Where to Point

ONE

The door has opened. The opponent is someone Maria has seen before on many accounts, but has never said a single word to. That would make it easier to kill him. And the scary thing is, the same goes for him.

Either way, Maria is happy it's no one she knows. For instance, her father was killed by the man who practically raised him. And soon, that mentor was killed too. By his own hand.

Maria knows that this test can single handedly ruin one's mental capacity. She knows that, to some, survival is worse than dying. That they regret ever taking a step forward to kill the person on the opposite side.

Would Maria regret it?

Only one way to find out.

TWO

The weapon that either could grab comes into Maria's view.

A gun. She curses under her breath, well aware of her skills with a firearm. Maybe her opponent is awful with them too.

It's not like she could ask.

Most likely, there's only one bullet in there. One shot to end it all. Or ruin it all. Being that they could fight over it, shoot it at the floor and waste it. Maria really hopes that doesn't happen. Because there's no leaving the room until one is dead. And that'd be a lot bloodier then a single shot to the stomach.

Maria needs to move if she doesn't want that to happen.

THREE

Her legs pick up. The sound of fast foot steps start. From both of them. Maria can only rely on her adrenaline now. Her opponent looks-moves-faster than her.

Maria now focuses on getting her arm, no, hand, no, finger closer to the gun. Any contact is now more reliable than any movement from her tiny little legs.

She's never been described as exceptionally fast but she can hold her own in a race. Only this a race for life.

FOUR

Maria's eyes, surprisingly, look away from the gun and up at her opponent. Who was, equally surprising, looking at her too. And some fiber in Maria's body tells her that he was looking at her the whole time.

Why?

He does seem young. Innocent. Undeserving of what Maria will eventually do to him.

But that makes Maria sound like a monster.

But... Monster's like that have choices. And Maria can either do or die. And she wouldn't die if it meant she could kill.

Take the life of an undeserving boy.

Maybe there is a choice.

FIVE

Maria's middle finger has made contact with the weapon. That would be good if only he hadn't gotten a whole hand around it. He pulls it closer to him and Maria can only step back. Remove her self from what will inevitably occur.

Actually, nothing is really inevitable in her world. Seems like plot twist take place every day.

Well aware of the circumstances, and the chances of her dodging a bullet, Maria feels like resisting the urge to try...

SIX

...But then she sees him again. She sees the tears in his eyes, the shaking of his hands, his finger barely on the trigger of the gun pointing right at her. Maria has never felt so unsafely safe.

His will to keep hold of the gun becomes transparent when he drops it due to a random scream.

Well, it probably isn't random to him.

SEVEN

"Ella? Ella!" He calls out to the corridors that surround them. Where other test just like this are taking place. Or at least, that's what Maria thinks she hears from the floor. As expected, she crouched down to catch the falling gun. And she comes back up just as fast. Getting ready to move it towards him. Pull the trigger.

Kill the boy who stopped everything because of someone he cared about.

Sure, people have called her it over the years, but Maria's not strong enough to pull that off.

But still, someone is going to leave here.

Someone has to.

EIGHT

He turns. To Maria. Who has a gun pointed in his face. The tears are still present in his eyes. He doesn't seem greedy for survival. Life. Maybe, for the survival of others. But he's too humble for that of his own.

Maria can see it all in his eyes.

She knows what she has to do now. She's sure of it.

The gun goes farther away from the boy and closer to the holder.

NINE

It's turned fully. She's turned it fully. The barrel now at her beating heart. Her finger circling the trigger. Maria wants to say something before the gun goes off. She has to.

And all that comes out of her trembling figure is, "I'm sorry."

TEN

Maria's heard the sound of gunfire before. She's smelled what guns omit after they're used. Seen them been used on crowds of people. Even tasted gunpowder. But never once has she felt the full power of a speeding bullet.

And who knew it would be the last pain she'd ever feel. And for a boy she didn't even know.

Her body hits the floor with a loud thud. And her breathing starts to hurt. In fact, almost everything hurts. Her sight gets hazy and for the first time in a long time, her mind clears itself of all thoughts. All emotion. Everything.

All Maria can process, comprehend, is the world slowly fading to black.

***

Oliver gasped. Cried out. Even ran to the girl on the floor. Wondering why she'd die for him. Was it Ella's calling? Him personally? No, it couldn't have been.

All he knows is that he practically killed someone today. The exact thing he didn't want to do And probably what she didn't want to do either. Maybe she was willing to, in the beginning, but something, something Oliver's unaware of, changed that. He doesn't know if he should be thankful or regretful of that thing.

Oliver sat at her side, not knowing why exactly she killed herself but very sure of what he should do next...