(Alex's POV)
"Nooo!!!"
'Ah…'
I couldn't believe it.
Sophie's voice barely registered in my ears as my eyes locked onto the reflection of her eyes—the reflection of Maurice, the guy I treated like my own brother, standing there with a gun pointed right at me.
The realization hit like a punch to the gut.
'He's the real traitor…'
It all made sense now.
Every single clue Maurice found about the potential traitor among us, the way he "discovered" that Kelvin's friends were spies, and that Kelvin was aware of everything.
All of it. It was like a fog lifting from my mind, connecting the dots I should've seen before.
But I was blind, or more like there was something obstructing my vision, making it impossible for me to look through it.
Especially now, with the blood of my brother, who was just a piece manipulated by my enemies was pooling under my feet.
Those ten men were enemies. There was no doubt as they had accepted it verbally.
'But Kelvin didn't get a chance, did he?'
The thought gnawed at me as I stared down at his lifeless body.
My idiotic younger brother. He never knew when to quit, and now he paid the price for my own ignorance.
The memories flooded in—picking him up off the streets, dragging him into this life, thinking I was doing him a favor.
'Fuck this!'
I gritted my teeth, the image of Kelvin's shocked, horrified face burning into my mind. The second his life slipped away, something snapped inside me. But before I could act—
*Click.*
The world paused for a second as I heard the sound of Maurice pulling the trigger; it echoed in my ears.
My instinct kicked in, and I tilted my head, barely dodging the bullet aimed at my skull.
Bang
'Urgh!'
I felt a sharp pain tear through my earlobe. The sound was deafening, and the world around me turned into a dull, persistent ringing.
BEEEEPPPPP!!
I saw Sophie's lips moving, but the sound never came. Her frantic gestures tried to tell me something, but I couldn't focus.
The only thing I knew was that Maurice was about to fire again and that I couldn't give him the chance.
BANG
Another shot rang out.
'Fuck!'
I jumped sideways without a single thought, but I wasn't fast enough.
I felt the bullet tear through my gut, a searing pain exploding through my abdomen.
'Fuck! Fuck!'
Maurice didn't even flinch. He shot me point-blank, but that bastard didn't know me well enough or maybe he forgot about it.
I wasn't dead yet.
The time he spent aiming gave me just enough room to act.
My hand found the gun in my waistband, and I pointed it right at him.
Bang-Bang
Two shots, one from his pistol and the other from mine, shot at each other.
Time seemed to stop as both of us stood in our spots, frozen, and eyes wide.
Thud
That was before I fell backward with a thud.
I had felt the bullet pass through me, burning through flesh and bone.
My vision now blurred, and I coughed, blood spraying from my lips.
Cough
I hit the ground hard, staring at Maurice, who hadn't moved.
Finally, he fell to the ground as well, his body hitting the ground face-first with a heavy thud.
Thud
A clean hole between his brows.
'That's what you get for betraying me...'
I could barely think right now, as I lay there, broken.
I wasn't a good guy, never claimed to be.
But for the people I cared about, I was everything.
And now, it was over. I know that it was in no way justice for Kelvin and that I had wronged him, but there was nothing I could do now.
Kelvin was probably in heaven if there is any, and I'm going to hell. Meeting him and apologizing doesn't really seem possible...
Cough-Cough
More blood poured from my mouth, thick and metallic, as my vision began to fade. But through the haze, I saw her.
Sophie.
Her tear-streaked face hovered above me, her red eyes wide with panic, and her nose red from constant sobbing.
Her features were highlighted as she looked paler with her blood drained out of her face in fear and despair.
I tried to laugh, but it only brought more blood to my lips.
She was saying something, screaming probably, but I couldn't hear her.
Her hands desperately pressed against my chest, trying to stop the bleeding, only to worsen it.
Futile.
"It's fine."
I whispered, my voice barely coming out now.
I grabbed her trembling hands, pulling them away from the gushing wound.
I didn't have much time, but there was one last thing I needed.
"Get me to the throne."
I had no energy left.
My chest burned, each breath harder than the last, but I had to do this.
Sophie, however, resisted, shaking her head, screaming, but I couldn't hear her.
Her hands pushed me to the ground, desperate to stop me from moving.
Cough-Cough
But as more blood soaked the floor beneath us, I could see her panic growing, her entire body trembling.
She had no choice.
She knew that it was almost my time to go, she just wasn't ready to accept that truth.
But still, with shaking hands, she helped me back to the throne. My throne.
I sank into it, gripping the armrests as hard as I could.
This was it—the thing that set me apart from everyone else. This was what I fought for. But then I noticed them.
The men I had tortured but kept alive for more, were free of the ropes that bound them...
'That bastard…'
Maurice seemed to have fired one bullet at one of their ropes, freeing that guy, who in turn freed the others.
'He won't let me live, huh?'
But then, I noticed something again...
The anger in their eyes morphed into sick lust as their eyes turned to Sophie.
These fuckers!! Are they eyes my woman, right now?!
My woman?!?!
I wanted to scream, to stand up and tear them apart, but my body wouldn't respond.
My vision blurred, and my muscles weakened.
'NOT RIGHT NOW!'
I roared in my mind, fighting against the darkness pulling me under. But my strength was fading fast.
And then I felt her grip tighten around my arm.
It was Sophie, still holding on to me. Trembling. Vulnerable.
"I'm sorry, love."
The words barely escaped my lips. She looked at me, confused, her navy blue eyes wide with worry and panic.
She just wanted to see me live, I guess.
Then, before she could react, I raised the gun with all the strength I had left.
Bang
She fell to the floor, dead before she even realized what happened.
'I wish I had more bullets...'
That was all I could think, but as if shooting Sophie was the last thing I was supposed to do...
Clatter
My gun fell out of my hand. Weakness started creeping up on me, pulling me into an unending darkness, but I let it be as my body slumped and the last bit of life drained out of me.
And then, everything went black.
(Alex's POV end)
Alex was already dead, so he didn't know what happened after that, but their—Alex's and Sophie's—corporeal bodies, which were supposed to stay lying, suddenly trembled before breaking into particles.
They disappeared from the spot under the shocked gaze of the guys who were looking at Sophie with lust-filled eyes.