Walkie-Talkie

Walkie-Talkie
OPAL

“Kyle, wait!” I yell, stepping in front of Bruce. “Don’t shoot! There’s a perfect explanation for this!”

“I can’t be too sure,” he claims, closing one eye to perfect his aim. “I have information that doesn’t really line up with what’s happening here. You see, the person who’s allegedly behind all this is your uncle, Opal. The man who killed my father. The man who allegedly raised you.”

“That’s the truth,” I assure him. “Walter has always been…evil. Selfish.”

“Then why is he standing at the forefront of this mess and not him?” Kyle asks almost angrily. “How am I supposed to trust that what I was told is true?”

“Who told you?” Bruce asks behind me. 

“It’s none of your business.”

“You can trust him,” I cut in. “I promise you that Bruce is on our side.”

“You hated him not too long ago.”

I nod. “That’s true. But that’s before I found out the truth.”

“How can you know for sure that you can trust him? He could be lying to trap you again and use you at a later date.”

“Because he mentioned one thing that made me believe his entire story,” I claim before looking back at Bruce. “I saw your mother and Walter kissing. I saw them. It’s just that I…I didn’t tell you because I didn’t think you had to know. I didn’t want you to feel betrayed. I don’t know. I should’ve said something. I regret it now.”

Bruce wraps his arms around me and pulls me close. “It’s alright. None of this is your fault. Walter is the villain here, not you. And so is that woman.”

Kyle finally lowers the gun and rakes a hand through his hair. I look at him and have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that he’s my brother. “How long have you known about us?”

“Since last night,” he claims, and I’m reminded of how he looked at me. I felt like he was hiding something. I couldn’t read his expression.  

He then looks at Bruce. “The only reason why I knew what would happen today is that your brother told me.”

Bruce tenses. He sounds surprised. “Quinton?”

Kyle nods. “He managed to escape from the prison he was locked in, and he came to find me. Well, he reached a few rogues first, but the news eventually got to me. He explained that Walter was behind everything, and that this pardon was an excuse for him to get rid of us.”

“Where is he now?”

“Safe. But they were pretty hurt.”

“They?”

“Gwen was with him.”

I gasp. “Gwen?”

Goddess. This is too much for me to wrap my head around. I feel dizzy and nauseous. Another explosion sounds and Kyle says hurriedly, “We have to leave. I had a few units posted around in case something like this happened. Quinton was sure that it would. But I don’t know how they’re holding up. How can we stop this?”

“Walter,” I answer. “He’s the driving force. If we get to him, then we can end this.”

“He’s probably hiding,” Bruce claims. “He didn’t even come with us to the meeting. I knew he was up to something, but I never thought that he’d try to kill everyone. He’ll stop at nothing until he gets what he wants.”

“But first, we have to try to clear the streets and get people to a safe place,” I say. “We’re running out of time.”

As soon as we step outside, the energy shifts. Bombs aren’t being dropped anymore. In fact, there are soldiers dressed in black who are shooting people. 

“No!” Kyle exclaims before racing away from us. “We have to stop them!”

Bruce exchanges a look with me and closes his hand around my arm. “You have to get out of here.”

“Bruce—”

“It’s not safe, Opal! We have to move! We’ll work on finding Walter later, but for now, you have to—”

The bullet hits him from out of nowhere. It punctures his side and he hits the wall hard, groaning. I shout his name, but the sound of my voice is drowned out by the sound of the guns going off. 

Blood pools on his side. 

No. 

“We have to move!” I exclaim. “Bruce, if you stay here, you’ll die!”

We make eye contact and he nods. I help him stand up, and it takes all my strength. We move toward one of the vehicles parked on the side of the road and take cover. His breaths are all shallow, and sweat is beading on his forehead. 

I hold his face between my hands. “Bruce.”

“I’m fine,” he assures me. “I’ll be fine.”

There’s a lot of blood. I don’t know if he’s telling me this just so I can be calmer. The shooting continues and I’m filled with a sense of despair. Goddess, how can this be stopped? What can I do?

How can I find Walter and put a stop to this?

Just then, Kyle returns to our side. I don’t even know how he found us. Right now, I don’t really care. “What happened?”

“He’s been shot,” I cry. “What do we do?”

Kyle holds something up. It’s a walkie-talkie. “I don’t know about the gunshot wound, but I know that this is a way of stopping this.”

“What…?”

“Walter,” Bruce cuts in as he tries to sit up. “This is how he’s communicating with them.”

My heart starts beating a little faster. I look over at Bruce and he nods at me. “I’m fine, baby. This isn’t the worst thing that ever happened to me.”

“What could be worse than a gunshot wound, Bruce?”

“Losing you,” he claims. “You don’t know how much it hurt.”

Some gunshots hit the car we’re hiding behind and Kyle stands up to take care of the approaching soldiers. He drops the walkie-talkie on my lap. 

I exchange a look with Bruce, and he takes one good look at my face before saying, “Don’t. Don’t even think about it.”

“Bruce. You’re hurt. I’m not as helpless as you think I am.”

“You’re not going to confront Walter. He could kill you. He could hurt you. No.”

“He won’t expect me to hurt him, though, will he? He’ll think the same thing you’re thinking now. That I’m helpless and weak. It has to be me. Do you think he’d answer you if you told him you wanted to talk?”

Kyle returns, breathing heavily. We both look at him. He doesn’t have to say it, but the clock is ticking. I tell him, “I’ll need a weapon.”

Bruce cuts in. “Opal, no!”

Kyle pulls a gun out of his pants and hands it to me. It’s pretty small, small enough to fit into my palm perfectly. It’s light, too. “Have you ever shot a gun?”

“No.”

He takes a deep breath. “Alright. It’s not complicated.”

“She’s not going and that’s final!”

“Bruce!” I exclaim. “Look around us! We’ve run out of options a long time ago!”

He narrows his eyes at me. “You’re not going.”

“I am. You can’t stop me.”

I look at Kyle and he nods. Then, he turns his attention toward me. “I don’t know how long you’ve known her for. I’ve only met her for a few days. But she’s a warrior. I’ve seen her with my own eyes. She can do this. He won’t see it coming.” Kyle turns his attention to me. “You can do it.”

I nod, feeling more confident. 

A voice comes from the walkie-talkie and it’s his. He wants to know where the soldiers are, and what they’re doing now. Kyle shows me where to press to talk, and I bring the device close to my lips. “Walter. It’s me. Opal.”

He’s silent for several beats. At first, I think he won’t say a word, but then he talks. “Opal. Where are you?”

“Alone,” I lie. “I want to speak to you. I want this to stop.”

“You don’t expect me to believe that you’re alone, do you?”

“I am. I’ll meet you alone. Wherever you are.”

Bruce is shaking his head. I’m so nervous I can’t even breathe. But I force myself to remember all the terrible things he’s done, and so the thought of what will happen next is easier to bear. 

“Fine. The top of the Alistar building. Come alone. I’ll be watching. Anyone who dares to come with you will be shot.”