My attempt to stop Daniel was to no avail because neither Daniel nor Ryan could hear me above the ruckus they were making in the library. Ryan was being pummelled by a man twice his strength. Ryan groaned with agony, and there was nothing I could do to help him.
My sixth sense was dictating it wasn’t going to end well. I was smothered in anxiety as I continued banging on the door and screaming. Then Nick grabbed my shoulder and turned me to face him.
“Why are you listening to them?” his voice thundered. “Go to the kitchen.”
I was powerless. I pleaded with Nick to stop Daniel, but he became stern.
“Go!” he demanded, pointing in the direction of the kitchen.
I stormed away from Nick and hated him so intensely, but then the exploding sound of the gunshot echoed deafeningly in my ears, and everything became static. I felt my muscles spasm, as my stomach lurched and contracted. My mind was stunned, and my focus kept fading and returning. I sensed time at a crawling pace. Annie was running towards me, while Nick, in my peripheral vision, had spun on his heels. Both were moving it seemed at snail’s pace to the library door while my brain was trying to process the enormousness of what had happened.
Annie moved past me, and I turned to move with her. Instinctively, my leaden feet followed her down the wide corridor. It seemed to stretch across time. Nick disappeared into the library and then Annie vanished from view. Without thinking, I stormed into the library and stopped in horror when I saw Ryan lying in a pool of blood.