AN: Alright, Alright!
I'm still bad at anons. Oh well xD
Enjoy the chapter.
Rose was the last one to get dropped off by Anna.
She took a deep breath and turned her head to Anna. "Goodbye." Rose said.
Anna gave Rose a weak smile and said, "Bye," back.
Rose then opened the car door and stepped out. Before she could close it, Anna called out for her.
"Rose!"
She turned to her. She was silent as she waited for Anna to speak.
"Be safe." Anna said in a soft tone.
Rose nodded. "Back at you."
Anna smiled the smile again but this time it seemed more genuine.
Rose smiled back and closed the door. She then started to walk up her driveway and to her front door.
She looked to the road in time to see Anna's car turn out of the street and disappear behind more houses.
Rose then turned back to her door and opened it. She didn't even bother knocking.
Once the door closed, she heard her mother shout across the house.
"Rose!"
She followed the voice and found her parents and grandparents in the main room.
Her parents stood up once they saw Rose.
Aria dashed over to her daughter and looked at her in the eyes. Aria then proceeded to look at Rose up and down as if she was inspecting her.
"Mom. Mom, I'm okay." Rose said, grabbing her mom's hands that were on her face.
"Where were you?" Aria asked as her hazel eyes stared deeply into Rose's blue ones.
"I was-" Rose was interrupted before she could finish her sentence.
"I got a call from Zoe, Kara, and Anna's parents saying that they were gone and they wouldn't answer their calls or texts. So, I called you and you didn't answer." Aria said in a worried tone. "Were you with them?"
Rose took a step back. Being so close to her mother was making her slightly uncomfortable. "Yeah, I was with them." She answered.
Aria continued to stare into Rose's eyes. "Where were you?" She said in a worried/serious tone.
Rose looked at the rest of her family in the room. They were all staring at her. She then grabbed her mother's arm and guided her into a different room. All the eyes on her were making Rose panic.
"Where were you, Rose?" Aria asked for the millionth time.
"Don't freak out." She started out. Right as she said that, her mother's eyes opened wide, like she was going to freak out.
Rose decided that it would be best if she said what happened as fast as she could.
"I was going to Zoe's house like I told dad, but then his car started to make weird noises so I pulled over. When I got out, I was attacked." Rose said.
Aria's eyes grew with fear and she began to open her mouth, but before she could say anything, Rose began to talk again.
"A put a bag over my head and knocked me out." She didn't mention the part where A put something in her neck to.
"I woke up in some old cabin in the woods not far from Rosewood. Anna and Kara got there a few minuets after me, but they were knocked out when I saw them. I got to see the room for not even a minute before A knocked me out again. When I woke up the second time, Kara and I were tied up and gagged but Anna had managed to get out of the restraints. She tried to find a way out but she couldn't. Then A came in the room and saw that Anna wasn't tied up so he started to attack her and I couldn't do anything." Rose's voice cracked at the last sentence.
That really messed her up. Anna was getting pummeled and Rose couldn't move. It was torture and when Anna was knocked out, Rose had no idea if she was alive or not. She took a deep breath and continued to tell her mother what happened.
"A knocked Anna out and he wouldn't stop…kicking her." That was the best way Rose could describe it. "After about an hour of Kara and I pleading for them to stop, Anna woke up and attacked A." Rose felt her eyes starting to water now.
"She gave up after a while and let A tie her up. It wasn't long after that Zoe showed up, but A didn't know. "
Rose felt a small smile spread across her face as she remembered the end result of what happened that night.
"I don't know how they did it, but Zoe and Anna worked together to trick A. Anna distracted them while Zoe came from behind and knocked A out. Then the two untied Kara and I and we left as soon as possible. We didn't want to be anywhere close when A woke up. Then Anna drove us all home and now I'm here."
Rose stared at her mother who looked speechless. Maybe Rose shouldn't have explained her story that fast. It was a lot to processes.
"You went through that?" Aria asked in a scratchy voice.
Rose nodded her head. "Yeah, not even an hour ago."
Rose watched as a stray tear fell down her mother's face. "And this whole time I thought you snuck away to be with Zak or something and I wasn't even that worried." Aria began to rant. She was talking more to herself then she was to Rose.
