The sister in the dark

Chapter 29

"You need to... fill us in... on the details," Olivia pants.

"I will."

"As soon as we find somewhere safe to stop," says Hirah.

Olivia is slow at running and tires easily. Hirah and I are not at all exhausted, running at our primes.

Eventually, after lots of agonising slowing down to wait for Olivia, the three of us reach a safe enough place in the trees, a bench overlooking the corner of the lake.

"Do you promise not to say a word?" I ask Olivia.

"Yes, I do."

"I'll start from the beginning. When I arrived here, thinking Rose was dead, I found her jewellery box in her wardrobe. There was a note, telling me to speak to Hirah, and together we found the first and second clues. The next day, at lunchtime, I climbed up to the roof, but fell, and was unconscious for two days. When I woke up, I found out that Milly's mother was dead, and Hamika wanted to see me. We met up, he tried to kill me, I climbed onto the roof successfully, found the clue and that's when you found Amelia's body and reported it missing. I went to check it out, found Rose and she told me of her location. We both know what happened next. Hirah got me away, then in the woods she killed Hamika. We buried him and slept overnight in the grotto. The next morning, the two of us went to find Rose, but she was gone and you and Emily kidnapped me. Hirah was hiding in that room and followed us for a while, apparently, but then she went back to school after realising there was no chance of getting me back. You locked me up in the tower with Rose, I noticed that there was a loose tile, and this morning I knocked it away, and was pulling Rose up when Emily arrived. We fought for Rose, she won, stabbed Rose three times and I shoved her out of a window. I hid my sister in a bush and walked back to school, where I met you in architecture. I was called to the headmaster about why I wasn't in school, told some lies and got away. Rose had managed to almost kill herself in the hour I was gone for, so Milly and I... did some questionable surgery on her then carried her to Milly's house, where she is now. I went to back to school, as you know. And that's about it. Anything you want to add, Hirah?"

"No, but I do have one question: What the hell?"

"That's everything that has happened since I arrived here."

"And you said it all in four minutes?"

"Uh huh."

"Right. Moving on..."

"I have a question," pipes up Olivia, who is still looking flushed from the run over here, "How did you find out that Rose was alive?"

"A quest of elaborate diary entries and other small shenanigans."

"Like what?"

"You."

"Thanks... I guess."

"Do you think it's safe to go back?" Hirah asks.

"Nope. The security camera caught every word. The police were keeping an eye on us already. They were definitely watching."

"I want to go back. It's cold out here, and it's warm inside. I can't believe you would keep me out here in November." Olivia complains

"And yet you locked me in a tower for a day."

"About that," Hirah interjects, "There is now a full blown search for the 'Stowe murderer'. People seem to think it might be Charlotte,"

"That's not going to last much longer if the school leaks the security footage."

"Exactly. And all three of us will end up suspects. Me because I said Charlotte was dead instead of Rose and found the second body, Hirah because she found Emily and Charlotte's bodies, then Evelyn because she was missing for an entire day, and siblings with the new murder suspect."