Protected By The Beast ✓

Riley's POV

My shout-out goes to Bulgaria and Cairo

Word count: 1423

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My ginger hair stood on end.

Tremor raced down my spine at an alarming rate and a lump grew in my throat as I watched it unfold right before my eyes, like a movie.

Each movement left a searing pain penetrating deep into my heart.

My legs refused to function even as my mind screamed at me to do something. To move.

To get away. To run.

My breath escaped my nostrils and parted lips in uneven pants as my eyes zoned in on the scene playing right before my eyes.

I shouldn't have gone out. No, we shouldn't have. But it felt perfect, the day and also the moment. Nothing could've prepared us for this moment, facing death right in the face and I can't even say 'death, not today.'

Today was the fourteenth of February, popularly known to most people worldwide as the valentine's day.

It was the day lovers usually expressed their feelings towards each other and dedicate time to be with one another, making sacrifices and exchanging gifts. It was the one day lovers were expected to create time out of their busy schedules just to tell that person how much they meant to them.

My boyfriend of over two years had brought me out tonight to celebrate Val.

His name is Dan Fishers. He has the softest ark brown spiky hair I've ever felt and also the lightest brown eyes I've ever stared into.

Even on my saddest days, his bright smile had the secret weapon of bringing a smile to my face because he simply had the most adorable smile ever.

And this moment was even more perfect because we'd just completed our final exams.

I was supposed to be enjoying this night and also making it a memorable one because I'd planned to finally give my quarterback boyfriend my virginity and confess to him that I was in love with him. He always told me he loved me but I wanted it to feel right when I would say it, and this was the right time.

It couldn't have felt more right.

In two months time, I would clock eighteen and he was one of the only people that had added a bit of spice to my depressing, boring life. He was all I really had, asides from my adopted family We were supposed to be giggling, having fun and creating lovely memories.

But now, standing under the tree at the park where I'd been waiting for him, I couldn't move.

Three men in black suits were standing beside a black shiny car and there was something strange, something dangerous about them. They were armed. Then there was a man in silver suit who stood just a few feet from these men in black and the man in silver suit was speaking to another man who had his hands clasped together like he was begging for his life.

The man in suit had a stony expression, with sleek black short hair put into a bun.

And there was a silver gun in his right hand. He was flipping it in clockwise and anticlockwise motion, slowly and in a relaxed stance. Like he'd done it a thousand times before.

The man he was talking to was elderly, judging from the mixture of the black and shiny grey hair on his head. He kept stuttering while begging.

Then the elderly man went on his knees, with his hands still clasped together.

I took a step back, then another till I was huddled behind the tree as I peeked, eyes wide, legs trembling. I should call the cops but I couldn't even find the courage to bring out my phone.

"I'll do as you've said sir, I promise. Please spare me. I already owe you my life." The man shouted.

The man didn't listen to a word of what the older man on his knees was saying. Only coldness dwelled in those eyes as they stared down at the man on his knees, under the bright lights that illuminated the park.

I waited, as if for a miracle I knew wouldn't come.

I watched him lift his hand. To my uttermost surprise, he shot.

Once.

Twice.

Thrice.

I gasped, my eyes going wider than ever. My legs held me in place when I should be going into proper hiding.

People scampered for safety.

The man in grey suit simply didn't didn't care as the person he'd just shot landed on the ground and his blue shirt slowly absorbed the blood that flowed through him.

I yelped when birds suddenly fluttered around the large tree, obviously displeased about the sudden disturbance in the somewhat peaceful night.

More screams filtered into the air as people scampered around.

My heart kept hammering dangerously in my chest.

The familiar sound of my boyfriend calling me from afar suddenly did the magic of pulling me back to the present and I finally found my legs useful.

The lights in the park flickered for a good couple of seconds in a way that sent chills down my bones and then they all went off.

Then the sirens blared into the commotion from nearby, the screams were still coming from several angles but surely the police were on their way since I heard the siren.

I turned around and spotted Dan's handsome face as he started running towards me, screaming words I couldn't understand as everything were mere echoes inside my head. I blinked stupidly.

His brown hair danced on his head under the evening breeze and I calmed down a bit, watching him run in my direction.

The terror was still deep in me though. I'd just watched a man get shot thrice in the chest. And I was still frozen in a spot.

I looked there but the men in suit were no longer there though the man who'd been shot was still lying on the ground, blood flowing through his shirt, his hands randomly sprawled by his side.

"Riley stop!" I registered through my jumbled and messy thoughts, the command piercing through every other clogged thoughts in my mushy head.

I stood still.

I furrowed my brows and looked at my boyfriend who was still in his white shirt which he bought specifically for our date.

He was no longer running towards me with the ice cream cones in his hand.

He was now standing, with the posture of someone that was in the midst of running, one leg in front and one leg behind. I made a move to walk towards him.

Then I heard the sound. More gunshots.

Then the cones fell.

And then there were more screams of children, but I could only stare at Dan.

His lips wobbled slightly as he almost reached me.

Then he fell to his knees, frowning slightly while glancing down at his chest where blood was now spreading in an agonizingly slow pace. I blinked, forgetting to breathe for a second.

"N-no. Dan!!" I screamed and the adrenaline kicked in.

I ran towards him, cradling his head in my hold as he fell sideways. I stuttered my words out, tears blurring my sight. I watched his lips tremble.

More gunshots were fired.

Maybe at me or at some other innocent person, but I couldn't process that at the moment.

"Dan please, stay with me. Oh God don't take him. He's all I've got!" I cried shakily and rocked his shoulders.

Dan was stuttering.

I was crying.

Hysterically. And saying something.

"Huh?" I asked shakily.

"R-riley, run... They're here for you."

"What? Hang in there, I'll call an ambulance. Where's my phone?!"

"R-run..." He hiccuped. And then he stared.

Unmoving.

Unfeeling.

Unavailable for me to pull with me as I screamed his name while rocking his shoulders. He just stared at me, eyes slowly red. A sight that would scar me for life.

I got up on shaky limbs, dusted my pants and ran into the dark bushes with all my strength, my eyes blurry and the night breeze biting into my skin as I barely registered the fact that I'd dropped my jacket in Dan's car earlier on and I couldn't go back there to take it or pick my phone.

I ran into the night, his words not making any sense to me.

I ran.

*

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