Ashton's POV:
I slowly opened my eyes after feeling something wet rub on my face.
Ugh.. I feel really dizzy. What happened to me? My vision was still gradually recovering, everything seems blurry.
I remember being tackled to the ground by two men in the dark.
While I was searching for (Name).
Did they do something to her?!
If something happened to her, I won't be able to forgive myself..
And I'll kill those people.. I'll be sure to make them pay.
In front of me were three figures, one was wearing a dark cloth mask and the other two were wearing a plain white mask.
One of them seems to be a girl, wearing a white top and a checkered skirt.
Similar to what my assistant librarian, Millie wore earlier.
Is that Millie?!
Did she kidnap me?
And the other two were wearing dark hoodies.
Based on my surroundings, I was still in the library.
But I couldn't get up from the floor. My hands and feet seem to be tied up really tight.
I can't move my feet nor can I move my hands. They are both bound up in rope.
There was no tape on my mouth whatsoever. It seems they want me to speak.
"Who are you?! Where's (Name)?!" I shouted at the three figures before me.
A mocking male laugh resounded from the two men in front of me while the female one remained silent.
"She's fine, safe at home." Said the male wearing the black cloth mask.
"Who we are doesn't matter. Who you are does." The one wearing the simple white mask moved closer to me.
If I could move I would've kicked him in the shins already but I can't.
At least (Name) is fine. I hope..
"What do you want from me?!"
They continued to laugh at me, while the only seemingly female figure, presumably Millie, continued to remain silent.
A finger pressed onto my lips. The one wearing the black cloth mask placed his other hand around my neck, threatening to strangle me.
"Tell us the truth about the murder here in this very library years ago." The grip of his hand on my throat tightening.
At this point I'm having trouble breathing.
They want to know about that huh?!
Just like what (Name) asked me the other day in the car..
Should I tell them?
If I tell them, they'll kill me.
When I mean by they, I mean my 'family'.
And not just my 'family' also these three.
If I don't tell them, will they kill me too?
It's fine. I've accepted death long ago.
From the moment it happened.
I struggled to breathe, he was choking me.
"Tell us now or I'll kill you." the man spat out in a threatening tone.
The girl was about to reach out to stop him but the other man held her.
"F-Fine I'm just going to die either way. May as well tell you.." I struggled to speak due to the man's grip on my throat.
The man wearing the black cloth mask let go of his grip on my neck and paid attentively to what I was about to say.
"It happened on June 23..."
___________________________________________
June 23, 8:40 PM
Cassiea received an order from her boss, Mrs. de Riscuotere, to pick up an item at the library.
Why though? She didn't know. All Cassiea knew was that she had to follow her boss' orders.
Nor did she knew what item that was.
It was also a bit late, the library closes at 7 PM. At least that's what she knows anyways.
But it might still be open, considering her boss asked her to come to pick up a package.
Cassiea arrived at the library. She hesitated to open the doors even though the lights were still open.
She knocked on the door instead.
The faint sound of knocking alerted the person inside the library to open it.
"You must be here to pick up the package. Are you not?" Asked a handsome young male with brown hair and green eyes.
His attractive appearance made Cassiea nearly blush.
Cassiea nodded as the male held the door open for her to come in.
"Follow me." He led the way for her to follow. Cassiea followed the man shyly.
They stopped at what seems to be a dead end. The sides surrounded by bookshelves.
Cassiea had a bad feeling of what just might happen.
She had an urge to run away as far as possible.
The male stopped in front of the dead end of the library. His back turned to Cassiea.
He kneeled down and picked up something from the ground.
"Here's the package." He turned around with a cheerful smile while handing a small cardboard box to Cassiea.
"T-Thanks.. I better be going now." Cassiea grabbed the box from his hands. Deep down, she was shaking in fear.
The box was unusually sort of heavy for its size. It could be weights or something.
"Aren't you going to open it?" The hazel haired male in front of her suggested, pointing at the box.
Cassiea moved her head closer to the box. There was a strange odor coming from the package.
