******RIVER’S POV******
I looked over at Jason, who seemed lost in thought, and couldn’t help but think about Raine, who was out there somewhere, searching for Drella.
I couldn’t help but think about how beautiful Raine was, about the quiet determination, her swift, nimble hands and shiny brunette hair. Her innocent, doe-shaped eyes that were an intriguing hazel. I felt like she was too innocent to see the things she had been subjected to on this night.
“I think we should go look for Raine,” I informed Jason, turning to look at him and voicing my thoughts as I grew increasingly more worried about Raine’s wellbeing.
He nodded, running a hand through his cropped fair hair. “Yeah, you’re right. She shouldn’t be out there by herself.”
We both stood, and Jason scrubbed his jaw. His green eyes darted nervously around, and he seemed to swallow a big lump in his throat as he thought over something.
“What?” I asked, curious.
He shook his head lightly. “I was just thinking about something.”
“What?” I repeated, prompting him to share his thoughts.
He sighed. “I was just wondering if Raine was okay, that’s all.”
I didn’t reply to him, having no idea what to say. To be honest, I was sharing that exact same worry, and thinking more about it would only end up making me more and more worried. Something I definitely didn’t need to be right now. I needed to be strong and focused, for Raine’s sake. I couldn’t show weakness.
“Let’s go find out,” I suggested, and Jason and I set out into the mall.
Neither of us dared to call out as we walked through, searching areas of the mall. We searched together, scanning storefronts and looking through stalls for any sign of her or Drella.
While we searched, I allowed my mind to wander, which was something I hadn’t done properly yet.
Twelve hours ago, I was just a normal—albeit, totally arrogant—guy getting his way with a girl in the bathrooms. Which, in hindsight, was pretty stupid, but, hey, I loved a thrill. It really got the adrenaline pumping.
Then all of a sudden I’m trapped in a mall with a bunch of strangers I’d never met before and I meet an amazing girl called Raine, who’s fierce and strong. Everything Jess isn’t.
And in this crazy whirlwind people start dying around me, and suddenly I’m searching for bodies and messages written in blood.
And then I lost Jess.
It wasn’t like I loved her, or anything. As much as it sounds like something a player would do, I only really kept her around for one reason.
Yes, I’m a horrible human being.
But a guy’s gotta do what a guy’s gotta do.
But I must admit it; I didn’t know how much I cared for her until she died. But even then I was just glad that it hadn’t been Raine.
And now I’d lost even her.
I felt like kicking myself for not going after her sooner. Why hadn’t I come with her when she went after Drella? I should’ve come with her, but I was too blinded by my judgment about Drella.
God, I was an idiot.
Just then I saw a flash of something in the distance, and started running towards it.
Obviously they heard the approaching footsteps, and spun around.
I swear my heart almost melted in my chest when my eyes collided with a pair of beautiful hazel ones.
“Raine,” I breathed.
******RAINE’S POV******
I spun around, and in the distance I saw River pause in his tracks, swallowing thickly as his Arctic blue eyes met mine, making my head spin dizzily.
I couldn’t hear him, but I saw his plump lips shape a word that I immediately identified: Raine.
He ran forward, and I found my legs carrying myself towards him. Behind him, Jason trailed awkwardly, looking for all of the world like the third wheel in this situation. River reached me and swept me into his arms, until I was cradled into his muscled body, my ear pressed against his chest. I could hear his heart beating in his chest; loud and fast and rhythmic.
“Thank God, you’re okay,” he whispered into my hair, breathing in deeply and nestling into the crook of my neck.
“I’m fine,” I whispered, confused. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
He leant back, and his eyes searched my face and body for injuries. “I thought maybe the killer hurt you.”
I shook my head, pushing my hair behind my ears. “I’m okay, River. Nothing happened.”
Jason cleared his throat, and we awkwardly separated. I scratched the back of my neck and gave Jason a small, tight smile, even though I was still a little suspicious of both of them.
“Have you seen Drella?” Jason asked, stepping towards me.
I shook my head, my mouth twisting into a grimace. “Nope, I haven’t found her. Haven’t heard or seen anything, actually. It’s been completely quiet. I’m getting worried.”
“Let’s keep looking,” River suggested, and soon his hand slipped into mine, warming my palm.
I looked down, but couldn’t help the small smile that graced my lips. Beside me, River began walking, and I raised my head to look around and continue to search for Drella. I didn’t know if she was around here, but it was worth looking everywhere.
After we had confirmed she wasn’t in the upper east wing, we turned on our heels and began moving the opposite way, to the darkest side of the mall. The lights continued to flicker eerily, and everything was silent and daunting, making my heart immediately pound harder in my chest. I licked my chapped lips in anticipation, and was aware of every sound and movement around me, including that of the two handsome boys beside me.
We passed different stores, and I kept my eyes averted from where Travis’s body still lay, cold and pale and stiff from rigor mortis. I didn’t think I’d be able to hold down the contents of my stomach if I spotted the body again. Even the thought of his body was enough to make me gag.
