Poor Little Dead Girls

by Lizzie Friend

  “We both know you don’t handle rejection well. Did Daddy have to step in?”

  A tremor passed through him, and for a moment she could see every vein in his neck. “Anna was trash, just like your mom. I couldn’t see it at first, but she was threatening everything. It’s time for you to go now.”

  He was close. She needed more time. “Did she — ”

  “You still don’t get it. It’s already over, Sadie. You’re dying already, but you’re going to jump first. It’s more convincing that way.”

  He stood up then. She was out of time.

  He jerked his head toward the door. “Go. It’s unlocked.”

  She just stared, confused, until the corners of his lips turned up in a cold smile.

  “We’re giving you a head start. Sportsmanship.”

  Her mouth dropped open, and she almost laughed at how twisted it all was. He wanted her to run. He wanted her to try to get away, just so he could catch her and have the satisfaction of watching her die. But she wasn’t done. She wanted to be closer to the sky first. She wanted to fly.

  At the door, she turned and made her last move.

  “It was you, wasn’t it? You killed Anna.”

  His face stayed frozen in that smile, but one hand — one finger really — started to shake. He was breaking.

  “She was unsuitable. She tricked me.”

  Sadie took a step back toward him and shook her head. “No Finn, she wasn’t. I saw her results. She passed.”

  “You’re lying.” His voice was low and flat, but she kept pushing.

  “Whoever told you that is the one that lied. Who was it — your dad? He made you kill her for nothing.”

  He looked at her with such hatred in his eyes, she felt a new, cold lick of fear spread down her spine. He lunged around the desk and came toward her.

  Then she was running. She stumbled down the hallway, trying not to listen to Finn’s voice as it echoed around her. She just knew she had to go up. Thayer’s voice rang in her head: It’s not like there’s a fire escape. She kept going, anyway.

  Finally she found the stairs and climbed. Each time she lifted a foot it felt like it was stuck in quicksand. Her chest burned, and she gasped in air until the edges of her vision went black, but she kept going. She thought about the running test at the beginning of the year, and she almost laughed. She clenched her fists and pressed on.

  The stairway spiraled upward for what felt like miles, and by the time she reached the top she was dragging herself up with her arms, one step at a time. If she could only make it to the top, she could fly away.

  At last she saw a door. She swung it open wide, and the rush of air that met her was so bitterly cold she had to fight to stay standing. She struggled forward, feeling the icy stones burning her skin.

  When she got to the ledge, she looked out over the wall. It was all darkness, but she knew what was beneath her. Rocks and waves. Freedom.

  She placed one foot on the ledge and hoisted herself up so that she stood with her back to the door. She knew he would be there soon.

  She watched a single snowflake as it floated past her. A cold wind hit her bare legs, and she shivered, but she kept her head high. She was numb already anyway.

  Muffled footsteps fell on the stairs, and the door behind her opened. She heard him pause to catch his breath. She didn’t turn around, but she knew he was watching. She lifted her chin and squared her shoulders. She couldn’t let him win that easily, even though everything inside of her was whispering to jump.

  “Just tell me why they tried to kill my mother. Then it’ll all be over.” She shouted the words out into the abyss. She didn’t want his face to be the last thing she saw.

  Silence.

  “Anna, then. I have to know what happened to them.” The wind whistled around her, muffling her words.

  Finally someone spoke. “It’s simple, really. They didn’t belong.”

  Sadie whirled around, one foot skidding beneath her on the icy stones. The woman had short blonde hair and a long black coat wrapped tight against the cold. Something about her face triggered a memory, but it was all wrong — like it had wilted and hardened into something Sadie didn’t recognize.

  The woman took a step forward. “They were unsuitable. They were a threat to our plans. And now so are you. Jump, please.”

  Sadie shook her head. One of her feet slid a few more inches on the slick stone, but she caught herself. “Not until you tell me the details.”

  Another step forward. “Your mother tried to take something that wasn’t hers. Anna did the same.”

