This is a big one, guys. This and the next chapter are some of my favorites. Thank you to Pinkpoodle8, RHatch89, TooSchweddy, Siren of the Dark Seas, and nick2951 for the reviews. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 11

Since the conversation in the bathroom over a week ago, I haven't been sleeping very well. Every time I close my eyes, I see empty graves and the letter "A," and they haunt my dreams, too.

I still can't believe that after five long months of peace and quiet, someone's taken the "A" game over again. And it's even scarier to think that the person who is sending these texts is most likely the same person who dug up Alison's grave.

I've tried over the past few days to push it all out of my mind. Unless my mother is "A," my family is completely uninvolved this time. The last thing I want to do is get on any new tormentor's radar.

When I jolt awake at two thirty in the morning, I assume it's because of the nightmare I was just having. But then I hear a creak, and I shoot upright in bed, pressing a hand to my chest. I can feel my heart beating hard.

I listen silently for a few moments, and when I don't see or hear anything else strange, I sigh in relief and lay back down, facing the wall. These stupid nightmares are really beginning to drive me crazy.

I stare at the wall that my bed is pushed against, trying to calm down. I'm just about to shut my eyes when a shadow passes across the empty wall. I roll onto my other side and push myself up onto my elbows, gasping.

Mona is kneeling beside the bed, inches away from me. I scream and fall right onto the floor. "Oh my god," I gasp, pulling myself back up. "What are you doing here?" The only reasonable explanation occurs to me and I say loudly, "Were you – were you released? Right now?"

She puts her finger to her lips and hisses, "Be quiet! I snuck out."

"What?" I switch on the lamp on the table and sit down on the edge of the bed. "What do you mean you snuck out? How do you sneak out of a mental institution?"

"I'll explain later," Mona says, pulling a set of car keys out of her pocket. "Come on."

"What? Where?" I ask, but scramble out of bed anyway and pull a sweatshirt on over my pajamas. "And how do you have a car?"

She tosses me the keys. "Yeah, no, these are to your car."

"Huh?" I glance over at my desk, where my key ring sits, undisturbed. I have never been more confused in my life, which is really saying something. I start for the door, then stop and turn back to the window instead. I push it open and hoist myself out, groping in the dark for the nearest tree branch. Mona switches off the light and follows.

We climb into my car and I pull slowly out of the driveway, keeping one eye on my parents' bedroom window for any signs of movement. It's not until I pull up to the stop sign at the corner of our block and finally feel comfortable enough to turn on the headlights that I realize something. "Do you mind telling me where we're going?"
My sister smiles a little. "Turn left here. We're going to Mayflower Hill."

"What, the apartment complex?" I ask in confusion, driving past Main Street. "Why?"
"I'll explain everything when we get there."

I sigh. "I still don't understand how you managed to get out of Radley without anyone noticing."

She leans back against the seat and rolls her eyes. "You ask a lot of questions."

I turn right at the sign that indicates Mayflower Hill. "And you don't answer many."

The building is large and a little shabby looking. I've passed this place a few times but have never given it much thought, because, with all of the other, nicer apartment complexes in town, no one lives here if they can help it. The parking lot is dimly lit and mostly empty. I pull into the first available space and shudder a little. "This is creepy," I say as we climb out of the car. I check to make sure it's locked three times. "You'd better have a good explanation."

"I do," Mona says in the flat tone of voice that I recognize well. My stomach begins to churn and I try not to throw up as we enter the building and walk casually past a security guard, who clearly couldn't care less, on the way to the elevator. I'm beginning to realize what must be going on here.

The second floor of this place is just as dark and barren as the first. I follow my sister down the hall to a door marked "Apartment A". The irony is not lost on me, and I'm more sure now than ever that this is "A" related business. But why do I need to be here? And what, exactly, is behind this door?

Mona pulls another key out of her pocket and unlocks the door. It is only then that I take notice of exactly what she's wearing: A black hoodie and black pants.

My mind flashes back to the night of the masquerade, and I push past her into the room. As soon as I enter, my vision goes a little narrow.

I never got to see her old "A" lair in the Lost Woods Resort, but I certainly tried to imagine what it could have looked like. This is worse.

All four walls are covered with photographs, of Alison, Spencer, Aria, Hanna, Emily, and pretty much everyone who has ever spoken to any of them. Pictures of the girls standing over the open grave. Dozens of newspaper clippings of any article ever written about Alison's disappearance and death. I catch sight of a picture of the four girls in the bathroom…talking to me.

