Survive the Night

24

Victoria cut him off. "Please, Geo. Just take care of the others upstairs. I already told you that I'll deal with it. Now do what I say."

Hesitantly, they boarded the stairs and climbed to the top. Victoria followed them, because there was something she needed from Evelyn's bedroom. Or her bedroom.

If she was really Evelyn Ashmore, then she was going to play the part.

She reached the dark corridor and told the others to wait in Winston's room, since it was the biggest. When they were out of sight, she went into her bedroom. The door whined loudly as she opened it slowly, taking a step in. She knew there was no one there, but she was afraid nonetheless.

She walked over to the shelf to the right of the room. The drawer opened with a grainy wood sound, like soft-rough sandpaper. In the purple night, Victoria saw the gloriously-white dress sitting messily where she had tossed it days--it seemed--ago.

She picked it up and felt the rich--albeit dusty--fabric between her fingers. Accidentally, she'd forgotten to clean herself up first and marred the dress with a small stroke of blood. She hissed in aggression and dropped the dress. She undressed and stood naked in the closed, dark room.

The thought pumped through her mind like a nightmarish reminder: Kevin is dead. And he was Sebastian all along. That was why this had happened: Evelyn and Sebastian were reunited again, even without knowing it, and it brought upon Abner's wrath.

She thought about her plan again, then thought about what the others had said. They told her that killing Icarus was the only option. The only hope. Little Icarus... He'd murdered Kevin, but it wasn't really him, was it? No, that, along with every other incident in this house, was Abner's fault.

Victoria thought about the promise she'd made to herself upon arriving at the house-that she would protect Icarus from any maltreatment or influence caused by the others. And now... Now he was being maltreated, influenced, by a worse force than Kevin or his friends. And now she was expected to murder the boy for that.

She sat naked on the bed. She peered over at the white dress in the drawer again. In the dark, she couldn't see it very well. Only saw that it was a different color and was the only item not being swallowed by the hovering darkness.

"This isn't just a dress," she said aloud. For some reason, she'd never thought of it before. She'd dismissed the dress as only that, giving it no true significance. But then why had she felt so connected to the dress before? Why did time seem to rush by whenever she held it in her hands? No, it wasn't just a dress. It was Evelyn's wedding dress.

The one she never got to wear. Until now.

***

Instantly, she felt a fit of anger grow inside of her. It made her chest swell with fierce ignition and made her fingertips quiver. She rose automatically as if her body was moving without her permission. Reaching the drawer, she fished out the white wedding dress. The air was cold and intruding, and she shivered as she slipped on the dress. Surprising her, it fit fairly well. Evelyn must have been about her size and height.

Okay, Abner, Victoria thought. You want Evelyn? I'll make it real easy for you. I'll play the part, you son-of-a-bitch. She went back into the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. She turned on the lights. After about half a minute of wincing in the blinding light, her eyes adjusted and she saw herself.

She was beautiful. The dress was perfect; exactly what she would have chosen for her wedding. Good choice, Evelyn, she thought. She noticed the small blood stain near the mid-section of the dress and couldn't help feeling upset. She'd tainted a perfect dress. That was okay. It would have to do.