  Sadie wanted to scream. “What does that even mean?”

  Moonlight glinted off the woman’s face, and something slid into place. Sadie saw the woman decades earlier — younger and happier, in a photo with her arm around her best friend.

  “It was you, wasn’t it? In that photo with my mom.”

  The woman just stared back at her. “That’s not important.”

  Sadie clenched her fists. “But you did know her. Did they try to kill her because she wanted to leave? You at least owe me that much.”

  The woman just threw her head back and laughed.

  “Honey, your mom didn’t want out. She wanted in. But she didn’t have what it takes.”

  “She was unsuitable?”

  “As far as the Order is concerned.”

  Sadie shook her head. “What are you saying?”

  “Her test was fixed. Everyone has a price, and she had to go.”

  Sadie’s jaw dropped. “But you were her friend!”

  The woman’s eyes glittered like black marbles. “And she stabbed me in the back.”

  She moved closer, and Sadie studied her face. There was something else nagging at the edges of her mind.

  The woman took another step forward, and the moonlight glinted off a stone she wore around her neck. Sadie had seen that stone before — green, with a gold C that clutched the gem like a spider.

  The weight of the realization almost sent her crashing to the ground.

  “It was you.” Anger built behind the words.

  No reaction.

  “You’re Pamela Cranston. Teddy was going to choose May instead of you. You were jealous.” With the anger came fire, burning away the numbness in her arms and legs and head. Things started to clear. Maybe this was what dying felt like. At least now she knew.

  The woman’s mouth stretched into a thin line.

  “And you’re out of time.”

  “You tried to kill your best friend, for what — a last name? Some creepy, manufactured life that was all planned out ahead of you?” Sadie could hear her voice rising to a shriek. “Did you ever even love him?”

  Pamela raised her chin. “They weren’t a good match, anyway. A Cranston marrying a Ralleigh … what a waste.”

  The anger bubbled up even higher, warming her from the inside. A gust of wind blew around her legs, and she glanced behind her over the wall but the lightness was gone. She turned back to Pamela with new resolve. Fuck freedom.

  She made her voice hard.

  “That’s bullshit. You wanted Teddy, and you did what you had to do to get him.”

  The cold smile returned. “We live in a meritocracy. Initiative is rewarded.”

  Sadie couldn’t take it anymore. “But murder isn’t.”

  Anger flashed across Pamela’s face.

  “Did you kill Anna too?”

  Pamela took a step toward Sadie. “I did what had to be done.”

  “She was a kid. What threat could she possibly have been to you?”

  Sadie could have sworn she saw a hint of pain in Pamela’s eyes, but it was gone just as quickly as it had come. “Like I said, I did what had to be done. Now we’re done talking. Jump.”

  “Screw you.”

  Pamela smirked. “See now, Ms. Marlowe. That’s why I had to make sure your mother didn’t end up with Teddy Cranston, and that’s why I had to make sure her niece didn’t end up marrying my son. I was not abo
ut to let the Cranston family bloodline be polluted by filthy Ralleigh genes.”

  “Then why did you even bring me here? I didn’t even know. I never would have found out.” She took a deep breath as the last piece fell into place. “You wanted my family’s money. I’m the heir. That’s why I’m here.”

  “Despite your family’s unsavory reputation, they’ve amassed quite a fortune. And once we have it, we’ll have enough. More than the U.S. treasury. It’ll be the smoothest coup in the history of modern government.”

  She smiled so wide, her cheekbones looked like they would crack in two.

  “That’s why you took my eggs.”

  Pamela rolled her eyes. “After you’re gone, we’ll spread a story that you ran away. And if in sixteen years, someone shows up claiming to be the long-lost last remaining heir to the Ralleigh fortune, then so be it. We’ll even have the DNA to prove it. Now jump. Get on with it.”

  Sadie lifted her chin. “No.”

  “Do it now. Fly away, Ms. Marlowe.”

  She shook her head. “I’m not letting you do this. I’m not trash, and neither was my mother. But you know who is? Your son.”

