Dark Woods Academy

Chapter 26

Chapter 26
Webster, Blaze and two other guards came about an hour later.
“Take them to the falls, you know what to do,” Webster instructed them.
“You really made my life miserable Ace,” Webster said his face cruel, his eyes showing anger.
“So you’re not going to fill in the blanks on your master plan?” I asked anger in my tone. I was baiting him, I wanted the details on what had happened to my friends and I was also stalling. I needed time, I hadn’t anticipated that they would take us to the falls.
“What happened to my friends?” I asked. “Were they also going to foil your ‘master plan’?” I asked taunting him.
“They witnessed something they shouldn’t have when you were in the woods that night,” he said.
“I’m not a killer Miss Morgan, I’m a businessman,” he said.
“That stupid boy, Bailey Matthews came to the graveyard and got in here seeing a little of my operation,” he explained as Jason tensed up at the sound of his dead boyfriend’s name.
“He ran, tried to escape us and I couldn’t have him talking so one of my guards did what was needed,” he said it nonchalantly like killing someone was just a passive act.
Jason slammed his hands on the cell startling all of us as he reacted to hearing what happened to Bailey.
“It’s a shame your friends were there that night, if they hadn’t witnessed the killing, they could have been free,” he continued smiling at Jason’s pain.
I wanted to hit him till his face was covered in blood. “Free?” I said prompting him, keeping my voice levelled. He didn’t say dead.
“Oh they’re not dead,” he said smirking. “I’m selling them for their organs in the black market,” he said.
I lost it, I slammed my fists against the bars like Jason had done earlier and felt my muscles spasming from being tensed.
“I would sell you too on a different market,” he said his black eyes going over me lecherously and I shuddered wanting to throw up.
“But you’ve been a thorn in my side in this investigation,” he said his anger returning in full blast.
“Why didn’t you just leave it alone huh?” he asked. “You could have left the academy when your friends went missing, made everyone’s lives easier.”
“Now, I’ll have to kill you and your friend,” he said.
With those words, I knew my stalling was over and that was all he was going to explain. Shit. I was out of options.
The door was unlocked and the chain removed as Blaze and the other guards grabbed me.
Webster grabbed me by my hair as the guard hauled me past him.
“Why don’t your precious Logan be the one to finish you,” he said and I felt my heart squeeze on itself, tears forming in my eyes.
“That’s right,” Webster continued. “I know about your little romance with him, it wasn’t a part of the plan but it will crush your heart before you die,” he said his face leaning into me, his eyes crazy and his tone sadistic.
“You’ll be the one to kill her Blaze,” he said as the guard shoved me into Blaze.
His expressing was blank, numb and I felt the tears roll down my cheeks, my heart breaking into a million pieces. He hadn’t just betrayed me, I would die at his hands.
A gun was pressed into my side as they half dragged me out of the corridor and up the stairs.
The plan that Jason and I were working on didn’t take into account visiting the waterfall that was located a little distance from where we were situated.
“Why?” I asked Blaze but he didn’t respond, his eyes didn’t even look at me as he gripped my arm half dragging me through a trail.
It wasn’t long before we heard the sound of the falls, the water gushing.
“Logan?” I tried again and his hand only tightened around my arm making me wince.
I shut up and continued walking, each step filled with fear and dread. I could hear the falls more clearly and soon we had arrived.
“You,” one of the guards that was behind me pointed at Jason. He pulled out a small wooden box from his pocket which resulted in a surprised look from Jason.
“How did you get that? It was a gift from Bailey,” he said softly, his eyes tearing up. The guard ignored him and opened the box. I gasped when I saw my necklace that was stolen from my room by Blaze.
“You’re going to write what I tell you,” the guard said to Jason. There were three guards and there was Blaze but that didn’t stop Jason from throwing a solid punch to the guard that was holding him causing him to release Jason for a moment.
Another guard reached for him and the cocking of the gun made Jason freeze as the other guard lifted his gun at him.
“You write this,” he said, “Or I’m going to kick the shit out of your girlfriend,” Guard number three said waving his gun at me.
Jason swallowed and then he took the pen from the first guard and a paper.
