Lost (Book Five of the Melody Series)

The Death of Anastasia

Melody's POV

I crouched down in front of Anastasia. "Hey," I whispered, "I'm here." 

She looked up. "Melody..." she whimpered. 

"What's wrong?" I asked quietly. Anastasia was curled up in the corner, rocking back and forth. Her face was streaked with tears. A gun laid next to her.

"Help, please...." Anastasia whispered. "She's gonna kill me."

I knew who 'she' was. Liliana Potts. The microchips who controlled my whole life. Who forced my regeneration.

Who made me murder my best friend.

"I'm not gonna let that happened," I told her soothingly.

"You can't do much about it," Anastasia said. "Nobody can. Except him."

"Who's 'he?'" I asked.

"He's going to help us," Anastasia said. There was a note of hope in her voice now. "He's trying to hack into Liliana. He's breaking into the building. It's like a battle, going on. I can hear Liliana. But yet, at the same time, I know he's there, because I can here his voice."

"But who is he?" I demanded. "Did Queen Alexandra tell him to do it?" 

"No," Anastasia said. "Nobody does, except you and me. But he needs help. From someone who had the microchip, but had it removed. Someone who thinks it still exists. Someone who burned it, but doesn't know it. Do you know who I'm talking about?"

"I don't-" I began. Then it began to sink into me. "How-how could it have been burned? It couldn't have been. I don't understand how that could be."

"Regeneration," Anastasia said quietly. "It wasn't meant to survive regeneration energy."

"Regeneration doesn't have that power," I whispered. "It heals, yes, but it can't do that!"

"Are you saying you enjoyed having Liliana?" Anastasia asked, raising an eyebrow. "Did you enjoy being driven to near-insanity from her? Not talking for five years? Locking your friend in a room and burning her house down?"

I hadn't enjoyed those. Not at all. But...there were other things too.

Like, for instance, not dying unless Liliana wanted me to.

And Anastasia knew that too. "Everyone has their end. Fate decides that. Not a piece of metal. You're a murderer, like me, and we both have the same reason."

"I had such a bad childhood," I whispered. "And I don't want that to continue for the rest of my life. And a lot of that about my childhood was because of her."

"Exactly. He needs you."

"What is his name?" I demanded.

"I don't know," Anastasia replied. She had stopped crying. "But I know my part in this whole thing. And I don't want to do it. And he doesn't want me to do it. But it's the only way."

"What do you mean?" I asked. I grabbed her arm. "Anastasia, what do you have to do?"

Anastasia lifted up the gun and pressed it to her temple. "Destroy the chip," she whispered in a trembling voice. She had started crying again. "I'm so, so, so sorry, Melody. But there isn't a choice."

"No!" I grabbed at the gun and tried to yank at it. "No, don't, Anastasia, there has to be another solution."

"I know the position of the chip," Anastasia murmured. "I can destroy it. Just pull the trigger."

"Please don't," I begged. "Don't. You're my friend!"

"I've been around since the Lazarus Piper had been around. I killed him. I killed Johannes. I killed two important men to were-cat history. I'm older than your own father, and yet, I've looked like a twelve year old since then. I've done so much. My life has to end at one point. Why not have it end saving others? Stopping Liliana? Let me do one heroic act while saving myself from this hell. From this guilt." Anastasia gave me a watery smile. Then she did something surprising-she put the gun down and wrapped her arms around my waist, burying her face into my stomach. "I'm so scared, Melody. I don't want to do it. But help shut down Liliana. You and your father. Tell the queen. Tell her..about what's going on. Please, Melody. Do this. For me."

I patted her head awkwardly. "I will. And I don't want this to end this way."

Anastasia pulled away. "Go. Please. Tell them."

I stood up, rubbing my eyes with my sleeves. Our eyes locked for a moment, then I whispered, "Please..."

Anastasia smiled and shook her head. Then she lifted the gun to her temple.

I was on the second floor when I heard the gunshot.

Doctor's POV

"What was that?" I asked, pushing myself to my feet. I was already imagining the worst-Liliana taking over Anastasia or-and this I could barely even think about-Melody, and one of them dying...

Dimly I realized Clara and the queen were up on their feet, too.

"If something happened to Melody...." Queen Alexandra began, but I ignored her. I ran up the stairwell taking two steps at a time, with Clara and Queen Alexandra following. On the second floor I ran into Melody. Almost without thinking, I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tightly. Only then did I realize she was crying. "What's wrong?" I asked. "What was that? It sounded like gunfire."

"Anastasia's dead," Melody sobbed into my chest. "She's dead, committed suicide, to stop Liliana, because someone's there, someone's hacked on, and he's going to shut it down, and he needed her help and mine, and Anastasia's job was to destroy the chip, and she did. And now she's dead..." she kept blubbering on and on. But something that she said caught my attention. "What did you say about someone breaking into Liliana?"

Melody pulled away. "Someone broke into Liliana. And he needs our help. To officially shut down Liliana. You know how Liliana talked to me? He hacked into that. But he can't do it alone. He needs you and me."

"And me?" Clara asked.

Melody looked at her. "I don't know."

"She should go," Queen Alexandra suggested. "I think you may need her help."

Melody and I glanced at each other. "We have to do this," Melody said quietly. "It's go time. Time to kill Liliana once and for all. The microchips are destroyed. This is what we have to do."

"Wait," Clara said. "What about yours?"

"Destroyed," Melody said simply. "Burned up in regeneration. I don't know how, but it's gone."

"Let's go," I said. "Who is this person, anyways?"

"No clue. Let's go find out, shall we?" Despite her red eyes, Melody looked the same way she normally would whenever we were about to go on an adventure. She had the same gleam in her eyes.

But now it was harsh. Like she truly wanted it gone, and she'd kill to get that accomplished.