Killing Chris

Before We Break

As I stood in the butcher room in the basement of the Omron slaughterhouse with a gun pointed to my head I contemplated the deadly decision at hand. I cut down my old best friend who blamed me for the death of my friends in the past or I slaughter my new best friend who has been nothing but supportive but doesn't know the real me. When faced with an ultimatum that results in the death of three people or the death of one it's fairly certain when pressed people will choose the death of someone else to save themselves.

Human beings as a species are good at one thing at least and that's survival. When faced with a decision that can result in your survival we will always take the way out to escape death. I'm nineteen years old, I didn't yet understand that there were things in this world worth dying for. So in the seemingly endless countdown till the massacre of the three of us, I had to make the hard choice for myself and the survival of at least one of my friends.

As I sat there in a debate with myself it became clear who I had to save. I had to save Lake. I owed something to Lake that was possible to explain. I loved Dane I just loved Lake more. I didn't want to kill anyone I hope you all can see that but, it was more than just my life at risk. In the moment, I was flooded with emotions and I made an impossible choice in an impossible situation. I took a step toward Dane crying

"I'm so sorry Dane, please forgive me" I pleaded

I bent down to Dane who had been laying on the ground from when he was shoved and I dug the knife deep into his neck turning my face so I didn't have to look at him. He grabbed my wrist and dug my face into my shirt sobbing.

"I...Forgive...you" Dane said in between coughs of blood

I turned to him and held him in my arms as the light drained from his eyes. I felt so guilty for even getting Dane involved in this when I knew better. When I finally stood up after what felt like a lifetime I was covered in his blood. A pool of blood surrounded me as I stepped toward Lake. 

"Holy shit! you actually did it?" The killer remarked in a joyful tone.

I looked up to him and responded "You fucking made me" 

"I wasn't actually gonna kill your family...shit" The killer said laughing

I knew he was just trying to play mind games with me but I couldn't help thinking that I killed Dane for nothing. In tears, I went for the door in an attempt to leave this all behind me. When I got to the door however it didn't budge. 

"Let us out, we had a deal," I said looking into the door to avoid having to look at Dane."

We didn't shake on it though" pulling his gun into the ready position.

"just do it, I'm done with this shit," I said

"I'll never let you off the hook that easy" the killer responded

I turned my head to him in anger when the gun went off and blood splattered across my face. I looked down searching for the bullet wound because I didn't feel anything. Smoke left the barrel of the gun as Lake dropped on the ground next to me. A bullet to his head was a sure way to finish off 'the one who got away'. My survival was planned but his was unexpected. The killer had a single loose end that needed tieing up. So, he leveraged Dane to get Lake and I here.

 His snare worked perfectly and we bought right into it. Believing we could end this torture, escape this labyrinth. I collapsed onto the ground and shook Lake in a desperate attempt to wake up. The killer swiped a card and the doors flung open. He threw the gun on the ground next to me and sprinted down the hallway. I grabbed the gun quickly. I aimed down the sight but my arms were shaking like I just got done with the longest workout in my life. I had a shot on the killers back and I squeezed the trigger with no remorse. The gun clicked and I realized there was no ammo in it. I threw it against the wall as hard as I possibly could and screamed.

 At that moment the only thing I could think of was getting their blood off of me. I screamed pleading for them to get up and to not leave me alone but death doesn't obey. It takes, it's solely destructive. I ran for the sinks desperate for a way to clean the blood from my hands but the water hadn't been turned on for years. I tried so hard to will Dane and Lake back to life but I had made a miscalculation that cost me two more lives.

I bent down over Lake crying "Please Lake im sorry...no...no...no this can't be happening again. Somebody help! Please! Please tell me what I'm supposed to say to your mom....NO! Dane...No...what did I do."

 I laid on the ground in a pool of blood and I knew the only escape from this pain was death. I went over to where the killer stood when he shot Lake and found a mag on the ground. I loaded it into the gun and aimed it at my head. I knelt on the ground and looked at Lake's body which laid lifeless on the pavement surrounded by blood. I glanced over to Dane who was also laid lifeless. I closed my eyes ready to finally escape this torment. 

"Hey, kid drop the gun!" Someone yelled hidden behind a bright flashlight.

"We know you didn't do this now come with us we can help you, please don't end it here there are still people in this world that need you." He added

"There's nothing left for me here now..." I cried out

"If you kill yourself now you'll never get the justice for them, right?" He replied.

I dropped the gun on the ground I don't think I had the strength to follow through with it anyway. When the man put the flashlight down it revealed a policeman who still had his gun drawn. He walked up to me and threw me onto the ground yelling 

"Your under arrest for the murder of two people" 

"Wait what it wasn't me you said you knew, no, stop" I yelled as he twisted my arm behind my back cuffing me.

He ripped me up the stairs into the police cruiser where I watched the forensics team pull in along with a few other cop cars. This time the cop car wasn't a symbol of safety and the cop hadn't saved me from the killer. The cop car was taking away my freedom and the cop tricked me. If only I'd pulled the trigger I wouldn't be here right now I thought as I approached the police station where I'd face the daunting test of convincing the police investigator the killer was real.

I knew what it looked like, if I found a bloody nineteen-year-old standing over two dead bodies with a gun to his head I would've arrested him too. The evidence was literally covering me and it looked like I was about to kill myself out of guilt to avoid the punishment.

When we arrived at the station the officer had to rip me out of the car because I couldn't move. They sat me down in the interrogation room and the first question they asked was.

"Why did you kill your friends?" 

"I would never kill my friends, it wasn't me" I replied 

"Then explain to me why we have video footage of you stabbing Dane Michealson in the throat." The inspector said turning an iPad to show the footage of me taking Danes' life.

Right then I realized I was playing a checkers game with the killer but the killer had been playing chess always three moves ahead.