Emily POV

The raven's begun another dreadful act, lately, with such gusto it frightens me. This morning, when I woke up, it was on my chest again. But I'd had such a peaceful sleep, only to be disturbed by a crushing weight. I was angry. I forced my limbs into action, lashing out at the shadowy figure, complete with furious snarls and unladylike grunts. But my hands simply passed through it aimlessly, becoming cold as ice and shaking violently. The raven still lay, watching me with yellow-rimmed eyes of deep pleasure. I very nearly screamed.

Then I began trying to heave myself up, fighting it, propping my body up with my elbows as far as I could. It squawked in anger, and a grim smile set across my face. I don't know how long I tried to sit up, minute step by minute step, but in the end, the raven swiveled around and bit deep into my wrist.

I did scream that time, in pain, and for a brief while, the raven disappeared in my new, sharpened by adrenalin world. I muffled myself, aware of my mom downstairs, and took several deep breaths, cradling the pain, before terrifiedly glancing at my wrist. There was just not one bite. A multitude of scratches, some bloody, some white and faded, some scabbed over, patterned my left wrist. I gasped. Everything swirled violently around, shock tainting my sense of reason and judgement. I felt like I was going to puke. And then, thankfully, merciful blackness fell before my eyes and I passed out.

When I woke up, Spencer was there, and the raven was on my toes, grinning maliciously. I blinked at Spencer, frustrated that due to her presence, I wouldn't be able to examine the mysterious, sinister scratches all over my wrist. She looked up, and nodded to me. "Hey, Em. Anything I can get you?"

I gave her a long look, wondering of all the things she could possibly have gotten me, and then leaned forward. "Food without pills in it." I said wearily.

She gazed back at me, with deep eyes that reflected my own misery, and got up wordlessly. Five minutes later she was back, with a plate of Pop-Tarts. She laid them onto my lap, and strode back to her studies. "And how do I know these don't have pills in it?" I challenged.

"I just made them." She said matter-of-factly, not taking her eyes off her work. "You might have to trust me."

There was sarcasm riddling the latter sentence, and I scowled, facing off the Pop-Tarts before me. Before I knew it, spit was gushing into my mouth, and my stomach was growling. "Can I?" I asked. "And don't give me an answer like of course you can like all the therapists do. I'm not stupid. I can't trust them because they're the ones trying to force those damn pills down my throat in the first place."

Spencer looked up this time, and instead of blathering ahead like she usually did, bombarding me with endless reasons as to why I should trust her, she stood up, grabbed a Pop-Tart, and took a bite out of it. I watched on as she did the same with all six she had given me. "Safe to eat." She mumbled through the food.

I inhaled deeply in satisfaction, and proceeded to wolf the pastries down. It took all of two minutes. Spencer had the grace to look surprised. "Want some more?"

I nodded. She trailed back to the kitchen, and this time brought back a bowl of fresh fruit topped with yoghurt. To prove another point, she chucked a slice of banana into her mouth, swallowed it with a mock-jovial expression, and handed the bowl to me, with a fork. With a heavy heart, I dug in. "You didn't answer my question." I said blatantly, when I was done.

"What question?"

"Can I trust you?"

Her lips sealed over, and she swallowed carefully, poised as ever. "I gave you that food, didn't I?"

"I'd like an answer." I retorted.

Her fingertips began drumming against the surface of her satchel, imperceptibly. She took one deep breath. "Yes." She whispered. "You can trust me."

"Good."

It was only a simple question, but Spencer looked like she'd just been shot. She cleared her throat and stared down at the laptop again. I continued spooning yoghurt out of the bowl absentmindedly with my fingers. The raven was still watching me. And I could tell Spencer couldn't see it, as her hand was right next to it without any problem. I sighed.

Spencer abruptly closed her laptop, and came to sit on my bed for no apparent reason, gnawing on her lip. I watched her, half-interested, and carefully pushed my left arm down further into the sheets . She didn't need to see the scratches.

"Emily." Spencer whispered again. "Do you ever think A's still out there?"

That was a loaded question if I ever heard one. "No." I said firmly. "Mona's in the ward now."

"That's not what I meant. What if A wasn't just Mona? What if there was more than one person behind it?"

"Well, no ones come after you, I, Hanna or Aria. Right?"

"Mmm." She murmured. "But what if there was... and they wanted to hurt us?"

I laughed. I laughed right then, but it didn't come out how I wanted it to. It was dry and crackly and filled with bitterness and anger. "Oh, they want to hurt us, do they?"

"I didn't say that-"

"You did. Well, Spencer, they could hurt you and Toby all they wanted, but the thing is, they can't even lay a finger on me." I drawled. "Want to know why?"

Spencer hung her head and squeezed her eyes shut. "I know, Emily, I know."

