Among Us

Chapter 22

The echo of the gunshot seemed to hang in the air for a long, long time. 

Everything seemed to grow fuzzy, and the room began to spin. It was like I was in another dimension, a sleeping state of some sort, as all I could hear were the faintest of sounds.

I didn't hear the scream that came out of my mouth, but I heard the thud of a body as it hit the ground.

I didn't hear the loud hiss of the ejection room doors as they slid shut, but I heard the click of the button that closed them.

I didn't hear the second bang of the gun, but I heard the soft clink of metal as it was kicked across the room. 

I was frozen, shocked, my heart pounding and my senses all over the place.

It was like I was underwater, everything seemed muffled. But then I broke the surface, and I could hear and see clearly once more. 

And I could feel my body, the only place of pain being my leg. It was a mangled mess, and it was a wonder I was still standing on it. 

I raised a weak, reluctant head at Jacks and Cain.

I saw Cain's body, obstructed by Jacks, slowly sinking to the floor. When Jacks turned to me, I got a better look at what had happened to him.

He had been stabbed. Stabbed multiple times, the wounds flowing a steady stream of red blood as he drifted in and out of consciousness. He had lunged across the room, a desperate lunge to escape Jacks after his gun's last bullet had gone into Jack's shoulder. 

 I looked at Jacks, who has panting heavily, his hand holding Cain's knife.

Cain's knife, originally meant to kill me, had just killed him.

I smiled, the hysteria affecting me for a split second. 

What shocked me most was the steady trickle of blood flowing from Jacks' shoulder and onto the floor. He had taken the bullet for me. It wouldn't be a fatal wound in most circumstances, but this wasn't one of them. The loss of blood would surely kill him if I didn't get him to med, and quick.

I walked forward, still in a shocked trance, and slammed into the glass walls of the ejection room, which were firmly shut.

My eyes widened as my mind finally cleared. I placed a bloody hand on them, as if I wasn't sure they were actually there.

"No," I whispered. Jacks was standing in the ejection room.

Jacks, who had betrayed me.

Jacks, who had kissed me.

Jacks who had almost murdered me.

But most importantly, Jacks, who had saved me.

"No!" I said, more loudly. I pressed my hand on the glass harder, my knees shaking even more, as if I could will it to open. Nothing happened.

I glanced at the clock.

A minute and a half.

A minute and a half left for Jacks to live. 

"Get the extra helmet!" I yelled at him, but Jacks shook his head.

"There's no point." He managed, voice quiet.

"Get it on, now."I said, trying to make my voice commanding, but it still shook. "That's an order."

Jacks smiled sadly and obeyed my commands, pulling out the extra space helmets. 

He put one on himself and then one on Cain.

"Why-"

"The bastard has to suffer." Came the cold reply.

I didn't protest. Cain didn't deserve a fast death. He deserved to suffer during his last moments.

But Jacks didn't, and he was going to suffer the same fate as Cain.

"There has to be a way to override the system." I managed, typing into the keyboard. Nothing happened, though it might have been because my hands were shaking violently against the cracked screen.

"It's no use." Jacks said, opening his palm to reveal his mangled cuff. The cuff that Jacks used to close the gates has been shot useless. 

"The bastard's taking you down with him." I said.

One minute.

"How did I not see this coming?" I managed, voice growing panicked. "I knew there was something off about him. And It couldn't have been Aron or Dean. And the elements in the vents! It was so obviou-"

"El, I'm sorry."

I froze, then looked at him. I wasn't sure what to think. I didn't know if this was a lie, a test, or if he genuinely cared. But I knew he was about to die, and my heart just shattered.

"Don't be." I managed. There. My last confession to him, one that would bring him peace. I believed in him. I had, for now, forgiven him.

"No, I know what I did was wrong. I know that's probably why I'm here." Jacks said. "I'm no better than Cain. I killed more people than Cain."

He leaned on the glass, eyes closed as he slowly slid onto the now scarlet floor. "I killed Barracks, El. This whole thing's all my fault."

"No, it isn't." I said, determined to find a reason to forgive him. But so far, he was just giving me reasons to hate him again. "You were roped into this by Cain, weren't you?"

"No." He said, to which I closed my eyes in a silent curse. 

"We both were chosen. It was neither of our idea, but we were supposed to"-He hesitated, then continued- "We were supposed to bring the metals to Planet X, as an illegal way of producing energy. But then.... Our boss decided it would be a waste. Instead, after the colonies begin to organize themselves, we would use the Atomic Bomb to.... be the most powerful colony."

I stared at him. Our colony was funded by NASA, but there were several others who were funded by France, Mexico, Japan, and even Russia. They had all agreed to work as a single group, as we were exploring the unknown. We had agreed to not have any conflict. We had even learned each other's languages. There was no reason to attack them, as we were all working towards the same cause: Survival.

"Who?" I asked, voice shaking. "Who would want that?"

"Who would want to nuke a brand new planet?" Jacks said, hesitating.

"Well, Barracks would."