Page 110 of Charlie
Lumi wrapped her arms around her mother and wept. “Thank you, Mom, thank you.”
“No! I love you all too much to leave you behind.” Conor lifted the gun in his hand, his voice sharp and demanding. “We’re doing thistogetheras a family.”
Lumi shook her head and clung to her mother. Aisha seemed confused but her love for Lumi made her step in front of her daughter and confront Conor with her palm up. “Stop, Conor, you’re scaring her.”
“Dad, this isn’t right.” Atlas stood leaning against the doorframe as if he found it hard to balance. His speech was slow and slurred and his eyes on the gun in his hands.
I needed to find a weapon, but nothing in my proximity would match the gun in Conor’s hands.
Conor pointing to the long line of our dead friends. “Trust me, son, we’re so close and we don’t want to let the others wait. Come on, get down.”
Atlas pushed out from the door frame and took a step toward the twenty-five dead people. By now, the only ones left in the house were Ciara, the five children, Liv, Aisha, and Conor himself.
“No, Atlas don’t do it,” Liv pleaded and held on to him while shouting at Conor over the music. “You’ve killed enough people.”
“Oh, but dear Liv, I’m not killing anyone. They all made a choice.”
Her voice shook with anger. “And now we’re making one too. If you want to join them, go ahead, but the rest of us choose to stay here.”
Conor leaned his head to one side and narrowed his eyes. “It’s not nice to reject an invitation. I’m afraid that I have to insist that we all gotogether.”
The moment Conor pointed his gun at Liv, my brain shut down. Nothing could have held me back, and I stormed down the stairs without a plan; I just knew I couldn’t let him kill Liv or the others.
“Charles.” The surprise on Conor’s face, as he looked up the stairs to understand where I’d come from, was quickly exchanged for a smile. “I’m so glad to see you. You’re just in time for the biggest event in the group’s history. I always knew you’d be back. We’re the only family you ever had.”
I pushed Liv behind me and spread out my arms to make myself large enough to shield both her and Atlas. “Conor, stop this. The guards are outside. There’s no need to kill more people. Just let us go.”
He waved his gun through the air and scrunched up his face. “Why are the guards here? I’ve done nothing wrong. All the accusations against me are malicious and untrue. You know that Charles, I already explained it to you.”
My voice rose as my hand pointed to the train of bodies. “Youkilledthem.”
Stepping closer to Liv and me, Conor lowered his voice to a threatening sneer. “They poisoned your mind against me. I’m not letting anyone stop our family from moving on to the next level together. Either you all get down on the floor or I’ll shoot you right here.”
“Conor, what are you doing?” Aisha blinked her eyes while comforting Lumi, who was crying and clinging to her. “This isn’t like you.”
Ignoring Aisha, Conor turned to Ciara. “My love.” He nodded his head in the direction of Atlas.
“You heard your father.” Ciara walked over to take Atlas’s hand but Liv wouldn’t let go and I stepped between Ciara and her son.
“Ciara, you’re drugged. You don’t know what you’re doing. This is crazy!”
Her eyes were foggy when she blinked a few times and looked around. “Where’s Maximum? We need to go now.”
Atlas took his mother’s outstretched hand and broke Liv’s hold on him.
“No, Atlas, don’t do it.” This time it was Lumi who reached out for him with her face red from crying.
“Don’t!” Conor turned his gun on her chest and it made Aisha once again step in front of her daughter.
The bang sounded like someone had dropped a pan on a kitchen floor, and then Aisha’s white silk pajamas grew red in front.
Time stood still as I stared at Aisha.
“Nooo!” Lumi’s large brown eyes were double the size as she failed to keep her mom from falling. “Mom. Mom.” Lumi fell to the floor with her mom, cupping her face and calling for her.
With disbelief in her eyes, Aisha looked at Conor, and then she gasped for air one last time before she closed her eyes.
“Noooo…” The wail from Lumi was heart wrenching and sent chills down my spine.
