(Laurinius 11, 56 / 8:58PM)

  7 years prior.

  (???) Daddy? Is that you?

  (???) You’re still awake Emilia?

  A blonde-haired man, being below average in height, stood in the doorframe between the room and the hallway.

  His hand on the doorknob, he had his head tilted to the right, as a calm and neutral smile bristled his youthful face. Looking to be in his early 20s, he had a side bang covering his left eye, as he wore a bck tuxedo suit and office shoes.

  Walking into the darkened room, he moved his hand to his waist, his eyes softly staring at his daughter. The girl, wrapped and snuggled in a mountain of bnkets, stared at the bck fedora he still had on.

  (Agent Briggs) You know your bedtime is at 9 Emilia. Don’t tell me you’ve been drawing te at night again.

  (Emilia) I don’t feel sleepy!

  (Agent Briggs) Come on, you got to follow your mom’s rules.

  Reaching in front of her bed, he grabbed the top of her bnkets and pced them right under her chin, leading her to squirm and kick her feet. Clutching the mountain of fabric, she averted her eyes away, puffing her cheeks and narrowing her eyes at her father.

  (Emilia) You promised!

  (Agent Briggs) Huh?

  (Emilia) You promised you’d read me a bedtime story!

  (Agent Briggs) Wait I—oh…

  Raising his right hand, he let his fingers scale his chin, his nails scouring his skin which failed to sprout out even a speck of facial hair. Tapping his jawline, he moved his eyes to one of her desk drawers, along with his right foot quietly tapping along the wooden floor.

  Softly creaking the tile of wood, he released his hands from his chin, as he snapped with just his pointer and middle finger. Reaching down to the drawer he had his eyes, he opened one of the cabinets.

  In a stroke of luck, a small, simple children’s book y resting inside.

  (Agent Briggs) Just one story okay?

  Emilia nodded while poking her face out from the rge influx of bedsheets. Seeing him pull out the small children’s book, he also walked to the other end of the room to grab a chair, pulling it so it had it facing her bed. Screeching the wooden floor, it didn’t scrape nor scratch, but it molested both his and Emilia’s eardrums.

  The sound stopped, and he settled down, with the small book in his hands.

  Once he was finished reading the book, he looked up to see she was out cold, her pale face warm full of happiness. Getting up from the chair, he pced the old children’s book on top of her drawer, before picking up the wooden chair to its original pce.

  Why not just drag it? Well, a parent wouldn't want to disturb his or her child’s sleep.

  (Agent Brigg’s thoughts) Love you, sweetie.

  Walking one st time to the front of her bed, he heard her quietly snore through her small nose. Her left cheek pushed on her pillow, and the strands of her blond hair covered the right side of her face, leaving her forehead vulnerable…

  For a soft kiss.

  Having already bent down, he grazed his palm over her silky hair, before he pulled his hand away to his thigh. Straightening his back, he continued to have his timid and warm smile pstering his face.

  Turning away, he let his eyes perceive a short woman in between the doorway.

  (???) Late again Briggs?

  (Agent Briggs) Sorry, dear. I just had a lot of paperwork back at the military complex.

  (Brigg’s wife) Well … I wanted to let you know that your dinner is on the table, cold.

  Pcing his left hand on the back of his head, he shyly rubbed it. His body was slim and short, and his right hand began to cm with sweat, he began his walk to the woman in front of him.

  Seeing him feel guilty, she huffed out a pressured huff from her chest and closed her eyes. With her hands on her hips, she uncmped them, leaving them to drop to her thighs.

  (Brigg’s wife) Please let me know when you’re out and about.

  (Agent Briggs) I swear, I wasn’t. But the truth is…

  Both Briggs and her walked out of their daughter’s room, closing the door on the way out every gently.

  Walking through the furnished hallway, the green-painted wallpaper on both sides of the walls was shone by small chandeliers above. Pictures, showcasing happy smiles, core memories, and life itself, it warmths their souls like a marshmallow on the fire.

  Side by side, he had both of his hands drooped low to his thighs.

  (Agent Briggs) I met this fellow agent, a cool guy. He’s been helping me out ever since we moved to his pce.

  (Brigg’s wife) Oh ok. Well, if you and him are not that busy, I could cook you boys dinner tomorrow night if you want.

  (Agent Briggs) I’ll ask him.

