𝐀 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ⚠ 𝘑. 𝘉. 𝘉

𝟎𝟓 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘋𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘉𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦

TW: Grusome descriptions of murder.

[As The World Caves In - Matt Maltese]
1:40 ─〇───── 2:13
⇄ ◃◃ ⅠⅠ ▹▹ ↻

Madelyn's POV

𝟎𝟑:𝟏𝟒𝐚𝐦

As the morning sneaks closer, my nerves bubble up and slowly snowball. They become one of the biggest problems for me. I still have no idea where Daisy is. We still sit in the store, waiting for the sirens to alert us that the night is over.  As I pick at my fingernails, James sits beside me, his eyelids slowly falling every second, him fighting to stay awake. The bloodless has gotten to him, badly. He struggles to stay conscious, his breathing slowly faltering and him having to lie on the floor when it's painful to breathe or talk.

I keep checking his wounds, making sure that the stitches haven't opened up. Luckily, they haven't. Blood has stopped trickling out of our wounds, and is finally able to see where the skin is beginning to heal. He will defiantly need a couple of weeks of rest to heal properly from all of this. I watch as he lies back on the floor again, his head beside his pocket knife.

I stand up again, letting my nerves boil and take over my actions. He raises his head at me, his eyebrows raised. My mouth sinks, lying open, the words unable to come out. I know what I need to say, and what I need to do. I know I will come back for him.

"I need to go find her, James."

"No, Madelyn." He sits on his elbows.

"She was hurt when she called me. That was hours ago. That was yesterday! She needs my help."

"Please, don't go." He pleas, standing up.

"She's my friend, James."

"You could get hurt, more than you already are." He argues.

"Answer me this, James. If this was Steve, would you do it? Risk your life to save him when you know he's hurt, lost, and scared?" I ask.

He doesn't answer, instead stands in front of me, looking into my eyes, pleadingly. I look back at his face, not backing down. He sighs, looking down at his feet, and closing his eyes. When he grabs both of my hands, holding them in his own, I close my eyes, trying not to fall for his begging. In the small amount of time we've known each other, he has a hold on me that I just can't shake.

"If you go, I can't help you. I can barely stay awake." He finally speaks.

"I know, and that's okay. I need to do this."

I take my hands out of his, placing them beside my body. Walking over to the desk, I grab the hammer, white-knuckling it in my grip. James watches my every move, his eyes following me around the room. As I approach the door, a blood-curdling scream ripples through the streets. The throaty scream last seconds, before it is abruptly silenced, gurgling following behind it.

I race over to the window, peeking through the cracks and waiting for my blurry vision to dissipate. When it does, I can see a roaring fire in the middle of the street, aiming for the stars. A pungent smell of rotting flesh enters through the crack under the door and into our noses, making us both groan quietly. Thick, black smoke rises from the ground and into the air, polluting the nearby surroundings. Beside the fire, sits another pile, but of bodies. Dead bodies. Their faces are all stuck in a terrified expressions, each of them being faced with death. One of the faces sticks to me, even if I only saw it for a second. The face of the man we didn't save.

I cover my mouth, silencing my sudden cries. Guilt swarms inside my body, igniting a fire in my stomach. Noticing this as well, James pulls me in a hug from behind, placing his head in between my neck and jaw. Just before I look away from the horror, I notice a beautiful stream of ginger hair, blood mixed in the strands.

I get out of his hold, throw the door open and run out onto the street. I hover over her body, seeing that her eyes are still open and she is still breathing. When she sees me, she reaches up to my hand, holding it on her own. Her grip is loose, barely having a hold on my skin. I kneel down to her, tears quickly slipping out of my eyes. She reaches up and strokes my cheeks, whipping away the stray tears.

"Oh my god, Daisy." I wrap my arms under her armpits.

I begin trying to drag her body towards the store, needing to quickly attend to her wounds. She has blood streaming down her clothes, coming from her throat. She has a clean cut on her neck, her most likely being the scream that was abruptly silenced. By a cut to the throat. I get her body a few centimetres away from her original spot, a small trail of blood following us.

"Stop." She whispers.

"No, Daisy. I can get you inside." I still drag her.

Daisy, with all the power left in her body, pushes my arms away, falling back onto the floor. Her eyes borrow into mine, blood slowly suffocating the once-white sclera. My salty tears fall into my mouth, tasting them on my tongue. It hurts to breathe as my cries become harsh, a scream balling in the back of my throat. I sit on my knees, beside her body. I stroke her hair, feeling hopeless and guilty.

"I'm so sorry, Daisy. This is all my fault."

I pick up her torso, leaning it on my lap. I hold her head in my arms, hugging it and crying into her hair. Her small breaths travel to my ears, the situation finally dawning on me. She is dying, and there is nothing I can do to help her. My tears mix with her hair, adding to the combination of mud, blood, and leaves. Daisy grabs my hand, pulling me from my thoughts.

"I need you to do something for me." She speaks through the pain.

"Yes, yes. Anything."

"Promise me that you will survive." She begins to weep. "Continue living your life after tonight."

"What?"

"Just don't forget me."

"I'll never forget you, Daisy."

"Just promise me you will live through the night."

She strokes my cheek, pushing the tears off the skin and onto her fingers. I watch her eyes slowly close, the eyelids becoming too heavy to stay pen. Her quiet breathing fans my face, blowing against my harsh breaths.

"I promise, Daisy." I kiss her forehead. "I love you."

"I lov-"

She takes her last breath, the feeling bringing more tears to my eyes. She has stolen her last words, the fact dawning on me, forcing a throaty cry from my lips. She lies lifeless in my arms, her eyes looking up at the sky. I lean my forehead against hers, the tears falling down my cheeks, hanging on the end of my chin, and dropping onto her skin. I try to speak, but the words come out babbled, the sobbing becoming uncontrollable.

Hands wrap around my arms, pulling me into a hard chest. I lean my head back on it, recognising the smell of pinewood and copper. My body jolts as the cries come from my stomach, needing James to hold me tighter. He grabs my arms, pulling me up from the ground.

"No!" I begin to fight against him. "I can't! I can't leave her, James! Please!"

"I know, Maddy. I know. But we have to go, they're coming back."

I let him pull me away from her, ushering me back inside the store. As soon as the door shuts behind him, my knees give way, my body hitting the wooden floor. I cry into my hands, muffling the sound of my sorrow. James kneels in front of me, pushing my face into his chest. He strokes my hair, kissing the crown of my head. I cry into his bloody and torn shirt, not caring for the stain it will leave. Neither does he. I cry until my throat hurt, even crying after that. The tears falling down my face are uncontrollable. I cry until it takes so much out of me, my body feeling drowsy.

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