He shoots!

There’s a sudden explosion, and you duck, thinking it’s the plane – but it’s just a gunshot, impossibly loud out here by the water. You feel something whistle past your shoulder, leaving a burning line across your skin, and Justin fires again –

This time, the bullet hits you point-blank in the gut.

You gasp, sucking in air that suddenly doesn’t seem to be doing anything. Your vision blurs, and on the ground, you see Justin, face still twisted in a rictus of pain. It almost looks like he’s laughing at you.

Then the plane really does explode.

The shockwave sends you flying forwards, over the pilot, skidding across the wet planks of the jetty. Your hands fly out in sheer, animal panic, barely managing to grab onto a splintered gap in the wood, just meters from the churning black ocean.

Justin isn’t so lucky.

His hands fly out, too, but he slips on the slimy edge – sliding straight past you, over the edge of the jetty, into the water. He lets out a single scream, and then he’s gone, bubbles exploding up to the surface.

You have no idea how strong a swimmer he is – but the salt water rushing into what’s left of his face must be agonizing, you realise suddenly, pain like nothing you can imagine. And the water’s deep here. And it’s dark.

In another time, in another world, you might have tried to rescue him. But with a bullet buried in your gut, all you can do is lie there, blinded by pain, trying not to black out.

You wait what seems like an eternity for Justin to resurface. Five minutes… six… but his head never comes back up.

A deep shuddering breath fills your lungs, as the reality of it hits home.

Justin is dead. Drowned under the jetty. He may have hung you in a cage, injected you with HIV and then shot you… but he’s dead.

And you’re probably not far behind him.

Blackness rushes up from the sides of your vision, and this time, you let the darkness take you.

Shit’s not looking good, folks.

But don’t worry, I won’t leave you hanging too long! Chapter Twelve drops on Monday – come back next week to see whether James ends up begging St. Peter for a second chance, and what happens when Emma finds out!