Escaping Death
Note- Hey! It seems like you guys are enjoying it so far. That's great.
Disclaimer- I do not own Inuyasha.
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 Sixteen
Kagome made it to her porch, pausing to take in a deep lungful of air. She had ran all the way home, which was almost half a mile from where she had had a confrontation with Death. She wiped the rest of her blood away, using her sleeve to clear away the crimson that had been smeared. She pulled her jacket collar up high enough so her mom wouldn't notice the wound. She looked around once more to make sure he wasn't watching her before trying the doorknob. Locked. She couldn't help but smile. Her mom was doing the right thing by locking the door. She was keeping herself safe. She knocked.
"Who is it?" She heard her mother inquire softly. "Who's there?"
"It's me, mom," Kagome said, her voice shaking more than she intended.
The door swung open violently and Mrs. Higurashi pulled her daughter inside before closing it and locking it behind her. "Where have you been?" She demanded. She didn't seem angry at all. She was relieved. "I've been worried sick ever since I got home, honey."
"I'm sorry, mom," Kagome refused to cry, even though her voice was quavering. "I would have left a note, but I was in a rush. I would have called…but, I was busy."
Her mom examined her carefully before leading her over to the couch. She ran into the kitchen and fixed a glass of chocolate milk and brought it back to her daughter. She then sat down and said, "Tell me everything that happened today, dear."
And so Kagome did. She told her about how Inuyasha, Sango, and Miroku had came over to watch movies and how they found Bankotsu on the porch, injured. She told her about Sesshomaru being in a coma and Inuyasha donating blood. "He's all he's got left, mom," she said, her voice breaking. "I told him he could stay here. Is that all right?"
"Oh, sweetheart," her mother embraced her tightly. "It's fine." She pulled back and ruffled her hair affectionately. "How did you get home?"
Kagome nearly tensed, but kept herself from doing so. Her mother would have noticed. "Miroku brought me home."
"I didn't hear a car," her mother said, looking thoughtful.
"He dropped me off at the sidewalk, not in the driveway." Kagome said, choosing her words carefully. Her mother would freak if she found out about her little 'chat' with Death, as well as her new injury. "And then he took Sango home."
"That was sweet of him," her mother gushed. She had always liked Miroku. "He's got manners," her mother would always say. "Such a gentleman."
"Yeah. It was," Kagome agreed sullenly. She finished her chocolate milk and gave the glass to her mother. "I don't really feel good. I'm going to bed. Night, mom." Her mother gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Night, dear."
Kagome ran up the stairs, two at a time, and closed her door. She sighed in relief. 'That was close,' she thought, turning her computer on, and leaving her bedroom light off. 'She almost saw it. She almost saw that cut.'
She signed on and checked her mail. Nothing, thank God. There were no threatening emails from Death, no sympathetic emails from people at school. She released a lungful of air.
SLAYER258 HAS JUST SIGNED ON
Kagome doubled clicked on the name and an instant message box appeared. She typed a message and hit enter.
Miko17: Hey.
Slayer258: Oh, God, Kagome, are you all right?
Miko17: Yeah, why?
Slayer258: He left us a note, Kagome. On Miroku's car.
Miko17: He did? What'd it say?
Slayer258: Something about following you and not hurting you. He said he wasn't alone in this. He was following you while someone else was watching us.
Kagome stared at the screen, transfixed by the words. She wanted to type something, but paused. Sango was already typing.
Slayer258: Why did you have to run out on us like that? You worried us to death!
Miko17: Sorry.
Slayer258: Are you crazy? There is a curfew and if the cops catch you, you could be arrested or something! And there's a murderer on the loose!
Miko17: He didn't hurt me.
She winced when she realized what she had sent. She smacked herself in the head. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" She cursed herself. "You're not supposed to tell her about it. Not right now!"
Slayer258: What do you mean, he didn't hurt you?
Miko17: Nothing.
Slayer258: Kagome…did you see him? Did you talk to him again?
Miko17: It was nothing, okay?
Slayer258: It's not nothing! What did he say? What'd he do?
Miko17: He just…messed with my head. He was trying to scare me.
Slayer258: How?