  “Jump.” Sadie could see the tendons jutting out of Pamela’s neck. Her face flushed red.

  “He’s a drunk, worthless piece of scum who raped Olivia. He should be in jail.”

  “Shut your mouth, and jump.”

  “He’s a rapist, and I’ll tell everyone what he did! You raised a monster. How’s that for polluting the Cranston family name?”

  Pamela stepped toward her, her face now a deep, angry purple. She clapped her hands over her ears and screamed. “Stop talking and jump!”

  Sadie took a deep breath and shouted as loud as she could: “Finn. Cranston. Is a — ”

  Before she could finish, Pamela lunged. Sadie watched her, frozen, as she came forward. Her blonde hair was blowing back off of her face, and in her eyes was a hatred so pure and concentrated that it took Sadie’s breath away.

  Everything moved in slow motion. Sadie slid to the side and Pamela’s clawed fingers sliced through the air, stiff and contorted, like talons. They held eye contact for a split second as her weight carried her forward, pulling her closer to the edge. Pamela’s mouth opened in dull surprise as the low stone wall took her out at the knees, then stretched wider in horror as she pitched forward into the darkness. She flailed, twisting back and reaching for Sadie, her face now a mask of naked fear. In spite of herself, Sadie reached back. It didn’t have to end like this. Not with more death.

  It was too late.

  Sadie’s fingers just barely grazed the papery skin at her throat before she fell, and then there was nothing. No sound. No scream. No splash as she hit the water. No cracking as she hit rock.

  She was just gone.

  For a moment, everything was silent. Then another wave crashed below, and a gust of wind blew Sadie back down off the wall and onto the roof. She collapsed to her knees and looked down into her hand, shivering with cold and fear and fumes of adrenaline.

  In her palm was Pamela’s monogrammed necklace, the clasp bent open at a grotesque angle, and the green stone glinting up at her in the moonlight like a mythological evil eye.

  It took her seconds to get back down the stairs and onto the third floor. Whatever they had given her to make her want to jump had worn off, all of those suppressed emotions now flooding her body with white-hot energy. In the ceremony room, she wrenched the musket off of its wall mount, sending screws and bits of drywall raining down around her. She jammed it under one arm and took off.

  She found Finn still sitting in his father’s office. He was sitting at the desk, the Order’s logbook open in front of him. He stared at a single page with wide, unblinking eyes.

  She leveled the gun at him, but he didn’t flinch.

  “Give me the key, Finn, or I swear on that old noseless guy I will kill you.”

  Wordlessly, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the card. He laid it flat on the table.

  “Take it.”

  She edged closer. The book was opened to a page she hadn’t seen before.

  “You were right, you know.”

  He motioned to the page, and Sadie leaned forward. On it was a list of all the potential members who had been deemed unsuitable. She saw her mother’s name near the top, but Anna’s wasn’t on it.

  “Mother told me she was unsuitable. She said I had to do it to keep the family strong and prove my loyalty. She said Anna was trying to trick me.”

  His face crumpled, and he put his head in his hands.

  Sadie didn’t lower the gun. “Pamela was the one who tricked you, Finn.” She paused. “It wasn’t your fault.”

  “Take the book,” he said, pushing it across the desk toward her. “You’ll need it.”

  When she put a hand on the book, he didn’t let go.

  “They’ll kill you if you’re not careful, Sadie. They’ll find out where you are, and they’ll kill you, too.”

  She grabbed the book and the key off of the table, and she ran.

  Chapter 26

  Sadie opened her eyes. Above her was a white ceiling with a single crack running across it. Dull and flat. Institutional. She took a deep breath and smelled the air. Disinfectant.

  She tried to sit up but felt a hand on her shoulder. “Try to lie still, dear. You need to rest.”

  A figure hovered into view over her head, and she blinked until it came into focus. Nurse Brennan.

  “You Ralleigh girls sure are accident-prone,” the woman said, her forehead wrinkled in concern.

  Sadie tried to respond, but all that came out was a low moan.

