C h a p t e r / S e v e n

( There's Nothing Left For You Here )


Peach's pink heels clacked against the floor, hastily negotiating a series of black-and-white paving slabs, a pastel-painted suburbia that grew eerily dark and foreboding by nightfall; she thanked her lucky stars she knew how to run in heels without falling. Even so, she couldn't avoid stumbling on things, fear creating insurmountable objects that rose high above her head. Every step had her heart in her mouth and her ears strained to hear footsteps behind her. Her vision was hazy underneath the artificial lamplight that showered the sidewalk, tears welling up at the corners of her baby blues. She felt like collapsing, but forced her shuddering body to keep moving. Right foot, left foot, and repeat.

When did running become so hard?

Her side hurt and she felt sick, the overcast sky hung heavy at her shoulders weighting her down so she very nearly fell and couldn't get back up again. She laid there, her feet tired, and bile rising up her throat and burning like acid. The footsteps were enough to pull her upright once more, chest heaving up and down and tears slicing paths down her ivory cheeks, over the curve of her cheekbones. It was a while before her eyes adjusted, she finally realized that it was raining. Her dress began to dampen and stick to the curves of her body, draining what was left of her body heat. Her hair was matted, body trembling, shoes sliding messily against the wet sidewalk. She scrambled hurriedly back to her feet, slipping in the process, she started to run again but this time it seemed a lot harder then before.

She choked back fear as she continued to slip and slide and fall to the sidewalk, over and over again. She screamed as her leg twisted back up against the dead weight of her body, an awkward angle that her body did not approve of. Nerve endings on fire with so much pain, falling backwards with fear painted across her face – arms flailing, mouth screaming, and all he could do was watch. The footsteps came closer, inside her head, under her skin, loud thunks. A noise even louder than the beat of her own heart. She desperately tried to crawl away, fingers digging into nothing, helplessly trying to pull herself away from the predator behind her. Her dress was completely soaked with more then just water, teeth biting at her lip as she yelped in agony, trying to inch herself forward without much luck.

She eventually gives up, her head smacking against the pavement, ready to meet her end.

The footsteps eventually come towards her, stopping at her head, and she can hear him breathing. It didn't take him long to come over here, did it? Peach lets out a series of 'please' and 'don't's, mixing them up and she assumed that everyone that was murdered probably used those words a lot before they died. Peach whimpers, she doesn't want to die, not yet. Mario stands before her, looking like he's waiting for something, and Peach wonders if that she screamed that anyone would hear her. Not likely, thunder is roaring in the background, and Peach's soft voice can't carry itself that far.

This is the end.

End.

She wished so much that her death would be peaceful.

"End of the road, huh?" Mario asks, grinning his sadistic grin and Peach is at a loss for words right now. He's attempting small talk? Oh god, just end it now, please. Of all the times to be nice, don't choose now, Peach realizes now why Luigi always flinches when Mario makes a sudden movement. Why didn't she see this before? Her childish infatuation with Mario clouded her judgement completely, and now it looks like it will be the end of her. "What? You don't you want to talk to me? That's mean Peach." Mario says, putting on a fake frown for a few minutes before his deranged smile comes back.

"Mario..Please, let me explain..." Peach begs, voice faltering and dying, not finding the strength in her lungs to beg anymore.

"Peach," Mario says, venom seething through her name. "There's nothing left for you to say that can fix your foolish mistake." Peach wails, Mario looks away for a minute, looking to see if there is anyone around.

No words are left, she can't say anything to save her now, not anything. She doesn't stop him as he walks behind her, Swiss army knife in hand, holding it to her pale neck.

"Say your sorry."

And softly, she did.

The end came anyway.

* * *

Luigi crawls into the living room, to weak to actually get up and walk on his feet, he walks towards the table. The telephone sitting on it idly, waiting, Luigi stops to stare at it and debates on weather or not it's worth it to call the police and potentially danger is own life in the process. He pulls himself up, balancing himself on his knees and grabbing the telephone carefully, as if it were a bomb and it would blow up if you weren't to careful with it. He places it on his lap, drumming his fingertips against the surface. He should call, but what if Mario's already hurting her now? What if it's already to late? But he just left, so that wouldn't be a possibility, shouldn't, that is. The chilly thought of Mario coming back to finish him off flickered through his mind quickly, Luigi can't make up his mind, and this is the worst possible time for being indecisive.

Mario seems to have bolted the front door while he was outside, so Luigi can do everything else except for run out and scream to the neighbors for help. Not that they would do much anyway, they never have. Luigi picks up the phone, fingers trembling with fear, the whole house smells of blood. He knows, that somewhere, Peach is dead or dying. Luigi can feel tears falling from his eyes, sinking into the fabric of the carpet underneath him. He wants to save her, he really does, but the only thing stopping him from doing so is himself.

The fact that he might die too.

He's never felt so selfish.

And Peach was so sweet to him, the only one that was sweet to him, the only one he actually felt....

He needs to tell someone, he needs to save himself, he can't stay here. Not anymore, not for another year, this place will be the death of him...

There's nothing left for him here.

Mario has already taken so much from him, so much, he can't just let him take every little thing he has left. There's hardly enough.

Luigi picks up the phone, it shakes in his nervous hand, he dials the number up to the last '1'. He smacks the phone back down onto the receiver, disconnecting the phone by yanking by the cord and ultimately ended up throwing at the wall. He knows it's probably a bad idea, but he knows something that might be able to save himself after all. Even if he couldn't save Peach, he'd be able to save himself from this long nightmare. He apologizes to Peach in his prayer.

I'm sorry....I wasn't brave enough to die with you....


sorry for all that repeating and rambling. DX