Disclaimer: I do not own Degrassi.
Author's note: Ah, this is almost over! Thanks for making my last fanfic such an awesome experience. And I couldn't help the tiny Panic reference in this chapter, ahaha. Some questions won't be completely answered, but that will happen next chapter. Hang in there!
"I've been tracing your steps along with your dainty, exquisite guest.
Across mountain land and serpentine seas, these two have been on quite an odyssey."
The End and the Beginning | Forgive Durden
Pain. Pain, pain, and more pain.
Clare can't see a thing. She's blindfolded, and she can't scream either because somebody stuffed a sock in her mouth. Her face is pressed against the cold concrete and her hands are tied behind her back, and she can't move. She's going to die, and she is scared.
Maybe she trusted the wrong people all along.
Clare wants to speak out, but she obviously can't. Her hair is soaked in something, and it smells like iron and salt. She knows that it's blood, and she wonders if the wound in her head is serious enough to kill her.
"Clare Edwards, you look so pathetic right now."
The smell of weed takes control of Clare's nostrils and she feels more nauseous than before.
"I would offer you some, but I know that you don't like it." A pause that lasts an eternity, and Clare feels even more afraid. "People trusted you. Fuck, they did. I never trusted you, though. I knew your game all along, but I just waited patiently until everything fell apart."
Clare hears someone coughing in the background, followed by a loud groan. The echo of footsteps is the only audible thing now, and Clare's heartbeats speed up.
"Fuck." Fiona is so close to Clare, she can almost feel the body heat. "He's dying. Your man is dying. Oh, well."
Clare feels terrified at those words, because she's not the only one in danger. She just keeps hurting the people around her, and he might die because of her. Her stupid mistakes.
"When Sadie found out all this stuff about me, I freaked out." The cold laugh makes Clare's heart freeze but she keeps waiting for the confession. "So I had to kill her, obviously. It was very easy; she kept opening her big mouth… such a stupid dork. She kept making hints that she belonged to our lovely secret society and that kind of pissed me off. It didn't bother me at all, killing her. After all, I've killed before."
The truth at last, but it doesn't make things any easier. Clare is about to die, no doubt about it, and her last thoughts will consist of nothing but regret and guilt.
"Sorry, Clare. I don't want to kill you but I don't really have a choice. To quote good old Chuck: 'All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring.' Well, you got boring, and I'm pretty much God right now. Goodbye."
Clare feels the barrel of the gun pressed against the back of her neck, and it feels cold and rusty. She wonders if it's the same gun that killed Sadie, and she can feel the tears rolling down her cheeks. She never wanted to end up like this.
"Nah… not yet," says Fiona. "Not yet."
Clare isn't blindfolded anymore, and she immediately recognizes the room in Wilson Hall where Acuity meets. She glances and sees Jake lying next to her, his hands tied behind his back, his face pressed against the floor.
"Jake," mutters Clare anxiously. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, Clare, I'm fucking fantastic," he groans, and Clare notices the blood caked in his hair.
"You two are so stupid," says Fiona brusquely, helping both of them sit up. "How did you even find out about Acuity in the first place, Martin?"
"I… heard rumors," he coughs. "And my editor… encouraged me…" Jake's eyelids are fluttering, like he's about to fall asleep, and Clare notices the bruises on his face.
"Holly J Sinclair," says Fiona haughtily. "She never got over the fact that Declan dumped her. Ha. Not surprised."
"Holly J dated Declan?" asks Clare, trying to make time. For what? She doesn't know.
"Yeah… I believe my dear brother bragged about belonging to a secret society," says Fiona, pacing back and forth as the gun sits in her hand. "His mistake. I'm sure Holly J obsessed over it… no wonder she wanted you to write about it."
Fiona stops pacing, and she faces Jake and Clare. "Sadie started talking to her," continues Fiona, looking pleased. "Or maybe it was the other way around. All I know is that both talked about an incident in my past, Sadie threatened to tell Eli, and I had to kill Sadie. Simple, isn't it?"
Fiona pulls out documents from her back pocket and tears them apart in front of them. "Dave had them," she says, smiling menacingly. "Sadie wasn't stupid… Well, she was, but not that stupid. She left these with Dave… Imogen told me. That's the good thing about being Imogen's friend. She finds out stuff."
