Her Compound

Chapter 11

I heard a clanging noise over the ringing in my ears and could feel the knives that were in my hands, a moment before, were no longer there. My mouth remained open and my hands shook at my sides as I continued to stare wide-eyed at everything that was happening.

Logan's words, that he had uttered the night before, repeated and bounced off the walls in my head over and over.

"I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die."

My heart beat heavily against the inside of my chest and I could feel everyone around me holding their breaths, waiting for the boy with the knife to make the next move. Zack continued to stand in between us, his gun still aimed at the boy who was slowly backing up, dragging Logan with him.

My eyes then met with Logan's fear-filled ones. Tears glistened in his eyes as he had his head incline towards the ceiling, and I could see a small line of crimson trailing down his neck from where the knife was digging into his adam's apple.

"I am getting out of here," the dark, curly-haired boy with the knife said towards Zack. "I am getting out of here unscathed, or else I'll slit this boy's throat right here right now."

Zack shook his head. "I can't let you go."

The boy's left hand that held onto Logan's blue hair pulled sharply back and the knife dug even more into Logan's skin. I could see the tears in Logan's eyes start to spill over the edges and fall down his face.

"I'll do it y'know," the boy threatened with another tug on Logan's hair.

"You do it," Zack said, "and I'll shoot you. There's no winning for you."

The boy took another small step back with Logan. "Just let me go and no one has to get hurt."

Zack took a step closer to the two of them, all while not lowering the weapon in his hands. "How about this... you let the boy go and I'll pretend this never happened. No one gets hurt."

The boy shook his head. "No, I want out."

"Come on, Grayson. Don't make me shoot you. This is your last chance."

The tension only seemed to grow at Zack's words. I could feel my lungs begging for oxygen, but I didn't dare suck in a breath, worried that it might shift the air ever so slightly and Grayson would slide the knife across Logan's throat.

"This is your last chance, Grayson," Zack repeated, taking another small step.

That small step seemed to trigger something in Grayson.

I watched, frozen in horror, as Grayson dug the knife into Logan's throat even more. A loud bang then sounded as Zack pulled the trigger which made my ears ring painfully. Cries echoed around the training hall as we all saw the bullet enter Grayson's forehead and exit the other side along with some chunks of brain matter and blood. We all watched as his eyes rolled back into his head and he fell to the hard ground, but not without taking Logan with him.

As he had fallen, the motion made the knife that was in Logan's throat to slide across and had caused a deep, untreatable gash to form across his neck. Logan's eyes that were already really wide, widened even more as he collapsed to the ground beside Grayson.

I ignored the sound of Zack calling my name and his hand that had reached out for me and immediately rushed to Logan's side, Willow and Matteo both doing the same.

Logan's eyes locked on mine as his hands groped along his bloody neck, trying to stop the bleeding as I dropped to my knees beside him. I looked back at him and could see the fear in his dark eyes and his earlier words continuing to scream at me from within my head.

"I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die!"

I whipped around to look at Zack who stood staring at us with the weapon still in his hand. "Help him!" I screamed while tears started to well up in my eyes. "Please! He needs help!"

I stared at Zack and the sad look that passed his face and knew that there was nothing that we could do to save him. Tears fell down my cheeks as I looked back at Logan. I could hear Matteo and Willow continuing to yell at Zack to get help, but they sounded so far away. My attention was only on Logan.

Logan then opened his mouth to say something to me but all that came out was a gurgling sound as his blood started to fill his trachea.

The knees of my pants were completely soaked with his blood, but I didn't care. My hand reached out and I brushed some of his sweat and blood drenched hair away from his face. His eyes never left my own as he took his last breath and his body went still, his head falling back and his hand drifting away from his neck.

I sat back on my heels with my bloody, shaking hands resting on the top of my thighs and stared down at Logan's body. He looked so peaceful now in death. He had lost the fearful look that had been on his face, moments before.

I looked up from his face and could see Willow crying into Matteo's shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her, comforting her. My eyes then found their way back to Logan and to his blue hair that was now a strange purple after being mixed in with the puddle of blood under his head.

"I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die."