Set five years after the mystery of -A was solved, a fresh batch of teens are settling into Rosewood High. With the small, quiet town seemingly back to the way it once was, a mysterious chain of events causes three new students to have their feathers rustled. Together they must unite to figure out who is causing trouble and who is transforming into Rosewood's new -A
~ C For Corruption ~
Chapter Twenty-One:
Prologue
It's like the world is spinning. She's on a roller coaster ride going several miles per hour. She's drifting on a thin layer of ice with nothing but a dark abyss beneath her feet. She's lost.
"Because I love you," Liam repeats.
Olivia digs her nails into her palm, trying to calm the anger building inside her. "And I love you too." She gulps. "Loved." She closes her eyes but still sees his face. Kissing her. Hugging her. Cuddling her. She can't fight back against the memories that her mind plagues her with. "If you loved me, why this? Why kidnap me?"
Liam runs his fingers through his hair gingerly. "It's a long story. I remember seeing you in the halls at school. You were gorgeous. Beautiful. Stunning in every single way. I just had to go up to you and talk to you."
"What do you mean by that?"
He gulps. "Remember when you met for the first time in the hallways? I said that Josh sent the text asking for you to meet up with him, but he got shy and walked away." Olivia begins shaking her head. The truth sinks in and she feels like her throat is closing in.
"You.." she mutters. "You little.."
"I sent that message," chirps Liam, crossing his arms.
"It was Josh."
She spins around in horror, coming face to face with a thin, blonde boy with piercing blue eyes.
"I heard him, uh... whispering with some guys and.." he gulps, staring into her eyes. "He.. and his friends were just pranking you. They said they weren't going to show up and let you wait here for no one. They're jerks!"
"And you are?" asks Olivia.
"Liam. I'm in your same class year so we might be in a few classes with each other if we're lucky- oh, uh.."
"Well, thank you for telling me anyway. I appreciate it!" pipes Olivia, passing Liam "I'll see you whenever I see you again. Bye."
"Does that explain the text about you going to the Halloween dance with two guys?" Liam asks. Olivia blankly stares at him. She remembers the text perfectly and it bounces around in her head.
Two dates to the dance? Whores never get to keep their secrets safe. -A
"How did you know?"
"What do you mean?" Liam questions her. "Hidden cameras and sound recorders in your room. Duh."
"How did you break into my house?!"
"Um.. I just did."
Olivia leans forward and grips onto his suit, pulling him up close and personal. "Why on Earth did you do this to me?!"
"Isn't it obvious? Scaring you shitless only pulled you closer to me! Look, just weeks ago you were crying in my arms, hugging me, and you almost kissed me!" He pauses, breath running dry. "You almost kissed me. You didn't even kiss me once, Olivia. This game could have stopped at the dance if you didn't try and get flirty with Josh! We could have been in love together and forever!"
"How could you do this to me?!" Olivia yells in his face. "If you love someone, you don't stalk them and attack them! You don't give them scars and attempt to bury them!"
Liam forces her hand off of his suit and breaks free from her grasp. "That wasn't me."
Olivia shakes her head. She grits her teeth, and with as much force as possible, slaps him straight across the face. "You lying pig! Tell me why you went after Jax and Cassie too!"
"Ow!" he exclaims, rubbing his face. "I just told you! It wasn't me!"
"Speak up then!" she continues to roar. Her hand grips onto his hair and she pulls him forward as he winces in pain. Slowly and quietly, "September. October. November. December. You have ruined four months of my life with someone else. My life. Cassie's life. Jax's life. You tell me right now; who..
She yanks his hair and he lets out an agonizing sound.
"..is.."
She leans up into his face and stares him dead in the eye. Both of them looking straight at one another.
"-A?"
She catches Liam's eyes rolling off to the right. No time to react. The towel wraps around her face and the horrid smells run straight up her nostrils like daggers. She begs for air. Her voice muffles like she's underwater. No one can hear her scream. No one can help her. Her grip on his hair loosens immediately. Hands wrap around her body and she's pulled backwards. Slowly, Liam's face fades into black and Olivia is left unconscious in Red Coat's arms.
