Running, and Running, and Running

6. Pagoda

Of course it's raining again as she's traveling outside. Priscilla thanked the taxi driver and quickly hopped out at the start of a hiking trail. She was found on the other end of this park, lying face first in the wet ground. Whatever happened... It took place here. And if she wanted any clues as to what she did to Delia, she had to come back. According to her map, Dragon Flower Pagoda was near the entrance, which was where she would head first.

Without an umbrella, Priscilla had no choice but to trudge on into the rain without shelter. Water flowed down the path, already sending water into her shoes and wetting her socks. Rain pelted against her face. She used her arm to try and shield her face, forcing herself to ignore the biting cold winds and battering rain. No wet weather was going to be enough to send her running back home, especially not after seeing what she had already seen.

The criminal all along, it could be her. There was no way she could stop herself now when this was the current possibility. She had to find out the truth.

In seconds, her clothes were all drenched to the point where they had darkened in color. It was just like her nightmare, except that the sun had not fully set yet. Rain picked at her hair and her clothes, attacking any inch of exposed skin that she had. Leaves knocked out of the overhead trees occasionally hit her in the cheek. Grimacing, Priscilla swiped them away and forced herself to continue up the path. It didn't take long before she caught sight of the bright red tip of the pagoda. She was reaching soon.

Up until now, Priscilla still had no idea what the location in the diary meant. She only knew that she had to get here. She didn't even know if this was the correct Dragon Flower Pagoda, but given the fact that it was in the same gigantic forested area where she was found, Priscilla knew that this was her best bet.

"Come on, it can't end here," Priscilla begged, her lower jaw trembling from the cold wind and rain.

If the clues stopped here, or her memory refused to reveal anything more, Priscilla would have traveled here for nothing. She refused to let that happen. She had to find out the truth for Delia, even if it meant that she would end up in jail in doing so. It was the only right thing to do.

Her head kept pounding. It hadn't stopped in its severity since she found her own diary. She knew that her mind was working overtime, to try and help her to understand what was happening while also trying to recall the events that took place before she wiped out in the middle of a forest.

For a moment, her body lurched again.

Priscilla fell forward onto the path while failing to maintain her consciousness, crying out as she scratched her knee. Blood mixed with rain as she picked herself back up and continued up the path to the pagoda. She was crying now, her tears also mixing with the rain. Her arm wiped at them both, fighting to keep her vision clear. Her body was telling her to stop, but morally, she had no choice. She had to fix it, especially if it was her that made everything wrong.

As the entire structure loomed into view, Priscilla felt the pain in her head spike. She grabbed onto her own skull, trying to get herself to continue. The pagoda itself was sheltered, if she could get there she could sit down. Each step was shaky as she struggled to stay conscious. She kept walking. Her mind was only focused on taking one step after another. Nothing else mattered in that moment. Black dots swam across her vision, threatening to engulf her into its welcoming arms of unconsciousness, but Priscilla was determined to stay awake.

And it soon paid off.

Finally in the shelter of the pagoda, she collapsed onto the bench within. Gosh. Her eyes were threatening to shut at any moment in time. Her body was ready to shut down. However, Priscilla was not ready to give up yet. Now that she was here, Priscilla had to force herself to recall.

A flash of white shot through her vision.

They were here. Arguing again. It had started out as a date, but they couldn't put their issues aside. Arguing. Shouting. Other people who were hiking in the forest just glanced over at them and walked away quickly. She could remember the anger in her, an anger so violent that it made her hands tremble and made her skin warm. They walked a bit deeper.

And they fought. On the ground. Priscilla used the twine rope that she had stolen from her shed to strangle her. It didn't take long. Priscilla could barely even believe it herself. How were those hands her hands? How could her own hands so easily take the life of someone she claimed to love? Tears squeezed out of her shut eyes as she bashed her fists against her skull. She didn't want to see anymore. This was enough, but at the same time, she knew that she had to.

The glassy look on Delia's eyes was haunting. Priscilla began to sob. This was all her doing. She was the one who killed her own girlfriend. There was no big bad guy. It was just her, annoyed, who had resorted to murder to solve her issue. Priscilla felt the guilt claw at her throat as she finally remembered.

However, her job here was not done yet. She was not ready to call the cops yet. Not until she could remember what she did with Delia's body.

She...

"She's in the well," Priscilla gasped, hurrying out of the shelter. Right beside the pagoda, there was a well. She could barely even remember that it was there.

Rain pelted at her again, instantly wetting her clothes that were just starting to dry under the pagoda. The well was covered with a sturdy wooden cover. Grabbing at the edge, Priscilla grunted as she used all of her strength to lift it. She could. Just barely, but it proved to her that she was strong enough to do so. Instantly, a bad stench came out from the well. She couldn't bring herself to look inside, but she knew.

Delia was there.

Breaking down by the well, she collapsed against its sides. Her pants and shoes were caked in the sopping wet mud, but she didn't care. She found her. It might have been a crime committed in a period of low patience and harsh anger, but Priscilla still loved her. It choked her to know that it was her doing that put Delia into this well. She took her life just because she wanted her to shut up. She never wanted this to happen, but she knew it was by her hand. All this while, she simply couldn't remember, but now she did, and she had to pay for it.

Hands trembling, Priscilla took out her phone. She dialed the emergency number. And from there, she waited in the pouring rain for the officers to come and get her by the well, still sobbing and with immeasurable guilt eating at her from the outside.

She was the murderer. She must have been running from the scene of her crime in the rain, causing her to trip and hit her head. She was the monster.

She had killed Delia.