A cold breeze blows dirt and murky smoke all around us. The sky has a dark apocalyptic feel, making my spine shiver with fear. But I can't let her see it. She stands in the ashes of her prey and looks at me through her pitch black eyes filled with hate. Her long ebony talons still has the residue of Conscience, who lays behind her, coughing up an excessive amount of blood.
"Run......Nicole....", they whisper. "Get out of here....."
I stare at Conscience through watery eyes, knowing I'll be next, but I can't leave them. I won't leave them.
Athaza lifts her skeletal neck in a challenging position and gives a raspy laugh. She opens her deteriorating mouth, as if she was struggling to breathe.
"It's not my fault it had to be this way, Nicole. Blame everyone for LEAVING ME HERE TO DIE!.......and now.......it's time to finish what I started."
As she brings her arms into the air, I rise from the debris, while holding onto my bleeding side from her previous attacks, and stand my ground. She had no control over me anymore, but she's right about one thing. It is time to finish what she started. And it's gonna be who ends it.
When Jane Madarang's neighbor Natalie kills herself and leaves behind cryptic instructions, it's up to Jane and her classmates to unearth deadly secrets.
*****
Natalie Driscoll is dead.
She threw herself out a window and left her neighbor Jane to unravel their town's darkest secrets. Following Natalie's instructions leads Jane to three other high school students who all have something to hide. The four of them must carry out Natalie's final errand while solving the mysteries written in her diary. But the secrets they unearth may be far more dangerous than what they ever imagined.
Content and/or trigger warning: This story contains scenes of suicide, violence and murder that may be triggering for some readers.
[[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]