Rain Again (Completed)

Chapter 36

Kate's horrified gaze remained fixed on the muzzle of the gun, her feet inching backward involuntarily after that initial stumbling step.

Meanwhile, Nolan stayed rooted in place, unmoved. Why bother when bullets were more than willing to heed his every command?

She watched with the beating of her heart going awry as his hand tightened around the gun's grip. His jaw stiffened in concentration. 

 Her instincts went haphazard.  

This was the moment. He was going to shoot now. 

A scream raised from her chest but got stuck in her throat the moment his curled finger began to pull back the trigger. 

But then, as the shattering noise of the gunshot rang through the night air, at the very same time, with a roar, a male body pounced on Nolan, creeping up on him from the shadows behind. 

Kate heard the hoosh of a bullet sailing past her shoulder, missing her by inches. Apprehension made her collapse onto her knees with a gurgling cry. She saw the blur of Alex's face, and she saw him yanking Nolan's hand to an odd angle sharply. 

A sickening crunch confirmed that the arm was broken. Kate flinched, lifting a hand to cover her mouth. 

Nolan screamed out in disbelief, and pain, the gun from his hand had slipped off quite a while ago already. He tried in vain to slip out of Alex's grip, trying to attack with his one good hand. 

Alex didn't waste time, his fist flew, landing a loud punch in his face. And he didn't stop there. 

It was as if he was possessed... by anger, sorrow, and pure madness.

Kate was tethered by shock, still half kneeling on the ground, staring at the scene, panting in agitation. Right before her eyes, merely a few feet away, Alex knelt over Nolan's barely moving body, bringing down his fists without a moment's break wherever he could. 

A bloody and horrifyingly battered Nolan had been grunting and whimpering for a while, but underneath Alex's relentless onslaught soon, his body stopped moving. 

Gasping, Kate hurried up to her feet. "Alex!" she cried, running towards him with shaky legs.

Alex seemed not to hear a word, though, his face was contorted in rage as he solely focused on beating Nolan until nothing of that man existed anymore. It didn't even look like Alex had noticed that Nolan was not stirring one bit. 

Coming to a stop right beside Alex, Kate tried again to gain his attention. "Alex. Stop!" But to no avail.

She looked at the pain on his face, the way his eyes glistened with angry tears, and his mouth twisted into an irate scowl. Sweat dripped down the sides of his face, and wet hair was plastered in disarray on his forehead. 

In all the years Kate had known Alex, she'd never seen him like this. And she could see, and she could sense the unnaturalness of it all. Something had snapped inside him. Something had broken apart.

Her trembling hand still reached forward before he was lost forever. 

"Alex..." The moment her trembling fingers came in contact with the sweaty skin at the back of his neck, he froze. 

Nolan's face moved this slight bit, making Kate sigh out in relief, knowing the monster was still alive. But for how long... that she did not know. His state was way too roughed up.

"We... we need to call the cops...," she was saying, but then she halted midway, finding Alex staring down at his blood-coated hands with an unreadable expression. Not for once, he had looked her way.

He'd seemed even to cease breathing, his shoulders stiff. 

And then, he was rubbing his palms on his shirt as though he was frantically trying to wipe off all the blood from his hands. All the while chanting under his breath, "No, no, no..." Harsh breathing followed his every word, madly impatient, as though he was relieving something more wretched than what was here in real. However, what he only succeeded in was making a messier paint of red all over himself.

Kate's stomach twisted in agony, her heart aching at sight. And she didn't know what she was to do at that moment. Gather him in her arms or try to shake him awake from the apparent trance he was in.

Oh God, no! What has happened to her Alex?  

It was like being stuck in a never-ending nightmare, suspended directionless within a sinister circle of tragedies.

Why would fate punish them this way? 

Why them?

~

What's happening with Alex?

And the end is nearing. Are you satisfied with the fast updates this month? Let me know. 

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Take care till later,
Lara.