"They can't hurt me, because I have nothing else to lose."

The words floated out into the open, turning the air cold and dark once again. Goosepimples rose on my arm, and I swore I could feel a chill breeze in the room, even though all the windows were shut. The raven squawked again, and fluttered up into the air, jumping onto my bedpost above my head. I felt nauseous instantly.

But it was the truth, and both I and Spencer knew it, even though her face was the picture of despair. She scrunched her hands up, pulling away from me. "I'm so sorry." She said thickly. "I just have one more question."

"Go for it."

"What if... you lost me?"

"I'd miss the food." I said blandly, and continued licking the yoghurt bowl.

It wasn't a joke, yet Spencer's mouth curled up at the side and she shook her head fondly. "Seriously."

"I don't like to think about losing people much." I replied, and to end the conversation, I turned onto my stomach and closed my eyes.

Spencer accepted that and went back to her work. But five minutes later, she was back again. "Emily." She said softly. "Are you awake?"

I pretended to be asleep. I breathed in and out peacefully, and closed my eyes, and tried to even my lips out of my usual scowl. Somehow, it worked. Spencer made a quiet noise of annoyance, and as my eyes were closed, I couldn't see what happened next. All I heard was the soft crinkle of expensive paper, and the slight hiss of a shiny surface against said paper. I rolled over and opened my eyes quickly, though it used all my energy.

Spencer froze, guilt obvious on her face, gripping a piece of paper in her hands. She tried to crumple it, but I raised a hand and snatched it away. "What's this?"

She tried to yank it back desperately, and I grabbed it with both hands this time, seizing it back. She let go. A minor victory won. However, she pointed to my wrist. "What's that?"

Now it was my turn to freeze with guilt, and glance down at my bloody arm. "Emily!" Spencer whispered sharply, shuffling closer on the bed.

She grabbed my hand and drew it out slightly, and I winced at the feeling of the covers against my arm. "Em, Em, Em, no." She moaned. "No. No, you can't be doing this, Emily, please."

I stared at her vacantly, feeling hollow yet again inside, despite the hastily gulped food. "What's this from?" Spencer asked, letting my wrist flop back down onto the covers.

I knew I couldn't answer it was the raven. I simply stared back. "Emily." She said again, and leant forward to touch my face.

"Don't touch me!" I snarled, and slapped her away.

She leapt back, cradling her face, with an utterly wounded look, and I threw myself back into bed, not willing to talk to her. She'd pushed the boundaries. She'd gone too far. And she knew it.

I grabbed the letter again and brought it to my face, speed-reading it. She was too shocked to even attempt to snatch it away from me again.

Did you really think I was gone, Spencer? Deary me. I wouldn't suspect you of being as naïve to follow with everyone else in that belief. After all, you're the detective.

Keep reading. I'd like you to do some things for me. If you tell anyone else about this, I'll hurt you in ways you can't imagine. No, moreover, I'll hurt Emily in ways you can't imagine.

I always knew you had it in you to join the A team. And if not, perhaps a bit of motivation is required. Welcome to my world, darling Spence. If you're in the A team, you have to prove your worth. Your test is to steal Emily's diary. Whether you read it or not is up to you. Take it, and deposit it in a clear plastic bag under the bench by the population sign just out of town at 6:00pm on Friday. Therefore, you have three days. Should be easy enough for you.

Toodle-pip, sweetie!

-A

P.S. If you don't believe that I have ways of hurting Emily, perhaps you'll respond to the little persuasions I've enclosed.

"So A's back." I said emotionlessly. "I knew it."

Spencer had her hands pressed to her rapidly reddening cheek, and her eyes were watery. "You were not supposed to find out."

"What, or they'll hurt me in ways you can't imagine? Did you not hear our earlier conversation? They can't hurt me anymore."

"Yes, but they will hurt me."

"How?"

"By hurting you physically." She muttered, avoiding my eye.

I tutted in disgust, and threw the paper away. "You were going to do it."

"No, I wasn't!"

I glared at her and she shook her head vehemently. "Emily, you know me. I'm Jane Bond, remember? I was thinking of a way to fight my way out of it."

The plea made sense. Spencer is never one to bend to anyone else's will. She fights you ever single step of the way for anything that will cause her trouble. Tooth and nail. But I wasn't going to allow her to admit she was right. "Then what do we do?" I asked hoarsely.

For once, she had no idea.

I'm sorry this has been so long coming... there's been no internet where I've been staying! :/ I hope you enjoy, suggestions are always always welcome. Please review, reading them honestly makes my day so much better. I might even have a chapter up tomorrow if I get more than ten ;) sorry it's taken so long! Hope you all had a brilliant Easter and are enjoying your vacations as much as you can. :D