Chapter 13: Sigh

The boats arrived at 12:10.
We got on, and the crew didn't believe our story.

"Let's go look," Jocelyn, a cop said to me. "We could help."
"I'm not going back there," I breathed.

"It's too much?" Jocelyn asked me, and patted my back. "Don't worry. We're bringing you home. You're safe now."
I looked over my shoulder, glaring at the beautiful, and now body filled Shelly Island.

I walked to Derek. He was sitting down. "It's over," I sighed.

He didn't reply.

"Derek?"
"Yeah?"
"It's…over," I repeated.

He nodded.

Ashley was standing with Jacob, another coast guard, not speaking when he asked who was after Kikko.
She finally took in a breath. "My fiancé, Kyle."
I turned away, to look at the island, one last time.

We didn't go back.

Jacob was asking me about each of the murders.

"And then Julie got shot," I sighed. "By one of us. It was a boy named Michael, but he got killed by Kross."
"And then Carmen, the hotel owner?" Jacob asked.

"Well, we believed its Kross, but I think that Michael killed her, too," I sighed.

"But that's not possible, you see," Jacob said, looking at me sternly. "Michael was with you the whole time. And Kross…he couldn't have done it."
"How?" I gasped.

"Well, if he had killed Carmen, then how could he have gotten her into the fireplace without any of you noticing?"

Ashley walked over, shocked.
My eyes widened. "So….another…"

"No one else besides you, yourself and Mr. Meyers could have," Jacob concluded.

"Ahh!" screamed Jocelyn.

We turned to see her get stabbed by Derek. He smiled, and threw her overboard.

"Derek!" I screamed. "What are you doing?!"
He shook his head and smiled.

Jacob pulled out a gun. "Mr. Meyers!"

Thought raced through my head.

How in the world? Why is he doing this? What would make him do this? What…

It made sense then.

"You're…adopted…" I trailed off, too. Then it hit me.
"Derek Kross," Derek smiled again.

"What?!" Ashley screamed.

I nodded. "Oh, my God."
"That gun is out of bullets," laughed Derek.

"No," Jacob sighed. "It's not. I'm sorry I have to kill you." He pressed the trigger, and sure enough, nothing happened. I screamed, as Derek came up and pulled the gun away from Jacob, and turned it over, beating him with the butt of it.

Derek turned to me and chuckled, pulling out a knife from his back pocket.

"Derek…how…."
"What? You thought there where only 3 killers did you? Well, guess again."
"You let me kill your own father?" I could barley say it without tearing.

"…he had to go…."

"How is this possible…? You're not making any sense!" I screamed.

He shook his head. "It's not that complicated."
"How did you keep this away from me?" I cried. "How? We're best friends!"
Derek shook his head. "Listen, Nicole. I hated my stupid foster family. They never gave a damn. Then, one day, I met Kross. He told me the truth, gave me proof, and he helped me."
"Helped?"
"Kill my family."

Ashley and I gasped, and I put my hand to my mouth.
"It can be the same, it can be the same," he repeated.

I shook my head. "How the hell can it be the same?!"
"We'll go back to the island. We can go to one of the small neighborhoods in the east. We can pretend we died in a fire. In the Hamilton. It's burnt, you know. While we where "planning" to kill Kross, he ran back, and set it on fire. He needed to destroy it, I forgot why. We could pretend, and live there forever, Nicole. Just us."

"And what about me…" Ashley trailed off.

"You…go…"
"No," I breathed. "No."
"Why not? We're best friends; it can be like old times! We have food, water, and the island to ourselves! Just us! It'll be just you and me."
"Derek…"

"We're turning the boat around. And living there. Forever."

"No!" I screamed.
"Why not, Nicole?" Derek smiled.

"I've known you my whole life…"

He walked towards me, and Ashley and I ran in a different direction, towards the front of the boat. I grabbed hold of the radio.

"Mayday, mayday," I repeated. "This is Nicole Carter; I'm at Shelly Island, someone's trying to kill us!"
Static.

He shook his head. "You stupid girl."

"You're a sociopath, Derek. A complete socio. You need help," I nodded.

He chuckled.

"Who did you kill?" I gulped.

"Kevin…Selena….Kikko…and that stupid loser," he turned his head to Jocelyn, in the water. "And Carmen. I tricked her, and my dad helped me cut her up."

"When you took Kikko to the beach…you…" Ashley gasped.

Derek nodded. "Thanks for the help, Nicole."

"So either kill me or go back to Shelly Island?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Would you really kill me?"

Derek took a deep breath.
"Please, Derek," Ashley said.

He rolled his eyes.
"I want the old Derek back!" I cried. "Bring him back…"
"It's still me!" Derek said. "Just…"
"Just a serial killer trying to kill his best friend?"
"I won't kill you."
"Then why are you still holding the knife?"
He groaned, and kicked the knife across the boat. "See? Happy. Just us 3."

