"Cover yourself!" I lift my gun. He turns away and I drill the lock until the door flies inward. Gale swings into the doorway, landing in a heap on the floor. For a moment, I experience the elation of his rescue. Then the white-gloved hands clamp down on him.
Gale meets my eyes and mouths something. Shoot me. That's what I have to do, then. We promised each other. If anything goes wrong…
I can't do it. Gale and I are best friends. So much more than that, really. Despite all we've been through, the fights we've had in the past few months, I still love him. And I know that had the circumstances been different, we would've been together. I can't kill him.
If I don't kill him, though, what's the alternative? Torture. A long, slow painful death. Wouldn't it be quicker, easier, for him to die now?
All of this runs through my head in about a second, and I know what I have to do. Gale and I are partners. We always have each others' backs, and I can't let him down. Before I can rethink what I'm doing, I raise up my arrow and shoot him. One clean shot, straight through the heart. He won't feel a thing. As the arrow flies towards him, he locks eyes with me. I see in them all the words we could never say in the fraction of a second it takes for the arrow to reach him. Thank you. I love you. I'm sorry. Then the arrow meets its target and he's dead, gone. No more.
I don't allow myself even a moment to feel the pain of what I've done. I continue through the streets, still in shock. I'm numb from it, and killing seems to be easy. I go on a violent crusade through the blocks, shooting any Peacekeepers in my path without hesitation. I feel a sharp pain in my side but keep going. I feel another, this time in my back, and turn around to shoot the Peacekeeper who has just shot me twice. I shoot at the same time he does. I have the satisfaction of watching him fall to the ground before I feel the bullet enter my chest. At least Gale and I can be together, I think, and then the blackness of death consumes me.