  Nurse Brennan patted her arm and made a clucking sound. “Don’t try to talk too much. You must have had quite a night.”

  She felt panic start to creep up the back of her throat, and she swallowed again. She looked around the room. No cops. No security. It was all wrong.

  “Why haven’t you called the police? We have to stop them.”

  The nurse frowned and patted Sadie’s hand. “It’s normal to be a bit confused, so don’t you worry about it. I don’t think the police are necessary for a bump on the head, though. You’re safe here. Don’t you remember anything that happened?”

  Sadie shook her head — a lie. A part of her could still feel the icy stones beneath her feet, and she could see every inch of Pamela’s face as she went over the edge. But after that — after Finn and the book, it all just faded to black.

  “Well, a little short-term memory loss is certainly understandable, considering everything you had in your system.”

  “How did I get here?”

  The woman raised an eyebrow. “Jeremy Wood found you on the beach over by Graff. You were passed out cold in nothing but a cocktail dress.” She clucked disapprovingly. “You’re lucky you didn’t get hypothermia. You don’t remember how you ended up out there either?”

  Sadie didn’t answer.

  “Well, there’s something else I should tell you, as I was required to report it to the Dean.” The woman took a deep breath. “When you first regained consciousness, you were acting very erratically, so we did a tox screen. It looks like you were on some pretty heavy pharmaceutical drugs last night.” She laid a hand on Sadie’s arm and arranged her features into a look of concerned disappointment. “Mixing drugs and alcohol is very dangerous, dear. You very easily could have died. Should have, maybe.”

  Sadie’s mind raced. So Finn hadn’t been bluffing. She looked down at her hands, feigning shame. “I’m sorry.”

  The woman patted her arm again, then busied herself around the room.

  Sadie closed her eyes and laid her head back against the pillow.

  “Oh dear, are you tired? I was going to go send your friends in — Jeremy and Jessica Harris have been here all night, would you believe that? But I can tell them to come back.”

  Sadie shook her head vigorously and waved at her to bring them in.

  Jessica and Jeremy both looked like
they had been awake for days. Jessica’s light brown hair lay flat and lifeless against her forehead, and Jeremy’s eyes were puffy and bloodshot. They were both smiling.

  Jessica ran immediately to the bedside and hugged Sadie hard. “Forgive me?” she said into her shoulder. “I can’t believe I stayed in that closet, I fu — ”

  “No way, Jess. I’m the one who should be apologizing. I never should have gotten you involved in this. I knew how dangerous they were. I wasn’t thinking straight.”

  Sadie patted her back and looked over her shoulder at Jeremy, who stood a few steps away. He had a sad smile on his face, but it was masking something else that hovered just below the surface. Anger, or maybe guilt. He had an old gray duffel bag draped over his shoulder, and he was still dressed in the gray wool slacks he had worn to the party. Dirty now, the cuffs caked with crusted sand.

  “How did you guys find me?”

  Jeremy nodded to Jessica. “After they took you, they left the doors unlocked. They must have thought you were alone. Jessica came and found me and told me what you guys had done, and we got a ride back to Graff from the twins’ driver. We didn’t know if we would catch up with you in time, but we didn’t know what else to do. We couldn’t call the police — we didn’t even know if they would be on our side. We were just outside the tower when we heard you on the roof. You were screaming, and I — ”

  His voice caught, and he looked away. Sadie grabbed his hand and squeezed.

  “I’m okay now.”

  He met her eyes. “You don’t understand. We saw someone fall. We thought you were dead.”

  Sadie opened her mouth, but before she could speak his arms were around her. She pulled him close, as everything around them fell away.

  Finally, Jessica coughed uncomfortably, and they broke away.

  “Sorry, Jess.” Jeremy grinned, and the heaviness in the room seemed to dissolve. Jessica punched him in the arm.

  “It’s okay. The image of you guys sucking face might haunt my nightmares for awhile, but I’ll get over it.”

  Sadie raised an eyebrow. “You guys friends now?”