving anymore. I placed my ear where her heart beats, and there I heard no sound.

I sat down next to her and carried her head so it could rest on my lap. I took her hand and held it, feeling the coldness of her skin blend with mine. For the last time, I pushed away the stray hair that covered a portion of her forehead down to her nose. My fingers traced her forehead down to her eyelids, to her nose, to her cheek, and to her lips. Suddenly I thought of the inexplicable pain of the bullet piercing through her body, how she struggled to endure the pain of seeing the person she trusted standing behind the trigger, taking away her life in a short span of time.

"I'm very sorry for breaking my promise... that we will win this game together. It all seems so impossible now."

She was just beside me, and I was holding her, but I already felt the painful gap of missing the person who stayed despite everything.

Goodbye, Jailor. See you soon.

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Epilogue soon!