"HEL-"
The gunshot rang out, loud and clear in the hall.
No
Katie's body went limp under the arm across her throat.
No
Crimson stained Atticus Moon's white suit. Contrasting with the suit like blood over snow. Another gunshot rang out from his left. The man holding his little sister crumpled as Penny pulled the trigger again. He wanted to run to Katie. To hold her to his chest and feel her heart beat against him and feel her push him away with a Whoa, Big Brother. And be reassured that she was alive.
That is a lie. He had lived with Logan for the past 2 years. He knew about anatomy. HE had lived with Carlos for the same amount of time, watched at least 60 different movies where this someone is shot in the head, they don't get back up.
Ever.
His view of his little red-soaked sister was being obscured by tears. He couldn't move. He couldn't breathe. His lungs were stones inside him. In fact, his whole body felt like stone. Was he becoming a statue?
He heard the blood rushing in his ears and his heart beat out a rapid rhythm in his chest, like a kettle drum. There were black spots at the corners of his vision. He needed to breathe, but his eyes were fixed on the lifeless stare of his sister.
The sightless orbs glared back at him accusingly.
He wanted to scream. But his lungs still wouldn't work. The black spots which before hovered around the edges were slowly invading his vision, overwhelming his eyes and hiding the view of the accusing glare, but he could still feel it on his skin.
Spreading through his veins. Searing over his skin. It was everywhere. It was roaring through his ears with the blood.
There was a wetness on his cheeks.
It was the bitter taste on his tongue and the coldness all around.
It didn't matter if he couldn't see her. The scene was burned into his retinas. The world tipped and swayed. He vaguely realized that it wasn't the world.
Then he blacked out.