It smells of iron, something like.. blood?
But what came to Cassiea's mind was, why should she open it?
The package was for Mrs. de Riscuotere after all, right?
Cassiea decided she would never go down without a fight. She's not a weak girl.
"And why should I open this box?!" Cassiea yelled at the male who was taken aback by her sharp tone.
"Because that's what your boss said.." His tone becoming darker any second now.
His expression seemed demented as he moved closer to Cassiea.
Cassiea didn't show any fear. And stood there glaring at him.
"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Cassiea moved her leg to kick him where it hurts.
But swiftly enough, he caught it before she could even do it. As if he expected it.
"W-What the-" Cassiea gasped in shock and he let go of Cassiea's leg.
"Run away as fast as you can and don't look back." He warned her. His expression filled with what seemed to be guilt.
Cassiea did as he followed and traversed the library, passing by many bookshelves.
Cassiea noticed something odd.
It was like she was going in circles..
Everywhere she went.. she was surrounded by bookshelves.
She couldn't pass by any tables or any place where there aren't any books.
To add up to the suspenseful atmosphere, the lights were flickering on and off as if it came from a horror movie.
She didn't even know what she was running away from.
The words of the person from earlier repeated in her head.
"Don't look back."
So she decided not to. Cassiea continued to run and run. Still not passing by any place clear of shelves.
She didn't understand what was happening.
It was impossible to pass by an area of the library that didn't have any shelves for some reason.
She couldn't even seem to find the entrance or the front desk nor the places where there are tables and chairs.
It was as if someone manipulated part of the library to trap her in a circle of bookshelves.
Someone must have.
"Damn it.. I'm trapped." She muttered under her breath.
Slow, yet heavy footsteps were heard coming from behind her.
She couldn't look back though. She instead continued on running.
Maybe if she pushed off a shelf then she can get out.
She mustered all the strength she had and pushed off the bookshelf as much as she can. Her arms hurting from too much force being used to push the heavy shelf off.
Finally, it fell down with a loud thud. Cassiea walked on top of the bookshelf and ran.
She was finally out of the circle of shelves.
And just as she expected, as soon as she got out she saw the shelves lined up close to each other to create a maze with no exit.
Outside were the tables and chairs and from a distance, the front desk and the exit of the library.
She ran as fast as she can, even running into some chairs just to reach the entrance.
As soon as she reached the entrance however, no matter how much she budged on the door, it was locked.
It dawned on Cassiea that whoever planned this was intent on having her killed.
Her boss, Mrs. de Riscuotere wanted her to be killed. She kicked the wooden doors, hoping they would open if she kicked hard enough.
But to no avail, her legs ended up giving up and she fell down to the ground.
Then she remembered something.
Cassiea was still carrying the package. She didn't know what was inside. It could've been a key out of this damned place.
She tore down the tape surrounding the package with her bare hands.
Opening the package, she nearly dropped it in shock.
There was a bloody hand along with a letter.
Cassiea placed the package down on the ground, reading the bloody letter.
Dear Cassiea,
The key that will grant you your freedom is inside this hand. But can you even take it out in time for you to escape? While you're reading this letter you may as well be close to death.
The letter said. But Cassiea didn't even finish it. As soon as she read the line that the key was inside the hand she tossed the letter away and grabbed the bloody hand.
Whose hand is this?! Cassiea thought. It was detached from someone's body.
The blood seemed to still be fresh. It wasn't even a prosthetic or any fake hand it was definitely a real one.
The flesh was soft, on the palm of the hand was a heart stitch and a bump that seems to be the key.
All she needed to do was to remove the stitch and grab the key.
She dug her long nails at the skin of the palm, it cut a bit easily. She managed to take out part of the key.
She pulled on the key, causing the flesh of the hand to move as she pulled it out.
Cassiea tried her best not to puke as she pulled away the key. This seemed like a scene right out of the Jigsaw movie.
The blood splattered on the box once she finally fished it out of the hand.
Mrs. de Riscuotere is a fucking psychopath. No doubt about it.
