SURPRISE FRANNY
I giggle as I lay in the fluffy white bed with Alana in my arms. We're in our own little world as a soft breeze flows through the room. We're surrounded in golden light and the view of a beautiful green terrain outside the open balcony. She's nuzzling into me and talking about going down to the beach, soon.
"Do you love me?" I murmur on Alana's lips. Sunlight streams into the room and fills me up with the warmth that can only be described with the word: peace. I know the answer even though she doesn't answer. Instead, she kisses me hard on the mouth. We kiss for a moment longer before finally breaking away and I gaze at her. "What are we going to do today?"
"You're going to die, Chesca."
"What?"
Everything flips and suddenly I'm sitting in a car and there's music playing that I can't hear. I can only hear the screams of my brother and the love of his life dying in his arms. He's slamming his fist into her chest to get her heart beating again but there's only so much he can do. Alana is sitting in the passenger seat and she's staring ahead at something in the future but I can't look ahead. I can only watch my brother — I can only live through one of the worst moments of my life.
"Rory, let her go!"
"We're almost to the hospital!"
My hands clench the wheel and tears fill my eyes. What have I done? I did what I needed to do. I did what I needed to do. I did what I needed to do.
Panic bubbles inside of me and I'm regretting every decision I just made. I'm supposed to be the responsible one, I'm supposed to be the protector, and yet I've hurt him beyond repair.
"Baby, wake up, baby, please," his voice is wrenched out of him, "You can't leave me here."
"What have you done?" Alana asks.
I shake my head, "I'm sorry."
"You're not sorry, Francesca," She looks so disappointed in me, like she can't believe that I would do this and a part of me can't believe I would do it either. "Are you happy?"
"What?" My eyes search her face in confusion as everything slides into a blur and then refocuses. I blink wildly but it's like looking through glasses that are foggy and dirty. "What's happening?"
"Are you happy with yourself?" Rory sobs out.
"No, no, no of course not, I never meant for this to happen."
"Wake up." Alana says softly.
"What?"
Rory screams, "You traitorous bitch! You did this!"
I blink hard as the world begins to blur even more than before and the light turns dark. My arms suddenly feel empty and then a sharp pain goes through me. I gasp in shock and slip into something cold. There's something touching me roughly and I move against it but there's a restriction.
I can hear Alana's voice hurried and frantic. She's saying the same thing over and over again. "Wake up, wake up, wake up."
"Francesca!"
I jolt and my eyes finally really open. Alana is staring down at me with fear in her eyes paired with full tears. She sighs when I finally groan and pulls me into her chest. I admire the feeling of her chest against my cheek for a moment before I realize the situation that I am in. What is she doing here?
"Alana, no." I push her off of me with my shoulders because my arms are tied back with a very scratchy rope. "You have to get out of here."
"Not without you, come on."
"Where's Clary and Lexi?" I ask before looking around the room.
Alana looks around with me, "You're the only one in here."
Fear drops into my stomach. "No, no, no we have to find them. No, you have to leave, I have to find them."
"News flash, Francesca, I am not leaving your idiotic side until we are home." She unties me before grabbing my chin. "If you ever drug me against my will, again, I will murder you myself."
"I was protecting you." I groan as I finally pay attention to the pain going through me. I touch my side and feel the wound, my mind races as there's a lot of blood. "I would do it again."
"You're so frustrating."
"How did you even find me?" I hold onto my side.
Alana scoffs, "All of your passwords are annoyingly easy to guess."
My eyes widen, "No they're not."
"Right, if you say so." She smirks, "AlanaSalvatore01?"
I blush hard, "I needed a password on my new safe."
"Mhm, you're adorable." Alana chuckles before holding out her hand. "Come on, we need to find the others."
I wipe the blood that coats my fingers on my jeans and thank the gods that I am wearing all black so she can't see that I'm casually bleeding out. It was a situation that I would deal with later on but for right, now I need to find my friends and kill my brother. Plus, it wasn't bleeding very fast, so technically not bleeding out but heavy enough that my fingers were pretty slick. The pressure of laying on my side probably helped a lot.
"Are you okay?" I ask Alana.
Alana is quiet for a second, "If you are. Are you okay?"
