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Seventeen minutes and forty-six seconds- that's was how much time it took Laura to arrive at the house. With her heart threatening to fall out of her chest and her mumbling prayers to anyone that cared to listen, she drove like a madwoman.

Parking two blocks away from the house, she brought her handgun with her but not before calling the police. The officer immediately told her not to move but after waiting for five minutes she could stop her legs from moving on its own. She knew how stupid it was for her to go alone but she needed be there. For some reason Tiffany called her instead of the police, that made her scared and curious.

As silent as a thief, she tiptoed into the porch of the house and with one hand in her jacket pocket where the gun lay safely and the other quietly opening the door.

Entering into the sitting room she could feel it. The presence of someone- pure evil- and the fact that the electricity was cut wasn't helping. Just as she was about to call out for Tiffany she heard a gunshot followed by a cry. Shivering in fear, she brought out the handgun holding it tight like her life depended on it because it did.

A second later, a presence was moving towards the sitting room and almost immediately she hide herself behind the curtain praying that the absence of light will serve as an advantage to her.

The person walked past her without suspecting a thing and walked start out of the house. She immediately came out and ran towards the door to shut it.

Then their eyes met.

Tick- tock. The wall clocked mocked her. Echoing in the room filled with dreadful emptiness. In that second, Laura knew her life hung by a thread. She cursed herself for not listening to the police. Maybe she wouldn't have died so easily.

But she wasn't about to give in so easily. If she was about to die then she would die fighting. She eyed his gun knowing her life depended on that one second. And in that second, faster than she knew her legs could move she pushed the door locking it in a haste while thanking her stars it was made of metal. It was enough to keep him out until the cops came she prayed.

Opening the door of the rooms in the house, she called Tiffany's name. She put her hands in her pocket and cursed when she figured out she left it in the car. This is how they die in the movies. She thought. Someone always forget their phones.

She was in that particular room, that had become very familiar to her as she sees it in her dreams every night, when she saw her. Laying on the floor, body faced down, blood flowing from her.

At first she thought she was dead but she heard her moan.

"Tiffany!! My God!!" It was at that moment she knew she was crying.

"L..laura. You came." She gave a weak smile that showed the sadness in her eyes.

"Don't talk. The police are coming. Will get help very soon. You're going to be okay." She knew she wasn't so sure but she could use any amount of positivity at this point.

Groaning, Tiffany tried to sit up. "What are you doing?!" Laura's face paled. "Don't move. Please!"

"Don't worry. One bullet won't take me down."

The sight of her friend turned sister in this death threatening situation made her finally give into the tears that threatened to flow in more than one occasion that night."I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything!"

Even in pain Tiffany tried to laugh. "Stop that Laura. It will spoil your reputation if word comes out. I'm not dying yet." But even she knew she was lying. She was lucky that the bullet was several inches away from her heart but if she wasn't attended to in a few minutes, she was as good as meat. Dead cold meat. Laura immediately removed her scarf, applying pressure on the wound to reduce the bleeding .

"I've to tell you something Ll."

"Don't worry. You can't tell me when we get to the hospital. Right now just save your energy."

"Just in case," She knew what she was telling Laura and although she wished things where different. There was a huge possibility she would not make it out alive. That they both knew.

Not able to muster the strength to speak, Laura nodded. "Mum was tangled into some things that were bigger than us. She-" She winced in pain, sending Laura to panic mode.

"I don't think talking is a good idea."

"Don't worry." Sweat ran down her face even when the weather outside was in a single digit. "I'm fine. She found out about some illegal things and that got her killed."

"So you know she was killed."

"Of course I do." The pain evident in her voice was either from the wound or from her unresolved regrets or both. Right now, Laura didn't know which it was. "I knew but I didn't have choice. I couldn't trust anybody." Hearing that hurt Laura more than she expected it to but she couldn't lash at a woman who was just shot, could she? "And I couldn't go to you because you were already too emotional and I couldn't make you feel worse. I ha.." Coughing echoed the house as she held her wound.

"Shh. It's okay now. Let's not talk about that now. Just tell me were you phone is."

"Somewhere around here I guess. I dropped it when he sprung up on me."

Laura nodded. She did want to ask her any more questions for now. Her number one mission was to get them out of here. Alive.

"It was the police that stopped me." That statement alone was enough to stop Laura.

"What do you mean?"

"When I tried to chase the case, they stopped me. Blackmailed me and stuff. I received death threats."

Understanding dawned on Laura. The fake confession, her distance and why she was in this house. It all started to make sense.

"Does it have anything to do with this house?"

Tiffany nodded and by the expression on her face, it physically exhausted her to do so. "The messengers, the house-" She paused. "Rhonda."

It took a moment for her to realize what Tiffany really said. "Rhonda? What happened to her?" She was curious as to why she called her name but she was wise enough to know she wouldn't like the reason.