“We couldn’t do it anymore. We lost the people we love the most and can’t cope anymore, so we are choosing to go with them than to live with their memory. Goodbye everyone, we’re sorry but its too much for us to bear,” Jason wrote what the guard instructed taking his time.
It registered in my head that they were going to kill us and stage it as suicide, just like Bailey Matthews. Blaze’s grip on my arm was iron and I could barely move as I watched helplessly as Jason finished write the note.
“Now sign, both of you,” the second guard commanded us. Jason signed it slowly as possible and then the guard snatched the pen and handed it to me.
“Sign,” he said. I reached for the pen as Blaze’s grip slackened on my arm for a second which was all I needed. I slammed my foot on his instep and grabbed the guard’s hand infront of me in a flash twisting it as I simultaneously reached for his gun and then slammed the gun onto his twisted arm breaking it.
This all happened in a few seconds. I fired at him and he dropped as the other guard raised his gun at me and then a shot rang out as a bullet tore into my shoulder and I fell to the ground in pain.
“The suicide plan is ruined!” the third guard was shouting at the second one who was leaning over guard number 1 who I had shot.
I felt the warm blood soaking my jersey as it oozed out, a contrast to the chilly dampness of the air around us from the falls.
“They weren’t supposed to be shot, someone will suspect its not suicide, you dumbass,” the second guard was shouting at the other guard.
“Ace?” I heard his voice and I almost reached for Logan hearing a hint of tenderness but I resisted at the last moment.
I stared at him as he pressed his hand on my wound to stop the bleeding.
“Enough stalling, throw them over,” the second guard said coming over to me and picking me up. I turned my head feeling dizzy for a moment as pain radiated from my shoulder making me wince.
“I reached into my hoodie pocket slowly holding in the groans of pain to get my knife.
I slid my hand underneath me as the other guard came for me and shoved Blaze away from pressing his hand against the wound to stem the blood flow.
The guard reached for me jerking me up as I cried out from the pain and for a moment he dragged me closer to the edge of the falls. The spray of water was hitting us and the sound of the water falling was so loud it covered my cries of pain.
I willed myself to lift my hand and use them knife but the pain was blinding especially when the guard pressed his hand against it causing my body to jerk in his grip in response to the stabbing pain that left me weak and knocked the air out of me.
I gasped and stared at the other guard dragging Jason to the edge of the falls, a few feet behind us and that’s when I decided that it was now or never.
Summoning everything I could, I let out a cry as I lifted my arm and plunged the knife under the guard’s rib and into his heart, just like Blaze had shown me. The guard released me and fell to the ground as blood poured out of his side and he went still.
The other guard who had Jason lifted his gun and a shot rang out as I screamed.
Time slowed, I saw Jason falling, the look of shock in his eyes and then he hit the ground and went still.
I didn’t have time to think, I knew I was next and saw the guard raise his gun. I was going to die. My life had led up to this moment. Maybe I wouldn’t die in vain, maybe someone would find our bodies. At least we had taken down two guards with us.
I shut my eyes thinking of my parents and how much I loved them and then I thought of my friends, one by one their faces flashed in my head, I’m sorry, I thought, sorry I didn’t save you. And then I heard the shot ring out and waited for the pain. Another shot followed and I opened my eyes. Blaze was in between me and the guard. He had shot the guard. I could see him fall to the ground as I realized he had dived infront me to save me.
“Logan,” I whispered as he lay on the ground a few feet away.
He hadn’t betrayed me in the end, I thought as I used my good arm to drag myself inch by inch to him.
We would all die here. No one knew we were here. Jason was… gone. Now I would bleed out and so would Blaze. It was a blood bath,
I didn’t want to die alone, I ignored the pain dragging myself to Blaze as my body trembled maybe from shock, the pain or the way my heart was breaking.
When I reached him, I leaned over to place my hand over his chest to stop the blood flow.
“You saved me,” I said looking into his eyes as tears pooled in mine.
He shakily raised a hand to hold mine that was on his chest and it looked as if it took everything out of him to make that one small action.
“I’m s-s-sorry,” he whispered as more blood stained his shirt as the seconds ticked by.
“Shh,” I whispered. “Maybe, someone’s coming,” I whispered. Maybe someone would come for us.
“I-I’m an under-cover a-agent,” he whispered. “C-couldn’t tell you,” he whispered and I fell the tears rolling down my cheeks as I sobbed.
