ACT TWO
Scene Thirty:
"I Have A Love"
The sound of the gunshot was like a beacon of light on a dark night.
Many people in the West Side heard it. A few Jets came running, afraid of what it meant for Vi. Some Sharks came running, afraid of what it meant for Viktor. Babette heard it and came running to the door of her shop.
But the sight in the street made them all stop.
It wasn't until Caitlyn looked up that she noticed Viktor was still standing there in the street, staring blankly at Vi's body.
Setting Vi down gently, Caitlyn stood up, shakily, walking toward him.
She stood in front of him and held out her hand.
"Give it to me," she said, her voice hollow.
When he didn't move, Caitlyn swatted it from his grip.
"How do you fire it?" she asked, looking down at it in her hands.
How could such a tiny thing cause so much pain?
"Just pull this?" she snapped, suddenly pointing the gun at him, her arm stiff and straight.
Viktor flinched upon instinct, looking at her with wide eyes.
"How many bullets are left?" she yelled at him.
Viktor didn't answer.
"Enough for you?!" she asked, pointing the gun at a boy she didn't know. A Jet. Deckard.
He took a step back in alarm, holding up his hands.
"And you?!" she asked, pointing to another boy. A Shark. Scar.
"ALL OF YOU!" she screamed, turning the gun on all of them, Jets and Sharks alike.
They stood silently, rooted in the street, afraid. Her gaze leveling them.
"I can kill now because I hate now," Caitlyn seethed, then her eyes widened as she gasped at the realization, "I hate now…"
Then she turned back to Viktor, her hand shaking.
"How many can I kill, Viktor?" she asked, stepping closer to him until the barrel was almost over his chest, "And there is still one bullet left for me?!"
But even as her hand shook… even with all the hatred that coursed through her now… she didn't pull the trigger.
None of it mattered anymore. Her love was dead.
Vi was dead.
Violet was dead.
Caitlyn slowly turned and looked back to Vi's body in the street.
She lay so still and motionless… Her pink hair, soft, in the light of the streetlamp...
Caitlyn's arm dropped to her side, the gun clattering faintly on the ground. She let her legs carry her a few shaky steps before she was back beside her lover.
She collapsed to the ground, leaning over her.
"Te adoro, Violet…"
She bent down, cradling her face, and kissed her lips, softly.
Behind her, Deckard gingerly stepped closer, kneeling down to touch Caitlyn's shoulder.
She recoiled and snapped, "No, don't touch her!", propping herself over Vi's body, protectively.
Deckard flinched, stepping back. But he wasn't alone.
A skirt swished as a figure stepped forward and dropped to kneel beside her.
"Caitlyn…" Sky said softly, hesitantly putting a hand on her shoulder.
Caitlyn stared at her for a long time, minutely shaking her head. Sky merely squeezed her hand, tenderly.
Trembling, Caitlyn let Sky help her to her feet. As they stepped back, Deckard and Ekko stepped forward. They nodded to each other.
As Ekko knelt by Vi's head and laid her arms across her chest, Deckard looked to Big Deal, Mylo and Claggor. They joined him in lifting Vi. Ekko supported Vi's head, Deckard and Mylo her shoulders, Big Deal and Claggor her lower torso and legs.
As they carried her, one of her arms slipped, dangling lifeless and heavy at her side. Scar moved in, carefully raising Vi's arm and returning it to her chest. Then Quique joined to support Vi's legs, next to Big Deal, while Chucho moved in next to Claggor to do the same.
Scar came next to Ekko, nodding to the boy to take his place supporting her head.
Ekko hesitated, but nodded, giving Vi one last hug.
They all picked up her body, careful not to drop her. Ekko was in front of the procession, leading the way. He stood tall, despite the tears falling from his eyes. The sobs itching in his throat.
Ekko walked in front as Scar, Deckard, Big Deal, Chucho, Quique, Mylo, and Claggor carried Vi's body down the street, past the ruined buildings, toward Doc's. Caitlyn followed behind, in the widower's spot behind the procession.
Babette had heard the shots and came outside. Upon seeing them gathered in the street, she knew it was too late.
She made a sign of the cross, holding back her own tears for the girl she watched grow up.
She walked past the procession to where Viktor was still standing. He hadn't moved, rooted in place, and was bowing his head, tears escaping him.
Babette looked at him with pity.
She put her hand through his arm, and he let her lead him down the street. She escorted him, picking up the gun along the way, holding it with her fingertips, out to her side.
A police cruiser soon arrived, turning around the street corner, its red lights flashing.
Babette stood beside Viktor. Viktor did not resist.
Up on a fire escape, of a nearby tenement, gold touched the tops of the buildings, a seagull fluttered its wings and flew off into the sky.
And the faintest glimmer of the morning sun rose on another endless day on the West Side.
Somehow
Someday
Somewhere…
THE END.