“What’s going on?” Aiden spoke slowly and looked at Cassie again.

“This is goodbye. The time has come.” Cassie looked up at the man for a moment and blinked. The fog in her head was slowly dissipating and she pulled away from him and ran to Aiden and threw her arms around him. Aiden wrapped his arms around her and looked at Kris. Kris put a hand gently on her back and nodded at Aiden before turning back towards the man. He pulled a blade out from an ankle sheath and launched at the man. Cassie turned around and screamed and Aiden bent down and grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder. The loud music drowned out her screams. Aiden turned around and was instantly faced with Meredith. Cassie watched behind Aiden as Kris ran at the man and suddenly he disappeared and reappeared behind Kris. Cassie screamed Kris’s name as she watched the man grab Kris by his hair and jerk his head to the side before biting his neck. He dropped his knife and started to fall, but the man held him up. Cassie kicked Aiden and pushed him before she dropped to the floor. She got up and ran towards Kris. She grabbed the man’s shoulder and pulled at him.

“Stop it! Let him go!” She kept screaming him and punched him in the neck. He let Kris go and she heard a sickening tear as Kris crumpled to the ground. Cassie bent down and rolled him on his back. Kris gasped for breath and blood pooled out of a rip in his neck. She put her hands on his neck and pressed but blood just pooled through her fingers. “Oh God, please no! No! Don’t die, Kris. Please!”

Cassie started to sob and Kris reached up and touched her face gently. Cassie reached to his hair and brushed it back from his forehead, turning his blond hair red from blood.

“Listen to me, Kris. You can’t die. I was going to ask you tonight if we could be together forever. Wouldn’t you want that?” Kris’s hand dropped and he closed his eyes. Cassie looked up at the man as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He stared at Cassie with a heated expression before turning his back to her and walked away. She looked past him and saw Aiden facing towards them while Meredith had her hands on his shoulders. She didn’t look scared and Cassie became confused. She watched as Aiden stood up straighter as the man walked towards him. She left Kris’s haggardly breathing body and ran in front of Aiden and pushed the man back. He was surprised as he stumbled back before gaining his footing again.

“Cassie, just run and get out of here!” Aiden yelled at her but she didn’t even turn around. The man appeared right back in front of her and gripped her hair, pulling her head back far. He was angry and Cassie was terrified. He opened his mouth to say something when Cassie heard Aiden let out a yell. The man looked up and released her. Cassie turned around to see Aiden with a hole in his stomach. Aiden crumpled to the floor. Cassie looked up at Meredith and saw her hand coated in red. Meredith looked down at Aiden and then glanced back at Cassie before turning and walking away. Cassie was shocked and stared at Aiden on the ground. She ran to him and pulled him up a little as he started to cough up blood.

“Aiden…No, God not you too.” Cassie held him. He grabbed her arm.

“Cassie, I’m sorry I failed to protect you. I love you, baby sister.” Cassie opened her mouth, trying to respond when she felt herself being dragged off by a death grip on her arm. She tried to pry his hand off her arm. She looked back into the club to see fellow clubbers staring at Aiden and Kris. Cassie thought she caught a glimpse of Melody before Cassie turned to try and get up on her feet since the concrete was scraping her legs.

“Stop for one moment! Please!” Cassie felt another wave of tears come to her eyes, but this time because of the pain as she tried to push the thought that they were dead or dying out of her mind. He paused and looked at her. She stood up and looked at the concrete. After a moment he pulled at her again to follow but more gently. He stopped and she looked up and saw a car in front of her. Meredith got out of the drivers seat and left the car running. He opened the backseat door and looked at Cassie expectantly. She stared into the car and looked over her shoulder as people were starting to realize that someone killed those two men and they filtered out of the building fearfully, unsure of who did it. Cassie looked up at him.

“None of them remember ever seeing me. For all they know, I was just the shadow in the corner.” She stared back into the building and heard one of the doors slam and saw Meredith in the passenger seat. She didn’t look back at Cassie. Cassie slowly climbed in after thinking through all her other choices. She felt numb. He closed the door behind her and walked around and got into the drivers seat. Cassie sat straight up and stared out the window. She buckled out of familiarity and just set her hands in her lap. Cassie heard the two in the front seat exchange words and jerked when she saw a cloth thrown out of the window on Meredith’s side with red stains.

“I am going to leave town tonight. My job is done here. Just drop me off at the bus station.” Meredith pulled down the mirror and fixed her hair a bit.

“I can drop you off at your home if you want to pick some things up.” Meredith laughed.

“There is nothing there that I can’t get somewhere else. “ Meredith looked through the mirror to Cassie in the back. Cassie looked back and noticed how cold both her eyes and voice was. After a moment, Meredith pushed the mirror back up and just watched the road. After a few minutes, they pulled up to the bus station and Meredith got out of the car, closed the door, and walked away without saying anything. The man got out of the car and walked around. He opened Cassie’s door and she looked up at him.

“Won’t you please join me in the front.” She stared at him for a moment before looking forward again without moving. He sighed. “Cassandra, that was not a question. Get up.” Cassie looked around him and watched Meredith disappear in the crowds. She unbuckled without saying a word and stood up, wincing at the cuts. He didn’t notice as he opened the passenger side. She ducked in and buckled up as he closed both doors and then made his way back to the driver’s side.

He put the car back into drive and pulled out and got on a highway. After a couple minutes he looked over at her. She didn’t look back at him.

“How are your legs?” She looked down at them and saw the cuts and scraps all up and down her legs. She shrugged. She then looked at her arm where he grabbed and dragged her and saw a bruise forming a deep color all the way around her right arm.

“Who was she?” Cassie’s voice was quiet as she traced her finger around the bruise, facing away from him.

