Page 175 of Cain
“This isn’t right. None of this is right. They shouldn’t even be here!” the young one says, afraid to even raise his gun.
“Shut up. We follow protocol, no matter what,” the other one reprimands him.
“But this wasn’t in the briefing. They didn’t say anything about?—”
“Shut it, rookie! Eyes forward. Let’s go.”
They disappear down the corridor, their footsteps fading.
What the hell is happening?
A low, distant rumble echoes through the building. Then, gunfire.
“Oh my God. Oh my God. That’s gunshots. They’re shooting!” Candy shouts.
The sound grows louder and nearer. The siren seems more deafening, and it has nearly numbed my ears. It sounds like a war zone inside a building.
The gunfire stops abruptly, and all I can hear is some shoes stomping against the concrete.
They’re approaching.
“No! Please!” Mandy shouts desperately. “No, no, no!”
Gunshot.
And then, she gurgles, clearly trying to breathe.
That’s it. My end is near. I wish Cain was here so I could tell him how much I love him. Just to see his eyes one last time.
“No, wait, sir!” Candy begs. “Please?—”
Gunshot. She’s dead, too.
I think I’m the last one. How lucky. I kneel and close my eyes, bringing his face into my thoughts. All I want is to see him. Just his face.
“Hello, little rose.”
What?
My eyes snap open, and I gaze up.
He’s here. Standing in the mess he made. Blood is dripping from his hands, and his dark eyes are locked on me.
“Cain?”
“Stand up.”
I do as he says. I stand and step closer. I’m not scared of him; I know what he wants to do. He raises the gun and shoots the lock, breaking it.
“You came for me,” I breathe quietly, unable to believe what I’m seeing.
He walks into the cell and stops right in front of me. His eyes linger on my face for a bit longer than usual before he caresses my cheek with his bloody fingers.
“You didn’t talk,” he mutters, his head cocking to the side.
That’s when it hits me. He wouldn’t have let me get taken. Not in a million years. The second they touched me, he would’ve put bullets in their skulls without blinking. But he didn’t.
It was planned from the start.
