The Choice of Death

Chapter 2:Wide Awake

Chapter 2

Mathieu was hyperventilating, heart pounding hard against his rib cage as he watched the paramedics strap Fern to a stretcher and lift her into the ambulance. He tried to get into the back of the car, but one of the paramedics pushed him away, shaking his head before slamming the doors shut. Mathieu stared after the disappearing van in shock. Why Fern? She was just a small pub owner…..anyone else could have been shot…Keira! Where was she? He thought…..He hadn’t seen her after Fern had gone down. Fear clawed at his gut as he rushed back inside. Police had arrived and were taking photographs, closing the scene of the crime to the public. Little numbers were being placed next to the shattered window, on a dark spot on the floor and on broken pieces of glasses. However, Keira and the man she had been talking to were nowhere to be found.

“Sir, this is a murder investigation, please step back.” A young red headed officer with a ridiculous accent was trying to herd him out the door.  “This is not a murder investigation! No one was killed!” he argued, imitating the man’s accent while trying to push by him. The officer stepped in the way, but got a call on his cell before you could address Mathieu. He answered the call and held up his hand to Mathieu telling him to wait. His brow furrowed and his face became emotionless.

“Alright sir, I understand.” He said before turning to Mathieu. “Fern Jamieson was just declared dead by the paramedics. Sir, this is officially a murder investigation and an open crime scene. I now have the authority to remove you from the scene with any force necessary.” Mathieu’s heart seemed to drop into his stomach and his face was wiped of any expression. He felt his feet walking him out of the Spider & Herb. A group of burly police officers pushed by him, two detectives were flashing their badges at a waitress at Café Zonia and another couple of officers were headed to a tall building, about 600 feet away.

A fire truck pulled up, horns and lights flashing. Why in the blazes is a fire truck here? There wasn’t even a fire. He asked himself, but when one of the firefighters ran by him, a huge dark haired man, he asked as politely as he could: “How many dead are there?” He hoped Fern was the only casualty.  “Just the pub owner, sir and one wounded.” The firefighter threw him a sympathetic glance before rushing into the pub.

Mathieu was standing in the town square now, practically brain-dead. He had forgotten what he was doing in the Spider & Herb in the first place and what he had to do now. He started walking towards Café Zonia. The sun had risen to its highest point, but it seemed like hours has passed since Mathieu had left his house. The weather was still extremely chilly, which did make the situation any better. He had almost reached the Café, when he noticed two men standing in the alley on the side of the building. After a second glance he noticed it was Samuel Burns and the man that had been talking to Keira earlier.

        They were having an extremely heated confusion, while yelling at each other. The man that had talked to Keira was turning red in the face. Suddenly the man pulled a gun out of his jacket pocket and stuck it under Samuel’s neck. Mathieu stopped dead in his tracks. Not another gun, he thought. His mind was panicking. Without screaming like a little girl he quietly hid behind the nearest wall. He couldn’t hear much of the men’s conversation, but he could hear bits and pieces: “Fern”, “Done”, “Better this way”, “Jamieson”, “boss”, “Desrosiers”.

He didn't know how he got home. Houses had seemed to flash by and the cobblestone street had seemed endless. Multiple buses drove by honking at him to get off the road. One stopped, thinking he meant to get on, but he ignored the open door and kept walking, hands deep in his coat pocket, collar up, head down. At some point it started to rain, instantly soaking him and chilling him to the bone. If there is a god, he thought, then he must hate me! When he reached his apartment he fumbled with the lock and dropped his keys twice, because his fingers were so cold and frozen. He finally got into the room, slammed the door and kicked off his wet shoes. He somehow peeled himself out of his clothes and got into a hot shower. Then he stood in the warm mist and cried.