The sister in the dark

Chapter 17

The moment I see her, she runs. Away from me, through the trees, further and further away from me. Rose was always the faster one, the one that won all our races. But despite this fact, I still want to chase her. Try and catch up.

I'm exhausted from my run through the trees less than two minutes ago, and my leg still isn't 100%, so I am running much, much slower than her. She must know these woods really well.

Completely lost, I turn into a clearing. The call of a red kite screams above me. Then something, thrown out of the bushes maybe, lands at my feet. A scrunched up piece of paper. Then I hear slowly retreating footsteps and I'm all alone once again.

I un-scrunch the paper and discover it's another page of her diary. Maybe It will give me more answers.

Dear Diary,

When Charlotte took her last breath, I ran. Away from what I had done. Away from the guilt that would never leave me. Away from the mess I had made. I didn't know where I was going, but I did know that couldn't stop.

Somewhere, in the middle of the woods, near the Saxon Deities maybe, I found a tunnel. A freezing cold, concrete- lined tunnel. A tunnel that could possibly lead nowhere. But I had to try it, just in case.

Then the bottom of the page was ripped off and Rose had written:

That's all you need to know. Come and find me tomorrow. Love you.

I had less than 24 hours before I got to see Rose again. Hirah and Milly need to know.

Ten minutes later, I'm outside my dorm. I push the door open and I am greeted by a snarling Olivia.

"Your sister isn't dead," she snarls. "Charlotte wouldn't kill Amelia, but Rose would."

"After Charlotte ran away, me and Amelia were best friends. Actually, when Charlotte was still alive, all three of us were very close. And now I'm the only one left. So I will avenge their deaths."

Remembering how Rose was bullied, I flinch inwardly. What will Olivia do to me? Will I even live to see tomorrow? This school is a hellhole - how many murders do I have to avoid?

"There was another friend I had. She wasn't as close as Charlotte and Amelia, but was a good friend. Her name is Emily."

The door swings open again and Emily walks in. She pulls something out of her pocket, something I have only heard about in Rose's diary.

Something I dread, not just because of my fear of sharp things, but also because I have heard about what it can do.

Emily has pulled out Amelia's flint knife. Olivia pulls a gag over my mouth.

And I know that the next hour is going to be more than just torture.