Love At Gunpoint

"Gwen! Come on! Just a little longer!"

I hefted my older sister as we ran through the gates of a Scotland castle. Our slippers caught on the hem of our silk dresses. I spat a profanity as my sister grunted and fell to the ground, pulling me with her. I landed on my hands and knees, cursing when my sister cried out. The gun wound on her thigh bled through the purple skirt of her dress.

"Gwen, you can do it!" I encouraged her as I tried to drag her upright. With the gun in my hand, I groaned as I grabbed her under the arm and held her waist.

"Jay...I-I can't! Go! Save yourself!" Gwen sobbed, as she dropped to her knees. Her gun clattered to the ground.

I turned her face towards mine, one of my hands tinted with her blood. "Gwendolyn. How dare you speak of giving up! Lahays do not quit!" I growled.

Her mahogany eyes glittered, but they hardened with determination. I grabbed her by the waist again, as she shakily stood up.

We wasted too much time.

They were coming.

We were almost on the road to freedom, when in front of me appeared my nightmare.

He used to be my dream.

I gasped as I stopped. His blue eyes unforgiving.

"Janine..." He hissed.

My hand shook as I raised my gun towards him, aiming straight at his heart.

"Scream and this bullet will be lodged in your heart," I said gutturally.

Those eyes. They softened. My heart thudded against my ribs. He remembered.

I inched to the side, my sister limping beside me. I hefted her again. I kept my gun pointed at him, his eyes following my every move. When we were well away from him, I grabbed my sister tightly and ran for the both of us. Gwen panted as she tried to keep up with my flailing legs. I knew he was following us.

"Jah-neen!" I heard him shout.

Then I heard a whistling sound.

Gwen screamed.

I cried out.

We both fell to the ground.

Gwen landed on her knees.

I lay face down.

The pain. My shoulder. My lungs. The blood.

"Jay! Jay!" Gwen screamed.

They say when you slowly die, your life flashes before your eyes.

So, while I lay here sprawled on the grounds in the Scottish Highlands, let me tell you what happened before that results in me bleeding with a hole on my back.

It happened that night, so long ago.