Cleo Horan
I had no fucking idea who this person standing in front of me was, but I was sure I had seen her tonight... wasn't she the one who asked me if I was looking for someone? She had the same eyes and I was certain it was the same dress.
Harry's body tensed right next to me and he squeezed my hand again, there was recognition on his face so I was sure he knew her.
Fuck, his hands were so cold... he was still too affected by his time in the dark and I just wanted to take his pain and fear away. After I finally found the room he was in and unlocked the door, the first thing I did was to turn on the lights. That's when I spotted Harry sitting in the corner, sobbing and crying his eyes out, probably the most I had ever seen him cry. His body was shaking as he said Anne's name, and then he mentioned some Gemma I had never heard of before.
I could tell he was in pain, it took me about five minutes to finally make him snap out of the prison his mind was keeping him in, it was something much worse than a panic attack. Harry was simply lost inside his own mind and I really wondered what the fuck was going on in there. Why was he so scared?
When he opened his eyes and recognized me, he acted as if nothing had happened, slowly returning to reality.
Maybe he never remembered his episodes or the motive for his fear... this could be a defense mechanism to keep his repressed memories locked away, and maybe being in the dark triggered that. It had to be something extremely traumatic to leave him this way.
I just knew I never wanted to see him like that again.
It hurt me so fucking much that I actually started crying, and I wanted to bring Desmond back to life so I could kill him all over again. What kind of person played with someone's fear like this? His Own son... God, I was fucking glad he was dead.
The adrenaline was still running high in my body and I couldn't feel anything but worry now, I had to get Harry out of here. He needed to recover and he needed to feel safe, and now my mother was finally dead as well.
She deserved worse. the quick death I gave her was better than nothing, but I wished I had time to torture her. make her pay for all the cruel things she had done. I felt nothing but relief when I pulled the trigger.
I didn't even let her speak, I just shot her. I was so fucking done with everything.
And now this place was on fire.
My brain was trying to connect the dots... the girls were missing, the windows and doors were locked... someone targeted this masquerade and they knew exactly what was going on. They planned to set this place on fire.
It couldn't be the FBI, they wouldn't burn all these people. This seemed like an act of desperation and impulse, but who the fuck would do this?
I agreed that everyone in here should burn, but needed to get the fuck out before.
Harry glanced sideways at me, his green eyes were still bloodshot and his hair was a mess, the paleness of his face concerned me and I just wanted to leave.
Nothing mattered anymore but him, the thought of losing him or seeing him suffering had actually become my biggest fear.
He was still confused about seeing me with a gun, and trust me, I was confused too. I was focusing on what was happening around us and my instincts kicked in, I had no control over it. And I was really glad this happened when I needed it the most.
The gun was loaded in case I needed to shoot this crazy bitch in front of me, saying she was looking for us? Why? Was she working with my mother?
"What the fuck do you mean, Cindy?" Harry asked her, clenching his jaw.
Cindy?
"It means I've been waiting for this... can you hear the screams? They're all gonna burn." She actually smiled, walking closer to us until she was only a few feet away.
I aimed the gun at her and her eyes widened slightly, but not from fear... "Who the fuck are you?" I asked her.
"My dad's girlfriend," Harry answered. "Well, ex. Since he's dead."
Cindy furrowed her eyebrows, looking very much confused. Her gaze then dropped to my mother's body on the floor as if she had just noticed she was there.
I was probably as confused as her, I had no idea what was going on and I was about to shoot her and leave.
"You killed them... what? This doesn't make any sense. You're all guilty. You're all going to burn. You have to pay for what you put me through!" She suddenly shouted as tears streamed down her face, and that's when she reached for a small gun she had hidden on the thigh garter under her dress.
What the fuck?
"No fucking way." Harry was the one who spoke up, and he apparently realized something I hadn't. "You're one of the kids. Fuck, this makes so much sense now... you were trafficked, weren't you? This was your revenge plan all along."
Oh, my god.
"Time to cross your names off the list," Cindy said, slowly raising her gun at the same time as I heard steps right behind me on the stairs. And I didn't have time to process it at all when Amber walked past me, holding her gun and pointing it right at Cindy.
"FBI, drop your weapon." She told her, not even looking at me as she walked closer to Cindy.
God, I forgot Amber was here.
Did she know Cindy was behind the list? Was this why she came?
I was so confused and things were slowly starting to connect... if she was the young girlfriend Harry mentioned his father had, then she was very fucking smart to płan all of this.
She seduced Desmond to infiltrate.. and she managed to be right in the center of it all. She fooled literally everyone to get what she wanted.
Shit, if she was one of the missing kids then it meant she was used by the names on the list... she was sold and treated like an object.
I could actually understand her uncontrolled rage and blind actions, of course she'd assume Harry and I were involved in all this... because we indirectly were, sadly.
But why the fuck give us the list and not kill us in the first place to avoid all of this? Was she working alone?
And as the questions started to pop inside my brain, I realized one thing.
She added our names to the new list.. the new list I found on my dead brother's hand.
Niall.
A chill went down my spine and goosebumps erupted all over my skin when I finally put the pieces together.