The last thing Jax remembered was when he fell asleep. His vision adjusts to the new cold grey setting. The room is nearly identical to Valerie's prison of sorts, all except one thing; the two glass windows on either side of him. Through the left, Cassie is bounded to a stool in thick chains. Through the left, so is Olivia who just starts to open her eyes.
He wiggles around in his chair, trying to loosen the chains strapping him down. In front of Jax, a small black television is stuck to the wall. It flashes to life with red text sprawling over a black background.
Hello, Jax. Would you like to play a game?
In front of you on your desk is two buttons-
Jax looks down at the buttons. A blue button with a label reading Cassie and a red button with a label reading Olivia.
You will have 15 seconds to decide by pressing either button who will receive -A special prize. But remember, not all surprises can be good... You will have three rounds to go through. You can skip just one round by not pressing any buttons, meaning nobody will get a surprise. However, once your skip is gone, if you still decide to not press a button - all three of you will receive the special prize.
Game on, bitch.
-A
Panic begins to fall over him as 15, 14, 13... starts flashing across the screen. He looks up above him wear a small vent leads up into the ceiling. Directly above him. "Where are we?" Olivia yells.
"Listen guys!" Jax roars.
"No!" screams Olivia. "I have to tell you all something very important-!"
"You must listen!" Jax continues. "I have two buttons, one for both of you. There's a television screen giving me instructions. I must pick one person to receive a special prize.
12, 11, 10...
"A prize?" Cassie says. "Pick me then."
"No! It might not be a good surprise!"
"Oh. Don't pick anyone then."
"If I do that, we skip the round, but I can only skip one round!"
9, 8, 7...
"If I skip more than one round, then we all get the surprise! Help me! I'm freaking out!"
"Skip the round!" shouts Olivia.
"No!" Jax yells. "We can't skip it straight away!"
"Why not?" asks Cassie.
6, 5, 4..
"I don't have time!" Jax screams as loud as he can, sweat running across his forehead. "Cassie, I'm sorry. I have to pick you because you told me to pick you first!"
"What?!" she shrieks.
3..
"That was before I knew that the surprises might not be good!"
2..
"I'm sorry.." Jax mouths.
1..
He slams his hand down on the blue button and the air goes silent. Cassie squeals in her seat, attempting to cover her face as the chains pull her arms back down. Jax takes in deep breaths as the long pause plays through. Olivia tuts.
"Guys, -A is just trying to scare us. Nothing is going to happen. I need to tell you something really-"
Suddenly, bright pink, fluffy cotton candy rains down on Cassie's head. She gasps, screams, then stops as she stares at it around her feet. "Oh.. What the.."
The television screen flashes to life again.
15, 14, 13...
"I'm not picking anyone!" Jax cries. "It was a good prize first. Obviously it's going to be a bad one next."
"What if it just wants you to think that-" Cassie says as she barrels the cotton candy into her mouth, "-and then the prize is actually good? Don't skip the round. Pick me. We could get more treats."
12, 11, 10..
"You really think that -A is trying to give us treats? I'm skipping it."
"You heard her, Jax!" yells Olivia. "Just pick Cassie! If it is bad, then she'll be the only one to face the bad prize."
9, 8, 7..
Cassie gasps. "Rude!"
"Rude? What do you mean 'rude?'" Olivia asks. "You want to be the one to face it, so we should pick you!"
6, 5, 4..
"I told you guys, I am not picking anyone," Jax urges them both. "I can't risk it.
3, 2, 1..
Silence again. This time, the result comes quicker. More text flashes across the screen.
You have skipped this round. If you did press a button, either person would have gotten a bad prize. This time, you must press a button or all of you will receive the special prize. -A
15, 14, 13..
"Guys, it was a bad prize."
Cassie continues to scoff her cotton candy. "Which means the final one will be good, therefore you shouldn't press a button."
12, 11, 10..
"Are you insane?!" yells Olivia. "What if it actually is bad this time?"
"But what if it's good? We'll get triple the prizes."
9, 8, 7..
"And?! We could get triple the bad prizes!" exclaims Olivia. "Jax! Pick either one of us! Get this over with! I can't deal with this anymore!"
