by Ruby Brown
Just as Mal got to her feet, the girl’s body convulsed and she coughed a spatter of red blood directly onto Mal’s face. A trickle of the scarlet liquid ran down from the corner of her mouth as she collapsed directly into her arms. Mal cried out in shock, but managed to keep her balance as the weight of the girl’s dying body settled on her. Mal caught sight of Trixie, holding a bloody knife, staring in fascination and wonderment at the stab wound she had left in the dead girl’s back. Then she looked up, and locked eyes with Mal. The same sleek, deranged smile crossed her face, and Mal hauled the corpse off of her and kept running.
Chapter 36
As Mal ran through the library, Rose and Joel were huddled under a table in the back corner of the large room. Joel was trembling, trying desperately to be brave, while Rose gripped both his hand and her knife tightly. Her eyes were darting nervously around the room, and her ears were straining to hear something. Suddenly, she heard the slight scuffling of feet across the library carpet. Stifling a gasp, Rose drew further back into the shadows, encouraging Joel to do the same. The footsteps came closer and closer, until a pair of feet came into view. With a jolt, Rose recognised the footwear as Trixie’s. Joel stiffened beside her, and she knew he’d recognised the shoes too.
Before she could stop him, Joel cried out “Trixie!” and yanked his hand free of Rose’s grip. He stumbled out from under the table and stood in front of his friend. “Trixie!” he said again, excitedly. “What...happened to you?”
Suddenly, all the excitement was gone from Joel’s voice. He sounded really scared and worried, and his voice was almost a whisper. Immediately, Rose knew something was wrong. Quickly, she came out from under the desk, and clapped a hand to her mouth at what she saw.
Trixie was completely covered in blood. Wounds covered her face and arms. Her clothes were in tatters. She was holding a knife loosely in her right hand, swaying backwards and forwards. Her head was slightly to the side as she stared off into the distance, completely detached from reality. Her lips were moving, but no sound was coming out.
“Joel,” Rose said urgently. “Get behind me.” She stepped in front of her brother, knife in hand, and ready to fight. It seemed like the sound of her voice brought Trixie back to reality, as suddenly she snapped to attention and stared straight at Rose and Joel.
Trixie smiled a cold and heartless grin that made Rose’s stomach turn. Frozen, she watched as Trixie started chuckling again, her eyes darting from Rose’s terrified face to Joel’s equally scared one, as if deciding who her next victim should be.
“Trixie?” Joel said uncertainly, and abruptly Trixie sprang forwards to attack. Rose roughly shoved her brother out of the way just before she was knocked to the ground by the force of Trixie’s attack. As soon as Rose hit the ground, she knew she was in trouble. For some reason, Trixie was a whole lot stronger than Rose remembered, and she fought with a kind of demented ferocity Rose had never seen before.
Suddenly, Trixie was hauled off of her by an extra set of hands. Astounded, Rose looked on as Joel seized Trixie around her waist and hauled her away. Trixie fought back like a demented wildcat, her arms and legs flailing everywhere. She managed to cut Joel several times on his arms and fingers, but he held on grimly until she cut the side of his face.
As soon as Trixie was free, she sprang away and crouched on the floor, snarling and hissing, her knife dripping with Joel’s blood. Outraged, Rose moved to attack again, but Joel shouted for her to stop. Taken off guard by the emotion in his voice, Rose froze, staring at her brother and wondering what the hell he was thinking.
Joel looked from his sister to Trixie and stared at her with wide eyes. His hands were held up to his shoulders in a gesture of surrender. Trixie glared at him uncertainly, her lips rose in a snarl. Joel hesitated for a few moments, and then began talking.
“Hey,” he said softly, in the kind of coaxing tone you’d use for a frightened animal. It seemed to soothe Trixie, and the snarl disappeared from her face. Her muscles relaxed a little, and she cocked her head slightly to the side, but her eyes were still violent and bloodthirsty.
Encouraged by her response, Joel started again. “Hey Trixie, it’s me. It’s your friend Joel. Remember me?”