  As they reached the kitchen, he stopped in between the hallway and the table. Grabbing her left hand, his palm and fingers softly squeezed her knuckles, leading her to brush her shoulder alongside his.

  (Agent Briggs’ thoughts) I can’t get any luckier…

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  (Laurinius 12, 56 / 5:48PM)

  The door to his house was wide open.

  The silence grew and molded all around the small furnished home, as the eerie evening sun cast a hellish glow. Briggs, who stood in between the front porch and the front hallway, had his cheeks and eyes quiver relentlessly at what y in front of him.

  A woman, with brown hair, id on her back, while a pool of blood encompassed her body.

  Unbearable, unchained, unthinkable to comprehend the impossible, his fingers twitched the more he stared at her. No breath, no air coming from her nostrils or mouth, and a rge gush of blood flowed out from her liver.

  A hole, rge enough to be trenched by a shotgun shell, had already torn her insides to splinters. His lungs, throat, and nostrils; were all being touched and meddled by the smell of shit, pieces of it were sunk deep inside her digestive tract.

  (???) Holy shit…

  Behind Briggs, a tall man with silver hair, stopped to the right of him. Wearing the same uniform as him, followed by the same fedora, the tall agent wrinkled his face at the dispy of cruelty he saw.

  Walking right to the dead woman, he crouched down, his face darkened as the ends of his silver hair brushed his uniform.

  (Agent Eren) Briggs, I don’t know what to say…

  Even Briggs couldn’t mutter a word.

  Instead, he hunched his back, his eyes widened while letting his hands droop low to his thighs. Entering inside his own home, he looked at the corpse, her body already rotting like an apple on a patch of dead grass.

  His breath, frozen and glued to his throat, couldn’t utter or breathe out even a sylble of words.

  His fellow agent buddy, Eren, gazed at the rotting body which started to succumb to the enemy of time. Blood, continuing to gush from her wound, followed by the smell barely making a dent in his nose, these two clues gave him…

  (Agent Eren) The body still looks fresh, so maybe there’s a chance the killer is not far away.

  Moving his right hand to his hip, he pulled out a desert eagle from his holster. Holding the grip with both of his quaking hands, he quietly trailed the hallway while letting his eyes peer every corner and crack along the walls.

  While he did this, Briggs hovered his right hand over his wife, his palm inches from caressing her forehead. But he couldn’t touch her.

  Even though he tried, he couldn’t. A thought, a fsh of it, sliced through his mind like a bullet train. Like a slinky toy, he sprang his body up, and sprinted toward the hallway, as he remembered…

  (Agent Briggs) Emilia!

  Last night, his palm felt the warmth of her daughter’s forehead. Unwilling to touch his wife’s cold and damp corpse, he wanted to keep his hands warm, feel warm, and solder it with warmth.

  Thudding the floor, along with the house, he burst through the door which led to Emilia’s room. His shoulder, unbruised from the forced tackle, swayed the door open to allow the sight—

  She was nowhere to be found.

  The sheets were tucked nicely, and everything was organized and clean, it looked … off.

  Gazing his rapid eyes throughout the entirety of the room, he couldn’t conjure a single clue, as everything was wiped clean of evidence. His breathing fastened, hardening, making his chest seem like it might explode, he pced his left hand over his stomach.

  (Agent Briggs’ thoughts) W-Where is she…?!

  From behind, Eren came running toward Briggs, allowing himself to enter the same room as him. Letting his barrel sway to all four corners, and succumb to the darkened shadows, the metal of the gun trembled under the pressure he pced firm upon.

  Lowering his gun, he turned his eyes to Briggs.

  (Agent Eren) I couldn’t find any signs of them. Footprints, fingertips, they all hid it away as if nothing happened…

  Eren pced his pistol into his holster, his eyes lowered to the ground as he stared at a little girl’s bed.

  His left hand, squeezing itself, jingled his knuckles and bones. Both of his hands low to his thighs, he traced the absurd amount of sheets stacked on top of the bed, causing him to move his right hand into his jacket.

  Pulling out a rge bullet—no, a shotgun shell, it was littered with blood, with the stench of gunpowder and manure excrement off from the lead.

  (Agent Eren) But I have only one clue.

  He showcased the bullet, having his right arm thrust forward so his hands were inches from Brigg’s face. Letting the blonde-haired agent be brought back to reality, he took a step back, his pupils drawing the engraved carving of the bullet with his mind.