"Imogen?" asks Clare, shocked.
"She saw me kill Sadie," says Fiona. "Eli told her he was meeting with Sadie that night, and curious Imogen went to see what they were up to… I think Eli sort of crushed on Sadie, and Imogen was intrigued by that."
"So you blackmailed her," says Jake, his voice tired.
"I told her that if she said anything, I would kill Eli," says Fiona nonchalantly. "She's so protective of that boy, so of course she said yes. Adam started growing suspicious of our closeness, and Imogen made sure to make all his doubts go away. One day I told her why I killed Sadie, and she has kept that a secret too… She's really good with secrets when it comes to me."
"Dave, what about Dave?" asks Clare, and she swears that she just heard a door opening, but maybe she's imagining things, because Fiona didn't even flinch.
"That was pretty easy," says Fiona. "Declan rented a car because I asked him to, and he never asks questions. Imogen drove, I shot Dave."
"You're sick!" yells Clare. "You're so sick!"
"Hey, Imogen is the one who has been giving me information," laughs Fiona. "Eli trusts her too much."
Clare tenses up when Fiona looks directly at her, her icy eyes boring into her. "Eli told her about the conversation you guys had with Wesley," says Fiona calmly. "About how Dave left him a clue. By the way, have you seen Wesley around campus?"
Clare and Jake look at each other in horror, and Fiona starts laughing again. "Ah, I didn't mean to push him off that bridge," says Fiona, slumping her shoulders mockingly. "He seemed excited when I told him I knew who killed Dave and Sadie… even more excited when I flirted with him. Poor thing. He shouldn't have told me he didn't know how to swim."
"You killed Wesley?" gasps Clare.
"No, no," says Fiona sternly. "Bad Clare. He killed himself. That's what it looked like… that's what people will say when they finally find his body. I thought I had paid people off to keep quiet about what happened years ago, but apparently, your past can catch up with you."
It doesn't buy you happiness, Clare thinks, Dave's clue engraved in her mind.
"What did you do?" asks Jake, and the doors burst open.
Eli is standing there, holding a knife in his hand, and Imogen is right behind him.
"What the hell?" asks Fiona in disbelief, glaring at Imogen. "You told him?"
"I had to," whispers Imogen.
"I can't believe this," says Eli in disgust. "You killed Sadie and Dave? Imogen just told me… I can't believe this. Put that gun down."
Fiona seems affronted for a second, but then she raises her hand and shoots. Imogen squeals and falls, and Eli quickly drops to his knees to see what happened.
"Fuck, Fiona, you shot her!" says Eli angrily, and Imogen is starting to sob.
"Oh, calm down, it just grazed her," says Fiona as Imogen sits up, clutching her side. Eli rips the fabric of Imogen's dress with his knife, and sure enough, it's only a scratch.
"Clare," says Jake quietly, and Clare jumps in shock when she sees that Jake has untied himself. Jake starts to fumble with the rope imprisoning Clare's wrists, while Fiona continues to look at Imogen and Eli with contempt in her eyes.
"Just sit here," says Eli, moving Imogen to a corner. He walks over to where Jake and Clare are, both of them standing up slowly, and Eli stands in front of them.
"Imogen just told me you killed them," says Eli callously. "I want to know why."
"Did Imogen tell you that she helped kill Dave as well?" asks Fiona venomously.
"Answer my question," snaps Eli, ignoring Jake's insistent coughing.
Fiona brings the gun closer to her chin, and for a moment, Clare thinks that she's going to shoot herself. But no, she continues to look at Eli in mild amusement, and she smiles.
"Sadie knew," says Fiona, pressing her lips against the barrel of the gun. "So, I had to kill her. And Dave found out somehow… I had to kill him too."
Imogen starts wailing in the corner, wrapping her arms around her knees as she rocks back and forth. She's not looking at any of them, and Clare cringes when she notices that Imogen's gray dress is turning red.
"Knew what?" asks Eli, wiping the blood from his mouth. Clare remembers how Declan brought up Fiona's drinking problem, how Imogen seemed mortified by it. Because Imogen knows too. It all makes sense.
