“Hello?” The girl called out into the dark hallway.

The light of cabin was off, which gave an eerie feel to the blonde girl. The cold air swirled around her, forcing her to close the door behind her. She walks further in, down towards the kitchen.

Something felt off, though she couldn’t pin point it.

And on top of it, there was this lingering smell, like the one of rotten eggs maybe.

It was coming from the kitchen, the smell so revolting and suffocating that the blonde had to turn towards the opposite end, the living room. She felt confused at her surroundings. Why would he ask her to come here, that too at this time? She took her phone out again, to check his message again for anything she must have missed. Finding nothing again, she put it back into her pocket and continued to look around when she stumbles at a side table.

Looking at the table, realization set on.

The smell clicked in. The events related to this place flashed through her mind. The plan they made together, the long nights they spent scouting this very cabin, the days they spent making this place ready.

She stumbled backwards, the betrayal hurting her physically and her arms flared to steady her. Unfortunately catching a switch caught her arms, switching on the light in the kitchen.

A spark was all that it needed.

She ran for cover right as the gas cylinder in the kitchen blasted and fire spread everywhere within seconds. She sat behind the sofa as she saw everything burning slowly, the fire slowly swallowing everything in its path.

She willed herself to stand even when her whole body threatened to give up. She carefully moved around the sofa, her eyes tearing up either from the pain in her heart or the smoke around her making her surroundings blur.

However, just like she expected or rather knew, the front door was locked. She tread slowly towards the fire, picking up a vase from the table top and throwing it towards the window next to the door shattering both.

But before she could run towards her way to freedom and life, she felt her legs give out as a searing pain threw her off.

My eyes snap open. Sweat coating my forehead and heart beat faster than normal. I groan in annoyance, closing my eyes in an attempt to stop my panic. When I feel normal, or as close to normal as I can, I get up to look at the digital clock on my side table.

12:48 a.m.

I huff, getting up from my bed and go to my closet. Opening it, I kneel and take out a small chest. Inside it held my old memories, the sweet ones. Searching at the bottom, I take out a pendant. Silver tiara design enclosed in a crescent moon, with ‘my princess’ engraved in it. I sit down, criss cross on the floor, just staring at the pendant.

Reminiscing the past.

After a while, I put everything back and head out to the kitchen for a bit of herbal tea. I don’t switch on the light, easily moving around in the kitchen with the help of the light of the moon that filtered through the glass window. I sipped the tea quietly, enjoying the serenity.

The still silence of the night was broken by the sound of hushed footsteps and I frown, confused. I keep the cup back on the counter and move to the doorway of the kitchen, leaning out to figure out if the people outside mean trouble or not.

Light shadow of people outside my apartment can be seen from the crack between the floor and the wood of the door, all shuffling right in front of my door. This alerts me. Forcing myself to listen more closely, and counting the movement and hushed whispers, I count at least three people.

Fuck.

I creep back to the shelve that held our knives and take one out, going back to my previous position. Adrenaline started rushing through my veins, my heart pumping faster in anticipation of the fight that was about to happen. My instinct of fight overpowering the fear and lethargy, vision and hearing clear themselves.

I crouch a little to hide myself more in the darkness just as a click sound resonates in the empty darkness.

Amateurs!

Three men, dressed in black push through the door with each having a gun and a small torch attached to the barrel of the guns. I back up, standing as I curse heaven and hell to the person who sent them.

Hearing the movement, I predict one of them going in the living room as I see one moving further down the hallway while one enters the kitchen. Mentally thanking whoever was responsible for the secluded corner of the kitchen, I swiftly come behind the man in kitchen and launch forward to grab his neck in a chock hold.

Panicking, he drops the gun, its sound muffled by that ridiculous kitchen carpet Abby insisted to have. I kick the back of his knees, making him fall before sending punch on the side of the struggling man to slow him down. Before he could have a chance to get his bearing together, I slam his head on the side of the island, knocking him out cold.

“Carl?” The man in the hallway whisper yells.

I wince at my stupidity that made a sound. Knocking the man’s head obviously made a sound. Chris will have my head if he ever got to know about it. Annoyed at my own self, I stealthy walk up to the doorway of the kitchen and peer at the man in the hallway. He was standing right in the middle of the hallway, facing Abby’s door with his attention towards the kitchen.

The man must have decided not to search for his friend as he focused back on the door in front of him. I used the darkness to my favour and covered the short distance between us in the few moments it took for him to lower his gun and reach for the nob on the door. Right before his hand could make contact with the cold metal, I move right behind him.

“Wrong door.” I whisper near his ear, smirking in satisfaction as he tenses. He turns around, raising his gun to aim at me but I lean back casually, seeing his hands shake in nervousness.

“How…?”

The sadist woman inside me relishes in the fact that the man in front of me was trembling at her sight. Must be the eeriness of the dark night, or may be my handy work on Kane that was eliciting the fear.

“I will ask a better question. Who sent you?”

My voice hollow, and all the amusement from before disappear. I have a guess, but all I wanted was a living proof so that I can make his life a living hell this time. Last time, I had decided to stay away, but this time, his attempt to get me killed will make me extract revenge. Anger surged through my veins, as I mentally take a vow to finish the blue eyed devil the second I get a proof of his dual face.

The nervous wreck of a man in front of me takes a sharp breath in, I tense at the taletell sign of the attack. He shoots right as I jump to my right, using the second he needed to aim at me again to plunge the knife in my hand to his flank, extracting it back to let his blood flow. He loses his grip on the gun as his instinct to save his life makes him hold the wound. I pull one of his hand, twisting it behind him and bring my knife to his neck.

He splutters.

I ask him the same question again, more firm this time and he looks in thought, probably weighing his pros and cons when he jerks as a bullet embeds itself into his chest.

I curse, my attention going to the third man in front of me that had his gun aimed at me. I had forgotten about him. Damn, Chris is really going to kill me for this, if I managed to somehow survive this. I blow out a harsh breath, glancing at the door next to me, before rejecting the idea of escape for he could go after Abby. After all he was crazy enough to shoot his friend, what is stopping him from going after her. I drop the dead man I held, and raise my hand in surrender.

I grin at him, “Come on, I was just chatting with the guy.”

“Drop that knife.”

“Oh, I forgot about that,” I let go of the bloody knife, the knife mimicking the drop of my stomach as I realize that I may not come out of this breathing at all. All the adrenaline rush seems to flow out of me as fear peaks all other emotions.

  Tears prick at the back of my eyes. 

  Heart beat slowing.

  I swallow back the lump that lodges itself in my throat.

  But I keep up my fearless façade, because isn’t it easy? Keeping facades. I have been doing this for the past year in front of my friends. All because of him.

  Jayden Elliot Carter.

  And this time too, he would be the reason because of whom, I will never be able to tell Abby the truth or apologize for hurting her. I will not be able to tell the boys the reason behind my actions.

  The man steps forward only to jerk forward slightly, tilting a bit and falling down, giving way to my saviour behind him. My eyes meet his blue ones, vulnerable and disbelieving.

****************
A/N: Hello there readers!
So an early update, again. I am on a roll this time round don't you think?
Well whatever, so, how attacked Ash? And who saved her?

Vote, comment and share.
Love, Rupanshi.