Alister
It'll be fine. She can handle it. She's capable and resilient. I just need to keep repeating that to myself.
"All this waiting," Leora voices from behind me. "When there were many other ways. Ones that would have satisfied you, immensely."
Killing everyone, starting with Everley. The simplest, yet burdensome route. Just storm into the office, guns blazing, take the dagger, and get away. It feels like an easy enough plan, like robbing a bank. And if anyone tries to stop us, we take them down.
It's definitely something Leora would want me to do.
Everley eats with effortless grace. Even as she laughs and engages in conversation, it all feels too rehearsed. Like she knows she's being watched and is putting on a performance just for us. I scan the room again. Twenty-five staff members inside. Thirteen outside. None of them have entered since.
And one more is missing.
The woman, Kelly hasn't returned. Meaning she's still outside. Keeping an eye on the cabin.
I exhale sharply while taking a sip of the surprisingly delicious lemonade.
The blackouts are getting worse. Her hold on me is getting worse. Three times in one day, I lost control. Three times, I became nothing more than a puppet, my body moving without my mind, my hands nearly stained with blood I wouldn't even remember spilling.
As soon as we get the dagger, we're heading straight to Rebecca's for the ritual.
"Hi!"
Two girls approach us, smiling as they spot the empty chairs next to me. I recognize one, the girl with the rock I talked to.
"Mind if we sit?" She asks. Before we could respond, they begin settling down. My attention is already drifting toward Everley, who I catch glancing at us for a second before resuming her conversation.
Without missing a beat, the other girl, with black hair and pink butterfly earrings, starts talking. "So, you guys new here? I don't think I've seen you around before. I'm Mary, by the way. This is Gwen."
I notice four staff members get up from their seats, finished with their meal, and walk out of the hall.
"Nice to meet you, ladies. I'm Travis." Zach jumps in with his usual enthusiasm. "Yeah, we've been here since noon. Did a couple of activities. Pretty fun stuff." He grins, enjoying the change of pace from our usual tense atmosphere.
"What's been your favorite part so far?" Gwen sounds too eager to connect.
Steph scoffs. "The part where people believe in any of this nonsense."
"What our ray of sunshine means, is that it's very...different from the places we've previously been to." Zach chuckles, trying to keep the mood light.
Suddenly, we see Everley rise from her chair, and become highly alert. Even Zach gives short responses as he tries to stay focused. She leans slightly toward the person she was speaking with. "Just going to the restroom." she says as she begins to walk towards the door.
The restrooms are two separate buildings in different areas. I can't follow her into the ladies one without drawing attention.
Stephanie and I exchange a brief look. She straightens her posture slightly, waiting until Everley is out of the room before standing as well. "I need to go to the restroom." She announces.
Zach raises an eyebrow, smirking. "Well, that's one way to get out of a conversation."
She shoots him a look, ignoring the awkward stares of the girls. "Yeah, well, it's not like we're talking about anything interesting."
I watch as she walks out of the room too. If things go wrong, she still has her needles.
"Umm.." Gwen tries to get my attention without being too obvious. "Do you know much about the geology around here?"
"Abit." I reply flatly, not really invested in discussing it.
She leaned in just slightly. "I've been reading about the different minerals around here. Have you ever heard of the rare green beryl found in the foothills? They say it's not like anything else in the region."
I raised an eyebrow. "Sounds unusual. That type of beryl is definitely rare in this area." I shrug. "Could still be valuable if it's the right type."
Her face lights up. "Right? I knew you'd get it!" She laughed, clearly delighted. "Most people just stare at me like I'm crazy when I talk about it."
My eyes flick towards the staff as one of them walks by. "It's just...fascinating stuff. Nothing crazy—"
Then I feel it. Her fingers grazing my arm, casual, like she's testing the waters.
I immediately pull back. "Don't touch me." I warn.
Her smile falters. "Oh, sorry!" she blurts, face flushing as she pulls her hand back and looks away. The air shifts, and Zach jumps in, trying to lighten things up.
"Relax. He's shy. Big on personal space, but harmless." He winks, a mischievous glint in his eye. "Just picky about who he lets close."
I glare at him as the girls laugh nervously, not sure how to handle the situation. Zach carries on the boring conversation with the girls as I sit silently waiting for something to happen.
"You need to leave."
Leora's unnerved voice causes me to flinch.
"Why?" I mumble.
"Alister, forget everything and leave right now." She insists, with a hint of worry in her voice. I glance back at her and notice her white brows knitted in concern. Well, it can't be concern for me.
"What happened?" I ask, the familiar sense of unease crawling back up to me.
"These people are—" she begins to say until suddenly, Simon bursts into the dining hall, his face pale.
Something's definitely wrong.