For her to do something as wicked as this.
Whoever owns this hand, may he go to heaven.
Cassiea thought.
Holding the metallic key covered in blood and little bit chunks of flesh, she placed it in the keyhole.
Turning the knob and twisting it. Finally. She can escape this damned place.
She opened the door but it stopped with something blocking it from the other side.
It could only move an inch. An inch in which only her hand could fit in. She tried to push the door but whatever was at the other side, wouldn't budge.
She heard the sound of metal being hit. If she was correct, there was probably something metallic blocking the doorway.
She was lied to.
There is no such thing as freedom. Whoever planned this really wanted her to die. With no escape.
She couldn't even try the windows because they had decorative iron bars which she cannot squeeze right through.
The only person who will kill her must be the young male with hazel brown hair and green eyes.
Cassiea will never give up though.
There might be a fire exit of some sort. Or a possible back door.
At that moment she just wished Mike was there for her. Cassiea heard footsteps approaching, so she hid under a desk.
She remembered having her phone this whole time. She picked it up and dialed Mike's number immediately.
Mike answered as soon as possible.
Before Mike could start speaking Cassiea blurted out her words in a panic.
"M-Mike I'm at the library. Someone's here to kill me. I'm trapped and I can't get out. Please help me!" She begged Mike at the other end who instantly hang up.
Cassiea dialed the police after calling Mike.
"Please help me. I'm at the library. Someone's here to kill me! The entrance is closed off and I can't escape!" She explained everything in a hurry.
"Alright ma'am we'll be there to help you as fast as possible. The fastest our men will be there would be 15 minutes. Keep yourself on the line okay?" Said the police officer on the other side of the line.
But they said they will be there in 15 minutes.
15 minutes?!
Can she even survive 15 minutes?!
Plus, considering the barricade around the library, the police will have to clear it up before they can even enter to save her.
She hanged up even if the police told her not to.
She felt cheated. Maybe Mrs. de Riscuotere even paid the police?
Hopefully, Mike can arrive earlier than the police. Just in time to save her.
She hoped.
Cassiea covered her mouth and scooted herself more into the desk.
Loud footfalls were making sounds right near her.
"To hide from me is useless. Escape is futile." A disturbing maniacal voice echoed around.
Cassiea fiddled around the desk for anything she can use for defense.
The most useful thing she found was a sharp fountain pen.
She grabbed it immediately and waited for the noise to disappear.
It seems to be that the coast is clear.
Cassiea left her hiding place, clutching the pointed fountain pen in hand.
If she can't leave, then she may as well survive until help arrives.
She backed herself behind a bookshelf and peered out from the corner.
The hazel brown haired male from earlier was nowhere to be seen.
She breathed a sigh of relief. Relaxing herself for a second from all the tension of being in this situation.
A hand grabbed her arm and out of reflex she immediately stabbed the person with the fountain pen.
"My, such a violent girl.." coed a man with long dark hair blocking his eyes. He clutched his shoulder in pain from being stabbed.
Blood slowly oozed out of it, staining his white dress shirt red.
Cassiea didn't know if he was a friend or foe. And she was worried thinking that if that was Mike then he could've died.
"Who are you?!" Cassiea pointed the now bloody pointed tip of the fountain pen at the man in front of her.
"I wanted to help you and let you live.. but you stabbed me.." he frowned at Cassiea who sensed something eerie.
"You see.. I am the real danger here. Not my assistant." Said the man, moving closer to Cassiea, his shoulder still bleeding.
Regardless of whatever he said, Cassiea ran away from him as fast as she can.
Out of curiousity, whether he stopped to treat his stab wound, Cassiea looked back.
Even if she was told not to.
There, she saw the familiar hazel brown haired assistant treating the long dark haired man's wound with a dressing and a bandage.
"She did this to me.. I was being considerate you know.. I wanted her to live." he told his assistant who remained silent while he slowly applied the wound dressing.
Cassiea continued to run and hid behind a safe spot. For some reason she could still hear the man's voice from a distance, as if he wanted her to hear whatever he was saying.
