101

"Where have you been?!" Carlos yelled angrily behind me, pressing my face even harder against the closet, my jaw starting to hurt and my whole body shaking with fear.

His hand was tight over my mouth, which made it impossible for me to answer him, but even if I could, my answers would have been lies anyway.

I would never betray Emilio or get involved in this. His darkness should not be fed by my wrong decisions.

"I was drunk Isalie! I only lost control for a moment!", his voice trembled behind me and I felt his hands, my heart racing, slowly becoming looser, but when I sobbed loudly out of my panic under his hand, his grip immediately tightened again.

"You always played with me, Isalie! I always did everything for you and you? Don't you think I know anything about your many dates?!"

He pressed his body even closer to mine, so I was wedged between him and the closet, crying. My heart was pounding with fear and while I momentarily thought I was going to choke and cry pitifully under his hand, I suddenly heard Hector's voice coming from the direction of my front door, which sounded like pure hope.

"Isalie?" he called, slightly worried, but Carlos immediately yanked me away from the closet and held me tightly to his body while he pulled out a knife and held it right to my larynx.

"Who the hell is that?" he asked me nervously, pressing the knife a little harder against my skin so that it started to burn slightly. "One sound and I'll kill you!"

"A friend," I sobbed softly, thinking my heart would just stop beating any minute. I could only feel the knife against my neck and I knew that it would be a blink of an eye for him to breathe any life out of me, but I also knew that he would surely stab Hector if he just ran around the corner, so I decided to at least save his life because he had nothing to do with this.

"He's got a knife!" I yelled out loud and immediately Carlos pushed me away with such force that I banged my head against the closet and immediately fell to my knees.

"You stupid whore!" he yelled at me, but the next moment Hektor came into the bedroom with his gun drawn and aimed at Carlos' head, who suddenly grabbed my arm and before Hektor could pull the trigger, Carlos pulled me back on my legs and placed me right in front of him.

"Well, what are you going to do now?! Gun down!" he yelled at Hector, who only shook his head and didn't even think to put down his gun.

With a pounding headache, I looked Hector straight into his eyes and while mine were just flooded with tears, his seemed very composed and focused. It certainly wasn't the first hopeless situation he had found himself in unknowingly.

"I said gun down!" Carlos yelled again and pressed the knife against my skin so hard I was afraid I would collapse and die at any moment.

My breathing slipped very slowly from my lips as I watched as Hector allowed himself to be persuaded to put his weapon on the ground with an ice-cold stare.

His movements were very calm, as if he didn't want to scare Carlos and very carefully he put the pistol right in front of his feet and then raised his upper body again. Carlo's heartbeat pounded against my trembling back and it seemed like no one knew what was going to happen until Carlo's voice broke the silence again.

"Push her over!"

He momentarily removed the knife from my neck while pointing at the gun. He probably thought that Hector would kick them over to us, but why should he do that. We'd both be doomed, not just me.

When Hektor made no move and only stared at Carlos with hatred, he pushed me further and only stopped with me when Hektor was only a meter away from us.

"Isalie pick up the gun!" he hissed in my ear and pressed the knife to my side, causing me to avoid Hector's eyes in embarrassment and, in a panic, just do what the mean bastard asked.

I leaned forward, trembling, but just as my fingertips touched the cold handle of the weapon, I felt that rush of air and fell, shooting, to the ground.

"Hector!" I yelled in panic, turning on the ground so that I had to watch through my tears as the two fought without mercy.

The knife fell to the ground and I looked at it with wide eyes, while Carlos suddenly pushed Hektor against the cupboard and thundered several punches straight into his face.

I was frozen, but I was also fully aware that Carlos was much younger in age and more agile than Hector, who was well past his prime. In terms of muscle strength, he certainly wouldn't be able to hold out for long, and when I watched, really trembling, as Carlos knocked Hector to the ground and didn't want to stop beating him, I got up frantically and desperately ripped at Carlo's white t-shirt.

But without success. He banged his elbow back, hitting my shoulder and I staggered back a few steps, my terrified gaze fixed on Hector, who wasn't going to die today because of me!

Without thinking further about any consequences. Without thinking about what was right and what was wrong, or whether I was a good person or a bad person, I bent down to the gun and held it in front of my body with shaking hands.

I wanted to pull the trigger, but it didn't work. But from my countless books and films, I suddenly knew exactly what to do.

Holding my breath, I cocked the pistol and aimed it at Carlo's back, time suddenly becoming obsolete.

Heaven or Hell...

Good or Evil...

Was there even a chance of being able to choose which side you ended up on, or did fate play its own cards?

If so, then the gun in my hand had become my ace up my sleeve and without wasting any more time I withdrew my finger and slumped to my knees in awe of that loud bang that meant my life was about to change would change forever.

Carlo's t-shirt turned red as he moaned and just collapsed next to Hector.

I knew I had saved Hector's life, but it was I who had put it in danger in the first place.

And while Carlos was slowly dying and Hector was getting to his feet with several lacerations to his face, I was pondering this one question...

...was I a monster?!