At Clair's Grandmother's house where she is (according to the phone call between her and Clair a bit ago) staying at a hotel across the way from the Garnier.
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And…there goes Clair. I thought ruefully after having whispered her name several times in a row.
It was past midnight, that's all I knew about the time, and mom and dad had called my cell phone twice already. I had answered the first time, saying that I was safe and that I just needed some alone time. ("I've been in a coma like, five times now. I think I really need to get some help. On my own.") I kind of hung up on them, and turned the phone off after that, to prove my point, and had stayed up joking around with the group, watching old movies, Nick at Night, and even one round of Jeopardy. But of course, people started falling asleep, the little party poopers they are.
Including Clair.
So now I was left all on my lonesome, staring up at the dark ceiling, fretting about François. Of course, I'd never let it show, that's for sure. Especially to François; in fact, that was my advantage: me not being fazed by him.
Hah. Me? Not worry if I was going to die?
Preposterous.
I was terrified, only I was the only one who knew…so all the better, right?
Who was I kidding.
I wished so much that I could tell someone how scared I was of François, but I felt that marked me as weak…I mean, I'd already acted like a chicken with it's head cut off about the whole Ethan, Clair thing, and I didn't want anything more to mark me as unstable.
So better to keep it quiet. All locked up upstairs where I was the only one who knew that I was scared so bad that every time I even thought of his name I felt cold chills rack my body.
But of course, that was only on the inside. If I so much as let a cheek muscle twitch I'm sure that someone would know…
Provided they were awake…
I shut my eyes and tried to think of something…that one question from Jeopardy that was on just before we shut the TV off…
"In the First Battle of Bull Run…the Green Union Army was under the command of whom?"
I wanted to laugh right out.
How could I not know the answer to that one? It was easy…McDowell.
Of course, the only reason I got it right was because of Ethan and that dumb, pointless Leadership class.
I rolled over on my side, remembering the first time I saw him.
Did I really wish that I hadn't met him? I mean, sure he's helped me out with all my stupid History homework, boosting my grade up to an A, and he's been a really good friend…
Except for the fact that I had just the biggest crush on him, and still felt extremely awkward around him…especially since I had seen him and Clair.
"Teenage hormones are hell, aren't they?" A voice said, interrupting my thoughts.
I sat up fast, my eyes opening wide, and found that I wasn't in the parlor, but instead in François's lovely little cave.
"Wha-what?" I asked, jumping up from where I was lying on the low leather couch.
"Ah, poor little Katey…can't seem to pick out the right people to fall for." François tsked, and I crossed my arms over my chest. "First it was Raoul the Fop…then myself, with obvious reasons, and now this little idiot, who can't even begin to appreciate you, and instead has to run off with your best friend…"
"And I presume that you think that you, being the crazed murderer you are, are better suited for me than anyone else?" I asked cynically, ignoring his jab at Ethan.
"Of course, love." He said, coming toward me. "I seem to be the only man who can love you, for you."
He stroked my arm, and I drew back.
"Love, huh? Hmmm, so I imagine the part where you beat me senseless, and wound up strangling me to death was all just…what…tough love?" I leered, and he smiled.
"Katey…" He started, with this terrible simpering look in his eyes, but I interrupted him, putting up a hand.
"I just don't get it…why on God's green Earth are you so obsessed with trying to get me to suddenly love you?" I asked, shaking my head.
"Because we're meant to be together." He said softly.
"Oh hah." I scoffed. "We know nothing about each other except that I hate you and you somehow are madly 'in love with me'"
"Well then why don't we sit down and chat?" He asked, innocently gesturing to the couch, but I shook my head vigorously.
"Uh-uh, don't even think about it, dorkwad. I'm not so stupid that I know that all you have for me is lust." You know, I felt extremely weird thinking saying that. Personally, I thought you would have to be either blind or SERIOUSLY drunk to have any feelings for me other than being a friend, but then again, this guy was a genuine psycho, remember?
"Heavens above…are you that stereotypical."
"I tend to be about people who beat me senseless, trick me into thinking that I liked you, and then murder me, then come back, trying to kill me again, winding up slicing the throat of a friend of mine, making me have to slice your throat in retaliation." I said, breathless by the end of that major run-on sentence.
François just stood there, staring at me, making me a little nervous.
I could handle him shooting stupid comments my way about 'being in love with me' but not silence, but eventually he broke it with a simple "huh."
