This is a big chapter, you guys. Especially the ending. Thanks so much to karma3825, RHatch89, nick2951, Fun With Typing, Mr Tea The Dino, and Pinkpoodle8 for reviewing. I really look forward to reading what you guys have to say about this chapter, so be sure to let me know what you think.

Chapter 31

If I thought Rosewood was weird, Ravenswood is like being on a whole different planet.

The air is chilly, and I wrap my arms around myself, shivering as I follow the other girls toward the park, where I can already hear carnival music playing. "The Great Charlemagne," I read off of the poster clutched in my hand. "Are you guys sure this is a good idea?"

Spencer glances back at me. She's leading the way, of course. "Do we have any other choice? Come on. We're right on time."

We traipse into the park, where a crowd has already gathered in front of a small stage featuring a tall, lanky person, whose face is covered with a layer of face paint so thick that it could be a mask, standing beside a large black box.

"Guys," Hanna whispers, grabbing Aria by the arm. "I think we're being watched."

I follow her gaze, spotting a tall, creepy-looking man standing near the back of the crowd. Sure enough, his gaze is centered right on us. I shudder and look away, trying not to think anything of it. Most people around here are pretty creepy-looking, now that I really look around.

The magician appears to be a mime. He does not speak, only moving fluidly with the music as he gestures to the box, then points directly at Aria. Her face drains of all color. He's clearly looking for a volunteer. "Wha – me? No way."

The crowd is laughing, murmuring their encouragements as the magician points again, more insistently this time. Aria shakes her head firmly. "Really, I just don't do boxes." She glances at me, and I avert my eyes, reddening. I still feel bad about what happened to her on the Halloween train, even though I had nothing to do with it.

As much as I miss the thrill of adrenaline whenever I carried out an "A" plan, I definitely don't miss hurting people.

By this point, the mime has jumped right off of the stage and walked right up to us. "Here," Aria says suddenly, shoving Spencer forward. "Take her. She loves magic."

Spencer glares at her for a moment as the mime bends his knees, making a puppy-dog face through the makeup. "I don't think he's going away," Spencer whispers. "I know this trick. You'll be okay."

"Just go," I hiss, nudging Aria's arm. "We need to see what happens."

Aria finally relents, following the mime onto the stage and moving to stand reluctantly inside the open box. He slams it shut, gestures exaggeratedly, and opens it.

Aria is gone, and I feel my breath hitch in my throat until he closes and opens the box a second time, revealing that the tiny girl is alive and well. I clap along with everyone else as she takes the rose that he offers, impressed. Maybe I'll actually become a fan of magic if it means helping get my sister back.

"That was great," Hanna cheers as Aria rushes back up to us. I laugh, grabbing her arm, but Spencer looks alarmed, gazing around.

"Where's Emily?" she asks in horror, and I turn in a circle, realizing that she's right. Our group of five has decreased to four.

The girls' phones chime with a text, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out who it's from. A beat later, I hear the sound of my own cell, and feel my heart skip a beat. I pull it out uneasily. "A" must be watching us. They must know that I'm here, too.

We exchange concerned glances, checking our phones simultaneously. The message is in French, but I know enough to figure out what it means. Leger de main.

Hanna wrinkles her brow, squinting down at it as she reads it aloud, mispronouncing the first word.

Spencer and I correct her in unison, and she adds quietly, "Slight of hand."

"I can't believe it," I gasp, shoving my phone into my pocket. "When we were watching you, 'A' took Emily."

Instead of putting her phone away, Aria dials Emily's number and holds the phone out. After a few long, horrible moments, Emily answers, her terrified voice ringing through the phone. "Aria?"

"Are you alright?" Aria asks, staring at us in alarm.

"I don't know where I am!" Emily yells, clearly scared and most likely crying. "I don't see anything. It's dark!"

"We're gonna find you, I promise," Spencer calls as Aria changes the phone to speaker. "You just have to help us out."

There is a loud gasp before Emily sobs, "I think I'm locked in a coffin!" She pauses, and the only sound that comes through the phone is a loud whirring. "It's a saw!" Emily cries. "I hear a saw?"

