Guns and Roses

Thirteen ~ Quinn

She moves quick. One hand shoots out to grab her bag and the other yanks Matthew down under the table with her. The older man with them copies her movements but seems to be hit and clutches at his shoulder in pain.

Other guests begin screaming and fleeing for the exit as the shooter approaches the table where Rya hides. He never lowers the gun, pointing it directly at the table.

My entire body seems frozen. I can't move from my squatting position where I'm getting a birds eye view of the situation.

There's blood on the white table cloth. Probably from the man's injured shoulder. It's so bright against the clean tablecloth that I can't take my eyes off it.

There's nowhere for them to go and the three of them are just sitting there.

They're all about to die.

A hand grabs the back of my shirt and I look up to see a young waitress staring at me. She's utterly terrified. "You need to move. Come on" she tugs me again and I fall back. Another gun shot rings out and she starts running, forgetting about me.

I jump up and look back over the railing. The shooter is down.

His dead body lies awkwardly draped over a chair and his white shirt is slowly turning red.

"When the fuck did you learn how to do that?" A surprised voice says. Rya climbs out from under the table and stands beside Matthew who is still holding a gun in steady hands. He answers her but it's too quiet for me to hear.

She turns and looks right at me. She knows I'm here. "Quinn!" She shouts to me and then ushers me towards her. I find myself frozen again.

She sighs and runs a hand through her hair. She curses and then opens her clutch "Come on Quinn! We don't have time for this! He won't have come alone!"

She pulls out a gun and checks if it's loaded. It is.

My feet start to move. Is she threatening me? Is this it? Have I seen too much?

I'm halfway down the stairs when the shooting starts again. The older man has barely risen before dropping down again. Rya turns to the door and shoots three times, not hitting a single target.

She looks frustrated and throws her gun away before grabbing a steak knife from the table instead. That's when I realise - she can't shoot.

A group of around six people have burst into the room and I run down the remainder of the steps and duck under a table before any of them can see me. I tuck my limbs in under the tablecloth and cover my mouth with one hand.

This was a terrible idea. I'm not getting out of here alive.

And Rya. She's still mafia.

My ears ring with every gunshot, every cry of pain. Hot tears roll down my face as I hold my breath. My body heaves with every silent terrified sob and I feel like I'm going to be sick.

"Matthew!" Rya calls out and then there's a loud thud as a body hits the ground.

If Matthew's gone down then she's alone out there. It didn't look like the other man was willing to help out and she can't shoot. Her footsteps click as she starts to run. I gave up trying to track her movements pretty much immediately after going under the table.

Her foot hits something solid and it scrapes along the ground nearby. "Fuck!" She shouts and ducks down. I know this, because I can see her shadow through the tablecloth. She lead them straight to me.

I go to try and crawl away when my hand touches something cold. The gun. She kicked it to me.

She might not be able to shoot, but I can. My dad used to take me to the shooting range with him for as long as I can remember.

My hand wraps around the grip and my finger rests on the trigger. Point and squeeze. It's so easy in theory.

I don't have time to think it through because they're here. Whoever is left of the six that came in are close, calling out in a foreign accent but I can recognise the tone. They're mocking her.

With the gun in hand, I slide out from under the table and force myself to stand. I point the gun at the man and squeeze.

BANG.

The woman seems shocked by my arrival and doesn't have a chance to change her target from Rya to me. I squeeze again.

BANG.

She crumples to the ground clutching at the wound in her stomach. She's still alive, and she's still holding the gun.

BANG.

Her head rocks back as the bullet hits her temple and she falls. The two of them just lie there puppets with their strings cut.

"Rya!" Someone shouts and I watch as Matthew pushes himself to his feet. His hand is bleeding badly and he's wrapped a napkin around it as a makeshift bandage. He spots me and freezes.

I turn and see Rya getting to her feet "Quinn" she says softly. There's blood on her arm and I'm not sure if it's hers. "Give me the gun Quinn" she reaches out and I look down at the weapon clutched between my hands.

It's not cold any more.

I don't want to give her the gun. She's mafia. She destroyed Eden. She took my grandfather.

I lift the gun and point it at her. "Where is he?" I ask her and tears start to roll down my face again. "What have you done to him!" I'm yelling now and she doesn't even look at the gun. Her eyes are meeting mine and she doesn't look afraid.

"Matthew. Don't shoot him" she says "Get Santiago some help. The two of you should get out of here. I'll get Quinn"

My blood runs cold. I still can't see him but I know that he was holding a gun towards me. I'm about to die.

"He's all I had left" I cry "Why did you take him from me?"

She shakes her head and steps towards me. My hands are shaking and I watch as she places her hands on mine, steadying them. She pries the gun out of my hands and drops it on the floor beside us. She kicks it away and keeps a hold of my hands.

"I don't know what you're talking about" She tells me "But let's get out if here before the police come. Okay?"

In a flash, she tugs my arms and pulls my head down. I start to panic as she wraps her arms around my head and drops like a stone. "Shh" she whispers as I fight her. Hitting her shoulder blindly as she holds me against her. "It's okay Quinn. It's all going to be okay"