Page 88 of Eden's Joker

“Come out, Joker,” Ice hollers in my direction. “You’re surrounded. You lost. But we’ll let the others live if you come out and face me now.”

No way is that a sanctioned move. But none of theDevils are contradicting him. Most likely they’re just giving him the chance to kill me before they kill everyone else. And giving me the chance to kill him at the same time.

“Fine,” I holler back. “Here I am.”

I toss the walkie to Scorpio, who’s looking at me like I’ve lost my mind.

“I’m coming down now,” I yell. “No one better not shoot me in the back and make Ice a liar now.”

“You’re not going down there,” Scorpio hisses. “He’s bluffing. They’re not gonna let anyone here live.”

“Yeah, I know that,” I tell him. “The plan is still on. But I’m gonna take this chance to kill the guy who brought us all here.”

Scorpio nods. “I got your back. Good luck.”

He offers me his hand and we grip forearms. A final goodbye to my oldest friend in the world? Could be. But at least we’re gonna get what we set out to get before that happens.

Everything is deathly quiet as I jog down the hill to meet Ice. The echoes of gunfire have long since died down, as have the screams and moans of drying men. The scuffing of my boots on the ground is practically the only sound for miles around.

Until another pierces the silence.

Desperate yet melodic, reminding me of birdsong at dawn, the wind in the trees, of rain pattering and fire crackling and all those other good things.

“No!” Eden yells. “Don’tdo this!”

She’s running down the hill in the white dress I got for her to abduct her in, her long dark hair streaming wild behind her and her face glowing as though the sun is her own personal spotlight.

She stops between Ice and me, out of breath, her cheeks glowing a faint crimson.

“This doesn’t have to happen,” she says, giving us identical pleading looks.

I have my gun pointed at her father, his is pointed at me. Above us, more guns are pointed every which way, ready to start mowing down men like grass. I hate to be the one to disappoint her.

“It kinda does have to happen, Eden,” I say.

She turns to me, the pleading in her eyes so fierce, it hurts like a bullet to the heart.

“Just lay down your weapons,” she says. “You’re all surrounded, no one’s gonna make it out of here alive.”

I could make a bunch of wise cracks on the subject. I could tell her I told her so the other night. Instead, what I say is, “I’m sorry.”

And I really fucking am!

She turns to her father, who is staring at her like he’s watching a ghost.

“I’m fine, Daddy,” she says. “He didn’t hurt me. You don’t have to kill him. No one has to die. Not for me.”

She watched all this from afar, from the window of our house, and it must’ve looked like something she could stop. But now, as she looks around at all the menand women pointing guns at each other, even that bright light in her face starts to fade.

Ice has the same expression on his face that must be on mine. We’ve fallen off the edge here. The only reason everyone’s not firing their last bullets right now is because she’s standing between us. Dressed like a fucking peace dove. Looking at me like she’ll just wither and die if I do. Or her father does.

I’m seeing my dead parents on the side of that dusty road. I’m seeing Ice there. I’m seeing the bullet that killed my mother fly.

But it’s all hazy now. Washed out and faded like an old photograph.

Because most of all I see Eden and the heart-wrenching hope and devastating sadness in her eyes. I don’t want to die on this hot and dusty day. I want to live. With her. See what happens. See if the second half of my life can be better than the first. With her by my side, I’m sure it will be glorious.

I can’t fucking believe it, but I hear myself say. “We can all die here today. Or we can make peace. The first is a certainty. The second, not much more than a wish. One I’m not even sure I want to see come true. But life trumps death. Right?”

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