The Second To Die

Guilt :Chapter 23

After the short questions from Emma, they had released me, stating that I had spent enough time pent up, that I needed the fresh air. I don't think they meant go to the one place where the air smelt of death. Walking into Noah's little room, I sighed, my head pounding from a light headache. 

I didn't want to go anywhere else and, I wasn't sure if I could talk to anyone but him right now. He was alive.

He was asleep, his chest the only thing confirming that he was in fact alive as it moved with his shallow breaths. Sighing, I pulled up a seat, taking his hand as I tried to keep the tears at bay. Taking his hand in mine, I drunk in the feel of his warm hand, the even pulse beneath his skin and how his mouth was open slightly, a small bit of drool dangling from his lip. This had been too close to being taken from me. I couldn't ever let that happen again. 

Keeping his hand in mine, I rested my head on the chair, closing my eyes and drifting off to sleep. 

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"Vex?" The a voice whispered, shaking me lightly. I popped my head up, scanning the room as the nightmare slowly faded from my mind, reality sinking in. I was still in the hospital, I was still with Noah. Glancing over at him, I saw a concerned look in his eyes as he gave my hand a small squeeze. "I thought I might lose my arm, you were clutching it so hard." I smiled sheepishly, letting go and dropping my hand to my lap, sitting up farther. 

"Sorry, bad dream." His eyes became weary as he nodded, his head lying back on the pillow. "I wanted to talk to you. To see how you were doing?" His eyes closed, his body tensing and I immediately regretted asking.

"Guilty. I feel it guilty." He whispered. "I lived while she died? How is that fair? How is that alright by her?" He shook his head lightly. "She deserved better." I wanted to take his hand, to tell him everything would be alright but it wouldn't because I knew exactly what he was talking about. The guilt would never leave. So, I did the only thing I could. I told him the truth. 

"The guilt will come and go and you'll never truly be able to escape it. You have to know though that Zoey's fate was sealed the minute she was taken. He had planned what was going to happen before he even took her. You couldn't have stopped him." I reached forward, taking his hand now and forcing him to look at me. "But what you can do, is remember her. Remember every fond moment with her and make sure she lives on in memory. Honor her. Don't let him win." Sadness crept into his gaze as he nodded, squeezing my hand. 

"How do you handle it? How does it not break you?" He asked softly. I sighed. 

"It does. It did. It broke me when I had the breakdown in school. It broke me when I nearly killed Hayley and it broke me when I nearly killed Emma." Tears pricked my eyes. "It breaks me whenever I try to shove it down into a pit. I have to acknowledge it or otherwise, I break." I looked him dead in the eye. "Acknowledge that it's there, but don't let it control you." I said. Noah nodded one last time before releasing my hand.

"I think I want to be alone, just for a little. I want to do a final podcast. For Zoey." He whispered. Carefully, I stood from my seat. 

"I think that's a great idea." Leaning down, I pressed my lips to his cheek before backing away. "I'm going to go check on Wes, I'll be back soon." I watched as Noah reached over on the bedside table, grabbing his laptop before I left, headed down the hall to where the sound of old cartoons filtered out. Wes was perched on the edge of the bed, his leg in a cast and a dead look in his eyes as he stared up at the small screen. I knocked lightly on the door, grabbing his attention. To my relief, a small smile spread on his face. 

"Hey Vex." He said softly. Without hesitation, he scooted over, making room for me to walk over and sit beside him. "How's life?" He asked. I smirked before taking a deep breath, resting my head on his shoulder. 

"Terrible, you?" I inquired. He gave me a sly grin. 

"Happy to be alive. Thanks for not killing me." I rolled my eyes, grabbing his arm. 

"Wouldn't have anyway." I stated truthfully. His shoulders lifted up in a sigh before sagging down. 

"Really, I mean it. It would have been the easy way to save Noah. Kill me and he would have been safe, guarranted." Lifting my head, I caught his eyes. 

"It would never have been easy, Wes. I would have had to kill a friend." I said. His eyes softened a bit before he reached over, pulling me into a hug. 

"I think I like that, us being friends I mean." I sighed, chuckling lightly. 

"I think I like that too, it suites-" From in my pocket, Wes's phone began to ring. 

"Is that mine?" He asked. I nodded, pulling it out of my pocket and looking at the caller ID. It was from my phone. 

"I've got to take this." I say, standing from the bed and making my way to the door, not bothering to look back as Wes tries to get me to stay. 

"Hello?" My voice shakes as I answer the phone, knowing what awaits me on the other line. 

"They can pretend all they want to Vex but, your friends? They think you're a monster." The killer's voice was amused as he taunted me. I felt my blood begin to boil. 

"I'm going to kill you." I threatened. 

"First you have to find me. Of course, a little old barn with the sweet princess's daddy may be a great place to start." Confusion swept over me. 

"What do you mean?" I asked. He chuckled on the other end. 

"Better hurry. Use that brain of yours." He said, then the call ended. I slammed my fist against the door in frustration, causing a passing nurse to jump back in surprise before scuttling off. I gave Wes one last look, one that I hope conveyed the million "I'm sorry's" that I wanted to say. I could hear him calling me all the way to the front door. 

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The old James barn was the only place I could think of as I speed down the road, my mind racing at a million different possibilities. The mayor was the target and, much like Zoey, he could already be dead and, I could just be walking into another dead body. My foot pressed on the gas harder. He couldn't be. Brooke has lost too much, she couldn't lose her dad too.  

My mind was screaming that something was very wrong with this, all until I pulled in behind the barn. Then my head went silent. All I could hear was the heavy beating of my heart as I got out of my car, not a single weapon in my hands. There was a small light in the barn and, the sound of a phone text notification. Quickly and quietly, I made my way to the back barn door, peering inside between the boards. There, the mayor stood, typing something into his phone before a dinging went off. 

"Mayor Maddox!" I exclaimed, throwing open the doors. He looked up in surprise to me before turning around. 

I felt the warning cry build into my throat, just before the killer jammed a pitchfork into the Mayor, pushing him forward until he was just a few feet from me. The warning cry turned into a scream as I watched the mayor slump to the ground, the pitchfork sticking up from his body. 

The killer looked to me, disregarding the body entirely as he lunged. I quickly dodged his attack, turning back to face him and sending a straight jab to his face. My fist reflected off the mask but, I heard a hiss of pain from below it. Taking my shot, I ran forward, tackling him down to the ground and pinning him, pressing my elbow into what I knew was the wind-pipe. 

"Time to end this!" I shouted. I heard the barn doors behind me open. 

"Vex?" I turned to see Audrey and Emma standing in the door. It was long enough of a distraction that I felt him move too late. He pushed me off, sending me sprawling and then he was gone. 

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Crappy update but good news, I have the rest of the book planned out so writing will be a lot smoother! So excited!