PURE UNFILTERED HORROR. That was what Ilaria felt. She hadn't felt so scared in her life but she had felt so useless when her mother first told her what happened to Kenna.
Ilaria thought that surely if she were taken instead she wouldn't feel the horror she felt then because she would know the people she loved were safe.
When she reached outside her house, she must've been sitting in the car for an entire hour, trying to slow her heart down and put on a fake smile. She didn't want to lie to her mother again but she didn't want to involve her either - involving her meant putting her in danger - Ilaria wouldn't have that.
The cabin was the only lead she had. And if the killer knows this - that's where he'd be waiting. The only person who would know exactly where the cabin is would be her mother.
With a shaky sigh, she shut her car door - the clouds were packed together, as though the sky could sense today wasn't a day for sun.
She found her mother laying down, watching a movie.
Ilaria moved to sit down next to her and she was surprised her mother hadn't mentioned her taking the car without permission.
"Ma?" Ilaria grimaced "Sorry for taking the car."
"It's okay, I wasn't going anywhere anyway" her mother replied, turning to her "I know that face, what do you want?"
Ilaria laughed and mentally prepared to lie, again "Do we own a cabin?"
Her mother sat up straight, brown hair flowing over her shoulders in waves - Ilaria envied her mother's hair, she never got her mother manageable waves, instead she ended up with curls.
"We did." her mother replied slowly with a raise of her eyebrows "We used to go there with your father when you were around 6 and Tate 9."
Ilaria bit on her lip "Do you know where it is?"
Her mother eyed her with curiosity "Why do you ask?"
Ilaria shrugged "I just thought it'd be a cool place to go to clear my head and maybe read and stuff." she said, lying through her teeth.
"Hmmm" her mother tilted her head, contemplating. Ilaria tried not to toy with her hands or do anything that might give her away - her mother knew her better than she knew herself so it made lying that much harder.
"Okay" her mother lifted a shoulder and leaned over to pull out a pen and paper "Take someone with you, I dont think you should be out alone... Atleast not yet."
Ilaria took the paper and kissed her mother on the cheek "Thanks ma. I love you."
"I love you too, jaanu"
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The drive to the cabin was a long one and Ilaria felt a dull neausea in her stomach, she had to swallow down bile multiple times.
Her entire body felt cold and all the while she prayed nothing happened, that she'd get there and Kai would be hurt - but okay. That she'd be able to save him.
She stopped just outside the woods where the cabin was and pulled out her phone.
The police department answered immediately, Ilaria ducked in a breath and gave her address "Someone's being held hostage. Come with backup."
She didn't wait for a response before dropping the call and getting out of the car.
The air felt sticky and wrong, she could barely breathe through her nose, it was so quiet - certainly too quiet for woods - like the animals could sense the evil surroundings too. Maybe they could.
She began her trek through the woods and listened carefully for voices... Specifically screams but she didn't want to admit that.
The trees surrounding her mocked and laughed and she felt like she could chop them all down.
Finally, after what seemed like hours of following a dirt trail Ilaria found herself In a clear opening - a wave of nostalgia hit her.
Everything was the same as her dream, the leafless trees, the mossy ground, the cabin smack in the middle of the opening.
The cabin was an old, barely standing thing - the windows weren't covered. She didn't bother looking in as she walked towards the door.
She couldn't think past anything than the fact that Kai was in there and that she had to get to him.
With shaky, slippery hands she pushed open the door - it swung in with eery squeek.
The thing about love and the people you love is that, we might think we know them. We might believe that we know most parts of them. The truth is, we don't - not really anyway.
Nobody knows anybody when you really think about it.
And Ilaria knew this because she found her brother holding Kai up, he was no longer tied on the chair - Tate was holding his body up against his own, the knife positioned at his stomach, where Ilaria could already see multiple stab wounds.
Ilaria wanted to think that it didn't make sense. But it did. It made perfect sense, the way Tate almost never slept. The way she heard him leave the house at night.
The fact that he wasn't home for an entire weekend and the fact that on that Sunday Kenna showed up dead he wasn't home.
The fact that he tried getting her to leave the case alone.
That day she came home after her and Kai had got a "gift" from the killer and he was up "studying".
That he knew she came home later than usual.
Her and Kai had profiled that the second UnSub would be older and in college, they crossed it out when they found Michael.
Not once did she think Tate, older, law student Tate would be their second UnSub.
Tate hadn't bandaged Kai's wounds but he'd done something to keep Kai awake or rather jolt him awake repeatedly. Her best guess was electric shock.
She should've been screaming, maybe even crying but she just felt - empty. Numb.
