You're Not in This Alone

Only a few people were shocked that there was a killer living with us. Miranda, Nadia, Faith, and Tristan all held this surprised expression. Ebony looked heartbroken. Sarah and Skyler were sad. Lance looked as expressionless as I was sure I did. Jason was outraged.

“Someone is killing them?” Jason exclaimed. Apparently he hadn’t been one to realize this beforehand.

“I’m afraid that’s what it looks like,” Ebony murmured, looking down at the table.

“Why?” Nadia asked weakly. She was unable to comprehend that someone would be evil enough to kill her best friend.

“We don’t know, sweetie,” Miranda crooned in Nadia’s ear, patting her head.

“How are they doing it?” Sarah asked. “There aren’t any signs of actual murder. Skyler hasn’t seen a thing.”

“Poison?” Lance suggested.

“It could be Sarah or Skyler,” Faith accused. “They could be not telling us what’s going on.”

“Hey!” Ebony exclaimed. “No one is accusing anyone of anything right now. It could be anyone, okay? It could be you, or it could be me. It could even be Shelby or Leo. We don’t know yet. There’s no proof against any of us. We’re all innocent until proven guilty.”

“What if we never prove anyone guilty?” Tristan inquired. “Will we all die?”

“Let’s calm down,” I suggested. “No more hostility. Let’s remember that eleven out of the twelve people still alive are innocent, okay? We’ll talk this out nice and easy.”

“Whoever it is, they’re using something sly,” Skyler pointed out.

“It’s probably poison,” Lance said again. “What else could it be? We saw Ethan die right in front of our eyes. Grace dropped dead while Ebony was in the bathroom. There is no stabbing or shooting, not even a bruise. This is stealth.”

While the rest of them talked about how someone could be killing people, I looked around the room. No one looked particularly suspicious.

Nadia’s eyes were sad and confused as she listened to the discussion. She was too young to understand some of it. I felt bad for her now that she didn’t have Ethan. She was alone. I couldn’t ever see her killing him.

Although Sarah was an even younger girl than Nadia, she was more mature and understood more. I remembered when Ebony and I had first found her in New York City. She’d been scared and alone, almost at the point of insanity. She was quite sane now. I couldn’t believe she would kill even an animal.

I knew Skyler much less than I knew Sarah, but I surely loved him just as much. I didn’t want him to be a murderer. I wanted to be able to watch him grow up. I wanted Ebony and I to raise him and Sarah like children, even though I knew it wouldn’t happen that way.

Miranda was older, and we’d already seen that she was very powerful. I thought it was very possible that she had the ability to kill people, but I just couldn’t see her actually doing it. She was too kindhearted.

Lance participated in the banter back and forth. He was eager to help figure out who the traitor was. I noted that it could be an act, but my instincts told me it was genuine.

Shelby and Leo had supposedly left in an attempt to escape harm’s way, but if they’d lived in the wild before they must’ve known much about it. In addition to that, Shelby had been being schooled in the medical field. She might’ve known poisons, but maybe anyone could learn about poisons. Their reason for leaving seemed legitimate to me. If I hadn’t felt like I should help them find out who the murderer was, I would’ve grabbed Ebony and ran too.

When Faith spoke up in the discussion, she did it timidly. I saw a deep fear in her eyes. I thought she looked to afraid and fragile to be able to kill someone, but I knew I could be wrong.

A different kind of fear was in Tristan’s eyes. He held Faith’s hand tightly; he wasn’t afraid for himself, but he was afraid he would lose her. This made me respect him more than I already did.

I myself had inched closer to Ebony and put my arm around her. I felt her intense pulse within her skin and the pain emanating out of her like heat. She was by far the most important thing to me. I swallowed hard, pushing back the emotions that reminded me of my latest dream in the hour she’s made me sleep: more fire.

I dreaded to look at the last person at the table, but I knew I had to. Jason’s eyes met mine for a second before he looked away. He was looking around the table and analyzing each person just like I was, but he was full of hatred. I could tell by how white his knuckles were because of how hard he gripped the table.

Suddenly, she stood up and burst, “I can’t listen to this anymore! We’re not getting anywhere. How can you all be civil when one of you killed Grace… and Ethan! I’m leaving, but – mark my words – whoever you are, I’ll make you play. If it kills me, I’ll make you pay. I’ll find you, and when I do, I will kill you slowly and without mercy. I swear on my soul.”

With that, he stormed out of the room. Ebony silently got up to follow.