“Meredith? She was someone I turned into the same as me many years ago. She is still young, but she helps me when I need her.” Cassie nodded.

“So her friendship was all a lie.”

“She liked you. She stormed off like that because she actually liked you and felt bad. She knew you would find out sooner or later, so she shut herself down.” Cassie’s heart hurt as she flashed back to all the memories she had with her.

“You didn’t have to kill them.” Cassie’s voice sounded gruff as she held back tears burning in her eyes. She swallowed hard as she watched in her mind Kris drop, and then Aiden. He didn’t reply but she could tell he wasn’t sorry.

Tears silently slid down her face as she watched him drive for about 20 minutes before swallowing hard again and clearing her throat.

“Where are we going?” She watched as they passed by a sign stating they were leaving Minnesota. He was silent for a moment and he looked at the clock. She looked with him and saw that it was after midnight. She was getting colder since all she wore was her t-shirt and shorts to the club. She looked down at her shirt and saw the fabric stained with blood.

Cassie felt the dam holding back her anxiety crack. She started breathing heavily and then looked down at her hands and noticed the palms were caked with dried blood. She let out a sob as she started on an anxiety attack. He pulled the car off onto an exit. She couldn’t catch her breath as she stared at her hands. They pulled up to a rest station and he parked the car, removing the key. He got out and went into the trunk and grabbed a bag before coming around and opening her door. He reached around her and unbuckled her before grabbing her arm to hoist her out.

Cassie felt herself suddenly screaming at him to let her go. He pulled her out and put an arm around her waist and held her up as he dragged her towards the bathrooms. She felt her head getting lighter and she closed her eyes and let him guide her into the bathroom. He pushed her down and she sat on a bench and put her head between her legs. After a few moments of silence she heard a zipper and she sat up and rested her head against the wall and took deep breaths. She opened her eyes and he held out a shirt to her. She stared at it shocked and he then tossed it next to her. After a few more moments of silence she furrowed her brow.

“I don’t understand you! What the hell is your problem? You butcher my life and those I love but then you act nice to me. I don’t like it, and I don’t understand it.” He stared at her for a couple minutes before she huffed and stood up. She scrubbed her hands in the sink until her skin was pink and raw, then she dried them, looked at them, then started to scrub them again. He just stood where he was and didn’t move, just watched her as she battled with her emotions, trying to suppress her sadness.

She dried them again after a few more minutes and studied them again. Her hands were even more raw and showed an angry red. She walked back to the sinks and turned on the water again when he was suddenly next to her and grabbed her wrists. She looked up at him and scowled.

“They are clean.” She yanked her wrists away and had a stare down with him for a moment. She finally shut off the water and walked back towards the bench, pulling off her shirt.

She dropped the shirt on the bench and pulled on the plain white t-shirt. After a moment she realized that it was her own shirt. She became angry and turned around and he was right behind her.

“You were in my closet? Digging through my clothes?” Her anger was barely contained.

“I understand you are angry right now because you feel like you are on a roller coaster of emotions.” His voice lacked any emotion in itself and it made her even angrier. She shoved at him but he didn’t move.

“How dare you go through my stuff? How dare you do all of these things to my life? Who do you think you are?” She started to throw a punch and he grabbed her hand firmly and she screamed out in pain from her raw hands. He let go and she just dropped to her knees and held her hand to her chest and started to cry softly. She became frustrated when she could just feel emotions rolling through her, one after another.

Cassie noticed the lights flicker. She looked up at him and he just stared back at her, devoid of emotion.

“Why are you doing that?” He looked slightly amused.

“That’s not me, darling. I think you should get ahold of yourself the best you can. Sitting and crying on the bathroom floor won’t help anything.” Cassie felt like she should be angry but instead she felt incredibly sad.

“What’s wrong with me?” Tears welled up in her eyes, unable to figure out why her emotions kept shifting. He lost the amused look and looked back at her sadly. He pulled her to her feet by her arm and gave her a hug. She was shocked and unable to figure out how to respond as he completely enveloped her with his tall frame. Her arms laid at her side and after a few moments he let her go and just set his hands on her shoulders.

“To answer your question earlier, I care for you, but I don’t care to be crossed. Now let’s go.” The man let her go and grabbed her shirt off the bench and put it into the bag he grabbed from the trunk. He then started to walk out of the bathroom. Cassie stood in the same position for a few moments trying to work through what he said. Cassie slowly walked out of the bathroom and listened to the clicking of her heels on the tile. By the time she got outside, he already parked the car near the entrance and was leaning against the passenger door. He watched her as she slowly walked towards him. She walked up to him and stood toe-to-toe with him and stared up at him, even with her 4-inch heels.

“Where are we going?” He stared at her. “I will not get into that car until you tell me where.” He laughed at her and she glared.

“You will get into the car if I tell you to or I will shove you in myself. You are not in the position to attempt to tell me what to do. Now get in.” Cassie crossed her arms and stared at him. He rolled his eyes and grabbed her upper arm and stepped back while opening the door. She pulled at his hand and he just tightened his grip, making her certain that he left another bruise. Her heel caught on the cement and she fell against him and grabbed his shirt. She cursed and pushed herself up. She fisted his shirt to keep her balance as she picked up one foot and unzipped the jeweled heel before tossing it and then switched feet. She let go of his shirt and then grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand off of her arm, and he let her. She dropped his wrist, shot him a glare, and then crawled into the car, buckling herself up.

He suppressed a smile and slammed her door shut. He walked away and picked up the shoes before walking over to the driver side. He climbed into the car and dropped the shoes in the back seat. He started the car and drove away from the rest station. Cassie watched as the clock ticked to 1 in the morning to 2 and 3. Cassie’s eyes got heavier. She watched as they passed into Wisconsin and then entered Illinois. Cassie finally fell asleep.