~~~~~Sloane
“Wakey, wakey~” Sir grins down at me, his eyes menacing in the dim yellow light. Those eyes will never leave my memory, the way they twinkle with blood lust and insanity. My body screams in pain as I even open my mouth to drink the water he pours down my throat. I don’t know how long I have been in this endless hellish dream, but I just can’t seem to die yet. Sir was right, he was able to get me to beg for death. I welcome it now, I’ll wait for Hazel to join me soon after.
“We have a special day ahead of us!” Sir says cheerfully, and I just try to drift off into sleep. My only escape from this hell. Sir brings out a small camera and clicks a picture of me. My blood-crusted skin, swollen bruises, hollow eyes, a very nice picture indeed. Maybe it should be my senior picture.
“There! Now we will forever remember this moment.” I loll my head to the side and try not to stare at him too long. Dear God, why can’t I die yet? Sir picks up a small knife and comes forward, a bloodthirsty smile on his lips.
Please, no more. I open my eyes as I don’t feel the blow coming. The door bursts open and there stands an extremely pale Esmond, but he’s here. Sir growls in anger.
“You, I thought you died.” He hisses but Esmond doesn’t take his eyes off me. Not until sir rushes at him, with a knife in hand. Panic surges in my veins as well as a spark of hope. Maybe I’ll get out of this place, alive. Esmond wastes no time sending a metal rusty metal pipe to Sir’s temple. As he crumples to the ground Esmond races to me his eyes wide and teary.
“Holy shit, I thought you died. We had your funeral today!” He all but cries and I try to smile slightly but every part of my body hurts.
“Did I get a lot of nice messages?” I force out and he smiles slightly, grabbing the key from sir.
“Oh yeah, especially mine.” My brow quirks, Esmond gave a eulogy at my funeral?
“Lovely.” the word a breathy wheeze as he tries to lift me up. A cry of pain rips from my throat as he moves me.
“Sloane we have to get out of here,” Esmond says as if it was my fault this crazy bastard cut me up like a Thanksgiving turkey. Tears pour down my cheek as he picks me up, hold it together Sloane. Esmond fumbles for something in his pockets and pulls out his phone, dialing the police.
“We are in the woods, I found Sloane, yes alive...Ok, we are just off of maple street and through the daisy field.”
“Where do you think you’re going?” Sir asks and the voice sends a shiver down my spine. No, I am this close to freedom, I will not let him take it away from me again. I feel Esmond tense underneath me as Sir prowls closer, madness bright in his eyes.
“I’m going to kill you.” He seethes and moves so fast neither of us has time to move. We tumble to the ground and I scream in pain as I hit the floor. Oh god, oh god, I can’t breathe! My lungs are frozen and won’t budge as I try to get them to work. Esmond and Sir wrestle on the ground, Sir gaining the upper hand fast. What am I going to do?! My eyes scan the small dingy room and they land on a gun. I try to move but my body doesn’t cooperate. Agony tears its way through me as I reach for the weapon, c’mon, you can do it. Esmonds cry of pain breaks my concentration and I see red blossom on his sleeve where Sir sliced his arm. Fuck, I need that gun, but then what? Am I going to kill a person? A live human being. And yet, when it comes down to it, I’d pick Esmond, the boy who came back for me. Relief barrels through me as my fingers grasp the gun. Carefully I cock it trying to get a clear shot, Sir looks at me and his eyes widen, yet a knife is at Esmonds throat. Esmond looks at me, telling me to shoot but I won’t. Not if it means him dying, no, he doesn’t deserve this type of end. Frankly, I wouldn’t be able to handle living with myself knowing I willingly chose my life over his.
“Shoot and he dies.” He wheezes and I lower the gun, keeping eye contact with Esmond. The second the knife at Esmonds throat wavers I watch as he shoves Sir away and without thinking I fire the gun.
The bullet hits him in the back of the head.
Esmond vomits at the sight and I stare at the corpse, I killed him. I killed somebody.
“Sloane.” Esmond croaks and he comes toward me but I shake my head. He doesn’t deserve to be contaminated by me. I’m a killer. For some reason, I thought killing him would be easy, or that I would feel relieved, but I just feel disgusted in myself.
“You saved us, again,” Esmond says trying and failing to smile. I shake my head, sobs wracking my chest.
“I killed him, Esmond.” I cry and he nods, kneeling down to come face t face with me. His eyes are as haunted as my own.
“You did what you had to do. He was a bad man Sloane.” I nod, he’s right, he was a bad man. But...he was still a man. A human and I took his right to live, stole his last breath, maybe even his possibility to change. My lungs rattle with each breath I force down.
“You know...I never did get to my competition.” I push the words out and a surprised perhaps delirious grin spreads across his lips. Esmond opens his arm that isn’t rapidly bleeding. I press myself to his chest and let all my tears soak his shirt.
“I’ll get you another one.” I wrap my arms around this brave and beautiful boy.
“Police open up!”
The last thing I see is Sir’s ever-opened eyes.
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