The smell of gunpowder mixed with perfume and spilled liquor burned the back of my throat as screams gave way to the rising panic. Just then, I turned and caught the silhouette of my brother.
His calm demeanor from earlier was gone, and he was now firing wildly into the crowd. Memphis fired a shot, and Davis staggered mid-step. The impact snapped him back, and his rifle clattered to the floor as he dropped to his knees.
His eyes met mine as he clutched his chest and fell forward, blood immediately pooling around him. I stood there, staring athim, as the room echoed with the last few rounds before falling into silence.
Smoke hung in the air.
Cries and whimpers faded.
And the lights flickered back to life, revealing the bodies that were scattered across the floor. I held onto my weapon as I scanned the room for a moment, but there was no movement
The nightmare had hit fast and violent.
But it was over.
And my brother lay bleeding out at the center of it. I walked over and knelt down next to him, carefully rolling him over and removing his mask. As I looked down at him, I didn’t feel triumph. I didn’t feel relief. I felt numb.
He’d made a choice coming here tonight.
And we’d made ours.
“Why?” I whispered. “Why would you do this?”
I didn’t expect him to answer.
I thought he was already gone, and then, he gargled, “You took what was mine… You couldn’t leave it alone. You had to win… You always win.”
“I didn’t win shit,” I argued. “Look around. People died tonight. They died because you…”
“Just once… I just wanted to be the one…just once.”
He closed his eyes, and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
This was it. My brother was dying.
I could’ve told him that he got what he deserved, but instead, I leaned forward and whispered, “For me, you were always the one. I wish that had been enough.”
I watched my brother take his last breath. I couldn’t imagine anything worse, and then, I looked up and found Presley standing in front of me with tears streaming down her face. It wasn’t until then that I heard all the sirens.
Damn. There was no end to this fucking nightmare.
28
PRESLEY
Iwas actually feeling kind of excited as I got out of my car and started for the front door. I was looking forward to seeing Luke’s handsome face and that silly little crooked smile of his. But as I got closer to the door, it burst open, and people came rushing out.
It wasn’t the usual kind of end-of-night rush.
This was fast and frantic, like something awful was happening. A woman in heels and tear-filled eyes nearly stumbled into me. Someone next to her kept crying, “Oh God… oh God.”
Men’s faces were pale and drawn tight as they made their way to their vehicles. I tried asking what happened, but no one answered. I should’ve taken that as my sign to get the hell out of there, but I was too curious for that.
Too damn stupid.
I don’t know why I had to be so damn stubborn, but I kept pressing forward. People kept pushing past me like the place was on fire. A cold knot tightened in my stomach as I moved closer to the door. Unlike the last time I was there, I heard no music. Nolaughter. No one was talking. It was a hollow kind of quiet that didn’t belong in a place like this.
I pushed my way through the front door, and as soon as I set foot inside, everything stopped.
