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"only the young die good"
-oliver herford

song to listen to: before you exit by clouds(play it when jennifer and mia start to talk)

warnings: mentions of death, violence, death, swearing, mean himbos, weapons, weapons-use, mentions of weapons, the severe likelihood that you're going to cry

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"Nick!" I called out, holding a butcher knife I'd grabbed that had somehow been on the floor.

Red lighting flashed and the alarm blared loudly as we found ourselves in the back of the mall, an employees-only area. I gripped the knife tightly, trying to minimize how badly I was shaking.

"Mia! You can still leave. You and Ziggy get out of here, now." His voice came from the shadows, and I shook my head as I turned in a full circle, terrified of my lack of knowledge of where he was.

"You and I both know that that's not going to happen. Just come out, let's be the adults we are and show our faces."

"Put down the knife."

"Come out of the shadows."

"Put down the knife."

"Come out of the shadows."

"Put down the knife or I make sure Tatum dies."

Horror-stricken, I put down the knife, feeling too threatened by the threat of losing Tatum to continue being defiant. I held my hands up in surrender, starting to shake out of fear.

"Alright, I put the knife down, Nick, now come out. Come out or I'll find you myself." I called out, and I heard heavy breathing that seemed to come from all around.

"You know, you've always been a real pain in my ass, Mia." He was still in the shadows, his voice seemed to be coming from everywhere. "Especially now, but even back in 1978, you used to let all of the kids get away with little things, even when we should've turned them in, and you always encouraged those parties. You were never a good counselor. You've been a really bad girl."

"Wow, nice insult, Elmo. You got any more harsh digs, or do you wanna be an adult now?" I looked around, beginning to get worried.

"I'm not the one being a kid," he hissed out, and I processed footsteps running behind me just in time to process a sharp pain in my back.

I let out a gasp, falling to the floor and struggling to breathe. If I turned on my back, whatever he had stabbed into me would just lodge itself in deeper. It was the most painful thing I've ever felt, more painful than nearly dying at the hands of Tommy all those years ago. I heard grunts and groans coming from the main mall, and as badly as I wanted to see what was happening, I couldn't bring myself to do so.

"That's Ziggy's blade in your back. I'll pin it on her, your death. But I'll pin Jen's death on you, oh yeah, that'll be fun. I'll put Cameron in charge of that investigation too. He'll have the time of his life uncovering everything I have laid out now, won't he?" Nick bent down, waving his hand in front of my face as some sort of wicked mockery.

"N-no, no, he...he'll know. You won't get away with this."

"I already have." He pulled the knife out of my back, but I knew he was smarter than some mindless killer.

He'd wait to see if I was dead. I let my eyes close slowly, and let out a final exhale that detailed a secret inhale, and felt my heartbeat decrease. This was a more terrifying sensation than having my heart stop, but it needed to happen. Two fingers went over my pulse for just a second, then I heard him run away. That didn't go how I thought it would go...at all.

I felt my life draining from me, but I still managed to stumble into a standing position. Deena flew by me, and as I shakily made my way to the doors two minutes later, Sam flew past me.

"Ah...shit..." I swore under my breath, but I couldn't stop now. I had to keep moving.

I stumbled out of the doors, pushing them open with most of the power left in me. The killers-or most of them-laid 'dead' on the floor, all except for two: Ruby Lane and Billy Barker, the two that had been missing earlier. Ziggy, Martin, Jen, and Josh all stood together, and my footfalls fell in line with the beat of Billy's bat.

"Oh my God, Mia!" Ziggy called out and ran over to me; I fell into her arms and she had to carry me over to where everybody else was standing. "Mia, Mia what happened, who did this to you?"

"Who do you think?" I asked her a question instead of answering any of hers.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Josh picking up Tommy's axe, and as badly as I wanted to tell him to not do that, I didn't have the power in me to say otherwise. Ziggy started to lie me down on the floor, and for a rather unfathomable reason, I started to cry and shake my head.

