The Showcase

Chapter Three

I crossed the threshold, but my feet didn't find any solid ground on the other side. It seemed like I only fell for a couple seconds, but felt like I'd fallen a lot farther. I picked myself up off the concrete, and instantly fell backward onto my butt. I sat for a moment, panting and trying to stop the spinning that my head was doing. Once I felt a little better, aside from the broken rib I was sure that I possessed, I sat up and looked around, angry and sore.

I was back in the city, this time on a street that I'd never seen before. Had I fallen out of the building? I wondered, looking up. But the building wasn't there; it wasn't anywhere.

You're still in the test, I told myself, standing up and trying to figure out what to do next. What kind of test was this? Not only was the tower gone, but so were all the people. Downtown was completely deserted.

It was perfect in an eerie, solitary way. The sun was shining, and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. There weren't any sounds except for the soft clunk of my boots as I walked down the streets.

I wandered for a while, peeking into shop windows. All of them seemed to be boarded up or had their doors chained. I knocked on the doors, hoping that maybe I’d met someone along the way who was supposed to help me. After a few minutes of that, I figured that it was pretty safe to say that I was alone.

"Help!" I heard a voice cry out suddenly from down the street. Without a second thought, I sprinted down the street. So much for being alone.

***

I pushed the doors open and ran inside, and heard the lock click as soon as they shut.

Cara was tied to a chair, a gag in her mouth and a wild terror in her eyes. I rushed over to her, my heart pounding. She looked even worse close up. Her eyes had deep bags under them, and her face was caked with drying tears. Her hair was messy, plus it looked--and smelled--like she'd been here for days. There were cuts all over her, and most of them looked fresh. The most recent one--the one on her forehead--was dripping blood everywhere.

"Sh, sh, it's okay. I'm gonna help you," I said soothingly while I tried to undo the knots.

"I can't-, I can't believe she would do this," she sobbed, helping me untie her other hand from the chair.

"Who?" I looked around quickly. We were in a huge warehouse. There were dozens of stacks of wooden boxes scattered all over the room. Chains hung from the beams of the ceiling, and there was a bare bulb dangling over Cara and I. All of the other lamps, hung with wire shades high above the ground, were out. Cara rubbed her wrist and sniffled a little, looking around feverishly. “Never mind, we have to get out of here first.”

"What about me?" a voice said, as Chastity stepped out of the shadows, holding a bloody knife and wearing a wicked smile that made her features warp into something surreal. Something cold, cruel and ruthless. Something murderous. "Don't look so surprised, darling," she said, tossing her hair and stepping forward slowly towards us.

"This--this isn't real. Chas, you're not real," I said dumbly. This was impossible, I tried to tell myself, but my head was spinning more than ever.

She leaped forward, and a searing pain tore through my stomach. I shouted and fell backwards, holding my hands over the tear in my shirt that was slowly soaking with blood. "Was that real enough for you?"

Grimacing, I flicked the blood off my hands and picked myself up off of the floor. "Not quite."

She circled me slowly, like a lion waiting for the right time to pounce. I guess that made me the wounded gazelle, running from the inevitable. "You know, that's what I always hated about you, that mouth of yours. I always told you it was going to get you into trouble. Well, I guess today's the day!" She lifted the knife up and aimed it right at my chest, but it had turned into a gun. Her finger hovered over the trigger.

My eyes flickered around the room again. It was fight or flight time.

I scanned the stack of boxes, about 15 feet away from me. They were only big enough for one person to hide behind. I couldn't see the door anymore, and I couldn't remember exactly where it was. But what if it wasn't even unlocked when I got there?

I looked quickly over to Cara, the color in her face was gone and she seemed to be weaker than ever. If I could just drag her over to the boxes...

Chastity bared her teeth again, and that was my cue. I jumped up and grabbed Cara's feet, sprinting over to drop her beneath the boxes. I knocked over the stack of them, so that she was hidden. I turned around just in time to feel a bullet rip through my gut, and watch Chastity's panic melt into triumph.

***

I woke up on the same cold floor of the warehouse. I don't think I'd ever forget the feeling of the concrete that hugged my weak and bleeding body.  Now, it was pitch-black and I couldn't see a thing. It should be over...I already lost....it had to be over.

"Hello?" I called quietly, crawling forward slowly. "What's going on?"

My hand landed on something soft and squishy. I poked it, and it was cold...and wet. I squealed and leaped back, wiping my hands on my pants. One light directly above me flickered on, giving just enough light for me to see that I'd been poking Cara.

Just enough light to see that Cara was dead.

There was a bullet hole in her stomach, right where I was hit, her lifeless eyes were wide open as she stared off into nothing. I froze, horrified, and turned away. I screamed and screamed, dragging my own wounded body as far away from her as I could get, until my voice went hoarse. Then the light went out again.

A cold hand draped over my shoulder, and if I'd had any voice left, I would've screamed again. But all I could do was slap it away with all my might and crawl away as fast as I could.

"Crazy, huh?" I heard Cara's voice say. "Even when you try your best to save people, sometimes, they just can't be saved."

I shook my head. "I did save you," I whispered, squeezing my eyes shut.

"No, Amia. You wanted to, but you couldn't."

I sobbed softly and she pressed an icy hand to my back. "Sh, sh, it's okay. I'm gonna help you." She shoved me and I fell, landing hard on the ground in front of the men in oxford shirts.

"She's bleeding!" I heard one of them shout as I saw a blurry figure jump from his seat.

"Get someone in here now!"

The blurs sounded farther and farther away until they became deadly quiet. And then it was dark again.

***

Author's Note: Thanks again for reading! This chapter's song is 'Lights' by Ellie Goulding!