And then he disappeared without another word.
Just…vanished into thin air!
I swiveled around, expecting him to have somehow slid behind me as to get me from behind, but there wasn't anyone there.
What the heck?
Did he, like, go back home or something? And why?
I stood there for a full minute before a strange ringing sound filled my ears.
My head turned wildly, looking for what made the sound that was reverberating in my mind, and then I realized that it was from back home…and it sounded like someone was yelling…I felt a sharp pain on my scalp…one that made me feel like my hair was being yanked out…
Something incredibly strange was going on back home…and I had to find out…
I shut my eyes tight, and opened them to see what exactly was going on.
Only, it was kind of hard, seeing as I was being bumped around quite a bit, my hair was in my face, getting into my mouth, and it was dark.
Oh yeah, and there were also screams and yells and all sorts of noise coming from somewhere above.
Talk about mass confusion…
"Zach! Oh my god…someone call the cops! Zach?" I heard, and I knew something was terribly wrong.
Well, okay, I already know, because you don't wake up to find that you're being pulled somewhere by your hair and hear screams and whatnot, but after hearing that, I knew that something was REALLY wrong…as in, he was having a seizure or something…
I lashed out at whoever was dragging me and thrashed around, trying to break free, causing more mind-numbing pain from my hair.
Arms wrapped around me as I tried to struggle, picking me up and carrying me evidently downstairs.
I located his hand and bit down on it, making the person release me, dropping me at the foot of the stairs.
My rear seriously hurt, but I ignored it, sprinting to where the kitchen was in the dark, praying that I didn't trip over anything.
I didn't bother with finding the light switch, but tried to remember from memory where the knives were…I flung open a drawer and felt inside it, realizing that it was measuring cups and stuff.
I opened the next one and, rather painfully, located the knives.
I seized one out with my already bleeding hand, and twisted around to see a dark figure coming towards me.
It was just like when I was Elizabeth…only, a whole lot scarier.
My hand squeezed around the handle of the knife, and I tried to fake the person out, dodging to the right, no, left, right again, left, fake right, and then make a break for the left side.
The person caught me effortlessly around the middle, and sort of swung me around.
I spread out my arms and legs, making things that had previously been sitting on the counter clang noisily to the floor.
The person stopped swinging me, and evidently realized that he had to make a move now, but I had already worked out my next plan.
I twisted to face him, and made a stab where his heart should have been, but the person stopped my blow, grabbing my wrist before I could do any damage.
He wrenched the knife away from me, and let my body drop, smashing my head against the countertop.
Almost against my will, I let out a cry of pain. Okay, that hurt…now I'm really mad…
I thrashed out my legs, tripping the person as they tried to get out of the kitchen, and they fell with a thud to the ground.
Almost immediately they flipped over, reaching for me, but I kicked out again, colliding with their chest, hopefully knocking the wind out of them.
He grabbed my ankle, holding fast even as I thrashed, trying to get free.
I gave my leg a twist to the left, and a small crack was all I got for my troubles…
Pain ricocheted up and down my leg, and I realized a second later that I had broken my ankle. I mean, the crack pretty much gave it away.
"Ow!" was the only thing I managed to whisper.
It didn't hurt as bad as having a sword through your wrist or a broken neck, but holy cow…it hurt just as bad as the cursed tailbone.
The person let go of my tailbone and jumped up, and I hopped up after him, but a split second later I gasped in pain. I accidentally hopped up on my now crippled foot.
Whoever it was took that opportunity to make a run for it, but a moment later he was back down on the floor.
I leaned on the countertop, my head throbbing along with my ankle, and tried hopping over to see what the heck was going on.
The person had gotten back up and was now fighting someone else, probably one of the boys. Whoever he was, he was putting up a good fight.
I stooped over with my one foot in the air, making me look like a flamingo, and grabbed coffee-maker that had clattered to the ground.
I hopped over to where the two people were, and raised the thing high above my head, bringing it down hard onto the guy that had been previously attacking me.
There was a sort of a dull thump, and then he fell at my foot, seeing as my left one was still raised flamingo style.
Smashing the Coffee-machine over the guy's head had used up all the balance I had in me. I let the thing fall the floor again so I could reach out blindly for the counter behind me.
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Oh boy…more crazy people trying to hurt everyone!
Please Review!
Also, any mistakes you find are because, yet again, I was too lazy to check it.
Sorry if this chapter is sucky…