And just like that, there it was. How had he scared her? Put a large hunting knife to her throat, that's how. Kagome stared at the screen for a bit, struggling to come to a decision of what to tell her best friend.
Miko17: Put a knife to my throat.
Slayer258: Oh, my God, Kagome! Are you okay? Did he hurt you?
Miko17: It's just a small cut. I'm fine, really.
Slayer258: This guy is psycho!
Miko17: Tell me about it.
Slayer258: I wish I could come over. I don't want to be here. I'd rather be with you.
Miko17: Why? Is it because he won't kill me because I'm his target? Because I'm the one who's pulling the strings behind the murders? Because he needs me to play? Wants me to play?
Slayer258: No! Kagome, you've really got to get over this. I want to come over because you're my best friend and if we have to go through all of this, well…let's go through it together. I don't want to come just because he won't kill you. You have to understand that we're not using you to stay alive and we're not blaming you for those who aren't.
'She's right,' Kagome realized. All of this had gone to her head and made her -- she hated to say it -- insane. Every time someone mentioned something about it, she instantly jumped to the conclusion that they were blaming her for the deaths of nearly a dozen innocent people and using her to stay alive.
'I'm such a horrible person,' she said in her mind, covering her face with her hands. She took a deep cleansing breath and released it.
Miko17: I'm sorry, Sango.
Slayer258: It's all right. I know that all of this has gone to your head and stressed you out big time. All you need to do is relax. Inuyasha, Miroku, and I are only trying to stick by your side. We don't want to abandon you, especially now. And we're not blaming you. We know you had no choice.
Miko17: Actually, I did have a choice. Either let you guys die or other people.
Slayer258: Well, yes, I guess that's true. And you chose to protect us. We're grateful for that, Kagome. If you had chosen to keep everyone else alive, we'd be dead right now. And then after that, he probably would've kept asking you for victims. You wouldn't have escaped, Kagome. At least with this option, you have us to try and help you get away. We'll try to help you escape.
For a reason Kagome couldn't fathom, she felt tears well up at the corners of her eyes. She felt a suddenly stronger fondness for Sango and Miroku and Inuyasha. They were willing to risk their own lives to help her escape Death. Suddenly, everything seemed much brighter, as if the sun had rose in the horizon, bringing a fiery glow to the world which had once been bleak and dreary. 'We're going to get out of this alive,' her mind exclaimed joyously.
'But how are you going to do it?' A voice questioned in the back of her head.
And that was all it took to annihilate her exultant reverie. How? How were they going to get out? She had no clue.
Miko17: How?
It took a while for Sango to type a response and send it, which informed Kagome of the answer ahead of time: She didn't know, either. That's why she wasn't surprised when she saw her response. Her hope hadn't been shot down.
Slayer258: Well, I'm…I'm not really sure.
Kagome didn't type anything in reply.
Slayer258: I promise, Kagome. We will get out. When Inuyasha gets out of the hospital, we can come up with something. We can distract Death and someone can run to the police or something.
Miko17: It isn't just Death we should worry about. There are two people in on this sick scheme, one does the watching and talking while the other does the stalking and actual killing. At least…that's what I think.
Slayer258: Well, Kagome, anything is better than nothing. Maybe we can somehow get both of them in one spot and someone else can run to the cops.
Miko17: All right. But I don't feel like talking about it right now. Let's wait until Inuyasha comes here tomorrow and we can all discuss it. For now, though, I'm going to bed. Good night.
Slayer258: Good night, Kagome.
MIKO17 HAS LOGGED OFF.
(With Sango)
Sango would've pressed the subject of finding a way out on Kagome, but she felt sorry for her and decided to let her rest. They had had such a trying day, what with Bankotsu and then Sesshomaru and Inuyasha, and she knew Kagome was exhausted. Instead of trying to discuss things, she let her get off and ended up signing off herself. She left her computer on -- like always -- and changed into something to sleep in.
She flicked her bedroom light off and began walking across the room toward her bed.
As she was doing so, she passed by her window -- the shades were partially open -- and she could have sworn that she saw something. More like someone.
