DAY 11

Anna slowly opened her eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling. The sun illuminated her bedroom much earlier than expected, and she had hoped to sleep longer than normal. Her entire body felt cold, and her limbs were numb from exhaustion and anger. As she sat upright slowly and looked around, she noticed there was no one else in the room. Yoh's chair was empty and rested on its side where she kicked it over the day before. She tried standing from her bed, but the task was much more difficult than she predicted. Once she was finally on her feet, she wrapped herself in a yellow robe and walked slowly to the door. When she exited her room, she was surprised by the silence that echoed down the hallway. She didn't want to talk to anyone else in the house anyway. In fact, she avoided everyone the day before and didn't speak a word except for an occasional, "Leave me alone," or "Don't talk to me." Yoh and Ren called her repeatedly on her cellphone, and she eventually turned it off from the stress. She needed to escape but didn't have the means nor the destination to flee to. She decided a hot shower would have to do.

The steam and heat from the shower awakened her senses and loosened her sore muscles. She felt almost refreshed. After brushing her teeth and pulling a brown dress over her head, she decided she needed breakfast. Her footsteps made random noises as they touched the wooden floor, and her pace increased as she descended the staircase. When she reached the dining room, she stopped short and dropped her hands to her sides with an irritated frown.

"Good morning, Anna!"

Tamao's voice was much more cheerful than necessary, and she was fully dressed: a pale pink collared shirt with denim jeans. Her hair was pulled back and twisted into a tight bun behind her ears, and she was exiting the kitchen with a tray in her hands.

"What...are you doing here?" Anna's anger rushed to her brain suddenly, causing brief hesitation in the middle of her question.

She placed the tray on the table and sighed. "I just wanted to talk to you. I tried calling, but you wouldn't answer."

Anna balled her hands into fists, but Tamao seemed to ignore her body language and continued.

"And, I tried to visit you yesterday, but Ren wouldn't let me in the house."

"What do you want?" Anna growled, almost interrupting her.

"Well, we've had a crazy week." Tamao replied in the same cheerful tone she started with. "Don't you think we need to talk? Everyone else is gone, so I figured it would be a good time for us to clear the air."

Anna folded her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Anna," Tamao pleaded. "I feel really bad about everything...and...I think we should talk about it. Plus, I probably owe you an apology."

"Probably?"

"Please, just sit with me."

Anna approached the table reluctantly and sat in the closest chair in front of her. Tamao sat across from her on the other side and removed a small cup from the tray.

"Tea?" she asked with a smile. "I made it a few minutes ago. It's hot."

"Whatever." Anna removed the other cup from the tray. She placed the cup in front of her as she waited for some of the steam to clear then took a few sips.

"I know you don't know him," Tamao started as she paused to drink from her cup, "but, Malken is so great. He's a wonderful friend, and he's a good man. He's very kind and compassionate, and he has a good heart."

"If he so great, why don't you date him?" Anna asked angrily.

"He's so good with his hands." She ignored her. "I mean, everyone knows he's great with wood and metal. He can make anything out of them."

Anna rolled her eyes and finished her tea, placing the cup delicately on the tray.

"More tea?"

"No."

"Well anyway..." Tamao continued happily. "...although he's great at making things out of wood and metal, he's a genius at other things. You'd be surprised to learn what else he can make."

"Get to the point." Anna lashed out at her suddenly as she dropped her fists onto the table.

"I'm at the point, Anna."

They stared at each other in total silence. Tamao's facial expression didn't change, and she stared into Anna's eyes blankly. Anna continued to frown at her with furious eyes until she suddenly grabbed her stomach.

"You didn't even taste it, did you?" Tamao's tone shifted suddenly into a sinister growl.

Anna placed her hands on the table and stared at her without speaking. Tamao didn't move and waited until she clutched her chest and began gasping for air before speaking.

"Malken told me a sad story once about his dog." She resumed her cheerful tone. "He was trying to come up with a way to clear his sinuses because all of the medicines doctors would give him gave him nasty side effects."

Anna opened her mouth slightly, but no words escaped them, and her face began to change into a bright red color as she struggled to breathe.

"He only had one ingredient left to add to his mixture," Tamao continued as she ignored Anna's display, "and, he was going to get it the next day at the market. But, his dog got into the bottles and swallowed one. Isn't that crazy?"

Anna hit the table with an open palm and began coughing and gasping rapidly as she rubbed her chest frantically and stared at the table.

"So the dog started gasping like he couldn't breathe," Tamao grinned, "and completely lost consciousness. The vet said he was out for thirty five minutes. When he woke up he started coughing up blood. The doctor told Malken there was nothing they could do because his organs began to liquefy. So the dog just drowned. Can you believe that, Anna? He drank three ounces of that stuff, and he was dead within two hours. Wasn't that a sad story?"

She continued gasping for air as her eyes began to redden from her straining. After gripping the edge of the table with one of her hands, she scratched her neck with the other and stared at Tamao with frantic eyes.

"All Malken wanted to do was clear his sinuses, but instead he came up with a remarkable poison."

Anna tried to speak again, but the sound escaped her mouth like a weakened moan. Tamao leaned forward slightly, and her expression morphed quickly into a malicious scowl.

"And, you just had eight ounces of it."

She couldn't seem to catch her breath, and a stinging pain resonated through her chest and stomach. After closing hers briefly, she met Tamao's eyes again and noticed she was staring at her with a blank expression.

