Chapter 25 Lexi
Chapter twenty-five
We can’t be far behind Lochlan and the Axeman, but dragging Lee’s practically limp body alongside mine is proving to be much more difficult than I initially expected. We’re making almost zero progress in chasing them down. The longer it takes for us to reach them, the worse Lochlan’s chances are.
I need to go faster.
“Dude, how are you this heavy!” I grunt out, stopping again to readjust my arm under his arm. “You don’t look like someone who should weigh this much. No offense. You’re just sort of on the slimmer side. Or so I thought.”
“Shut up, Lexi.” Lee winces before dropping to his knees with a painful moan.
“Just leave me. You have to. This isn’t about your lack of woman muscles.
” I start to protest, but he stops with a wave of his hand.
“Trust me, I’ve seen you throw drunk men off you and the girls plenty over the last few years.
But even on the slimmer side of things, I’m dead weight.
We both know he’s going to kill Lochlan if we don’t get to him first.”
I reach down and pull out the knife strapped to my thigh. “I know you’re right, but I really don’t want to leave you,” I say, handing the knife to Lee. “Use it if you have to. The bad guys don’t get to win today. I’ll run back and grab the axe Kristi tried to murder me with and go save our boy.”
Lee nods. “I’ll follow behind you as quickly as I can. Be safe, Lex.”
“You too,” I call out, racing back to grab the axe.
We didn’t make it very far into the forest, so it’s only a short jog back.
I snatch the axe, and my eyes catch on the white envelope Kristi threw at me.
I shove it into my pocket because right now, I need to save both Lochlan and Lee and end this once and for all.
“COME AND GET ME, LEXI!” the Axeman shouts, his voice echoing from somewhere nearby.
Again with the taunting, but at least he’s telling me which direction to go in.
I might want to kill this man even if he wasn’t actually trying to murder us. Nobody teases me and gets away with it.
I clutch the axe tighter in my hands and run towards his voice.
“HELP! LEE! LEX!” Lochlan’s cries tie my stomach into knots as I race faster. My legs are throbbing in protest as I push them to the brink.
I’m so tired. So ready to lie down and let the earth consume my exhausted corpse of bones. I want to give up. My breathing comes out faster, labored as I resist the urge to cry.
But I won’t fail my friends.
I spot Lee leaning against a tree and give him a pained smile as I pass him. I can’t worry about him right now. Lochlan needs me more.
The tree-line opens before me, and I skid to a grinding halt as the cliff’s edge looms ahead. The same edge that we all fell over earlier.
Flashes of memory ignite behind my eyes, but I shake my head, clearing them away as I take in the sight before me.
The Axeman is standing there waiting for me. Alone.
“Where’s Lochlan?” I ask, my voice shaking as I struggle to catch my breath.
He holds his axe up and looks behind him, where the cliff’s edge sits menacingly behind him, before taking a step closer to me.
“No,” I gasp. Understanding crashes through my veins. “You pushed him. You killed him.”
The Axeman says nothing. He only raises his axe again.
“WHY?” I scream. “WHY? Lochlan was GOOD! He didn’t deserve this! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO US?”
Again, the Axeman only lifts his axe, his arm almost slightly jerking as he takes a hesitant step toward me.
The silence in my head is deafening.
Lochlan’s boyish grin. His mischievous green eyes and bright red hair. His nerdy logic and unfiltered sass. His kindness and friendship amidst all of this. His stupid lizard shoes that were starting to grow on me.
He killed someone to save my life.
And I wasn’t fast enough to save him.
No, no, no.
Lochlan, I’m so sorry.
My body is engulfed in flames. Tidal waves of grief and fury pour over me as I toss my axe to the ground next to me and run toward the Axeman.
I let all my emotions flow out of me while I race at him with every ounce of strength I can muster, screaming, sobbing incoherently when my hands make contact with his body.
The last thing I see before he goes over the edge is the look of pure, unbridled panic and fear in his eyes.
His green eyes.
The sound of his body hitting the bottom resonates and echoes around me just before I hear the sound of someone clapping behind me.
I turn and see the real Axeman leaning against a tree. His blue eyes shining with mirth from behind his mask.
“Bravo, Lex,” he coos. “I told you I wasn’t done playing with you yet.
Too bad you didn’t let him play longer. I think he might have chipped a piece of that armor you wear around your heart so well.