"I'm a terrible mother." She said, looking at the floor. "I was more angry then scared."
"Mom, it's okay." Rose said. This time, it was Rose that grabbed her mother and stared at her deeply in the eye.
"I would never just leave." She said. "Remember that."
Aria shook her head. "Your father kept telling me, 'maybe we should go to the others and look for you all' but I kept saying no because I was so convinced that you ran away to be with Zak and that the other girls were covering for you." She then grunted. "What it wrong with me. It's like I forgot that A existed!"
Ezra then walked in just in time to see the tears rush from Aria's face.
"Rose, what did you do?" He asked.
"Tell mom that she's a good mother." She said, ignoring his comment.
"What, why?" Ezra asked. It was obvious that he was extremely confused.
"Just do it!"
"Uh, Aria, you are an amazing mother." He said in an awkward tone.
Aria rolled her eyes. "No I'm not."
Ezra looked at his daughter and gave her a look that said "what is going on?"
Rose looked at her father and said, "Look, dad, while I was gone I was kind of held hostage by A, but-"
"What!" He interrupted loudly with his eyebrows raised.
"But," Rose began again, "Mom seems to think it's her fault when it's not, so tell her it's not her fault." Rose said in a gentle tone.
Ezra, looking extremely worried and confused, turned to Aria with a gentle look. "Look, Aria, I have no idea what happened, but there is no way that this is your fault. You were right here by my side the entire night worrying where Rose was. And hey, it's not like you called A and told them where Rose. This is not your fault." He said in a calm and determined voice.
Aria looked up at her husband with tears in her eye. "But-"
"No buts!" Ezra said as he walked over to Aria and put his hand on her shoulder. "This isn't your fault and you need to get this idea out of your head." He then started to direct Aria out of the room. Rose had no idea what her father was planning to do for Aria, but she knew it would work.
That's one of the amazing things about her father. He always knew how to cheer you up in the best way.
He turned around, winked at Rose, and then left the room with Aria.
Rose took a deep breath. She was happy that her father didn't ask her about what happened. She really didn't want to talk about it again.
But a thought did hit her. Before Rose was knocked out, she felt a pinching in the back of her neck. Kara said that she felt something in the back of her neck to. Did she ever find out what A put there?
Curiosity took over Rose and she went to the upstairs bathroom and locked the door. She grabbed a hand mirror and held it up to face the sink mirror. She could now see the back of her neck.
It seemed normal. Rose then found herself itching her neck. She felt her fingers scratch against a small bump. Oh god, there was something in her neck.
The problem was, Rose couldn't see the bump, so it was something extremely small.
She felt for the bump again and when she found it, she realized it felt like a zit. She knew it wasn't one, but she tried popping it. Maybe she could drive the thing out.
It didn't work. It only brought extreme pain and soreness. She stopped doing that immediately.
Rose tried to think about what she could do. If she made a small incision, maybe she could get the thing out. It would hurt like hell, but it would probably work.
She dug through the drawers and found nail clippers. It had a sharp enough point to do the job.
Rose put her hair to one side and felt for the bump again. She brought the clippers down with shaky hands and just as she was about to do it, she heard her phone ring.
Rose stopped and looked over at her phone.
Try and take that out again and I'll cut of your moms fingers.
-A
Rose never followed directions so quickly in her life.
She looked out the bathroom window for A, but it was too dark out to see anything.
She had gotten an A text. That meant that A was awake. And A was angry and Rose had no doubt that A would cut of one of Aria's fingers after what the girls did to them.
Rose left the bathroom and walked down the hallway. She could hear her parents in their room talking. She didn't listen in to the whole conversation, but she could hear her dad say, "Just pick one. Anyone you like."
Rose wanted to open their door and make sure her mom still had fingers, but she also didn't want to interrupt her parent's conversation and upset Aria again.
Rose went into her room and looked out her window. She still couldn't see anything.
She sat down on her bed and called Anna.
It went to voicemail. She was probably explaining to her parents what happened.
"You've reached Anna, I'm sorry for not answering but I'll call back as soon as possible." Then Rose heard the beep.
