Chapter 2
"What?!"
The girls were shocked. 'A' wasn't messing with just them! A feeling of relief mixed with fear, shock and disbelief came over them. They tried to process things.
"I guess you now want the full story, right?"
Everyone nodded. Alex took a deep breath then started her story:
"My best friend had her way of getting everything she ever wanted through blackmailing, bribing, manipulating or using her puppy dog effect but never through pleading. She hated it. It was a sign of weakness, and she'd never show anything like that. Other than that, she was never nice or friendly towards the weak, but she'd rather bring them down. Even though she was mean, I hung around with her because she was the 'it' girl, the girl that everybody wanted to be like or even have the chance to be friends with. Every time she mocked the nerds, I could see the pain in their eyes, that desire to accost her and beat the crap out of her. I could smell the revenge cooking in the pot. But they never did anything about it, they couldn't.
Then one night, at a sleepover, she got a text. She froze then put herself back together and said she had to leave. I asked why, and she said that it was a family emergency. I shrugged, so she said her goodbyes and left. And it was the last time I ever heard from her. But when she was reading the text, I heard her mumble, "A….bitch…it's the last time". I didn't give it much attention until I said the same exact thing one night. That's when I realized that when 'A' loses toys, 'A' will find new ones.
My friend always underestimated the nerds. And I think that was the thing that led to her murder. The helpless that she hurt hurt her back. I think it's them, the 'A' team, because I would always see them in groups, throwing glances at us, glances that wanted to pierce our souls and burn them.
They started standing up to her, showing signs of courage and confidence that later evolved into challenging signs of evil and revenge.
When our friend disappeared, we started getting text messages from 'A'.
I think 'A' wants us to pay for what we did, for not standing up to the bully and defending them. We could have stopped Alison DiLaurentis from always having that smirk on her face, but we didn't. So we're suffering now like they did and even worse, because we were also the cause of their pain.
When I saw you four on the first page of the Rosewood Observer more than once with these incredible stories, resembling mine, I immediately knew you were being haunted by 'A'." She pointed to the newspaper that was still in her hands.
So many thoughts were rushing through the Liars' heads. Alison? Their Alison DiLaurentis? She was head of another clique? Is it possible that the hunted became the hunters? A gunshot suddenly interrupted their thoughts. A second ago Alex was standing there talking, the next, she was lying on the ground, holding her bleeding shoulder, moaning in pain.
Before the girls could lean over her, that familiar buzz made them immobile. They took out their phones and read in one voice: "That's what happens to snitches. –A"