Waiting for my death | Horizon zero dawn fanfiction

Chapter 12: Deer Sculpture

I say nothing. For a moment time freezes and I sit completely still. In retrospect, I'm not surprised, I think this theory makes more sense than imagining her taking her own life, that just doesn't sit well with me. It also explains so much; the fact that she never left a note, the fact that it was so sudden and unexpected and how she never showed any signs of being suicidal. We talked very openly about mental health with each other prior to her death, and we promised to be there for each other if either of us hit rock bottom. Of course, these promises don't always last. Many people bottle it up inside and suffer in silence, I am fully aware of that. But that's simply not who Ivy was. And I knew her better than anyone.

But who would murder her? And why? That doesn't make sense either. Nothing the past few months have made any sense. My life went from being normal to turning into a shakespear tragedy in a matter of days.

"I know, you must think I'm speaking nonsense. But hear me out-"

"Let me get this straight," I cut her off, "you laid out tracks for me to find. leading me to three crazy robbers. You stalked up my location. You steal my focus and disable it without my consent. And now you're telling me my childhood best friend was murdered?"

"Damn," she utters, "this really went a lot better in my head."

"This is absurd," I get up, brushing off the dirt caught on my pants, "I'm going back home now." As much as I would like to believe Ivy did not take her own life, this theory of hers is too insane and way too speculative to be true.

"No, let me explain!" She follows me, grabbing me by my wrist. I stop in the middle of my step, feeling the coldness of her hands on my arm. I try to relax it as she releases my wrist, but I remain still, my face stiffened.

"I gave you a spy free focus. Let me get the chance to at least use that to my advantage," Cordelia says as a last resort.

"Ivy would not take her own life. But she had no enemies. I want to believe what you're saying but it's simply too insane."

"I know it is. But I spoke to her the day before she died. I know what is responsible for her death. And it was not self-inflicted."

I turn around to face her, and I had not seen the compassion and sorrow her facial expression is filled with before. I give her a soft nod, inclining her to continue whatever she was saying.

"Her dad had gotten a top secret assignment just around the time the news of the swarm started spreading. She thought he was acting incredibly distant suddenly. So she condemned her concern to me, and I decided to look into the situation. I found out her dad would be placed in a facility whose location is still unknown, I never managed to crack that code. But articles online and name lists confirmed that he would be working for Zero Dawn, the same as my dad. Ivy wasn't happy with these news, knowing she wouldn't see her dad for a long time, so she craved to learn more."

I met her dark eyes, seeing she had more to say but felt reluctant to say it. She paused for a moment, breathed, then opened her mouth again.

"I.... She was snooping around top secret information," she stumbles,  "I tried to stop her, but she was too stubborn. I'm pretty sure she figured out what this top secret Zero Dawn project is. It eventually led to her demise."

"So..." I breathe, "then who killed her?"

"The authorities. The government. Fuck knows, someone who expresses zero sympathy. Someone who didn't want her to leak the secret behind Zero Dawn."

"But why? Is it in case someone sabotages it? Why couldn't they just lock her up somewhere instead?  Or take her within the facilities with her dad?"

"I suppose they didn't want to take that risk. I'm still mad about it, of course. But I can see why they did what they did. Doesn't justify shit, though."