"If you are," I answer softly.
Alana stares at me, "I meant what I said in my vows, Francesca...I am pissed at you but you are the love of my life."
"I was protecting you." I say again and she cast her eyes to the side. "Maybe a part of me was being selfish because I wanted you to fall in love with me but it was to protect you too."
"Our friends are waiting for us to save them, we can talk about this when your brother is dead." She yanks open the door and I don't argue with her.
"Did you come here alone?"
"Of course not," Adonis says and this man looks like he's been through a war. "It's all clear, they're not on this floor."
"Doni!" I whisper and he messes up my hair.
"Hey, boss, nice to see you're not dead."
"You too, hot stuff, where's Ole Harve?" There's a grunt and then Harvey is dragging a guard up the stairs like he's a sack of rocks. He drops the man at my feet.
"Boss, you're alive, thank god! I could not deal with her for the rest of my life, she's so bossy." Harvey rumbles before reloading his gun. "She also worries, a lot, I've never heard someone to say what if so many times."
I smile, "Harvey, be careful, she'll hurt you."
"Yeah, I'm still healing from my broken arm." He shoots at Alana.
Alana smirks with a careless shrug, "Next time don't get in my way."
Adonis snorts and Harvey pushes her shoulder and they share a smile. I didn't know my bodyguards had grown a relationship with Alana so close but it was nice to see. Alana could easily get everyone to love her, she was true light.
"I think they're being held downstairs." Adonis changes the subject to the most important matter at the time.
"Let's go." I mutter before leading the small group down the stairs. A lot of people were dead.
My stomach swims at the sight of bodies piled on top of each other and force myself kind of away from it. I don't like the sight of so much blood but I know it was key to our survival. There are more bodies that are going to be dead soon, the blood on my hands didn't just belong to me and that's something I'll have to accept. My duty will not be done until my brother's hands are coated in his blood.
There's a separation in the bodies as if they had been kicked to the side so people could walk through the body. I follow it until I reach a room with one door. I don't waste any time as I open it and step into the unknown horror.
Something grabs me and ya is me forward by my head and I crumble to my knees as I'm thrown into the middle of the floor. I suck in a shattering breath as gunshots ring out. Hands push into my hair and pull me attention. The wound on my side strains and I scream out in pain as I blink away the blurring agony.
"Just on time, Franny."
"Do not touch her!" Alana screeches out as Rory walks deeper into the room with my body being dragged.
He stops at Alana's words, "I'm already touching her."
I stare up at Rory as tears fall down my cheeks. "Please, stop."
"Everybody are main attraction has arrived," Fingers snap and I suck in another breath. My lungs were feeling exceptionally painful and weak. "Grab the girl."
Alana screams and I fight against Rory's grip but this bitch was strong as fuck. I can feel my hair being ripped out of my skull. Rory's other fist comes across my face and the world slows down for a minute and I go limp — which only increases the pain.
"I've been so rude." Rory grits out, "I didn't wish you Happy Birthday."
"Fuck you!" I growl and his grasp only gets so much stronger. I scream out. There's really very few other painful moments than yanking out your hair by the roots.
"I'll give you a birthday gift."
"I want nothing from you."
He finally lets go and I drop to the ground in pain and sweet, beautiful, relief. My scalp buzzed and tingled — it still felt like fire had taken over my scalp. Along with pain in my scalp, it increased when my head began to pound like a hammer was taken to it.
"You're going to get it anyway, Franny, I worked hard on it." I open my eyes and my heart freezes. "Do you like it?"
My friends. No, this couldn't be happening. I was ahead of him, I was. There was no way that my friends were bound and gagged staring at me in pure fear and uncertainty. I had done everything right, I followed the instructions, I gave people orders to get out when they can. So why was it that Alana, Clary, Brooklyn, Lexi, even Misha, and...my mother...No. Adonis laid in a heap on the ground alone with Harvey and I don't understand. I can't comprehend. "No."
"You must be surprised." His shoes trailed through a puddle of blood. "Dad's here too."
