Out of Time

chapter 16 - similarity

TRIGGER WARNING - TORTURE/GRUESOME SCENE

2 MONTHS AGO:

The girl's hands, whilst stained red, didn't shake anymore. As she peered into the woman's eyes, she no longer felt the uncontrollable guilt that usually filled her. The screams no longer affected her. The girl took her knife and slowly ran it down her arm. Blood immediately burst to the surface.

"No more," she cravenly pleaded, as sweat drips down her forehead. Cuts disorganisedly littered her body, carmine bubbling out of some.

"Then tell me who did it."

"He'll kill me."

"I will kill you slower and more painfully. Hell, I might even have to get Charlotte in here." Charlotte was the woman's daughter, whom she thought she had kept hidden. She had not. Her face visibly paled, and a lone tear rolled down her face. The girl caught the tear with her bloody knife.

"It was Valentin." With those words, she tore her eyes away from the woman's destroyed body and onto the 2-way mirror. She knew Kieran was standing there. The woman's body slumps, almost in disappointment in herself. Kieran casually strolls into the forlorn room and towards me.

"Well done. You've come such a long way. Now that you have mastered that, you need to kill her." It took her a couple of seconds to understand his sentence. She stared up at him, utterly shocked, and then back at the woman.

"I can't."

"Excuse me," Kieran replied angrily, taking a menacing step forward. He takes a deep breath before attempting to convince me. He failed for a fair while until he said his final piece. "You've done it before, Lara. This is no different. I'm really counting on you. Everyone is, really. We've put time, resources and effort into you, so we don't want them going to waste."

She stuttered and stumbled over my words. "Look, I know training has been arduous, but this is what we've been working towards. I believe in you." His eyes had softened, and she trusted him immediately.

"I can do this," she thought.

Lara shakily picked up the knife and turned to the lady. It felt heavy in her hands, and she reluctantly lead it towards the woman's neck. She instantly begins to sob; her broken body convulsed more each time she brought the blade closer to her.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered.

Lara slit the woman's throat. She didn't even know her name, and here she was, watching blood bloom relentlessly from her neck. Tears filled her eyes. The stench of rust overpowered her senses. She really killed someone. Her corpse relaxes and, when the guards unlock the shackles binding her, slides to the floor.

Blood smeared the floor as she is dragged out of the room. Lara stared blankly at the marks. She dropped the knife and closed her eyes. When Kieran placed a hand on her shoulder, she flinched.

"I'm so proud of you, Lara. Well done."

~~

There are some times in my life where I wish I could disappear. When I was first left on the ground by my father after he beat me up was one. Another was the situation in front of me. As I stare back at Dean's glaring face, only one thought runs through my mind.

How is he alive?

The whole class, including Miss Parker, has stopped talking. His gravely voice disrupts the silence. "I have finally found you." His words send shivers up my spine.