Violet

Chapter 45: Mariel's Last Breath

"Abby?" I said, not believing what I was seeing. "Ryan? What is happening?" I let the door close behind me.

The color in Ryan's face flushed away. I could tell he was really nervous now. As he inched closer towards me, I backed away. "No, don't come near me. Just tell me what this is about?" I demanded.

Abby crossed her arms and leaned against the last stall near the wall. "I did not expect to see you so soon. How's your mother?"

"Abby, shut up. You don't go to this school. Why are you here?"

She quickly stood up straight and walked towards me. "Watch it, mommy's girl. I wouldn't get so upset if I were you. Mariel's not doing so well and I'd listen if you'd want to save her." She walked back to the stall and opened it up.

I saw blood slowly sliding out of the stall and onto the floor, then I heard whimpering. I looked inside and saw Mariel on the ground holding her wrist with one hand. "Help," she cried, looking at me with tears in her eyes. 

Abby's face expression changed as if she was actually sad. "Oh my, why would you do that to yourself, Mariel? Don't you care about your family and friends?" Abby looked at her.

Ryan walked closer. "You did it, Abby. You said-"

Abby walked up to Ryan and stood face to face with him, glaring into his eyes. "So that's it? You bail on the whole plan now?"

While they're talking, I grab Mariel by her shoulder. "Come on, you need help." She tries and stands up, but her body falls back to the floor. The blood pours out even more and Mariel lets out a loud cry.  Some of her covered my entire hand now. "She's doing this to me!" She yelled in agony.

Sure enough, as I look over my shoulder, I see Abby with her hand reached out. "You can save her, Violet. All you have to do is join us and everything will be perfect again. You will no longer have to live in fear."

There are tears forming in my eyes as I look at Ryan. "You helped her do this?" I asked him, then quickly attended to Mariel. 

Ryan walked towards me. "I didn't think-"

Abby pointed her finger at him and Ryan couldn't move. "Are you kidding me, Ryan?" She suddenly faced me. "He knew what he was getting into. It's time people stop blaming others for the evil they cause," She faced Ryan once more. "Let's face the truth. There's evil inside of us. Even if we want to do good, there's always that monster trying to break past the chains of our souls each and every day."

"Let him go!" I launched towards her. With a point from her finger, she paralyzes my body and I can no longer move. "Why are you doing this to me?" I said through gritted teeth.

Abby smiled. "I'm doing it to protect you. Your father wanted this. We both did. We want you to join us forever! You're not living. Sacrifice your life to the book and you will find it to be most sufficient." 

"No!" I yell.

"Hurry now. Mariel doesn't look so good," she says.

Completely out of my control, my head turns into a full 360. The bones in my neck don't crack and I can't find any logical explanation to it. Forget logic. I would have to live without logic from now on. This was pure evil.

My gaze met with Mariel's eyes. I could see the light in her eyes fading and her breathing getting slower and slower. The blood flowed out of her wrist like a running faucet. Her own blood pooled around her. She blinked then opened her mouth.

"Don't give in, Violet," she said. "Evil never wins, Violet. Find a way out." She repeated her last words. "Find a way out..."

My heart hit rock bottom when her head limped to the side. My breathing picked up and I felt the heavy sadness building in. At first, I had to force myself to fathom what had just happened. Mariel had died. Mariel was dead. Mariel was no longer breathing. For some reason, I kept reminding myself that I was experiencing reality and this was not a dream. Tears poured from my eyes and if I could clench my fist or grab something I would have.

My body loosened from Abby's control. As soon as it did I crawled over to Mariel and picked up her head to look at her face. "Mariel?" I whispered and choked through tears. "Mariel, please don't go! Mariel?"

"She's dead," Abby confirmed. I didn't bother facing her. I could only stare at Mariel's face. Abby laughed. "Remember, you can get her back. You can have everything you want. You know where to find me and you know where to find your dad."

When I turned around to reply, she was gone, leaving me with Ryan and Mariel's lifeless body. "No, no, no, this can't be happening. What did you do, Ryan?" I let Mariel's head go gently and stood up to face Ryan who was also crying.

"She told me we would all be happy together," he looked at me. 

I let out a heavy breath of air. It was the kind where you want to say everything that's on your mind, but you can't because it's too much, so you just let it out with a breath of air. "I can't believe you would murder someone just for a chance to live forever. Or what was it she promised you? Hmm?" I was angry now, ready to let loose every once of my anger on him.

He looked away from me.  "She...she took my stepfather away. She gave me everything. She said we would get Mariel back if you join us."

I have to bite my lip for a second. "Why would I want to join or be a part of that. Did you ever think about what I wanted? You two murdered my best friend! The only person who-" I choked on a cry when I thought about her. She was dead and the thought hit me like a racing truck once again. I collapsed onto the floor, not knowing what to do next.

All of a sudden, a few girls flooded inside of the bathroom. They were all laughs until they saw Ryan, and me sitting against a dead body...