Jax looks down at the glistening buttons.
6, 5, 4..
The pressure swells up inside him. Just one decision. All he has to do is make one decision and it will all be over, no matter the results. Finally, the picks his choice in his mind and lets the countdown play out.
3, 2, 1..
"NO!" Olivia screams. "Now we're all going to get it! It's going to be bad!"
"Calm down. We'll be fine," Cassie soothes her. "Besides, we can all just blame Jax."
"Blame me? You guys were pressuring me!"
Cassie shoves the last bit of cotton candy in her mouth. "I ain't listening to you-"
She pauses. Olivia gasps. Jax jumps in his seat. Both of them stare at Cassie who is fully aware of what has just happened. The rat rests on top of her head, claws making their way down onto her forehead and digging into her flesh. She squeals, it scrambles over her body, then comes a second one. Then a third. Fourth. Fifth. They keep dropping like flies from the vent over her head.
"Oh my god!" yells Jax. That's her one phobia she told him before. Rats. Her biggest fear in her entire life. Olivia must know too because the fear strikes her instantly. Then come the eight-legged creatures, slowly falling down on top of her head. Big, black, hairy, juicy spiders. Both their screams fade into echoes as Jax goes numb. One thought keeps pounding in his head over and over again. How does -A know? Whoever -A is, they got two out of three right. And that must mean they might get the third right too.
Jax doesn't dare look up. He knows its coming. He shuts his eyes and tries to block out the noises and feelings. But nothing can work. The hissing rattles in his ears. The slippery skin tips off his neck. Soon enough, the slithering snake starts to travel on its journey across his chest. Under his right arm. That's not all. Two more drop down. Seconds later, a fourth one wriggles down.
The tears run down his cheeks, and when he finally peers his eyes open, two beady eyes and a wriggling fleshy tongue stare up at him.
Red Coat stares at her computer screen, grinning in delight at the three victims in their cells. A voice echoes from the corner of the room. Liam slowly walks out, arms folded.
"She knows it's me. Our plans of letting them back out have to be scrapped now. I'll be arrested for the kidnapping."
Red Coat perks her head up away from the laptop and turns to Liam.
"We have no other choice," he continues. "We must keep them in here until death."
Coming soon on C For Corruption:
Three students.
Cassie screams in terror, hands shaking as the blood drips from her.
Two stalkers.
Liam smirks as he walks down the sidewalk with Red Coat.
One gAme...
In just two weeks, the story shall end, and you will know...
Olivia collapses to the ground in exhaustion, panting mercilessly.
WHO..
"Wait up!" Jax yells as he sprints through the narrow corridor.
IS..
Red Coat slowly turns around to the trio.
-A!
"How could you do this to me?!" yells _.
Author's Note:
AAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!
Hello everyone! Welcome to the prologue to C For Corruption!
It's so nice to be back... but not for much longer. I am going to go off now and pace the remainder of the story, but to estimate, in less than 8 chapters, you will know who -A is! I am AIMING to post chapters regularly in order to finish the story soon. Guys, I've dragged it out for long enough. You deserve some answers! You deserve to know the truth!
YES, I have already told you one of the two -A's, and that is Liam. What do you think?! Not everything has been explained yet about him. Just wait. It's coming..
So Liam and his partner have both tortured the trio! It's pretty sad. :(
Okay.. Time for your theories: WHO THE FRICKETY FRICK IS -A?! XD
If you guessed Liam, congratulations. You have another shot though. WHO IS -A?! In my final chapter to the story, I will give everyone who submitted a character a nice shout-out, but a special shout-out to the person who correctly guesses -A.
I keep referring to Red Coat as a she, that's because of the long blonde hair... But as you know, anything could happen in Rosewood. I keep saying 'she' with the 'blonde hair' because that's what Red Coat looks like in the show. It COULD or COULD NOT mean -A is a blonde female. Who knows?!
So anyway.. This it it, everyone! We're coming to the end! It's sad but exciting. I can finally tell you all my plans that I've had since I posted this story in September 2015! So exciting!
I hope you all stay tuned for the END! ;)
Thank you all so much for reading, byeeeee! :D