"Did you ever find out who killed Julia, Eli? Did you ever find out who ran over her that night?" asks Fiona calmly, and Eli drops his knife.
"No," he breathes.
"I was young, it was a new car…" Fiona trails off, reminiscing. "I was at a friend's house and I drank too much. I didn't see her, Eli. I didn't mean to kill her and drive away, but I had to leave. I got home and showed my car to Declan… he and my parents took care of it. Paid it all away."
Eli is shaking, and Clare reaches out for his hand without thinking. To her surprise, Eli squeezes back, but he's still not looking at Clare.
"My life went downhill after that," says Fiona, and she sounds honestly sad. "I didn't drink again, but I was depressed and haunted by guilt. I got in abusive relationships, as you all know… that's why Acuity asked me to join. And you guys became my family, I mean, besides Declan."
Fiona looks at the gun and then back at them, and her steely resolve seems to reemerge. "Then when you sort of talked about Julia, it hit me," she says darkly. "Julia was the one I killed, and I was terrified that you would find out and kick me out of Acuity. I couldn't bear with that. Not when I was finally… home."
"Sadie found out that you killed Julia," says Eli pragmatically. "That's why you killed her."
"After Holly J and Declan broke up, Holly J was so intent in destroying us, the Coynes," continues Fiona dreamily. "And then Jake here joined the paper, both of them scheming to find out about Acuity… I could feel everything catching up with me. Especially when I saw Sadie and Holly J talking outside Urie Hall … and then Imogen told me Sadie asked you to meet… I knew I had to do something."
Clare's head is hurting with all the information that has been discussed; she can only imagine how Eli is feeling. Jake is just gaping at Fiona, and Imogen is trying to stand up.
"Fiona, that is insane," says Eli sadly. "You… could have just come clean."
"And lose my place in Acuity?" cackles Fiona. "Lose everything? No."
"But you've already lost," says Imogen as she moves towards the group. "You lost your place the moment you killed one of us."
"Shut up," says Fiona, pointing the gun at Imogen. Imogen takes another step, and Eli reaches out to stop her.
"Run," Imogen mutters from the corner of her mouth.
"I think my ribs are broken," says Jake, his tone pained.
"No," mutters Eli back, and Imogen takes another step.
"I will shoot you, Imogen," says Fiona, her voice cracking. "I will!"
Imogen glares at Eli, and both of them exchange looks that Clare can't read, and Eli finally nods.
"Imo-" starts Fiona, but Imogen lunges at her, and Fiona screams as they both scuffle on the ground.
"Run, damn it!" says Imogen, and Clare has never heard her use that tone of voice before. Eli grabs Clare by the hand and drags her along, Jake running behind them.
"Shit, shit, shit," says Eli as they run down the hallway, headed towards the exit. "I dropped my key in there."
"Why do you need a key?" asks Clare, and Jake is heaving. They hear someone screaming behind them and Clare hopes that it's not Imogen.
"Because the doors to Wilson Hall automatically lock whenever you close them… since the building is supposed to be protected and what not," says Eli impatiently as he drags them down another hallway. "Fuck!"
Jake collapses behind them, but Eli continues running. Clare tugs on his hand and Eli stops, rolling her eyes at her. Eli lets go of Clare's hand and walks over to Jake, grabbing him by the back of his plaid shirt.
"Come on, lumber-idiot…" snarls Eli, helping Jake get up. Jake holds on to Eli as they try to find the exit, and Clare is still thinking about Imogen. She was just trying to protect Eli, she never meant to…
"You're useless," says Eli breathlessly, looking at Jake.
"Another door!" says Clare, pointing to a door at the end of the hallway. They run to it, Jake's face getting greener and greener, and Eli snaps.
"It's locked!" gasps Eli in frustration, pushing Jake away. "Goddamn it, I…"
"Where do you think you're going?" asks Fiona, and the three of them turn around.
"Fiona, please," mumbles Jake, causing Fiona to shoot him in the knee, and Jake falls to the ground, howling in pain.
Fiona points the gun directly at Clare, and everything is over. They're going to die.
"Fiona, no!"
