A/N Hello, everyone, I apologize for the lateness of this update. I've been swamped lately.

Thanks to all Reviewers!

Dedication: to usaprincess242 who informed that I had accidentally posted a chapter for my story The Marauder's Monday Magazine as opposed to this story. :P

Disclaimer: I own nada.

I am a hostage to my own humanity
Self detained and forced to live in this mess I've made
And all I'm asking is for You to do what You can with me
But I can't ask You to give what You already gave

-Be My Escape, Relient K

It was nearing the end of our ordeal, I knew it.

I also knew that the end would not come without far more suffering than we had endured thus far.

I wanted it to be over.

I was afraid for what would come next.

Flashback

"Get them out." Garrison commanded suddenly.

"Er, who, boss?" One of the gunmen asks.

"I want you to get all of the remaining survivors excluding the cheerleaders out of this gym." Garrison elaborated.

The two gunmen seem puzzled by his actions but they begin rounding up the few un-injured people excluding my fellow cheerleaders.

It was then that I knew that the worst had only just begun. I was happy for the people who got to escape, but I knew, knew with every fiber of my being that Garrison's desire to be alone with us cheerleaders could mean nothing good for us.

When the others had been evacuated from the room and Garrison was left alone with just the fifteen of us cheerleaders, sixteen if you counted the unconscious Carly.

"Now the fun can really begin." He remarked ominously.

I wondered if he would let us leave if we quit the squad simultaneously. I rather doubted it.

"On your feet, Scorpio." He commanded Robin harshly. She had been crouched on the ground placing pressure on Carly's wound.

She scowled at him and made no move to stand.

"On your feet," He repeated. "Before I give your friend enough holes to rival a slice of Swiss cheese." He added leveling the gun on Carly's unconscious body.

Robin stood up.

"Now line up." He commanded. "Facing me."

The rest of the squad excluding Carly and myself hastened to form a line.

I didn't like this at all, thus far being ordered to form a line by Garrison never meant anything good. It reminded me vaguely of picking teams in gym class when you would try to place one person between you and your best friend so that if the teacher picked every other person you would wind up on the same team.

I made to join the squad but was held in place by Garrison grabbing my arm, I shook him off.

"What is it?" I demanded.

"Not you, Miss Corinthos," He said. "I have a special job for you."

That couldn't mean anything good, I wasn't sure of many things but I was at least sure of that.

"We are nearing the time for the grand finale, Miss Corinthos, it is nearly here, which means it is time to go big, time to make this a day that will live in infamy."

There was a strange glint in his eye as he spoke and it unnerved me. I wished fervently that this was all just a bad dream and I would wake up at any moment to find that none of this had ever happened and I had fallen asleep watching a bad horror movie on television.

"I'm fairly certain that no one will be forgetting today ever, so it's hardly necessary for you to do anything else." I replied.

"Oh, but it is." Garrison answered. "When I came here I was resolved to find someone who I could mold into my protégé, who could take my place, I found that individual in you, Miss Corinthos, and now it is time for you to take your rightful place."

I really did not like where this was going not at all.

He pulled a small handgun out of a shoulder holster and held it out to me.

I stared at it incredulously.

"You've said you hate me, that you want me to die, so I'm giving you the chance to kill me."

He presses the gun into my hand, it is surprisingly heavy.

I feel hyper aware of everything and I notice that the other gunmen have moved so that they are standing one on each end of the line, the first next to Robin, the second next to Elizabeth.

"I'm giving you the chance to kill me, shoot me; you keep saying how much you hate me." He says. "Of course if you do it then you will become the thing you most detest; a murderer, someone who makes judgments about the worth of others. And when you do that you will become just like me."

I stare at him in shock.

"Can you do it, Miss Corinthos?" He whispers. "Can you kill me?"

End Flashback

I stood there at the metaphorical crossroads of my life finding myself with the chance to put an end to all of this, to free us all from this hell. Or at least to free my friends, because I knew, right then, that no matter what choice I made I would never be able to get past it.

My decision would haunt me for the rest of my days.

This one last bullet you mention is my one last shot at redemption
because I know to live you must give your life away
And I've been housing all this doubt and insecurity and
I've been locked inside that house all the while You hold the key
And I've been dying to get out and that might be the death of me

-Be My Escape, Relient K

A/N Review! Update next Saturday!