A chill runs down my spine. The sound is soft, broken, and completely utterly hopeless.
Everything happens in slow motion.
I hear someone scream.
Then the crack of a gunshot rings out; it fills the parking lot and echoes off the brick buildings around us. For a second, nobody moves, then another shot follows. I grab Jude’s arm, and he looks down.
Sees what I see, and his eyes flare wide.
Blood.
My stomach drops. Fuck, it’s everywhere. Warm, sticky. Is it his? My stomach rolls, it’s dark, too dark, I check my chest, my shaking hands, my legs, then move to Jude, doing the same.
A body crashes into me softly, then falls to the pavement. I blink down. Once. Twice. No, no, no, no this can’t be happening.
Axel looks up from the ground, one hand pressed to his stomach, blood seeps through his fingers. His face is completely pale. Someone screams out his name, and I abruptly realize it’s me. And then it’s like cotton has been shoved in my ears. I hear the shouts around me, but I can’t seem to make it clear above the pounding of my heart.
Charlie doesn't move, she just stares. I look around wildly. My father. The police. Detectives. Everyone’s shouting and running around at once in a chaotic response. My ears begin to ring. Jude and I drop to our knees next to him.
“Axel! Axel!” cries Jude.
He laughs. Actually laughs. “Well…” Blood drips out of the corners of his mouth. “This sucks.”
"You idiot." Jude’s voice breaks. “You absolute idiot!.”
He coughs. “I know. I know.”
I grab his hand. "Who did this?"
His eyes drift past me.
I turn.
Charlie is still standing there. The gun is gone from her hands but they’re shaking as tears stream down her face. She looks small.So small.
Axel squeezes Jude’s hand. “We good?”
“What? What the hell?”
"We good, man?" he asks.
Jude shakes his head. "Fuck no."
He smiles anyway. "Good, just like I expected." He winces. “Would’ve hated to die with you pissed at me.”
"You're not dying," Jude says through clenched teeth.
I’m full on crying, sobbing. But somehow I find my voice. “Somebody help!”
Police rush forward. Paramedics. More chaos.
Everyone’s shouting. Shouting.
Everything blurs together. Axel reaches beneath his coat with what little strength he has left. My heart stops as he pulls out a folded piece of paper. Blood stains the edges. He presses it into Jude’s hand. “The page I pulled…for Charlie. Not in thumb drive.”
Jude stares down at the paper, and I read it over his shoulder.
One page.