  (Agent Eren) The bullet belongs to a certain group, one of the cartels.

  (Agent Briggs) C-Cartels…?

  (Agent Eren) Yeah, the Los Cerdos de Ojos Negros.

  Eren began to walk out of the room, as he pced his right hand into his pocket. Having his left hand stationary to his waist, he wrinkled his eyes and narrowed them forward, as he tilted his head low.

  Stopping right in front of Brigg’s dead wife, he gnced back, seeing Briggs still wide-eyed and stuttering.

  (Agent Eren) Come on Briggs, let’s get your daughter back.

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  (Laurinius 14, 56 / 1:33PM)

  A couple of days ter.

  In a van with no name, it plowed through the surrounding mangroves of trees and brushes. The driver, Eren, had his hands clenched firm on the leather wheel.

  The passenger, Briggs, had his fingers clutching together, gluing them while tapping his right foot on the van floor. His eyelids, clouded in dark eyebags, looked as if he hadn’t slept in over a day.

  (Agent Eren) It’s been two days since you st slept. This is a perfect chance for you to catch some mimis.

  (Agent Briggs) I’ll be fine.

  (Agent Eren) Rest. Please. It won't hurt to take in just a couple of hours.

  (Agent Briggs) I said I’m fine.

  Eren nodded his head front and back, as he kept his eyes glued to the road in front of him. The road being a single-ne highway, curved and swerved like a typical back road, but with the extra danger of no side rails.

  With only the barely visible yellow signs, it only gave Eren a small heads-up when turning and slowing down. Yet even still, he went twenty, maybe thirty over the speed limit.

  The motion of the van swaying their bodies around, they were blessed that the van didn’t falter. Eren, who continued to keep his pupils facing front, directed his words to his right.

  (Agent Eren) The hideout that all the agents are talking about will be visible in just three to four hours. And judging from the report we were all given, it looked to be something of a holding camp.

  (Agent Briggs) That’s all that matters…

  His fingers fiddled and flicked his knuckles again and again, leading his nails to scratch and scrape against his skin. Blistering it red, he ceased his tapping, letting his right foot ftten out.

  Pcing his head on the headrest, his eyes gazed in front of him, his vision blurring from the peripheral sides of his irises. Only seeing what y in front of him, ignoring the mangroves and shrubs, he let his shoulders stiff and tightened.

  (Agent Briggs) How many cartel members did they say?

  (Agent Eren) Probably an entire battalion of them. Spartan Gabriel had already sent a quarter of the world’s agents to the hideout. This could be a breakthrough…

  Making one st curved turn, the road led the van down a little hill. Seeing the road have no curves for a couple of miles, Eren pushed down his cheeks, along with his eyes which were also leveled with eyebags.

  Pressing firm on the gas pedal, the engine roared and thundered, crackling the asphalt and pavement.

  (Agent Eren) A breakthrough in finding the missing orphans and kids after all these years…

  The longer they drove, the longer their eyes flickered, as their exhausted states only dampened their senses tenfold. But they had a goal.

  Either for the justice of lost kids or to bring back a taken daughter, they couldn’t rest, not one bit.

  Gncing down at Eren’s holster, seeing the shining glint of metal from his desert eagle, Briggs pushed his head into the headrest evermore. Letting go of his clenched hands, he had them gripping his knees.

  (Agent Briggs) What do you think of mercy killing?

  Eren turned around once, his eyes pushed down once he met with his. Turning them back onto the road, he let his left hand hold the wheel while raising his right to scratch the side of his head.

  (Agent Eren) At the very least, no one should be killed. I know this may come off as controversial but…

  He let his right hand plow down to the armrest next to him, as his left hand gripped tight along the leather. Trying to skin his nails into the wheel, trying and trying to no avail, he kept them there, and let his eyes tilt down.

  All the while Briggs had his head turned to him, as he cleared his throat and plowed mucus into his stomach.

  (Agent Eren) If the person is still drawing breath, they shouldn’t be killed. I just don’t like the idea of taking one’s life. Why do you ask?

  (Agent Briggs) Just wondering.

  (Agent Eren) I doubt they’d already tortured her.

  His vision unblurred, it led his fingers to twitch and quiver, his body allowing a shriveled shiver to traverse his body. From the soles of his feet to the tips of his toes, they went numb, making him feel like he was stepping on nails.

