Chapter 24: continuation

Hailey made an attempt to wriggle out of the hands of others, receiving in response a low, displeased mutter in her ear. James approached the girl, nodding to the boy to let her go. The brunet severed his arms around Hale, returning to his armed stance. The girl looked back, not having time to take into account everything that was happening.

'Hold tight, baby, and be careful,' the boy warned as he pulled the safety off the gun.

'What,' the brown-haired woman looked at the firearms in confusion, not understanding what kind of game Foster was playing. 'What are you doing?'

'Here,' the girl accepted the gun, nervously swallowing the appropriate lump in her throat. 'You must remove only one person from your friends, saving the lives of everyone else.'

His head went round at the speech he heard. Hands shook frantically, practically releasing the weapon from his hands, if not for the hands of James, holding the girl's hands, not allowing the gun to drop from her hands. The girl must kill one of her close friends, this concept shocked her. A tear rolled down her cheek as Hailey looked around at her boys. It was at this moment that they, as if by agreement, raised their heads, asking her a dumb question. It made her feel insignificant, wanting to sink through the ground and forget herself. She couldn't kill someone just physically, even emotionally, she couldn't kill someone close to her.

'Are you not as cocky as you were five minutes ago?' The guy grinned, releasing her hands and becoming next to his best friend.

With a snap of their fingers, all of James Foster's men pointed their guns at the poor girl. Hailey squeaked in fear, thinking she was about to be shot.

'It's just in case you don't be stupid, Hale,' the blond warned again, folding his arms over his chest.

With a grin on his face, the boy watched this situation from the sidelines. It gave him pleasure to put the girl in a hopeless situation. But there is a way out everywhere, right? Or is it just hypotheses?

'If you don’t choose the person you want to kill from among your most beloved friends,' the guy grimaced at the last words. 'If you don’t raise your hand with a gun on a certain person within 10 seconds, with one movement of my hand, they will all die, honey. You can save the lives of three of them, decide. The countdown is on.'

James nodded his head and Dean counted the seconds out loud, making Hailey's heart beat a hundred times faster. The first uttered second hit her ears so hard that it would have replaced a piercing squeak for the girl, piercing through her head. The choice was hers and it was so damn hard.

'Two,' the hoarse voice woke the girl again from the surging feelings.

The second spoken second was a blow to her subconscious. The mind came to its senses, started to look for a way out, which does not exist. Shaking her head convulsively, the girl looked around for help, but all she could see were guns pointed at her and faces that did not express any emotions.

'Three,' it seemed, a simple word, a simple number, made the girl cry in despair.

Cold tears rolled down her flushed red cheeks again, which is why the girl only had time to wipe them with the opposite hand.

'Four,' the deep voice reminded her of the countdown again.

The girl raised her head, looking at the boys. Brian was practically next to Austin, except for those unfortunate five meters. Michael was next to Austin, his hands hidden behind his back. His gaze met Hailey's. The brown-haired woman pursed her lips, reading the words on his lips.

'I'm sorry,' the boy whispered, lowering his head and closing his eyes.

Blocking the way to his emotions.

'Five,' a new blow to the heart.

'Jay, please! Please just let them go, please, Jay!' Her knees hit the cold ground, and the gun fell beside her, making a small rumble from the impact. The girl prayed to the guy, touching her palm to palm, as people pray in front of icons.

'Shut your mouth, get your gun and kill some of your fucking friends, I said!' Foster yelled, clenching his fists.

He didn't like being so slow. He wanted the girl to shoot someone, but she was playing for time, praying that she would find some way out.

'Six,' the curly-haired guy continued monotonously, not reacting to the conversation between two young people.

Hailey quickly got to her feet, not forgetting to take the gun in her hands. Pointing the weapon in the middle of Michael and Austin, the girl tried to come to terms with the idea that for the good of the three guys, she had to kill one of the four. Closing her eyes, the girl concentrated on this particular situation. She didn't want to let anyone down, and she needed to think with a fresh mind, look at it with fresh eyes from someone else's side.

'Seven,' Hailey opened her eyes, moving her hand with the gun to the man she didn’t want to kill at all, to the guy with whom she spent her life together, shoulder to shoulder.

