Revive Me

Chapter Seventeen

"Alright. Repeat the plan one more time so we're sure," says Kenji.
I nod.
We're standing outside of Juliette's door, Kenji heavily armed and me completely unarmed. I'm leaning again the door and Kenji's facing me.
"Here's what we're going to do," I say. "I'm going to go into that room and leave the door open. If she asks me to close it, I'll make sure a small crack of it is open. You need to stand out here, alert. Maybe she won't hurt me if I'm unarmed. It's a risk I'm willing to take. I'm going to try and figure out a way we can get that necklace off. When I do, I'll come out. If I get attacked, I need you to interfere. Try not to hurt her, just give us enough time to leave."
Kenji nods.
He doesn't seem to like the plan.
"It's better than what Delalieu will do if we don't act," I add.
"And what will he do?" asks Kenji.
"He'll bring Juliette out and trap us in rather than the other way around," I reply.
He nods and gestures his hand to the door.
I take a deep breathe and open the door
And freeze.

***

The place is a wreck.
The bed is scratched almost everywhere.
The sheets are torn to shreds.
My office door was torn off of its hinges.
My closet, which I emptied, seems to be the only thing still able to be identified.
The paint on the walls isn't even recognizable from the writing all over it.
I focus on the writing and realize that it's the same word written over and over again:
KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL
It makes me sick.
I look around the room for Juliette and find her sitting in a corner, her back against the wall. Her knees are pulled up to her check and her arms are wrapped around them. Her head is resting on her knees. Her hair is such a mess. He clothes are torn and dirty. Her nails are bitten and bloody.
And she's crying.
It kills me to see her like this.
"Juliette, love?" I whisper.
She looks up.
Her face is worse than the rest of her.
Her skin is so pale, so white. Her lips are the colour of dark blood. Her skin is so dry and so cracked. Dark black bags are under her eyes. Her face is flaky from all the tears.
And her eyes.
Oh God.
Her eyes.
There is no whiteness in them.
Her eyes are so red.
Blood red.
"Aaron," she whispers. Her voice is so faint, so shaky. "You have to leave. I'm a monster. I don't know what I'll do to you."
"I know," I reply. I exhale deeply. I blink for a second too long. "I just had to see you."
Her lips curl up into a small smile, but it looks like she's in pain when she does.
"I needed to know something, love," I say softly. "I needed to know if you know any...erm....plans. Any random words or faces that come into your mind? Ever?"
She blinks for a second too long.
"Whatever plans I get, I write down. Any words that come to my mind that aren't my own. I always write them down."
I nod at her.
"Mind if I look around?" I ask.
She nods. She looks hurt, broken.
I walk towards her and wrap an arm around her.
I can see the silver of the necklace shining on her neck.
She flinches.
"Hey. I'll fix this. I promise," I whisper in her ear.
She nods and pushes me away.
I start looking around the room. There seems to be no paper around.
I poke around for about ten minutes until I find two words scribbled on a piece of cloth.
ONLY ONE
I stuff it into my pocket and turn to Juliette to ask if I can do anything for her.
But she's not on the ground anymore.
She's standing up
fists clenched.
"Love," I whisper. "Why does it say kill all over your room?"
She swallows.
"Because I have to," she yells
and she lunges at me.
She pushes me against a wall and has her fists ready to throw a knockout punch.
She extends her arm
and someone grabs it.
Kenji.
"Sorry ma'am. Not today," he says.
He pushes her away from us both and we leave her room.
I gasp for air.
"Did you find anything?" Kenji asks after my breathing steadies.
I pull the cloth out of my pocket and hand it to him.
"Just one? What the hell is that supposed to mean," he asks.
"That's not all of it," I whisper. "Every inch of every wall in the room was marked with one word. Kill."
Kenji's jaw drops open.

***

Kenji and I tried to figure out what the words could mean for the rest of the day, and why that was the only bit of information that Juliette was told.
We came up with only one legitimate solution.
"He wants her to kill you. Once she does that, he'll grant permission for her to take the necklace off."
After hours of conferring, we decided to get some sleep and try to figure this thing out tomorrow.
I went to my temporary room and stared at my mothers smiling face.
There was something wonderful about this room, something so special that helped me figure things out and come to peace.
I climbed onto the bed and took a deep breath
and drifted off into sleep.