Split the Sea

. 5 .

. 5 . The Essence of Evil

I guided Katie's body through the water. She hadn't awoken, except for a couple murmurs, and her skin was growing whiter and whiter. As I pulled on her arm, sticking close to the floor, I watched for Kifu. I hadn't heard anything for over an hour.

The storm outside had ended. As we passed a large window, I looked out across the lawn. It was bright and beams of sunlight broke through the leafy palm trees, casting strange patterns on the ground. The water was a strange blue. It distorted my view of the yard and made everything seem a darker shade that it was.

You can't escape from four walls.

The voice was inside my mind. It held none of the terrifying power that Kifu had used when talking aloud. It was also clearer.

I whipped my head around and looked down the hall. It was empty. I headed into my room and pushed the door closed, fighting against the currents. I flicked the lightswitch in habit and were surprised when the light flickered on. My fish tank was still filled with my fish and the water was a different colour. Kifu had mentioned how she split the sea. The water around us was the colour of the water in an animation. It was a bright blue and the sunlight filtering in through the windows looked gorgeous in my room.

"Katie, wake up." I tried to shake her. My voice still worked in the water. Kifu had unlocked something that allowed me to speak through the water. "Please, Katie. I can't do this without you."

Only one of you can escape. You can't both get out of this alive. Kill Katie, that's all you have to do.

The door creaked open behind me. I turned around, expecting to see Kifu peeking in, her dark eyes glittering with amusement. Instead, a knife floated in. It came straight towards me, landing in my grasp. I looked down at it. It was one of the ones that my mom used to cut the vegetables. They sat in the kitchen on the counter.

"I'm not killing Katie." I screamed. Pain spread through my body. The black soul of Kifu appeared, transforming into her terrifying body. She arched her back and started to laugh. Bubbles came out of her mouth and started to spread across the ceiling. As they grew larger, the water started to recede down the walls. It came down to my head and continued down until it was up to my waist.

Katie was lying in my arms. She groaned, her eyes opening. Her throat moved as she breathed in furiously, her chest rising and falling as she struggled to get the water out of her mouth.

"I can't breath." She choked out the words. "Help me, Jenn."

I took her hand. "Just focus on getting air. Ignore the water."

She nodded, her face calming. Her chest rose and fell as she sucked in oxygen. Her eyes seemed to glue shut again and she sank into her unresponsive state. I could feel a tear trickling down my cheek. It drifted off my skin and into the murky blue water, a glistening white orb of water in a sea of darkness.

Something grabbed my wrist and I spun around. Kifu was there, her teeth bared. She sank one of them into her lip, drawing out blood. "It's time we finish this, just you and I." She looked down at the knife in my hand. I pulled up my arm and swung towards her shoulder, aiming for the region where her heart was. She knocked my hand off target and it hit a hard current beside her, pulling my off balance. I was dazed for a moment. I looked over and saw her drifting out of the room. She looked ghostly, her hair flowing behind her like tendrils of darkness.

I kicked strongly, following her out. She was turning the corner into the kitchen. I stayed next to the wall, the water pushing against me as I swam closer to the kitchen. My palms rested on the drywall and I peeked around the corner. She was in the center of the kitchen.

"I won't fight." She turned around, her raspy voice hissing in my ears. "I will give you one shot. If you miss, Katie will die. If you hit... well, you know what will happen." I stared at her eyes. They were dark and lifeless. She let a smile creep across her face. "Come on, you can do it." She coaxed.

I pulled back my wrist and let the knife go. Time seemed to stop as it shot through the currents and buried itself straight into her chest. She was pushed back and her eyes opened wide with fear. I swam upwards as she fell, my body pushed by a current. It lasted for several seconds, pressing me against the ceiling.

Then everything dropped.

I hit the floor and the air was knocked out of my lungs. I coughed, rolling over and wheezing. My head turned towards the floor. Where Kifu had been, Katie was lying. She was crying, her hand grasping at the handle of the knife, which was buried near her neck.

"Katie?" I whispered. "Katie!" I got to my feet and ran over, dropping to my knees. She was still alive. I grabbed the phone off the counter and punched in 911.

Appearances can be deceiving.

"Leave us alone!" I screamed.

"Uh, hello?" A worried voice answered.

"I need help. My friends been stabbed and she's bleeding across the floor." I sobbed into the phone. I gave the address and hung up. Before long, sirens engulfed the house.

I opened the gate with a button and they pulled up. There were several tense minutes of them moving her to a stretcher and her getting wheeled into the ambulance. I climbed in and we headed off.

They hadn't removed the knife yet. They left it there, taking her vitals. I didn't comment. I stayed back, hoping none of them would notice me.

"What happened?" One of the nurses asked. She was holding a clipboard.

"I don't know." I hiccuped, unsure of what to say. "I came in and she was on the floor with a knife. I didn't see anyone else in there." I hated that lie. It made her sound suicidal.

We pulled into the hospital parking lot and I followed them inside. I had to wait in the waiting room while she was wheeled into an operating room. I sat on one of the chairs and watched as people flowed in and out, talking to the receptionists and reading the magazines. Should I contact my mom? What would I say?

"Jenn?" A soft voice called my name. I looked up and saw a nurse looking over at me. "Katie is calling to see you."

I followed her inside. A couple of hours had passed but it felt like no time at all. Katie had been moved. Her shoulder was bandaged and she was sitting up against a bunch of pillows. She smiled when I entered.

"Hi, Katie." I sat on the edge of the bed, eying the bandage.

I'm not Katie.

Wow, that ending is awful. I was so rushed. I'm really tired and stressed. That's why I want collabs with you guys. I want better endings how you want it to end. So, please write collabs with me.