I push back my chair, nearly knocking over the glass at the edge of the table. The conversation around me falters, all eyes turning toward me in confusion.
"What's wrong?" Gwen asks hesitantly.
I ignore her, meeting Zach's gaze instead. One look is all it takes. He nods, already understanding what he has to do.
I step away from the table, heading straight for Simon, gripping his arm and pulling him outside the hall. I don't care who sees me leave. I'll have to rely on Zach to create a distraction.
The moment we're out of earshot, I turn to him. "What happened?"
"The girls." His voice cracks.
So Clara didn't return. And now something happened to Steph. "Tell me everything. Where are they?"
"Steph followed Everley to the restroom. I was watching on the cameras." He swallows hard. "And then Everley walked out. Alone."
I think for a second as I slowly start to form a picture, recalling the group of staff that left the hall. "Did four female staff members enter the restroom before them?"
He blinks and then nods.
"They didn't come out, did they?"
His eyes widen in panic as he shakes his head.
I let go of his arm as the situation dawns on me. My mind sharpens, gears turning fast. "Where's Everley?"
And I think I know the answer before he even says it. "She went straight to her office."
I don't curse. I don't panic. I don't let any of it show. But I know what this means. I hear screams from the dining room as noises start to erupt. Someone's choking.
Zach. Hope you're a good actor.
"What do we do?" Simon frets. "Clara's still in there and..."
"Listen." I say calmly. "Go back to the cabin. Lock the doors and windows. Don't let anyone in. Watch the women's restroom. See if you spot Steph."
He mumbles something about sounding like a creep as I leave him there and start walking away.
"Start telling me what's happening to Clara." I ask again.
"Forget her. Forget everyone. Leave before things start to escalate." Leora warns me again, her form hovering next to me as I quicken my pace.
The main hall is lined with circular couches and coffee tables. Two figures stand guard—Kelly at the hallway to the office, and a man by the lodge entrance.
"If you don't answer my question this instant, I'll make sure things indeed escalate." I make sure we're the only ones here
Leora grunts. "Ugh, she's been captured, ok? Knocked out and dragged underground."
I click my tongue and slip my hand into my pocket until my fingers feel the coin. Kelly's eyes narrow as I approach. She stops me before I can get any closer.
"Sorry, the office is locked right now. You can come back later." she says flatly.
I meet her gaze as I speak. "I want to talk to Everley." My eyes flicker to the staff member at the entrance, advancing our way.
"She's not here. You can talk to her at the bonfire after the dinner." He says sternly.
I nod. "Alright then." I force a smile, slowly, turning around and raising my hand from my pocket, letting the coin slip from my fingers accidentally.
It rolls further into the hallway. All three of us watch it fall flat on the floor.
"Let me get that," I say apologetically. As I move to walk past Kelly, her gaze flicks up, and she blocks me with a suspicious frown.
"I'll get it." She steps forward into the hallway, her attention now fully on the coin.
Now.
I shift forward, moving quickly, and as soon as she kneels down to pick it up, I close the distance between us, locking her in a brutal headlock. She chokes, breath strangled against my arm.
The other member is already bolting toward us. I wait until he's deeper in the hall, out of sight, then force my powers up. At the same time, he reaches behind his shirt, drawing a gun.
I use my ability and quickly focus on the man's foot.
His body jerks as he loses balance and falls. I then levitate the gun away from his hand and towards the office door few feet behind me.
His eyes dart toward me, his face contorted in panic at what is going on and how I'm doing this. Before he can scream, a knife shoots from my jacket, straight into his throat. He arches, clutching the blade, blood flooding over his fingers and pooling beneath him.
I shift my focus back to Kelly, still caught in my grip, her fingernails raking across my arm in a frantic attempt to break free. My muscles tremble, power burning through me like acid. Each second threatens to drain me. I'm not Zach. I don't have his strength, and I can't waste what little I have before the real fight begins.
So I let her go.
She collapses onto her hands, gagging. Sucking in air like it's the only thing she's ever needed. Her eyes lock on the gun near the door, and she scrambles for it.
She doesn't see me reach inside my jacket and take out another knife. I grab her by the hair and wrench her head back and slice the blade across her throat.
Warm and thick blood sprays from the cut against my forearm and soaks into her shirt. She clutches at the wound, her mouth opening and closing like she's trying to speak.
I let her slump to the ground as I stand.
Pain explodes in my chest, a searing burn twisting through my ribs. My breath catches. A violent cough rips through me, and I clamp a hand over my mouth as the warm, metallic taste hits.
I...didn't even use it for long...why is my body feeling so strained already?
I ignore the pain and push forward. Levitating the knives back to me as I make my way to the door.
It's locked. Of course it is.
