Thank you kindly for all your reviews. I know I left it on cliffhangers at the last couple of chapters. What can I say? I like to torture you guys. XP Mhawawa! I hope you're not mad at me for this chapter. Eep! Keep letting me know what you think! This chapter is shorter I think….Man, I'm so tired. I gotta get to bed! I hope the whole quality over quantity saying applies here cause I can't write anymore. Leave me alone! Hope you like this chapter!
Chapter Twelve – The End….But for whom?
I watched his body fall to ground, but it was in slow motion. My mind was lost to shock and utter despair. He was dead. He was gone. Forever. I was rooted to the spot. I couldn't move. I couldn't blink. I couldn't even breathe. Every second lasted a life time. I stared at his body. His body that only a moment ago had been moving, speaking, living. My pupils were wide and alert, but I could only take in one image. The image of the dead man lying a few feet from me. Oh God. How could this have happened? How could it have come to this? He was dead. My body went from being painful and hot to shivering cold and numb. My legs began shaking furiously. I had no control. My blood was freezing through me and my mind was racing. It was a nightmare. It wasn't real. It couldn't be real. The trembling spread through me and suddenly I was one big shaking wreck. My brain started buzzing, it was like being supercharged and thousands of thoughts and nerves twitched through it. Then, just as quick as that feeling came, it washed away and denial surfaced and then, last but not least, realisation. He was dead and it was all my fault.
The shock had paled my skin and cold sweat appeared on my forehead. My lips were a white line, pressed tightly together. My teeth knocked together in my mouth. Sickness swirled up my stomach and cohered up my throat. I turned away from the scene and doubled over, before collapsing hard to my knees and throwing up violently.
After, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and stared, confused at the mess I had created. I fell back away from the mess and then rolled on to my front and pushed up on to my hands and knees. I prayed for the body to rise. For his chest to start rising, but as I looked slowly, I saw the cold, lifeless face. I heaved again, but there was nothing left to bring up and my throat constricted painfully. I gripped my stomach and felt warm tears well in my eyes. I gasped for air and climbed to my feet once more. Tears dripped over my lids and embraced my cheeks. My eyes were locked to the body. The victim lying at my feet. A pain squeezed into my chest and I felt my airway blocked. I took a sharp, shaky intake of air, but it never reached my lungs. I was too deep in disbelief. I coughed and it was like I was being stabbed from the inside. Before I slipped into a pit of darkness a single thought rushed through my head. He was dead. I had killed my father….
Beck
I heard the shot. It was loud and painful to my ears. I don't know what I expected next. Intense pain? Life flashing before me? Darkness? My eyes were still closed. They remained closed a few moments after the gun was fired. I breathed in after a while and realised I wasn't hurting, I wasn't dying. Slowly I opened my eyes and gasped at the sight before them. Billy Walker lay motionless at my feet. He was on his back facing away from me. His body was quickly losing its fluid, but it didn't matter, his chest wasn't rising. I shuddered and then I began to piece together what had happened. I looked up from the body that only seconds ago held a gun to my head and found Travis doubled over, being sick. The one remaining guard was unconscious, sprawled on the floor. Travis must have knocked him out and grabbed the gun….Oh God – he had shot Billy. My ears were ringing. I could hear Travis groaning and sobbing, but I couldn't move to him. My ribs were causing me so much pain. I was weak from loss of blood and one too many punches. I watched in horror as Travis' chest closed down and he fainted, crumbling to the floor. What was going to happen now? Would he be able to get over this? I know he hated his father, but to shoot him dead? Tears flowed from my dark eyes. He had saved me. He had shot his own father to save me. I cried out loudly. He had made the ultimate sacrifice for me. My heart ached and grieved. This would destroy him and it was all to protect me. I cradled my arms and lay weeping on my side in a ball. I couldn't move in my mental or physical state and some metres away lay my best friend, lost to the darkness of his mind. Help us, I prayed. Help us.
Twenty minutes later, the door burst open, rattling noisily against the wall. I had fallen into a daze, my mind floating away into memories and cooking recipes. Anything to escape reality. I was jerked from my dream by the noise and raised my head a few inches from the floor. Mariana! I saw her in the dim glow of the lights. Her hair was stuck to her panicked-stricken face. Her eyes were wide and wild with anxiety. She scanned the room and then when her gaze fell on me, she ran over, falling to her knees and cradling me in her lap.
"Beck! What happened? Are you ok!"
"Travis…" I groaned, waving my hand. Then it hit me. The guards would be in any second. She had to get out of here. I tried to push myself up, but fell back to Mariana's knee weakly.
"I gathered men from the village. They've taken care of the guards. They wanted to help save you both." She explained, reading my thoughts.
I smiled weakly and then frowned. "Travis." I whispered again. She looked at me miserably and then nodded and with a soft kiss to my head, she laid me back on the floor and stepped slowly towards Travis.
"Travis? Travis?" She touched his cheek. He lay silently, eyes open. "Beck. He's in shock. He isn't seeing me."
"Travis!" I called. "Travis, it's me. Please. We need you to come back to us. Come on, buddy."
"Travis. Look at me. Focus on me." Mariana spoke softly and gently, two hands caressing his face.
Then, men from the village sauntered through the doorway and started rambling in Portuguese to Mariana. They sounded excited and I could only guess that they had taken care of Billy Walker's men. She answered them quickly, smiling reassuringly in my direction. Four of them approached me and four of them to Travis. Gently and slowly the eased me on to my back and lifted me from the floor. I could see Travis being lifted into the same position. As he rode passed me I reached out and grabbed his hand. It was cold and limp.
I shut my eyes and gritted my teeth. I would save him from this. His father was dead, but he wasn't alone. I would share his pain and grief. He wouldn't go through it by himself. Then exhaustion took over and my brain went fuzzy and began to shut down. I drifted off to sleep just as we reached the exit, the cool night breeze cooling my burning cuts and wounds. It was over. We were finally safe from Billy's clutches, but what about Travis, would his father still haunt him even in death? Only time would tell.