"Try not to do anything stupid, Anna. A's awake, I just got a text." Rose then hung up the phone.
She took a deep breath. For some reason, she felt like she wasn't alone.
She glanced at the window. She knew she wouldn't see anything, but what if somebody was there?
Feeling tense and uncomfortable, Rose got up and walked out of her room.
She walked down the stairs and saw her grandparents still sitting in the main room.
"Have you guys heard anything from Noah yet?" She asked. She wanted to put her mind on something else.
Her grandparents stopped their conversation and looked over at Rose.
Her grandmother looked disappointed. "No, but we did hear from the police station. That cop, Victoria I think she said her name was, said that she hasn't heard of him since before the incident. He hasn't checked in or anything since."
Rose shook her head. What was wrong with Noah? Where is he would be a better question to ask. Did he almost killing Rose affect him that much? Yes, killing someone could change you, but he didn't mean to. Maybe Rose bringing it up is what offended him.
"Thanks." Rose said to her grandmother with a smile. Ella smiled back.
Rose then walked out of the room. She was thankful that her grandparents didn't ask about what happened either.
Walking through the hallways of her house, Rose felt another buzz in her pocket. Maybe it was Anna texting back.
It wasn't.
Why worry about Noah when you just talk to him anytime in your closet?
-A
The closet?
What was that supposed to mean? Did she really want to find out?
Rose began to slowly make her way up the stairs and back to her room. When she got to the door, she hesitated to open it. She grabbed the handle and turned it with a shaky hand.
She was just in her room and nothing happened. Had A done something in the five minuets she was gone? Was this all just a bluff?
Rose swung the door open and pinched her eyes closed. When nothing jumped out to kill her, she opened her eyes.
Her room seemed normal. She turned her head to the closet. She took a deep breath in and a sour smell rushed through her nostrils.
She took small steps over to the closet and when she got there, the smell got stronger.
She put a hand up to her nose to block out the smell but it barely worked.
Before she even opened the door, Rose knew what was going to be in there.
She took a deep, nasty smelling, breath in and counted to three.
At three, she flung the closet door open.
Inside was Noah, but he wasn't alive.
Rose screamed and fell back. Her scream sounded through the whole house and she heard everyone calling for her, but she was too scared to call back.
She hit the ground hard with a loud thunk.
Rose looked at the body. She wanted to look away, but she couldn't.
He looked like Noah, but he was a lot paler, and he looked a little grayer.
And to add to the creepiness factor, his eyes were open. And his cold stare was locked onto Rose.
She looked down at his chest. There was a bloody paper taped to his chest. She read it as she heard footsteps running up the stairs.
I'm the only one who can shoot a gun at you and get away with it.
-A
As soon as her eyes were done scanning the paper, Rose's door flung open and her parents rushed in.
Aria screamed while Ezra gasped.
Her eyes were still glued to Noah.
She couldn't look away. Chaos started to fill the house.
Ezra ran across the room and cradled Rose in his arms while he covered her eyes with his hands.
And for once, Rose was thankful for the darkness.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Owen voice asked thorough the phone.
"Yes, I'm okay." Kara said for the thousandth time.
Kara had just finished telling her parents would have happened, and when Owen called, she couldn't stop herself.
She didn't mention the thing in her neck to her parents. She tried to tell them as little as possible. A would wake up eventually and they would be mad and Kara didn't want them to be even more upset with her than they already were.
All she really said is that her, Anna and Rose were held hostage at the old Kahn cabin, but after being there for a few hours, Zoe came and was able to knock A out and they all escaped. Kara didn't mention anything about the girls being hurt though, because that would get her parents furious.
Well, they already where furious but adding on that A hurt them would make them want to kill A.
"Kara, are you still there?" Owen said. His voice made Kara jump. She had forgotten that he was there.
"Uh, yeah, sorry I got lost in thought." She said smoothly. Kara also didn't tell Owen about the thing in her neck.
That was something that only she and the others knew and she intended to keep it that way.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Stuff." She answered, unenthusiastically.
"Come on, Kara. If you want me to help you have to actually let me."
