Hi guys! This chapter will start immediately with Emison, remember that last chapter, they got caught by AD in a dangerous position, they're standing in tiny ice. I hope you like this and, like always thank you if you have the time to leave a review! Have a great day!
Chapter 76 – In the shadows
*** Music background: Klergy x Valerie Broussard - The Beginning Of The End ***
Alison's narrative. – "Every town has one spooky monster that all the kids avoid. In Rosewood, maybe we've too many monsters hiding in the shadows. Thinking darkness is their ally, they adopt the dark, they get molded by it… but what they ignore, it's that, the shadows betray you… they fall behind you when the light comes and, the sun will shine again like it has never done it before…"
Standing in tiny ice; the little boys wake up and start moving; Emily's heart races when she hears the crack of the ice below them…
Emily yells. – "Boys, don't move!"
The boys look at their brunette mommy with fear; this is the 1st time that the brunette has ever yelled at them. Enzo quivers his lips down and Emily gulps hard looking at her precious baby under the point of crying…
Emily. – "No, no, no… I didn't mean to…"
Enzo start crying, and his brothers mimic him…
Alison sighs. – "Great, Em… you made them cry…"
Emily. – "I didn't do it on purpose!" (Sighs) "Ali, what are we going to do?!"
Alison stares at her family and replies. – "I've an idea… follow my lead, okay?"
Emily nods and the blonde waves her hands to her boys, trying to catch their attention; she even makes some silly faces to make them laugh, and it works, since Wayne laughs very loud.
Alison smiles. – "That's it! No crying, okay! Uhmmm… so, we will play a game, okay?"
Oliver rubs his little arms and babbles. – "Cold…"
Alison. – "I know, Ollie, I know we all have cold but, we need to play this game before getting in a warmer place, okay… so, are you ready to play?"
The blonde gives them her brighter smile, trying to ensure them that everything is okay and the boys smile, trusting in their mamma…
Alison. – "So, this is a game, you need to follow my lead, or you lose, and you don't wanna lose, right?"
The boys shake their heads
Wayne says with enthusiasm. – "I'll win!"
Enzo pouts. – "No, me!"
Oliver. – "Me, win!"
Alison chuckles. – "That are my boys… okay, so, the game is this… we will crawl, very slowly, to the edge of this lake; but, you have to crawl exactly behind mommy, okay? You can't crawl wherever you want, it must be exactly behind mommy, got it?"
The boys nod
Alison. – "Okay, so here we go…"
Emily. – "Ali, are you sure about this?"
Alison looks at the scared brunette and says to her. – "Em, we can't stay here forever; we need to get them out of here, you'll go in front, you'll lead and, if you feel the ice is too tiny, then you turn around and we try to move above the thicker ice… okay?"
Emily. – "Ali… this is too risky…"
Alison. – "Em… no one knows we're here… we don't have our phones with us, we can't call for help and staying here is not an option… I'll not let our kids here, freezing to death…"
Emily gulps
Alison. – "Em… love, look at me…"
Emily looks up and locks her eyes on the blonde; Alison says to her wife while she looks at her into the eyes…
Alison. – "Do you trust me?"
Emily nods. – "With my life…"
Alison. – "So, trust me, okay? I would never do something to put our family in danger…"
Emily takes a deep breath and nods. – "Ok…"
Alison. – "Ok…"
The boys have no idea of the danger, Emily and Alison, they talk to them all the time, trying to make this dangerous game, as fun as possible for them. In a row, with Emily leading and Alison behind the boys; Emison's family tries to get in solid ground… let's hope they make it before something breaks…
(In Spencer's barn)
Hanna. – "Wow! Where did you get so much weapons?!"
Spencer. – "We, the Hastings, we have always loved go hunting…" (She loads a rifle and says with a killer look) "And today, I'll go hunting… I'll hunt this bastard, cornering like the rat he's…"
Hanna smirks. – "Spence badass… I like it… so, tell me something, have you figure out a way to save her? I mean, we go to AD's place, and, what happens then?"