I cringe and look away. A wooden dollhouse stands on a table in the corner. There are five dolls inside, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out who they're supposed to resemble. Aside from a gross-looking sofa that probably came with this place, the only other furniture in the room is a huge desk completely covered with computer monitors and other equipment, and a chair in front of it. A small closet door is open on one side of the room, revealing a neat row of black hoodies, and several other doors, closed, take up the opposing wall.

The claustrophobic feel of the room, along with my general fear, makes me so dizzy that I have to lean against the doorframe. Mona takes this opportunity to shove me further into the apartment, then steps inside and shuts the door.

I stare around, bewildered. It takes me a few tries before I can get words out. "This…this is the 'A' lair."

My older sister smirks at me through the mirror on the wall. She adjusts her ponytail and says, "Wow, Viola. Good observation."

I'm too shocked to be angry. I sit down hard on the dusty sofa and keep my eyes focused firmly on the carpet. "I don't get it," I mumble, trying to get my questions organized. "I saw you in Radley two days ago, and you could barely focus your eyes. Was that all some kind of act?"

"I think you know the answer to that question," she says, grabbing two mugs from the desk and walking over to a coffee maker beside the sofa that I hadn't noticed before. "Coffee?"

I raise an eyebrow, growing fed up with this. "Uh, no. I don't want coffee. I want you to tell me what the hell is going on."

Something shifts in Mona's expression. I can see a little of the tough exterior begin to fade. She brings her mug over and stands in front of me. "I've been sneaking in and out of Radley for months. With this." She pulls a black backpack out from under the desk and unzips it, holding out a white nurse's uniform. A Radley Sanitarium ID card is clipped to the front, with the name "Ali Dee."

I roll my eyes at the name choice. "And how did you get that, exactly? Last I checked, they don't hand disguises out to patients."

She shoots me a look that reminds me of the days when she was simply a Pretty Major Bitch. It seems like forever ago. "The game ended that night at Lookout Point, for a while. But someone came to visit me in Radley. They told me that they could sneak me in and out…if I'd let them play the game with me. It was great, at first. But then things changed. They took over."

"Who is it?" I ask, looking around and suddenly feeling like we're being watched. "Who took over?"

Mona sets the coffee down and sits down next to me. Her emotionless expression changes briefly to one of fear. "I know you've been talking to those girls again," she says.

I'm aware of the change in subject but don't press it. "Only once. They told me about Emily being drugged the night of the grave-digging. I assume you know all about that?"

She doesn't answer, taking another sip of coffee. I wait for a good few moments and finally blurt out in frustration, "If you're not going to answer any of my questions, why did you bring me here in the first place?"

"She wants you to join the team."

Nothing about that sentence makes sense. "What? Who is 'she,' and what team are you talking about?"

"Viola." Mona turns to look at me, with such intensity that my nerves spike even higher. "I'm not the only person involved in this any more."

I still would like to know who this new teammate is, but I ask the more pressing question instead. "So this isn't your game anymore? Someone else is in charge?"

My sister nods. "I only do what she tells me to. It's hard to stay in control when you're locked in a padded room."

I gaze around the space, feeling a little less claustrophobic. "Okay…so you're still 'A.' Fine. I should have known. But what do I have to do with this?"

"She thinks that you'll be a good asset to the team. It'll be easy for you to get in and out of Radley. And she knows how smart you are," Mona says, her voice low.

I shake my head, trying to ignore the little twinge of flattery that I feel. Who cares if some unnamed psychopath thinks I'm smart? But it sneaks in anyway. "If I join the team," I say, slowly, "you'll have to tell me who this person is."

"She goes by Red Coat. That's all you need to know," she tells me, and I know that that's all I'm going to get out of her on that subject.

For a moment, my curiosity almost takes over. But I pinch myself on the arm and snap back to reality quickly. "Wait, what am I even talking about? No. I don't want any part of this, and you shouldn't, either. Why do you possibly think that I want to join your insane little game?"

Mona smiles in a way that gives me a chill. She walks over to the desk, opens a drawer, and pulls out a manila envelope. "Because of this." She slides a photograph out of it and holds it up.

I can feel my stomach sink. The picture is a little blurry and narrow, looking like it was taken from the other side of a mostly-closed door.

But it's not blurry enough to hide the identities of the two people. The man's hand is on the girl's shoulder, in the process of pulling down the strap of her blue tank top. Their mouths are pressed together, but the girl's eyes are wide open.

It's me and Ian. The night of the party.

The night that I've tried so hard to forget.

There's proof.

...

Please let me know what you think, as always! Next chapter, Viola must make a final decision concerning her fate with the "A" team.