The Last Victim #JustWriteIt

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

Jay parked his car at Dawn's house and dialled her number. He wanted to ask her to come down. They were already running late. Smile on his face he held the phone to his ear. Wait. It said the number was powered off. Frowning slightly, he got out of the car and entered inside. He could see her parents sitting on chairs in the lawn. They seemed surprised to see him. He found out why just five minutes later. Dawn had left the house fifteen minutes before saying that she had to meet Jay at a restaurant? Jay was not only confused, he was scared too. Where was she? Biting his lips to calm himself down, Jay pretended he had forgotten about the engagement and would go meet her, to calm down her fretting parents.

But as he stepped out, he could feel a sense of foreboding fill his body. Something was wrong. He made a few calls on his phone which told him enough that he wanted to know. She was not in the ballroom and she had not even checked in at his place. Where could she be? Heart pounding and hands sweating, Jay dropped on his car's seat and thrummed at the steering. The town was so big. Where should he search for her? His thoughts were a tangled mess.

And then all of a sudden it all fell into place. He released the hand brake and turned the key into ignition. Backing out of the driveway and bringing the car out on the main street, Jay could feel his heart racing as his car accelerated over 80km/h. For some weird reason, he seemed to know exactly where she was and today..... He was going to find out why.

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Gazelle tried to twist herself free. She was pleading to Carmela.

'Let go, Carmela. You are not thinking straight. We can solve this-.....'

Carmela tightened the grip on her hand and snarled.

'NO! We are not! Nothing is going to happen now. Except...'

She bared her teeth at Gazelle who shrunk back. Her eyes were leaking now, partly from pain and partly from Carmela's scary behaviour. Her heart was thrumming hideously hard in her chest and the pain in her temples was becoming unbearably strong. Trepidation, gripped her again.

'What do you want?'

Her voice shook. Carmela gave her a frightening smile.

'Pitifully pathetic, aren't you? And so full of yourself.' Her voice rose a pitch. 'Well, I-WANT-YOU TO-BE-OUT-OF-MY-LIFE.'

She punctuated each syllable of her sentence with a blow on Gazelle's face, who was still wondering where she got all the strength from. She held both of Gazelle's hands behind her, in one of her own and with the other, tortured Gazelle, mercilessly. The certificate Gazelle had won lay trampled on at their feet.

'Please. Let me go. I beg you.'

Gazelle pleaded again. Her lip was bleeding and her cheeks were scratched. She wished this was all a bad dream. But unfortunately it was not. Carmela gave her a hideous look and then spoke.

'No. You won't go home. Not now. Not ever.'

And with that, she pushed Gazelle in the endless marsh pit below. Gazelle, hands too sore and numb to grab anything fell back. There was no fear on her face now. Just pain and anguish. The log they had been standing on snapped and fell after Gazelle hitting the marsh with a sickening splash, one after the other. Carmela stood back to examine her masterpiece. The sound of Gazelle's last scream still thundering in her ears.