Sane

Chapter Twenty | What Side

The sweat on my fingers made the gun harder to hold as I stepped into the dark, forsaken hospital. I look to the left and right cautiously before moving farther into the black surrounding me. Tables were flipped upside down, their shadows cast across the floor. You can only hear the faint sound of our footsteps and our heavy breaths. There's no one in sight, it's clear. Malik turns the light switch on, and the feeling of going blind immerses as my eyes adjust to the sudden change of light. 

Walker immediately begins the search, running her hands through a bunch of random files on one of the tables. I step over to the side of the room, finding a rather narrow hallway. White walls caving around me, I begin to make my way down it. I shove open the first door to my right, stepping inside. 

There was a hospital bed, the sheets barely ruffled. There was a large tray full of shots sitting on the table next to the bed. I walk over to them, lowering my gun. I slowly pick one up in my hand. Each shot was full with a clear liquid tinted with blue. I examine it, hearing someone approach behind me. I swing around, raising my gun. 

"Woah there." Forrest puts his hands up in surrender. I give a sigh in relief, handing him the shot. He looks at it closely, nodding.

"Yeah, this may be it. Hopefully you aren't planning on giving me a shot." He laughs nervously, and I grin, setting it back on the table. I look around the small room one last time before following Forrest out. 

"There won't be anything here-" Forrest stops mid-sentence when a familiar voice echoes throughout the room.

"Well, here they are. I knew I'd find Willow and her lovely followers here." Darius grins. Connor, three other guys, and my father stand behind him. My father looks at me, pleading. 

"Willow-" He starts, but I shake my head, raising my gun at Darius. At that moment, Connor runs after Ashton, and everything goes disasterous. My father rushes after me, "Willow, just listen to me for a second. I didn't want-" 

I shrug him off, raising my gun at Darius. I pull the trigger, but at the same time I'm being tackled to the ground. Forrest is on top of me now, breathing shakily. 

"What the-" I begin to yell, but he places his hand over my mouth. He just made the bullet miss Darius. 

"Get off of me." I growl beneath his hand. He looks down at me with his chocolate eyes once more, and I can tell he wants to say something. But now is certainly not the time. I shove him off me, standing back up. Another gunshot pierces through the air, and I whip my head in that direction. Walker killed one of the men, and is now attacking the second. I feel rough hands on my shoulders, forcing me against the wall. 

Darius is grinning widely, eyes full of anger. "Why are you doing this?" I ask, cocking my gun secretly as he stares me down.

"Some people are smarter than others, love." He says, raising his fist. I realize there's no room in between Darius and I left. No room to raise the gun. I just fire at waist level, the bullet charging through his thigh. He yells out in pain, as Forrest pushes him backwards. 

"Don't touch her." He growls at Darius before turning towards me, examining my face. I look behind him, finding that the last person that's still fighting is Connor. Malik just shot a man down, and is now staring at the man in disbelief, and I wonder If he'd ever killed someone before. 

Ashton is in a straight out fist fight with Connor. Walker is reloading her gun, finding my eyes. Forrest runs over to Ashton to help him out. Together, Forrest and Ashton fight, two against one.

I watch in astonishment as Connor whacks the gun out of Forrest's hand. Forrest raises his fist, hitting Connor square in the eye as Ashton kicks him in the legs, making him fall onto his back. Connor desperately grabs onto the gun lying on the floor. He pulls the trigger, shooting straight up. 

"No!" I scream out as the gun goes right through Ashton's chest. Forrest's shoulders sag, his eyes immediately sad. He kicks the bottom of his heel into Connor's throat, and Connor's head flips back with a croak. I shuffle over to Ashton's fallen body, watching Walker. She stands there for a few seconds, too shocked to move. 

A tear runs down her face, waking her up and out of the trance. She runs to his side, kneeling down. Too many tears to count come washing down onto Ashton's shirt. 

"No!" She screams, pulling him upright. She hugs him, pulling him against her. Letting him fall back to the ground, she smooths the stray pieces of his hair back into place. 

"Don't leave me, Ash. Not again." She cries.

"I never did. I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Ashton's last words come out strong before his eyes fall to the back of his head. 

"No! Ashton!" She shakes unconditionally, "Ashton?" 

He doesn't move, and she knows. She knows but won't accept it. She screams a piercing scream through the air, raising her gun and shooting Connor five times in a row. 

"Walker." I say, and the gun slips out of her hand. She reaches back to Ashton, leaning over his lifeless body. 

"I forgive you. I forgive you." She says, over and over again. A tear rolls out of my eye and I quickly wipe it away. I turn around, noticing Darius is slowly trying to stand. Before I can move, Forrest has Darius' shirt in his hand, pushing him into another room. My eyes flicker to my father. 

He's standing there, wide eyed, and I can see the hurt. The hurt that I've seen before. The same hurt that I saw a long time ago when he found out he was loosing his wife, my mom. 

"What side are you on now, Bill?" I ask. He swallows, taking a deep breath. He didn't answer, but I saw the answer burning in his eyes. Malik kneels next to Walker, but doesn't say a word. His long dark hair sprays over his sad, comforting eyes. Sometimes the best comfort is expressed through being there, other than speaking. 

Walker swings her head in my direction, spitting out, "Don't trust him, Willow." 

I give her a confused gaze. That's the second time I've been told that. Who? I want to ask, but I don't get the time to. Malik helps Walker up, and Walker throws her arms around him, crying into his t-shirt. Malik just stands there, not making eye contact with me. 

"Go. I'll get Forrest and we'll find you." I tell him,  walking over to the room Forrest and Darius charged into. My hand touches the knob, but stops before twisting it. 

"She doesn't know. She doesn't know and she doesn't deserve to be tortured. How dare you have Connor torture her without my permission! She was my mission, not his or yours." Forrest's voice growl from the other side of the door.

"She was your mission given by me. Twenty-four hours, James. Twenty-four. Get her on our side, or she dies. I knew I should've sent someone else to do the job. You're too soft. So soft that you are in love with her, aren't you? You're blinded by it." Darius' voice makes me cringe, as my mouth drops. No. No, it can't be. Not Forrest.

I pull my hand off the knob as if it was on fire. And then.... I run.