the police were shouting at Dylan through a megaphone. He hadn’t expected them to arrive so quickly.
He held me hostage, hidden from the snipers. “I have explosives! Send Ethan Hayes in here! Or I’ll blow us both up!”
I gasped for breath, my vision blurring. “Dylan, calm down!”
“I am calm. You were willing to die with Ethan in your past life. Why not with me?”
I beat against his hand. “No… I don’t want
to…”
Dylan’s voice rose, laced with desperation. “| could have fixed everything! Why did you have
to come back too? Give me back the old
Sarah!”
I reached out weakly, the light fading around
<
11:31
83
“Dylan.” A familiar, deep voice came from a few
feet away. “I’m here. Let her go.”
The pressure on my neck disappeared. I
doubled over, coughing, tears blurring my
vision. I looked up at Ethan, instinctively
reaching for him. The blood on his leg had
dried. His hand was bandaged. He looked even
worse than he had in my past life. From the
moment he stepped onto the second floor, his
eyes had been fixed on me, filled with concern.
Dylan pulled me back, holding a knife to my throat. “Ethan Hayes, let’s play a different game
this time.” He pointed to a leather jacket
nearby. “Put it on.”
I recognized the jacket instantly.
“No… don’t!” I struggled, my voice cracking.
“Don’t put it on!”
く
11:31
Dylan laughed, a manic sound. “Sarah, Ethan
was willing to die with you. What about you?
How much do you love him?”
“No…” I clawed at his hand.
83
He tightened his grip, sneering. “You think he can outsmart me? What good is all his protection if I can just walk in and take you? I’ve waited a long time for this day. Today, either he dies, or you do.”
Ethan hadn’t heard our whispered exchange. “Move the knife away from her, and I’ll put it on.”
“Ethan! Just go!” I sobbed. “Please!”
Ethan, as if he hadn’t heard me, stared at the
bead of blood welling up on my neck where the
knife pressed against my skin. He quickly put
on the jacket.
A
83
11:31
く
A beep.
The countdown began.
I closed my eyes in despair.
Suddenly, Dylan shoved me forward. “Sarah,
choose.”
I stood between them, tears streaming down my
face. I took a step towards Ethan, and he took
a step back.
“Sarah, don’t,” he said, his voice strained.
“There’s a bomb.”
I froze, afraid to move. I wasn’t afraid of dying,
but choosing Ethan now, in front of Dylan,
would only enrage him further. It might even
trigger the bomb.
“Sarah, admit it. You only love yourself. You’re
just like your uncle. Selfish and heartless.”
く
14
Ethan backed away towards the window. He
glanced at me, then spoke to Dylan. “Dylan, I’m
sorry about your father.”
“You have no right to mention my father!”
Dylan’s feigned composure shattered. He took
a step forward, his face contorted with rage.
“You spoiled rich kids… do you even know what
real pain is?”
“But your father was operating machinery
without a safety helmet. It was a violation of
protocol. We paid the appropriate
compensation.”
“Shut up!”
A cruel smile twisted Ethan’s lips. “You’re
just… incompetent.”
I trembled. This world had gone mad. Every
word Ethan spoke was a direct hit to Dylan’s
doonoot incoourition
Woo bn trying to ant
11:31
く
deepest insecurities. Was he trying to get
himself killed?
83
Dylan pulled out a lighter and dropped it.
Flames erupted instantly. The pungent smell of
gasoline filled the air. Dylan had doused the place beforehand.
“You… you ruined my life!” Dylan’s eyes were bloodshot as he stalked towards me, his
scarred face grotesque in the flickering
firelight. “Sarah, why didn’t you choose me? If you’d just told me you didn’t like the scars, wouldn’t have hurt myself so badly…”
A wave of icy realization washed over me. He’d
done it to himself.
“You’re insane…”
“Yes! That’s how I gained your sympathy! That’s how I learned about Ethan’s plans!”
Dylan’s years of carefully constructed
gentleness shattered, revealing the obsessive
madness beneath.