He was a good guy all along, that was why he had asked me to trust him. And I had thought the worst of him. And now he was dying by a bullet meant for me.
“D-don’t leave me,” I whispered.
His eyes were closing and his grip on my hand was loosening.
“No-No!” I said my hands shaking as I watched him fading away.
“We made plans, we were going to be together, we were going to have a life together, don’t you leave me. I love you so much Logan,” I whispered fiercely as I stared into his eyes memorizing the colour of it, looking at the face I loved, the man I loved.
“I’ll be with you always,” he said his breaths became more shallow. “I love you Ace,” he whispered the words faintly and his hand gripped mine for a moment before his eyes closed and my heart shattered as his heartbeat stopped under my fingers and I screamed as I held his body in my arms wishing more than anything that he would wake up.
I sobbed burying my face against him feeling myself get more hazy as the minutes ticked by.
Just as I was about to fall into the darkness that was calling to me I heard a voice. Elliott.
I felt him pick me up and saw people rushing in, a search party of police and paramedics.
“They’re gone,” someone said as they checked Jason, the guards and Blaze and I sobbed as someone put me on a stretcher as Elliott held onto my hand.
“She’s going to be okay, she’ll live,” a paramedic said as I finally gave into the darkness and allowed myself to fall into unconsciousness.
I woke up in the hospital with Elliott and my parents at my bedside. Their worried faces snapped up as I dry coughed and groaned at the pain. My mother opened the bottle water beside my bed and held it to my lips to drink.
I swallowed the water greedily, my throat parched like the desert.
“W-what happened?” I asked trying to clear the fog from my head. I felt disoriented and had trouble piecing together the last things that had happened.
“Ace?” my father said and reached over to hold my hand. His eyes had tears in it as did my mother’s.
“We thought we were gonna lose you,” my mom said wiping away a tear.
I looked down at my body and saw the bandages peeking out of the top of my gown that covered the bullet wound on my right side.
I suddenly remembered Jason and Blaze.
“Jason and Blaze?” I asked my heart already knowing the answer, but I had to ask to hear it out loud. Maybe it was all a bad dream, maybe.
“I’m sorry,” my mom said clasping my hand with hers. I felt the tears leak out of my eyes.
“My friends?” I asked trying to push back the tears. I couldn’t break down infront them.
“They’re going to be okay, the FBI found them at the border in a search,” my mom said giving me a sad smile.
I nodded, my lips pulled into the smallest hints of a smile at the news. My friends were safe, they were going to be okay.
“Sweetheart, the doctor wants to see you soon and you need your rest,” my mom said.
“We’ll be here in and out, your father and I,” she promised.
“We’ll give you a minute with Elliott alone,” she said bending to kiss my forehead.
The room was silent as Eliiott made his way to me.
“Ace, I’m so so sorry,” he said his hand reaching for mine. “I should have gotten there earlier, I almost… lost you,” he said his voice filled with pain.
“Its okay, it wasn’t your fault,” I said.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have left without telling you,” I said. And maybe, maybe we could have saved Jason and Blazed.
“It’s not your fault,” he said almost as if he could read my mind.
I nodded but the tears came back rolling down my cheeks.
“I-I wanted to tell you, to explain,” he said.
“I’m also an undercover agent for the CIA, Webster was dealing in a massive trading of arms and ammunition,” he explained.
“I was bound by law, by my oath to not reveal my identity to anyone but your father knew,” he explained. My father was the major, he knew a lot of behind the scenes.
“I knew you as a child, do you remember Chase?” he asked.
“Yea, he was a foster kid my dad rescued on a mission and stayed with us for a bit before he was reunited with his brother,” I said.
“Twin brother,” he reminded me. My eyes went wide, “Christoph?” I asked.
He smiled kissing my hand. “Yeah, I remember the first day I saw you when you visited Chase,” he said smiling.
“I-I can’t believe it,” I said. I remembered him, I was about five years old and my father use to carry me to visit Chase and his brother Christoph. We had stayed in touch for two years until their adoptive family had left the state and moved halfway across the world and then I never saw or heard from either of them again.
“How’s Chase?” I asked. He smiled, “he’s pretty good,” he said.
