What Remains

Chapter 1

In The Marrow
I've always tried to resist things as they are.

We stumble down the stairs. Danielle's arm is wrapped around my shoulder, and she's holding me close to her side. I groan out as I grip my stomach— the blood's oozing, faster and faster the more I move. I can't match their paces.
"I need—" I cringe, "T-to sit down..." My teeth are clenching hard in my mouth, grinding each other down into dust.
My friends exchange fearful glances. They don't want to stop, and I don't blame them. That... that fucking guy upstairs is going to kill all of us if we don't go. And he's already got me.
Danielle urges me to walk with her to the kitchen with a soft nudge. "Come on, you'll be okay— we'll..." She gulps as she looks at the crimson dyeing my shirt. "We'll get you outta here." She says close to my ear in a whisper.
"Danielle, we can't go back. We need to get out of here!" Justin exclaims, following behind us with quick strides.
Danielle's head whips around so fast that my face is smacked by her dark brown hair. "Justin, she needs help! Goddamnit, find me a towel!" She whisper-shouts. I can hear the venom in her tone.
May rushes ahead of us as we enter through the doorway. Danielle softly lets me down against the counter, resting a hand on my hair.
"Oh my god, oh my god..." I babble, grazing the axe cut on my stomach with trembling fingertips. When I lift my hand up,  it's coated in thick red blood. Fear courses through my veins— this was supposed to be a fun night.
"I'm here, Quinn, I'm here." May soothes me, crouching by my side. She studies my cut with wide eyes and exhales shakily before pressing a dirty towel onto my stomach. As I cry out, Danielle's hand tenses on my head. "Okay.. can you hold it here?" May asks softly, raising her brows in a sympathetic way. I nod, grimacing as my hand presses harder than I intended on the covered cut. "Danny, help me get her up!" May announces, turning to face Danny. His face is pale and blank, horrified at the sight before him. "Danny?" May calls out, tensing up impossibly more.
Justin readjusts his posture uncomfortably, "We can't help her, May. She's going to drag us behind. That psychopath will get here any second. We have to go." He says. His eyes wear an expression of sorrow. I don't know whether to be mad at the thought of them leaving me behind, or to agree.
"We can't just leave her here! What's wrong with you?" May protests, standing up rigid and shaking.
My gaze shifts to Danielle. Her arm is bleeding through the makeshift shirt/bandage, making it a dark reddish-brown. Her dark eyes meet mine, and she gives me a soft smile as if to say 'I'll be fine'.  I try to return a grin, but I cringe instead as a wave of pain hits my abdomen, flowing through the rest of my sore, tired body. Everything in me spasms, tenses, and loosens in a fit. My mouth grows dry— I won't die here, right?
"We've already got Danielle who needs help. We can't risk everyone for one person." Danny says, avoiding my eyes.
"Fuck you." May replies bitterly, clenching her empty fist.
"May, enough!" Justin shouts, startling everyone, "We're getting everyone else out of here, whether you like it or not." Justin lowers his voice, realising how easily he could draw the man upstairs to us.
May stops, thinking. She turns to look at me, studying my pained posture. "I'm so sorry." May whispers, backing away from me.
"Don't— leave me here." I wince, reaching a hand out. Starbursts fill my vision. I don't know how much longer I can go.
May covers her mouth in shock, turning away. As the three start off, the light leaves the room.
"I'm sorry, Quinn." Danielle whispers sadly, dropping her necklace by my side with her healthy hand. She trots off to join the others, leaving me alone in the eerie darkness.
My legs are splayed limply in front of me, and my arms are hanging by my sides. I grasp the necklace Danielle left behind, tears welling up in my eyes meanwhile. So this is it. I die here.
I look around at the last sight I'll have. A dark and hazy blue glow pours in from the window, the only source of light. The knife holder holds one less knife, what we failed to defend ourselves with.
And here I am, bloody, bruised, and alone. Alone?
The image of the masked man flashes in my mind. The way his seemingly guileless eyes scanned our party of what used to be five, now turned one, before he spun into action. Action being nearly killing us with thrown hatchets and that large axe. I recall the way he towers over all of us. He is big, and stronger than any of us. His hazel eyes were devoid of warmth and anything of emotion. Some little thing could crawl inside his irises and make a home in them from how empty they were. A doll. His mask was porcelain too.
My vision falters, making me suck air in through my teeth. I can't black out yet— he'll murder me. Or worse. I don't want to die.
A floorboard's creak interrupts my thoughts. I gasp, abruptly sitting up. A wince of pain falls from my tongue, so I cover my mouth as I thud back against the wooden counter. Rain patters against the window, filling the silence. My eyes scan the darkness for any movements.
Three entrances to this goddamn kitchen. Fucking rich people.
Lightning crashes, making me release the air I didn't know was holding.
A figure appears on the other side of the island, holding what I assume to be the weapon he'll finish me off with. That damn axe and its flickering gleam sneer at me.
