Into the woods ~ Emma's pov

Chapter 2: the fall

Zoe is standing near the doorway, unable to move, stunned. The man grabs her and she starts bawling. "Did you know, Zoe, that your father knew about this bomb? Yep. He tried to tell on us. But oh, no, no. We stopped it. But I guess he passed it on." With tears streaming down her face, Zoe struggles from the mans grip around her neck. I grab a stapler from a desk, open it, and swing for the fence. He lets out a pained gasp, let's Zoe go and spins around with a fist so quickly I fly across the room.
"You know, Miranda knew about this bomb also. We need to kill these people and you can't stop us. I won't tell you all the details. It would be a waste of breath." He laughs a low, evil laugh. "You all KNOW something. Miranda? Your mother tried to disable our bomb the last time we tried to shoot it off. Ruined years of hard work. Riley's mother helped her. So, I'm sorry to tell you, but you're not leaving. We need to keep these obstacles out of the way." I hear another gunshot and see that Miranda has now been shot in the head.
My eyes don't work. I can't see. Perfect Miranda. Perfect, beautiful Miranda, gone. And he still has the gun. Her eyes are lifeless, yet a single tear streams down her deceased face. Then she's gone. And I'll never get her back.
I put everything I have into running beside Zoe and laying down. I can't handle this. She had dreams she shared of college. A family. A job. A life. Love. And she doesn't get that anymore.
"Ripley, your sister threatened to have us exposed if we didn't put more poison into our bomb. I really should be thanking her. But, your case is solved. It was my men. Not a car wreck." Ripley lost it. She screamed. She grabbed what she could and chucked it. She cussed. She fell onto her knees. She quickly got back up, only to hear a gun click. But she didn't get shot. She dodged the bullet. Literally. And she hid in the big room. The man says "My name is Ben. I've been trying to track all of you. Funny how you all were friends." I know deep down he won't stop until we know what we've done and he kills all of us.
"Jessica. Oh, Jessica. You and Emma have special memories, don't you?" He laughs again. I hate his laugh. Too much pleasure in killing kids. Why any?
"You found the stock room. Escaped me the first time. Can't believe I let you. Oh yes, and you also killed one of my best friends when you shot him. Did you know that? And most YOU shot in the knee were done for. Couldn't walk. Had to find new people. Big setback. So it's your turn."
The gun. I see the gun. His finger. The trigger. So easy to take away a life. One pull of a finger. We're all forced to stand. He blocked everywhere to hide. All at gunpoint. But Jessicas next. I close my eyes and zoe yells and Ripley screams cussing and Ben shoots.

I hear a body drop. I don't want to look up but I have to. She might still be alive. I could save her. I open my eyes and blink the tears away, to see Jessica harmless, only crying and motionless. Riley is on the floor. He jumped in front of Jessica. He saved her. He loves her. Rileys dead. I can't help him. No one can help him. There's 4 of us left.

I'm suddenly angry. An indescribable lividness. I want this man DEAD. I want to kill him with my own hands. Me and Ripley must think alike because we both tackle him at the same time. I take the gun. Ripley hits him as hard as she can, not causing enough damage. Not enough. He's on his feet. Ripley is still on him. He throws Ripley at the wall, and as soon as she makes contact, you can see the light LEAVE her eyes. Her heart stopped from the force. She slides down the wall, hyperventilating and shaking, then suddenly stops.
I drop the gun and start thinking. There are windows in this room. High up. I would need to climb a bookshelf to reach it. I would need at least 10 seconds. Zoe stops everything and pins him to the wall. She staples his tie to the wall. He's choking. Can't breathe. But he reaches for his gun. I dropped it. He's dying, he still has strength. He shoots Zoe in the stomach then drops then gun. Zoe falls, and is still. I can't tell if she can still breathe.
Ben cant though. So when he drops the gun and can't move, I take this opportunity to punch him. As hard as I can. So many times. 5 for Miranda. 5 for Ripley. 5 for Riley. 10 for Zoe. Countless more for Jessica. Jessica joins me. We punch him until we know he's dead. He's bloody and hanging. What he deserves.

I take the gun, we climb out the window, we run.