Escaping Death
Note- Hey! It seems like you guys are enjoying it so far. That's great.
Disclaimer- I do not own Inuyasha. Duh! I wish I did, though.
Summary- Kagome is an average girl. But after a strange online conversation, a psychotic killer wants HER to choose his victims. She can't escape, not without sacrificing everyone she loves. So what can she do?
I hope you all enjoy. Please review and thanks for reading. Here it goes.
Escaping Death
Chapter Eleven
Kagome desperately wanted to believe Inuyasha's words. She wanted to feel confident in herself; that she'd make everything work out somehow and they would get through it. But she knew that she couldn't last forever, and was surprised that she had survived this long.
She gazed out of the window beside of her, completely drowning out her chemistry teacher, and tried not to let the tears well up in her eyes. It had been two full days since everyone had found out of Koga's murder. Kagome was exceedingly surprised that school resumed as normal, even after the murders that had transpired in the last week or so. Wouldn't they cancel school or something? Wouldn't the police create a city wide curfew in order to save more lives and hunt down the killer?
The bell that signaled the end of class rang, startling Kagome, and she jumped, jerking her head back around to the classroom to look at all the students leaping out of their seats and racing for the door. She slowly gathered her things together and followed the crowd into the hallway. She went to her locker and put her stuff up, grabbing only the books she would need to do homework, and started heading down the hallway alone.
"Kagome!" A familiar voice shouted. The girl turned. Bankotsu caught up to her and gave her a rueful smile. "How are you?"
"I'm okay," Kagome managed to force a smile across her face.
"I heard about what happened," he continued as they rounded a corner and headed for the large double doors leading outside. "You know, you finding Koga's body and everything. I'm really sorry."
Kagome's fake smile faded away and was replaced by a look of fear and sorrow. "Miroku found him first. He said he had gotten the same message I had from the killer under Koga's screen name. Sango came to my house and we went to check on him. And…" she broke off with a slight tremor in her voice. "That's when we found him."
Bankotsu nodded in understanding, his smile now gone as well, and replaced with a serious expression. "And you called Inuyasha?"
Kagome stared straight ahead as they walked down the sidewalk away from the school. "Yeah," she said softly. She bit her bottom lip gently and stared at the ground. A car whizzed by, the radio turned up. "Promiscuous Girl," by Nelly Furtado. It was a good song, but she had other things to worry about…
…Like a murderer who was depending on her to choose his victims.
"Bankotsu," she said. "Are you going to be busy tonight?"
Bankotsu kicked a loose stone across the pavement. It landed a few feet ahead of them. He would, she knew, kick it again when they reached it. "I've got homework. That's all."
"I was hoping that, maybe, you know, you could come to my house and we could do homework together." She looked up at him with glossy brown eyes. "My mom is working late tonight and I really don't want to be alone."
He smiled and draped his arm across her shoulders -- something he used to do when they were younger. "No problem, kiddo." He used to call her kiddo all the time in elementary school and even in junior high, but he had ceased lately. She figured that he decided that she needed it now and started his old habits once again. "Hell, I'll even stay the night, if you need me to. My parents wouldn't mind too much. You know how much they like you."
Kagome felt her face flush a bit. Liked her? More like adored her. They had always been quite fond of her, for reasons she could not fathom. Whenever she and Bankotsu used to play at the playground together, his parents always took her home with them and wouldn't let her leave until they were sure she had a full stomach. "Thanks," she mumbled, watching as they approached the stone.
"No problem." He smiled brightly at her. "You know I'd do anything for you." He kicked the stone and it went flying into the street. She watched it as it rolled alone the asphalt, eventually colliding with the sidewalk on the right side of the road. She continued to stare at the other side of the road woefully until Bankotsu inquired, "Something wrong, Kagome?"
"Huh?" She whipped her head around to face him.
He examined her sternly with his dark blue eyes. "You seem…I don't know. Upset. Is it about Koga? Cause if it is, I'm sorry for bringing it up. You know, about his murder."
Kagome shook her head. She felt lightheaded and her lips felt as if she had just gotten Novocain from the Dentist. "No. It's not that. It's just…"
Just what? She was about to tell him! She didn't want him in it; she didn't want him dead. She hadn't wanted her friends to know for the same reason, but thanks to that jackass, she had to inform them of her predicament. Had he left that note on purpose, in order to let her friends in on their little secret? Had he left it so they would get in on it anyway so he could kill them?
She swallowed something hard -- she wasn't even sure what it was, or if her throat was sore -- and sighed deeply.
"It's just what?" He looked at her questioningly. Soon, it grew quiet amongst them, the only sounds coming from the passing cars and other students walking home. He didn't take his gaze off her. It got so quiet that Kagome looked up curiously to see his expression. He quirked an eyebrow. "Is there something you're not telling me?"
Kagome glanced around apprehensively. "Look," she hissed through gritted teeth, keeping her voice low in case someone might hear. "I'll tell you when we get to my house. All right?"
His eyebrow went down. "That bad, huh?"
She nodded and looked ruefully at the sidewalk. What was she thinking? "That bad."
"All right. We'll talk at your house." He said as they rounded a curb, dodging a cluster of low hanging tree branches.
"I almost forgot," Kagome said suddenly. "How are your brothers?"
Bankotsu shrugged. "Fine, I guess."
"You guess?"
"Yeah. I haven't talked to them in a while." He smiled at her nonchalantly. "But I'm sure they're okay. You know them."
Kagome knew them, all right. Bankotsu was only related to Suikotsu and Jakotsu through his mother since they had different fathers. They used to come and visit Bankotsu all the time when they were younger and all four of them would hang out at the playground. They were okay guys. Not the best, but still decent.
