The Maple Murders

Chapter 4 - Puppet on a string.

"But why Kat?!" Emma demanded. "She's done nothing to you!"

"She suspected that I murdered Quinn," Ash continued, as if killing was no more than a minor annoyance. "It wouldn't be any fun if the game ended before it even started, would it not?"

Emma's anger rose like a blazing fire. "Are you serious? Is this just some silly little game to you?!" she cried, her fists clenching in frustration.

Ash's eyes widened with delight, her face brightening up with a smile of excitement. "Yes, exactly that!" she declared with a glint of glee in her eyes. "It's a game of thrills, secrets and excitement, all with the risk of being caught!"

Hearing Ash call Quinns death a mere 'game' was like a painful stab to the gut, bringing back vivid flashbacks as if it had happened 5 minutes ago. Emma was frozen in shock once more, breathing rapidly as the flashbacks attacked her mind. She remembered the nauseating scene so vividly: Quinns's cold, stiff, grey body, which was covered in a thick, dark, red coat of blood. Her eyes remained white, resembling the clouds above in colouring.

Emma stared at the coffee table in front of her like she was time travelling to the day she found her friend's bloodied body. The pungent aroma of blood was almost present in the air, and its wintery bite could almost be felt on her face. The sound of Ash's malicious voice however pulled her back into reality with chilling effect.

"And now you're going to play along." Ash sneered.

Emma was taken aback. "What?!" she sputtered, feeling as if Ash was mocking her loss. Ash's smirk remained unscathed, as if she had no regard or empathy for anyone but herself.

"You're the perfect partner," Ash continued. "You're naïve, gullible, and susceptible. These factors will let me guide and protect you."

Emma was taken aback by Ash's cold and calculated demeanour. Her words about Emma being "naïve, gullible, and susceptible" echoed in her ears, causing her to question her own abilities and judgement.

'Guide and protect me?' she thought. 'Is this some kind of sick joke?' She felt a sudden chill rush down her spine. What was Ash trying to say? Was she planning on taking advantage of her?

"I... I don't trust you," she muttered, her gaze uncomfortably fixed on the floor.

There was a hint of menace in Ash's eyes. "It's just a bit of fun, Emma," she said, her voice carrying a sinister layer underneath the casual demeanour. "You can trust me," Ash's expression changed, her smirk fading into a cold stare "And if you refuse, you will be my next victim."

Emma's emotions were running wild, raging all the way from fury to fear and everything in between. The realization that she had walked straight into Ash's trap was overwhelming, she couldn't process what was happening. Everything was happening so fast; she couldn't shake the feeling that her time was running out. The fear that had been brewing inside her for so long was finally boiling over, she was completely powerless. Her mind wanted to lash out, scream, cry, and somehow make Ash pay for what she had done, but Emma knew that she couldn't. She was trapped in Ash's twisted game, and there was no way out.

She couldn't refuse to help Ash – if she did, she would be killed within a second. If she accepted her fate, she would become a harbinger of death. The thought of having Ash end her life within an instant was almost appealing compared to the thought of aiding her in the death of innocent lives, but it still terrified Emma.

The memory of Quinn's state was haunting, and she couldn't imagine how excruciating such a violent death would be. And to know that one wrong move would put her in the same situation was beyond terrifying, beyond words.