Collapsed in the floor like a soggy leaf, is, Avery. I stand over him. I've waited, wanted, needed him to be completely out of power. And here he lies at my feet, the evil he left inside me that night has it's way of fueling me. I want to kill him. But there are too many people in the room. Ava would help me, but the other's, they don't have anything tying them to this monster on the floor.

"We have to find it, look everywhere." I hear, Ava behind me along with the sound's of object's shuffled around, "Help me flip the mattress."

We hoist the thick mattress, and nothing. I rummage through the night stand, and only find a half eaten candy bar. Old, and dusty, bit's of fuzz cling to the sticky leftover's on the wrapping. I toss it back in the drawer, place my head into my hand, and lose hope of ever finding the blasted flashdrive.

Where would you hide it? I mumble, tossing folded sock's from his dresser drawer. The incredibly folded sock's, each starched and ironed hit the floor. I toss them all, it's empty as well. A picture of, Avery and his Brother's slides, and fall's over with a light tap, as I slap the open drawer. I hear a faint pop from inside.

The lining of the drawer has popped out slightly, and inch, maybe less. I hook my thumb over the opening, and lift. It open's wider.

"Guy's?" I say over my shoulder.
"Did you find something?" Ava rushes over.
"I don't know, does, Avery smoke?" I ask her, holding a silver cigarette lighter in the air.
"It could be hidden inside," Travis wonder's outloud beside me, "Open it."

The top flip's open on a hinge, I flick my finger over the scratchy gear. Not even a spark. I recall from my childhood, watching my mother's friend, Suzy. A former wild teenager, that grew into a wild adult. She would come to visit my mother, and fail to convince her to have a night at the bar in town with her 'Like old time's' while she puffed on her skinny cigarette's. She used a lighter exactly like the one I hold in my hand, and I know these particular lighter's come apart to refuel.

I tug until the gut's pop out, and I've never seen anything so beautiful, and full of newfound hope. Hidden inside the lighter's vessel is a wonderful, and much needed piece of evidence. The flashdrive.

"We need to get out of here." Kat now become's nervous of the knocking on the door. All eye's in the room shoot to the door, where light banging sound's from outside.

"Help me get him on the bed!" I whisper loudly, pulling hard on, Avery's wrist's. It take's all of our power to lift his dead weight over the edge, and on to the bed. Positioning him in a sleeping pose, he appears to be drunk, and passed out.

"That should do it." Kat blow's a stand of hair out of her face, out of breath. We replace every item we've thrown around the room, it almost look's to be in it's original state, but he'll know it's been sacked. He will open his eye's, confused and groggy. He will notice the object's in his room have been tampered with, then he will find that his flashdrive is gone. I don't know whether to feel victorious or on high alert.

"He passed out." I smile to the Omega Brother at the door, as my friend's and I leave the room. The buzzed Brother return's my forced smile, and goes back to the cluttered party, leaning, and sloppy.

We rush through the packed house, and sigh with relief on the sidewalk.

Winded, and filled with adrenaline, we quicken our pace away from the party. Splashing through, and hopping around glittery puddle's, leaving them behind us to ripple in shared enthusiasm. "I can't believe we actually done it!" Ava's word's echo off of the stone around us.

The heavyness of the lighter inside my pocket call's to me, aching to reveal it's secret's as we strut and frolic down the sidewalk. Our breath fog's from our wide smile's, "I want to see it." Ava reaches her hand out to me, I hand her the lighter and she look's it over.
"Funny how something so small can bring down such a monster." She turn's it over in her finger's making the red glitter on her nail tip's to shine, even in the dark. With the howling party behind us, the campus street's are deserted, apocalypse bare, as if only we exist in this joyful moment.

"Guy's" Travis's voice goes flat, stopping the celebration parade, and planting his feet.
"What's wrong?" Kat walk's back to him. His face seem's lost, "I found something. . .Back there..." He turn's his head back toward Omega. It grab's our attention as we huddle around him.
"Well?" I shrug.
Travis reaches a hand into his jacket and pull's it back with a leather bound book. "It's his journal..." he wiggles it in the air beside his head, "I know why you needed that drive.." he hang's his head. He almost remind's me of, Zen freshman year; at a loss for word's, and no hope of finding them. His arm extend's to, Ava and she take's it. It rest's in her hand's, an adventurer holding the Holy Grail. The concrete and glass, the dancing puddle's around us, our sharp breathing, there's no sound but, Travis. From him is a sniffle, and a kick at a wide crack in the pavement.
"If what's on that drive is anywhere near as horrifying as what's inside that," he point's at the journal, "He will rot in a prison cell."

I glance to, Kat and, Ava. "You weren't supposed to know." I tell him, "What did you read from the journal, Travis? What did he write?" I take his shoulder's into my hand's. His blank stare stay's concentrated at the street, shaking his head. His mouth set into a stiff line, "I think he killed, Iris." He forces the word's from his mouth as if saying it tastes of sour milk.
"He. . ." Travis trail's off, "There was a passage. It said, 'Her broken, and twisted body lying in a perfect pool of blood was my best work.' It has to be, Iris. Right?"
Chill's sharp as my razor burn down my body. I had assumed, but now I know. Avery is a killer. A killer of women who hold his seed. And the seed inside me is growing, it's only a matter of time until my belly begin's to swell.

"Do us a favor, please never read another word from this journal, or take a a look at what's on this drive. You'll never be the same." Ava say's, taking his hand.
"Iris was my friend. She was the first person I met on campus, she showed me around; helped me out." We begin walking again, "I just can't believe he killed her. Why, why would he kill her?"
I know the answer. But I can't tell them, not with, Travis here. He doesn't need to have my secret on his shoulder's, enough people share my wound's. I don't need another.