Spencer. – "We search in each and every damn room till we find her…"
Hanna nods. – "Ok, Rambo… let's just hope your arsenal of weapons will put the trick…"
Caleb gets in and says while he walks towards the girls. – "Ok, Haley is with your mom, Hann and, Jason is staying with them, so they're safe… the car is ready, and I already tracked the text of Mona, I know exactly where we need to go…"
He sees Hanna stretching her hand to grab a gun and, his eyes get bigger of fear, he quickly rushes towards his wife and takes the guns away from her…
Hanna pouts. – "Hey! What the hell are you doing?!"
Caleb. – "No! What the hell are you doing?! You know nothing about weapons…"
Hanna. – "We're going directly to AD hideout! I should probably have a gun…"
Caleb and Spencer exchange looks, and the tall brunette says…
Spencer. – "No… I'm not giving you a gun…"
Hanna. – "Why not?! You've a lot of weapons!"
Spencer. – "Yeah, but I know how to use them! You don't!"
Hanna. – "AD, who is trying to kill us, has a gun… I think I should probably have a gun…"
Once again, Caleb and Spencer exchange looks; Spencer grabs a gun, she removes the magazine from it, and once the gun is without bullets, she throws it towards Hanna. The blonde tries to catch the gun but, there's only clatters since she can't grab it; the gun just drops on the floor…
Hanna. – "Yeah… I probably shouldn't have a gun…"
Spencer smirks. – "Good thinking…"
Caleb. – "So, if Alison is back, don't you believe we should include them into the plan?"
Spencer says with a bitter voice. – "They didn't include us in their plan, so why, we should do it?"
Hanna. – "Spence…"
Spencer. – "Hanna! You can't tell me you're not angry with them! Especially with Alison! Once again, Alison left us in the dark…"
Hanna sighs. – "Ok, I'm upset but, I'm also happy knowing she's alive… don't you?"
Spencer. – "Off course I'm happy she's alive… but, right now, I can't deal with her, I need to focus on rescuing Blair…"
Hanna. – "Blair is the BFF of Alison; don't you think she should be part of the plan too? We need to be united"
Caleb. – "I'm with Hanna on this one; we need all the help we can get…"
Spencer sighs. – "Fine… let's go to their house…"
(In the frozen lake)
Emily mumble with a smile. – "We're almost there…"
The brunette smiles, they were very close to the edge of the lake, so close to touch solid ground…
(Ice cracking)
Emily turns around and says. – "What was that?!"
Alison sees the ice below them cracking, and she gulps hard…
The boys say with fear. – "Mommies?!"
Emily mumbles. – "Ali?!"
Alison screams. – "EMILY, grab the kids and run! RUN!"
(In the DiLaurentis-Fields' house)
Looking at the empty house, at the game board and at all the trace of struggle; Hanna, Caleb and Spencer, they can just think the worse…
Hanna panics when she sees the messy house. – "OMG! They're dead!"
Spencer. – "Shut up Hanna! If we let the fear take over, that's when we're dead…"
Hanna. – "I don't like this… shouldn't we notify the police?"
Spencer says while looking at the board game. – "Detective Fury is the police and he's AD… do you really believe it's wise to go with the police, right now?"
Hann sighs defeated…
Caleb. – "The doors are forced, it looks like they took them… all of them…"
Spencer gulps hard and says with concern. – "Even the boys?!"
Caleb nods and Hanna puts her hand in her mouth while she gasps with terror of what could that mean…
Caleb. – "What should we do?"
Spencer. – "Let's check 1st if at least, the boys are safe with Emily's parents, maybe th-…"
Someone, who emerges into the scene, cuts Spencer off and says…
Wayne Fields. – "They're not with us…"
The 3 of them turn their head towards the old man and they gulp hard while they look how Mr. Fields walks towards them…
Hanna mumbles. – "M… Mr… Mr. Fields… we… I… ahm…."
Wayne. – "What is coming on, here?"
The 3 of them look at each other, not sure of how they should reply to that question, they stay in silence, looking down at the floor. Emily's Dad has been worried since he woke up that morning, he had a bad feeling and when he tried to contact her daughter, but he received nothing but silence from her, he decided to pass by and check if they were ok… unfortunately, his bad feeling was going just to get worse…
Wayne. – "I made a question… what is coming on here?!" (He gets angry when he sees no reply and he scolds like if he was talking with children) "I thought I was talking with adults but, it looks like it's not, so… let me make myself very clear, no one leaves till you tell me what the hell is coming on!"
