Tasmin
There must be a way out.
Just when I get up the hope to believe that, the alarm sounds.
Seven staccato blasts of the cruise's horn, booming over the ship, felt jittering the floors and the walls, it's so loud. Then a single long blast, ringing my eardrums, pounding waves against my head. I've heard these alarms in safety precaution videos at the start of every cruise, I've been to every safety drill on each cruise, but I've never had to hear it signal a real emergency.
What is going on?
It's hard to breathe, and I determine that it's because of the gag in my mouth. The knot feels tight, my hands are bound, and I'm stuck to the chair. I figure that the hardest thing to do right now is stand. So I will try.
I fall, hearing a crack.
My brain's pounding again, and it's not because of the alarm, which has ceased to continue, but is replaced by panicking down the hall and throughout the ship. I hope I haven't dislocated my shoulder after that Crack!
Wait… the crack…?
I manage to sit upright, balancing on my hip, and notice that my chair has only three legs now. Bruised, like me. The fourth leg has been snapped off and is lying on the floor somewhere, out of my vision. That's when an idea hits me.
Harry
"Let's get out of here, Harry." She travels over to me, grabbing my arm.
I shake her off. I say, a little louder this time: "What did you do with Tasmin?!"
"Please, Harry," she yanks at my shirt now. "I need to get you away from here! You have to listen to me!" I keep backing away, she keeps following me.
"Enough! I'm done running from my problems." I catch her wrists, guilt fills my heart. I loosen my grip. "Listen to me, Ally." She looks up, tears pooling in her eyes. "I'm on a new mission now. Go back, tell Reprisal, tell everyone, tell Boss that I betrayed you all." I furrow my brows, stare at the floor. "Just… tell them not to come after me." The next words come out as a choked-sob: "I'm sorry."
Tasmin
The back of the chair snaps off. My back is on fire. But the rope has loosened, and I slide my hands free, which are burning just as hot as my back. I throw myself at the wall, feeling all around and find the switch. Flick it on. My arms are bright pink from all the struggle, and I'm still struggling to breathe.
Oh.
It takes me a minute, but I untie the knot and let the gag fall to the floor. I glare at it in disgust as I rub my arms. Then I yank at the door handle of a locked door.
A minute passes. I don't hear anything outside after pressing my ear against the door. I try to block out the faint noises of panic on the rest of the cruise, and I close my eyes too. That's when I hear the soft shuffling of feet along the carpet in the corridor.
I pound at the door, screaming for someone to let me out. I'm taking the chance, hoping and hoping and hoping that the person outside isn't that guy with the gun from before.
Harry
I lift my head, finally. A single tear slides down Ally's cheek. I let go of her left wrist, reach up with my right hand, caress her cheek, brush away the tear. "Thank you for everything, Al." After all, Ally's one of the reasons I'm alive to betray her now.
"No, no…" she mutters.
My world shatters into a million, billion pieces when I hear the whistle of air and then Ally jerk against me. I catch her as she falls into me, heavy as a corpse, and watch in silent horror as the colour starts to drain from her eyes. Her beautiful brown eyes go all dull on me, and I don't think I can watch anymore.
But when I look up to look away, I see the last person I expect to be pointing a gun at me.
Tasmin
I hear the shot as I'm about to round the corner and freeze.
A gunshot.
I've never heard a gunshot in real life before. It's foreign, it's invasive, it stabs my eardrums, and I decide at once that I never wanna hear it again.
I should run; retreat to that dark room, lock the door, turn off the lights, hold myself in a corner until this is all over. But my feet are glued to the ground.
Move, I tell myself.
Then my feet do move. But in the wrong direction.
Harry's there, and he's breathing loud and clear, but something about his expression makes me think that he's not here. Not thinking. And in his arms I see a girl… Ally. That's when I spot the blood, a crimson puddle expanding at Harry's knees. I almost scream, but slap my hand over my mouth to silence myself, because I realise that it's not Harry who's bleeding.
I force my eyes to return to Harry, and he's staring straight ahead at Ben, who's pointing a gun directly at him.
Ally
My worst nightmare.
Just don't shoot Harry.
"Ben, you –"
"Shut up. You shut the hell up, Evans."
I can't see him, all I can see is Harry's chest (which seems to be expanding and shrinking rapidly) in front of my eyes, but I know Ben's furious. I've heard this tone, when he told me I was worthless, a liability, a traitor who couldn't ever set her real priorities straight. He's using that tone on Harry, and it's taking everything in me not to cry more than I already am. I hold back the tears, but the blood sprays like a faucet. Each breath, each pouding beat of my heart sends out a tidal wave of blood, then another, then another. I open my mouth to scream, but something curdles in my throat, and I don't think it's spit.