Page 191 of Knot Their Omega

“Echoes of You,” I whisper the song’s name, having listened to it throughout my chemotherapy. “What a perfect song. Said everything I wanted to say.”

When the doors finally surge open, gunshots are being let loose in the background, but Alvin and Chris skid to a stop when I light up the lighter and hover my hand over Astrae’s body.

“One move and she’ll be on fire like the rest of this place.”

“Fuck! Nate, we don’t have fucking time for this!” Alvin screams while Chris points back to where the guards are cursing and yelling at one another.

“Dammit, Nate! We’ve been infiltrated! We got to— GAH!” Chris’s body jolts before it drops to the floor.

Alvin gasps and spins around to see where the bullets are coming from, but he’s next to get shot, three bullets hitting him right and center. He doesn’t even get to gasp before he’s on the ground, convulsing and bleeding out.

A man in all black rushes in, his gun in his grasp, as a single red dot lands on my chest.

Their eyes lock onto mine, and I can see the immediate resemblance.

There’s that driven strive, those haunting blue eyes that seemed to be passed down to the woman lying unconscious on the floor, unaware of everything that’s happening.

It’s rather ironic how all of this seemed to play out.

That my end would be from the man Alvin and Chris were saying wouldn’t stand a chance of saving his daughter from their mastermind of a plan.

Maybe they didn’t realize cunning and smarts ran in the family.

At least, they’ll see from the afterlife who stole their final spark of life away.

I smile as I let the lighter slip from my grasp.

The movement leads to the three rounds of bullets that hit me right on, the jolting impact sending me backward until I’m flat on my back, bleeding out from the bullet wounds.

All I can see is dancing flames, realizing I must be staring at the fireplace. I’m so close to it, yet I suddenly can’t feel its warmth. Instead, I feel all the warmth beginning to slip away, leaving me feeling frigid and unmoving.

I can feel my body struggling to breathe, and I can hear my own gasps of life, but all the sensations are running away from me, while all I can hear is my rapidly beating heart struggling to pump blood to all my vital organs.

It doesn’t matter now.

Those organs were going to fail soon enough.

Maybe they’ll be used for something good since I signed the documents to put my organs up for donation. I hope the bullets missed my heart, for maybe that could help someone else who vitally needs it, but I say a little prayer, hoping whoever does get it never carries the immense hatred I had in mine.

Someone’s calling my name.

I can hear it.

For a moment, I see a shadow above me, then rain falling. Beautiful single droplets fall on my face while I feel a glimpse of warmth embrace me.

For a few seconds, there’s my older brother.

God, I wonder if he knows what an ugly crier he is. I guess I should know because I look like shit when I cry, which is why I only do it in silence, so no one can see how much I’m hurting.

It makes me want to smile.

To give him one last happy look so he knows everything is going to be okay. I think I muster it because he’s crying even harder, his mouth moving, pleading with me, but it’s sad to admit, I can’t hear what he’s saying anymore.

I’m fading away, which seems scary to me, but suddenly it’s not. There’s this nice warmth before a shimmering light, and suddenly, I see someone I don’t expect.

“Suzy?” I don’t hear my voice, but I know I said the single name because there she is, smiling in my direction. How beautiful and radiant she looks as she offers me her hand, as if she’s ready to lead me away from the chaos and mayhem and into a place of peace.

A space of serenity.

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