Held Breath

PROLOGUE

Savannah stood there, breathing deeply.

She was standing in her school's corridor. And though she was outside, she was undercover, somewhat sheltering her from the rain and snow.

It was cold out in the open and she hugged herself, letting the thick, brown coat she wore wrap around herself more tightly.

The coat was undone and a thin, lilac, long-sleeved top was revealed but only barely. Her long, auburn hair was wet against her neck and the water reflected on her hair and skin.

Savannah was looking out into the grey sky. Twenty years old and always scared for her life.... That was how she lived, always afraid.

It was snowing lightly. It had been for days now, and the ground had a coat of white beauty.

Savannah closed her eyes and the face of a girl came into her mind. The girl was in her class and was her best friend. She couldn't believe what was to happen now, what she had to do.

The last person she had... well... defeated, had given Savannah a new target and that target was her best friend -Chloe.

So now Chloe was to be her target and Sav was her assassin.

Savannah did not want to play this game anymore, she would kill no more.

Savannah never chose to play, but that was the reality of it, no-one got a choice.

Three whole years she had avoided being killed -which also meant she hadn't lost the game -wow, she was so happy.

The funny thing is that she actually should be happy because it was an achievement to be alive, to be winning. However nothing could cover the guilt she felt... the dead who haunted her sleep.

Achievements couldn't motivate Sav anymore; What mattered was whether or not it was worth it and Sav knew that she couldn't continue on because it wasn't worth it.

One problem though... If you didn't continue to play by the rules then you still lose and losing meant death.

Most of the rules were things like 'killing without blinking' and stuff about not letting personal feelings get in your way.

So in the end, Chloe or Sav was to die. Either or. And Sav wouldn't be able to follow the rules this time, there was too much history there.

Silent tears ran down Savannah's cheeks. She was confused and alone...

...

ALONE!?!
Hold up, Savannah could NOT be out there all alone!

The though barely crossed her mind when, like a perfectly executed check-mate, she sensed someone else's presence and her body tensed.

Someone chuckled behind her -she was sure of it.
"No. You're not out here alone... anymore."

There was humour in the boy's voice and Sav thought he sounded vaguely familiar... but who? He spoke again but his voice sounded bitter and angry (not good for her).

"You make my life difficult you know? You were always with someone, always careful; but you were bound to slip up some day, and here you are. Here I am." The boy finished his statement with a small lift in his voice and Sav could almost feel him sneer.

"Oh, you're not talking?" he sounded almost annoyed.

"You know, I thought when I finally met you, you would actually talk to me."

He waited a few seconds, possibly hoping that maybe Sav would speak, but she wouldn't.

"You know who I am?" His question took her off guard; she hadn't really thought about who he was really only the familiarity of him. But who he was and who he acted, were two very different things.

"No, no I don't." Her words hung in the icy air.

Sav still had her back to this boy but in a way it was better this way, no betrayal, somewhat peaceful.

There was a minute of silence, until Savannah felt the boy's breath on her neck.

When he spoke, it was barely a whisper, "You know I am your assassin though."

It wasn't a question but Sav answered anyway, "Of course. But why wait?"

Her question wasn't meant to tease him, she was genuinely curious. "To kill you, you mean?" His tone held amusement.

I prefer the term 'set free'. It makes me feel better when I'm in your place." Sav said.

The boy waited a minute, when he final asked, "Do you want me to set you free Savannah?"

After her nod the boy placed his hands on her neck.

"William, my name is William."

Then in one swift unstoppable movement, he broke her neck; instantly killing her.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

He held her in his arms, her body still warm.

He was crying, however he was unsure why.

She was just a stranger really.. Although there was something familiar about her... Something he couldn't quite put his finger on.

Regardless, there was something he quite admired about her... Her dignity in the decision to not fight back... she wanted to die rather than kill.
To Will that meant she had won the game -not lost it.

She was free now and for some reason he envied her.

In a lot of ways, though Will tried to not think too much about it, the game was a curse. A curse of constant paranoia and guilt. How was he supposed to live with murder? -game or not, they still died.

Will stood up; Someone would come any second and see her dead.

Will couldn't be there when that happened.

He closed his eyes, trying to think, trying to plan.

A thought of travelling, travelling always helped clear his mind when he was feeling overwhelmed -of course he would have to kill that girl who was now his target first. No point holding off on that.

Opening his emerald green eyes, he started walking.

After a few feet he disappeared completely into the shadows, leaving no trace that he had been there.

No trace except the girl, Savannah,
Lying dead next to the snow.

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Hey hey all you amazingly creative readers & authors!

I really hope this story is capturing your interest! It is something I started writing about 7 years ago when I was in year 7 and I am super excited to share this story with you all.

It has always been a massive passion in the back of my mind and now I feel finally ready to give back the emotions, relief, escape that I found in reading by writing to all of you.

Much love and always appreciate comments, advice and VOTES if you are LOVING this story! The feedback will help dictate the direction of some of the story (Not all is set in stone, and how the love story ends will be up to YOU ALL).

xoxo Soh-f-ee-ah IrrelevantArtist

1150 words.

Sweet Dreams.