Spotted, 3 pals caught by a parent. We bet Mr. Fields wants to know the truth, but these liars are always sighted solo… wondering, what they will say to Papa Fields…?
(In Rosewood forest at the sundown)
Aria. – "I think we're walking in circles…"
Noel sighs. – "No, we're not…"
Aria. – "You're just saying that because you don't want to admit we're lost…"
Noel rolls his eyes, they keep walking and Noel says while he points out something in front of them…
Noel. – "We're not walking in circles, look! A lake! We haven't passed by a lake before…"
Aria looks at it, she fixes her eyes on that lake and, her eyes get bigger of shock when she sees something…
Aria gasps. – "OMG!"
Noel. – "What?"
The brunette stops holding Noel's hand and, she runs towards the lake…
Noel. – "Wait! What are you doing?!"
Noel runs after her and while these two are approaching to the lake, someone else is also very close to the edge of the lake…
Kneeling on the ground, with the kids between them, Alison and Emily looks at each other and smile…
Alison says with erratic breathing. – "That was close…"
Emily sighs without air. – "Yeah…" (She looks at her boys in solid ground and smiles) "But they're fine… we're fine…"
Alison stares at Emily and smiles. – "Yeah… we made it…" (She looks at the boys and says while caressing their faces) "We made it, right, boys?"
The boys nod and smile with the tender touch of the blonde…
Wayne says with enthusiasm while he waves his hands. – "I won! I got 1st!"
Enzo pouts. – "No! Me! I won!"
*** Music background: Blood water by Grandson ***
Emily and Alison chuckle, looking at their boys fighting for the victory of this sick game. Exhausted by the intense moment they just lived, they smile at each other, thinking they're safe, but they're not…
Alison grabs Oliver into her arms and says while she stands up. – "Let's go home…"
Emily smiles and grabs the other kids and says. – "Yeah… let's go h-…"
(Gunshot)
Emily screams. – "Ali!"
The blonde takes a shot in the shoulder and falls on the ground; the boys, especially Oliver, they start crying when they see the blood coming out from Alison. The brunette takes Oliver on her arms, the boys stay together and, Emily's eyes gets bigger of concern when she sees the blonde in pain…
Emily mumbles. – "Ali…"
The blonde puts pressure in her shoulder, and tries her best on smiling for her kids, trying to don't worry them…
Alison mumbles to the boys. – "It's ok…" (Sighs of pain) "It's gonna be ok…"
The blonde hears the steps and, she turns her head in direction of the black hoodie who's walking towards them with a gun in its hands…
Alison mumbles. – "Emily, run…"
Emily sees the hoodie and says with anger. – "No…"
Alison pleads. – "Em… please…"
The brunette stands up in front of her family; she stays face to face with the black hoodie. Emily looks at the hoodie getting closer, and she should be afraid, but just thinking that this person has just fired a shot against her wife; the brunette can't feel fear, just anger… rage… so much rage…
The hoodie demands. – "Move… it's not you who I want to kill…"
Emily frowns. – "I know that voice…" (Gasps) "Paige?!"
Paige takes off the hoodie and smirks. – "You really know me, Emily…"
Emily closes her fists and presses them hard; her breathing is erratic, but not because of fear; no, it's anger, it's rage what is running on her veins…
Paige. – "I don't want to hurt you Emily, neither your boys, so walk away with them… now…" (She sees that Emily doesn't move, so, she says) "Emily, I…"
Emily yells. – "You really think you can come to our lives, hurt my family… HURT MY WIFE and there won't be any pay back?!"
Paige gulps
Emily. – "I'll kill you with my own hands!"
Paige was going to say something but, she gets distracted when someone attacks her by behind.
Paige screams. – "My eyes!"
Aria says while spraying her pepper-spray. – "Take this, bitch!"
