kenopsia | the society

5. anaphylaxis

All the teens screamed, ducking down, and Riley crouched down in between the pews of the church, pulling Allie out of the aisle and into the pew rows.

"Well, fuck this. Harry's right. No one elected you king, cousin." Campbell said, pistol in hand as he walked towards the altar where Cassandra was. "Did anybody vote her? Did they? Anybody elect her to speak on your behalf? No?" He continued.

Cassandra stood up slowly, her hands raised in front of her. "I - I - I don't want to be king." Cassandra said softly, stuttering a little as she approached Campbell cautiously.

Campbell shook his head, brows raised. "That's not what it looks like. Is it?" He asked, raising his gun once again and pointing it directly at Cassandra.

Shocked murmurs erupted from the crowd and Allie wriggled out of Riley's grasp to run in front of her sister. Cassandra, however, forced Allie back, to stand behind her so that if Campbell did shoot, it wouldn't hit Allie.

"I've thought a lot about dying. I've almost gotten used to that. But I don't like to be afraid." Cassandra explained, trying to get Campbell to lower his gun. "Do you want chaos?" She asked him, "fucking shoot me."

Campbell snickered in response, "I don't want to shoot you." He said, lowering the gun with a crooked smile on his face, "I wanted to get everybody's attention. This meeting's obviously over. We'll be back when Luke gets here. Until then, if anybody else is tired of listening to her," Campbell droned, pointing a finger at Cassandra, "you can follow me."

Harry was the first to stand up, followed by some of the other jocks and guys in the room. "Hey, Kelly, let's go." Harry said softly to his girlfriend, and after a few intense moments, she stood up and joined him.

As the group was headed to the church doors, they opened, revealing the expedition group. Gasps could be heard and Riley quickly stood up, fearing the worst for Grizz, but when she saw who Luke was carrying, tears welled immediately in her eyes. As Luke carried Emily closer, Riley could feel bile rising in her throat and her heart hammering in her chest. Emily looked so pale, her lips tinged blue.

It was like the world had stopped spinning, like the rug had been ripped out from under her. While her and Emily may not have been dating any longer, Riley still held love for Emily in her heart. Emily was a good person, a loving person, and the fact that she was dead froze Riley to the core.

"Somebody clear that table." Luke groaned out, and Riley rushed forward next to where Elle was and started knocking red cups and beers off the table as tears slowly trailed down her face.

Grizz moved so he was next to Riley and wrapped her in his arms, pulling her away from the table so she wouldn't look at Emily more. He pulled her head into his chest as silent sobs wracked her body, and Grizz didn't know how to comfort her.

"She died from a snake bite." Luke announced after a few quiet moments, his voice cracking. "Her whole body just shut down. We did everything we could, but we couldn't save her."

Her whole body shut down. That was what Luke had said. Her whole body. Connecticut didn't have poisonous snakes that Riley knew about, which meant that Emily probably had an allergic reaction. Meaning that it was painful and long and that Emily suffocated to death as her immune system reacted and caused her to go into anaphylactic shock. It was not a fair way to go, not for someone as sweet and loving as Emily.

Grizz lifted his head, loosening his grip on Riley, whose sobs had slowed a little. "So we're gonna bury her tomorrow. Before it starts to smell." He said, pursing his lips, "So I'm gonna need a couple of guys. Clark?"

Clark nodded in response, putting a hand on Riley's shoulder. The two weren't close, but they were friends and the boy felt awful seeing Riley so upset.

"There's nothing out there, guys. Just a whole bunch of..." Luke started, shaking his head, "just woods that go on forever. We're all alone. This isn't our home."

While Luke was speaking, Will had made his way over to Grizz and Riley, who was now done crying. Her whole body felt numb, she couldn't feel anything. "Are you okay?" Will asked her softly, immediately realizing how stupid his words were, of course she wasn't okay.

Riley shook her no, "I loved her." She whispered, biting her lip painfully to try and distract her from the fact that her heart was quickly shattering into a million different pieces.

"I'll take her home tonight, Will. I'll keep an eye on her." Grizz told Will, referring to Riley. He knew that there was nothing he could do to make his friend feel better, but he just hoped that his presence would help her feel like she wasn't alone.

"I loved her." Riley whispered again, eyes on the beautiful girl who now lay dead on a table.