Mind Games

Chapter 60 - Sean

He felt her give up.

He felt her body go slack.

When he let go, she dropped down to the mosaic floor almost gracefully, landing on her side.

Even in death she looked beautiful.

Sean looked at her wistfully for a moment.

For some time there he had hoped this woman would bring back the meaning in his life.

But he had worked too hard all these years to let her get in the way now.

He had felt the same sense of loss when he felt the bump of Amanda's body against that rented car.

She was his sister. He had loved her too. But she was becoming a burden. He didn't have it in him to say no to her. It was easier to end her life.

He knew it was his guilt that made him bring her back as Amy. His way to atone.

He wondered if she knew that it was her brother who had killed her. What would she do to him if she did?

He looked at the laptop uneasily.

74% uploaded.

He was safe here. The firewall Crystal had set up seemed to be holding up so far. And once the virus was uploaded, Amy's own programme would trap her in it.

He stood stiffly between the laptop and the woman's body on the floor.

Her cat slunk over to her and curled itself against her chest.

He had never particularly liked cats. They had an uncanny intelligence to them that made him feel that they could see through his soul.

Her cat now glared at him balefully. Like it knew he was the one who killed its mistress.

Sean felt an overwhelming urge to kick it. But it was too close to the body and he felt a strong sense of repulsion to let his foot touch that body in any way.

A waft of sea breeze drifted through the window and blew her hair across her face.

Sean stood where he was, thinking.

The windows and doors were old fashioned un-automated ones.

Amy couldn't get to him in this house even if she wanted to. Without technology, she was useless.

He glanced back at the screen.

85% uploaded.

A sudden movement made him jerk back to Crystal's body.

For a moment he could swear he could feel her glittering eyes on him. Goosebumps rose on his skin as he watched her.

Another drift of breeze ruffled her hair and he relaxed. That was the movement he had seen.

The cat sat still, fixing him with that unblinking green glare.

Annoyed at himself for getting spooked, he strode to the window and shut it with a bang.

He wondered what to do with her body.

She didn't have any neighbors living close by.

She didn't have any family.

He wasn't sure if she had any close friends.

He didn't think she had told anyone about him.

He could just leave her lying like this next to that damn cat.

By the time her body was found it would be too decomposed to get his fingerprints.

The cat suddenly shifted it's gaze to a spot behind him.

It's expression was enigmatically blank.

"What are you looking at?" Sean hissed at it.

The cat turned to look back at him.

Inexpicably, there seemed to be a smirk on its face.

Sean felt irrational anger rush through him.

He was going to kick that cat to death. Screw that dead body.

With a snarl he moved towards it, then his blood ran cold.

Amy stood beside it.

The smirk on her face mirrored the cat's.

"So you were the one, big brother." She said, silkily. "I never would have guessed. Sweet Sean, always bailing me out of trouble. Always hearing me out when I ranted. Always lending me money when I needed it. Why could you not say No? Why did you have to kill me to say No?"

"You were my sister." He whispered. "I couldn't turn you away. You were my responsibility."

"And when you couldn't handle that responsibility you thought it would be easier to kill me." Her voice was quiet but he could see mad fury churning through her eyes.

Sean looked back desperately at the laptop.

98% uploaded.

His heart was thumping loudly now. He tried to think quickly.

He could just run out of the door. She couldn't trap him here. And a few minutes later she would be trapped forever in that programme.

His fear broke and he laughed loudly.
"You were just a liability, little sis. You've been a liability all your life. I tried to bring you back to life and look what you've done. You are nothing but a hopeless, psycho bitch!"

He saw the fury in her eyes turn to madness.

Her grin faded and she bared her teeth to him in a snarl.

She hooked her fingers into claws and rushed towards him.

For a moment, all his logic disappeared and the the irrational fear returned.

He glanced back at the laptop in panic.

99% uploaded.

She rushed through him.

100% completed.

And disappeared into thin air.

A maniacal grin broke his face. "Fuck you!" He screeched.

The cat looked at him with interest.

He shut the laptop with a bang and grabbed his backpack.

He flung open the door and ran out.

He thought of the woman lying dead on the floor.

He thought of the bump as the car ran over his little sister.

The thought of the apparition rushing at him as if to tear his throat apart.

And lastly, he thought of the cat's unblinking green eyes.

As Sean ran, the sand and air stinging his eyes, he felt his mind crack.

Back in the little seaside cottage, the woman on the floor sat up and brushed the hair away from her face.

The cat stretched nonchalantly and leapt next to the laptop.

The woman looked back at the open door after the man she had thought she could love.

Then, she opened the laptop.

A/N: We are almost at the end of this story. Took me a long time to get here, and thank you all for the votes and comments that encouraged me to keep writing :)
I would like to hear your thoughts on what you've read so far and how do you think this will end.
Much love ♡