Trixie made no move to answer the question, so Joel continued. “I know this isn’t you. We’ve been friends our whole lives. Whatever this is, whatever’s making you act like this, you need to fight it. You’re strong enough to fight it, I know you are. We’ve fought together before, and you’ve done some amazing stuff. Please...just come back to me.” Joel’s voice broke. He seemed to be on the verge of tears. His hands were clenched into fists at his sides.
Rose tore her gaze frim her brother to look at Trixie, who was still crouched on the floor. There was silence for a few moments, and then suddenly Trixie started shaking violently. She threw her head back as her body convulsed, and then her head snapped up to look at Joel. Terrified she was going to attack again, Rose grabbed her knife, but then she realised that Trixie wasn’t going to do anything. She was staring up at Joel, tears streaming silently down her face. Rose had never seen anyone look so scared, so alone.
“Joel...” Trixie said, her voice shaking. “Help me.”
Joel moved forward, his arms outstretched, but Trixie started shaking again. She threw herself forward and placed her clenched hands on the ground, breathing heavily. She threw her head back and screamed a long, terrifying sound that made Rose’s blood run cold. Trixie’s head snapped up to look at Joel. “I’m sorry,” she said, her voice soft and shaky.
Trixie’s eyes suddenly glazed over and a deranged smile spread across her face. She gripped the knife tighter and her muscles tensed. Rose saw the impending danger a second too late. “No!” she screamed, reaching a hand out in a futile attempt to protect her brother.
Trixie sprung upwards, the knife clenched in her fist, and plunged it straight into Joel’s chest. Joel staggered backwards, his face pale and his eyes wide in his face. The blood flowed from the wound and stained the shirt he was wearing. He swayed on the spot for a few moments, and then started to fall.
Rose rushed forward and caught him in her arms as he collapsed to the floor. One look at him, and she knew that he was beyond help. She’d been fighting for years, and she’d seen this kind of thing before. There was no hope.
“Joel...” Rose mumbled, her hands fluttering uselessly around his chest, trying to find something she could do.
Joel looked directly into his sister’s eyes. “I’m going to die, aren’t I?” he said, his voice oddly calm.
“No,” Rose said firmly. “No. You’re going to be okay.”
“I’m sorry,” Joel choked out.
“What on earth are you sorry for?” Rose asked.
“I was never the brave fighter you wanted me to be. I let you down. I tried, Rose, I really did...” Joel’s voice cracked and tears started pouring down his face.
“Hey,” Rose said, wiping the tears away. “You’re one of the bravest people I know.”
“You’re just saying that.”
“No, I’m not,” Rose said, pushing a strand of her brother’s hair away from his face. She took a deep breath, “I’m the one who should be sorry. Ever since mum and dad died, I’ve been horrible to you. I was just scared. I thought I could protect you from feeling the same pain I did. I was wrong.”
“You came out here with us, right into the headquarters of our most feared enemy. You faced down someone who was trying to kill you. No matter where I go, you’ve always been there for me. You’re amazing.”
Joel’s face shone with happiness, and then he closed his eyes. He drew in a deep, rattling breath. “Thank you...” he said, his voice fading away with the last syllable. Then he went limp, and Rose knew that he was gone.
Carefully, Rose lowered him onto the floor. She kissed her fingers and then pressed them to his forehead in the traditional symbol of respect for a fallen soldier. Then she grabbed her knife and stood up slowly, still looking down at
her brother.
Rose turned to look at Trixie. She was looking dazed and sitting in a corner. Whatever had possessed her seemed to have worn off. Trixie blinked a few times, and then seemed to come around. “What...happened to him?” she asked, her voice trembling as she stared at Joel.
Rose’s heart hardened. “You killed him,” she said, her voice expressionless.
“Quite spectacularly, I might add,” came a voice, smooth as velvet, from the shadows. They both jumped and spun around, an animalistic growl tearing itself from Trixie’s throat as Rose’s hands tightened into fists. Then Akraansir came forwards. She slithered into sight like a cobra, amusement lighting up the hellish darkness of her eyes.
