One Night

05:00

Remember what they taught you at the Academy.

"Okay," Emma whispered, glancing at her watch, "Fine, you've made your decision."

Private Auditore released Emma's arm, wiping off tears with the back of his hand. 

Emma turned away from Auditore, looking towards the glass chandelier that hung brilliantly from the ceiling. 

"I didn't know you felt this way about our relationship," Emma lowered her gaze, "How sad."

Private Auditore's eyes remained fixated on Emma, unsure of what to think.

"If I'd known this would happen, maybe I wouldn't have agreed to it back then," Emma went on with her monologue, a look of coldness and indifference on her face, "Maybe I wouldn't have done the things I did."

"Emma," Private Auditore stared at her, perplexed, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"All this time I felt so alone," Emma sighed, seemingly gazing into something invisible to the human eye, "If only I could turn back time."

"What the heck are you saying?" Private Auditore asked again, the look of confusion on his face gradually morphing into worry, "You're not alone. Come on, forget what I said. Let's.... Let's just get back to work."

"If only I had met you earlier," Emma reached into her back pocket, whipping out a red lighter and a chalky white box of cigarettes, "Then maybe things would have been different."

Private Auditore felt a pounding in his head as he struggled to navigate through the maze of words just tossed at him. 

"Guess it's too late now," Emma pulled out a stick and placed it gently between her lips. With a few clicks of the lighter, the cigarette sizzled to life, burning with excitement. Emma rolled her eyes up in ecstasy as she inhaled deeply, "No point regretting."

Private Auditore's eyes darted to the left. Did something move behind me?

"Have you ever done things you regret, Audi?" Emma let out a puff of smoke, sliding the lighter back into her back pocket, "Things you wish you could forget."

Private Auditore's eyes fell onto the cloud of grey smoke that curled and danced its way up into the air before disappearing into a wisp of nothingness. In the two years he had known Emma, this was the first time he had seen her smoke.

"This helps," Emma dangled the cigarette box in front of Private Auditore's face, arm outstretched, "You want one?"

"Emma," Private Auditore replied, beads of cold sweat starting to form on his forehead, "You know I don't smoke."

"You sure? Well..." Emma leaned against the railing, arms resting on the edge. She closed her eyes, deep in thought, before continuing, "If only you did."

Glock 17 in hand, Private Auditore's thumb circled around the safety mechanism. With Emma's face shrouded in smoke, he could feel his heart beat faster with every passing second. This was no longer a woman he recognised.

"Emma," Private Auditore gulped, finally mustering the courage to ask, "When... When did you start smoking?"

"Well... I can't tell you that," Emma shook her head. Nonchalantly, she flicked the cigarette butt over the railing, locking eyes with Private Auditore's, "Everyone's got their secrets, right?"

Click. 

The instant Private Auditore turned off the safety mechanism, he felt an excruciating pain burn through his lower torso. Looking down in shock, he saw a knife blade protrude from his stomach, dripping in blood. A wave of searing pain immediately spread through his body, turning his mind blank. The knife blade twisted clockwise slowly, carving through his flesh with relative ease before receding and disappearing from sight. Auditore dropped his Glock 17, eyes widened in horror. He reached for his wound, desperate to stop the bleeding. 

Shluck. The knife blade appeared again, this time plunging through both his torso and his right hand. Auditore screamed in writhing pain as the knife blade skewered through his flesh, ravaging his senses. Crimson red blood poured onto the white animal fur that carpeted the floor, dotted with chunks of guts that once belonged to Auditore. He fell onto his knees, howling in excruciating pain. 

Shluck. The blade pierced his left shoulder blade this time, narrowly missing his heart. Blood poured out like a waterfall as the agony ripped through Auditore's brain, sending shock waves throughout his body. It was like his whole body was on fire as the blade twisted clockwise, devastating the joints. By the time the blade receded once more, his left arm was nothing more than a dangling ornament.

The pain was too sudden and too blinding for Private Auditore to handle. He fell onto all fours, screaming for the torment to stop. The pain continued to ripple through his bodily senses, hijacking his motor functions. Then, before he could even process what was going on, he felt his whole body being lifted off the floor. Closer and closer he went towards the railing before he finally saw the entrance hall over the edge.

"Wait, no. No. No!" Private Auditore screamed haplessly, struggling to break free from his unknown assailants, "Stop!"

The next thing he remembered feeling was weightlessness as his body plummeted through the air. 

Time slowed to a crawl. Looking up, he saw Emma standing next to a large, burly man, both of them staring down at him with emotionless faces. Looking further up, he saw the massive crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling in all its glory.

For the first time, he realised that its beauty comprised of millions of glass facets, glittering in unison.

...

Jeremy licked the blood off his lips before placing his entire index finger into his mouth, sucking it dry like a popsicle. Jane gasped, retreating further back into the wardrobe. She could almost smell his breath. The only thing separating them now was nothing more than the unlocked wooden wardrobe door.

Jeremy... He's... He's gone insane. Jane stood there, shaking with fear. I... I have to do it. One hand grasping tightly onto Jeana's trembling shoulder, Jane's other hand reached into the  pouch slung over her neck.

Jeremy took one step forward, positioning his left eye at the hole in the wardrobe door, as if staring through a peephole. His eye darted left and right, clearly in search of something. Gritting her teeth, Jane reached deep into her pouch, her fingers wrapping around the compact, semi-automatic handgun she retrieved earlier on from her dad's safe. How do I use it? Is there a safety mechanism I have to switch off? When was the last time the gun was maintained? Is it even working?

Is the gun even loaded?

Quivering, Jane bit her lower lip as she fished the gun out. It weighed a lot more than she expected, not just physically but mentally as well. Killing someone was not something anyone would expect to do in their lifetime. Glancing at Jeana, however, Jane had already made up her mind. Pointing it towards the door, she squeezed her eyes shut, sweat trickling down the sides of her face. Finger rested on the trigger, she could taste the salt in her sweat as the emerald green eye continued prying into their wardrobe. 

Five. Jane resorted to counting down in her head. Four. Adrenaline coarsed through her veins. Three. She widened her eyes. Two.

One. 

TO BE CONTINUED.

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