Shattered Dreams & Sleeping Pills Chapter 14
Take A Deep Breath
By WindWolf
Caught completely off guard, Tifa fumbled around for the handle to the drawer that held the gun. The other customers shifted around in their seats, wanting to do something, but knowing what would happen if they did.
Black and four of his buddies were there, the former holding the gun up in her face. Tifa thought she had never seen him so out of it. He was drunk, that much was certain. He didn't look good, as if he'd been beaten up or something. She wondered who could possibly beat up the massive owner of The Black Hole.
"What d'you think yer doin'?" he growled, his voice slightly slurred.
Mouth wide open, she searched for the words, but none came out.
"My buddies tell me yer part o'some rebel group. Izzat right?"
Tifa looked desperately over at the customers, but they only shrugged and held their hands up. There was nothing they could do.
"I don't need no rebels in my bar," he continued, waving the gun in her face.
"B-but Black, I'm not a rebel. I mean, c'mon, me? I just, I look after this girl sometimes; her dad's been talking about starting up a group. I wouldn't join even if he did."
"Yer lyin'."
"No! I'm not! Honest!"
"Anyone who says 'honest' is lyin'," one of his friends said. The others muttered in agreement.
"Really, Black, c'mon, snap out of it. I'm not a rebel. I don't want anything to do with that kind of thing." She was backed up against all the bottles, wishing she had gone for the gun. There was no point wishing, her only chance now was if someone else made the first move. None of the customers wanted to.
"I don't need no rebels in my bar!" he repeated, yelling now. He stopped waving the gun and aimed it right at her. "I don't need no trouble. I've lost good business cuz of you. Those last two fights; they were all your fault! You're costing me money bitch!"
She saw him get ready to fire and squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to look. Hoping she could duck down in time, she held tightly onto the shelf and prayed that someone would help her out.
The gunshot came and went without a bit of pain. Tifa slumped down on the floor and gasped for breath. Eyes still tightly shut, she pushed herself up to a sitting position and leaned against shelves.
This was different than in the reactor. Not because it was a gun instead of a sword, but because there was no pain accompanied with the bullet. The darkness that surrounded her wasn't as thick as it was last time; it no longer suffocated her. It was light, almost unsubstantial. Tifa felt as if she could just float around in it. It was so peaceful; she wondered where her friends were.
A voice, but it was one she didn't know. It was cold, and uncaring. Where was it coming from? Why wasn't it happy to see her?
"Get up. You're not dead."
She opened her eyes slowly, and immediately shut them again. Minutes passed before she dared to open her eyes again. When she did, it was to the same sight as before.
Black had fallen over the counter, eyes wide open, staring at her. His mouth was hanging open a little, and blood was dripping out of it. Whoever had shot the bullet, they hadn't hit her.
She stood up, and nervously shoved her former boss off the counter. Taking a deep breath, she took in the scene around her. Two of Black's four friends were also lying dead on the ground. Two of the customers were dragging out a third; Tifa recognized one of them as the man with short, misshapen fingers. He was dragging out his friend.
Pushing hair back from her face, she grabbed the gun still in the drawer and followed the two of them outside.
They dumped him around back, where the bodies from previous fights lay. They were back in the bar, presumably to retrieve another body, before her eyes turned to the only other person alive there; the man who had shot Marlene.
He looked at her for a moment before walking over. Taking off his sunglasses, he put them away in his coat pocket and took the gun from her shaking hand.
"You cost me a lot of money you know," he said in his calm, cold, voice. Tifa recognized it as the one that had informed her that she was not dead. Her mind still not working properly, no reply came to mind. She stayed silent, going over all the things Zangan had ever taught her.
Seeing that she was not going to reply, he continued. "You could have died tonight."
"I would've ducked," she said, trying her best to match his cold tone.
"Didn't look like it when I walked in," he paused. "Why did he want to kill you anyway?"
"Said I cost him money."
"You cost me money."
"He was drunk."
"So am I."
"You don't look it."
He laughed and walked past her towards the bar. "In that case, how 'bout getting me a drink?"
"We're closing for the night."
"I saved your life."
"We're closing early."
He ignored her and walked into the bar, still holding the gun in his right hand. Taking a deep breath, she followed him inside.
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Alright! That one's done! I debated whether or not to make Chapter 14 and 15 all one thing, and decided against. Chapter 15 is done as well, and I've given all the chapters names. I love ong weekends, when's the next one again?
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