For a second, Rose and Trixie were stunned into silence. Standing in front of them was the villain they had heard so much about, the one that they had been afraid lurked in cupboards and under beds at night, the one that had turned their dreams to nightmares and was the centre focus of every gory illustration in their textbooks. Even from a distance, Rose could tell that all the horror stories were real. She could feel the power electrify the air, and she was scared to move unless she triggered something that would explode with a nuclear force.
Apparently, Trixie shared no such trepidation. “You,” she said softly. What her voice lacked in volume, it made up for in emotion. Rose could barely comprehend the level of sadness and pain and anger all contained in that one small word. “This is all your fault!” Trixie shrieked, and pounced at Akraansir, her hands outstretched like claws. Her fury and determination was equally matched by Akraansir’s air of disdain and boredom as she raised one hand and released a small bolt of dark magic. It hit Trixie right over her heart and sent her body spiralling across the room. She screamed once as her body hit the floor, and then she was silent.
Rose raised her hand to her mouth, looking backwards and forwards between the dead bodies of her brother and the girl that she’d always thought of as her sister. It felt like she was being torn in two. Her mind was spiralling, caught in a dark abyss of swirling thoughts that ripped at everything keeping her sane. She wanted to run to Thomas and run to Trixie and drop to her knees and scream and cry and finally break and allow herself to let go of everything because she just didn’t care anymore. She was done. Nothing mattered anymore. She’d had enough. Of course, there was a part of her that burned with warrior’s blood and wanted to run at Akraansir and make her regret the day she was born, but underneath all of that she just wanted it to be over. She just wanted Akraansir to kill her so she could forget. That was probably what scared her most.
Akraansir watched all of this unfold with a sly smirk on her face. Over the years, she had trained herself to read even the most heavily veiled expressions. She specialized in emotional torture, in finding all the tiny triggers hiding in the incomprehensible complexity of the human brain and using them against her victim. She sometimes despised her minions for their overwhelming bloodlust. Sure, she enjoyed genocide as much as the next evil overlord, but it was so much more fun to watch someone squirm as you revealed truths that grated against their bones and snapped the oh-so delicate tendons in their hearts. Akraansir stepped forward, moving as soundlessly and gracefully as a shadow, and knelt down to twirl a strand of Trixie’s hair between her fingers.
“Don’t touch her!” Rose shouted, but any attempts she would have made to force Akraansir off of the corpse were halted in an instant as their eyes met. The absolute toxicity and frigidity of the less-than-nothingness trapped in Akraansir’s eyes bit through her flesh and sunk its teeth into her bones. She froze to the spot, unable and unwilling to move. She was like a beaten dog, cowering in a corner. She watched helplessly as Akraansir wrapped her hands in the soft folds of Trixie’s clothes and pulled the body up to head height with surprising strength. Rose felt something akin to bile rising up in her throat at the sight of Trixie’s dangling limbs, her head lolling backwards so that the curve of her neck was perfectly exposed.
Akraansir lowered her head, and for a second Rose thought she was actually kissing the carcass, but the reality was much worse. Akraansir drew back her head slightly, her lips parting to take in air, and as she did so a trail of crimson blood ran down Trixie’s neck and pooled in the hollow of her collarbone. Delicately, like a cat lapping at a saucer of milk, Akraansir licked up the gore and went back to the two pinpricks her teeth had made in Trixie’s skin. A needy growl came from deep within her throat and she pulled the body closer to her. Drips of blood spattered the floor and stained the clothes of both living and dead.
Suddenly, Akraansir screamed and pushed Trixie’s corpse away from her. It landed awkwardly with a sickening sound that would haunt Rose’s nightmares for weeks afterwards. The blood on Akraansir’s skin started making a sizzling noise and bubbling up around the edges, as if it was frying her like you would bacon in a pan. Indeed, the terrible noises coming from her mouth sounded like a pig squealing. She started to tear at her hair, pulling out large clumps that drifted to the dusty floor. Her whole body was moving spastically, as if she was having some kind of seizure. Coughing and heaving like she was going to be sick, Akraansir looked at Rose one last time before she darted into the bookshelves. Rose started running after her immediately, but she was lost.
