39: Manipulations vs Motivations

                                    

                                          


                          

*Present Time*
                          
*Your POV*
                          


                          


                          
The gun hit the floor with a clatter, my hands slightly shaking from the realization of what I'd just done. I pulled the trigger with full intention of taking a life but it seemed like I missed the most important arteries; the heart, the gut, and I ran out of bullets before I could take a chance at the head. I just didn't know if it was because my aim sucked or a part of me really couldn't go through with it.
                          


                          
However, the two wounds I did cause bled profusely. It practically flowed like a river onto the wooden floor. I couldn't figure out how they were still conscious. The pain was relevant in their hateful gaze that stared me down. All bets were off and if this didn't kill them, I'm sure I would suffer the consequences.
                          


                          
"I'm so sorry... I couldn't risk it..." Of course I didn't want to take a life but my options were very limited. If I picked one over the other, either way me and Tom were screwed. How the Hell was I supposed to trust them? After everything they've done to who they loved, how could they expect me to believe that they wouldn't hurt me and the people I love too? I had to pull it. Now I need to make sure it kills them or else...
                          


                          
"The Hell..." Looking up from the bullet wounds, I see forever opened eyes, looking down at the gun at my feet, filled with confusion. "Where'd you even..."
                          


                          
"I gave it to her." Jane seethed as she glared daggers at the smiling killer beside her, clenching at her shoulder, trying to stop the bleeding before she turned her hateful gaze back to me. "I gave you a chance to go home to your worried family and this is the thanks I get?!" 
                          


                          
Flinching at her shouts, I squeezed my shaky hands into fists, trying to gather my courage. She was crazy, I needed to stand my ground. Crazy people could smell fear, right? Or at least spot it? They were thoughts that didn't entirely make sense when you really thought about them but they were my fears. I couldn't look weak. If I looked it, I would feel it. If I felt it, I would lose everything. I had to finish the job. Returning her glare with one of my own, I stood my ground, digging my nails into my palms.
                          


                          
"He might be worried..." I paused, thinking of how scared he must have been at that moment, not knowing anything of my current situation, not a single clue. But I shook my head of those thoughts before I looked at Jeff, making sure I had his full attention. "But he's alive."
                          


                          
He looked at me, completely serious, before he gave me a firm nod, confirming that Tom was indeed alive and safe. This was probably the stupid move but I chose to believe in him and that he would keep his promise.

                          


                          
We both were alive and that's what mattered. I didn't trust Jeff, at all. But when I took a moment to think about everything that Jane had told me so far, it wasn't that difficult to choose. In her story, she betrayed Jeff because someone told her too. Apparently she is still following orders given by the thing that saved her life. She also said that Jeff had a moment where he lost it, calling them all liars. It was a far fetch but if that meant he had some kind of trauma when it came down to lying, then I would trust in that if anything. This move was my best shot at saving Tom, literally.
                          


                          
"Ha..haha...hahaha!" Jane's hysterical laughter immediately caught mine and Jeff's attention. As she held her bloody wounds, tears streamed down her face. I couldn't tell if they were from the pain or from laughing so hard. Either way, I cringed at the sight. "You stupid Bitch. You really think this monster is going to keep his end of the deal? He's insane! Crazy! Mad! Whatever you want to call it! He will kill everyone you love." Her laughter continued but the more she pursued, the more it sounded like she was crying, not from the wound but from something else. It was a twisted and terrifying thing to witness as she carried on.