Overwritten

56 : Fallen

The gun rested so easily, too easily against Scott's head. I stumbled forward, my head swarming. I was nauseous, disorientated, and struggling to stand. The world seemed to spin, swaying, as if turning and skewing to the side. Seeing Jake here, I should have felt relieved, should have realized I was safe.

But I wasn't.

I didn't know why, but I knew I wasn't. I was so far from safe. Those eyes of his raged as I had never seen before, a deep intensity which burned with wild fixation. Jake didn't look like Jake anymore. He looked as though he had become a completely different person. Yet standing before me was the same cookie-cutter boy.

"Stay the fuck back," he growled, scowling at me with deep resentment. A hatred. Whatever had happened today, this wasn't Jake anymore. It couldn't be. There was no sense of humanity, kindness, or even logic. It appeared to be just pure emotion.

"Jake?" I asked, taking another step forward, but I stopped. The gun which pressed against Scott's forehead made my hands shake and feet freeze. What was he doing? Was I going insane? Hallucinating perhaps? The smell of gasoline and citrus filled the air, an intense scent which made me feel ill. I shut my eyes for a moment, the dizziness clouding my vision.

"What the fuck did I say, Rebecca?!" Jake yelled, so loudly and so bluntly that I no longer recognized his face. In every way he was the same. The same hair, the same eyes. But he wasn't. He had become so different that even his appearance seemed to alter. He commanded the space, holding himself with a sense of superiority. His shoulders rested back, so easily conforming to this role.

"Put your gun down!" I tried to sound strong, and given any normal case, perhaps I may have come across as that. But my voice echoed, dissipating around the space until it seemed as though I had said nothing at all. He kept his eyes fixed on me, looking down at me like prey. I faltered, stumbling back, dizziness drowning my consciousness.

"What are you doing?" Scott asked, his eyes darting rapidly between Jake and I. I placed my hand against the wall, trying to ground myself. My awareness seemed to falter for a moment, a deep blackness, before I steadied myself again. Scott continued, slightly panicked, "We're not breaking the law. Do I even need to begin with-"

"SHUT IT!" Jake bellowed, pressing the gun harder against his skin. Scott looked to me, alarmed. I had to do something, anything. Jake's finger rested against the trigger, white plastic gloves only moments away from ending it. He was actually going to do it, actually going to push the trigger, "Say goodbye you pathetic-"

Using my hand which I had propped myself against the wall with, I pushed myself forward. A deep rumble of thunder echoing through the alleyway. I was struggling to breathe, struggling to focus, but I couldn't just watch. I couldn't let him do that. Lunging forward, I grabbed onto his arm.

BANG

The gunshot rang in my ears, my head already swirling. My heart racing, adrenaline on overdrive, every sense heightened with the world on hyperdrive with no signs of stopping. It was loud, so much louder than just hearing it echo through alleyways, so much louder than hearing it in my dream. The deep booming, resonating through every bone in my body until it seemed as though I would never hear sound again. The drifting of an acrid smell carried through the air, before I was hit with the onset of trepidation.

Was Scott okay? Where was he? Horror lurked in my mind, vision covered in shadows and blurs.

But I didn't have time to think, as before I could even open my eyes, I was grabbed by my hair and slammed against the wall. A rough hand yanking the roots of my hair, lifting me up. I screamed, I couldn't help it. Each strand felt as though it was on fire, slowly being pulled from the scalp. My feet struggled to find gripping as I pushed back with trembling hands.