Stalking Fear

Chapter 20

As 10:00 approaches, my breathing grows heavier. What if this is it? What if tonight is the night I get caught?

I'll probably be sentenced to death.

I look down at my palms. A sweat has already broke out and I rub my hands on my jumpsuit to get rid of the uncomfortable moisture. I pull my knees up to my chest and lean my head against the wall in my cell. The cold solid surface against my face feels comforting in the chaos of everything. I'm not sure how much more my brain can take...

I hear footsteps near my cell and I quickly adjust myself to view who is coming my way.

My heart drops when an unfamiliar security guard walks past the door, giving me an all too knowing glare.

Time ticks by slowly, and after what feels like hours, I'm beginning to think that Tyler forgot about me, or maybe He chickened out; backed down in fear, knowing that he will be thrown in prison if he gets caught as well. I don't know what to think anymore, and I don't know if I can survive without him.

Suddenly I hear the quick footsteps of a person headed my way. I look up to see Tyler standing in front of my cell.

His eyes are wide with fear, and I quickly walk over to him.

"What's wrong? You look terrible,"
I say, placing my hands on the metal bars.

"What we've planned to do, what you wanted to do, it's not..." He takes a deep breath, "This isn't going to work."

I shake my head, "Why the hell not?" I angrily whisper.

He looks at the ground, then he moves his eyes up to meet mine,
"What made you think this could work out anyway?"

"I just- I thought that we had a plan. I-," I sigh, "I don't know. I guess my optimism got the best of me.."

"Optimism? Are you sure that's what it is? Or were you just going to rely on me to do everything in this 'plan'?" He says harshly.

I glare at him and say nothing.

"Well, my plan," He says smiling as he motions to himself,"Is going perfectly."

"What the hell are you talking about."

"This!" He spreads his arms out to the entirety of the prison,"This plan...The plan to get you in prison, the plan to make you think you killed everyone."

He leans in closer,
"The plan to get you to trust me."

He leans back, and folds his arms over his chest.

At this point, I'm not sure what to say or do. Did I really not kill everyone? What has this been about? Why did he make me the victim?

"I don't understand," I say, not meeting his stare,"Why did you need to get my trust?"

He smiles again,
"That was the most important part. Without your trust, you wouldn't have stayed awake all this time to try to break out. I wouldn't have been able to convince you that I was here for you. You needed to trust my friends and I to convince you that you had 'brain damage', and I still can't believe you fell for it."

This hasn't cleared anything up for me. I still know I saw Connor. I know that he died.

"What about Connor? I imagined him with me, when he wasn't!"

"You idiot. That wasn't Connor! That was Connor's brother! That was the key part in tricking you! Connor did die, years ago. Luckily your friend Brianna was there to introduce you to Josh, Connors twin."

"Connor didn't have a twin," I say.

"Not that you knew of," Tyler says,
"Brianna and Josh were part of this plan. It was no coincidence that we ran into each other. Miss Reid, you had something I wanted. Luckily I got it."

"What? What could you have possibly wanted from me?" I say.

"Actually, to be quite honest, your parents had it. The mansion, the island, the money. I had to use you to get close to them. Luckily you led me straight to them," he smiles, "This plan has been going on for years. We knew the where the safe was and now we have the money. It's almost like...it wasn't there in the first place," he smirks again.

"You asshole!" I shout.

I fling my hands through the thin gaps between the bars of my cell and wrap them around his neck. He chokes and coughs and I squeeze my hands tighter. His eyes roll back into his head and he falls to the ground unconscious.

*****

I'm sure you can figure out what happened after that. The other guards walked in and saw him on the ground. Nobody knew it was him who killed my friends and family. I was found guilty in my trial, sentenced to life in prison, and nobody ever heard my story.
Not until now...



-Kaitlin Reid

THE END

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Thank-you so much for reading my story! This is the first official story I have ever written and I hope you liked it! Be sure to vote! Thank-you all :)

-_Peeta aka Taylor