Clare closes her eyes and braces herself, holding her breath. She hears the shot, but she doesn't feel a thing. However, she hears a painful groan, and she decides to open her eyes.
Eli holds on to her, a grunt escaping his lips. And the horror of what just happened dawns on Clare.
"Oh God, no!" cries Clare, seeing the dullness in Eli's eyes. She wraps her arms around him as Eli starts collapsing, and both slide to the floor. Eli blinks, his face quickly going pale as Clare feels how her legs are getting warm with his blood.
"Eli… look at me…" whispers Clare, and Eli blinks slowly, a thin line of blood escaping his lips.
Clare looks up, and Fiona's shaking hand is still holding the gun, her eyes filled with fear. "I have to... I-"
Clare sees a limping Imogen creep behind Fiona, a brick in her hand. The front of Imogen's dress is damp with blood, and the girl looks like she's about to pass out as she holds the brick. Fiona's finger starts to clutch the trigger, and Clare screams when Imogen hits Fiona in the back of her head, making the latter collapse on the ground unconsciously. Imogen stares at Fiona's limp body, breathing heavily as she takes the gun away from her, and then Imogen's eyes fix on Eli.
"Oh no!" cries Imogen, falling on her knees and burying her face in her hands. "This is my fault, I shouldn't have sent that envelope to the newspaper…"
This bit of news surprises Clare, the fact that Imogen was the one who sent the information to the paper is a bit shocking, but she has no time to process this. Not when Eli just got shot.
"It's okay," coughs Eli. "I'll be okay, Imogen."
But his voice is already sounding so far gone, like it doesn't belong to him, and Clare can't stop crying. Jake is stirring on the background, and Clare can hear sirens approaching.
"I... found Fiona's phone," explains Imogen, sniffling as she stares desolated at Eli. "I called the cops."
"Cool," breathes Eli, and Clare can feel the warmth ebbing away from his body.
"Stay with me, please," begs Clare, running a bloody hand through Eli's hair.
Eli looks into her eyes and his smirk is barely noticeable as one of his trembling hands grazes Clare's cheek. "I didn't know," he says quietly.
"What?" asks Clare, the sirens getting louder and louder.
"I didn't know... about you and Jake," confesses Eli, and Clare feels something inside of her fall apart. "I found out at the same time everybody else did. I lied to you. I never used you... I just..." He breathes deeply and winces, as if the mere act is bringing him intense pain. "I was so mad. And I shouldn't have said certain things, I didn't mean them."
"No, I understand," nods Clare, and Eli starts coughing again, his full lips splattered with blood. "Just stay with me. Don't leave me, okay?" Approaching footsteps make Clare feel slightly relieved, she knows everything will be okay now. Imogen is still crying, and Clare tries to smile at her but fails at it.
"He's not breathing," says Jake as he crawls over to them, leaving a trail of blood behind them.
"What?" Clare looks at Eli, and his eyes are closed, his lips parted, and... Eli's not breathing. At all.
"No, please, no," says Clare hysterically, and the paramedics are now visible to them.
"Your hands where I can see them!" yells a cop who is trailing behind the medical team.
"That's the culprit," says Jake, pointing at Fiona, who is starting to regain consciousness.
"Miss, I need you to move," says one of the paramedics as another one starts pulling Clare away.
"He's not breathing!" cries Clare as a paramedic restrains her. "He's not- Please, God, do something!"
Clare's heart is racing, and her lungs are shutting down, because the paramedics are trying to revive Eli, and they're getting no response. Eli can't die, he can't, Clare can't wrap her mind around the idea of never seeing him again.
No, Eli can't die.
"Non-responsive," barks one of the paramedics, and Clare wants to throw up. She isn't even paying attention to Fiona's frantic screams and complaints, she doesn't even notice when a paramedic approaches Imogen and Jake. Her eyes are glued to the man she loves, the man who isn't waking up.
Her throat is closing now, and the air is too painful to breath, so she stops breathing. She stops breathing because Eli isn't opening his eyes, because he isn't smirking back at her. Clare's head is about to explode with the pressure, and she feels the paramedic letting go of her.
The last thing Clare sees is the cold, hard floor, and darkness engulfs her.