Kara shook her head even though she knew Owen couldn't see her. "Maybe, I don't want you to help me."
It was silent on the other end of the phone. "Really?" He asked after a while.
"I just don't think now is the perfect moment to jump in and be superman."
"I don't want to sit here doing nothing." Owen sounded disappointed.
"Right now, sitting around doing nothing is probably the bravest thing you can do." Kara said as she looked down and picked at the stitching in her bed sheets.
"Alright." He said in that disappointed voice again.
"I love you." Kara said after a few seconds. She hoped it would cheer him up.
"I love you too." He said back, but he still sounded some-what disappointed.
Giving up, Kara hung up the phone.
She threw it across the bed and then plopped down and sighed.
She rubbed her eyes and tried to think.
Kara was just now realizing it, but she was pretty sure she was the weakest link. What has she done to help the group? She couldn't think of one thing.
Anna saved her and Zoe from the car crash. She helped Zoe with her destroyed leg while Kara stayed on the ground and used her sprained ankle as an excuse.
Zoe did that clever scheme against A and knocked them out while Kara sat there, to terrify to speak.
Rose ran away from her home, the place where she felt safest, and let herself trust Zak. Because she was brave enough to do that, she got all sorts of information on A.
And what has Kara done?
Kara got injected in the back of her neck. And that didn't help any of them.
She remembered what Anna said to calm Kara down at the cabin:
"'Besides, A is going to have a hole in the back of their head from the nail. We'll find them from that."'
Then it hit Kara. She could finally do something to benefit the group.
She would find and expose A.
Kara sprung up from her bed and made her way towards the bedroom door.
From there, she ran down the stairs and towards the front door.
"Where do you think you're going?" Her father asked from around to corner.
She stopped mid-step and turned to her father, her mother standing next to him.
"Um, out." Kara answered with little confidence.
"Can you be a little more specific?" Hanna pressured.
"Look, Zoe is having a hard time dealing with what she did and she wants someone to talk to. Her parents wouldn't understand so she wants me to come over." Kara lied. She hated bringing her friends into this but she knew it was the only way to convince her parents to let her go.
They looked at Kara unconvinced. "So if I called Zoe right now, she would tell me exactly what you said?" Hanna asked, pointing to the phone.
"Yeah, absolutely." Kara answered with a lot of more confidence in her voice. She was calling her mother's bluff. She wasn't going to call. She used this threat thousands of times and never went through with it.
"Well, I don't know if I want you to go out." Caleb said.
"I can text you when I get there." Kara offered.
Her parents looked at each other and then back to Kara.
"As soon as you get to Zoe's you need to text us." Hanna said, pointing at Kara.
"And we'll know when you get there." Caleb added.
Kara nodded. "I will. Thank you so much!" She said. She then smiled a big fake smile and walked out the front door. She took her dad's keys since her tires got slashed and all that.
She also forgot mention that to her parents.
Kara jumped in her dad's car and began driving. She knew that her parents were tracking her through her phone. Her father's comment spoiled it. But Kara knew how to work past this problem.
She drove her normal route to Zoe's house. When she got there, Kara got out of her car and walked up to Zoe's window on the bottom floor. She quickly typed a text to her parents:
I'm here. I'll text you when I'm leaving.
-Kara
She then sent it to both of them.
Kara then looked up at Zoe's window and began to tap on it.
Zoe wouldn't answer the window. Then Kara remembered what just happened last night. Zoe was probably thinking Kara was A or something.
"Zoe, its Kara!" She shouted just loud enough for Zoe to hear.
The curtains then pulled back and Zoe's sender face appeared. She saw Kara and opened up her window.
"What are you doing here?" Zoe asked.
Kara noticed that she was back in her wheelchair. Why would she be in it if she didn't need it? That was a question for another time.
"I need you to take this." Kara said as she held up her phone.
Zoe scrunched up her eyebrows. "You want me to take your phone?"
"Yeah, it's a long story, but you need to trust me." Kara said, handing it over to Zoe.
Zoe looked confused but she said, "Yeah, of course."
Kara smiled and leaped through the window, trampling Zoe in a hug. "Thank you!" She said into her shoulder.