The brunette took her by surprise, she jumped over Paige, clinging on Paige's back like a monkey, and sprayed her pepper-spray directly into Paige's eyes. Emily rushes towards them and, Paige struggle with the two of them; the gun in her hand flies on the air and Paige gets angry…
The boys see Emily in danger and cry. – "Mommy!"
Alison says while she lies down in the ground. – "Emily!"
Paige pushes them away; Aria whines when her back hits the ground but, Emily doesn't stay on the ground too long, she quickly stands up and she rushes toward Paige, impacting her right fist on her face, blood gets out of Paige's mouth when she falls to the ground.
Emily smirks. – "Take that!"
On the ground, Paige finds again the gun and she quickly takes it and points it towards Emily…
Alison. – "NOOO!"
Emily gulps hard looking at the gun…
Paige stands up and says. – "Don't force me to do this…"
Emily. – "No one is forcing you…"
Paige. – "If you could just have love me…"
Emily. – "I don't love you and I'll never will…"
In the edge of the lake, Paige gets angry hearing Emily's words; she was going to put the trigger and hurt the brunette but, someone tackles her, and they fall into the lake…
Aria says very loud. – "NOEL!"
The ice was already cracked and, Noel and Paige get suddenly wrapped between the cold waters of the lake. Falling into freezing water felt like an infinity of knifes, stabbing their bodies, over and over. Their judgement become affected, in question of seconds, they lose conscious and they start falling deep down. Noel was definitely drowning to the bottom of the lake but, a mermaid gets him out of the water before it's too late…
Emily gasps with chills when she gets out of the water, carrying Noel…
Alison. – "Em…"
Aria says with concern. – "OMG! Is he ok?!"
Noel coughs water out of his mouth and, Aria takes a deep breath, feeling better that he didn't drown. Emily is shaking with cold, but she smiles and feels warmer when her boys hug her…
Enzo. – "Mommy!"
Wayne. – "Mom!"
Oliver cries. – "MOMMY!"
Emily clears Oliver's tears and says. – "It's ok… don't cry, I'm ok…" (She looks at her dear wife who's lying on the ground with the shoulder hurt and says) "We're going to be ok…"
They don't notice it, but there was a drone flying above them, and it was taking everything on video… everything… and someone wasn't happy with what was happening…
(In AD hideout)
AD looks at the video which is coming from the drone and he smashes the tablet on the floor, angry that his game wasn't going out like he planned…
Mona smirks. – "Really? So quickly, you lose your temper…?"
AD says angry. – "Shut up! Your voice is getting on my nerves and, you really don't want to get me mad…"
Mona. – "Tell me something, you really think you can win this game, using losers like Paige?"
AD. – "What other option do I've?"
Mona smirks. – "Unlike other games, this is like chess… you fight for no prize but honour and, when you fight for honour, when you want to knock down the queen… you don't do it by using pawns…"
AD looks at the pages that Erza wrote for him and says. – "But, in the script, it says…"
Mona cuts him off. – "You keep following that fucking script, and you will not just have a bad opening and a poor middle game… you'll be doomed without hope till the endgame…"
AD. – "So… what do you propose? Because if you're saying all this to me, it's because you want to propose something, Am I wrong?"
Mona smirks. – "No… you're not wrong… put me on the field… and let me take the lead… I'll win this game in one move…"
AD. – "You haven't proved your loyalty to me, yet…"
Mona raises an eye brow and says. – "And, how I'm supposed to do that? If I'm here, just watching…"
AD stays in silence, thinking and Mona slowly walks towards him and whispers into his ear…
Mona says with a seductive voice while she roams her fingers on AD's body. – "You know I'm your best shot to win this… there's no one wiser and clear-sighted than me, to play this game… and you know I'll play a good fight to the death…"
AD turns his head towards Mona and says with a devious smirk. – "Fine… you've tonight to put your best game and get me the head of that fucking blonde…"
Mona nods and walks away with a huge smirk on her face; while she's walking she looks by the corner of her eyes towards her right hand and, her smirk gets bigger when she sees the card key she just stole from AD.
(In a wooden cabin on the forest)
Aria says while she looks around. – "HI! Is there anybody here?"
