The Whistler In The Night

Chapter 22

Pain rippled through my body, but I was fighting against it. I could feel something—like my soul—being pulled from me. My vision blurred, and just as the darkness threatened to overwhelm me, I smelled... blueberries. What the fuck? It was so strange, so out of place in this nightmare of cold and blood, but it was there—sweet and fresh, cutting through the freezing air.

Before I could make sense of it, the silence shattered with the sound of five gunshots. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. The noise echoed across the snow-covered landscape. I looked up, barely able to keep my head from spinning. L, the man who had been haunting me, stood just a few feet away. His black clothes were now splattered with deep red, his body shaking as he stumbled backward, blood pouring from the wounds. His smile faltered for the first time.

I collapsed onto the snow, gasping for air. My mind raced—who could have shot him? I looked up, and my heart nearly stopped.

It was Scarlet.

She stood there, breathing heavily, holding a gun in her trembling hands. Her eyes were wide, filled with both shock and fierce determination. I scrambled to my feet, adrenaline pushing the pain to the back of my mind. I ran toward her, my heart pounding in my chest. I couldn't believe it. She was here. She was alive.

I crashed into her, wrapping my arms around her tightly. We kissed, desperate and long, as if all the fear and pain of the past days were being washed away in that one moment. I could feel her warmth, her life, and for a few precious seconds, everything felt right.

When we finally pulled apart, I stared at her in disbelief. "How did you get here? I thought you were dead? He told me you were dead!"

Scarlet shook her head, her face pale but determined. "No. He was lying. He trapped me, but I managed to escape." She held up the gun, still warm from firing. "He gave me these syringes... They smelled like blueberries."

I blinked. "Blueberries?" The scent I had smelled—it made sense now. It wasn't some strange hallucination or random event. "What is with these fucking blueberries? Kayla was drinking blueberries before she died. And now you? And I was just smelling it as well."

Scarlet frowned, clearly as confused as I was. "I don't know. Maybe it's some kind of drug or toxin he uses. It made me weak for a while, but I managed to get free and find this gun. I had to get to you before he could..." Her voice trailed off, and she glanced back toward L's body.

We both turned to look at him. He was lying motionless in the snow, blood pooling around him. His once terrifying figure seemed almost small now, as if the life had drained out of him entirely. But I knew better. I could feel it. This wasn't over. It was never over with him.

"We need to go," Scarlet said, her voice sharp with urgency. "Before he wakes up. We can't stay here."

I nodded. "Yeah, you're right."

We didn't waste any more time. The snow crunched beneath our feet as we took off, running as fast as we could. My legs ached, and my body felt like it was on the verge of collapse, but I pushed through the pain. Scarlet stayed by my side, her hand gripping mine tightly as we ran through the endless expanse of white. Every so often, I would glance back, half-expecting to see L rising from the snow, his creepy smile back on his face. But there was nothing. Only the snowstorm swirling around us.

Hours passed—or at least, it felt like hours. The cold bit at my skin, and my limbs were growing numb. We had no destination, no clear path, just the endless snow.

Finally, in the distance, we saw it—a small hut. It was barely more than a shack, but it was shelter, and right now, that was all we needed. We hurried toward it, breathless and exhausted.

When we reached the hut, I threw open the door, and we stumbled inside. The place was old, its wooden walls warped from the cold and time, but there was a small fireplace in the corner and a few worn blankets strewn about. It wasn't much, but it was safe.

We collapsed onto the floor, shivering and out of breath. I could feel the warmth of the fire as I lit it, the heat slowly spreading through the room.

Scarlet leaned against me, her body trembling from both the cold and the exhaustion. "Do you think we're safe here?" she asked softly.

I stared at the fire, watching the flames dance. "I don't know," I admitted. "But for now, we have to rest. We can't keep running forever."

She nodded, her head resting on my shoulder. "I just want this to end. I can't take much more."

I wrapped my arm around her, pulling her closer. "Me neither," I said quietly. "But we'll get through this. Together."

The scent of blueberries still lingered in the back of my mind, and I couldn't shake the feeling that this wasn't over. L was out there somewhere, waiting for the right moment to strike. But for now, in the warmth of the fire, with Scarlet by my side, I allowed myself a moment of peace.

Even if it wouldn't last.