Jemma: This is the end. A pretty gruesome one, if I do say so myself. Thanks to everyone!
Mariah ran faster down the dark, cold hallways. Every creak, every shift of the massive hotel under the wind's assault caused her to nearly cry out in fear for being caught.
Their friend... How could she.. ?
Mariah searched her brain, but she couldn't find an answer. Just like she couldn't find another way out of this dream-turned-nightmare. But she had to... It was fight or flight, and when she was up against cold hard steel, ...Flight was always better.
Her breath was coming out in heavy pants now, despite her attempts to quiet it. Would Jemma hear...? Was she coming now?? Was she just waiting for Mariah to make a wrong turn somewhere???
The poor girl didn't know. Then, Mariah stopped solid as she heard distinct footsteps from around the corner of the ominous hotel.
Jemma... Jemma had found her!
Mariah gulped, shivering as she just edged a little closer to the wall and a few centimeters away from the corner. The pink-haired girl zipped her lips shut, squeezing her golden amber orbs closed and just praying, she would not die here tonight.
Her hand clenched around cold, heartless silver.
Jemma smirked to herself, her hand twirling the knife delicately and silently. Just around the corner; just around the corner, and everything would be right.
They made her do this.. They forced her hand. Jemma suppressed a sigh. It was hard... But this was what needed to be done.
Jemma clenched the knife tightly, as she turned the corner.
It happened so fast, that Mariah hardly knew what she'd done. The figure turned the corner, and Mariah leaped with a shriek.
Burying the letter opener deep into her chest.
Once Mariah had regained some consciousness, and as her vision adjusted outside of the fresh salty tears... Her heart dropped.
Emily gagged as she fell backward awkwardly onto the floor, clutching and grabbing at the murderous object embedded in her chest.
"..Emily...... I'M SO SORRY!" Mariah dropped to her knees by her injured friend, and scooped Emily's head into her arms. The look in Emily's eyes...
That surprise... The fear...
That wasn't supposed to happen!
Emily's body continued to jerk upwards slightly, blood spurting from around the edges of the embedded letter opener and soaking both Mariah and Emily grimly.
"You can't die! Emily, I'm so sorry!! I WON'T LET YOU DIE!" Mariah turned her attention to the opener, and grit her teeth as she gripped the end of the handle with two fingers and pulled ever so slightly.
Emily's scream was deafening, hoarse and chokey. The blood spurted faster and Mariah shrieked in fright at it, shaking violently with shock.
"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!" She gasped, her hand flinging backward from the letter opener and flying to Emily's cheeks.
Paleness was rapidly spreading... Mariah could tell, no matter how dark it was.
"Please don't leave me Emily... I'm so, so sorry..." Mariah muttered, her tears dripping from her trembling chin and rolling down Emily's cool cheeks, mixing with her own tears.
Emily's fading azure eyes just cast Mariah one sad look...
And then she was gone.
Mariah's cries that night became the loudest Jemma had ever heard. The ice-eyed girl sighed deeply with a smirk.
"Gotta say; Not bad. Thanks for doing some of my job for me."
Mariah's head whipped around to face her murdering specter, leaning against the corner in a very similar position to her ex boyfriend's.
Jemma just smiled; sinisterly.
"This is where you run."
Mariah was much obliged.
Without another glance to her fallen friend, Mariah jumped to her feet and bolted down the dark hallway.
Jemma stared after her, watching the neon pink of her hair disappear around a corner further down. That same cold, sinister smirk crossed her lips. Her grip tightened on her knife as she looked at Emily; sympathetically.
Then shot after Mariah like a bat out of hell.
Mariah, slowed by her sadness and confusion in the dark along with tear-failing vision, had only advanced about three corridors when she began to hear Jemma's fast footfalls close behind her. She choked down air as she ran, trying to find the strength to keep going; to keep pushing herself onward.
Jemma looked at a digital clock on the wall as she passed it; 11:35 PM. Going over everything in her mind. Hilary was the first to die; she was killed in the early morning. Next was Salima; that was dinner time. A few hours later and it had been Mariam, after about supper time. Then Emily; minutes ago.