Emily sighs. – "Ar… a little of help here…"
Aria. – "Yeah, sorry…"
Emily and Aria bring Alison inside the cabin while Noel is holding the boys…
Noel. – "I prefer helping you with Alison… I'm not good with kids…"
Emily looks at Noel and at the boys who are very amused with playing with Noel's hair and she chuckles…
Emily. – "I think you're doing just fine…"
Noel sighs and Emily focuses again on Alison when the blonde whines with pain…
Emily. – "Ali…"
Alison sighs. – "I'm ok…"
Aria. – "You're not ok… we need to bring you to a hospital…"
Alison looks at the tiny brunette and she sighs deeply, looking at Aria, she can't stop recalling the last time she saw her, that day she saw her working with AD…
Aria sees the piercing stare of the blonde and gulps. – "Ali…?"
Alison sees Aria into the eyes. – "I don't trust you…"
Aria's eyes become watery-eyes and she was thinking on leaving, to run away with shame but, before she could cross the door, someone grabs her from the arm and stops her…
Aria stares at her arm, she stares at the hand around her arm and then she looks up, towards the person who's grabbing her…
Aria mumbles. – "Noel…?"
Noel looks at Alison into the eyes and says with a serious voice. – "You don't trust her but, you trust me… so, trust me when I'm saying that Aria is not the enemy here…"
There was moment of silence till one of them talk…
Alison. – "Fine…"
Aria smiles and she mumbles a 'thank u' to Noel; he just nods, and they take care of the boys while Emily takes care of Alison's wound…
Emily says while exanimating the wound. – "There's an exit hole… it looks like the bullet just passed through…"
Alison. – "Yeah, it looks superficial, I'll be ok…"
Alison tries to stand up from the sofa but, the brunette pushes her back…
Alison whines. – "Hey!"
Emily. – "Don't move, I need to take care of your wound…"
Alison. – "But with what?"
The brunette looks around and, thankfully, Emily is able to find a 1st aid box and because the bullet just passes through, without touching any nerve or vein, she's able to take care of Alison's wound.
Alison looks at her patched shoulder and says. – "Look at it, like a pro…"
Emily blushes. – "Shut up…" (She caresses Alison's cheek and says) "You scared me…"
Alison caresses Emily's face and replies. – "I know… it was a scary day but, we got through it…"
Emily sighs. – "We're still in danger…"
Alison sighs. – "Yeah… but let's take today like a little victory, okay?"
Emily nods and Alison says when, she sees Emily shivering…
Alison. – "You got into frozen water, you need to change your wet clothes, now…" (She looks at Noel and says) "You too…"
Aria. – "Ali's right, I'll check if there's anything you can wear…"
The little brunette finds some hunting uniforms…
Emily. – "I'll change in the bedroom…"
Alison stands up and smirks. – "Wait! I'm coming with you…"
Emily raises an eye brow. – "I'll just change…"
Alison smirks. – "I know…"
Emily. – "No funny business… ok?"
Alison rolls her eyes. – "Fine…"
The boys see their mommies walking away and they follow them…
Noel. – "Hey you! Come here!"
Alison. – "It's ok Noel… come on boys…"
Noel and Aria stay alone and, Noel decides to put wood in the chimney and starts the fire. The fire was sparking in the chimney and, Noel get closer to the fire, trying to get warmer. He was standing in front of the fire when Aria approaches…
Aria. – "Here… you should change…"
Noel sighs. – "Later… I'm okay… I should check around and, find something to eat…"
Aria. – "Noel, don't be stubborn and takes off your wet clothes now!"
Noel teases. – "Are you so desperate to see me naked?"
Aria blushes. – "What?! NO!"
Noel chuckles and Aria rolls her eyes; she throws the uniform into Noel face and says while she walks towards the kitchen…
Aria. – "Don't worry about the food, I'll take care of it…"
Noel chuckles and he changes out clothes in front of the fire; it was an open kitchen, directly connected with the little living room and, Aria blushes a lot when she sees by the corner of her eyes, Noel changing out clothes…
Aria shakes her head and says to herself. – "What the hell are you watching, Aria?!"
Noel says from the living room. – "Did you say something?"
