"Hey I said don't move!"
To my horror, a random man sitting close to the two robbers jumped out from his seat and tackled the one holding Christine hostage.
However, the robber's hand was still closely wrapped around Christine, causing her to fall down along with them.
'That idiot!'
My eyes immediately widened as I gritted my teeth hard.
Before anyone could intervene, the worst scenario happened.
During the scuffle between the two men, the robber attempted to free his arm, in the process accidentally slashing Christine's neck.
Instantly, crimson red blood started to flow out.
She tried to scream but only wordless gurgles could be heard as she frantically gripped her neck, her eyes dilating.
"NOOOOO! CHRISTINE!"
Her mother, who was behind the counter, screamed out as she tried to make her way to her daughter.
The other robber grabbed her by the collar and slammed her against the counter, telling her not to move a muscle.
She however did not listen, continuing to scream and move around in an attempt to break free from the man's grip.
At this point, all hell had already broken loose, so I too jumped out from my seat as I reached for my gun and aimed it at the man pinning the mother down.
I watched as the robber's eyes widened but quickly furrowed as he threw the mother aside and dashed in the other direction while reaching into his coat.
Pulling my gun out of its holster, I felt the metal grip settle into my hand perfectly.
I widened my stance and breathed in and out.
With the gun at my eye level, I prepared to shoot the robber, but then I realised something.
I could not find a clean shot. My arms were constantly shaking, causing my aim to be extremely inaccurate.
'If I fired now I could miss and injure a civilian!'
But I did not have much time to think, as the robber similarly pulled out a gun from his coat. He however did not hesitate in pulling the trigger.
Without any time to react, I could only helplessly watch as the man's finger pulled back on his revolver, the barrel spinning, and a bullet shot out.
"Bang!"
I tumbled to the ground, my gun falling out of my hands.
But I wasn't shot.
Hugo had tackled me down just in the nick of time, pushing me out of the line of sight of the bullet.
He also quickly returned fire while kicking me and himself away from each other.
I reclaimed my revolver and hid behind one of the booths.
Peeking out from there, I saw Hugo, who was in a similar situation firing back at the robber.
On the other hand, the robber with the knife hid behind a piece of large furniture after he managed to stab the random guy and overpowered him, letting him bleed out on the ground.
The robber with the gun flipped over the counter and hid behind it.
In that moment it was total chaos, as some civilians in the diner took the opportunity to dash out, while others who were further from the door and in between us hid in the booths behind their seats, praying that a stray bullet would not hit them.
Christine was getting dragged by her mother to safety, leaving behind a large trail of blood on the floor.
For the four of us it was a stalemate, as neither Hugo nor the robber with the gun could get a clear shot at the other.
Meanwhile, I and the robber with the knife could not get up due to the gunfire. Even though I had a gun, I could not fire it properly, and he only had a knife.
It was a stalemate.
Neither side could make any progress.
'Hah... what do we do now.'
Beads of cold sweat dripped down from my forehead as I tried to formulate a plan on what to do.
This wasn't like a fight against a supernatural creature, so Hugo could not use any of his charms.
We were towards the exit of the diner and they were at the opposite end. We held the exit so they couldn't just run away.
With no way to contact the outside, our best option was to wait for the people who had escaped to inform the police and for them to come here.
But who said the robbers would wait and let us remain in a stalemate until the police came.
"Amon, as time goes on they will most likely try to take another hostage. The disadvantage will only continue to grow, so that is the only way out. We just need to stop them from reaching any civilians."
Hugo, who was to my right, whispered to me.
I nodded my head in response. He was right to think that way.
Time ticked by and they slowly became more and more restless.
Until the robber with the knife picked up the furniture he was hiding behind and threw it at Hugo, using the opportunity to dash to one of the civilians.
"Amon stop him!"
I quickly aimed my gun at him and tried to shoot, but each time my shots would miss him.
It was already bad enough trying to aim while having shaky hands, but it was even harder to aim at a running target.
'Forget it!'
I threw my gun down next to me and picked up the table by my side.
'Two can play at that game!'
Using all my strength, I threw the table towards the robber with the gun, giving myself an opening to run towards the robber with the knife.
I picked up my gun and bolted towards the man.
The distance between us quickly shortened and soon we were almost next to each other.
The opportunity created by both of us had just disappeared as both Hugo and the robber with the gun regained their line of sight.
Now there were three possibilities that could happen.
One, either Hugo or the robber focuses on one of us and the other focuses on the one with the gun. This way either I or the robber with the gun would get shot, but the gun holder would be able to take out the other.
Two, both Hugo and the robber decide to shoot at both of us. In this case both I and the robber with the gun would get shot, and it would be down to who would be the fastest to shoot each other after they shot us.
Three, neither of them shoots at us and instead targets each other. Then it would be down to who among the two of us would be able to win the fight: me or the robber with the knife, and Hugo or the robber with the gun.
I looked back towards Hugo to see which option he would choose, but the robber with the knife didn't and continued to run forward.
My eyes met his and in that fleeting moment I understood what was going to happen as I turned back around and focused all my attention on the robber in front of me.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
It was option three!
Both of them decided to trust their partner to be able to win the fight without their help, and they both focused on each other instead.
But the problem was I did not trust Hugo.
In that short moment I turned around, I missed my opportunity to grab the robber, allowing him to once again open the distance, him being extremely close to one of the civilians.
'Damn it!'
I gritted my teeth hard as I made a helpless expression.
'Am I going to cost the lives of the innocent just because I did not trust him?'
'No! I can't allow that.'
My eyes became bloodshot as adrenaline pumped through my veins.
I racked my mind for any solution I could find.
Until it hit me.
I did not hesitate. I lifted up my gun and threw it as hard as I could towards the robber.
Even though my hands trembled, it was not enough to throw off my aim when throwing a semi-large object.
The gun spun in the air before colliding with the robber's head, causing him to fall down.
Using that timing, I jumped onto him, pinning him down.
"Get off me!"
He screamed at me as he used his body to push me aside.
I however did not give up as I attempted to grab his hand with the knife.
He tried to punch me in my gut, but I successfully blocked it with my right hand.
In retaliation, I kicked his chest, making him fall backwards.
Once again I got onto him and pinned him to the floor, most of my strength focused on pressing down on the hand with his knife.
But there was only one problem.
I did not really have any fighting experience.
For the first time in my twenty-four years of life, I encountered a situation where I needed to protect myself using physical means, and that lack of knowledge caused my downfall.
I was too focused on pinning down his hand that I did not use enough strength to pin down his legs.
He kicked me straight in the balls, causing my mind to go instantly blank.
My eyes rolled up as my strength left my body, allowing him to turn the tables and pin me down on the floor.
Just as I regained my strength to try and stop him, it was already too late as he prepared to strike me in the heart with his knife.