James Foster looked at the pointing hand with the weapon, looking where the future bullet was pointed. Everything inside rejoiced, his property would kill his own enemy, what could be better? 'Eight,' Josh lifted his head, smiling wryly.

He looked at the muzzle of the pistol, straightening heavily. The guy felt betrayed, it was terrible for him to realize that the girl chose him. On the other hand, he understood her. The first bullet hit him, so why shouldn't the second one kill him?

'Nine,' as a warning to a death sentence. The girl's hand gripped the gun tightly, she knew she needed to turn off her emotions so that it would be easier to kill. She will kill the man who taught her to hold a weapon in her hands. Hailey looked at Josh firmly, nothing in her eyes but the firmness of intent on the next action. The pad of the finger smoothly, without jerking, moved to the trigger. 'Ten.' A shot, a bullet flies out of the muzzle of a pistol, and everyone around freezes to a loud sound.

The bullet screeched out of the muzzle of the pistol, ripping through an invisible shell of air. The shell purposefully flew past the small space between Josh and Foster's man, who was helping the guy to his feet.

'I'll be your property, James Foster,' the girl said firmly, dropping the gun to the ground and meeting Josh's confused and frightened gaze.

A smirk formed on the blonde boy's face. He was so damn happy, everything inside him rejoiced. He really won this game, and no one else.

'Okay, I'll keep my word,' the guy said, making a gesture with his hand, which caused all his people to lower their weapons in an instant.

'Excuse me,' the girl turned to her friends.

No, not just friends, they meant so much more to her. They were her salvation in a dark storm, from which she could not get out for a long time. Perhaps it would be better to say that they were the meaning of her life. She promised them to be happy, but is it? Half of the tough guys followed Jay as he grabbed Hailey by the elbow and dragged her to their cars. The other half of his people remained standing still, knowing in advance that their leader would not let these four guys go so easily. They were waiting for his order.

'Call the police, wait for them to arrive and turn them in,' James Foster instructed, turning around half way.

'No! You promised! Don't do it, you fucking promised me!' The girl screamed in despair, trying to change the guy's decision.

'But, honey, I said I wouldn't kill them. I kept my word,' the young man said calmly, pushing the brown-haired woman into the back seat of the car.

Slamming the car door behind him, the guy forcefully leaned the girl against his chest, touching her with his hot body. 'It’s just that you always need to clarify everything,' Jay whispered, lightly touching Hailey’s ear with his lips.

Dean started the car and pulled off the side of the road onto the highway. The car picked up speed, screeching down the highway. The girl still pushed Jay away from her, sitting closer to the door to look at the world outside the window, which changed pictures at a high speed. Pedestrians crossed roads, small children played in playgrounds, teenagers sat near houses, listening to music loudly and drinking can after can of beer, old people sat on benches, just like Hailey, watching the world around. The city gave way to nature, quickly twisting every tree in the forest.

'This is your room, you must remember it,' Foster said, opening the door to a small room and turning on the lights as he went.

'Who lives in the right building, Jay?' The girl asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed next to the boy.

'Well, you know,' he hesitated to answer, propping his head up. 'A lot of different people live here. In its own way, this place is like a hostel,' the guy looked at the girl next to him, looking at every little thing on her face.

'Do you live here too?'

'What?' James laughed as he fell back onto the bed. 'Of course not. I have my own personal home,' the young man calmed down, firmly answering the question posed.

'But there are only two buildings, left and right. There are no more buildings here,' Hailey continued, trying to get some more information while the guy was talking.

The girl turned to look at Jay. He was still lying on her bed. The blond man ran a hand through his hair, biting his bottom lip. The gesture looked sexy, but it didn't mean it. The guy thought about something, looking at the white ceiling.

'I don't live here. My house is closer to the city.' James got out of bed, straightened his T-shirt. 'Good night, I have to go.'

The voice changed to a rougher one, losing its soft tone. The young man opened the front door, turning off the light in the room. The girl looked at the door in confusion, continuing to sit on the bed. The door quietly opened, apparently the stranger did not want the resident of this room to hear him.

The light from the corridor fell on the floor in a thin line, the blond head reappeared in the doorway: 'I said sleep,' Jay said in a commanding tone, and the door slammed shut.

The girl lay wearily on the bed, turning to the open window, where she could see the night sky.