Knife's Edge - The Legion (Frank Morrison)

Chapter 16 Hide and Seek

Sounds of discomfort escaped the girl as Frank shifted underneath her. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around to find herself in the exact copy of the room she and Frank used to sleep in when they stayed in the abandoned hut. Even the rundown bed they used was covered in the blankets she'd sneaked out of her home and for a moment she forgot the cruel reality they were drawn into. But the longer she took in the view of the room the more she noticed things that were just wrong. Small, easily overlooked details that were just adding up into the pile of sadness and hatred that weighted down on her heart. And suddenly she was very aware of the situation she was in, nausea rising up inside hear, causing her throat to burn. She got up from Frank and sat down at the edge of the bed. "Pumpkin, where are you?", she heard Frank behind her and usually she'd go up to snuggle up against him but the mere thought of it caused her stomach to turn, she tried to bite her tounge but couldn't contain her feelings for long "Did you call her that too?", she asked, cursing herself for the lack of self-control. "What?", Frank asked, clearly confused "What do you..." the realization caused him to jump up "oh come on! It was only one time. I already told you that I am sorry!", his voice was stern and his eyes glistened with anger but Snow withstood his glare "You love to hear yourself talking an awful lot. You also said you loved me, you promised me and you still fucked Julie! And why? Because you were angry, because you couldn't control yourself." "You never did anything wrong in your whole life?", Frank responded "I never did anything wrong to you...", Snows voice was once again nothing more than a whisper. She averted her gaze and slowly got up to grab a random shirt and pair of boxers that were laying on the dresser. She quickly got dressed and stood infront of the mirror, her left hand reaching for her head, resting on the place where the man back in the house in the woods had hit her "I wish I'd died back then... for real..." "Fuck it, you're smarter than that! Dontcha dare say stupid shit like this!", Frank got up and tried to grab her shoulders but she slapped his hands away "THIS IS WORSE THAN DEATH!", she screamed at this point, tears rolling down her cheeks. She hated the fact that she was an angry crier, her tears making her feel weak and helpless. "I feel so fucking worthless..." The girl sank to her knees, her fists colliding with the floor. Frank sat down next to her, resting his back against the wall as he pulled her close. "I'll make it up to you.", he whispered in her ear as he pushed her hair behind it. But as soon as she relaxed into his touch she felt a certain dizzyness.

Frank couldn't help but watch as Snow slowly got enveloped in black smoke, she looked at him, her eyes filled with panic as her crow mask materialized on her face again. "No, no, NO NO  NOOO!", he screamed at her, trying to get ahold of her again but she dissapeared before his eyes and there was nothing he could do to make her stay. Frank punched the floor before getting up. He got dressed and walked out of the room, Suzie and Joey sat together on the small couch, their talking subsided as Frank walked by but neither of them dared to speak up as Frank made his way outside into the forever snowy landscape they now called their 'home'. He walked deeper into the neighbouring forest, hoping that the Entity hadn't taken his love from him again.

Snow opened her eyes, she found herself once again in the effigy of Ormond's forest, standing in the corner of what she called the 'map'. Those copies where the so called killers hunted the 'surviours' were even smaller than the areas the killers lived in as well as decorated with meathooks and generators randomly placed on the map. They were the places where the killers would sacrifice their prey to the Entity. The surviour would lose a bit of their soul after every match while the killers were rewarded with more power or the erasing of their old memories. She'd witnessed too many of those murderous games and knew much more details than their participants. She clenched her fists in anticipation, not knowing what she should do next and that was when she realized the object in her hand, resisting the pressure. She looked and found the knife Frank had given her as a gift. Her fingers brushed over the blade and she made a sad face, the memory of her throwing it in front of Frank's feet during their argument, resurfaced. She shook her head. This wasn't the time to be sad, she had a job to do, knowing very well what the Entity would do to her if she refused to. She ran up to the next corner, searching for the poor souls that had to be sacrificed today.

The girl ran across the map, hiding in lockers and behind small walls. She didn't know why she was there, but she knew she was in trouble: her trusty weapon was taken from her and she was left defenseless, acting like the people he usually hunted down. She enjoyed the terror in their faces as they feared for their lives, now she was the one struck by that same existential terror. She didn't know who she had to face but she dreaded the answer.

She rounded another corner, her heart beating loudly inside her ears, enhancing the panic she felt. She dug her nails in a small stonewall as she tried to make sure that the path before her was safe. She took a deep breath, bracing herself for the run over the clearing. There was another hideout on the other side. She took a step forward and was about to run when she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder, hunched over she tried to run, not even caring to see who the Killer was but before she was able to come further, she felt something entering her back, before getting ripped out again. The pain was too much for her to handle, resulting in her falling foreward to the ground. The Killer slowly walked around her, she saw black boots right infront of her face, coming to a halt. "That wasn't much of a fight you put of.", she knew that voice and she knew that she was in more danger than she'd thought, "I'm really dissapointed in you, Julie!".