You would have made a good match,” he muses.
“Don’t worry, though. We will have more fun later. May your friend rest in peace.”
I watch in stunned silence as he turns and disappears into the forest.
The entire universe freezes as I take in what he’s said.
No.
I rush to the edge of the cliff and dare to peek over, terrified of what I’ll find.
No.
No.
No.
The axe is splayed above his head, the handle duct taped to his hands and wrists.
The mask has slipped over his face, giving me just enough to see that the person underneath wasn’t the real Axeman.
He wasn’t trying to kill me by raising the axe above his head before I tackled him.
He was trying to show me.
His mouth has tape over it, but I’d recognize those sparkling green eyes anywhere.
I sink to my knees and scream at the heavens just as Lee reaches my side.
“Lex? What’s wrong?” Lee grabs me, checking my body for injuries that don’t exist.
“I…I killed him.”
Lee’s panicked expression doesn’t change. “Killed who?”
A sob so guttural it sounds like a wounded animal escapes my chest. I point down to where the fake Axeman’s body is twisted at an awkward angle. Lee gasps when he finally sees him.
Lochlan.
It’s all my fault.
I didn’t mean to do it, but this is still entirely my fault.
I killed him. Me. My hands pushed him to his death.
My fault. My fault. My fault.
Just like Kristi said.
I reach into my pocket and pull out the white envelope while Lee silently cries beside me.
Dearest friends,
You may realize that this game is more sinister than you first assumed.
My colleague will indeed strike to kill. He has a mission of his own, after all, and he’s not above a bit of bloodshed.
Now, I will give you one way out.
One way to survive his wrath.
You must kill Lexi.
You see, she believes that allies would never turn on each other, even if it means life or death.
My biggest desire is to prove that she is, in fact, wrong.
I’m sorry to say the rest of you were brought here under pretenses to help me fulfill that desire. It’s a shame to involve so many sacrificial lambs in my quest to be proven right, but, alas, what must be done must be done.
There is hope for you, though.
Whoever turns on her and kills her first will be granted complete immunity from my fun little game. They will also be allowed to choose one friend to leave this island unharmed.
Kill her, and live.
Fail, and you die.
Best of luck,
A.M. Pierce
My mouth gapes open in shock as I reread the letter. What kind of monster would put something like this together because of some stupid comment I made on a pointless podcast?
Who is this Pierce guy, really, and why would anyone sign up to help him plan this demented shit?
How does this warrant killing people? Killing me? He really enlisted people to kill to survive.
To kill me.
I freeze when I feel Lee move next to me.
“Lex,” Lee whispers, his hand curling tighter around the knife. I look up at him, waiting for the blow. He’s read the note now, too, and he knows that he can save himself and Capri if he eliminates me.
Maybe that’s what I deserve. Maybe by sacrificing myself, I can save my friends. I can do this for them. After everything I’ve done to hurt Teagan, I can give her this. Capri deserves a life with Lee, especially after how he’s helped me today.
I love them enough to give them this.
They deserve to be happy.
I’m a murderer now. I don’t deserve anything good in this world anymore.
“Just do it,” I plead, hiccuping as I choke back a sob. Hot, salty tears stream down my cheeks. “Do it and save Capri. Please. Save Capri, yourself, and Teagan. Please. Get them out of here. Get them to safety.”
His expression is unreadable as he raises the knife. He tosses it over the edge and pulls me into a firm embrace, hugging me tightly until we are both crying uncontrollably.
“I’m so sorry,” I tell him. “I didn’t know it was him. I didn’t know it was Lochlan. I would never hurt him. Hurt anyone.”
Lee hugs me tighter. “I know. I know. And we are going to kill Pierce. Together. We are all getting off this island and going home.”
A branch snaps behind us. We break apart quickly, and I immediately move into a fighting stance.
“I wouldn’t be too sure about that if I were you.”
The Axeman steps out of the forest and tosses a canister towards us. It explodes with a loud pop and gas sprays out. The smoke brings tears to my eyes, and I lose control of my senses and fall to the floor. The world turns hazy as the Axeman laughs.
The last thing I see before I pass out is him hovering over me and removing his mask.
“You,” I gasp out in shock.
He smiles that tantalizing smile down at me and gently caresses my cheek. “Me.”