  His knuckles, which bled out small streaks of blood, weren’t enough to flow out. Instead, it stalled on his skin, making it seem like a poisonous pnt had rubbed its leaves on it.

  (Agent Eren) It’s been a day since she was taken. From the speed we are going, we could reach the hideout by the time that truck or van stops and unloads the kids.

  (Agent Briggs) You’re … you’re right.

  He soon let his fingers curl deep into his palms, his nails sharp but not strong enough to jab into his skin. No, he was strong, but he didn’t have the fortitude to do so, as his lean muscles bulged the more he stalled the tips of his fingers.

  Letting his body slump forward, he felt his vision heavy, his eyelids feeling like anvils as his exhausted state soon was getting the better of him.

  (Agent Briggs) I just … can’t lose both of them. I can’t…

  (Agent Eren) All we need is hope and faith. The worst hasn’t happened yet.

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  (Laurinius 14, 56 / 4:26PM)

  Blood shingled the walls and floors.

  Both agents, cd in all bck, walked through the rusted floor of an abandoned barracks. Chains and shackles, all creeping the darkened walls, had leftover bone as decorations. Death clouded their nostrils, their lungs, even their souls, but they pushed onward.

  Their hands gripping their guns, a small trickle of sweat fluttered from Brigg’s right temple.

  (Agent Briggs) Where is she Eren…?

  (Agent Eren) They said there was a locked door just beyond this barracks…

  As Eren held his right hand with his pistol, his left hand carried nothing more than a simple bronze key. Having it low to his waist, his nails shivered under the cold air, a far cry from outside.

  Before their venture into the barracks, both agents helped in fighting off the cartel. With the battalion of agents gaining victory in the area, they left some cartel members alive, using them to gain info regarding certain…

  Topics.

  {(Cartel Member #1) H-Here’s the key! I’m just a gunrunner! Promise!

  (Agent Eren) And this key? What does it do?

  (Cartel Member #1) It opens up the vault from the barracks! It’s supposed to be where the Boss spends his free time…}

  Remembering the fshback with the informative cartel member, Eren let his palms squeeze the bronze of the key, coating the color into his skin. Their passion for justice, but not for death still reigning over them both, they let him live.

  But of course, sinners must be punished. Not long after, the rest of the agents handcuffed him and sent him off to one of the penitentiaries; far, far away.

  Reaching the metal door in front of them, Eren was only a meter away, as his entire body shivered. Feeling the pores of his skin fre up, he slowly extended his right hand forward, as death itself was locked away behind that door.

  (Agent Briggs) Open it, Eren…

  Gulping loudly, Eren pushed the key into the keyhole, the tips of the metal caressing the mechanism of the lock. Softly twisting the key, its small shudder spurred, as the sound of the door clicking open was heard.

  Leaving Eren to walk back a few steps, the rge door began to open, with cold air escaping free from its prison. Their hearts froze, their lungs froze, even the smallest of their muscles unwilled to let them walk or twitch. Their eyes peering deep into the darkest pitch of bck they ever saw, they—

  Heard footsteps.

  The sunlight, shining down on the left side of their bodies, began to flutter and glow out through the window. Brightening the cold and dark building, lighting the spirits within their hearts, one of the agents took a step forward.

  Even the light gave birth to a little girl, walking out from the dungeon-like room.

  (Agent Briggs) Emilia…

  Her face was clean, her body glowed in the dark.

  Wearing nothing but a pin white nightgown, her bare feet tickled along the cold metallic floor. Her dress was covered down to her ankles, her hair was kept clean, and her eyes still shone like the day he st saw her.

  She was safe, she was untouched.

  (Agent Briggs) Emilia…

  Stopping in between the dark room and the barracks, Briggs loosened his hands, and his body; and sprinted toward her.

  Without thinking, he extended both of his arms and hands out wide, instantly wrapping them around her small body. Clutching her tightly, he had his chin burrow onto her shoulder, keeping her chest close to his.

  Reunited, at long st, his eyes flickered. His eyelids enacting as damns, he held back tears that could’ve flooded a jungle.

  Warming up his face with a quivering smile, he let the warm sunlight bze their bodies, making the room brighten evermore than it should’ve. Feeling her warmth on her back, he wasn’t dreaming, he wasn’t hallucinating, she was right there.

