“Oi, I told you to shoot him,” she says, glaring at me and reaching behind her back to pull out a gun from the top of her trousers.  She waves the handgun towards me.

“Why? What has he done?” I ask. I need to know why. I am not going to harm him; he is my baby. My world. I can’t do it.

“He knows what he did,” she says.

“Mark, what did you do?” I ask.


“Mmm…” Mark grunts.

“Mark, please wake up!” I yell with tears rolling down my face. I need him to wake up. Karen grabs hold of my wrist, turning my hand over and slamming the gun into my palm. I have never held a gun before or even seen one in person. I have seen them on television programs before, but this is different. This one is real. It can really hurt someone. I don’t have a clue how to use it, and I don’t want to know.

“Do it!” she yells, clearly annoyed.

“I can’t. He hasn’t done anything wrong in my eyes,” I state.

“He has. My sister is in prison because of him. If he had just given her the money, everything would be fine,” she says, trying to remain calm. 

“We can sort this out like adults.”



“Adults? I don’t think so.  Shoot him!” she screams. There is a slight pause before she speaks again.  “Megan, shoot Mark, or I will shoot Lucy!”

Those last words numb me, and I suddenly feel something rising in my throat. I turn around quickly and throw up. I can’t do this. I just can’t. I won’t. Tears pour from my eyes.

“Megan, get on with the job,” she says, grabbing my hair and pulling it back.

“Do it, Megan.” I hear Mark suddenly say. I spin myself fully around.

“Mark, I can’t,” I state.

“Do … it…I… love… you,” he says, all broken up. What has she done to him? He seems out of it.

“Just fucking do it!” Karen yells.

“I have never held a gun before. I don’t know how to shoot.”

 “Just point and pull that,” she explains, attempting to show me the trigger.  The light is too dim for me to see.

“I can’t.”

“This might help then.” She storms over to the wall near Lucy, switching on the light. I close my eyes, rubbing them because the light is so bright. I slowly open them and instantly wish I hadn’t. I place my hand over my mouth. I thought the smell in this room was bad enough, but seeing Mark makes everything suddenly worse.

“Now shoot!” she roars.

“No!” I shout back. “Look at the mess of him and the mess in the room. It’s not right at all. If you want money, I will get you some. Just leave Mark alone.”

I look over at Mark, noticing more cuts on his face. His shirt is covered in holes, and there is blood on his arms. What happened to him?

“Just shoot him!”

“Answer some questions for me first.” I pause.“Why is there glass and stuff on the floor?”


“It’s from the mirrors I smashed over Connor’s head.”

“Connor?” I question, not knowing the connection.

“Yes, Connor.”

“Mark’s Connor?”



“Yes!” she growls.

“Where is he?” I ask. What the hell? I don’t get this woman at all. Why has she got Connor? Has he got something to do with it?

“Shoot Mark now.”



“No!” I yell. “I’m not going to shoot him.”

“Fine,” she says really calmly, turning on her heel and walking over to Lucy.

“Leave her alone!” I shriek.

“No! Shoot him.”

I stand there shaking, slowly managing to raise the gun. If I pretend to pull the trigger, she might leave Lucy alone. Or should I shoot her? I need her away from Lucy first. My hands are too shaky. I don’t want to shoot either of the people I love.

“Just … do … it,” Mark stutters.

I watch Karen bend down, grabbing hold of Lucy by her arm and pulling her from the box. My heart breaks. My baby girl looks so lifeless.

“Get off her!” I yell.

She pulls another gun from her pocket, pointing it at Lucy’s head. “Do it.”


I take a deep breath and pull the trigger.

BANG!