My eyes find Dad hanging above my friends and mother. He looks to helpless and insignificant as he hung by his wrist and struggled to inhale through the bandanna on his face. I can see fear in his eyes and tears — I can see humanity and I hate it. I hate it because there had been none when he destroyed me and ignored my brother like the plague. I hate that he is terrified because I had always hoped to see him like this, one day. Now that it was here, my own humanity wanted me to get the man down and save him.
"Rory, please, no, please."
"You're begging already?" He smiles, "I thought I was going to have to chop off a couple of fingers, don't ruin the fun before it starts, Franny."
Someone takes me away from Rory and I don't have enough strength to fight them off. They bound me to a chair and the feeling of not having to support myself is almost orgasmic. A chilling relief goes through me and I inhale through the fog of pain. This was going worse than I thought, I single-handedly delivered everyone to him.
Alana screams through a mouth cover and a cold feeling sets into my stomach. It's a painful experience to hear her screams. I find her, again, and I realize that she's not screaming for herself, she's screaming because my shirt has risen and the bloody gash is on full display. Her eyes are wide and terrified and I know they match my own.
"Pick." Rory mumbles before sitting beside me like a little kid.
"Pick?" I look down at him crisscrossed and joyful.
"Who do you want to live?" He gestures to my parents.
"Stop this craziness, you've injured all of us, you've made us suffer, now let us go," I look at my whimpering mother and my heart aches.
"Come on," He presses a gun against my heart. "Pick which parent you want to live."
"My mom." I whisper.
"Say it loud enough."
"My mom!"
He stares at her, "I would've picked her too."
"Let her go, now."
"No, I can't do that." Rory laughs and without a second of doubt shoots my mother in the forehead.
Everything slows as her eyes go wide and then crumples. I scream, "No! Momma!"
"Don't worry, Dad, will die too."
"You lied!" I scream.
"Yes, because you lied to me when you said that you didn't know she was there but you did know, didn't you? You knew she followed us and you knew she would get caught in the crossfire, didn't you?"
I can't help but to train my eyes to my mother. My body began to numb as my hopes of our future disintegrated. I never got to forgive her. I never got to even try to, she is just gone. Like that.
"Two get to walk away from all of this." He says before circling me. "Now choose who shall live."
"How can I trust you?"
"I swear on Addison that from now on, I'll only kill the people you have chosen to die." He says with a roll of his eyes.
"Alana." I choose easily. She's my first pick, forever and always. I can't lose her.
"No," he sneers unkindly. "She doesn't count."
"I can't do this, Rory."
He looks at my friends, "Do you hear how selfish she is? She'd pick the love of her life over all of you but she refuses to pick out of the four of you."
Thank god, James and Bea aren't here.
I stare at them and they are not angry with me. Misha might be the only one that looks at me with annoyance and anger in her eyes but the rest are saddened for me. They are scared this is their last hour alive and they are scared that I'm going to have to make the decision. "I do not want to play God."
"It's not really playing God." He shrugs before settling on the palm of his hands. "I'm playing God, you're just my consciousness — tell me who deserves to live and who doesn't? A soul for a soul and whatnot."
Brooklyn and I are locked in our own little world. I can't focus on anyone else but them. She shakes her head and I know she would willingly sacrifice herself for everyone else. I couldn't do it. I couldn't choose them over Brooklyn. Even if I knew that Brooklyn was the one person that I needed, I don't know if I could pick the rest.
"Misha betrayed me." I whisper.
"Is that who you choose to die?"
My body feels so weak. "No...I don't know."
"Well, you've proven her right." He states with a shrug, "You only think about yourself."
"Addy protected you."
Rory flinched, "Do not say her name."
"Addison wouldn't want you to be this person."
A sharp slap to the face leaves me dazed. "You said all of this eight years ago, you're getting pretty repetitive, Franny."
"Rory, please, let them go." I beg, "Hurt me, but don't hurt them."
"What do you think I'm doing?" He laughs loudly like he can't hold it in. "This isn't about them, it's about you. Hurting you in a way that'll destroy you, like you destroyed me."
"I sacrificed her for you." I confess. "It was the only way to protect you."
"You do not know that." He says harshly. "I didn't need you to protect me!"
"Didn't you?"
"It wasn't your job!"
"My baby brother, wasn't it always my job?"