"Ha! You found us, see she found us!" Tate laughed manically shaking Kai. Ilaria didn't know who was standing infront of her but it certainly wasn't her brother.
She looked him right in the eye, she tried finding the person she knew. Instead, she just found an insane sort of glaze and past that - a soul she wasn't sure she wanted to know.
"Tate" Ilaria began "Let him go."
Tate shook his head rapidly "No no no you're just in time! The fun only starts now!"
"This isn't you" Ilaria stepped forward, that's when she felt the floodgates breaking. She didn't feel so empty anymore.
"Shut up, you don't know me" Tates voice was edgy, shaky and entirely insane "You don't know me" he repeated this over and over.
Ilaria stood, frozen - her brother was much bigger than her. Much taller,shed never be able to get past him.
Kai was covered and dripping blood, he was pale and barely awake.
"Run." was all he said, he didn't scream it - he didn't need to.
Ilaria shook her head "I'm not leaving you."
"Tate, I know you. I'm your sister." Ilaria's eyes darted between Tate and Kai "Please just let him go."
"YOU DONT UNDERSTAND!" Tate screamed making Ilaria flinch.
"so explain." Ilaria told him, she was buying time. She needed to keep him talking and distracted long enough for the police to come.
"You..." he began pointing the knife at Ilaria "You're just a spoilt brat. That's it. That's all you are. You don't know what suffering is because he didn't choose you! He didn't choose you!"
"Who didn't choose me?" Ilaria asked, she kept her eyes on Kai while he spoke but shifted them in that moment.
Her brother seemed to be shaking from head to toe. No - not her brother, the stranger. That's what he was. A stranger. Ilaria didn't know him.
"Father." Tate spat "your amazing, perfect, father."
Ilaria swallowed"What?"
"No no no" Tate mumbled "Oh no, he liked boys" then he grinned, a stretchy grin "Every night-while you sleep so peacefully like a princess"
That couldn't be right, Ilaria felt she would throw up right there. Instead, once again, she ignored it. It couldn't be right. Her father loved them. He loved them both.
He'd never hurt them.
"Tate, you're confused. You need help." Ilaria said "Our father loved us, he wouldn't hurt you."
"But he did! He did! He did! Why do you think I did all of it? All of those girls? Atleast I killed them! They didn't have to live with the memory of any of it. I did the right thing." Tate whispered "yes, I did the right thing. Now father knows I'm strong. Stronger than him."
"Fathers dead." Ilaria deadpanned and although she didn't want to believe a word coming out of Tates mouth, she knew - deep down, he wasn't lying. Why would he? What did he have to gain?
"He brought me out here, you know" Tate laughed "I guess he didn't want you or mom to hear what he was doing. I tried fighting him off you know? Every night! But I was weak!!! Weak! I'm stronger now" he said "Stronger, yes and he knows now that I'm stronger"
Ilaria could taste salt in her mouth, tears. She tried to imagine it, little Tate - scared out of his mind. Little Tate, trying to fight off his own father. Little Tate begging for help where no one would listen.
The logical part of her told her that she was just a kid too. How would she know?
And the other part blamed her. Maybe if she just paid more attention none of it would have happened. Those girls would have lived. Kenna would have lived.
"why would you choose Kenna?" she finally choked out "She didn't do anything! None of them did."
Tate stuck his tongue out to wet his lips "She caught me and she was just too curious! She knew and she was going to turn me in."
Everything made sense then, The drugs, Staying with Michael despite the abuse - Kenna had been working the case too.
And she figured it out.
Ilaria felt so stupid. Surely, if she wasn't so focused on her own sadness she would've known.
" Tate - Kai isn't apart of this, you're angry at me right?" Ilaria eyed the knife Tate held to Kai "Let him go, you're not mad at him. Please."
Where were the police? She wondered, her heart pounding.
"Awww you really do care about him." Tate tilted his head "Too. Fucking. Bad." He stabbed Kai with each word.
"NO! STOP!" Ilaria chocked on a sob, she knew where he stabbed were fatal places, her brother was just as smart as her. He knew exactly where to stab.
If the police didn't show up soon with medics...
She didn't finish the thought.
Tate dropped Kai and he crumpled to the floor, a pool of blood was already starting to surround him.
Ilaria moved over to him so fast she didn't register her own movement. She held him,ignoring the blood beginning to cover her and lifted his head to her lap "Just, stay up." she said as her tears fell on Kais cheeks. He kept his eyes open, Ilaria could tell he was fighting.
The world fell silent.
The animals held their breath.
And the stars waited for fate to play it's part.
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