The deeper we walked into the dark side of the mall—sounds like a cheap parody of a song—the more I started to sweat, and I prayed River didn’t feel my clammy hands. He squeezed my hand gently, as if sharing my nervousness and wanting to reassure me that everything was going to be okay—though we both knew nothing would ever be okay, ever again. Even if we made it out alive, uninjured and intact, we’d always have the memories and psychological scars to haunt us.
Jason was silent on my other side, and his light-green eyes scanned the shops as he searched for any sign of her.
“Drella?” I called uncertainly, my voice trembling and giving me away. I hadn’t dared call before, but I felt a little more confident with River and Jason beside me.
No response met me, and all I could hear was the tread of my footsteps, matched perfectly by River’s and Jason’s.
I rolled my bottom lip into my mouth and bit down gently, before calling out again.
Nothing.
“Maybe she’s not here,” Jason said, breaking the silence and making me jump.
“Maybe,” I whispered, turning around.
If I hadn’t been so paranoid, I wouldn’t have seen it. My eyes would’ve simply scanned over it, my mind dismissing it as something completely normal that could be explained away by a shopping cart.
But right now, I was in such a high, wary state of mind, that everything to me seemed highly suspicious and needed in-depth search and investigation.
Including the deep groove embedded into the floor, turned a black and contrasting starkly against the white tile, making it look like something had been dragged across it.
“Guys, look,” I whispered, eyes wide as saucers as I hesitantly stepped towards the mark and knelt down, running my fingers against it. It was scratched into the surface.
It looked like it could’ve been due to a stroller or shopping cart being dragged too harshly across the tile. I ran my index finger against the mark and brought it to my nose, inhaling deeply.
I looked up at Jason and River, who were staring at me curiously. “Leather,” I murmured. Don’t worry, I didn’t have a nose like one of those drug-testing dogs at the airport, but I knew the smell of leather from my mom’s car seats.
“Like…” River trailed off, waiting for me to continue.
I let out a deep breath through my nose. “Like Drella’s boots.”
Jason frowned, his fair eyebrows pulling together. “What, you think something happened and she made a run for it?”
“Or she was dragged,” River said, the realization dawning on him.
“Maybe it’s just a scuff,” Jason said slowly, his voice rising in panic as he realized he might have accidentally sent a second person to their death—Steve being the first. “Maybe it’s a coincidence.”
I looked around, and my eyes stopped as I caught sight of something. “No,” I whispered.
Jason and River knelt down, observing the thing I was currently pointing to with a trembling finger.
“Is that… blood?” Jason asked.
“And… hair?” River chimed in.
They were right, of course. On the floor, there was a small smear of scarlet blood, and inside it a few trapped pieces of raven hair that were obviously Drella’s. They were shorter, like they had come from the blunt bangs Drella currently sported.
I looked up, and across the floor, seeing tiny dots of blood that led into a store that had dark clothing, ironically enough. If this store had a catalogue, Drella would be the main model for it. There were lots of leather combat boots and spiky bracelets and lacy black tops.
I didn’t want to go inside. Every part of my body was screaming to run the other way and never look back. I didn’t want to know what was in there; I didn’t want to know if her… body was in there as well. I was sick of knowing things. I just wanted to be clueless and pretend I’d never seen anything. That I could just walk away.
But we had to check. We owed it to Drella to go in and see if there was any chance she’d survived, and just dragged herself in there to hide from the killer.
I traded a look with Jason and River, before we gingerly made our way towards the store named, Suicide Glam. Morbid, I know.
We stepped into the room, and I could hear soft music playing from the speakers, the soft, but haunting, strings of a violin. There was also a girl’s voice, high-pitched and eerie.
It’s the end.
The blood is bleeding red.
Scars in my heart.
Like a wicked sort of art.
Silence.
The scariest sound.
The voices of the devil.
Twisting you around.
You’re trapped.
No one here can save you.
You’re lost in the oblivion.
Bleeding, too.
No one can save you.
Trapped in the oblivion
There’s nothing you can do.
Innocent civilian.
But you’re… trapped in the oblivion.
I swallowed. I didn’t recognize the song, but it was as if it was singing the anthem of our lives right now.
We continued through, brushing past racks of clothing, and I shivered as I remembered a similar instance like this when we discovered Brad.
Up the back of the shop, I paused when I saw a boot sticking out from behind the counter; a beat up combat boot that I instantly recognized as Drella’s.
My stomach flipped as I realized that there was no way the killer had left Drella alive.
With dread, I walked around the counter, River close to my side, Jason flanking me. We walked together and I peered around the counter, and stopped when I saw Drella.
She was lying face-up, her eyes cold and emotionless as she stared—not really seeing anything—at the ceiling, her arms and legs flung open. It was apparent immediately that she had been stabbed through the chest, and her wrists and neck had been garishly torn open by a blade, making blood seep out of her body.
Written next to her on the tile was the message, Looks like Drella the Princess of Doom has finally met hers, hasn’t she?
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