The Future
James stopped with his hand resting on the handle, listening. The room was still as they waited.
Cautiously, James turned the handle; and then in a move so swift it was almost lost, he flung the door open to stare into the barrel of a gun.
There was a snarl from the person holding it, and then James lunged for it, knocking them both to the ground, and causing pain to sear through his arm. But still, he kept struggling, neither of them getting a good enough grip on the handle, tearing, scratching, vaguely aware of others joining in, trying to wrestle the gun into safe hands.
Just as James wrapped a hand securely around the handle of the gun, it went off.
A high pitched scream followed almost immediately afterwards.
…
Sammi had watched the struggle for a long moment, frozen in shock. Then, as her brain started to catch up to the events occurring around her, she moved forwards to help just as the gun was fired.
One moment she was rushing to help and the next she was seeing through a haze tinged with black, pain roiling around inside of her.
She heard a strange shriek of agony, echoing the pain inside of her.
She was on the floor, curled in on herself, trying to keep the pain at bay. Distantly aware of a mass of people surrounding her, she recoiled in horror at the blood seeping out of her. Sammi pressed a numb hand to where the blood flow was thickest, trying to push it back inside her.
A plaintive cry that wasn't hers broke through her haze, right before Sammi lost consciousness.
…
"No!" Kerry's shriek hurt even her eardrums. She watched as Sammi recoiled from the bullet and collapsed, fountains of red pouring from her chest. She saw James wrench the gun into his hands, before smashing the barrel into the intruder's face. The splintering of the face, didn't register with anyone, nor did the shriek of agony as they watched Sammi's eyes wheel and roll back into her head.
"Get an ambulance!" Kerry cried. "For Gods' sake, do something!" Then, turning back to Sammi, she dropped onto her knees, and tried to remember basic first aid. "Ok, Ok," she murmured to herself. She reached with shaking hands to the edge of her shirt, and ripped off a long strip. Pushing Sammi's bloody t-shirt out of her way, she pressed her strip of cloth to the gaping wound in her daughter's body.
There was a cloth on the small table in the room, and suddenly she was aware of Gwen ripping up strips and helping her stem the flow.
Kerry was distantly aware of hands moving hers out the way, and struggled to pull her daughter into the protective circle of her arms. Everything was a blur of blaring sounds and fuzzy pictures. It didn't seem real. Nobody seemed real. She strained against the arms she found restraining her, struggling to be back with Samantha.
"Kerry," she recognised the voice. "Kerry, you have to stop. They're taking her to the hospital. Kerry. Please." The last word was quieter than a whisper. Kerry wilted in James' arms, crumpling her blood-covered hands in between her face and James' chest, as he held her, comforting her through his own agony.
…
The journey to the hospital was a blur of paramedics, sirens, blood, and waiting. Waiting and worrying. But the worst thing was the fear. The fear that Sammi was going to become the fifth cherub to die. The fear that CHERUB would have to get closed down. Endless fear, gnawing away at all of them, sitting in the waiting room, waiting for Sammi to come out of surgery.
The fear was worse for Jo. One thought kept rolling around her head; I did this. This is my fault. She had her hands curled into fists, and then safely tucked into her armpits to stop them shaking. Finally, not able to stand the tense silence any longer, she went to sit next to her family.
"I'm so sorry." She whispered.
Her mother turned to her, looking like a complete and utter mess. Her hair was everywhere; mascara smudged an inch outwards from her eye, running down her face with the streaming tears, leaving streaks of black down her cheeks and off her chin, face pale and drawn. "What do you have to be sorry for?" Jo winced as her voice cracked in several places. Her entire family had tear-streaked faces turned towards her.
"I let them in." her voice was so quiet, they weren't sure that they'd heard her correctly. "I didn't – they didn't - Gary s-said that th-they weren't going to do anything but look around. They'd order a ransom, but no-one would get hurt. It was for the a-animals."
There was a beat of silence while they processed what she'd just said.
"I always knew that boyfriend was trouble." James muttered.
"Jo…"Kerry was looking at her with an expression filled with an emotion Jo couldn't quite decipher. It was part aching sadness, part disbelief and part overwhelming disappointment.
Jo's face crumpled as they watched her with varying expressions. James looked angry, but that was his way. She had expected that. What she hadn't expected was the agonising disappointment that was present on everyone's faces. She'd prepared herself for accusations, shouts – but not this feeling that there had been a test that she had just failed miserably.
Closing her eyes, she waited. Waited to see if she would have to live with this racking guilt for the rest of her life. Waited to see if her sister would come out of that room alive.
Deep down in her heart, she knew the answer.