Chapter 19 #2
At this point, it’s not a matter of whether she can run or not.
She has to because the alternative is to stay here and die.
Cerys must know we would do our best to help her fight her odds, but it puts all of us at risk.
I don’t know if Bethan feels bad enough for how she treated Cerys to sacrifice herself for her in an act of redemption, but I know Danny and I would.
“Get ready,” Danny warns. “You too, Mabel.”
I furrow my brows.
What does that even mean?
Are we not all running?
My eyes narrow on him, spotting the way his muscles tighten under his shirt as if he were preparing to face someone. Arming himself with courage and determination to fight. I flicker my gaze between him and the end of the corridor where he’s looking.
Distrust scratches the walls of my throat.
“Danny,” I pronounce in a hoarse tone.
“Mabel, don’t fight me on this one, please.”
His voice wavers on the last word, begging like he has something stuck in his throat and is trying to remain strong.
There’s something about his tone that sounds off.
He’s holding back from saying what he wants to say, or he’s trying to prevent me from getting what his plan is, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure it out.
From the way he’s bracing himself, tensing his muscles against a possible attack, I can guess he’s going to try to stall Cupid to give us a chance to run to the attic.
But he doesn’t realize there’s a fault in his logic.
We can’t simply stall Cupid, we have to lead him as far away as possible to give the girls a fair chance to get safely to the attic without being followed.
Otherwise, we’re simply putting them at risk.
Our entire plan to use the vents to escape will be worthless if Cupid gets to the attic before we can even attempt to check them.
Cupid takes a step forward, out from the shadows. He stands there and tilts his head like he’s waiting for us to make the first move. At first, his confident stance, legs planted apart and arms behind his back, seems almost harmless without a weapon in sight.
He just watches us like we’re having a staring contest and he knows he’s going to win it.
My chest rises and falls with short gasps of air, even before we start running.
Adrenaline pumps in my veins, igniting a new conviction in me.
There’s no way in hell I’m going to run and let Danny stay behind with Cupid.
The killer might not have a weapon at the moment, but I remember how easily he pulled out the dagger from under his clothes.
He has ways to hurt us that we’re not aware of.
This is all a sick, twisted game to him, watching us run and attempt to fight.
There’s no way in hell he doesn’t have a way to kill us under his robes, especially when he’s outnumbered by our group.
It’s almost like Cupid reads my mind. Although I can’t see his face behind the mask, I swear he smirks triumphantly as he brings out one of his hands from behind him and shows us the long machete he’s been hiding. The sharp edge almost mocks us, shining through the dim hall.
He has the upper hand now; he’s had it all along.
Behind me, Bethan lets out a frightened whimper.
“Daniel,” I use his full name, a stronger tone this time.
I clasp my fingers around the dagger’s hilt until I fear it might break. God, the small blade has nothing on that machete. He will cut our arms off before we even have a chance to get near him.
Why would we even try in the first place?
Cerys sniffles, almost as if the universe itself wanted me to remember why it’s important to put up a fight.
My best friend, who has been through hell and back and still hasn’t gotten her happy ending, deserves a chance at survival.
She has earned her right to make it out of here and live a better life than all of us combined.
I owe her this much. I’ll pay my debt to her because, this time, she won’t be the one carrying the burden.
“Baby, please,” Danny begs, and I know he can sense that I’m making up my mind about what I’m about to do next.
But, really, was there even a choice?
He’s out of his fucking mind if he thinks that I’ll leave him behind. I don’t know if I could say I would die if something happened to Danny because I left. If Carmen survives this and he died, I know I would do my best to live, but my soul would be shattered.
Without him, I’d be a ghost wandering without any purpose.
I shake my head.
“You don’t get to be the sacrificial lamb alone,” I tell him and turn to face Bethan. I thrust the handle of the dagger into her hand without giving her a chance to think about it. “On the count of three, you run like hell. Don’t look back.”
Like Mami always said, Para atrás ni pa’ coger impulso. You should never go backwards, not even to gain momentum.
Bethan’s eyes cloud for a moment before they clear up and she gives me a sharp nod. They should go and forget we’re even coming. Carmen will have a hard time understanding it, but it’s our best chance we have if at least some of us are to survive.
It might be stupid for me to leave the dagger with them when it’s something we’ll need, but Carmen is locked in the attic with no weapon. They need it more than we do. After all, the plan is to distract Cupid and lead him away from the attic.
We can do that without a weapon.
Cerys unwraps her arm from Bethan’s shoulders and holds on to her bicep instead so that she still gains some support from her, but not enough to slow her down. Her forehead twitches with the effort. Pride swells in my chest. She will make an awesome final girl.
Because even in this moment where death seems so near, her strength and power are admirable.
I stretch my hand out to Danny and ask, “Together?”
His lips tremble but he offers me a short nod. Lacing our fingers together, he stands firmly next to me, expanding his chest to prepare himself for the worst.
“Together.”
We exchange looks with Cupid and I nod firmly.
“One,” I whisper to the girls.
“Two.”
A beat passes.
My heart speeds up.
Danny squeezes my hand three times.
“Three!”
Let the games begin.