"Are you okay, Anna?" she asked softly. "You don't look very good."

Anna fell out of the chair suddenly and landed on her stomach with her legs awkwardly crossed together. She tried to pull herself away from the table but couldn't crawl very far, and her body began to violently shiver. Tamao leaned back in her chair and began tracing the ring of her cup with one finger until she heard Anna scratching the floor with her fingernails. She waited a few more seconds and stared at the empty chair in front of her blankly before she stood and slowly walked to the other side of the table.

"What are you doing?" she asked her coldly.

Anna's moans sounded more desperate than before, and her gasping became more erratic. The scratching continued as if she were trying to crawl away from Tamao but could only move a few inches at a time.

"You know," Tamao said as she began pacing back and forth in front of her, "I tried to be nice to you. I really did."

She stopped pacing briefly to kick her in the side. Anna fell onto her back with her legs bent and stared at the ceiling with widened eyes.

"I pretended to like you to keep peace. You understand that don't you? But, I've always hated you, Anna. You had to know that. You had to see it."

Anna's rapid breathing caused her chest to move awkwardly against her ribcage, and she suddenly realized she was running out of air.

"Yoh was never going to have the guts to stand up to you. So, I had to help him. This way you won't interfere."

Tamao pulled her left arm and squeezed her hand. Anna tried to resist her, but she was too strong.

"I believe you have something that belongs to me," she growled as she pulled the ring viciously from her hand. When she released it, Anna's arm fell limply to the floor, and she blinked from the pain.

She placed the ring delicately onto her finger and stared at it for a few moments but was startled when Anna suddenly grabbed the leg of her jeans with one hand. Tamao took a step back and kicked her in the face with the other leg, and she released her grip.

"You're dying, Anna. You should just accept it."

Tamao stared at her silently and watched as her eyes began to fill with tears. She sat on her lap and pulled a few blond strands away from her face.

"I can see why he was smitten," she said softly. "You're a very beautiful woman. But, you can't give him what he needs. And, you can never love him the way I do. You have to understand; it's better this way."

Anna blinked a few times as the tears rolled down the sides of her face and into her hair. Her body felt paralyzed suddenly, and fatigue began to overwhelm her senses. Tamao leaned forward until she was on her knees and stared into her eyes. She placed her hands flat on the floor over Anna's shoulders and smiled at her. Anna's eyes widened with perceived fear as she kissed her lips softly, briefly brushing them with her tongue. She then leaned into her ear and whispered:

"Goodnight, Anna. I hope you wake up screaming."

Anna gasped softly a few times before she completely lost consciousness. Tamao stared into her eyes and smiled at her again then closed her eyelids with one of her hands. She sat on top of her in silence, staring at her motionless body until a voice startled her.

"What are you doing?"

Tamao lifted her head slowly and noticed Pirika standing several feet in front of her. Her eyes revealed shock, and there were two paper bags on the floor at her sides where she dropped them. A single orange rolled out of one of the bags and stopped at Anna's head.

"What are you doing here?" she growled and stood abruptly.

"What happened?" Pirika asked worriedly. "Is she okay?"

Tamao took a few steps back as Pirika knelt beside Anna and tried to wake her up.

"We have to get her to the hospital, Tamao!" she said fearfully. "She's barely breathing!"

"Why are you here?" Tamao seemed to ignore Pirika's plea, and her eyes narrowed as she slowly moved her hands behind her back.

"Listen to me, Tamao. We have to help her! We can't just-"

Pirika stopped short and stared at Tamao with an expression of mixed fear and confusion. Tamao's facial expression didn't change at all, and she took a few steps forward. Pirika hadn't payed much attention to Tamao's demeanor until this moment when she noticed the metal object in her hands.

"Where did you...get a gun?" Pirika whispered fearfully.

"Get up," she seethed, ignoring the question. "Get away from her."

Pirika stood slowly and took a few steps back with her hands in the air. "What is this?" she asked as her voice trembled.

"Why did you come here?" Tamao's voice elevated, and her hands began to tremble as she tightened her grip on the handle.

"You can't leave her here to die," Pirika whispered as her eyes began to fill with tears.

"You weren't supposed to be here," Tamao continued angrily. "No one was supposed to be here!"

"What did you do to her?" she whimpered as her tears choked her voice. "What did you do, Tamao?"

"I didn't want you to be a part of this!" Tamao screamed but quickly lowered her voice. "You shouldn't have come here, Pirika."

The silence overwhelmed the tension in the room, and Pirika was suddenly unable to stop the tears from streaming down her cheeks. She stared at Tamao sadly, but fear set into the pit of her stomach quickly, and she realized she was no longer having a conversation with her friend. She didn't know who this woman was in front of her. The only thing she was sure of was that she was standing there and was pointing a gun at her.

"Are you going to shoot me?" Pirika panicked suddenly as she swallowed hard. "That was your plan?"

Tamao didn't respond, and her eyes narrowed.

"Tamao!" she pleaded hysterically. "Please, please don't do this! You don't have to do this!"

"I'm sorry. I didn't want it to end this way, but you gave me no choice."

"No, no! I'm your friend, remember? You can't do this! Please, Tamao! Please!"

"I'm sorry," she repeated as her eyes began to fill with tears. "I'm sorry Pirika."

"NO!"

Two gunshots rumbled through the house violently, sending a haunting echo through the hallways, and complete silence consumed the rest of the air.