I Amsterdam (Completed)

Prologue - Brandon

Beautiful drawing above by  zoratae !

"When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on."  - Franklin D. Roosevelt

I couldn't breathe.

I couldn't move.

I could barely even think.

And maybe it would have been okay a week ago, but now as I laid on the ground with no energy to even gasp, there was something in me that fought. For what, I had no idea. I just knew there was something, or maybe even someone, that I needed to fight for. Yes, I had no energy, but battles never have to be won with strength.

Just stay alive. It's not time to die. Not like Isaak.

My head was an anchor, pulling me downwards when I couldn't go any farther, while my legs drifted aimlessly as if I was walking on clouds. My lungs were made of stone, surrounded by paper thin ribs; to draw a breath was to call upon pain. And while my hands flung for something to grip onto, for hope, for air, I felt nothing. The whole world was a blur of colors whizzing past me, just when I'd learned to see in shades of gray.

Just stay alive.

Noises pierced my ears. There was screeching. There was yelling. There were the sounds of feet scraping against the crumbling concrete of the floor. In the distance, I might have heard my name. But I paid them no heed. All I could focus on was the sound of the pistol echoing through the air, its single shot reverberating with heaviness as it was replayed over and over again in my cloudy mind.

Is this real? Or is it a memory? Or is it simply my imagination taking control?

Goosebumps pricked up on my arms as soft fingers kissed my skin, and instinctively, I looked up. All the colors of the world melted into one.

Green. Green like emeralds. Green like a summer forest.

And while there was something about the color that seemed familiar, all my mind could think of was the gunshot.

And so all I knew was that they were green irises.

The girl's mouth opened, and I could see the muscles in her neck strain as she yelled something that never made it to my ears. Her eyes were glued onto mine, grave and frightened, on the brink of tears she didn't allow to fall.

I wondered what mine looked like. I've never gazed into the eyes of a dying man.

The girl leaned in and kissed my lips. I didn't know why, or who she even was, but I didn't go against it. Maybe it was because I simply couldn't in my state, or maybe it was because I was missing something, something I didn't know at the time, but deep down I did.

When she pulled away, I tried opening my mouth to speak, and while I myself heard my words, I would never know if they actually came out to touch the crisp dawn air.

Hailey. My parents. Stefan. Isaak. Rye. Christiaan. Katie. Luce.

So many names rained down upon my mind I couldn't keep count, bullets moving so fast that I didn't get the chance to pin any to a single face.

But for some reason, as all those names, including my very own, flashed in my mind as if from a vintage film camera, there was only one that repeated itself for what seemed like eternity.

Emma, Emma, Emma...

Slowly, my eyes closed.

A/N: Question of the Chapter

Hi! Hope you liked the first chapter of my novel! So I'm kind of doing something like QOTD, except it's relating to my chapter. So, for this chapter:

What do you think is happening?

a. Brandon's drunk/on drugs

b. He has been shot

c. He's fatigued and is fainting

d. He's lovesick

e. He's having a heart attack