"Like a chainsaw?"

"No! It's big and loud! It's cutting wood and it's getting louder!"

Before she's even finished speaking, Spencer has her phone out and is typing away furiously. "Grunwald lived on Sawmill Road," she says, and I add "Grunwald" to the list of names that I do not recognize. "Oh my god. We're practically on top of it."

"Hold on, Emily!" I yell into Aria's phone, my heart pounding. "We're coming!"

Aria ends the call and we're off, running down the street and around the corner, following the directions on Spencer's phone. I'm glad that I had the common sense not to wear high heels on this adventure. We slam into what looks to be the abandoned warehouse where Emily's cell signal was coming from, and we immediately find the source of the whirring.

A loud, electronic saw sits on a conveyor ahead of us, whirring furiously. On the belt are two objects: A long log, followed by what appears to be a wooden coffin. Banging sounds echo from the box, accompanied by frantic sobbing.

"Emily!" I scream, running alongside the others over to the coffin as she cries out for our help. "How do we get this open?"

We run frantically back and forth for what seems like forever, helplessly looking for some sort of device to turn off the conveyor. It seems hopeless. There's no button, no switch to stop Emily from meeting certain death. And the box is locked tight.

And then the belt stops moving.

"What?" I gasp, exchanging surprised glances with the others. I'm about to comment further, try to figure out how to help Emily escape, when a flash of red moving up the stairs catches my eye. I whirl around, watching Red Coat run up to the second floor. "Guys!"

"There are two of them?" Hanna exclaims, pointing at the door, where a second person in a red coat is exiting. I stare between the two, having trouble comprehending this. My mind cannot make up what to do, but my legs do the thinking for me, and I'm halfway out the door before I realize what I'm doing.

I'm halfway down the sidewalk, Red Coat lurking in a nearby doorway, when I realize that Spencer is beside me. "No," I yell, glancing over at her. "Go help Hanna get Emily out!"

"No way," she yells back, just reaching the doorway, but I push past her, adrenaline coursing through my body.

"Go!" I cry, watching the person in the trench coat pause, halfway up the set of stairs in front of us. It looks like she almost wants us to follow her. "I won't let her get away! Trust me!"

Spencer looks for a moment like she doesn't believe me, but it seems like her concern for Emily finally wins out, and she turns, sprinting back toward the warehouse. I run the other way, chasing Red Coat up the stairs and wondering briefly if I'm following the real villain, or the imposter.

"Who are you?" I yell, pounding up the stairs toward the hooded person, who has stopped, once again, in front of the door at the top. For me, this confirms it. Whoever this is wants me to follow them.

As soon as I get close, the person, clearly a female, turns, about to dart away again. But I can't let that happen. I haven't been this close to Red Coat since she dragged me out of the fire at the lodge. I'm not going to let her get away from me again, not when I'm finally conscious to do something about it.

I dive forward, grabbing onto the sleeve of the coat. The person jerks away, pulling at the coat, but I know that she can't slip out of it without exposing her identity. I tighten my grip, holding on so hard that my knuckles turn white.

"Give it up!" I scream, pulling myself up the remainder of the stairs until I'm on the same level, right in front of that mysterious door. I grab the person's shoulder with my other hand, a wave of déjà vu to the night I unmasked Mona, all those months ago, coming back to me.

Thinking of my sister sends a new wave of anger through me. If this really is Red Coat, then she knows what happened to her. Furious, I yell out, "You're gonna tell me where my sister is, or I'm gonna do a lot worse to you!"

The person is struggling against my grasp, trying frantically to pull away, but before I can lose the opportunity, I release her sleeve and reach up, my fingers closing around the blood red hood.

The fact that I'm about to unmask the person who has been behind this game since the start of the school year does not even occur to me through my adrenaline. Not giving myself time to think, I push down the hood, and a shocked face stares back at me.

It's Alison.

...

Thanks for reading! Next up, Viola's unnerving realization that Alison is alive leaves her more unsure than ever...and another discovery leads the girls closer to finally finding out who "A" is.