Chapter 17 - A Nightmare?

Ethan felt as if his mind was floating until he opened his eyes, only to be surprised to see that he was standing right outside Nolan's house with Nolan and Sui standing near him.

But what surprised him was that Kiro and his goons were standing in front of him, blackmailing Sui just like what happened tonight.

'Why is this happening again? Is this a dream?' Ethan wondered in confusion, but he realized that he had no control of his body or his actions despite seeing everything from his own body.

It was as if he was merely a spectator rewatching the same event that he experienced today.

"Haha, look at this pretty face. She thinks she can threaten us with her wooden toy staff and even send us to the grave, eh? How could you be so cold? Must be quite exciting to see when we make you submit to us."

Ethan saw Kiro saying the same dialogue with a burst of thunderous laughter as he looked at Sui with a lascivious glint in his eyes.

He also saw others acting and talking just like how he remembered.

"First one to grab her will get 100 bucks!"

And as expected, Ethan saw the goons rushing towards Sui to capture her and found himself moving forward along with Nolan as well to fight, though he really wasn't controlling his body at all.

Still, he could feel the anger coursing through his veins just like how he felt before while fighting these goons.

But why…why was he seeing this in a dream? Was he really that bothered by what happened? Nothing bad actually happened for him to be too concerned about it. So this only puzzled Ethan, though this 'dream' began to feel like reality without Ethan realizing it.

"That's enough, you little bitch!" Kiro said in a cutting tone as he suddenly took out a revolver!

*BANG!*

"Sui, careful!" Ethan called out as his expression became grave upon seeing this guy taking out a revolver.

However, before Ethan could react, Kiro had fired the bullet right after the moment he took out the revolver, much to Ethan's horror. Even if the bullet was metal, it was too fast for him to focus and stop it. Even to move a stationary object like his phone, he had to use his concentration. So stopping a speeding bullet that was already in the air was beyond his abilities for now.

The revolver wasn't even aimed at him, and Ethan wanted to shield Sui instinctively, but she was too far away.

However, Nolan, who was standing right next to Sui, quickly pushed her away out of harm's way but alas…

*Sptk!*

The sound of a small metal object puncturing flesh echoed beside Ethan's ears as he saw a small gaping bloody hole on Nolan's forehead, his face petrified.

"NO!!!" Ethan let out a wild shout, his muscles tensing up as he rushed towards him to catch him before Nolan's lifeless body could hit the ground.

However, Sui was the first to catch Nolan before he could fall to the ground. Her face seemed to have lost all color, becoming pale like a flower that got cut off. She didn't even utter a single word or cry but fell on her knees as she caught Nolan, slowly letting his lifeless body rest on the cold ground.

Ethan was weakly whispering as he also fell on his knees, "No…Nolan…you can't…" He didn't want to believe that he forever lost his best friend and was in complete denial, wishing this to be just a nightmare.

Sui drew out her sharp blade from behind but…

"Fuck. Now I can't let you all live," Kiro mumbled in a frustrated tone as he aimed his revolver at Sui and…

*BANG!*

Just as Sui turned her head towards Kiro, the bullet passed through her chest, bringing a shaken Ethan back to reality as he saw Sui fall over him.

"SUI!!!" Ethan felt as if his heart was collapsing from within, seeing her body becoming listless as she fell over him.

This time his rage and resentment pushed his senses and thought process to the extreme as he turned his head around and saw Kiro aiming the revolver at him, his finger squeezing on the trigger.

"No, you WON'T!" Ethan commanded, and as if his words were the heaven's decree, the revolver didn't fire. Magically the hammer of the revolver stopped mid-way, preventing the bullet from going off.

"Eh?? Why is this damn thing not firing!!" Kiro shouted to himself in confusion and frustration as he tried to squeeze the trigger multiple times, but the revolver was not firing.

But instead, he could feel the sharp yet heavy gaze from the boy in front of him who was looking at him with an intense fevered stare. It made him feel like he could just die from his stare alone, and for some reason, he felt like fleeing.

Ethan slowly raised his hand in the direction of the revolver, his eyes reddened and misty.

"No…No…" Kiro mumbled with a look of disbelief as he saw the revolver uncontrollably shaking in his hand as if trying to fly away from his hand!

He grimaced as he tried to hold it within his grip by applying as much strength as possible, but with each moment, he felt as if he was losing his grip over it.

Ethan's gaze hardened even more as the revolver flew out of Kiro's hand and magically flew towards Ethan's hand, positioning itself correctly, his finger already resting on the trigger.

"How…Impossible!!" Kiro began to step back unconsciously as he raised his hands, feeling shocked to see his gun somehow ending up in Ethan's hands.

"You…You killed them…" Ethan muttered as his voice rose in intensity, his teeth grinding against each other.

Kiro's felt his back becoming sweaty as he said in a shaky voice, "Boy…give me back my gun, and I can still let all this slide…Otherwise—"

"You killed my friends…There is no way in hell I would let you breathe a second longer!!" Ethan said in a scathing voice as he shouted, his finger squeezing on the trigger.

"NOO!!!"

*BANG! BANG! BANG!*

Three consecutive shots echoed in the area as the three bullets found their mark in Kiro's chest. They left behind three bloody holes, making his expression fill with terror and shock as he stumbled back.

Blood began to drip out from Kiro's mouth as he clutched his chest while clumsily stepping back, his eyes seemingly losing the ability to blink.

Not a few moments later, his eyes became dull and gray as he succumbed to the ground, his body completely still.

"Eh…what the heck was that sound…Fuck…my balls hurt…" One of the goons stirred awake as he tried to get up, but just as he was trying to make sense of what happened…

*BANG!*

A bullet shot through the back of his skull, making the goon collapse on the ground faster than he got up. He didn't even get to know who shot him or why.

Hot vapors were escaping into the air from the muzzle of the revolver in Ethan's hand as he slowly lowered it with a glassy expression and eyes as if he wasn't bothered about the fact that he killed two men. No…it was more like his mind wasn't even focusing on what he just did, but instead, he turned his head to look at the girl lying in his arms.

Her eyelids seemed to weakly move as she languidly opened them and looked at the young man holding her, his eyes welling up with tears.

"Sui…I will save you…let me call the ambulance!" Ethan frantically said as he dropped the revolver and searched for the phone in his pocket in a desperate manner.

However, she suddenly grabbed his hand, stopping him from taking his phone, much to his confusion and surprise.

"Ethan…don't…" Sui spoke softly, her voice was sweet yet fragile.

"Sui…" Ethan took a look at her wound and saw that she was bleeding profusely, right where her heart was.

Her soft blue eyes were gazing at him as she seemingly seemed to muster all the strength she could to open her mouth and say something more, "Ethan…I…"

Ethan grabbed her hand and pressed it against his chest as he leaned his face, even more, wanting to hear what she wanted to say.

"...I…am…" Her hand seemed to slowly lift as if to reach out for something, but before she could complete her sentence, the final embers of life disappeared from her eyes, making Ethan feel as if he had lost the ability to breathe.

"SUI!! NO!!!!" Ethan cried out, his voice filled with indescribable pain and agony, but the next moment he was shocked to find himself sitting up on his bed at home, his room dark, the skies slowly welcoming the dawn of the sun.

"Ha…Ha....Sui..." Ethan was rapidly breathing as he tried to calm down his mind and body and make sense of what was going on. His eyes were wet and hot while he could feel that his back had gone cold.

'That can't be....Was it all just a bad dream…'