The Whistler In The Night

Chapter 21

The snow stretched endlessly in all directions, a frozen wasteland with no end in sight. My feet dragged through the thick, unforgiving powder, each step slower than the last. The cold was unbearable, seeping into my bones, making every movement feel like a battle. The wind howled around me, sharp and relentless, cutting through my clothes like a blade. I had been walking for what felt like an hour, maybe more, but in this white abyss, time seemed to have lost all meaning. There were no landmarks, no houses, no signs of life—just an empty, desolate world covered in snow.

I kept going, though my body screamed for me to stop. I couldn't feel my fingers, and my face was numb from the biting wind. My vision blurred, the frost clinging to my eyelashes. I had no idea where I was headed, but the one thing that kept me moving was the thought of Scarlet. I had to find her. I had to know if she was alive.

But the cold—it was too much. My strength was fading, my body giving up as the dizziness set in. My legs wobbled beneath me, and before I could even think about it, I collapsed. The snow was soft beneath me, almost welcoming in its cold embrace. My eyes fluttered shut, and the world disappeared around me. I don't know how long I lay there—hours, maybe days—but I slept deeply, lost to the darkness.

When I woke up, everything was a blur. My head throbbed, and my body felt heavy, but I forced my eyes open. At first, I saw only shadows, and then the figure standing above me came into focus. My heart lurched in my chest as I realized who it was.

Him.

L stood over me, his tall figure casting a long shadow across the snow. His cold, white eyes stared down at me, a twisted smile playing on his lips. I scrambled to my feet, dizzy and weak, but the adrenaline pushed me forward. I had to get away. I couldn't let him take me again. Not this time.

I turned to run, but before I could move, something stopped me. My body froze in place, as if invisible chains had wrapped around me. I tried to move my legs, but they wouldn't budge. I was paralyzed. Panic surged through me, and I looked back at him, my heart pounding in my chest.

"Where is Scarlet?" I shouted, my voice shaky, but determined. "What did you do to her?"

He stood there in silence for a moment, his eerie smile never fading. I could see the satisfaction in his eyes, like he was savoring the torment he was about to inflict on me. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he spoke.

"She's dead," he said casually, as if it meant nothing. "Don't search for her."

The words hit me like a hammer, shattering the fragile hope I had been clinging to. Dead? No. It couldn't be. Scarlet—the person I loved more than anything in this world—was gone? The disbelief was overwhelming. It felt like the ground had fallen out from beneath me, like the entire world had just collapsed in on itself. My mind couldn't process it. I couldn't believe it.

"You killed her?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

He just smiled, that same twisted grin, and it was all I needed to know. Rage boiled up inside me, a raw, uncontrollable fury. My heart pounded, and I felt a surge of energy, of power, I didn't know I had. With a roar of anger, I charged at him, my fists clenched, ready to destroy him, to make him suffer for what he had done.

I swung at him with everything I had, my fist connecting with his chest, but he didn't even flinch. It was like punching a wall of stone. He stood there, completely unmoved, his smile only growing wider. My rage turned to frustration, and I swung again, and again, but each punch was as useless as the last.

"Leave me alone!" I screamed at him, my voice cracking with desperation. "Just kill me! I can't keep suffering like this! You're a fucking monster!"

He let out a low, mocking laugh, the sound of it sending chills down my spine. His cold eyes locked onto mine, and for a moment, the world seemed to go completely silent. The snow stopped falling, the wind died down, and there was nothing but the two of us standing there in that frozen wasteland.

"Why would I kill you?" he asked, his voice soft, almost taunting. "You still have so much more to give."

I clenched my fists, trembling with rage and helplessness. The world felt so heavy, crushing me under the weight of everything. Scarlet. Kayla. The nightmares. The fire. Everything had spiraled so far out of control, and I was at the center of it all, powerless to stop it. All I wanted was for it to end—for the torment to stop. But L wasn't going to give me that. He wasn't going to let me go that easily.

"Please," I whispered, my voice breaking. "Please... just let me go."

He stepped closer, his eyes narrowing as he studied me. For a moment, I thought I saw something different in his gaze—something darker, something deeper than just malice. It was like he was feeding off my despair, my helplessness.

"No," he said softly, shaking his head. "This is just the beginning."

Before I could respond, he raised his hand, and I felt a sudden, sharp pain shoot through my chest. I gasped, stumbling backward, clutching at my heart. The pain was unbearable, like my insides were being ripped apart. My knees buckled, and I collapsed into the snow, struggling to breathe. I felt like I was dying.

He knelt beside me, his face inches from mine, that twisted smile still etched across his lips.

"I've waited so long for this moment," he whispered. "You, your soul—it belongs to me. And now... it's time."

With that, he stood up and walked away, leaving me lying there in the snow, gasping for breath, my body wracked with pain. I could barely move, barely think. I could feel the darkness closing in around me, swallowing me whole.

But I wasn't dead. Not yet.

I lay there for what felt like hours, my mind a fog of pain and confusion. Everything hurt. My body, my heart, my mind—it all felt broken beyond repair. The snow around me had turned red with blood, and I could feel the warmth of it seeping into the cold ground beneath me.

I thought of Scarlet, of her smile, of the way she had always looked at me like I was her whole world. The thought of her being gone—of never seeing her again—it was too much to bear. And then I thought of Kayla, my sister, whose death had been the start of all this madness. I had failed them both. I had let them down.

But somehow, through the pain, through the darkness, I knew I had to keep going. I couldn't let him win. Not like this.

With a groan, I forced myself to my feet, my legs trembling beneath me. I wiped the blood from my face and looked out into the endless snow, my breath coming in ragged gasps.

This wasn't over.

Not yet.