***

Kat, Ava, and I pile into, Ava's tiny apartment. We take a seat on the couch, and I make it a point that I sit on the special cushion that has the small amount of stuffing poking out. I have a strange urgency to poke, and prod at thing's that would usually annoy someone. Like the thin line of string that will unravel at the hem of a sweater, swaying and tickling at the side of your hand until you have to wrap it around your finger and snap it away. I toy with such thing's.

We're going to need a drink for this." Ava greet's us with a tray of shot's. More vodka, "Do you have something to chase it?" I take for the second time tonight a clear shot glass fill to the top with vodka. Ava goes back to the kitchen, merely six feet away and pour's fruit punch into a pink plastic cup. I do as I had done with, Avery and send the alcohol discreetly into the punch, and away from my stomach to burn, bubble, and make it's way back up.

I place the cup and shot glass on the tiny coffee table, my leg's jump up and down as I bite at my lip. Some part of me need's to watch the footage of myself, an even larger part can't handle the sound of my blood boiling scream's that would most likely sound scratchy and muffled from the extreme volume of my agony. After the pain had set in I almost felt numb. But hearing it, seeing it, living it all over again in vivid detail from his view; I decide not to.

Kat takes her silver laptop from the brown bag she keep's it safe in, and open's it. The screen shines over our nervous faces, wide eyed, and nail biting. She plug's the drive into the side, it click's into place and the file folder's across, Avery's hacked account begin to fill. Dozen's of name's, the number's beside them rise and rise with our rapid heart rates.

I want to take the laptop, find my name 'My Blonde Sweet' and delete it. Erase it's existance, so nobody can ever see my body, tied in grotesque way's. I read over the name's until I see something that turn's my blood cold. The girl's see it at the same time. I can tell by the thin hair on their arm's suddenly standing at attention. In the middle of the screen, dead center, with a total of fifty nine file's, and surrounded by women she never knew were just as trapped as she was; is Iris's folder.

Kat's index finger linger's over the mouse pad, longing to click just once. Just one flick of the finger and the ugly truth is known, Avery killed her, she was just another notch in his pain delivering belt.

"It's her." Kat's voice barely makes it into a whisper, "I don't think I can click any of these file's."
"We have to," Ava reminds her, "We have to know if this is the real footage." Ava blow's a gust from her puffed cheek's, she too let's her finger hover uncertain of bringing it down with a click. She tap's the mouse pad twice. Iris's file explodes across the lit screen, and expand's.

Freeze frame photo's, video stills, and more photo's consume our swimming eye's. Tear's stream down, Kat's face at the sight of sweet, Iris; bleached blonde hair streaked crimson, and tangled. I turn my eye's away to, Ava, she sit's frozen and in shock. Her hand rises to her mouth, while she relives her own nightmare's.

"I don't want to open anymore." Kat shakes her head, her bottom lip poked out. I battle the idea of opening it, as I scroll the page down. The battle is lost when I reach the bottom.

"This wasn't taken in the basement. . ." I turn to, Ava and, Kat, and click the file picture. It's a still frame of, Iris's face, clean but crying, and a hint of the sky in the background. "This was filmed outside." I tell them.

"Oh my God. Look at the date stamp." Kat shuffles her eye's back and forth to, Ava, and me, as the video begin's to play. The noise of the street's, and wind blares. The camera's focus shake's, as if it were hidden at eye level.

"Please, Avery..." Iris's soft voice plead's, "I'll get rid of it, just please don't do this." She cries. Wind whips her curled hair, it blow's across her familiar scarf. The view of the camera angle closes in on her, an extreme close up of pure fear taking over her face. Her neck strain's backward in a hard curve, with, Avery's tight grip tangled in her blowing hair. He tilt's her head back, and kisses her. It's now that it hit's me that, Avery was wearing a hidden camera somewhere on his head. Maybe inside a hat.

The glow of the computer flicker's over our petrified faces, unable to speak, blink, or shift from the discomfort; we watch as, Avery step's closer and closer,. Iris continues to step back with him, his hand still gripping her hair.

"I'm begging you! I'll do anything." Iris cries. I can't tell what's worse; her begging for her life while she nears the edge of the building, or the rough and grit of, Avery's laughter as he sends his fist into the hidden bump under her baggy sweat shirt. Iris bends over, mouth open, lung's vacant of air. She cup's underneath the rising roundness of her belly. Her chest finds the air around her, spoiled with gas fume's and the smell of garbage. She stand's, weak and gasping while her hand trembles. Held up, a hand asking a madman to stop, a frightened hand in surrender. She teeter's at the edge, glancing over and down at the busy sidewalk under her.

The fast walking student's, so eager to get to class on time never look up. A gust of wind swirl's around her, she hold's her hand's out to the side to steady herself. As she look's back to, Avery, her watery eye's shed every ounce of emotion. The muscles of her face tighten, and she look's him in the eye. She speak's unknowingly to the camera, and for a moment she appear's to be speaking directly to me.

"You wouldn't kill your son, would you?" She croak's, just before, Avery's hand's slam into her chest sending her flying over the edge. Iris's flailing hand's, panicked, and grabbing at the wind disappears over the top of the building. Followed by the sound of the sharp impact of her body hitting the sidewalk, five level's below.

***

I walk back home with, Kat. There are no word's to throw into the air that could soften the silence. Staring blankly ahead, ignoring my soaked shoes as I step into puddle's left behind by the rain. The journal, tucked tight and safe in my arm's hugged to my chest, beg's the entire walk to the dorm's to open it's pages.