The Angel of Death

VI

He rubbed his tender cheek where my hand had left a pinkish imprint and repeated a verse, "but if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also." He turned to the other side and beckoned me to do it again.

"I didn't know my boyfriend was insane," I grumbled. "If I kill everyone, I'll just be playing into the perpetrators' plan. And who knows what will happen? Do you think they'll really let me go? We're dancing in their palms right now."

 "And what do you suppose we do instead," he asked, "do you have another plan in mind?"

I looked down at the ground sheepishly. It's true. I didn't have a plan. I turned to him and planted a kiss on his cheek, my fingers pressed firmly on his chest. "But I know you aren't selfish either. Otherwise, you wouldn't have opened the hatch door for them. So I know that deep inside you also really want to help me!"

"I wasn't thinking then," he countered, though his cheeks were flushed with a cherry tint, "it was just a decision I made in the spur of the moment."

"Well, I've decided that I won't lose anyone again," I stated with fierce determination, "we'll all get through this together." I won't let their deaths be in vain. I looked at him and maybe I imagined it, but I could see a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"So what do we do then princess?"

I ignored his jab and began, "First, there are too many unknowns, but let's start with Alexander's death—"

"He exploded," Asher pointed out.

"Thanks for your insight, Sherlock Holmes," I jested, "I never would have known. Well, then riddle me this? Where did the explosive come from?" I swore I saw his eyes widen for a fleeting second which almost put a grin on my face. I continued with satisfaction, "The explosive and the flashlight. They both came from underground. We've searched the place and there's absolutely nothing here. Even the guns from the roulette games were taken away."

"Are you suggesting we go down the hatch?" he asked, "haven't you heard what the twins said?"

"About the monster? I don't believe in that nonsense." I smirked, and proposed my theory, "What I think happened was Katsuo, Jun, and Alexander got into a little brawl. We went into the hatch right as the announcement for the next death game came out and what better way to stealthily kill someone than in total darkness?"

"So the twins stumbled upon them and mistook them for monsters?"

"Bingo!" I proclaimed, "Exactly, but then the trio probably also got spooked and followed the twins when they ran back to us—"

"You're wrong!" I swiveled in the direction of the voice and found the twins wide awake, standing in the doorway. 

"I can't believe you would lie to us like that!" she angrily pouted, clinging onto her brother's shirt with tears in her eyes.

"The monster is still out there," Apollo affirmed, "and it's going to come after us."

I stepped in, a bit annoyed with their unexpected interruption, "Fine, what does the monster look like then? You guys must have seen it right?"

"It looked like a giant snake!" Apollo answered, using his arms to demonstrate the mammoth size of the creature.

"No, it was a giant bat with bird wings," Lillith corrected, waving her hands up and down to mimic its flight.

I placed my hand on my forehead and looked at Asher discreetly as if to say "I told you so" while the twins began to engage each other in a heated argument over the monster's appearance.

All of a sudden, I heard a loud shriek. That definitely sounded like Jun's voice. We all rushed to her room. My heart was pounding. What could have happened?

Jun wasn't in her bed anymore. She stood in front of the painting with the large golden flowers with a box in her hand. She turned around, tears streaming down her pale cheeks. "Stay away!" she yelled her finger pointing at me accusingly. I blinked in surprise, my heart skipping a beat. "I gave you the benefit of doubt," she scowled, "but I knew I shouldn't have. Now Alexander is dead. And I have no one left because of you."

Why was this happening again? This scenario was too familiar. I can't let it end like that again.

"No," I refuted, coming closer, "You have us! We'll all make it out alive. I promise—"

"I'm sick of your lies already," she retorted, throwing the contents of the box down at my feet. I peered down and caught a glimpse of something I couldn't believe. My blood turned cold. It was filled with my photographs. Photographs of me. My hand reaching into someone's bloodied chest cavity. Plunging a knife into someone's throat. Pulling the trigger to end someone's life. All with a cold unfazed expression on my face. I couldn't believe it. This wasn't me. It couldn't be me.

I stepped back, bumping into something. I turned around, horrified to see Asher and the twins looking at me in disbelief with fear clouding their eyes.

"Alexander told me to look under the painting if he should ever part from my side," Jun explained, cradling the now empty box in her bruised arms, "I never thought I would have to do this, but I guess he was trying to warn me about you. You killed Alexander."

"No there must be some kind of misunderstanding," I said, attempting to defend myself, "I was with you the whole time. Right Asher?" I turned toward him, looking for support. 

"Yes, but..." he faltered.

I looked at the twins, and desperately prodded them, "You saw the whole thing right? You saw Alexander blow up. I didn't do a thing. I'm innocent."

They averted their gaze and stepped away from me as if I was a bomb waiting to explode.

My head thundered again, and I fell to my knees. Again? At this time?

"Feeling guilty for your actions now?" Jun taunted, grabbing ahold of my hair, "It's too late for that you sinner!" She threw me down to the floor and placed her foot on my head as if to squash me like a measly bug. "I saw you down there. Alexander protected me and Katsuo from you. Now you're acting like our savior. You're twisted!"

I stared up at Asher, waiting for him to come to my rescue. He would defend me. He would prove my innocence. He would explain the situation, right?

"I'm sorry Emi," he apologized, "but the truth is I did see you attacking Alexander. One moment you were with me, but the next..." He turned his face away from me, refusing to even look at me. "I wanted to believe you. I really did. But it seems like you were just manipulating me to gain my trust. I want to have faith in you, but I have no choice."

I felt the blood drain from my face. They were all gaslighting me. It was impossible.

I wanted to continue arguing with them. If I really did it, why wouldn't I have killed them when I had the chance? When they were still all unconscious in the wake of the explosion? When Asher opened himself up to me? I wanted to, but I kept my mouth shut. It wouldn't matter if I spoke those words anyway. They would only be used to turn against me.

Were they all collaborating together against me? Was I the scapegoat? I didn't know what to believe and my head was pounding. The only thing I knew was that I needed to needle out the weakness in their plot.

Something was seriously wrong here. The mastermind behind the game, why would they keep something like the box here? And how did Alexander know where it was?

There could only be one explanation.