Kiera was just brushing her teeth when Shelia walked in. The harshly lit bathroom was small, Shelia having to squeeze right up to Kiera to fit in at the sink. The big mirror on the wall displayed the both of them, sullen and in an intense silence. Kiera watched from the corner of her eye as Shelia got her toothbrush from the holder and squeezed some toothpaste onto it. Every movement was precise, measured. Neither of them spoke, or smiled. But that was the way it was recently. Just before Shelia moved to lift it to her mouth, she spoke.
"I know what you did."
Kiera glanced at her in the mirror, stilling her motions. Shelia stared at the sink, not daring to look in the mirror. Kiera's blood ran cold, but calmly, she spat in the sink, running the tap. The air was thick with tension. The tap turned off with a squeak, and the room was plunged back into silence.
"What do you mean?"
Shelia's eyes met hers in the mirror. They shone with fear, but held a certain determination.
"I know it's you." Kiera slid a smile on to her face.
"You know what is me, Shelia?" Kiera's voice became silky smooth. The way she looked at Shelia now was predatory. "I'm not sure what're you are talking about." Kiera almost purred the words.
Shelia trembled slightly. Suddenly the space felt claustrophobic, and the adrenaline pushed at her to leave, run away. All those glamorised confrontations in her head, those playthroughs of scenarios where she would reveal that she knew, that Kiera would be afraid, ashamed even. All those fanciful thoughts that she would be the one to stop her, when now it felt more like she had voluntarily locked herself in a cage with a lion. The way Kiera looked at her now had her heart pumping, and her thoughts all turned to mush. The bathroom suddenly seemed much darker when Shelia turned to face her. Kiera stared at her in the mirror.
"Tell me, Shelia; do I scare you?" Shelia's eyes widened. This had been a bad idea. "Because let me tell you, I should."
Stepping back now, Shelia fled the room, leaving her toothbrush untouched. Kiera gave a self-satisfied chuckle before leaving the bathroom too.
***
"I got popcorn!" Alana held the bowl over her head, an avid smile on her face. Her unicorn pyjamas were an assault to the eyes, brightly coloured and short.
"Woo! Movie time!" Kiera reflected Alana's enthusiasm, shooting a look at Shelia, who sat solemnly on the edge of the blowup bed. Her glasses hid her eyes in the darkened room, but her mouth was placed in a short, flat line.
"Come on Shelia! Get pumped!" Alana bounced on the bed next to her, spilling some popcorn as she did so. Her ardour was infectious, and Shelia soon found herself giving Alana a weak smile.
"Come on Shelia, I know you can do better." Alana's smile turned impish, and Shelia weakly pushed her laughing now.
"Okay okay! Let's just get this movie started." Kiera watched from Alana's bed, unworried as she looked at Shelia. She wouldn't say anything.
They both know what would happen.
***
The movie was cheap and cheesy, as was expected from a Netflix chick flick. The whole way through, Alana would shout at the screen, yelling at the characters for being dumb, and chanting kiss several times throughout.
"You know they can't hear you right?" Kiera's voice brimmed with amusement. Shelia looked quite into it, and was somewhat annoyed at Alana's interruption.
"Yeah, but doesn't my commentary make it just that much better?"
Kiera had to agree with that. It did make it more entertaining.
***
They all woke up at about noon the next day, after taking long into the night, whispering questions into the dark. Kiera struggled not to laugh when Alana asked who they thought might be killing everyone.
But returning home the next day, at about 2 in the afternoon, Kiera was definitely looking forward to sleeping in her own room, in her own bed. Alana's just didn't measure. Going to sleep that night was easy, exhaustion kicking her into her dreams quickly.
At around midnight, however, Kiera jolted dead upright in her bed, fully alert and instincts on overdrive. Every sound, every sight was amplified, magnified to a point of almost sensory overload. At the back of her mind though, she felt that familiar tug, that familiar push of bloodlust she had entertained so often now. Her hands ached to kill, her skills aching to be used. Changing out of her pyjamas, Kiera pulled on a sturdy pair of jeans, and a thick black hoodie. She'd never been this compelled before, as to wake up and go kill, but she would happily do it anyway. The euphoria... the feeling of taking a life- all magnified when paired with the pulsing, throbbing bloodlust that was hers to carry. But then, Kiera thought harder about why she was awake. What was different? What was... Kiera's blood ran cold, and roared past her ears. Quietly, she snuck up to her bedroom window, and peeked around the corner. Her apartment was 2 stories up, and her bedroom window faced the street. Through the glare of the streetlamps, she saw the black van, dulled against the night. From the sides, men in black tactile vests streamed out, assault rifles clasped firmly in their hands as they streamed out the sides. Kiera counted the steady stream, 6, 7, 8- more kept coming, streaming to her building. What if some were coming already? Kiera retracted herself from the window mind racing. Any moment now, they would burst through her front door, splintering it and arresting her. Two thoughts gleamed in her mind as she once again stared out the window:
She was going to have to jump,
And Shelia had snitched.
YOU ARE READING
Tell No One
Science Fiction~Record of #109 in Science Fiction!~ Kiera wasn't proud of her average life; a flat, a small income from the local shop, and a jumble of college courses that she just hoped she could make a career out of. Her life was, as far as she was concerned...