"Fight, Valentine. I know you can." A gruff voice speaks nearby. My gaze fixates on the window— the moon barely illuminates it. A familiar dark and bloody face stares back at me. Cuts and scabs decorate his pale skin. I can barely make out the white collar of a green-blue hospital gown that outlines below his collarbone.
I give a small nod and slowly sit up, shakily reaching above me for any potential weapons to defend myself. The towel slips off of my stomach as I am distracted by the painful stretch. I grasp the gash on my stomach to replace the towel and clench my eyes shut tightly in reply. My breath catches in my throat as my hand brushes over a handle. I barely grasp it, then bring the object down, leveling it with my face. Light briefly catches the metal of a kitchen knife. I give myself a moment to recover. Slow breaths. Slow. I sigh and stand up with a heave, and the world spins around me.
The figure still looms on the other side of the island, unmoving. A shadow. A figure. Inhuman.
"If you're gonna kill me, just—... get it over with." I mutter, wincing gently. Come closer. Please, god, come closer so I can stab the shit out of you.
The tall man stands still, unfazed at my words.
"Please." I whisper, slowly putting my armed hand at my side, my other hand grasping the cut.
"They left you here." The man announces hoarsely. He sounds older than me, 25 at the youngest, 30 at most. A British accent peeks through his words. As he begins moving towards me I tense up, and the knife is suddenly gripped in my palm as hard as I can muster.
I open my mouth to speak but my tongue won't form words.
"You're going to bleed out." The man stops at my side (that quickly turns into my front), standing over me. The light is now behind him, casting him to a shadow.
I look down at the knife, then back up to him.
The man scans me carefully. He catches sight of the knife in my hand and reaches down, attempting to grab the weapon. I leap back, delivering a firm slice to his gloved palm before turning and looking at the door frame connecting the main room to the kitchen. Fuck it.
Narrowly avoiding a second grasp, I bolt for the door. The gash on my stomach screams in pain, sending shocks through my body. Luckily, the group had left the door open behind them, granting me an easy exit. My legs nearly gave up on me at least five times— I must be running like a drunk.
If I'm quick enough I can catch up.. They couldn't have gotten that far— I know my legs can take me fast.
But will I hold up long enough? I have to. If I don't, what'll happen to me?
Tears well up in my eyes as I push off the frame of the front door with my armed right hand. Rain fires against me as the bottoms of my shoes pad on the patio. As I stumble down the steps, loud thumps sound behind me, forcing the adrenaline to pump quicker through my veins.
A bright beam glares in the distance— Justin's car.
No, no, no! Don't leave, not yet! Just hold on a little longer!
"MAY!" I shriek. No response. My heartbeat sounds in my ears as my feet pad swiftly below me. "DANIELLE? ANYONE, PLEASE!" I scream as loud as I can. The beams disappear through the trees, leaving me behind in the darkness. "NO! PLEASE... No..." My feet slow below me, pain taking hold.
In the grand scheme of things, what will it matter if I die now? I might as well.. leave a mark on this asshole.
I turn to face my pursuer. His dark silhouette is still. Waiting. A predator watching its prey, obsessed, unwavering. I imagine him baring his hidden teeth, grinding them to dust at the thought of my taste. If I gave him the chance, I bet he'd eat me whole right here, right now.
I hold up the knife, as my breaths become paced and heavy. The world spins around me, and I struggle to maintain my balance on my two feet, "Back off... Or I swear.. I swear I will..." I heave, leaving my words incomplete. Blood pools into my hand, seeping through my fingers to the ground.
The man takes a single step towards me, gripping the axe harder. Challenging. Do something. Fight for your life.
In a fit of adrenaline and hopeless rage, I readjust the knife's position and lunge towards him with all of my strength. The man swiftly dashes to the side, elbowing my back firmly to send me to the ground. I let out a cry of pain as I collide with the stone— the knife escapes my hand, clanging against the wet ground.
Everything goes silent.
My eyes widen in fear as the sound of my own heartbeat fills my ears. I try to move, to scream. Nothing. Just pain. Just blood. Tears stream from my eyes as I crunch my body into a ball. Rain drums against my frame, soothing... or maybe it's a taunt.
It's over.
My father's bloodied reflection appears next to me in a rain puddle— he is crouching by my side, his eyes looking into mine through it, "Nobody is coming to save you."
Another clang sounds behind me, disturbing the sight. My head snaps towards the man, who ends up empty handed. The tears slow as I scan him, trying to find out what he's doing. The axe he once held now lays on the stone beside him, glittering in the rainy moonlight. The man steps towards me, dropping by my side. I flinch and tense up, watching him with wide eyes. He's going to kill me slowly?
The man suddenly reaches his hands under my back and legs, hoisting me up. My vision falters as he does so; the stretch sends pain throughout my entire body. The world spins around me as I try to squirm.
I close my eyes.
This is just a dream.