'A truly excellent holiday to remember...' Jemma thought, a hint of bitterness in her mental voice. 'If only you'd all not been so greedy... If only you'd have accepted that just me and Kai were meant to be. You'd still be alive.'
Another thought struck Jemma as she continued to pursue Mariah down the corridors. 11:35... It had actually been a long time. She'd hoped to have been out of that damned building by 8.
Not so lucky. Especially with one on the run and the clock still ticking.
The extra motivation for meeting her deadline only pushed Jemma harder, and added speed to her chase.
Jemma's footsteps behind her had picked up a new pace, and Mariah let out a strangled cry as she found herself in the lobby once more; the large open lobby, with it's crying angel ceilings and it's fools gold appearance.
Mariah ran straight at the door once more, the one she'd tried earlier and found it locked.
Sadly, this attempt only brought upon the same discovery.
Mariah screamed in agony and fear, resorting once more to pounding her fists on the fancy wood and just willing it desperately to open. She wasn't ready to look death in the face... Not ready to die...
"LET ME OUT!" She screamed desperately, "I DON'T WANNA DIE!"
Mariah just continued to pound on the door, almost violently. She sunk to her knees, wet with tear and sweat. She was so preoccupied, that she didn't even notice Jemma advance till she was only about a foot away from her.
"You really are hopeless. And I would've thought of that before you scammed on Kai."
The White Tiger female's head whipped around to face Jemma, but only for a second. The shine of the knife Jemma had raised above her was too much for Mariah to bear; so she looked away.
Waiting for the inevitable hit.
Waiting for the end to come.
Waiting for nothing.
Waiting to die.
"Goodbye, Mariah. Burn in hell, skank."
...It never came.
As soon as Jemma had said those words, Mariah had expected that blood rusted knife to come down and cause her a world of pain, before a world of loneliness; so much that she'd even physically flinched as she heard the air around Jemma's moving arm.
But it never came.
Though something else did.
Mariah heard something heavy fall to the floor, like wood.
She opened her teary golden eyes and looked up.
Jemma stood staring straight ahead... Blood beginning to drip down her forehead.
A second later, she fell forward. Mariah screamed and crawled to the side, making sure the body of her would-be killer didn't so much as touch her ever again. Once she'd stopped shaking, she looked outward from her position. Just a meter to her left, there was a fancy wooden chair lying toppled, almost broken.
In front of her, behind where Jemma had been, Mariam now stood, breathing heavily and holding her side and stomach tightly.
"..Mariam... MARIAM!" Mariah screamed, leaping to her shaky feet and looping her hurting friend's arm over her shoulders.
"We've gotta... Get outta here.. We've gotta get help..." Mariam muttered. Her now-light green eyes were focused on the body of her attempted murderer. Mariah's amber eyes scanned her savior up and down, before looking back at Jemma as well.
Mariam had trickles of tears running down her pale face. Then, finally after about a minute of silence.. The girls heard something they'd only prayed for these last few hours.
Voices. Heavy machine sounds. Cars. Horns. An ambulance maybe.
Mariah looked at Mariam as they started to laugh; then up at the clock.
12:01.
They'd survived the Valentine's Day massacre.
At least, that was what the papers had called it. Mariam sighed deeply, still staring out at the snowflakes from the BBA building windows.
Who know losing your murderous, killing best friend would still be painful?
"Hey. Drink?"
Mariam looked up at Mariah, who wore a sad smile, and handed her a sparkling glass of champagne.
"Thanks. So.. I haven't seen him around the building tonight. Where is he?" Mariah sat down in the chair across from Mariam and gave her friend a lost look.
"..At her grave, I guess.... He goes every week. But tonight, I guess he wants to spend more time there..... I actually thought you'd be there too."
Mariam looked away from Mariah's searching golden eyes, and took a sip of her champagne.
"No. I couldn't. Besides.. She was kinda right.. Kai did Love her more than he'd cared for any of us."
Mariah sighed sadly.
"We should just be thankful that Hilary's cell had actually placed a 911 call before it went dead. It could be worse."
Mariam nodded weakly.
"Yeah. Happy Valentine's Day, Mariah."
"Happy Valentine's Day, Mariam."
SB: That's the end of this fic. Thanks to everyone who was a loyal reviewer! Hope you enjoyed it :)
