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*Gurgle*...
I groan slightly and dig my arms into my stomach, trying to resist the pain. I ran away from the town hall after Angela almost killed me, and I haven't eaten for a couple of days now.
No matter how much I tried to stop it, my stomach was still stinging with an unbearable pain. I sigh and try to collect my thought to distract myself from the inconvenience.
During the game of hide-and-seek, I decided it would be smart to hide somewhere in the bomb shelter, while the others scattered around the main building.
I hid under one of the beds at the very back, and it wasn't long before Angela sniffed me out with her wolf senses.
I remember seeing the orange eyes glare at me from under the bed...before her small arm managing to grip me with inhuman strength. She was just a little girl, yet she looked so blood thirsty at that moment.
I think she knocked me out, and by the time I woke up again, she was gone and I could hear Mika screaming.
Then without even thinking straight, I decided break through the emergency exit and escape. I really shouldn't have done that. Has Angela killed the others by now? I have no idea.
I was sitting by the lake at the local cafe's fishing spot, staring out at the water and the Tagami outskirts beyond it. Tagami is a beautiful place, but some of it's deepest secrets are definitely more dark and eerie compared to the scenery itself.
It's pretty messed up if you really think about it.
There's nothing I can really do now apart from hide like a homeless person, because of the war, I don't want to risk going out in the open to look for Mika and the others.
I flinch as a noise interrupts my train of thought. The sound of footsteps on grass gets louder as someone approaches me from behind.
Turning around, I'm faced by Isabelle, holding a small affogato coffee in her left hand. She must've came from the cafe, but why isn't anyone else with her?
"Oh, Zena! Hello there!"
She greeted me as if nothing bad had happened, why isn't she shocked that she found me here? What happened while I was gone?
"Hello. What happened?"
She smiles and sits on the bench in front of me, before giving a brief explanation to fill me in.
"Well, Luna died during the hide-and-seek game and we all managed to leave the town hall. The criminal who started the war has been imprisoned and we decided to look for you, that's all really."
I nod slightly, pausing for a minute to process that information.
"Where are the others then?"
She also pauses at my sudden question. Something about her expression looked troubled. Maybe something did happen aside from Luna's death.
"Well, Chloe was framed for murdering her father and imprisoned. The others have either gone home or are in the cafe right now."
She says it all really calmly like it was nothing, her warm smile not breaking at any moment.
My eyes widen in surprise. Chloe...was framed? How did that even happen?? I gulp and think over it for a second. It could be something to do with Violet, I never trusted her after all.
But I shouldn't jump to conclusions. Taking a deep breath to calm myself down, I look back up at Isabelle.
She had a mysterious glint in her deep brown eyes that I didn't like.
The wind blew around us, blowing through the leaves in the trees and the strands in our hair. The tension grew more and more by the minute as I locked eyes with Isabelle, as if we were enemies staring each other down before war.
"Zena Xylia-Ava, huh?"
I don't say anything back to her. I never told her my surname, the only people who know are Yuka, Chloe and Scarlet. They wouldn't leak it to someone they only met two days ago.
I don't break my stern expression, and continue to stare at her.
"I'm guessing you're the child of Abigail Xylia-Ava...Tagami's music sensation."
I feel a drop of sweat run down my forehead. How did a Markov prisoner know so much about Tagami?
"You know, I heard that Abigail was like an angel on stage, but abused her family members in her private life. Isn't that horrible?"
What the fuck? I tremble in my position, trying hard to not crack my expression.
"How unfortunate, am I right?"
She smirks smugly and takes a sip from her coffee, crossing her legs and leaning back like she was the coolest person in the world. When in reality she was just a victim of trauma.
"What...is wrong with you?"
Isabelle lets out a disgusting, psychopathic laugh.
"What is wrong with me? You're the one with a body decorated with the bruises caused by a fucked up singer."
I clench my fists. What the hell is this bitch trying to do? What did I even do to her in the first place?
The worst thing is, I had no idea about what her past could be. She could be a completely trauma free person, or she could be an orphan clinging onto the edge of her life by the second.
Everything about this situation was fucked up.
"I could kill you right now if I wanted to."
I say, regaining my calmness.
"I could kill you too. There's nobody here to interrupt...and you're the one standing right at the edge of a river."
She was right. The water of the deep river flowed peacefully behind me. It was like I had a death wish.
"Do it then."
She widens her eyes for two seconds, before grinning evilly at my response. That's what she wanted to hear.
"I have nothing to live for. I have no job, one of my best friends is in prison, and you know the rest."
None of that was a lie, she could push me into this river at any moment and I wouldn't have any regrets.
Without saying a thing, Isabelle gets up from the bench and slowly walks over to me. This was it, a random crazy person who I'd just met was going to drown me behind a cafe.
"Just so you know," she whispered into my ear with a sour tone, "I'm going to kill all your friends, and then have Mika all to myself...and you're not gonna be there to save them."
Before I could say anything or fight back, she shoves me into the river behind me, causing a large splash to occur, soaking the grass and trees around us.
Everything around me was suddenly a deep blue void, I feel my chest tighten up constantly as I sink deeper and deeper.
I resist the urge to try and catch my breath or swim up to the surface, and I just close my eyes and smile.
Goodbye Scarlet, Chloe, Yuka...
A sharp pain fills my chest as I finally drown, my body going limp...to never move ever again.