Every moment since he came in my life I spent my time protecting him — defending him. He was and always will be someone I sacrificed everything for just so he could live. That's why I protected him even when he killed so many people and threatened the life of my best friend. Maybe that's even why it took so long for Alana to find out that he was my brother.
"You know what, since you won't decide, maybe you need some motivation." He pushes himself off the floor and shoots Lexi. I scream with her as I realize that he really won't leave them alone until he gets what he wants. For me to suffer. "Choose!"
"No, I can't let her go! No!"
"More motivation? No problem." He aims at our father. "This is more for me than you."
The gun goes off and I close my eyes as my father's body sags. "You said you wouldn't kill anyone that I didn't choose to die!"
"You chose him to die when you chose your mother." He snaps and then the gun pans to Brooklyn.
"Okay! Okay!" Rory cocks his head to the side as he looks at me — smile on his face with a perfect eyebrow arched. "I'm saving Brooklyn and...and..."
Clary jerks her eyes to Lexi. I shake my head but she's desperate for me to pick Lexi to live through this. And I know I should, I know Lexi is more important to my gang than Clary is. I know this but Clary has brought a light to my world like Alana did. And Clary is Alana's best friend, now. Who would be there for Alana when I didn't leave here?
"Me."
"You're choosing to save yourself?"
"Yes." I swallow down the panic. "I admit to my selfishness. I choose me."
"That wasn't the-" He stares at me in disbelief. "You were so supposed to choose out of them."
"What? The traitor, the girl I've known for maybe two years, and the annoying ginger? Come on, Rory, do better."
"You're trying to put up a front when five seconds ago you were crying." He laughs, "Nice try."
I smile, "Kill them, then."
He shoots Clary and I don't flinch. I stare as the blood slinks from the hole in her stomach and she goes limp. Her pain tolerance was always exceptionally low, it's understandable that she would pass out from the shock and pain. I don't move, I don't breathe, I center myself before relaxing into the chair.
Rory slices the rope holding me back and pulls me forward. I stumble but when I feel a knife press into my back, I go stiff. "Choose."
"Brooklyn and me." He presses the gun in my hand and his grip is deadly as he guides the gun towards Lexi.
"Then pull the trigger."
"I'm not doing that."
"You're going to do what I say." He grinds out before jerking the gun to Misha. He forces my finger down on the trigger and the bullet meets Misha straight into the chest. I choke on my sob — traitor or not, she was my friend. The pain in my chest intensifies. "More people die when you don't do what the fuck I say."
Tears trickle out of my eyes as Brooklyn and Lexi cry out. This isn't how this was supposed to go. We wanted Misha to be punished but I know it wasn't like this, it was never like this. "I-I won't do this anymore."
Rory sighs, "Bring her in."
You know you always hope that someone isn't really dead. Some people even imagine the ones that they've lost in different countries just to pretend that they're not dead. You always hope that you're wrong, that they're alive and well and beautiful. You always hope but it's never true.
I always believed that until Diana Salvatore is dragged in and pushed to her knees. "Di?"
Her nickname almost feels foreign in my mouth. The sight of her feels unreal, I can't comprehend that she's staring at me right now. That she's breathing. Eight years has changed her considerably but she's the same Diana. The blindfold that she's wearing is ripped off her face and she looks at me with wide eyes. I can see tears form at Diana recognizes me and my heart squeezes as the tears begin falling down her cheeks. "Ches."
Alana and Diana see each other at the same time. They scream at each other for each other — the both of their worlds spinning into place. Relief and love morphing their faces into something heartbreaking. I can see their chests heaving as their sobs escape them. I wished Rory and I loved each other like that but instead I'm planning to kill him and he's forcing me too choose which of my friends deserve to survive. The shock of seeing Diana is still alive and strong. I can't believe it. It's hard to wrap my mind around — damn near impossible.
She's alive.
"Surprise, Franny," Rory laughs as my blood runs cold.
It's almost over, this is a tragedy, six more chapters🥲 (there might be more but the plan is only six more.)
Diana is alive! Misha not so much but we love to see Diana alive and well.
I can't wait until you guys see what's next!!
A lot of people died and a lot were injured and there are two more to go 🫢
I hope you enjoyed, don't forget to vote, and please ignore the typos, they will be fixed....eventually!