Don't Ever Trust the Devil

Chapter 30

Crystal's POV

"Johnny." I jolt up and rub my eyes.

I look around, only to see that I'm in a hospital bed. "Claire?" I slouch. "Andy?"

Nobody is with me. There are needles going through my skin, flowers and cards everywhere.

I'm confused as fuck.

I'm about to leave the room when I hear someone walking down the hall.

I jump back into my bed and pretend to be asleep.

"He's awake. Woke up about ten minutes ago and ran out of his room screaming about scarecrows. He's fully functional with no explanation at all, but I can't find him anywhere." a doctor in front of my room says.

Oh my God.

Claire told me that Johnny would fuck with us for one month exactly.

I do the math and figure out that today is the day where it reaches one whole month.

I need to warn them.

I dart out of my bed and run out of the room.

"Ma'am! You can't leave your room!" The doctor shouts after me, chasing me down the hall.

"He's right about the Scarecrows, I have to warn them!" I shout, and I hear him stop running after me.

I jump into the elevator only to collide with the one and only, Andrew. "Andy!" I hug him.

"Oh my God! Crystal, what the hell!" He hugs me back, squeezing me hard.

"Andy listen, they're coming. The scarecrows - they're coming, Johnny is coming. She-she warned me, she says she knows how to defeat them." I stutter, trying to say everything as fast as possible.

"Crys, slow down. What're you trying to say?"

I take a deep breath in. "Were you watching my simulation?"

Andy shakes his head."it shut down after the static started up."

"I saw Claire."

I feel the tension when Andy stiffens.

"She told me that we got one month where the Scarecrows would just fuck with us through simulations. The - the handprint, they must of been able to do that to us through one of the Runaways in the coma before me."

"Yeah, it was Maddie." Andy nods. "Caroline told me that Shane's simulation affected the garden. All of the flowers turned black and the lakes were filled with blood."

"Claire also told me that she was only able to get to me, because she found a way to sneak in with the scarecrows. She warned me that after a month, they're gonna stop with simulations. They're coming to the IRH, Andy. We only have three more weeks left."

Andy's eyes fill with horror and we both press the elevator button back down. "Crys."

"What?"

"It's been three weeks since you exited the simulation." He says quietly, looking down.

"What do you mean? I just got out, Andy."

"Crys. You woke up in a hospital bed, and you had cards and flowers everywhere in your room. Don't tell me you didn't see that."

I frown. "So is this not news to you?"

"No, no. It is, we must spread the news. But it's been exactly three months, and I believe that our time is almost gone, if what you're telling me is right."

We ride to the bottom and run out of the building. "We have to tell Caroline. We need to protect the borders."

We run to the office building and enter Caroline's room.

"Caroline." Andy says, out of breath.

The chair is facing it's back towards us, and we get no reply.

"Caroline, we need to lock down the IRH." Andy pants.

There's no reply once again, and we turn around thinking she isn't there.

Right when Andy and I are at the door, we hear the chair turn.

It turns slowly, but smoothly.

It isn't Caroline in the chair, it's the body of a dead teenage boy with his heart in his hand.

I try to call out Andy's name, but I can barely breathe. I'm in so much shock that I'm about to pass out. "A-Andy." I take a step back, eyes glued on this boy's lifeless face. "Who is - who is that?" I quickly focus my eyes on Andy's face, feeling sick to my stomach.

I see Andy's jaw tense up, eyes fixed on the bloody heart.

I exhale and close my eyes.

"It's Shane."

-----

Sorry for making this chapter the nastiest chapter in the history of nasty chapters. but this is like the biggest climax of the story - it's getting real up in here guys
-E