"The police I went to. That was her." Laura didn't understand. Why would Rhonda do that.

Suddenly they heard a noise coming from the house. He was here! Bringing out her gun she held it in position as she stood towards the door. She would fire before he even had the chance.

"Take this." Behind her, now trying to stand making Laura help her up, Tiffany handed Laura a neck chain. "When you leave here. Read it. Only you." Laura nodded taking it from her hand and putting it in her pocket. There was no need to argue about anything. They were both leaving here alive no matter what Tiffany thought.

Like a ghost, he strode into the room. He almost entered almost unnoticed especially since the house was dark and he was all dressed in black.

It happened in a flash and at that moment Laura understand why the movies made it in slow motion. It was to fast for the brain to comprehend so they slowed it down for us.

One second she was pointing her gun at him with all the resolve she could gather. The next one, she could see him, from the moonlight that reflected in the room, as he pulled the trigger. She didn't know what was going on when she was suddenly pushed to the ground, knocking out her gun from her hand. She also didn't understand fully when she saw Tiffany falling to the ground as the sound of gunshots resonated in the room.

Then she did. It was like a force that fell on her. Tiffany pushed her and got shot in her place. She was dead. Her eyes which were opened but empty was good evidence if the guns weren't enough. And worst, she was unarmed. Her gun lay a foot from the killer who she knew was going to kill her next. Not if I can stop it.

A surge of adrenaline rushed her body. She couldn't tell if it was from the anger that he killed one of her best friends or the fear that in any minute she was going to be dead too. Leaving Tiffany and Devina's wishes dead with her. Yes, maybe it was the both but whatever it was, it sure saved her life.

The next thing she knew, she was half way across the room, flying towards him. Her legs meet with his face in a very hard kick. He winced staggering back from the shock and the force. But she was far from over. She hadn't felt grateful to Nat for a long time but right now she could kiss him. His insistence that she takes self defense classes was really paying of well. If she made it out of here alive, she would be sure to tell him.

If she made it out alive.

Suddenly the overwhelming will to live overtook her body. She was going to leave here alive. That was a promise.

Her hands met with his stomach but this time he was totally aware. Dropping his gun, he held her two arms, restricting her movement. She used head and smacked his really hard making him lose his grip on her but not before she kicked him in his groin. She knew her head would suffer it but she didn't feel anything at the moment so she didn't care.

Her eyes met his and she knew what he was aiming for. His gun. She was fast but not fast enough. Her shoulder was on fire and it took her a moment for she to realize she had been shot.

Taking of her shoes, she threw it on his face and ran into him. If she was going to die she was going to die fighting.

Losing his gun again but luck wasn't on his side this time. It fell to her feet. She didn't wait for a shaman to tell her to pick it up. His image moving towards her made her release the trigger. But he wasn't dead. In fact, her was still coming towards her. With a movement even the eyes couldn't see, he hit her head. Her eye sight was getting blurry at this point. If was from her head or from her loss of blood, she was to lost to identify it.

Her body weakened with every blow he landed on her. She bite him. Hard. He pushed her, swearing and cursing at her. It didn't sound English. That was what she knew. She didn't know what language it sounded like but she had never heard it before that was for sure.

And then they were back to the initial scene. Her, the prey and him, the predator. Only this time she was lying one the ground clutching to what was remaining of her life beside her dead friend and he was pointing the gun at her.

Bang! She felt it pierce her chest.

Bang! The pain was there but somehow she still felt numb.

"It didn't have to be this way. You could have just listened." Other from the groaning and the cursing that was the first time she heard him speak. And she wasn't surprised it was robotic.

Bang! This time she felt nothing. I must be dying right now. She thought. Or dead.

She smelt the smoke before the fire. Lying on the floor, left for the dead she wondered, if death was playing a sick joke on her. She wondered why out of all place in the world to die, it was here. The very place she was scared of. And what scared her the most was that she was lying on the ground facing the closet.

The dark empty closet.

Maybe, just maybe they wouldn't mind her company tonight.

⚜

She didn't know how long she lay there. Maybe it wasn't too long, especially seen she could she the fire ravish that closet. Closing her eyes, she could remember hearing sirens. She couldn't tell if they were near or far. Not that any of that mattered now. She was already gone.

Slipping into her unconsciousness, she still remembered one last detail. How someone rushed to the fire towards her.

And a voice. That voice. Shouting.

"Get your asses in there. My girlfriend is in that fire!"

She wished she could smile. After everything, his bossiness had saved her once. Maybe it will again.

Hello Earthians. Hope you are all safe and at home.🙃😉
This chapter was hard for me. I loved Tiffany and her death wasn't easy but it was necessary. I took almost a month to write this and it may not be perfect yet but it nice. Every time I tried to kill Tiffany, I just couldn't. Trust me, it was hard.

Love Toris.

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