Bullets Sing

Elle did not come from a sheltered, crime free, white picket fence background.

Elle'd heard gunshots before. She had seen real guns and real bullets. As it turned out, that did absolutely nothing to reduce the fear that came with having guns pointed at you and bullets raining down from all angles. For the first few seconds she had screamed and screamed, terrified out of her mind.

Then something had kicked in, whether it was logic or instinct, she did not know. Whatever it was, she was glad it was there.

Hunch down lower it said, and Elle did. Her head tucked in as low as it would go, her hands gripping her legs tight.

Stop screaming, stop crying, do not make any sound at all. If they can hear you, they know you are still alive. Stay quiet and they will not know.

She snapped her mouth shut so fast her jaw clicked shut. Her teeth aching from the force. From there, her inner voice of reason went quiet, but Elle did not mind it.

She was as safe as she was going to get given the situation. Her heart thrumming furiously against her chest, the car vibrating as the bullets struck, Elle's mind took her someplace safe.

Shards of glass fell on her, the bullets continuing to pelt the car, but Elle was far away. In her mind's eye she was walking alone in the park. There was a soft breeze blowing and light drizzle of rain falling on her.

Warm and gentle.

She breathed deep, and rather than the smell of gunpowder, too hot metal and leaking gasoline. All Elle could smell was the sweet smell that came when the earth felt rain for the first time in months.

She took more deep breaths, feeling calmer with each one. Rain in her hair instead of shattered glass. A welcome breeze all around instead of an endless barrage of bullets. It was a lovely fantasy, and Elle would have loved nothing more than to stay in its cocoon. But a pressure right over her curled neck shattered her illusion. 

In reality the hail of bullets had intensified. One if them had torn through the area right over her neck. Elle could feel the air from the outside over that particular spot. Despite her best effort, a strained whimper escaped her. Hot tears flowing down her cheeks when she realized how close the bullet had been to hitting, and in a fatal spot too. She dared not raise her head, instead she tried to sink lower still, her whole body cramping from the effort, but her will to survive and her fear were too strong to be denied by her discomfort.

If the bullets managed to pierce through the lower side of the car, it would be over for her. There was nowhere she could hide anymore, and the bullets were not letting up. Pretty soon one of them would make it through and instead of air, it would make contact with her flesh and she would be done for.

Awaiting her end, Elle's mind wandered once more. But this time she was not trying to escape reality. She was thinking of her loved. She tried to remember everything about her parents, from her father's laugh, to her mother's soft smile. Elle found herself praying that if it was really the end for her, that she be able to see her parents on the other side. Every day she missed them fiercely, if there was one good thing that would come from the end of her life, it would be seeing them again. 

Alongside her thoughts of her parents, she was also thinking of someone else.

Gio.

Elle did not want to leave him, but if it did happen, she hoped he would miss her. Her love for him might have been one sided, but she hoped that he remembered her as more than just a notch on his bedpost.

The cling of bullets hitting the interior of the car got worse and Elle shivered. Eyes squeezed shut, she tried to remember Gio's eyes on her.

Warm and soft, when he nodded at her in a room full of people. Vibrant and so full of life in the rare times when he laughed. The way they seemed to burn with an inner fire whenever they slept together.

She would miss those eyes…she would miss him.

Outside, the sound of gunfire was dying down. When it stopped all the way Elle's trembling got worse. By the time she heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps approaching whatever sense of calm she'd had about her upcoming death left her.

This was not how she wanted to die.

She wanted to die of old age, surrounded by loved ones. Not like this! She did not deserve to be shot down like a rabid beast, no one did.

Please…please…please…please…

But there was no higher power above listening to her desperate prayer. If they heard her, they were ignoring her. The footsteps outside the car got louder as the person got closer and Elle held her legs tighter.

She was so scared her body stopped trembling and just…froze… everything locking in place.

Elle wanted to cry, to call out to Big L, ask if he had made it out unscathed. Maybe the two of them could come up with a last minute plan that would help them escape their fate. But her throat would not work, her lips remaining sealed shut.

Soon enough it was too late. The steps stopped right in front of the passenger side door. Right where Elle was. She hoped the door was too damaged to open, but it proved her wrong.

The person on the other side jiggled it for a bit, and Elle heard the woosh of air as it opened. Still too terrified to move, all Elle could do was stay as she was, silent tears flowing down her face as she waited for the barrel of a gun to press against the back of her neck and end her…it was over.