Page 79 of All Your Bloody Lies

“Say goodbye to your brother, Dominic.”

“Goodbye—” he coughs and through a shaky breath, finishes his final sentence. “Dante.”

I pull back on the chamber, inspecting the cartridge present in it, before passing the loaded weapon to Dante. “Say goodbye to your brother, Dante,” I demand.

“Goodbye, brother.”

“Shoot your brother in the head, Dante.”

“Don’t make me—”

“Shoot your fucking brother in the head, Dante.”

The sound of the gun firing echoes for what feels like eternity in the building around us. “Again,” I demand, and another bullet fires from the barrel.

Dante screams and turns the gun on me, just as his finger is pressing against the trigger, I whisper, “Stop, Dante.” My smile grows, and I bathe in the tears that flood down his face. To watch him kill his gentler brother, was everything I didn’t know I needed in my life.

“Give me the gun, and get down on your knees…” Honestly, I don’t think I need to force my influence on him anymore. I think he has given up, and understands no matter how much he fights, he will be joining his brother soon.

In a matter of seconds, the gun is in my hand and he is on his knees. His lips begin to move, and in a hushed tone, he begins to murmur a prayer.

“There is no God that would listen to someone like you, Dante.” I raise the gun to his head. “Belial wouldn’t even listen because I am said to be one of his children. Meaning you fucked with the ruler of the Beyond’s daughter. You belong in no place after this world. TheVayl will not take you, and the Beyond will deny you passage. I hope you float in the abyss of nothingness until no part of you remains.”

I’ve never been one for guns, because I could kill without question in so many different ways. However, now I need to act sloppy, and stop killing in the same manner.

I unloaded three rounds into his head, and then one into his chest.

The ensuing silence was deafening, yet I found myself submerged within it. My body trembles, the realization that two out of the five are now dead sends chills racing along every inch of my skin.

I only take a moment to myself before turning to the driver who had pissed himself in fear. “Do you have a family?” I ask while walking toward him.

“I… do…”

A soft sigh comes from me, “You should have really picked a different profession.” I slice open my thumb and slip it between his trembling lips. “Suck, and swallow as much as you can. Hand me your phone and then don’t move.”

I holster his gun back into his belt and take his phone into my hand. While he sucks the blood from my finger, I open and dial the authorities. “Stay quiet for me.”

I clear my throat.

“Sidence dispatch, what is your emergency?”

“Help me please!!” I scream, “This fucking driver has—NO! Please!” I pause, looking into the eyes of the man that is going to lose everything because of the people he chose to associate himself with. The fear in them is palpable, and a small part of me feels bad for having to do this to him.

“Ma’am!?” I hear the operator, his voice tinged with anxiety, “Who are you with? Stay on the phone, we are locking in on your location. Are you safe?”

“No…” I whisper. “He killed them. Hekilledthem. He said—he said—oh Gods.“ What terrifies the driver more than what I was saying, is that while my tone mirrors pain and fear, my expression is impassive and unyielding. A shattered breath escapes my lips, “He’s going to kill me… please help…”

“Authorities are on—”

I crush the phone in my hand and drop the shattered pieces to the ground.

A gurglinggag bubbles from his throat and I remove my finger from his mouth, “I’m going to give you a set of instructions.”

“Why…”

“Such a useless question to ask, what is your name?” I gesture toward his weapon, “Wipe the gun off.”

“Jonathan.”