Panic Room

Epilogue: 'Aftermath'

It was a month after the murders.

Jay had found a room with the light still on, and had managed to carry Ari out through the window and get them both to safety, almost no scratches on either of them.

Axel, who had been left in the front room, was quickly found and arrested for the murder of Zakou.

Juno was arrested for the murder of Claire Clark, who had died from doctors not being able to being able to remove the bullet in time at the hospital, along with a few other charges.

Both were found guilty, sentenced to lifetime prison.

Crystal ended up bleeding out, by the time the police showed up it was far too late for them to save her.

Kira and Sachhi both were fine, just very shaken up, but overall they would be okay.

Flowers surrounded both Claire and Crystal's graves daily.

Leona was never found.

Ari sniffed, carrying a small bouquet of lilacs, Jay at her side with pink daises as they approached the two newest graves.

Ari gently laid down the lilacs at Claire's grave, the pink daises were nicely laid down at Crystal's.

"I know neither of us knew you two well, but were wanted to come here to remember. Who knows where we would be without you two. I'm so sorry." Ari said, pulling some of her back behind her shoulders, Jay gently put his hand on her shoulder as they both stood together quietly.

"Come here to grieve too I suppose?"

Ari and Jay turned around quickly, Jay stepping in front of Ari, panic shooting through them in a reflex from that night.

They both relaxed, seeing it was just Kira.

And she was a mess.

Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot, her hair a mess and she seemed to have permanent bags under her eyes.

"We did, we wanted to visit sooner, but we were still recovering." Jay told her, to which Kira gave a simple drawn out nod.

She stepped forward, looking down at the two graves.

"The girl I loved, and a brave officer. I wish I'd gotten to know her better." Kira said, though her voice seemed void of emotions. She glanced over at the other two, seemingly having cried out everything she could.

"Did you know I'm moving here?" Kira mentioned, looking down at the ground.

"Really? When?" Jay asked, to which she sighed a little.

"Soon, something about this case still just doesn't feel right. I need to find Leona, no matter the cost, Sachhi already said she'd help."

"Are you two friends? You seemed like you knew each other." Ari quietly asked, kicking at the dirt with her black flats.

"Yes, Sachhi and I have been friends for a long time. I used to have a jobs here every now and then and she'd almost always be the one on the case, along with Crystal."

The three of them once again fell silent, looking down at Crystal's grave.

"You two brought beautiful flowers, I'm sue they would've loved them."

Ari smiled slightly nodding a bit, Kira hardly looking at her before turning around.

"If either of you ever see Leona again, or get any information about her or her whereabouts, let me or Sachhi know immediately. I'll leave you to your grieving."

And as fast as she came, Kira was gone.

"I think I'll feel safer with Kira around honestly." Jay mentions, turning back around to face the graves, Ari nodding slightly, hugging herself loosely as the wind blew gently.

"Jay... do you wanna go back without me? I think I'm gonna be here a while." Ari says quietly, Jay looking over at her.

"Are you sure? I don't mind waiting A." He says with concern, to which Ari shakes her head.

"No, it's okay. I know you wanna go work on your book, I'll be fine Jay."

"If you're sure-"

"I'm sure, I'll meet you back at the studio soon."

Jay smiled, nodding quietly before walking off, glancing back once or twice before heading back home.

Ari slowly sat down in front of the graves, tears silently collecting in her eyes as she replayed the events of the night.

"Yeah are you sure A?"

Ari nearly screamed, opening her eyes wide and looking around frantically, eyes landing on a tree branch above the two graves.

"Hi pretty girl!"

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Unedited

Word Count: 842

THERE'S GONNA BE A SEQUEL!! Its going to be called "Maniac", so be on the lookout! Gosh though I cant believe this book is over, I'm so happy that I got this story out to all of you, it was so fun to write and I'm sure the sequel will be too, which I've already started working on! I'm not sure when it'll be up, but hopefully soon! Anyways, once again, thank you all so much for reading my story, I truly and deeply hope you enjoyed this chapter, make sure to vote and comments your thoughts. I'll see you all in the next book, have an amazing day/night everyone :)