That night I was wracked with nightmares and my mind seemed obsessed with showing me images of dead bodies and gruesome murders. To say I was nervous was an understatement, I was terrified. However when I woke up and got ready for school the next morning I practiced my best neutral face in the mirror, making sure I had wiped all emotions away. I was better at this now then I had been when I first was kidnapped, but I still wasn’t an expert at it like Ash was.
The thought of Ash made me swallow painfully. I missed her. I might not have been friends with her for very long, but we had already bonded in a way that I hadn’t since my sister. Maybe she could get me out of killing Ms. Glass, she had influence with Cody, right? Snake had once said that she was Cody’s favorite.
With that hopeful thought in mind, Zach and I drove to school. Nobody noticed anything amiss with my quiet behavior in any of my classes, and lucky for me Blair wasn’t in class so I didn’t have to deal with him. Maybe it was because I was dreading it so much that the day went by unusually quickly. I didn’t have cheer practice today so we drove home and Zach and I spent the entire time practicing until we got a call from Cody. Zach went to let him into our hotel suite and I continued practicing until I heard a familiar voice.
“Guard your left side more.”
I turned around and grinned when I saw Ash in the doorway. She smiled back and came over to hug me.
“How was school?”
I scoffed at her. “I forgot how boring it was.”
Ash rolled her eyes and nodded. “At least you were smart, I got straight B’s.”
“Well you’ll be happy to know I was failing every class in this school for not turning in any work.”
“That’s my girl!” Ash cheered and smacked my arm.
“Where’s Cody and Zach?”
“They went early to scope out the park. I’m in charge of telling you the plan.”
“All right, tell away!”
“Basically you go in first and distract her while we hide and make sure she doesn’t have any hidden reinforcements. Then we’ll come out and question her, kill her, burn her body, and then leave town.”
My stomach turned uneasily. It must have shown on my face because Ash gave me a small smile. “It’s going to be ok, I was able to talk Cody out of making you kill her. You’re just here to observe right now.”
I gave her a weak smile back and managed to whisper. “Thank you.”
Ash pulled me into another comforting hug. “You didn’t deserve being dragged into any of this, I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine, I’m strong enough to handle it.”
“You most definitely are.”
“What do I do when you all come out?”
“Just be my little shadow. It will all work out for the best, I promise.” Ash told me, looking at me intently. There was something odd about what she said and I felt uneasy, but I pushed the feeling away and nodded at her. “Good, now let’s go watch TV till we have to leave.”
So we watched reality shows and made fun of brainless morons on the shows for a good couple hours until it was time to leave. Ash drove me to the park and then quickly hid, leaving me to go and search for Ms. Glass on my own. When I finally found her she was on an open soccer field next to a playground.
“Kylie, I’m so glad you came!” she beamed at me and I felt a twist of guilt in the pit of my stomach, but forced myself to smile back at the poor woman.
YOU ARE READING
The Assassin's Shadow
Paranormal***Top 55 of Harlequin's So You Think You Can Write Contest*** Elaine Archer didn’t always know she was different, not until her accident in sixth grade. A fall that should have killed her left her with nothing, not even a scar to flaunt as proof o...
