"You're not going to. I won't allow it." Lia promised. "I need to go find a phone to call the police. You guys stay here. Make sure he doesn't move," she tells Jace and Griffin who are still at the other side of the room, holding down the ringmaster, who looks to be fading in and out of consciousness. She runs to his study, hoping that she would find a phone or anything to call the police.
Griffin presses the gun against the ringnaster’s chest, his eyes cold. “Jace? Should I shoot him?”
Ella leans into Leo, breathing heavily. She blinks slowly and curls up. "Don't, Griffin," she murmurs.
“He hurt you, Ella. You really want him to get away with that?”
Jace shook his head. "As much as I hate saying it, we need him alive." He looked down at the now unconscious ringmaster. "He deserves to suffer. Death would let him go easy." He heard running footsteps and saw Lia run back into the room.
"I got it! I found his phone!" She gasped then stopped to catch her breath before calling 911.
Griffin turned to Jace. “Could you hold this for a minute?”, he said, jiggling the gun.
Ella sat up and gasped. "Ouch," she rubbed at her stomach. She leaned against the wall, grimacing, as Lia ran in with the phone. "Oh, good." Her eyes fluttered shut.
Jace took the gun from Griffin, pressing it to the ringmaster's chest.
Lia called the police, told them where they were and what was happening, and then walked over to Ella. "Ella? Please, stay with us. The police are coming. Please, please, we're going to get you out of here."
Ana had been trying to shake Eli awake for several minutes. "Eli! Elliot! Get up!" He groaned. "I'm up! I'm up! What happened?" She helped him out of bed. "I don't know!" She pulled him down the hallway, stopping once she saw what was going on. Eli gasped.
Griffin ran to Ella crouching down next to her. “Oh, Jesus, Ella I’m so sorry we’ll get you out of here, I promise—“ He was in tears.
Ella's head lolled to the side. I know, she mouthed.
Leo stood up, shaking. He paced the room, raking his hands through his hair. "Oh my god, oh my, i told you all this was a bad idea…"
"What the hell happened?!" Eli exclaimed, looking around at the scene in front of him. Ana let out a little squeak when she saw Ella.
“Stay with us, Ella please, oh God—“ Griffin frantically tried to patch up the wound some more, tears running down his face as he cupped her face in his hands.
"HE SHOT HER! HE FUCKING SHOT HER!" Leo shouted, pacing faster.
Lia looked up, tears still falling on her cheeks. "You think I don't know that? This is my fault. Not yours. Not Ella's. Not anyone else's fault but mine. I came up with the idea to explore. I let her come with me. I'm the reason she got shot." She dropped her head into her hands and let out a sob.
"He what?!" Eli exclaimed, glaring at the ringmaster. "Why haven't you guys shot him yet?!" Ana ran over to Ella, giving her and Griffin some space but still checking on her.
When Lia began crying, Ana ran over to her instead, patting her shoulder softly. "It's not your fault Lia. It's the ringmaster's. He's the jerk who did all of this."
Griffin turned to Lia. “The only person at fault here is the mother*****ng ringmaster.”
"Then why haven't you shot the bastard?!" Eli yelled at everyone. "If none of you do, I will!"
Lia gave a weak smile to Ana. "Ella said not to shoot him," she tells Eli.
Jace felt the ringmaster start to move under the gun and he pressed it farther. "Move and I shoot," he threatened.
Ana nodded, smiling slightly. "I understa-" Eli butt in. "Well, I think we should. It gets rid of our whole issue here."
Ella's eyes flew open. She rose unsteadily to her feet, gripping Ana for balance. "Eli, no," she said weakly. "No one deserves to be shot in cold blood."
Griffin gritted his teeth. “He does.”
"He does!" Eli pointed to the ringmaster, glaring as he looked around the room. "Where is it? Where's the gun? If no one's gonna shoot him, I will!"
"Please guys, the police will be here any second. They'll take care of it," Lia pleaded, looking at everyone.
Ella faltered. "Please, guys." She stumbled and sank back to the ground.
Ana glared at Eli. "Shush! You're not helping Ella." She signed to him. Eli ignored her. "Give me the f***ing gun."
Jace shook his head. "I'm not giving it to you. Ella's the one that who got shot, and she said no. I agree with her and Lia. We can't kill him."
Eli glared at Jace. "Give. Me. The. Gun." His anger overtook him.