The Lizzie Alexandria Story

CLUE #4

DAY 321

Ellery unlocked the door to A221. The living room was a mess. Stacks of paperwork on the couch. Clothes draped on the the table. Boxes everywhere. She was used to it by now. She wished she wasn't. It was only proof of how crazy her life had been for the past few months.

Mary was behind the couch, shoving whatever she could reach into a cardboard box. "Grab a box; any box. Only bring important stuff. We have to fit it all into the car."

But Ellery wasn't moving.

"Come on, Ell," Mary said."We have to go. Seriously. You made me promise we'd stay here for two weeks. Two weeks are almost done."

"You haven't told me anything." Stripped, raw, pure confusion dripped out of her voice. "I've been running around with you like crazy for months now! Are you a fugitive?" She paused. "Are you working with...XYZ?"

Mary stopped and spun around. "All this time you've been with me even when you thought I was a fugitive? Tell me, Ellery, why you would help a fugitive?"

Ellery was at a loss for words. And then the words cracked through the surface. "I know who you are."

Mary smiled, no teeth involved. "It's about time." She knelt on the ground once more and started packing.

"What?"

"If you know about me, you'd know I'm smart enough to tell that I've been sharing an apartment with an Anti-XYZ member for months."

Ellery gawked. "We planned it all out. Us becoming roommates and everything. I made sure not to leave any traces. I made sure--"

"To make it painfully obvious that you were monitoring me?" Mary finished for her. "I know about it all, Ell. And all of my paperwork you mailed to them? Yeah, I know about that, too."

"We're trying to help you," Ellery said. "I thought you'd be on our side considering we're against XYZ."

"You thought wrong," Mary said. "I'm not looking to join anyone. Thanks for the offer, though."

Ellery fidgeted with her shirt. "Why have you been leading me along all this time, then? What's the purpose?"

"You see," Mary said, kicking the box towards the glass doors that led out towards the balcony, "I thought about just leaving you. I thought about disposing of you..."

Ellery's eyes grew wide.

"...and then I realized that I don't even need to do anything." She gave a broad smile. "Sorry, Ellery." And then she swung the lamp she'd been holding behind her. Ellery's eyes shut and she fell onto the carpet.

Mary looked at her for a second, and then pushed open the glass doors. She shoved her box off the balcony railing, and jumped down with it.

Ellery lay there for seconds, or minutes, or hours, or days. The details didn't matter, only Lizzie was gone.

Gone.

The front door broke down, slamming onto the ground. The officials marched in. Their crisp, clean outfits had the words"XYZ" in the top right corner, but it could only be read if you were in the right position.

From where Ellery was crumpled, she could've easily read it. That is, if her eyes were open. But they weren't.

"Is this her?" One of the officials yelled, pointing at the wispy, blond-haired woman on the floor.

Another official brought up. "No one knows. Her appearance is always changing. For all we know she could be a man." The official seemed to think this was funny. His laughter faded into silence as everyone glared at him.

"Take her with us," the official said, as Ellery was scooped up by other XYZ members. "And search the place."