Chapter 14 #3
Then I remember the guy from the party, his disgusting comment echoing in the back of my brain.
When I asked Danny about him, he couldn’t give me a name, and it didn’t seem particularly relevant until now.
He was also here when Carmen and I walked in, but I can’t place him at all in any of the arguments that unfolded, nor did we see him when shit went down.
“Zelda,” I say to her. She hums in response, urging me to speak while still conserving her strength. “Who was that other guy?”
“What guy? Jaden?”
I shrug. “I don’t know, is Jaden blond, tall, wore a polo shirt? Kind of a dickhead.”
“Oh, you mean Shane,” she replies.
Shane. Why doesn’t it surprise me that he has a stereotypical name? Although, I can’t deny it suits him to a T.
“What was he doing here? Was he with any of you?”
Zelda shakes her head.
“No . . . I don’t remember . . . He was here already when Sophia and I came with Ray and Jaden.”
With the new pieces of information, I grab my phone and, with the last of the battery, I begin to create a list of every person who was here when the attacks began. The group has no real connections than I can think of, especially since the guys never got letters—except for Danny.
Girls:
Carmen
Cerys
Bethan
Elodie
Leighton
Sophia
Zelda
Me
I feel bad crossing Zelda’s name off the list, but, to be fair, she’s already wounded badly. The odds of her turning out to be the killer at the end are very slim. Being near her, I can tell she wants to live, and I hope she gets her chance. Moving on from her, I continue with my list.
Guys:
Danny (got a letter)
Seth
Ollie
Ray
Jaden (came with Sophia and Zelda)
Shane – main suspect
As soon as I type the words, I lock the screen and pocket the phone. I don’t want to waste more battery since it’s getting dangerously low, and I might need it for an emergency call if I can manage to get some service.
“So he was already here? Is he close to anyone?”
Zelda shakes her head. “Not that I can remember.”
So Shane didn’t receive a letter, nor can I recall his presence after the lights went out. He remained quiet, hanging out in the background while we argued about who summoned us to Theta. We can’t vouch that he even got a text, he was just . . . there.
What was he doing here?
Low whistling cuts through my train of thought before I can begin to form a plausible scenario. Crystals form under my skin, paralyzing my muscles. The killer is announcing his return.
At my side, Zelda’s body shivers visibly. Terror widens her eyes as more tears spill over her cheeks. When she starts to sob, I press my hands over her mouth. She slaps my arms, trying to break free from my hold, but I’m stronger and have the upper hand against her weakened state.
Once she gets the message to stay quiet, I take my hands away from her mouth and scoot to the edge of the couch to get a better look. I put my hair behind my ear and focus on listening.
Cupid stomps closer to the archway while whistling a creepy tune, showing who’s in control. He’s not nervous or afraid of his spree getting interrupted. It’s almost as if he’s calmly taking us out one by one until there’s no one left, until his blood lust is satisfied.
Will he let some of us survive?
A vase falls to the floor, the sound of it shattering echoes around the room. He knows we’re here, I realize. He stomps again and I then I hear another object joining the first one, clattering as it hits the floor.
I look at Zelda. Her eyes speak louder than any words could. She’s terrified, screaming in silence. She can barely move with her wound. It’s highly unlikely she’ll be able to stand and shuffle more than a handful of steps, none fast enough to evade Cupid’s blade.
Danny’s voice comes back to me, pleading for me to not put myself in unnecessary danger.
I don’t think this is what he had in mind, but if I stay here with Zelda, not only do I risk my life, but I will also see her meet her death in a brutal way.
I’ll die. I don’t want that. I promised my sister I would come back for her.
All I care about is being alive long enough to find my sister and my friends.
My thoughts must be written all over my face because Zelda immediately shakes her head in response.
“Don’t you dare leave me!” she demands, not caring about Cupid hearing us, her hand flying out to grasp my arm. Her manicured nails dig into the fabric of my shirt and I’m grateful to be wearing long sleeves. “Don’t be a backstabber now.”
“Sorry, but I have to find my sister.”
“Oh God. You’re homicidal!”
I stop moving altogether when I should be making my escape, taken aback by her words.
“What?”
“It’s almost like you want to die or something,” she adds, like it’s a foreign concept for her.
“I think the word you’re looking for is suicidal,” I supply.
“That’s what I said, idiot!” she grinds the words out.
I give her a final glance before I leave, finding some new-found respect for her snark, even when death’s knocking at her door.
Maybe she can redeem herself.
“Stay alive.”
She rolls her eyes. “I might, if you get the fuck out of here. Maybe he’ll kill you first and forget about me.”
I snort.
It’s not in her nature to be gentle or kind.
Similar to Carmen, but with less bite and more malleable.
It’s admirable that she’s stayed true to herself.
Just for that, I hope she manages to hold on long enough to be rescued.
The world needs more defiant girls, especially those who look at death like it’s an inconvenience.
Who knows, maybe Zelda will realize she was standing on the wrong side of history and make amends.
Tú puedes, nena, I hype myself up as I spot a lamp resting nearby on a corner table. I try not to think about the logistics of it, preferring everything to come to me by pure instinct. It’s gotten me this far already.
Thankfully, Cupid is facing the other way when I lift my body from the ground, and I grab the lamp. I unplug it and hold the cord around the middle. Moving to the secondary entrance, I throw the lamp at him.
I miss him completely.
The lamp crashes against the wall, the sound reverberating down the hall. Glass shatters as it hits the ground. Pure power invigorates me as my lips stretch into a smirk. Take that, cabrón.
The killer doesn’t bother to check if there’s any other survivors hiding in the room. Instead, he turns to me.
Carajo, I didn’t think about what to do next.
The bloody Cupid mask tilts and I speed out of there as fast as my legs allow me.
Adrenaline pumps into my veins, but the rush of having the upper hand against Cupid doesn’t last long. I’ve got nothing to defend myself with.
Oh, fuck.
And he’s coming after me now.
I knew that was the original plan, but I didn’t have anything other than that. Danny won’t be happy with me.
Danny.
I want to stop and redirect my steps to the kitchen, but it’s on the opposite side of the house. To go there, I’d have to get past Cupid.
My only solution is to ditch the plan and create a new one.
Without knowing what to do, I make a left and my body slams directly into another person. Stumbling upon impact, I hold on to the person to keep me balanced.
“Mabel, oh my God!” My sister’s voice floods me with relief.
Drums vibrate in my chest as my heart races.
I want to hug her, push her away, warn her that Cupid’s coming after me—everything all at once—but I’m unable to do any of those because her eyes widen in terror as she screams, “Watch out!”
Carmen pushes me out of the way. I almost miss the blur coming in my direction. It takes me a split second too long to understand that Cupid was standing right behind me and he was swinging his knife in my direction. Except it didn’t reach me.
No, it didn’t come anywhere near. Instead, Cupid ends up burying his blade in my sister’s shoulder.
True horror ices my veins, making me freeze. I stop breathing, lungs unable to do anything but constrict painfully without letting a breath go through. When I run out of oxygen and I can’t exhale, I scream.