Forgotten - A Skulduggery Pleasant Fanfic (COMPLETE)

18

And then...

A gasp.
A gurgle.
Jay broke eye contact, looking down at his chest.
The end of a sword poked through, drenched in crimson.
Erin felt the walls crumble at the same time Jay fell to the ground, limp, lifeless, his eyes wide and glassy.
"Well, that worked out easier than I expected." A voice came from above her. Erin, bloodied, terrified, looked up to see the familiar blonde curls of the war veteran herself, Tanith Low.
The curls turned to her.
"P-Please, let me explain." Erin whispered, holding her hands up in mercy, "I don't want to die! I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry!" She began to sob, falling to her knees.
"Sorry doesn't bring back my friend's daughter, does it?" Tanith Low asked.
"I know! I know it doesn't. But you have to understand, I didn't know what I was doing! I couldn't remember Allara, I thought she was the enemy. I was wrong!" Erin sobbed, the tears stinging her burnt face.
"What do you mean, you didn't know what you were doing?" Tanith asked.
"I-I can explain if you...if you let me go. P-please! Please let me l-live! I'll s-stay with you." Erin hiccuped.
"Why would I want to be around a murderer?" Tanith asked, and Erin heard footsteps come up in front of her. A finger under her chin, lifting her head up.
"Open your eyes." Tanith said.
Erin, shaking now, cracked them open.
Tanith's curls fell around them, making it so Erin had nothing else to look at other than the woman's eyes, which were filled with an intense and terrifying calm.
"I've given people chances before." She began, quietly. "I've given people who never deserved second chances second chances."
"P-please give me one-" Tanith pressed a finger to the girl's lips, shutting her up.
"The reason I gave those people second chances was because I saw something in them. I saw their goodness.
"You have done terrible, terrible things. If anyone deserved a second chance, it wouldn't be you. But, then again..." Tanith trailed off, and stared deeper into Erin's eyes.
"You are a child. And a confused one at that. With the right training, you could make use of a second chance." She said.
Erin sniffled.
"Erin, was it?" Tanith asked. "Erin, I think I'll give you a second chance. But you have to stay with me. You have to follow my example. You will meet the people I trust.
"And if you break it..." Something sharp pressed into Erin's abdomen. She nodded vigorously.
"Good-" Tanith was cut off by a scream.
"A-a-a-aaaa-Allara!" The person, whoever they were, stumbled over their words. The voice was familiar.
"N-no! H-h-how did this...w-who did this...!" Tanith Low suddenly stood, leaving Erin to fall to her hands and knees on the floor, her hands drenched in blood. She looked over to see a pudgy man in a floral top, two plastic shopping bags discarded at his feet as he stared at the scene before him.
"Fearless." Tanith said, and the name triggered a memory.
Ripping a screen door off.
Walking into the house.
Laughing at his terrified face.
"S-she's not dead, is she?" The man, Fearless, asked, stepping into the room. Tanith didn't respond.
Fearless took that as his answer and gasped, tears welling.
"We failed. W-we failed her when she needed it most." Fearless whispered, clasping his hands over his mouth. He bent down to her body and stroked Allara's head, apologising profusely.
Erin watched the scene before her and suddenly the tears welled again.
How dare she?
How dare she take this girl, her best friend, from the people she mattered most to? How dare she stop this girl from living her life because of an anger she had no control over?
A high, shrill scream escaped from Erin's mouth as she remembered Allara's last words.
You were always like that.
The scream became a wail and Erin slammed her fist into the ground, the shadows curling around her fist and sending it through the floor. Erin didn't care. She slammed her fist into the ground again with as much force as possible, trying to cause herself pain.
She deserved to die.
She had done horrible, horrible things nobody could ever be forgiven for.
Erin slammed her fist into the ground again, but she was losing her composure and her strength fast.
Another hit.
Another.
Another.
Her fist his the ground and her arm suddenly gave out, sending Erin face first into the floor.
She didn't try to get up.
She just let the tears flow, let the pain consume her.
Weak.
You were always like that.
Useless.
You were always like that.
Selfish.
You were always like that.