The error

A Story by hasbibiii

Look before you leap, or shoot.

I couldn't sleep, maybe because Melissa is curled around me, or maybe it's the thunderstorm outside disturbing what could have been a tranquil night. It's most probably the 3 mugs of late night coffee I drank to get my work done. I thought it would be an all-nighter sorting through farm records but I finished in just 2 hours.
Either way, 9.30pm is too late to drink such strong coffee. I need to get some sleep though, only one solution. I reach for the bottle of Ambien on the bedside table, pushing my wife gently off me. It's not there, I check the drawers underneath and find an empty one in the last drawer. Dr Cooper told me I would get addicted, but I didn't think I would finish a whole bottle in a week. There are several more on the kitchen counter. I won't get any sleep without them so I reluctantly get out of bed.
That's when I hear it, the noise synced with the storm outside making it hard to notice, but months of being robbed and burgled have honed my senses. I creak open the door to see if I can hear it better, there's no mistaking it, the sinister six, or so they called themselves, must be paying us a visit. Word had gone out that they were robbing houses in Houdenbury. A few cases of murder were even linked to them. They were no average thieves. Luckily, sales of the cows on my farm allowed me purchase something that will see to the impending problem. I tip toe to Hilton's room and look inside, I see his silhouette sleeping and the sound of light snoring. I close the door gently and lock it after me. I return to my room and reach for my latest purchase underneath the bed frame.
"Where are u going? "
"They are in our house Melissa, don't come out. I've locked Hilton's room too".
I drop the keys to Hilton's room on the bed and as she reaches to hold me, the sound becomes louder. I step out clutching my loaded Benelli M4 with one hand and groping through the darkness with the other. I could put on the lights but I need the cover of darkness if I am going to surprise them. My hand touches the railing of the staircase and I follow it down, the idea of shooting one of them overcame the fear I felt at first, but as my feet touch the rug in the passage, I start having second thoughts, I feel my way into the kitchen and make my way into the living room adjacent the kitchen. The terrace is to the left of the living room and the window they are prying open is right beside it.
Suddenly, I hear the familiar click of the latch signaling the window opening and I dash behind a nearby sofa, finger ready on the trigger. Footsteps approach and I jump out of my hiding place behind one of the sofas and fire 4 rounds at the targets. They don't get to scream as the buck shells riddle their bodies.I hear the thud of a body falling to the ground and I get up from behind the sofa.
Upon close inspection, I realize that it's just one body on the floor, the others should be somewhere outside. They must have heard the gunshots, I move quickly towards the front door when a streak of lightning illuminates the room for a split second and I freeze, I immediately turn on the light and my heart sinks to the bottom of my shoes upon realizing who I just shot. Hilton's perforated body lay in a pool of blood on the white tiles, his face registering shock that matches my own.
I hear Melissa's footsteps coming down the stairs and through the kitchen. I stand there wondering how to explain to her that I had accidentally shot our only son.
"I've called the police, and Hilton's not in his roo-"
The gory sight stops Melissa dead in her tracks at the living room door, she slowly approaches the body on the floor. She let's out a bloodcurdling scream and dashes madly at me.
"What did you do!!!!!!!!".
I catch her in my arms and she lashes out like a maniac, screaming all the while. After 5 minutes of madness, she passes out. I drop her gently on the floor and go up the stairs to Hilton's room. I turn on the lights and cry out in agony as I see the bundled up pillows covered up with a blanket, shaped to look like his sleeping body. I inch closer and see the phone that's playing the snore sounds I heard earlier from some website.
Hilton probably snuck out in the night and forgot his keys and was trying to get back in without waking us up. He knew I wouldn't bother to put on the lights but didn't know about the new gun I had bought.I slump down beside my son's bed and weep bitterly until I hear sirens in the distance. I stare at the gun still clutched in my hand. There's no point in living anymore. I shove the nozzle of the gun in my mouth and pull the trigger, the last thought in my head before it stains the walls are of my son's recent graduation.