"Why where we brought to this stupid island?" Ashley asked.

He sighed. "Ted didn't invite us. That's what Carmen thought. But my Dad did the invitations, I sent them out. We told Ted about it, and told him he'd be safe if he did what we told him to. When he was gone all those times, he was with my father. It was working until you killed him…"
"Again," I snapped. "Why did you bring us here?!"
He sighed.
"Do you like killing?!" Ashley asked. "Is it some guilty pleasure of yours?"
"Well…"
"That's it?!"
"No…I'd never hurt you…that's why I thought we could live here. I love you!"

"You're still gonna kill us," I said, taking a deep breath.

He shook his head, getting angry. "I won't hurt you!"
"What do you mean?!" I asked. "You killed everyone else!"
He shook his head again. "You don't need anyone else, you have me!"

"I don't want you!" I yelled the words that I regretted.

His face was hard to describe. Crazed, confused, scary…

Then I got an idea.
"What are you gonna do back home?" I shook my head, smiling too.

"What do you mean?" he laughed.

"You being the only survivor, you'll be on trial. You won't have any proof that you weren't the only killer. You'll be sent to jail, for probably the rest of your life," I smiled.

He ran over to where he kicked the knife, and ran at me.

I gasped, and dodged it, kicking him over.

He fell, and grunted. Ashley gasped and ran back to the front of the boat, trying to get signal.

I quickly grabbed the knife from him, about to lunge it threw his neck.

"Same goes for you. If you're the only one left, then you'll be on trial," he laughed.

I breathed for a moment. He was right.

"Please, Nicole…"
"I will not go back to the island with you. Never."

He grunted and cussed at me.

Then, Jacob stood up, taking me by surprise.
"We'll be fine if there is more than one survivor," he said. "And Ashley's still alive."

That made me jump in shock. He was still alive!
Derek ran at him, pushed him out of the way, and stabbed him.

He groaned.

"No!" Ashley screamed.

Derek stood up. "Ugh…sorry you had to see that…"
"Derek…" I trailed off.

I bent down to help Jacob out. Ashley still tried to get signal. Derek dropped the knife, and sighed. "I'm sorry…it's gonna work out."
"Go to Hell," I snapped.

I heard his heavy footsteps come at me. I didn't know what to do. I grabbed the knife…

He groaned….

"Derek!" I gasped, my face frozen in terror.

"Nicole….how…oh…ah…" he trailed off, now choking on his blood.

I was still frozen no movement.

"I'm so sorry…" It came out of my mouth, finally.

"I love you…" he choked again.

"…bye Derek…"

Ashley gasped and went completely silent.

He sighed and lay to the ground.
Nothing.

Jacob started to choke. "You…can't get rid of me… that easily."
I smiled. Thank God!

"He's dead?" Ashley asked.

Jacob nodded. "Yes, he is."
There was a note in Derek's pocket. And a figurine from the house.

The note read,
"If you read this, then you have survived, Nicole. Then you…didn't see things my way. You can do the honors and get rid of this piece of crap. Hopefully, no one else is alive except for us. In that case, and then there was one.
I smiled, and closed my eyes.

"It's over," Jacob confirmed.

"I know," I smiled, and hugged Ashley. "It's over."

I took the figurine, and threw it as hard as I could into the water.
We where back in California 10 minutes later.

Reporters where covering all over the docks.

"Miss Carter! Miss. Richardson!" a middle-aged man yelled. "Are you the only survivors?"
I nodded. Ashley sighed.
I smiled and figured that this would happen when, or if, I returned.

"How many got killed?"
"Who was killing?"
"Would you ever go back if you had to?"
I wondered how they knew all about it.

"Please," Jacob sighed. "Let her be. Questions may be asked later."
"Thanks," I sighed.

Ashley and I sat down in a coffee shop. I didn't get anything; Ashley got a piece of coffee cake.

Daisy…Kyle…Kikko…Selena…Nick…all those people…just for me…

But I had to forget about it. It was all over. We where both safe, and alive.

"Do you…wanna get together and hang out soon?" Ashley asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, and we'll probably see each other a lot, with all of the press…"
"Oh," she grunted. "I just wish I was in the news for something not horrifying."
We laughed.

The next day, I woke up around noon. I walked down the stairs of my parents' house; I was staying with them for a couple days.

They already left to work, and I picked up some toast and got the news paper. The heading: MASSACRE ON SHELLY ISLAND!
I read some of it, gasped, and read out-loud to myself.

"Funeral on Shelly Island next week," I sighed. "Ugh, great." I thought about it for a moment. "I think I'll pass…"

The End.