Sisters Till Death

XI

     I gasped as I fell. I couldn't scream for some reason. But I did know one thing.

     I was not gonna die like this.

     Almost immediately without thinking, I grabbed the closest branch before it passed me on my way down. My body jerked at the sudden stop and a wave of pain spread through my shoulder. I ignored it and started to climb back up the tree.

     Once I got up to a safer branch I sat there trying to figure out how to make the guards go away so I can get the sash.

     I can't fight them because I'm outnumbered by two and it'll make too much noise. I can't make a distraction because my whole point of being up here is to be unseen and unnoticed. There has to be something I can do.

     As I was thinking, I heard animal squeaking. I turned around to see two squirrels behind me. Then I got an idea.

     I pulled two acorns that hung in the tree and place one in each hand, then made a small tutting noise and held out my hands. The squirrels slowly moved towards me and then rested on my hands.

     "God forgive me for what I'm about to do." I whispered to the sky and then dropped the squirrels on the devils below me.

     Luckily my plan worked because the squirrels landed on the devils (safely, thank god) and they started to freak out and they ran away. The cabin was now unguarded.

     I slowly but swiftly started climbing down the tree. Once I got to the ground, I hurried to the cabin and slowly opened the door.

     It was mainly dark with the exception of the light from the moon and a couple of lit candles. There wasn't a lot of furniture surprisingly, knowing the Betas lavish lifestyle. There was a couch in the front room and a coffee table in front of it. It didn't seem like a place that the Betas would want to stay in for two weeks.

     There was no one in here so I decided to look further into the house. I should've known that it wasn't gonna be right there in the front entrance.

     I turned to the right and went down the long hallway. There were three doors at the end of it: one on the right, one on the left, and one straight ahead. The doors to my left and right were closed but the one in front of me was cracked slightly. That must be where the devil with the sash is hiding.

     I pushed on the wood of the door slightly and it let out a quick creak. I pushed the door a little more, giving me room to slide through the doorway and into the room.

     The room was empty, except for a bed in the corner and a vanity with a mirror on the other side of the room. There were small pictures that bordered the mirror that I couldn't make out from the doorway. I started walking towards the mirror and I started to see that they were pictures of a boy. As I got closer, I could see dark brown hair and hazel brown eyes. Once I got close enough, I saw that I knew who the boy in all of these pictures was.

     Angelo.

     Why is Angelo's pictures decorated on a vanity in the Betas cabin?

     I stood in front of the vanity and scanned through each picture. All of them were just pictures of him alone: pictures of him laughing pictures of him eating and sitting across the table from the photographer, and pictures of him doing goofy poses. At least it isn't some psycho stalker shrine since he was aware of being photographed in most of them and was fairly up close to the photographer.

     All of the pictures hung up of the vanity mirror, except for one. It laid on the vanity by itself. This time Angelo wasn't by himself. His arm was around a girl with long blond hair. I noticed her immediately from the news reports. Camellia.

     Okay this is a lot of stuff to process.

     I turned to walk away and on the doorknob I saw silk purple fabric hanging.

     The sash.

     I ran to grab it and noticed something.

     I dropped the fucking air horn!

     I grabbed the sash and ran out of the room. I ran past the couch in the front room and burst through the front door. I stopped after I went past the threshold and scanned the woods. I didn't see anything so I started back running. After a few minutes of running, I saw a glimmer of silver under the first tree I climbed. I ran for it at full speed. Just as soon as I was about to grab the can, I was pulled away from it.

     "Aghhhh!" I yelled as the back of my head slammed to the ground. My vision blurred for a second but I regained my sight just in time to roll out of the way before the devil that hovered over me could stomp on my face. I scrambled up to my feet before the devil could kick me while I was down, literally. I didn't want to loose the sash so flung it around my shoulder. Without a second thought, I bolted towards the air horn. I didn't get far because the devil grabbed me by the hair and slung me down again. I hurried to get back on my feet and regain my balance.

     The only way I'm getting to that air horn is to fight for it. And believe me: it's been a looong fucking night!

     I charged towards the devil and knocked it off balance. We both went spiraling towards the ground. It was a fight to get the air horn first.

     The devil sprung up first but I stuck out my leg and tripped it. I jumped up and sprinted towards the air horn, making sure to avoid the devil tripping me.

     I didn't get far because a few seconds later a pair of arms wrapped around my torso, raised me into the air, and body-slammed me. I didn't let that stop me from fighting. I grabbed the devils arm and yanked it down to the ground, making it fall face first. I wrestled my way on top of the devil and pinned it down. The devil jerked but it didn't get loose from my grip. I took the sash from around my neck and tied it into a knot around the devil's wrists. Once I did I sprung up and sprinted towards the air horn. I stopped right in front of it and picked it up and quickly pressed the button. The blaring honking sound sent a jolt of relief through my body.

     It's finally over.

   •*•*•*•

     "Give me the sash." Carmen said with a stiff expression spread across her face. We were still in the middle of the woods. Carmen and the other Beta devils found me a while after I blew the air horn.

     I handed her the sash, which was slightly wrinkled since I had knotted it up to tie the devil's wrists. Her face stayed in its same stiff expression but it didn't seem like a regular expression. It seemed like she was trying to hide a different expression. I looked around at the devils and they all looked around at each other. Then I realized that they were surprised.

     How many people have even managed to win this game?

     "Congratulations Mel," Carmen spoke after a few seconds of silence, "you've passed the game. Welcome to the Betas."

     "Quick question:" I said looking around at the devils's startled body language, "How many people have actually won this game in the past?"

     Carmen looked at me for a second before responding, "Only one other person has won this particular game. Each Beta has been through this game, but all but two now have failed. Once they fail this one, they have to go through a different type of test to gain their membership."

     "Who was the other person?" I asked.

     Carmen looked over to the devil to her left before answering me.

     "Ashley Reyes." She finally answered me.

     Something about that name was familiar to me. Then it hit me.

     Ashley Reyes.

     Reyes.

     Camellia Reyes.