Castle | ✔️

Chapter Forty

No one moved as the reality of the situation sank in. The only sound heard were coming from the unknown wild animals of the night deep in the woods.

"Noooooooo..." Devin shrieked at the top of his lungs, "No. No. No...Daya...oh god..."

She lay on the floor, her eyes staring lifelessly ahead, the pink and yellow roses behind her were painted with streaks of scarlet. Truly a macabre scene.

Devin thumped the ground with his fists, wailing loudly, and pushing the gushing blood towards her as if putting it back in her body. He grabbed her body and rocked, "Daya...Dayana! Wake up!" He was bordering on hysteria.

He'd killed Dayana unknowingly.

Wait a minute...

Why was she wearing exactly the same replica of the maroon gown I was wearing?

It made sense now. Dayana probably entered the garden maze to stop Devin, and Devin knew what I was wearing. He'd mistaken her for me and shot her.

He didn't know that it was his sister!

Devin leveled his eyes towards me. Now they held a maniac glint. "It's all your fault she's dead!"

I had frozen on the spot,and then logic came to me as I realized I needed to get away from him before he killed me for real this time.

I scrambled in the opposite direction, going deeper into the maze

But his hand jutted out as he yanked me, and I crashed to the ground. A bolt of sharp pain shot through my arm. I was pretty sure I'd broken my arm by now. Ignoring the pain, I made my way out of there...

Devin reached for his gun again when Castle tackled him, sat on top of him and powerful fists came raining down on Devin. The two were wrestling against each other for dominance. Their faces were bloodied as they continued to struggle.

"I will kill you!" Devin shrieked. His visceral need for vengeance made him a dozen times more lethal. It fueled his aggression. "If I'd just killed you that day, none of this would have happened! My baby sister would still be alive..." He let out a low moan as he continued to pound his fists into Castle.

"Let him go!" I jumped into their fight to pull him off Castle, but he swung his arm so hard, I fell to the side.

Devin's hands came around Castle's neck as he tried to choke him. His teeth gritted and his face contorted like a man who'd fallen off into the dark side. Castle gasped for breath. He was fighting for his life, trying to get Devin off of him.

He was going to kill Castle!

"Stop! Please..." I cried.

I looked around for something.

Anything would work against him.

"You destroyed my family!" Devin screamed, a loud wail of frustration.

I spotted a gardening spade left there at the corner by the gardeners. I saw Devin produce a jackknife from his pocket and he was ready to plunge it into Castle.

I knew I wouldn't make it in time. It's something you realize at that crucial point of time that Castle's death was evident. I wasn't fast enough.

I picked it up and made a run towards him when another gunshot reverberated, stopping me dead in my tracks.

Who'd done that?

I spun around to look.

In the darkness surrounding the maze, I saw a small form standing at a distance, tears streaming down his face and his hands shaking visibly.