Alissa

SACRIFICE

Alissa pulls herself back on her feet. She sees that Felix has held Kevin again, his arm wrapped around his throat. Kevin is gritting his teeth, his eyes are bulging out as if they'll fall out of his sockets. "I'll do it," Alissa's tone is final. "Take me. But don't hurt the others."

"Alissa..." Holly says but a pang of guilt overtakes her, drowning her words. She's trying to stop a girl from sacrificing herself who she had called out all night for being the culprit.

"Come in," Felix says. "And I'll let him go."

"No. You send him out and I'll come in without causing any trouble." The girl who was silent and shy, got bullied to the point she had to change schools, is standing in front of killer, no fear in her eyes and conviction in her words, ready to sacrifice herself for others. For those who didn't even trust her in the first place.

Whack. Blood is oozing out from Kevin's temple where Felix smacked him with his gun's handle again. He flickers his eyes slowly, and then he droops his head down, going very still. "You'll do what I say."

As soon as Alissa scrambles inside the cabin, Felix pushes Kevin away from him, sending his unconscious body staggering outside the chamber, falling right in Cody's arms.

Limping up to the door, he shuts it close with a thud and fastens the latch. Even with a knife sunk in his lower leg, which, Alissa thinks, he didn't dare to pull it out, he fleetly turns around, aiming the gun at her. The smell of gunpowder and grease is all over the chamber, a little too sharp, making it's way—almost forcefully—inside the nostrils which isn't really surprising considering the size of the cabin. He flicks the gun at the chair at the corner of the room. "Bring that here," he's pointing at the centre of the room with his gun now. "And sit."

Alissa drags the chair, it's steel legs screeching against the stone floor that lay there in contrast with the tiled floor outside. "What do you want?"

Suddenly, he takes hold of her cheeks, his grip firm. He squeezes them until her lips part, leaving her mouth gaping; her face looking gawky. Then he inserts the barrel of the gun in her mouth, the taste of oil and grease and salt and steel, heavy on her tongue. He runs his slender finger on the trigger, very slowly. "You dead."

The faint sound of footsteps were audible to the eight of them when they were lightly slapping Kevin on his cheeks, hoping he'd wake up. Derek's hands were bloody, almost gloved in blood as some of the blood had made it's way down to his cheeks, leaving one side of his face streaked in scarlet while the other remained the same, just covered in sweat and bruises from the time Kevin got in a fight with Lucas. Holly, who wouldn't have even talked to him in a million years if the situation was...ideal, had somewhat become his friend in just one night. She was the one who closed his eyelids when the door in front of them shut and it was safe to move.

"We need to give him a proper funeral," Holly had said.

"We will when all of this gets over," Sarah said, however there was no conviction in her words. She wasn't sure if she'd even be alive herself to give Lucas a funeral when all of this did get over.

Kevin gasps as his eyes shoot open, as if he was rescued from drowning and had air pushed into his windpipe. A sharp stabbing pain flared up in his head as he sat up straight. He winced as he dragged himself along the floor until he was resting his back against the wall. "Where's Alissa?"Kevin asked.

"Kevin," Megan said. "She's inside."

Kevin sweared under his breath, something inaudible and then pushing his wrist against the floor, tried to mount back on his feet, but he then dropped back on his rear, wincing in pain. He again pushed his body off the ground, groaning in pain, trying to sound as low as possible. Finally, with his hands around Derek's neck, he got back up, black threads floating at the corner of his vision. "We need to break in," said Kevin. "Again."