Everybody Wants to Rule the World

58

Trigger Warning(s): violence, discussion of schizophrenia-induced hallucinations

Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Lorde

~ Emira's Point of View ~

2:03 PM, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2028. SOUTH JEOLLA PROVINCE, SOUTH KOREA.

"Holy sh – I mean, crap. Arlie, I did it!"

"Yeah, yeah, great job." Her serious tone brought me back to reality. Yes, I had shot the tequila bottle, but it shattered all over Aaliya's hand, and the malice in her glare was terrifying. Some of the glass shards were stuck in her skin. Others had induced jagged wounds where blood and tequila trickled off her hand.

"Welcome," Aaliya said simply. I had almost forgotten how horrifyingly raspy her voice was.

"Did you know they were coming?" Jimin asked, and the sound of his voice made me stand me on my toes to peer over Arlie's shoulder.

One glimpse at his face, and my heart palpitated, urging me to sprint at him, throw myself at him, cling onto him, kiss every inch I could reach. At first, I only saw the golden hue of his skin, the light pink flush of his cheeks, the fullness of his pillow-like lips, the smoothness of his blonde hair, his neck... holy crap, his neck had never looked better.

But then, I got distracted by the bags beneath his eyes, so dark that they almost masked the dullness of his eyes. There were no emotions on his face, none at all – except maybe guilt, considering how he refused to look in my direction. His skin had an unhealthy pallor, and his hands were shaking.

One glimpse of the gun he was holding, and all I wanted to do was hide.

"I hoped they would," Aaliya replied, her gaze never straying from me.

"Goddammit," Arlie groaned, "I knew it was too easy. Well..." She trained her gun on Aaliya's head. "Since you were so kind in allowing me and my soulmate easy passage, I'll give you a chance for some badass last words."

"There will be no need for that."

"Alright, lit. I'll write that on your gravestone."

"I don't think you understand my meaning. I did not allow you here so that you could kill Jimin or me."

"I'm sure you didn't, but things don't always go as planned, do they?"

"Wait, we're not going to kill Jimin, right?" I whispered. "Right?"

"She'll do what she has to do," Jimin said, the corners of his lips twitching into a somber smile. "It's the game we play."

"I don't want to kill either of you," Arlie insisted, "but I'm not leaving until I get what I want."

"Which is?"

"I'll take my leave," Aaliya said.

"Nope – not letting either of you leave the room."

"I'll make it easy for you, then," Jimin said. "Emira, close your eyes."

I cowered closer to Arlie, whimpering, "Don't tell me you're going to do... that."

"He'll do what he has to do," Aaliya echoed his words from earlier. She smiled while Jimin trained his eyes on her. I looked away, and moments later, the sound of firing bullets made me clap my hands over my ears.

"What was that for?" I sobbed once the explosions ended. The last thing I wanted to do was look at Aaliya's corpse, but my eyes kept involuntarily straying in that direction.