They made it to Kagome's house and, once inside, Kagome locked the door securely.
Bankotsu looked at her. "Yeah, I think you're a little freaked."
"Wait until I tell you. You'll understand then." She said, throwing her book bag down on the couch. She wasn't about to do homework. She didn't feel like it. She wouldn't be able to concentrate. Instead, she would tell him her story, whether he did homework or not.
She grabbed a soda from the fridge -- she would need it eventually since her throat would be dry -- and went to her room. He followed, his backpack on his shoulder.
She plopped down in her computer chair and he found a place on her unmade bed. He didn't seem to mind the fact that it was a mess.
"Okay," she began, placing her soda on her computer desk beside of her. "This guy sent me an instant message about a week ago. He said some weird stuff -- like he wanted me and that he knew me. He said that I knew him. I kept trying to guess who he was, but every guess I made was wrong. It turns out, that he's the killer who's responsible for the dead people who have been found recently -- the school teacher, Kikyo, Kagura, Kagura's younger sister, and Koga. Before I knew he had killed anyone, he had killed the school teacher. But…" She broke off, glancing outside. What if he was there?
She quickly leapt up and closed all of her shades and sat back down.
"What? What is it?" He looked at her, his expression calm and even.
"Well…he threatened me. If I didn't pick out his victims, he'd kill Inuyasha, Miroku, and Sango. So…I did. I picked out Kikyo and Kagura. But I swear, I didn't mean for Kagura's sister to die. He said he killed her because she was in his way. And Koga…" She broke off once again. "I tried to get out of it by not telling him anymore victims. And he took it out on Koga. He told me that if I didn't choose for him, he'd choose at random. He told me to be careful if I did that because he could kill someone close to me."
Bankotsu continued to look calm and collected. Kagome was astonished that he hadn't grabbed her by the shirtfront and started screaming in her face. Instead, the first response he had was, "You were picking out victims--"
"I had to!" She protested, not letting him finish. "I didn't want my close friends to die!"
"--And you didn't tell me? Kagome, I would've helped you out, somehow. I would have done something to keep you from getting those girls killed. I would have tried to figure out who this bastard was so I could have killed him before he got to Koga."
Kagome's jaw sagged. That was not the reaction she had been expecting. But it was still heart warming to know that he would have helped.
"I appreciate that, but he would have killed you if he had known that you knew." She said flatly.
"Well, he wouldn't have found out." He countered.
"He knows where I live! He knows where my room is!" She cried, rising to her feet shakily. "He's been in my house!"
Now Bankotsu looked worried. "He's what?" He nearly shrieked. He had also gotten to his feet. "Kagome, did you tell anybody?"
"No! Are you mental?" She asked. "I tried to get to the phone, but he was watching me. He said if I called the cops, he would kill me and my friends. But I managed to get him to leave. He hasn't been in here since."
"Am I the only one you told?" He asked.
"No." She said softly. "After we found Koga dead, I had to tell Sango, Miroku, and Inuyasha."
"What'd they have to say about this?" He glanced warily at her computer.
"Inuyasha said I'd make it work somehow." She frowned. "I don't think I will. I have until tomorrow to pick out another person. I don't think I can." She bit back a sob and opened her soda. She took a long drink of it. Too bad it didn't make her feel better.
"You have to go to the cops." He said. "Or at least let me go."
It sounded like a good plan, especially in this bleak time. "I can't go to the cops--"
The phone suddenly ringing cut her off, startling her. Both Bankotsu and Kagome glanced over at the phone, sitting on the nightstand by her bed. It rung again, and again.
What is wrong with me? She wondered, standing up and approaching the phone as if it were a bomb. Just answer the stupid phone.
She lifted the receiver from its cradle. "Hello?"
"Hey, babe," it was him. She would know that disguised voice anywhere.
She swallowed -- hard. "What do you want?"
"Well, I saw you weren't online and your shades are closed. The front door is locked, too. What's going on?" It grew quiet on the other end.
"Nothing." Was all she said.
"I saw you walking home with your cousin." He suddenly said, causing her stomach to lurch and her heart to drop to her feet. "He knows, doesn't he? About us, I mean."
She decided to make a joke out of what he said, even though there was nothing funny about the situation. "There is no 'us.'"
He chuckled lightly. "You're clever, Kagome. Always have been. But you knew what I was talking about. He knows, doesn't he?"
"No." She rasped. "He doesn't know." She said, making her voice harder so it wouldn't sound like she was lying. If she wanted out of this and planned on doing it, she had to do it right. "We're just doing homework and studying together."
"Fun." He said. Only he didn't sound very enthusiastic. "Anyone on your list today?"
Kagome shot a glance toward Bankotsu. From his expression, she knew that he knew what Death986 was talking about. "I don't know. I'll get back to you tomorrow."
"Good." From the sound of his voice, she figured he was smirking. She shuddered. "I'll talk to ya then, babe." There was a click on his end and the line went dead.
Kagome hung up the phone with a sigh. "That's probably the best phone conversation I've ever had with him." She had only had two, but still. One was enough.
"I'll stay the night," he said suddenly. "I'll call mom and tell her, then we can go get my stuff."
She nodded, grateful. She didn't care about anything else. Bankotsu was staying overnight and she felt safe.
She just didn't want tomorrow to come.
Note- There you go. I apologize for taking so long to update. We got out for summer a couple weeks ago but I've been with friends and I had writer's block. Anyway, I hope you all are still enjoying it greatly. I will try to update my other stories either today or really soon. Please stick with me. Also, please review! Thanks so much.