Turns out I didn't have to wait to avenge my brother's death... my chance was right in front of me.
I felt sorry for Cindy, I really did. No one deserved to be sold and passed around like they meant nothing. She had every right to want to kill those responsible and get her revenge.
But my brother was fucking innocent.
Harry and I were innocent.
And I was fucking done allowing anyone to blame us or use us or hurt us ever again.
"Lower your weapon, I won't repeat myself." Amber took another step closer to Cindy, keeping her gun aimed at her.
The air around us was already way too hot to breathe and I quickly turned around to look at the stairs, realizing the first floor was completely up in flames... and they were coming up the stairs.
We were so focused on Cindy that I didn't even notice that the fire had spread quicker, and now that I was paying attention I could feel the sweat on my face, the thick smoke starting to surround us, the ashes...
The screams had stopped too.
Either they burned or some of them got away, Amber managed to get to the second floor right on time before the fire consumed downstairs.
The bright orange flames leaped and twirled as they made their way closer to where we were standing at the top of the stairs, and the heat had suddenly become overwhelming.
The fire was devouring everything in its way and someone had probably opened a door or done something to fuel it, we were about to be trapped up here or die.
And Amber would have to understand that there was no fucking way I was going to die here tonight.
She could do her FBI thing later and take her fucking time, like she always did.
We weren't on the same team, we never were.
So before she could try to talk to Cindy or even do anything, I took the opportunity since both of them were distracted, and I aimed the gun at Cindy's head.
She was fucking mistaken if I was going to forget what she did to my brother. And also the pain she caused me and Harry.
I grabbed Harry's hand so tightly that I was sure it was cutting off his circulation, but I just needed to feel him... and then I pulled the trigger.
The sound of the fire crackling was louder than the silenced bullet, and after I shot Cindy in the head she simply fell dead on the floor.
Amber quickly turned around to look at me with wide dark eyes and smudges on her face from the smoke, and Harry had already started to catch right next to me.
There was no way out through the stairs or elevator, so the window it had to be.
"Cleo, what have you done," Amber asked me, lowering her gun.
"No time to talk," I said simply, pulling Harry along with me as I ran towards the same room I had pulled him into earlier.
I remembered I saw a window there, and that had been enough for now. I didn't even look back as I pushed the door open, starting to cough as the smoke got thicker and thicker.
We had no time, so as soon as I spotted the window I dragged Harry along with me and shot several times to break the glass. I could hear the fire coming and when I looked out the window I could also see the flames were starting to consume the patio already, the mansion was about to fall apart any minute.
"I'll go first, baby. I'll catch you." Harry surprised me when he pulled his hand away from mine, and I knew it wasn't too high but it could be a dangerous fall if he fell closer to the fire or landed badly.
We had to jump and run through the woods again to get to the car
"Hurry! The fire is almost here."
Amber's voice caught me off guard and she had joined us in the room, running towards the window. She was coughing as much as Harry and me, and I could see the brightness of the flames coming from the hallway.
Harry looked at me before he got ready to jump, cutting his hands with the broken glass as he grabbed the windowsill, but not even flinching.
We were about 15 feet from the floor and I knew this could be a very bad idea, but I was already shot and there was no way I was going to burn.
And then Harry jumped, landing on his feet but quickly rolling onto the floor to absorb the shock, but he grunted in pain when he tried to stand up and it seemed like he had sprained his ankle.
Harry managed to get on his feet, looking up at me as the fire approached where he was standing on the patio. The flames made his eyes look the most unreal shade of green and didn't hesitate to jump next after I tucked the gun on my thigh holster.
He caught me just like he said he would, but we both ended up falling on the floor and he absorbed most of my impact.
Pain shot up my body when I rolled on my side, landing right over my wounded shoulder.
"Fuck!" I grunted, ignoring the sharp pain spreading all over my body as I glanced at Harry, watching as he got on his feet and quickly helped me stand up, holding my body for some balance because of his ankle.
I had probably broken a few ribs and Harry the same, but we had to run before the fire could get to us or before Amber's backup actually arrived.
And just then I remembered her, turning around to watch as she landed much better than Harry and I did after she jumped out the window, not hurting herself at all.
But her eyes quickly found mine and she shook her head as a silent warning.
"I told you to lay low." She said, coughing a few more times. "I can't help you if you run."
"We don't need your help." Harry was the one who answered, grabbing my hand and also grabbing his phone as he turned on the flashlight, probably getting ready so we could make our way into the woods.
"The deal isn't valid anymore, I'm sure you know that. There's nothing I can do after what just happened, I'm not in charge." Amber sighed. "You fucked up."
"No, I did something I should've done much sooner," I told her, slowly walking backwards as Harry pulled me along with him, closer to the trees and away from the burning mansion. "Goodbye, Amber."
The fire was consuming the house right behind her, casting shadows all over the backyard as the ashes made it harder for us to breathe. The scary orange glow was bright enough, thankfully.
Amber's eyes widened at my words, and I knew I was risking a lot. But nothing mattered anymore... I was going to do things my way.
And then Harry and I turned around and didn't look back.