#KILLME2

Chapter 15

#KILLME2

By: theinkslingerr

Chapter 15

    It was a boring blue. The kind that, if applied to clothing, made said clothing look like it'd been through the wash too many times. The nondescript color was perfect for Brookside PD— especially when paired with navy blue slacks and matching ties. It was just impossible to place in the dark, which is why Maya and I almost assaulted a police officer.

    And Ross; who was cowering behind him despite being a full head taller.

    "Take it easy," the officer commanded. His name tag read T. Crowley. Ross peeked over his head and straightened when he saw it was us.

    I was glad he was okay, but it was kind of hard to "take it easy" in the presence of a gun— even if it was pointed over my head. I glanced behind me, sweat beading on the back of my neck. Right now it was the lesser of two evils. Something that knocked the threat of police brutality down a peg. The fact that it took a serial killer for that to happen was its own sad conversation, but in the moment I forgot about what I saw on the news and dove behind Officer Crowley with Maya.

    "He's behind us!" I shouted. "The Social Media Slayer's behind us."

    "Told you it could be him!" Ross glared at the back of Crowley's head.

    "Okay, here's what we're gonna do," he said. "My car's outside. You kids are gonna go wait in it while I take care of things here. Lock the doors and don't come out until help arrives."

    I glanced outside. His cruiser was parked a few feet away.

    After updating the person on his walkie, Officer Crowley approached the doors Maya and I had just burst through, gun firmly positioned.

    I was riveted; frozen in place even though it felt like ants were crawling all over my body.

    There were only two options.

    The Slayer was on the other side of the door with his own surprise or he was gone.

    Both were equally terrifying. Maya grabbed my hand and squeezed.

    "You filming TikToks back there?" Officer Crowley gritted out. "What part of go and wait in the car didn't you understand?"

    Snapping out of our trances, Ross, Maya, and I escaped the breezeway through the broken side door. Outside, I threw myself into Ross's arms. I'm so glad you're not dead! I would've never forgiven myself. I don't deserve your help or friendship. There was so much I wanted to say, but couldn't. Fortunately, he understood, wrapped his arms around me and rested his chin on top of my head. It turned out near-death experiences made you clingy, so we stayed like that for a while, and Maya watched. I didn't know what to say to her even though she'd saved my life, so after feeling Ross's breath on the crown of my head and listening to his heart beat, we got in the cruiser and locked the doors. She took the front seat, we took the back.

    I gave myself more time to decompress before saying, "We would've been in big trouble if you hadn't grabbed Crowley."

    "Yeah," Maya co-signed. "Thanks."

    Caught in the harsh beam of a nearby streetlight, Ross jammed his eyes shut, only to flinch and touch his nose. There was a spectacular purple bruise forming where the Slayer had punched him. It spanned the area between his eyes and creeped down the bridge of his nose.

    I felt a pang of guilt. When the Slayer pulled me away from Ross, he hadn't hesitated to help. He was the bravest scaredy cat there ever was.