Aria replies nervously. – "Ah?! Oh! I…" (She looks inside the cabinets and says) "I found some food cans…"
Aria finds some food cans in the kitchen and they're able to have something to eat. Before they know it, the night appears, and they decide that the best is to pass the night in the cabin.
Aria. – "You should take the bedroom…"
Emily and Alison hesitate but, when they look at their boys closing their eyes, and looking uncomfortable in the sofa, they decide to accept the offer. Even after changing clothes, Emily was still feeling cold but, once she gets in bed and she gets trapped in the middle, with her entire family around her; the brunette smiles, feeling very warm with all those arms wrapped around her…
Emily says while kissing each one of their heads. – "I love you so much…"
Alison and the kids don't wake up, they just snuggle deeply into Emily and the brunette falls asleep with a huge smile into the face. While the Emison's family is very cozy in the bedroom; Noel and Aria stay alone, in the living room. Aria was sitting in the sofa, in front of the fire when Noel sits beside her and offers her a blanket…
Noel. – "Here, I found it in the closet…"
Aria smiles. – "Thank you…"
The little brunette puts the blanket around her and, when she sees Noel rubbing his arms and chilling; she expands the blanket and puts it around them…
Noel turns towards her and says. – "Thanks…"
Aria nods and they stay in silence in front of the fire till one of them starts talking…
Noel. – "You did great today…" (He smirks) "Who could ever think your pepper-spray would be so useful…"
Aria play-fully hits Noel's arm and says. – "See! I told you, it was a lethal weapon…"
Noel laughs, and Aria laughs too…
Aria. – "You did great too…"
Noel. – "It was nothing…"
Aria. – "Are you kidding me?! You saved our lives! You saved Em's life… you risked your life out there… you could have died…"
Noel thinks about it, and yes, he could have die… but the idea of dying, in his lonely life, it doesn't look so bad…
Noel sighs with sadness. – "Me, dying, it's not a problem… but Emily has a family, she can't die…"
Aria. – "Don't say that… your life it's important too…"
Noel chuckles with sadness. – "Yeah… right…"
Aria cups his cheeks with her hands and says. – "It matters… okay… your life matters…"
They look at each other into the eyes and Noel smiles. Aria blushes looking at Noel's smile and she quickly stops cupping his face with her hands. That night, they keep talking, about anything and everything; the little brunette laughs a lot with the silly jokes of Noel, she smiles because she can't remember when was the last time she laughed so much…
Aria grabs Noel by the arm, she leans her head on his arm and says. – "Thank you…"
Noel. – "For what?"
Aria closes her eyes and says with a sleepy voice. – "For being here…"
The brunette fall asleep and Noel smiles a lot with Aria's words; it's the kinder thing anyone has told him in a while; and before knowing, he also leans his head over Aria's head and falls asleep with a smile on his face…
*** Music background: In the shadows by Amy Stroup ***
In the middle of the night, Alison wakes up…
Alison mumbles. – "I need to pee…"
It was an old cabin and the bathroom was outside; Alison does her business and when she was walking back, towards the cabin, she stops walking when she stares someone between the shadows of the night…
Alison says angry. – "What the hell?!"
Mona steps forwards and smirks. – "Hi Ali…"
Alison groans angry, staring at Mona, after so long, she recalls all the torture she lived under Cece's hands, under her hands and the blonde was already ready to throw herself to kill but, before she could attack Mona, the other girl say something…
Mona. – "This may look hard to believe, but what if I told you we'd end up on the same side…?"
Alison. – "How about I punch you in the face to remind you we're not!"
Mona chuckles
Alison. – "I'm not joking, I may be hurt, but even in my worse state, I can kick your ass…"
Mona. – "No need of threating me… we all want the same thing…"
Alison raises an eye brow and says. – "Oh, really?! And that's is what exactly?"
Mona. – "To end this game… once and for all…"
Alison. – "Game over…?"
Mona nods. – "Yes… the endgame starts now… are you ready for it?"
In the shadows, new alliances will form and, no one knows which players will truly win this match but, something is undeniable… the endgame is happening now and, it will be to die for… literally… to die for…
Next: Chapter 77 – Endgame
