A Deadly Game, A Dangerous Midnight

Loss

Jake's POV

Paisley. Sweet, cheerful, bubbly Paisley. 

He took her. Took her away from Alexandria. From all of us. I cursed silently at him, somehow hoping it was loud enough for him to hear. I wanted him to come, to stop playing games and messing with our minds, our sanity. I wanted to fight him, to obliterate him. For Alex's sake. For all our sakes. I felt the burning need to protect her, now. It was purely instinctual. I wanted her safe. I needed her safe. I sighed deeply, wishing she had not cast me away then, wishing that I could be there for her. I understood her loss, all too well. 

You coward, I thought. Stop with the lies and just tell her the truth! But I could not. It was hard enough having to live through it, let alone talk about it. After all, it was partly my fault. I was a part of it. I-

"Jake?"

Her barely audible voice instantly knocked my thoughts away.

"Alex."

"I... I can't stand... this... anymore." Her wounded cheeks glistened with tears and she looked at me with a grave expression.  "I can't... do... this... any-"

Before she even finished her sentence, I had my arms wrapped around her, squeezing gently. I did not  care at the moment if she would push me away or say I was an idiot. I just had to do it. Like I said, I felt a strange need to keep close. 

It seemed as if she felt the same way. I sighed in relief as I felt her arms wrapping around my torso, her head resting tiredly against my chest. I felt her tears seeping through my shirt and onto my skin. I shuddered and squeezed even harder. 

"Jake, I-"

"Shh." I breathed. "Don't say anything." 

Reluctantly, she stayed silent. I knew exactly what she was feeling. Not only was she tremenduously devastated, but I was sure she felt guilty for ending her best friend's life, even if it was her last wish. After all, the knife had been in her own hands.

After a while, I finally let go.

"Alex, we have to move, now."

"But-" 

"No, Alex. I'm serious. We really have to get moving."

I still wanted to embrace her, but we were risking too much. Having come this far, I was not going to let him catch her now. We could all mourn for Paisley later. 

"O...kay." she sniffed lightly, wiping her nose on her sleeve. Then she started to turn to the opposite direction. 

"No, wait!" I grabbed her arm.

"What?"

"Maybe we should stick together."

I could not leave her out of my sight. Not now. Now that the time was quickly making its way to 3:33, I had a horrible feeling that he would catch one more victim. And I could not let him catch Alex. Never. 

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea, since we're so little in numbers." 

"Then let's go."

We walked around the house, trying our best to avoid the spot where Paisley's limp body lay. The whole time, I could hear Alex whimpering and whispering the words "I'm sorry" over and over. I wanted to cry for her. Her loss stung me so deeply, even though I had barely known Paisley. I took hold of her trembling hand. It was all I could do. 

 A/N: There! Another one done! Sorry if this took more than two days to publish! I just remembered to write this chapter a few minutes ago. Teehee :-D. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!