Point of No Return (Patreon)

She stood tall in the living room, gun raised, arm straight, focused. The daylight from the window lit her cheek as her eyes locked on the invisible threat ahead. Her breathing was calm. She looked like she had control of everything, her weapon, the space, the outcome.

Beneath the confident surface, something shifted. Her breath hitched. A sharp, invisible force slammed into her side. Then another. The pain struck hard and fast, leaving trails of blood on her exposed skin. She looked down at the damage blooming across her stomach like burning petals.

Her hand flew to her chest. She gasped, stunned. The pain was spreading, sharp and electric. She stumbled forward a step, nearly dropping the gun. Her lips parted, eyes wide with disbelief. Her fingers pressed against the blood that was now soaking her bra, trying to hold something in. Her mouth opened, but the words wouldn’t come.

She fell to one knee. The world seemed to twist around her. Her chest rose and fell quickly, eyes darting as though trying to make sense of it all. She tilted her head back, her body struggling to stay upright. Her strength was fading and she knew it.

She reached out to the couch, her hand shaking. Her gun fell from her other hand as she leaned sideways, too weak to hold it anymore. She wasn’t looking ahead now. Her eyes were unfocused, jaw slack, searching for anything solid to cling to. The world around her was moving too fast. Or maybe too slow.

Her back hit the floor. One arm draped behind her, the other across her stomach. Her lips remained parted, chest streaked with blood. Her body lay twisted beside the couch, legs bent under her skirt, boots still firm on the floor. Her face was frozen in a mixture of agony and disbelief.

She turned her head. Her cheek pressed to the floor. Her arms stretched wide as though reaching for something above her. Her eyes were half-lidded, brows furrowed. The light was fading from her face. She wasn’t trying to fight anymore. She was just feeling the weight of what had happened.

She blinked once. Then again. Her head turned slightly, lips trembling, her body completely still now. One final breath slipped from her lungs.

And she didn’t move again.