Her breath hitched in her throat and she slowly approached the window in order to get a closer look. She was a couple inches from the glass and she saw someone looking up into the window. She knew that couldn't see her -- right? -- and they were just trying to spy. But it seemed as if they were looking directly into her horrified gaze.
He was wearing a thick, camouflage coat, baggy black jeans, and a winter face mask that had holes for his eyes and mouth and nose. She was about to jerk away from the man outside when she caught sight of it: a huge hunting knife in his right hand. It gleamed ominously from the waning moonlight outside, sending chills up her spine. She quickly glanced to his left hand and saw a large ax that she knew was used to chop wood.
She looked up at his face, covered by the mask, and took in a deep breath. She wasn't sure of what she needed to do. Run to the phone? No, he'd come in and kill her and her family. It would have to be run and hide in her bed. She felt safe there.
Just as she was about to turn away, he waved the knife in front of his face and then used his index and middle fingers to point to his eyes and then at her with his index finger.
'I'm watching you.'
She involuntarily gasped and slapped a hand to her mouth. She could tell he was smirking now. He'd come to frighten her and he'd done a good job of it. He turned and left, disappearing in the fog that had settled in her backyard.
And Sango raced to her bed, jumped in, and curled under the covers.
(With Kagome)
She couldn't sleep. Not matter how many times she tossed and turned in an attempt to erase the images from her head, she couldn't get Sesshomaru out of her mind. He was bloody and dying, Inuyasha desperately trying to salvage whatever blood was left in his brother. Even after she drifted off to sleep a couple times, she saw him and tears ran down her cheeks.
This time, after awaking and wiping the salty substance from her face, she sat awake, trying to think of other things. She forced herself to be a normal teenage girl, if even for a few moments, and think of her future with Inuyasha. He liked her, sure, but would it go anywhere? Would they stay together for a long time and be the talk of the school? Would they someday get married?
Would he even live long enough to become her husband?
She growled in frustration and tossed a pillow into the floor. It hit the carpet with a soft pat. No matter what she did, she continued to unwillingly linger on the subject of the possibility of him dying -- of all her friends dying.
She rose to her feet to stretch and retrieve the pillow and glanced out the window. And there he was.
Death.
This time, she wasn't all that afraid of him. This she knew when she angrily opened the window and snarled down at him, "What the hell do you want?"
He laughed lightly. "To talk."
He was wearing that same old baseball cap and hockey mask and he was carrying the same old hunting knife. So why wasn't she afraid?
Because it was the same old, same old.
Had she become accustomed to him appearing without forewarning? Had she grown habituated with him pestering her about new victims? Was she used to him showing up just to scare her?
Yes, she was. Only this time, she wasn't afraid.
"There's nothing to talk about," she hissed. "So I suggest you leave."
He shook his head, reprimanding her. "Kagome, Kagome, Kagome. There's so much we need to talk about." He examined her closely. "And if I choose to stay, what will you do?"
"I might just come out there with a knife of my own." She threatened. She had a large one, too. Not as big as his, perhaps, but it was still big. And she could probably use it well.
"Now thing are getting interesting," he mused. "That's why I chose you. I knew that, eventually, you'd rebel against me somehow, and it would make things so much more fun." She could see his eyes through the hockey mask and they were glowing ominously. "You just don't know how to rebel properly."
"Killing you would be good enough, don't you think?" She spat.
"Yes, it would. But you forgot two things. One: my comrade would kill you for it, and two: you lack the power to do such a rash move." He replied.
"How would you know?" She just wanted him to leave. She wanted him out of her head, out of her life. She wasn't afraid of him. She was annoyed. Somehow, though, she knew that she'd be afraid of him again the next day.
"I know you, Kagome. Haven't we already had this discussion?"
"Give me another hint as to who you are." She pushed. She needed to know.
"Nice try, sweetheart, but not good enough." He fingered the blades of the knife gently so he wouldn't cut himself. "I'll be back tomorrow night. And I expect another victim by then or else I'm killing someone you care about greatly."
And then he turned and faded away into the foggy night air.
Note- Oh, there! Who is Kagome going to pick this time? And who are the killers? Ooh the suspense is killing you guys, isn't it? Good! Please review. Love you guys so much.