83
His laughter was a harsh, grating sound. “Sarah, if you had chosen me, things wouldn’t have ended this way. You only have yourself to blame. Now, come join me in hell…” He pulled
out a remote detonator.
Without thinking, I turned and threw myself at
Ethan, shielding him with my body.
“Sarah!” Ethan roared. Then, BANG!
The windows shattered. The world went silent.
A high–pitched ringing filled my ears. I saw
Ethan’s face, pale and drawn, his lips moving. I
felt like I was being torn apart. Numbness
spread through my body. But dying with him… I
wasn’t afraid.
Wasn’t I? Then why was I crying?
<
11:31
The deafness was fleeting. A cacophony of
shouts erupted around us, like an exploding
bomb.
“Suspect neutralized! Body located on the
second floor!”
“Team One reporting. Detonator secured.
Hostages safe.”
“No other explosives found on site.”
“Fire spreading rapidly! Evacuate hostages
immediately!”
83
Someone pulled me away. As I stumbled out, I
looked back. Dylan lay on the ground, his back
to me. Dead.
A hand covered my eyes, shielding me from the
sight. The cold air cleared the smoke from my
lungs. Sirens wailed. Red and blue lights.
flashed, reflecting off the setting sun. My legs.
gave way, and I collapsed onto the snow,
trembling uncontrollably.
Yvonne’s voice, usually grating, now sounded
like music to my ears. “…It’s the 21st century,
for God’s sake! How are these psychos still
playing with explosives? Lock them all up!
Throw away the key! Give them life sentences!
Death penalty! Shoot them all! Hey, officer, did
you get them all? Don’t let any of them
escape!”
“Alright, alright, calm down. Go check on Sarah.
We’ll handle the rest.”
Yvonne spotted me kneeling in the snow and
yelled, “Sarah! Get up! You’re pregnant! Get off
the ground!”
Ethan, who was helping the police disable the
bomb, froze. He turned and stared at me.
Before Yvonne could reach me, he shrugged off
<
the leather jacket, scooped me up without a
word, and carried me towards his car, his face
grim.
“Hey! Hey! Who do you think you are? Put her
down-”
Slam! The car door shut, cutting off Yvonne’s
protests. He deposited me in the back seat,
then got in beside me, his eyes dark and
stormy.
Suddenly afraid, I shrank back into the corner.
“Don’t look at me like that. I’m scared…”
“Scared? You were brave enough to jump on
me! Did you think it was a game?” He
unleashed a torrent of words, his voice sharp
with anger. He’d never spoken to me like this
before. Tears welled up in my eyes.
“The bomb was strapped to me!” he continued,
his voice rising, the veins in his forehead
く
)
2
Ethan choked back his words, taking a deep
breath. He pulled me close, his arms trembling
around me.
“I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have yelled.” He gently
ruffled my hair. “I was going to jump out the
window. That way, even if the sniper missed,
and the bomb went off, you wouldn’t be hurt.
But why did you jump on me? I’ve never seen
you so strong.”
“I wasn’t thinking. I just… I’ve seen it on TV.
When there’s a bomb, you’re supposed to…
duck and cover. I couldn’t very well jump on
Dylan, could I?”
Ethan was speechless.
Thankfully, we were both alive.
“Are your wounds okay?” I asked.
<
Tes.
“Let me see.”
“Sarah,” he said, exasperated, “it’s on my thigh.”
I reached for his belt. “We’re practically an old married couple. What are you shy about?”
Yvonne’s muffled voice came from outside the car. “…Yes, that’s right. I think my friend is being abused. Her husband just kidnapped her. You said your friend at the Women’s Shelter handles these cases, right?” She yanked the car door open.
Light flooded the car. I was kneeling between Ethan’s legs, his belt half–undone.
Yvonne stared at us for three seconds, her face
expressionless, then slammed the door shut.
“Oh, and what about animal abuse? Forget the
Women’s Shelter. I need the number for Animal
Yvonne stared at us for three seconds, her face
expressionless, then slammed the door shut.
“Oh, and what about animal abuse? Forget the
Women’s Shelter. I need the number for Animal
Control…”