"No problem." Zoe said back.
When the two separated, Zoe looked down at Kara's phone. "What if someone calls or texts?"
"Ignore it." Kara said. "Unless someone sends a text saying someone is dying, then say something."
"What would I say?"
"I don't know, but don't worry about it. Odds are, nobody is dying." Kara said with a smirk.
Zoe stared at her with an unreadable expression. "Okay." She said in a long drawn out tone. She then placed the phone on her bed.
"Can I ask what you're doing?" Zoe asked.
"You'll know once it's over with." Kara said smiling. She then grabbed Zoe's window and shut it, leaving Zoe with a confused look on her face.
Kara then crept back to her father's car and drove to the destination she wanted to go to in the first place.
She drove there a little scared. What if A was still there?
Well, her question would be answered in a few minutes.
Kara gulped as she parked her car. She wasn't going to make the mistake of parking in the driveway again.
She couldn't risk the tires on her father's car getting slashed too.
She walked for ten minutes until she saw the cabin. The first thing she noticed is that her car wasn't there anymore.
The second thing she noticed is that the house seemed completely still.
Kara hoped this was a good thing.
She carefully tip-toed up to the front door of the cabin. It was open.
She opened the door fully and cringed at the creaking it sounded.
The sun was out and shining and it peeped through the boarded up windows, so Kara didn't need a flashlight or anything.
She took the first step into the cabin. A loud creaking noise sounded. Kara rolled her eyes. It seemed like every time she wanted to be quiet, she was as loud as an elephant.
"Screw it." She said to herself as she started to walk around the house without being quiet.
She knew exactly what room to go in. It was burned into her memory.
She began to walk towards it, going as slowly as possible. A could very possibly still be in there.
Once Kara got to the doorway, she was terrified to see what was actually in there.
Was there blood? Rope? Broken glass? A's body?
She had no idea.
She took one more deep breath before she moved. Once Kara felt her heart rate go down, she jumped in front of the doorway with her fists raised.
She looked around the room and saw nothing. She then looked down at the floor where A's body used to be.
Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
In fact, the room looked normal. It was like nothing had happened there the night before.
The blood stains were gone, the windows were all boarded up and dust littered the room.
Kara took a few steps into the room. She looked down at the center of the floor.
This was were A's body was. There were no marks though, no blood, sweat or anything.
Did A really take the time to clean this up? Why?
How did they make it so exact?
"I cleaned it up."
Kara spun up around and thrusted her fist towards the speaker.
She stopped inches from their face when she recognized who it was.
"Zak?" She asked.
"Hi, Kara." He said with his hands in his pockets. He looked a little alarmed from Kara's almost-attack.
Kara looked closely at his face. Deep gashes and bruises covered it.
"What are you doing here?" She asked. Kara hadn't spoken to Zak in ages, and if it wasn't for Rose, she probably wouldn't trust him. But Rose said that Zak helped her when she was gone, and if Rose trusts Zak, so does Kara.
"I saw you come in here." He said.
"And you followed me?" Kara questioned. She crossed her arms and took a few steps towards him.
"Yeah, I actually wanted to talk to you."
"Rose is fine if that's what you're wondering." Kara said.
"No, that's not what I was wondering." Zak said, taking his hands out of his pockets.
Kara was shocked. He wasn't? Then why the heck was he talking to her?
"Oh." Was all Kara could say.
"Yeah, I've actually been looking for you for a few days but you never seem to stay in the same place." He said.
Kara tilted her head. "Sorry?"
Zak chuckled. "You're fine."
Kara swallowed. "So why exactly where you trying to find me?"
Zak's face turned serious. "Did A inject you with something?"
Kara felt her heart rate speed up. "Yes."
"Do you have any idea what it is?"
Kara shook her head. "No."
"Have you tried to figure it out?"
"Yeah, Anna and I did." Kara said. She began to scratch the back of her neck. She felt the bump again.
"Well what happened?" He asked. He held his arms out.
"When the razor was inches from my neck I got a text from Rose saying that A had her. Turns out that A did have her but they took her phone and tricked Anna and I." Kara said with a little bit of attitude.
