Blanket of Fear

Val was running out of time, and she knew it. She knew that Zack was starting to figure out what her plan for Eliza was, and she knew he wasn’t going to sit on that information forever. He already didn’t trust her, and she was sure that he was going to do something to stop her. She knew Sean didn’t want her to make a move now, but if she didn’t, everything was going to go to shit and then her family was going to be in danger. She couldn’t let that happen; not to her unborn baby, and certainly not to herself. She didn’t know about Matt. She didn’t want anything to happen to him, because she loved him, but she also knew he was going to feel betrayed when everything came out in the open. He wasn’t part of the future plan she had in her mind; he would never turn his back on Avenged Sevenfold.

She needed to figure out a way to get Eliza to herself now. A part of her felt guilty for what she was going to do. She knew that Zack was going to want to slit her throat himself when he found out that she was the cause of Eliza’s death but that couldn’t be helped now. She’d gotten herself into a hole she couldn’t dig her way out of. The only way she’d escape his clutches alive was if she killed Eliza, and in a world like this, you had to look out for yourself. That was exactly what she was going to do to herself.

She saw Eliza storm out of the bedroom she had been in with Zack, and she saw her opportunity. She knew that the two of them were rarely away from each other anymore, and she needed to take this chance while she had it. She quickly ran up to the bedroom she shared with Matt and grabbed everything that Sean had given her; the things that would help her to take out Eliza quickly and quietly.

When she walked back downstairs, she looked around to and find Eliza, but she didn’t see the girl anywhere. She frowned, looking around trying to find out where she would be. She groaned, knowing that her window of opportunity was fast closing. She needed to find Eliza and she needed to do it now.

She smiled in spite of herself when she looked outside to the yard, seeing Eliza sitting beneath a tree on the outer perimeter of the property line. She knew that no one else was outside right now, leaving Eliza wide open for attack. Everything was perfectly lined up, and if she took this opportunity, she was never going to have to worry about Sean Castro again. She could go away with her baby, and have a life without being scared that he was going to off her or steal her child for inhumane experiments.

She double-checked the syringe in her hoodie pocket to make sure that it was still there and loaded with the injection that Sean had given her. It wouldn’t kill Eliza; it would only knock her out for a few hours while she was in transportation to where Sean was at. She started to approach Eliza and then sighed, pushing her hand back through her hair. She was only about ten feet away from the redhead when Eliza turned her head, narrowing her eyes at her before she backed away slowly.

“Leave me alone, Val,” she said in a dangerous voice before she started reaching for a cell phone that she had in her pocket. Val mentally cursed at herself, knowing that she had just lost her opportunity. She knew that there was no way she’d be able to pull this off now that she didn’t have the element of surprise, and that wasn’t something that she liked. She was madder than hell at the fact that she would now have to keep living with the fact that she was betraying everyone and everything she had ever believed and trusted in, and been loyal to. She was the reason that Eliza was going to die; the reason that Zack was going to be brokenhearted. It was her fault that Matt was going to become a broken shell of a man when she was no longer around, and it was her fault that her friends were going to think of her name with scorn and hate. All of this was her fault, and she hated it.

“I’m only being your friend, Eliza,” Val said softly as she gave her friend a reassuring look. “I know we haven’t been talking lately, but I wanted to—”

“I said get away from me! I don’t want you anywhere near me,” the redhead spat vehemently before storming further into the woods, unwittingly putting herself more in harm’s way than she thought she would. Val saw what was happening, and she knew that if she could get Eliza to continue going further into the woods, she’d have a slim chance at pulling all of this off. She took a step towards Zack’s girlfriend before speaking again.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Val said again, feeling a pang of guilt because she knew that she was lying. “I think that we just need to sit down and talk, Eliza. That’s all I’m asking. I miss how we used to always talk and go shopping and stuff,” she added, not lying. She did miss those days, because Eliza had been an amazing friend to her once upon a time.

“Zack!” Eliza screamed, knowing that Val was going to make her strike. She knew that the blonde woman was a dangerous person, and she knew that the woman was going to kill her and get away with it if she didn’t get someone’s attention. “Zack! Help!”

“Shut up!” Val hissed, no longer deciding to be nice about it. She moved closer to Eliza, quickly pulling the syringe out of her hoodie so she could jab it into Eliza’s arm. The redhead jumped out of the way and then started running back towards the house. She knew she was on limited time here, and she knew that one false move meant she was literally as good as dead. She tripped over a tree root and groaned when she heard footsteps coming closer to her.

“Eliza? Are you okay?” She heard Johnny’s voice faintly. She turned her head, hoping like hell that Val wasn’t planning on taking him out too, because right now he was her only saving grace. She could already tell that her ankle was fucked up from when she’d tripped on the root. She felt his hand rest on her arm a few moments later before he helped her sit up. “What happened/” He asked.

“I…” She started, her breath catching in her throat. “I don’t…”

Johnny didn’t say anything at first before he leaned closer. “You don’t need to say it out loud, Liz. I saw her,” he whispered before leaning away to help her up. “Right now, let’s just get you back to Zacky, yeah? Your ankle looks pretty screwed up, and I’m sure he’ll want to make sure it’s taken care of.”

Eliza just nodded, knowing that she couldn’t argue with him. She was just happy that Johnny had seen what had happened to her too, because she definitely knew that there was no way she could have kept herself safe from Val after she’d tripped. She knew that for now, she was safe, which was a good thing.

She leaned on Johnny’s shoulder and then let him help her towards the house. She saw Joel and Benji stop what they were doing with the kids and watch her as she started to make her way inside. She wanted to make sure that she saw Zack. And now, she wanted to make sure that he knew Johnny was safe. He had just saved her life from Val, and she was going to make damn sure she returned the favor. She didn’t want Zak to hang Johnny out to dry when if it wasn’t for him, she would have died.

Zack was working on fixing some food in the kitchen when she limped over to him, wrapping her arms around him. Seeing him brought everything to sudden reality, and the seriousness of what had just happened hit her. She was terrified for her life now, and she was just now starting to understand just how serious Zack was when he told her that she was in danger and that he wanted to keep her safe.

“Eliza?” He asked her, wrapping his arm around her waist. “Baby, what happened?”

All she needed to do was look up to his eyes to let him know what he was already assuming: Val had gotten to her, and she’d nearly taken Eliza out of his life. His arm wrapped tighter, and he narrowed his eyes before looking at Johnny.

“Go get Matthew and Jimmy. And bring in Joel and Benji while you’re at it,” he said before holding Eliza closer. She knew that this development changed everything, and it terrified her.