I don't own House of Anubis or any of the characters.
The End
We were standing there, bracing ourselves for what was coming. I was six again. I was sitting on top of the kitchen counter. Gran walked in with the first aid kit and healed my wound for tripping at the playground... I was nine. I stood in front if my parent's caskets. Gran held my hand... I was twelve. The girls at school called me an 'orphan.' I was crying... I stood there as I watched my life flash before my eyes.
What had happened? We have come so far now to meet the end. I remembered the day I arrived at the House of Anubis, the day that changed my life. I met Sarah and she pulled me into this mystery that is bigger than myself. I could see when she gave me the locket. It would protect me. It was mine.
"Ah. You are all so clever, aren't you?" He sneered as he cautiously walked further into the room, closer to us. "Especially you, Miss Martin." He said to me. Me. The one with the power. The Key.
How did I come to this? After all the riddles and clues, how could I have missed it? The truth was right in front of me. I remembered that first night I went up into the attic. My initiation. I saw a portrait of a girl. Sarah Frobisher-Smythe. The little girl who guided us. The one betrayed by her only friends for the secret. The orphaned girl. She kept me going. The girl was me, after all.
Now I stand here, beside my friends. The people who helped me in my quest. I heard Amber whimper at my right as Victor turned to look at her. I took her hand to comfort her. I remembered the day we met, when everyone hated me because they suspected me of kidnapping Joy. I won their hearts, one by one. We all grew closer as we solved every puzzle that led to another. Now, we're all friends about to die together, for each other.
"Stand aside and you'll all be free." He demanded.
"No!" I said. I moved farther away from him.
He laughed at me. "But it's your job. Your duty. Your destiny." I winced as his words ringed through my head. The truth I could not avoid—
"I would never help you." I told him, my voice slightly shaking as I stamped every word into the air, hoping it would leave enough mark to make it true.
He came closer and whispered into my ear, "You don't have a choice."
My body tensed. He could just reach out, grab hold and he would have Joy, but everyone shifted their stances towards him. I could feel the intensity in the air, of their glares, of those cries of attack building in their chests. And I knew that he knew. One wrong move and we would all take him down. He slowly backed away, a grimace on his pointy face. I felt Fabian's hand search for mine. I held it and entwined our fingers. Fabian, my friend, who stood with me through thick and thin. I remembered when he was the only one who defended me. He was the first one to know. The first one I could trust. He never gave up on me. He kept me sane through everything we've been through.
Victor looked at me, straight in the eyes. Black to blue. Old to new. Both tired. Both determined. With a swift motion of his hands, he snatched the locket around my neck, and the chain snapped. "Rather beautiful this is." He said as he turned it around in his fingers, completely ignoring my protest. "Eye of Horus." He whispered to himself. I could see it glinting in the light that escapes into the tiny window of the dark cellar. The ruby center almost as if glowing. He looked back at us, a disgusted look upon his face. "Give me the Chosen One!" He yelled, tired of our games.
"Over my dead body." Patricia murmured under her breath. In normal circumstances, I would have smiled at her choice of words, but not this time.
Victor caught that and eyed her menacingly. "Oh, won't you just wait, silly girl. That's coming."
"We're not going down without a fight." Mick declared as he shifted closer to the group. We all braced ourselves.
Victor scoffed, "It would be easy then, wouldn't it?" He threatened us, a wicked smile playing on his lips.
We slowly crept closer to each other, enforcing the wall we made around Joy. A fortress made of us. Victor didn't miss that. His eyes narrowed. "You can still die, Victor." Mara's soft voice surprising all of us, but we didn't dare look away from him. "You are just extending your youth, not strengthening your immunities and defenses." I could see Jerome and Alfie bite back the laughter. It was hardly the time. I knew they were amazed as I was for Mara standing up to Victor.
"You fool. You think you know everything," He said to her with a jab of his finger. At the corner of my eye, I saw Mick take Mara's hand. "Well, I know more than you'll ever do!"
"Isn't it sad," Fabian spoke, and Victor turned to look at him. "I just feel sorry for you. You didn't have a happy life, did you? Not happy enough to want to stay forever." Fabian taunted him bravely, trying to save Mara from Victor's wrath. I squeezed his hand and gave him a look that says 'shut up.'
Victor raised his hand to strike. "How dare—"
"But it's true," I cut him off. "Your 'Sir' was never proud of you." I tried to say something worse, more hurtful than what Fabian said, so Victor would at least spare him. He didn't say anything. No words would suffice. He just glared at me, nostrils flaring. I could see it in his eyes, in his face. The hurt, the anger searing at my low blow.
I stood there, bracing myself for what was coming. I closed my eyes. I heard a loud beeping noise, but I ignored it. It was irrelevant to the current situation.
I knew it was coming. Death. I pushed him too far. I took a deep breath, marveling at the miracle and mystery of life. And I was suddenly hyperaware of every fiber of my being. I could feel the rise and fall of my chest with every unsteady breath. The slip and slide of my dress as I moved. The loud bounding of my heart as it echoed in my ear, knowing it will all soon still. There was not one second to spare. Not one second to run, to hide, to live. Not one second to say goodbye. It was over. I failed. I'm so sorry, Sarah. One last breath, one last beat. I opened my eyes and there it was. Two black beady eyes staring at me. I could see the raven. The black bird. I knew my end was near. The last thing I felt was Fabian's hand wrapped tightly, protectively around mine. The last real thing.
I woke up, screaming at the top of my lungs.
