Collateral

Sophia breaks open the door, and the two girls storm in. They spot quite a luxurious living room. Three people sit on a couch near the front door. One is Mr Johnson, another is Stephany, and the last is Mrs Smith.

Stephany directly covers her face with her arms. Mrs smith freezes and stares at them. Mr Johnson, on the other hand, just calmly puts his cigarette in the ashtray and smiles at them.

“I was expecting you, girls.”

His voice sounds weak like he is wounded. Only then, Ellie spots the bandages on his arm. They look makeshift. Maybe Mr Johnson is way more scared than he seems if he doesn’t dare to go out to a ripper doc or a hospital.

Ellie points the gun to his face while Sophia stands back and holds the other two people at gunpoint.

“You killed my Mom,” Ellie screams.

“Well, she betrayed me. We are all reasonable people, right? You understand I couldn’t let her live. And I didn’t enjoy killing her. She was a great asset. And a pretty woman, nevertheless. If she just had been reasonable, she would still be alive. If anything, it is her fault she is dead. I just did what any reasonable person would do.”

Ellie clenches her fist, her finger steadily on the trigger. She is shivering with rage. Then Mr Smith interrupts.

“Ellie. You are Ellie, right? I used to babysit you when your Mom was at work when you were this small.” She gestures with her hands.

Ellie snaps at her, “Shut up. This is between him and me.”

She tries with all her might to pull the trigger, but she doesn’t seem to be able to. She lowers the gun tears streaming down her face.

“Just like I thought.” Mr Johnson stands up and snatches the gun out of Ellie’s hands. He aims the gun at her, and Sophia readjusts her gun.

“I am rather disappointed in you, Ellie. And in you too, Sophia.”

Sophia lowers her gun and looks down. “I am sorry, Dad. I didn’t notice Rose stole the phone.”

“Do you really expect me to believe Rose stole the phone from Sterling’s body without you noticing?”

“I was,” Sophia stutters. “I was outside vomiting. I never saw a dead body before, and he was already rotting. I could see the maggots eating his eyes.”

Mr Johnson sighs. “You had one job, Sophia. Keep an eye on Rose. And you couldn’t do that.”

“I am sorry Dad, it was just an honest mistake.”

Mr Johnson sighs again, keeping his gun pointed at Ellie. Ellie sizes the room, there must be a way to escape. If she ran fast enough, would Mr Johnson be quick enough to shoot, and would he hit? Or maybe she could tackle him for the gun. But then again, he already knows she doesn’t have the mental strength to pull the trigger.

Mr Johnson continues lecturing Sophia, “And then, you teamed up with this girl,” Mr Johnson gestures at Ellie his gun.

“I” Sophia stutters. “I thought you were planning to kill me, so I felt I had no choice. Please. Please let me prove to you I am loyal. I’ll do anything.”

Mr Johnson smiles “If you wanna prove your loyalty to me, just shoot your friend here. Easy as that.”

“No, anything but that.”

“She was planning to kill me, if you are truly loyal to me, you kill her.”

Sophia looks to Ellie and back to her dad, and slowly raises her gun while shivering. The gun is shaking in her hand. This is it.

“I … I can’t,” Sophia says. She lowers the gun and starts crying.

“You are a disgrace. Walk away, I never want to see you again.”

Sophia bows her head and looks away, unable to meet the gaze of her dad. She slowly starts walking to the door, in shame.

“If I want to have something done well, I have to do it myself.”

Mr Johnson aims the gun at Ellie’s head, and she stares down the barrel.

A deafening gunshot sounds. Ellie’s ears are ringing, and she waits for the inevitable surge of pain. Yet it never comes. Mr Johnson grabs his chest, his eyes wide. He slowly falls to the ground while blood spurts from his chest. Ellie turns around and sees Sophia standing behind her, her still smoking gun aimed at her dad.

“I am sorry Dad, but I love Ellie more than I love you.”

She looks back at Ellie. “Let’s go. Let’s leave and never come back.”

Ellie looks at her. “Ye, let’s leave. There is nothing left for me here.”