Hunted - A Pentatonix / Avi Kaplan Fanfiction

Chapter 3 - I Don't Want to Die

Avi's POV

As we walk out onto stage, deafening cheers erupt from the crowd. I try to smile, even though I feel completely exhausted.

Before we begin the show, Scott quickly tells the audience, "Avi's actually been pretty ill for the past few days, so he might not be performing at his best tonight."

I give Scott a grateful smile for covering for me; he's a way better liar than me.

The show starts off alright, although I can't help but nervously glance around the audience every now and again; terrified that I might see my dad.

Kevin seems to notice me doing this, and, in between songs, he whispers to me, "Relax, Avi. There's no need to be so tense, just enjoy yourself."

I give him a small nod, but there's no way that I'll be able to 'just enjoy myself'. Not when all of our lives could be in danger...

As the show continues, I can't stop myself from getting more and more anxious. I can't shake off the feeling that something really bad is going to happen.

The others seem to notice how tense and nervous I'm getting, so Scott tries to get through everything swiftly so that we can finish quicker.

But just as we are in the middle of one of the last songs of the night, 'Natural Disaster', I notice that someone seems to be pushing towards the front of the audience. Nobody else takes any notice, but I can't help glancing down to see who it is.

Oh no.

I know very well who it is. That face... I could recognise it anywhere.

I stumble backwards slightly and stop singing, my hands starting to shake.

The audience notices this, and I can feel them all looking at me, confused. Scott, Kirstie, Mitch and Kevin are also giving me concerned looks, although they continue singing without me. But the only person I can focus on is my 'dad'.

He doesn't seem to have noticed me looking at him, though, as he is busy taking something out of his pocket.

Holy shit.

It's a gun.

Without even looking up, he discreetly raises the muzzle until it's pointed towards me. How has nobody in the audience noticed this? Every muscle in my body goes tense, the sound of my heart pounding reverberating inside my body.

His head raises to look at me, and he realises that I'm watching him. He doesn't show any kind of reaction, but instead slowly turns the muzzle over to my left.

I follow its direction and look to my left, and my heart stops for a second.

The gun is now pointed directly at Kirstie.

A smile twitches in the corners of his lips as he takes his aim. My brain is screaming at me to do something, but my body refuses to move.

Just as he lines up the shot, ready to fire, I finally manage to regain control of my body.

"KIRSTIE!" I scream, sprinting at her.

I hear a confused gasp from the audience. I dive at Kirstie, shoving her to the side just as a deafening gunshot resounds around the concert venue.

I look at Kirstie and breathe a slight sigh of relief when I see that she's okay. But she has a look of horror on her face, and is staring at my chest.

What?

I follow her gaze, and gasp when I see a patch of scarlet blossoming on my chest. And then the pain kicks in.

A burning agony stabs at my chest, stopping me from breathing. The world seems to spin, and I feel my legs give way underneath me, and I come crashing down to the floor.

I try to take a breath, but I just end up shuddering; warm blood rapidly pooling around me.

I can faintly hear screams and sobs coming from the audience, but it all seems so far away.

"Scott, call an ambulance! HURRY UP!" Kevin yells.

"Avi! No! Please, no! AVI!" I hear Kirstie hysterically sobbing as she drops to the floor in front of me.

"I-I can't breathe, Kirstie... I can't breathe..." I manage to murmur.

 My vision starts going blurry, but I can vaguely make out Mitch running towards me.

"Avi, you're gonna be fine, okay? Listen to me, you're gonna be fine." He repeats.

I manage to give a shaky nod. I try to hold my hands over the wound in my chest, but the blood just makes my fingers slip over each other. I feel Kirstie grab my hand, squeezing it hard.

At this point it's completely impossible for me to breathe, and I end up gasping to try to get air, my whole body shuddering with each attempt.

"Shit! He can't breathe!" I hear Mitch say, obviously panicking.

I feel extremely light-headed, and I realise that if I don't get oxygen soon I'll pass out. I start panicking even more, which doesn't help me to breathe at all.

"Get him to calm down." Mitch whispers to Kirstie.

"Avi? Avi, everything will be okay. Calm down, you're gonna be okay, I promise." Kirstie says soothingly.

"Kirstie... I don't want to die..." I murmur. My eyes start slipping closed, even though I'm trying as hard as I can to keep them open.

"Avi? Avi, listen to me. You aren't gonna die. Avi? Open your eyes, you aren't gonna die." Kirstie says, her voice on the verge of tears.

I try to open my eyes, but there's no way I can do it. My lungs scream for air, and I have to do anything to get oxygen inside me.

I try as hard as I can to take in a breath, but I just end up choking on a sticky liquid in my throat. I cough painfully, and I feel blood filling my mouth and dripping out down my chin.

"Shit! We need to get the blood out of his throat before he chokes!" Mitch says.

I feel Kirstie's warm, gentle hands prise my mouth open, and she slowly rolls me over onto my side. The movement causes another bolt of agony to rip through my chest, and I can't help but cry out in pain. But the blood is still blocking my throat, so it comes out as more of a strangled gasp.

"Come on Avi, you're gonna be okay..." Kirstie says desperately.

She hold my head to the side, encouraging me to get rid of the blood stuck in my throat.

But I'm so deprived of air that I can't even manage to spit out the blood, and I just keep choking on the metallic, sticky liquid.

After a few seconds, the combination of lack of oxygen, loss of blood and the terrible agony becomes too much for my body to handle.

I stop trying to fight it, and let my body go completely limp. Dark patterns swirl under my eyelids, and I give in and let the world slip away from me.