“I never forgot you,” Christoph said. “You had saved me from drowning when we had snuck out to the Lake during our summer together,” he said.
“Now you saved me, so we’re even,” I said. “I can’t believe we crossed paths again,” I said.
“I couldn’t get in touch with you, I joined up for the CIA since I was legally old enough to,” he explained the question I didn’t ask.
“Here, I found something that I think you’ll be happy to have back,” he said pulling out the necklace that I had gotten from Chase when I was a kid.
I half smiled and took it putting it on. “Thanks Christoph,” I said.
He nodded, “I’m really sorry about Logan, we were both undercover so we didn’t know we were on the same side” he said.
I swallowed and nodded knowing if I opened my mouth to respond that the sobs would escape.
“I’ll go find the doctor, get better soon,” he said leaning over to kiss my forehead as he left.
A few days later I was discharged. I finally saw my friends and we just held each other and shed tears of relief. I spent my time with them and when I wasn’t with them I was talking to the police. I did everything I could to not think about Logan, my heart ached too much but at nights in the solitude of my room, I fell apart crying into my pillow, his absence a hole in my heart.
I couldn’t get over it, I couldn’t accept that he was gone. Most days I felt like I was living in a nightmare just waiting to wake up and fall into his arms. I missed his face, his eyes, the sound of his laugh, everything.
Finally, a few days after the entire ordeal, FBI agents came to take my statement. When I was finished, a lawyer and a girl came to me.
She had his eyes, Logan’s eyes. “Hi, I’m Logan’s-” I cut her off, “Sister,” I finished. She nodded her eyes tearing up.
“Logan left you some stuff,” she said. “Stuff?” I asked.
“Let’s sit down,” she said taking my arm and walking me over to a bench under a shady tree.
“Logan loved you very much,” she said wiping her eyes as mine started tearing up.
“He knew that it was very unlikely That he would walk away alive and so he left some things for you. His lawyer will give you the details,” she said.
I listened to the lawyer’s information and found out that Logan had left me a number of his belongings and his apartment. He had left me a box of letters and a portrait of me.
I signed for the documents and was given a key and all the information needed in the file.
“I’ll give you some time alone,” his sister said handing me a card with her contact number.
“Thank you,” I whispered and she nodded at me before she turned and left with the lawyer.
My fingers shook as I opened the letter from Logan.
Ace,
   If you’re reading this, then I didn’t survive but you did. That’s all that matters. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was an undercover FBI agent, I couldn’t tell you because it would have endangered us both.
I have left you some things, I wanted you to have it. All the plans and dreams we had, I want you to have it, even if its not with me.
I wish I had more time with you, I wish we could have gotten to know each other better. I wish that I could have spent my life with you, the love of my life.
I dreamt of us, I wanted to propose in a tropical island, white roses in your hair, your hand in mine as I kneel in the sand, the blue sea our landscape. My grandmother’s ring was passed to me as the only son in the family, I’ve left it for you, a reminder that my heart was truly yours.
Maybe one day, you’ll move on and find another but I hope that time never takes me away from your memory.
I’ve written letters to you, read them for each occasion as instructed. They’ll bring you comfort and maybe help you heal. Whenever you feel sad and miss me, just look in your heart and you’ll find me there.
“What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us -Helen Keller”
Its ironic that I’ll be the one watching over you when you were my angel. I’m always with you, Ace, I love you so much.
Your Love,
Logan Blaze.

I stared at Dark Woods Academy for one last time. My things were packed in my father’s car, ready to leave and never look back.
I stared at the buildings remembering the times with my friends, the good memories. Then I glanced out into the woods and remembered Jason who had died.
And last, I thought of Logan Blaze, the man that I had fallen in love with, who had been taken away from me.
I remembered our meeting spot in the woods and all the memories and moments we shared. He had changed my life forever.
His grandmother’s ring was on the necklace I wore, the coldness of the gold pressing into my chest almost as if it could soothe the ache of my heart.
Even though I had attended his funeral, I suddenly felt as if I was truly saying goodbye. All the memories I shared with him was on campus, the place I was leaving, for good.
“Goodbye Logan,” I whispered running a finger over the ring knowing that his memory would live on in my heart and somehow his presence would always be with me, he promised to always watch over me.