"She did not just stab me.. but she also called the police and her boyfriend!" the man complained to his assistant in a intentionally loud voice.
"You also told her not to look back or you'll kill her in an instant right? Yet she did. What an unruly girl!" The voice of the man said, progressively becoming louder and louder as if he was approaching her.
On second thought, he was approaching her.
His footsteps didn't make any loud sound but you could hear them rather faintly.
The assistant remained silent and did not answer back to the man.
"Remember dear.. if you don't do this, you know what happens." In a disturbing maniacal tone, similar to the one Cassiea heard earlier, the long haired man warned his assistant.
So he was the one searching for her earlier and not the assistant.
Cassiea readied herself and tried to think of a plan. Maybe she could push the bookshelf on top of the two to save herself.
Yes, that's right. She can push the bookshelf off when the two are trying to approach her.
It's not like it's going to kill them but it might render them unable to move for a while.
She waited for the right timing that the two will be right near her. She counted using her fingers, waiting for the exact time she can push the shelf off.
One..
Two..
Three..
She took a peek out and saw the man and his assistant running towards her.
It was time she pushed the shelf off.
When they were about to reach her in a short distance, Cassiea pushed the shelf off with all her strength and collided her whole body for it to collapse on the two males chasing her.
The loud sound of the wooden bookshelf crashing down along with the books startled Cassiea.
Odd enough, she did not hear flesh or bones being cracked due to the impact.
Surely having a large bookshelf filled with a large quantity of books crash on you can kill you right? Or at least break your bones and have you in a coma or something.
"Ack!" The sound of a man groaning in pain gave her a signal that he was buried beneath the bookshelf.
She slumped back down on the wall behind her resting her tired body.
She didn't even know that she was actually strong enough to push down an entire bookshelf. But man, did it hurt her a lot.
Her muscles ached in pain due to the stress it was put through thanks to her pushing at least 2 heavy bookshelves just to stay alive.
Not to mention the fact that she kept on running and running, her legs wanted to give out.
Finally it was over. She assumed that in a minute or so, the police or Mike would arrive.
Cassiea hugged herself, trying to comfort her panicked mind.
Her brother must've also known already since he was good friends with her boyfriend.
Her twin brother and her boyfriend will come to save her.
Right?
Cassiea moved over to a corner where she wouldn't be noticed easily and closed her eyes due to fatigue.
All she needed to do was wait.
Yet, something didn't feel right.
She sensed someone was in front of her at that moment.
Cassiea hesitated to open her eyes but she did anyways.
To see the same hazel brown haired assistant face to face with her. He pinned her down with his body, making her defenseless.
Her heart beat faster in fear, was she going to die right this instant?!
She was going to die without having her dreams fulfilled. She couldn't die.
She doesn't want to die.
"Why do you want to kill me? I just want to live.." she pleaded with the male. Tears slowly trickling down her cheeks from her eyes.
"I-I don't want to do this either.. but-" he gave a sympathetic look to the girl before turning into an emotionless one.
His eyes became void of emotion and there was no more sympathy left to be seen. It was the face of someone "empty".
"Sorry for this." He muttered under his breath before grabbing a heavy book and slamming it's slightly blunt and heavy edge onto her head repeatedly.
She let out a bloodcurdling scream of agony, everytime he slammed the hard book on her face.
Blood splattered on his face as he continued to smash her face with the item. The girl's body struggled against him, trying any possible chance to leave.
But to no avail, she was squished pretty badly. Her face, now deformed and her skull possibly broken.
She wasn't breathing anymore.
The long haired man came up from behind him, startling the young male.
"Good boy. I will certainly.. treat you well." He patted the young male's head like an obedient pet.
The assistant looked down, his bangs covering his eyes. Wet tears began to drip from his chin coming from his teary eyes.
He let out a loud scream of despair, striking his fist onto the ground, causing it to bruise. He clawed at his face with his fingers, shaking terribly while causing bloody scratches to appear on his face.