I step back, driving my boot into the door near the handle. The shock throbs up my leg, but it barely moves. I grit my teeth and kick again—again—until the frame groans. On the fourth blow the wood splinters and the door swings open, slamming against the wall.
The air has a strong scent of vanilla, making me cover my mouth, and I look up.
The dagger.
It's missing.
My grip tightens around the handle of my knife as I spin around and hurl it at the sound of footsteps behind me. A sharp thunk echoes as it embeds itself into the doorframe, just inches from the head of the man leading a group. He doesn't flinch.
Five of them step into the office, their faces eerily calm, their gazes locked onto me. They don't seem surprised by the bodies outside. Not even mildly disturbed.
They were expecting this.
I draw out a pistol from earlier and point it at them. "Who are you people?" I demand. But by now I already have an idea of who they might be. And Leora's anxious warning confirms it.
These people are the artifact hunters. Or associated with them atleast since not everyone here has some magical tool with them.
My eyes catch something—one of them, a wiry man with slicked-back hair, is holding a phone.
Simon's phone. The one he was using to spy.
The bearded man, seemingly the leader, steps forward. He's older, maybe late-forties, with sharp eyes. He looks confident for someone staring down the barrel of a gun. "Apparently, who you are is what Miss Everley is more interested in."
A stern-faced woman in a pixie cut has her hands behind her back. Probably hiding something. But if I were to shoot, by the time she aims it at me, I'd have already killed her.
"Where are my...acquaintances?" I force out. "If you don't answer me in the next 5 seconds, I'm shooting all your brains out."
"That'd be a problem, though." the man smiles with mock sympathy. "You see, Miss Everley demanded that if you're not brought in within 15 minutes, all your captured acquaintances shall be slaughtered."
I clench my jaw, forcing my breath to remain even. They're using them as bait. They want me to break, to beg. But I'm not going to let them have that satisfaction.
"I know what you're thinking." He spreads his arms widely as if inviting me to shoot. "Go ahead. Kill us. Waste your time torturing us to find out where they are hidden. In the end, time is going to run out."
I take a slow step forward, gun still raised. "I don't even need 10 minutes to make you spill whatever I want."
Leora knows where Clara is. She can sense her. I'll get rid of everyone here quickly and force her to tell me where they have taken her.
"You'd be surprised by our loyalty." He smirks. "And I wouldn't try anything funny if I were you. The moment you shoot us, your friends will suffer the same fate." He says, pointing to the earpiece on his right ear.
I swallow hard as a voice slithers into my ears.
"What the hell are you doing, Alister!? Kill them all and just run away from here. You know you could easily take them out. Do it." She sounds frustrated. "They are part of the organization. This is one of their underground facilities where they store weapons and torture people. That girl wouldn't survive anyway." Her words make my finger twitch on the trigger.
"It wouldn't even be your fault since you atleast tried to help. If she's dead, the curse will break either way. Forget the knife. Forget the ritual and this ridiculous plan. Get that dumb sentimentality out of your head. You don't need them to drag you down. You never needed them in the first place." She insists.
I force myself to ignore her, but she stays relentless.
"These people aren't like the ones you've dealt with before. Do not get involved. And if you don't act now, you'll—"
"JUST SHUT THE HELL UP!" I yell out, and the folks around me stare in confusion.
"We didn't say anything." another woman answers.
Leora's right through. I could do it.
Kill them. Take out every single one of them. Leave. Walk away from all this and never look back.
I never cared about anyone but myself anyway. Bonds and connections are anchors that hold you down. Just like Miranda said. And yet...
I can't shake the image of Zach's wide grin while he'd talk about plants with so much passion. Simon whining about every little inconvenient thing, Stephanie swinging a knife at me out of nowhere, trying to find every opportunity to fight. Even Lev as he made a mess in my kitchen looking for anything new to eat.
And Clara...The way she makes everything seem possible. Her touch, her smile, the tempting darkness inside her, and the way she looks at me like I'm so much more than just a selfish killer.
I let out a frustrated groan and lower my gun as I glare at them. "Take me to Everley."
A moment of silence hangs between us before he smiles—a predator's smile—and nods his head in acknowledgment. "Of course."
I could kill everyone except him. Just to shatter that arrogant confidence of his.
But just as the words leave his mouth, the pixie-cut woman pulls out a dart gun from behind her. My heart skips as the dart hisses toward me.
The dart stings as it buries into my arm. The drug creeps fast, up my arm and into my chest.
"You'll have to excuse us." the man says lightly. "It's for secrecy. And judging by you, I'm sure you've already planned six ways to kill us before we get there."
My legs tremble and I reach for the nearest desk. The gun slips from my hand, its weight fading like a memory.