Page 51 of Better Run

“Fuck. Come back to me, Mom.”

As I work on her, suddenly, a wound opens up in her chest. A gunshot wound. Her blood is hot on my hands.

I jerk back. I stand, only to realize I’m in uniform. The person laying in front of me isn’t my mother, it’s the man I shot. My gun is in my hand. I smell gunpowder.

More people show up, coming from the rooms down the hall.

“He shot him.”

“Killed him!”

My chest heaves for breath. This isn’t how it happened.

Suddenly I’m in a courtroom. The same courtroom I sent criminals to. Only I’m behind the desk before the judge. And the judge is the man I killed. The man who pulled a gun on me and tried to shoot me that one night at work.

He stands and points at me. “Guilty! This man is a murderer. Guilty!”

I panic. I know he’s about to pull a gun. I know I have to kill him before he kills me. But where’s my gun? I scramble to find it.Where is my gun?

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Mary Jo

I’m startled awake by Jayden jumping out of bed. He flies to the closet, flinging the doors open. He’s breathing hard like he just ran a marathon.

Cole shoots up beside me.

“Gun, where’s the gun,” Jayden mutters. He’s shirtless, and his back glints with sweat.

“Fuck.” Cole jumps up and darts over to Jayden. “Leave it alone, man. It’s not real.”

Jayden swings for Cole, who ducks and puts his hands up. “It’s me. You’re having a flashback. You’re safe.”

Jayden’s gaze bounces around wildly. He looks right through us. He then goes back to the closet.

“Jayden!” Cole grabs his arm, and Jayden flings him off almost faster than I can track and throws him on the bed. He starts rummaging faster. I hear beeping.

“Shit.” Cole jumps up and pulls me to the other side of the room, putting himself between Jayden and me.

Jayden swings around, a pistol in his hand.

I freeze. The pistol is black and matte, with iron sights. He briefly flags us with it before pointing it around the room. He had a gun in this place the whole time?

“Where is he?” Jayden’s chest heaves.

Cole freezes. I’ve never seen the look in Jayden’s eyes before. He looks like a cornered animal. He looks…afraid.

“Don’t move,” Cole whispers to me. “He won’t hurt you.”

I’m not so sure. And the look on Cole’s face tells me he’s not so sure either.

“Where is he?” Jayden demands again.

“He’s not here. He’s dead. You’re having a flashback.”

Jayden looks at us, and for a second, I think he really sees us. He takes a step back. Then he starts wildly looking around again.

“Jayden,” Cole whispers.