  (Agent Briggs) I love you…

  As he sniffled, Eren only darkened his face, the tip of his fedora casting a dark shadow amongst it. His hands, free from gripping iron, only numbed to the sight in front of him.

  Walking in back of him, Eren pced his hand on Brigg’s shoulder. His strength, unable to pry itself out of the hug Briggs gave for his daughter, only maintained as his eyes flickered as well. But for a different reason.

  (Agent Eren) Oh no…

  As if time had gged, the clouds to their left began blocking the sun.

  Slowly, the warm sunlight that bnketed the barracks started to fade, leaving the air to freeze. Feeling their bodies go cold, go numb even, Briggs widened his eyes while continuing to keep his chin on top of her shoulder.

  He felt her shoulder go cold; along with her back. Unresponsive, he pulled his head back, moving his hands to her shoulders as he—

  No smile had dawned on her face.

  Being nothing more than an illusion, a hallucination, as if denial had completely overtaken reality… he was brought back into it.

  His daughter looked nothing like the girl he st saw, not even a little bit. No, it was his daughter, but…

  (Agent Briggs) No …

  She looked lifeless.

  Her mouth was bnkly open, her eyes dazed into the abyss, and her skin was covered head to toe with newly furnished scars. Looking like she was whipped, almost horsewhipped, small shrapnels of metal were lodged into her back.

  Despite her long white cloth covering them, he felt his palms scour over them.

  Unable to feel her warmth, his palms finally feeling the long-awaited cold, he choked on his breath.

  (Agent Briggs) No, please…

  Swaying his head more and more, he couldn’t comprehend even the small droplets of blood still plucking down from her arms and legs. Her hair was scalped, leaving some of her skull to be dispyed.

  A breathless wheeze, scraping out from her parched throat, was enough to unrelease air from his frozen throat.

  (Agent Briggs) No, no, no …

  His lips flickering, he bit down on his upper lip, drawing out a simple trace of blood into his mouth. Releasing it, he traced her shoulders, feeling her skin and muscles already malnourished and dry. Practically starving, she continued to stare bnkly, as if she had forgotten the basics of how to speak.

  Unwilling to see the back of her head, he couldn’t.

  (Agent Briggs) What did they do to you … ah …

  Shaking her once, a long tear flowed from his right eye, riveting down to his jaw as it flickered onto her feet. His tear was warm, but it wasn’t enough to cleanse her wheezing breath. Analyzing her body once again, he tried to push up a smile, but his trembling frown only caused him to swell his eyes with tears.

  (Agent Briggs) I-I tried to find you … I-I-I did…

  Pressing against her body yet again, he tried to feel that warmth, he really did. His chest, feeling like he was hugging a block of ice, only shriveled and goose his skin.

  Moving his hands up to her cheeks, his thumbs delicately trembled along her scarred skin. Feeling the unspoken pain, feeling the rigid whips along her bony body, he pulled himself away.

  (Agent Briggs) Hey … Emilia … please … please say something …

  Shaking her gently, her head bobbled, as it tilted back an inch until it resurfaced straight. Her breathing, wheezing out repeatedly, was like hearing a chain smoker try to breathe through their bckened lungs.

  Warm tears trickled down his suit, to her bare toes, and the deathly floor. More and more, just how long could he deny this reality?

  (Agent Briggs) Say something … Emilia … Emilia.

  Choking up on his breath, his nails finally cmped down onto her skin, drawing out dark red blood that stained his fingertips. His voice frail, he creaked and cracked against his vocals, which tried its best to nurture his quivering throat.

  But even this, simir to his eyelids, failed its duty.

  (Agent Briggs) Emilia … it's me! I-It’s me!

  He tugged and tugged her again, his deafened words trailing through the darkened building. Protruding the walls, nibbling the floor, it shook off the small bone decorations near the many shackles and chains.

  Desperate, unwilling to let his denial fade, he let his tears flow effortlessly from the crevices of his eyes. Lowering his hands onto her shoulder bdes, he cmped them, while bringing his face close to hers.

  (Agent Briggs) Please! … please …

  All the while Eren sulked with a shadowed face, his right hand numb to the deathly frozen air around them. His left hand, glued to the inside of his suit’s pocket, couldn’t bring out the object he wanted to give…

  Twisting his head around, Briggs had his pleading eyes engraving themselves onto Eren. Unable to see his frown, he pulled Emilia closer to him, his cheeks already stained with his tears.

