The Silenced Drummer

Chapter 29: Saved

Ringo picked up on his chain as he walked down the porch, trying to be as quiet as possible.

He peaked around the house, and the scene made his eyes go wide.

George was lying on his bare back, struggling and yelling as Harold pinned him down, pointing a gun at his head.

Broken shards of glass laid all around them, and Ringo glanced up to see the broken window.

"STAY STILL!"

The scream made Ringo move back so that he was out of view.

There was a loud grunt, and Ringo saw the gun land right in front of him.

He stared down at it.

"You really thought that I didn't have the knife on me, huh!?"

Harold's exclaim made Ringo snap his head back up and he once again peered around the house.

George yelled as Harold tried to grab both of his hands, a knife being held in one of them.

"Now... listen here George!"

George did not seem to listen, for he continued to struggle.

"You'd rather fight me while yer boyfriend is suffocating in there!?"

Suddenly, George froze up, taking in a sharp breath as his eyes went wide.

"Oh, you forgot about that?"

Harold chuckled.

"Don't worry. He's probably out cold by now, and since you decided to waste your time and go against me... well... I suppose that someone needed to-"

"S-shut up! H-he's alive, I k-know it!"

Even Ringo could see tears form in George's eyes.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that. He's been down there for quite a while, you know."

"H-he has to be-"

"So you agreed to give yourself up to me to save him, and yet you decided to break it, knowing full well what would happen?"

Hands shaking, Ringo grabbed the gun, but didn't point it anywhere. 

His face had gone white.

George turned his head away from Harold, closing his eyes.

"It... it c-can't b-be true..."

"He's dead. Sure, I didn't put a bullet in his brain like I intended, but it's close enough. Now..."

Harold put his hand under George's chin, and the Beatle stared up at him, teary eyed.

"It's either you escape alive with me, or join him."

He smiled.

"What will it be?"

George gazed into his face for a moment, and then he spat in his face.

Harold recoiled in disgust, quickly wiping it off.

"So... that's how it'll be then."

George turned his head to the side again, closing his eyes as he began to whimper.

"Oh, don't cry," Harold stated as he raised the knife up in the air.

"I promise this won't take too long."

Ringo tensed up, hands shaking wildly.

Slowly, he aimed the gun right at Harold's head.

Harold began to laugh loudly, not noticing Ringo.

"Say goodnight!"

George clenched his teeth, bracing for impact.

Bang

But then, a loud bang erupted through the air.

George opened his eyes instantly, only to see Harold fall onto the ground, blood spilling from his head. His eyes, glazed over, stared back at him.

The knife landed next to Harold, not stained with anything.

Tired with grief and stress, George did not move for a moment.

It was only when he heard someone approaching him that he turned his head around.

Panting, he stared up at Ringo, who was just as white as him.

The gun fell from the drummer's hand, tears starting to fall down his face.

George didn't know if they were because of that fact that he had just killed someone or because of the situation.

Ringo knelt down onto the ground and pulled him up, placing his head on his shoulder.

From the view he had, he could see that blood was still leaking out of the cut on his cheek.

Ringo wrapped his arms around him, body heaving with silent sobs.

George's eyes were wide with...

He couldn't even identify how he was feeling right now.

Slowly, he wrapped his arms around Ringo and placed his head on his shoulder.

The distant sound of sirens made itself known to the both of them, and it brought euphoria to the both of them, even if it only lasted for a moment.

Ringo, still silently crying, rubbed George's back, his hand running over several small cuts.

George couldn't feel it.

Memories flashed through his head.

Everything, from the time Ringo was shot, up until this very moment, all flashed through his head, making his body shake.

His grip on Ringo tightened as he began to whimper again.

"R-Ringo... I... I-I'm s-so..."

George didn't even know how to complete his sentence.

As the sound of the sirens grew, George began to cry, burying his face in Ringo's hair, and the drummer silently did the same.