Chapter 37
Mal was still running through the maze of books when she saw a familiar flash of bright red hair. She skidded to a stop, grinning widely despite everything. It was so nice to see someone she cared about, someone she knew would protect her. But something was wrong. A horrified expression replaced her smile as she saw the broken bodies of Thomas and Trixie. Thomas’ face was peaceful and serene, happy almost, while Trixie’s face was full of pain and sadness, her mouth and eyes wide open in a silent scream. Rose was standing by a bookshelf, still trying to catch sight of Akraansir, but when she turned and saw Mal the relief buckled her knees and she fell to the blood-soaked floor. She hunched over and crossed her arms, holding tightly to her body to try and prevent herself form falling apart.
“Rose...” Mal said softly, swiftly crossing the room to hug her friend. Rose was shaking horribly as she grabbed onto the back of Mal’s shirt, balling up the fabric in her hands. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut and clenched her teeth to try and stop herself from crying, but it was useless. She completely broke down and howled like a wolf at the moon, breaking free from Mal’s embrace to punch the wall next to them. “Don’t!” Mal said, taking hold of Rose’s wrists. “You’re going to hurt yourself.”
“I don’t care anymore!” Rose screamed, and Mal flinched away, but kept holding on to Rose’s shaking hands. She wanted to say something, to fill the awful silence that was weighing down on them both with some kind of noise, but she knew there was nothing she could say. A million clichéd statements sprung to mind, the same ones that were said to her when Felix died, but they were worthless. Even now, she could easily cast her mind back to Felix’s funeral, to the onslaught of well-meaning but soul-crushing statements that were so pointlessly empty she found herself wishing to rip the tongues from their throats.
Rose turned to look at her brother. “I want to take his body back,” she said numbly. “I want to bury him with my parents.”
Mal’s heart ached. “Rose, I’m sorry, but you know we can’t do that. He’s too heavy.”
“Then I want to burn him.” When Mal didn’t respond, Rose looked up at her. “I can’t let them find the body. I have to burn it. Cremate him. That’s what I’ll do.”
“It’s too dangerous. You could burn the building down.”
“Good,” Rose said firmly.
Mal could see there was nothing she would say that could change Rose’s mind, so she said “okay, but can I say goodbye first?” Rose nodded, so even though she felt like it was going to make her cry and be sick, Mal turned around and approached the corpses. Memories of Felix’s body whirled through her head, and she squeezed her eyes shut to make them stop. She didn’t want to think about Felix right now. In this moment, it wa
s important she focused on the people in front of her. She knelt down and studied their faces, wanting to memorize everything about them before Rose, who was sitting beside her with tears running down her face, melted their flesh away. For a moment, she let herself remember every single memory she had with those two, let herself feel the glorious pain of it all, before she reached forward and placed her fingertips on their eyelids and drew them down like blinds.
Stepping backwards, she nodded at Rose, who took a shaking breath and closed her eyes for a second, silently saying her farewells and a collective prayer to every deity she could think of, even though she had never been one for religion. Her eyes snapped open and she held out her hands, sending forth a powerful burst of flame that ignited the bodies at once. For good measure, she set a few of the shelves around them on fire, letting the flames devour everything around them. Trapped in a circle of fire, Mal panicked for a moment before Rose’s almost unbearably warm hand closed around her own and she was dragged towards the library’s exit. The air around them was filled with the horrible smell of burning hair and charred human flesh, and by the time they came out of the library they were both choking on more than tears.
Scanning the seething crowd, Rose could just make out Dallas’ elusive figure. He was lightning on his feet, managing to quite spectacularly hold his own despite being horrifically outnumbered. His clothes were stained with blood in varying shades of red and black, and his hands gleamed with the weapons he had stolen from fallen enemies. Without hesitation, Rose jumped right into the middle of the battle, looking for someone to take her anger out on. She fought ferociously, determined not to let the deaths be for nothing. For Dallas, she was like his guardian angel. He was beginning to tire, and he strongly suspected that her support was the only reason he left that building alive. Mal joined them, filled with trepidation, but after what had happened to Thomas and Trixie she was terrified that if she left them now she’d never see them again.