"There, there.. calm down boy." The dark long haired man stroked his head trying to calm him down.
The sound of the doors being forcefully broken echoed in the library. In a panic, the long haired man grabbed a syringe and injected the fluid into his assistant's neck before running off to hide.
___________________________________________
"And that's what happened." Ashton chuckled with a sinister grin after finishing his story.
"So you killed her?! You son of a bitch!" Cassius raised his voice at him in rage and raised his fist, ready to punch Ashton in the face but Mike stopped him from doing so.
Mike held onto Cassius' arm preventing him from hitting Ashton.
Cassius glared at Mike and gave him a look of suspicion.
"Why are you stopping me Mike?! This idiot should get what he deserves! Don't you realize that?! He killed my sister! Your fucking girlfriend!" Cassius finally lost it and grabbed a gun from his bag, aiming at Ashton.
The only girl that was wearing a mask and Mike, held down Cassius' stealing the gun from him and throwing it away.
The girl deep down, was almost petrified at what she heard from her boyfriend.
He's a bloody murderer.
Not just a crazy man.
But a damn psychopath.
Mike remained calm, strangely.
"He's lying! Which is why you shouldn't kill him Cassius!" Mike exclaimed to Cassius who seemed to calm down a bit.
Both (Name) and Cassius, including Ashton were shocked. Cassius clenched his fist and tried to punch him once more but was once again held down by Mike.
There was a moment of awkward silence before Ashton started laughing all of a sudden.
His laughter was rather a crazy one. The same laugh that he had when he tried to kill himself.
"You're a smart one.. Mike. What I said wasn't the complete truth." Ashton closed his eyes and smiled at Mike whose eyes widened in revelation.
Did Ashton knew who they were all this time?!
How did he know his name?! Even if he's hiding in a damn mask?!
"H-How did you know.." Mike backed away from Ashton's body.
The other two probably had the same reaction. If he knew who Mike was then that means he also knows who the other 2 are.
(Name) felt even more guilty. Guess it means a breakup huh? Or a possible arrest from the police?
The most unexpected thing happened.
Ashton slowly got up, the rope falling off himself. The rope fell off his arms and legs which were tied up very tightly. Especially his hands which were tied up behind his back.
It was a wonder how he escaped.
"Cassius was it? You suck at keeping watch. I untied myself when you were busy looking for a marker to draw on my face." Ashton forcefully removed the black cloth mask from Cassius' face, revealing a face filled with utter fear.
Cassius trembled at the same time with anger. He's not going to lose to someone who killed his twin sister. Even if he didn't, he's still an accomplice.
He raised his fist, about to punch Ashton this time. Mike wasn't interested in stopping him anymore.
But before he could land a punch, Ashton grabbed his arm and twisted his wrist.
Effectively breaking it. The sound of a bone cracking was heard and Cassius could do nothing but groan in pain. Mike immediately went up to Cassius to help him.
"You don't think I know about this plan? Remove your masks now. It's useless, Mike and.. you're Millie right?" He walked towards (Name) who tensed up.
(Name) wanted to run away in fear. But for some reason, she was stuck there like a statue. She couldn't move at all.
Her breathing paced in a panic. Ashton was now face to face with her mask.
"You couldn't wait for me to tell you myself.. impatient girl." He yanked the mask away from her face with sheer force.
(Name) had an extremely guilty look. She kept her head hung low in embarrassment. She decided she was going to accept whatever Ashton was going to do.
It's her fault anyway. And it's her decision that caused this mess to happen.
"Don't worry. I know you didn't want anything bad to happen to me.." Ashton gave her a reassuring smile and cupped her cheeks with his hands, raising (Name)'s head to face him.
She seemed teary eyed as if about to cry.
Ashton wiped a single tear drop gently with his thumb.
While the two shared a rather 'sweet' but tense moment, Mike who was no longer wearing a mask, raised his gun and pointed it directly close to Ashton's head.
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A/N: this is the longest chapter I've made so far. Which is why I took a long time to update. Hope you enjoyed it 😁