Fallen Raine {Completed}

Chapter Twenty-Eight - Worse Than Betrayal....

   ******KILLER’S POV******

   I picked the knife up from the table, and held it evenly in my hands, not the slightest trace of fear in my movements.

   I had pocketed it during the fight, when everyone’s attention had been occupied. There were two knives that fell on the floor, one from River, and one from Jason. River had picked up one to stab Jason with—which, I’ll admit, I was pretty proud of, stabbing him and all. Typical me move. I’d taught him well. But he’d grabbed one knife...

   And forgotten about the other.

   Now I held it, the metallic glinting in the morning sunlight, and savored the feeling of River’s arms around me, warm and comforting, as he thought it was safe. That everything was going to be perfect. That everything would be okay. That nothing was wrong.

   “You wanna know the only thing I can think of that is worth than betrayal?” I murmured into his shoulder, backing up a bit and creating some distance between us so that I could stare once again into those mesmerizing eyes.

   River leant back and stared at me with his cool blue eyes, just like I longed for. “What?” he murmured, looking thoroughly taken aback by my strange and random question.

   I was silent for a second, a smile slowly placing itself on my lips, and I broke into a full-fledged grin, licking my lips in anticipation. I bit down gently on it to suppress a girlish giggle.

   He squinted at my strange reaction. “Raine?” he asked.

   I smiled even larger at the sound of my name. I leant close to his ear, and brought my arm high.

   I felt him stiffen before me as my lips brushed against his earlobe. I whispered, “The only thing worse than betrayal?”

   I stopped for one second, making his brow crease in anticipation. Finally, I said, “Being stabbed in the back.”

   And then I brought the knife down in a sailing arc, and smiled as it sunk in between his shoulder blades. It missed his heart, but I felt my hands become slick with blood as it pierced flesh.

   His blood.

A staccato gasp sounded from his lips as they parted in shock and confusion, and he fell against me. I savagely yanked the knife out and stepped out of the way, pushing him roughly, watching him as he fell back and struck the tile harshly, with a colossal crash.

   I stepped back and stared down at him as his lips formed incoherent words. Poor guy never saw it coming.

   I leant down next to him as he stared up at me, his eyes veiled in confusion.

   I leant forward and crouched next to him, tracing the contours of his face with the tip of my sharp-edged knife, hard enough to remember I was still here, but soft enough that I didn’t mar any more of that perfect skin of his.

   “Don’t blame her, River,” I murmured softly, caught up in the sight of the knife. It was strangely beautiful and enticing. “You see, she—we—have this condition, something along the lines of what I guess you could say is schizophrenia, but in a much larger spectrum. Basically, I have two different personalities. The sweet, innocent Raine you so hopelessly fell in love with, and me…. The malicious killer all too happy to spill a little blood and raise a little hell. Not even Raine knew she was the killer.

   “You’re probably wondering what Jason has to do with this. Truth is, some of the stuff we suggested was right. We just dangled the bait in front of you and gave you clues, but you never suspected. Nobody could’ve pulled off a stunt like this alone. I honestly have no idea how Malcolm Stark managed to do it, because, trust me, it’s damned near impossible. So I got Jason to help me so that I could avoid suspicion, but he was more just a cover; someone to divert suspicion. I can’t say I really needed him all that much, only to keep you idiots from thinking I was the murderer.

   “Steve was right when he said that I was the killer. You just helped me convince him different. You’re right. I was with Jason. But Jason helped me kill him, making him the perfect alibi. Clever, right? What we weren’t counting on was Steve to be so gung-ho about me being the killer. So Jason took him away and disposed of him, before playing the guilty card when we found him, like the good little actor he was. We just knocked everyone else off one-by-one, when they were alone. Either I did it, or Jason, whenever I pretended to go away and cry in a toilet? Yeah, I was killing somebody. I just made sure to pretend I was off doing something so you wouldn’t become suspicious that I wasn’t who I said I was. It worked, didn’t it?

   “You should know, we weren’t planning the dramatic ending that happened. That was actually a mistake on both Jason and my part. But I actually like it this way. Much better, and now you know, right? Aren’t you glad you know who really was the killer? I honestly very much enjoyed watching the looks of betrayal on everyone’s faces when they found out they were played like toys. Simply hilarious, I’m telling you.” When I saw that his face was contorted in pain, but he didn’t share my hilarious view on this situation, I continued. I patted his head affectionately. “Maybe you don’t see the humor in this situation right now, but you will, I’m sure.”

   I stood up and slowly paced circles around him, licking my chapped, dry lips and fingering the bloody knife in my hand.

   “Anyway, I really don’t think you should put this all on the sweet, innocent Raine. She really had nothing to do with this. She had no freaking idea. She really thought it was somebody—anybody—but her. I guess I played her, too.”

   I grinned proudly at my work, before leaning down on him again. He tried to grunt out words, but he was in too much pain to do so.

   “Don’t worry, River, I’m very good at what I do,” I assured him with a sick smile. “As far as anyone will be concerned, we were just two people who were victims of the massacre. You’ll join the list of murdered people, along with the other cadavers in here, and I’ll be the only survivor. The killer was about to kill me when they were interrupted by the people opening the mall once again. It’s an amazing plan, actually. I have no idea how I managed to pull this off.”

   “But—you’re not—hurt,” River stuttered out, his voice laced with pain. He was white as a sheet, except for the pool of blood currently encircling his pale body.

   I smiled once again, and held the knife, still dripping with blood, to my side. “I don’t think that will be a problem, River. You see, us murderers, we’re kinda… well, just a little bit nuts. Meaning that I have no problem doing this.”

   And with that word, I thrust a knife into my stomach, and let out a muttered curse of pain, before falling to the side, next to him. My whole torso felt like it was on fire, and I leant down next to River, biting my lip to try and hold back a cry of pain.

   Because, sh*t, that hurt!

   In the distance, the banging increased, and I knew they were almost through with getting the doors up. We had merely seconds left before this would be over.

   I looked at him, feeling the last remnants of the real Raine slip through like cracks of sunshine through the chink of a curtain, and whispered a little tenderly, “For the record, she really did love you, River.”

   And just then the authorities spilt through the now-open doors like a tidal wave, and darkness pressed down on my eyelids like weights, making it impossible to stay awake and fight the darkness. I welcomed it.

   I heard authorities give a shout of horror as they spotted the victims on the floors, the aftermath of the massacre that had devastated the town after fifteen years of boredom and no mass killings.

   The last thing I heard before I was plunged into darkness and River went limp beside me, was his tortured whisper. “Yeah. I really did love her, too.”

~      *     ~

Dedicated to kaitzishere for somehow magically getting it right :D

Vote, comment, fan.

xXx