  (Agent Briggs) I don’t know what to do … please Eren … you got to—

  Eren pulled out a gun.

  Having it low to his waist, it was in arm’s distance from Brigg’s face. Without blinking, he let his eyes wander down to the revolver, his face scrunching up with a swaying head.

  He knew what to do, and what was best for everyone involved. Even Eren, breaking his fundamental principles, couldn’t let his eyes draw breath at the devil’s game. Nudging his hand more, a slight tear hovered on the right corner of his eye, leaving it to sparkle amidst his shadow.

  (Agent Briggs) No … don’t please …

  (Agent Eren) I’m sorry Briggs…

  Briggs kept his hands close to her, so Eren bent down, pcing the revolver on the floor right beside him. The barrel, being only a couple of inches from his knees, numbed his lower body tenfold.

  Turning away, Eren walked, mencholically tracing his steps as he hunched his back. Exiting the building, he left only father and daughter to be in the care of death.

  His eyes, gncing down at the revolver, made his fingers twitch. But one gnce at his daughter, the pain she endured, the pain that’ll never go away, it was …

  It was … it was for the best.

  (Agent Briggs) I’m so sorry…

  Leaving his left hand to wrap around her back, he lowered his right to grab the gun.

  Gripping it, tightening it, it couldn’t be broken. With no other choice, his denial failing him, he had to accept the best for him; and for her. Clutching her body deep into his chest, he raised his right hand.

  (Agent Briggs) I’m so sorry … sweetie.

  He wrapped her around with his right arm, giving her a st hug as her breathless wheezing continued. Turning the gun, the barrel had itself pointed at her back, the target being directly to her heart.

  The barrel, hovering inches from her white dress cloth, trembled violently. His gun shaking with the motion of his unsteady hand, he moved his left hand onto the back of her head.

  (Agent Briggs) I love you so, so, much…

  He felt her skull, his palms scouring it which was bashed and scraped. Having her head tucked deep, deep enough so he couldn’t hear breathless groans, he felt his chest shrivel cold. At long st, he moved the barrel to her back, the hole encapsuting itself deep into her scarred and battered skin.

  (Agent Brigg’s thoughts) Please, Eva…

  A st set of tears plowed through his cheeks. His finger, on the side of the gun, twitched endlessly as the rolling river flowed down to his throat and chest. Biting his lips, he ceased the quivering, as his fingers scrunched her scalped head.

  (Agent Brigg’s thoughts) Take care of her …

  He looked up at the ceiling, which blocked him from speaking to the heavens above. Yet still, he wanted a calling, an understanding of his betrayal and cruel ordeal. His finger, continuing to jitter, moved slowly to the trigger. While the barrel, which would pierce through her heart, had slightly wished it would also plow through his too.

  (Agent Brigg’s thoughts) Oh God … don’t make me pull that trigger.

  No response came from above, leaving him no other choice, but to hover his finger on the firing mechanism. Stuck to her, glued to her, he couldn’t bear to look at the gun he wielded.

  Releasing his lips, he breathed out breathless gasps, crying out to the heavens to plead this injustice bestowed on him. His scleras straining a crimson red, red enough for his vision to see that same color, he choked and breathed from his mummied mouth.

  (Agent Briggs) Ah … ah …

  Closing his eyes, he plowed out the leftovers of his already drained tears, down the sides of his face. Breathing out, one st time, he felt his lungs wrinkle from the emptiness of his sacs. After so long, so very long, he felt at ease…

  As he had his finger on the trigger—

  (Emilia) Daddy? Is that you?

  Silence filled the empty room.

  He opened his eyes, as he heard her boomed faint words. Her voice, which began to stutter relentlessly, was like…

  Ever since she got out, she was trying to speak to him.

  A dark cloud began to shadow his soul, something sinister like that mingled his shy heart. Wallowing, flickering, pying with it without his will, it sent his body to a chilling numb.

  Unable to feel, unable to flow out more warm tears, he couldn’t no more.

  The revolver, which shook unsteadily along her back, soon ceased. Keeping his empty lungs bare, his body cold, his eyes and eyelids clouded itself with that same sinister dark cloud. An Eureka, bestowed upon him, had chilled and loosened his body like butter, leaving his gun to unshaken from his hand. His finger steady on the trigger, soon…

  The world went bck.

  Followed by the sound of a gunshot.