"I'm sorry about that." He said. "I would have helped but I was in a pretty bad situation myself." Zak said as he pointed to his face.
"Who did that to you?" Kara asked as she pointed to his face.
"A." He said with disgust in his voice.
"But A was with us." Kara said as her voice cracked. Right after she said it she knew what that meant.
"There's two of them." Zak said. "And this time it's not me."
Kara felt her stomach do a backflip. They had no idea who this first A was, and now there was a second one to find?
It was silent as Kara processed this.
"Are you the only one with the chip in your neck?" He asked.
When he said that, Kara put a hand to her neck ad felt for the bump. "I think so."
"Good." He said. He then took a few more steps towards Kara. He got close. "You have to make sure that A doesn't put any more of those things in the rest of you."
Kara felt his warm breath in her face. "Why? What is it?" She asked. Her voice quivered.
"It's a tracking device." He said. "And I can't think of any other reason why A would need one other than-"
Then a shot went off.
Kara screamed when she heard it, and she looked right into Zak's face. His mouth was open and his veins were popping out of his forehead and neck.
She looked down at his white T-shirt. It was now soaking red right above his heart.
"Zak!" Kara cried as his body fell forwards.
Kara grabbed him before he crashed on the ground. She slowly lowered his body onto the ground.
His eyes were clear and watery. Blood started to come out of his nose.
"Zak!" Kara cried again.
She put her head on his chest to hear for a heartbeat, but there wasn't one.
Kara looked back up to his face with tears in her eyes.
His blank stare looked up at the ceiling as his mouth hung open.
"No…no…no…no!" Kara cried over and over again as she started to shake Zak.
"Zak, stop! You can't die!" She said as she shook Zak violently.
But it was no use. He was gone.
A chocked up sob escaped from Kara's mouth. She put a hand up to her mouth as she stared at his body in disbelief.
Kara took her fingers and closed Zak's eyes.
She didn't know what to do. She just saw someone die, right in front of her eyes.
Someone killed him.
Someone killed him.
Another shot sounded above Kara's head.
She yelled again as she flung her body down, right on top of Zak's body.
Boom…boom…boom!
More shots.
"Stop!" She yelled. "Please stop it!"
Kara looked up and through her blurry vision, she saw a black blob.
It was A, and they had just killed someone.
A killed Zak.
They were capable of killing.
Kara got up and ran for the door. She heard more shots but they weren't anywhere close to her.
She was at the door and she turned back. Zak was there, a pool of blood surrounding him.
How quickly did he die? Was it right away? Did it hurt? How was she going to tell Rose? She didn't want to think about it.
"I'm sorry." Kara mumbled as she turned for the door.
She got in her dad's car and sped away.
Once she was out of the woods, she pulled over. Her hands were shaking so badly.
She couldn't process what had just happened.
Kara stared at her shaking hands, covered in blood. It was still warm.
She looked down at her outfit. Her blue and purple sundress was now stained with Zak's warm blood.
How was she going to explain this to her parents?
First, Kara had to call the police.
She reached for her phone but then she remembered how she gave it to Zoe.
"Damn it!" Kara yelled as she hit the wheel.
She then cried in her hands. She felt the warm blood against her head.
She quickly moved her hands away and stared at the blood again.
Kara didn't know what to do. The only thing she felt capable to do was screaming.
So that's what she did.
The weakest link.
AN: Okay… so again, a lot happened
So A is killing people now… maybe the girls shouldn't have tricked them.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ … oops.
It was really hard killing off Zak. I personally loved him and he was a great character who could help the girls. But I knew that A had to kill someone because we're almost 40 chapters in and nobody had died yet so… yeah.
Plus I also killed off Noah but I don't think anyone cared about him that much. Lol.
Also, if you're wondering about the timeline for this chapter because I know it can be a little bit confusing some times, Rose's perspective comes first and it is the night of the attack, so it is before Zak was killed.
Kara's is second the next morning, and thats when she sees Zak die.
Just thought I would clear it up :)
xD anyways, I hope you enjoyed and leave a review on something A can do to the girls. My tank is running low and I'm kind of running out of ideas so I really need your help.
Thanks!
-Jessica