Tintin with a shotgun
Get out your guns, battles begun,
Are you a saint, or a sinner?
If loves a fight, than I shall die,
With my heart on a trigger.
The sharp sound of a bullet sent a pain into my ear. I haven't fought with guns for a while. Haddock stands at my back, holding two snipers. He aims well and soon two people's limbs are scattered upon the floor, blood pooling around their heads.
"Nice Shot."
"Well, thank you lass,"
One begins to advance towards me and the bullets are soon embedded into his skull. I smirk, this is too easy, and where is Allan? I have some unfinished business. I reload my gun. This is going to be messy.
Haddock points to a torchlight coming from a porthole. He nods at me and we stick to the sides of the wall, hiding behind the crates. When he appears, he's as good as dead. I'll be dead if I don't do this right. Am I ready?
What doubt is there?
They say before you start a war,
You better know what you're fighting for.
Well baby, you are all that I adore,
If love is what you need, a soldier I will be.
We're back at Marlinspike. After about three hours, we were done. I'm never going back to that cursed ship. Great Snakes, it was exhilarating! Haddock looks almost too pleased. He glances at me out of the corner of his eye. My eyes quickly revert back to the ground. I know in my heart that something is definitely wrong.
Nestor greats us, but Haddock shoves past him and I feel him glance at me. I shrug my shoulders and follow. Nestor takes my gun from me and carefully hangs it up, being careful not to set it off. I follow Captain up the stairs and I soon hear his door slam shut.
"Captain?"
"Welcome Lass, I think it's the time to ask you a question,"
W-What? I don't hear much but then a cry of 'Yes!' and a thump floats out of the room. My eyes widen. No. It can't be true…
C-Can It?
I'm an angel with a shotgun,
Fighting til' the wars won,
I don't care if heaven won't take me back.
I'll throw away my faith, babe, just to keep you safe.
Don't you know you're everything I have?
...and I, wanna live, not just survive, tonight.
I back away from the door, right into the banister. Nestor quickly rushes over as I sink to my knees, head in hands. He shakes me but I can't shake myself out of it. Wedding? Captain and some girl he's barely knows!? Speak of the devil; he and the girl poke their heads around the door.
"Lass?" He reaches out towards me but I back away, down the stairs,
"Leave Me alone!" Reaching the door, Nestor suddenly stands in front of me, barring the way. He looks worried, but this feeling is getting stronger. I hold up my gun and still he wouldn't move. So I pull the trigger. How mature of me.
And he is dead. Shot through the heart by one of my bullets. It all seemed to go in slow-motion; my bullet and the sound of my gun dropping to the floor.
W-What have I just done?
D-Did I just murder Nestor?
Sometimes to win, you've got to sin,
Don't mean I'm not a believer.
...and Major Tom, will sing along.
Yeah, they still say I'm a dreamer.
I stand there while Captain just stares at the back of my head. The door is thrown open and it smashes against the wall, by the force of my hand; my footsteps, falling against the hardened gravel.
I'm still in the dream. The Captain and the girl are standing there, pointing and laughing at me, like a bunch of primary school children. I back away, into Tom, an old friend, who is singing a sea song; one about the high waves and how they can knock you down. How true that is.
Then I wake up, near a river; the water gently lapping at my toes. Some little fish and frogs inhabit it. It looks deep, but what if it is shallow. That wouldn't be good.
They say before you start a war,
You better know what you're fighting for.
Well baby, you are all that I adore,
If love is what you need, a soldier I will be.
I jump. Into the cool water. It feels calming as water begins to consume me. It sweeps over me and my lungs begin to burn. I cannot give in now. Like in the old days. The current drags me along . Until I hear a rushing noise. I burst out of the water. A waterfall. And I'm heading towards it.
"Help! Somebody help me!" My hands scrabble at the rocks sticking out of the riverbed. The water pulls at my heels, trying to pull me to my demise. The bank is too far away to even chance a jump.
"Captain! Help!" I give one final cry before I let go of the earth I have worked so hard to dig my nails into. The water consumes me again, just before I black out.
I'm an angel with a shotgun,
Fighting til' the wars won,
I don't care if heaven won't take me back.
I'll throw away my faith, babe, just to keep you safe.
Don't you know you're everything I have?
…and I, wanna live, not just survive, tonight.
"Grab on!" A rope lands in the water and I look up. As much as my eyes hurt from the water, I can make out Haddock, looking as worried as hell. Why should I grab it? What am I saying? This is my only chance of survival! Do I want to survive?
Of course I do!
Do I?
Yes.
No.
I only get one chance, so I decide to risk it. The rope slips through my fingers and my body lands limply on the bank. Haddock flips me round and presses limply against my chest. I can feel myself fading. Then something sparks, a flame inside me. A candle, long extinguished. Is this for real? I begin to cough. The water is gone.
I'm an angel with a shotgun...
Fighting til' the wars won...
I don't care if heaven won't take me back...
I'm wrapped up in a blanket and my hair is soaking wet. It won't flick up like it normally does. Nestor is still definitely dead. I stepped over his lifeless corpse when I entered. It's all a huge nightmare, please let it be a nightmare.
"What was up with you earlier?"
"I heard you and a girl talking about getting married."
"Married!? Blistering Barnacles, I asked her to join my crew!"
"Y-Your crew? But that means…"
I run a hand through my hair. What's my motto again? 'Look into something when you hear it,'? What an idiot I've been. Haddock always told me that we rush into things. I never thought I charge head first into such a normal thing.
"We still on for Bagghar tomorrow?"
"We always are. We'll always fight."
"Forever,"
"And for each other!"
I'm an angel with a shotgun,
Fighting til' the wars won,
I don't care if heaven won't take me back.
I'll throw away my faith, babe, just to keep you safe.
Don't you know you're everything I have?
(I'm an angel with a shotgun)
…And I want to live, not just survive, tonight.
(Live, not just survive)
So this is how it's going to end. A gun at my head and it's held by the Captain. Never suspected a thing. The plane is being flown by one of his own men. He needs me out of the way so he can marry 'Amelia'. I should have guessed.
"Aren't you gonna shoot me? I thought sea captains were brave."
"Shut it, I don't need any more from you. You confuse me so much."
"When have I ever confused you?"
He puts a hand to my throat and his nails dig into my neck. That'll leave a mark. I guess things don't really work out. We made many promises to each other. I knew they wouldn't last forever.
So here we go,
My final moments.
I wonder if there really is a heaven.
If there is, will I be allowed in?
..And I'm gonna hide, hide, hide my wings tonight.
I hold my head up high, knowing that this is the end. Haddock 'turned bad', to put it simply. My angel wings diminished a long time ago. They will not help me now.
They say before you start a war,
You better know what you're fighting for.
Well baby, you are all that I adore,
If love is what you need, a soldier I will be.
The trigger is pulled,
The lights go out,
I am…
Free.