Whodunit

Chapter 21

Blood gushed all over the black, crushed velvet couch as the impact of the bullet broke through Ximena's tightly pulled bun.

Eyes rolled to the back of her head till nothing but white showed through the sockets. She hit the rock-hard ground with a resounding thud. The long shadow of a humanoid creature with a bird-shaped head danced around her body as if trying to get back in with no luck. It jerked and contorted before sending a ripple of a scorching gust of wind through the air and dissolving into ash on the ground.

Dmitri gagged in the back of his throat. "What the..." He turned to survey the broken window and found a badly banged up Desi who wasted no time pointing the gun at Anisa next. "No!"

POW!

Another hot iron of fatal metal ripped through the air. Dmitri tackled Anisa to the ground. Barely dodging the bullet that exploded in the wall instead.

Desi stomped into the room, his once lime green, collared work shirt dulled with lumpy mud, brown leaves, smushed bugs, smelly swamp juice, and dried blood. And probably so much more.

"Damn it. I forgot to get the gun," Anisa mumbled after her head hit ground. The pain didn't faze her.

"What the hell, Dmitri? I'm trying to save you here," Desi scolded from above the two. "Move, so I can blast her brains out or would you prefer I bash them out with my fist?"

Dmitri looked down at the thin girl, pinned under him. Genuine fear for her life stained the brown of her eyes.

He glanced up at Desi. "Don't shoot her."

Desi groaned. "Ugh, are you serious?" He put his free hand to his forehead. "I come back to be your savior. To help you be the final guy, and you still gon' let her win. Let's reverse the tropes, bruh."

Dmitri had no idea what he meant, but he didn't care. Only one thing had his focus right now. "Please. Just hear me out."

Desi blew air through his chapped lips. "A'ight. Have it your way, bruh."

His gunslinging arm fell by his side, but his eyes glued to Anisa's every move and swallow.

"Get off me, you bum," she whined and pushed at Dmitri.

He stood up, and she followed like a puppy who didn't realize it followed its owner's every step.

Desi aimed the gun at her smug face. "Don't think I won't shoot, because I will. No questions asked."

"I thought I killed you," she dared to challenge him. "I knocked you out and left you floating in the swamp with an alligator nearby. You should be chewed up and spit out neckbones and intestines with a side of bloody gravy right now."

Dmitri gagged again at the thought. He wanted to be ecstatic that Desi hadn't died, but the current suspense made it impossible.

"I guess pretending like the bathtub was a pool and holding my face under the water finally paid off after all those years," said Desi. "When you dragged me into the swamp, the cold water woke me up. But I was smart enough to keep my eyes closed and held my breath till you were far away enough not to notice. The moon was barely shining out there. You couldn't see me breathing unless you were all up on me."

Anisa's face went blank. She growled. Fumes exhaled from her nose. She failed. And failing made her a meaner perfectionist. She was too smart to slip up. How could she let that happen?

"I heard everything. I saw you take off the mask and hand it to Ximena. I heard you discuss the plans to kill Jordan and Dmitri. The way you bragged about tricking me and Nubia. Even how y'all kiki-ed about whose demons were stronger. Every single thing."

"You want a cookie?" she mocked in her attempt at a Cookie Monster voice.

"I want you dead," he deadpanned with no remorse. "Wiped from the earth and all its spiritual planes."

"If you want me dead so bad, what took you so long to come and save Dmitri? Obviously, you're too late for Jordan and Nubia..."

Desi bit back a string of curse words. Knowing if he let loose, he'd shoot her dead. Despite whatever Dmitri was deep in thought about.

"Obviously, I could barely move after you knocked my lights out with a tree branch. And once I did. I had no idea where I was. The mud and leaves from the swamp camouflaged me enough from the alligator, but I was lost. Walking in circles."

"Aww poor baby," she teased.

"The slave ghosts helped me find my way back."

Anisa rolled her eyes. "Here you go again with this ghost mess."

"I'm dead serious. I'm so high and delusional right now, I don't know what's real and what's all in my head," he said. "For all I know, I could be living in a nightmare or...or...or hell right now. Who knows, but either way you got to die. And I got a feeling the ghosts ain't done helping. They hate people like you."

"I got it," Dmitri spoke up.

Anisa and Desi both watched him with arched brows.

"We have to exorcise her."