"No no no no no, no I don't wanna lie down, I don't wanna lie down Zigster, I don't wanna-" I coughed a bit, there was the bitter metallic taste of blood.

"I'm sorry, M, M you've gotta lie down, it'll only be for a minute, okay?" She held me in a half-cradle. "You're gonna be fine, you're gonna be fine, just hold on, okay? Just-just hold on to me, Mia, that's all you have to do. It's not even that bad, alright? Listen to me, listen to me it's not even that bad-"

I shook my head, and both of us knew full well that it was pretty damn bad. My back started to feel numb, but instead of panicking, I did my best to feel at peace. Josh was battling Ruby Lane, Martin was helping, and Deena was set to end the curse.

"It's okay, Ziggy, it's okay...get Jen, I need her, I need Jen to-" I went into a coughing fit, and Ziggy carefully set me against one of the shelves, thankfully understanding what I was trying to say.

"Save your words, M, save your words, I'll get her, don't worry...don't worry."

"I'm proud of you, Ziggy..." I whispered, praying she heard.

(THIS IS WHERE YOU SHOULD START TO PLAY BEFORE YOU EXIT BY CLOUDS)

Ziggy ran to grab my niece, and I rested my eyes until I felt Jen's soft hand clinging to my own. It doesn't hurt. That's how I know this is worse than '78.

"Auntie! Auntie, hey, hey just...just stay with me, okay? Stay with me. How did this happen? No, that doesn't matter, you've just gotta stay with me. You're okay, you just have to keep those eyes open. Let me help you, we can get out," she began to try to help me up, but I stopped her.

"No, no honey, I'm not going anywhere..."

"No no don't say that Auntie, don't say that, please don't...just come on, come on let me help you," She begged, but I clasped her hand in both of mine.

"It's okay. I'm gonna be okay," I soothed, pulling her close until our foreheads touched. "And so will you. You're gonna be okay too. You're gonna get out of Shadyside, you're gonna go to the best art college in the world, and you're gonna be the most successful person to ever come from the small town of Shadyside, Ohio, okay? It'll hurt. It's gonna be hard," I let out a small sob. "It's gonna be really hard, but you're gonna make it. You'll survive."

"No, no not without you, Auntie, please," she continued to beg, and I wiped the tears away from her face, doing my best to stay strong for my little girl.

"You'll make it without me, you wanna know why? Because you've got the best dad in the world, and-and you've got the best friends, and Ziggy is always gonna be there for you. And I'll be all the way up there," a shaky finger pointed to the sky. "And I'll be so proud of you and everything you've done, I'll be watching over you and I'll be protecting you. For Shadyside. I'll make sure that you'll survive..."

I coughed yet again, and the fit turned so terrible that I fell onto my side, some blood getting spritzed out as well. But I regained my composure, turning on my back and sitting myself up against the shelves again. Jennifer was crying, but I could tell she was still trying to be strong.

"I love you so much, Jenny. I am so proud of you, honey, and you're gonna be the best Peters there ever has been. Do you hear me? You're gonna be the best Peters in the world, and you won't even have to try, because you already are." I sniffled, feeling my world fading away for real now. "You are strong. You are pretty-you are so pretty. And you're gonna beat this world, baby, you're gonna beat this world."

"Auntie...Auntie, please-" her words faded from my hearing capabilities.

I looked up at the blurry blue neon 'exit' sign, and let out one final exhale, the ghost of a smile on my face. I would never see Robyn, or Captain Tennille, or Tatum, or Ziggy, or Jen, or Cameron, or Deena, but that was okay. That would be okay because they're all really strong people. Rosie and I have been through hell so nobody else would have to. But they'd be alright now, and they'll always be alright-they'll get to be more than alright eventually, and I would make sure of that until we would meet each other again. And I'd also make sure none of us would meet again for a very long time.

This time was different than last time, that's how I knew I wasn't getting lucky. There wasn't any pitch-black nothingness, no, there was a fuzzy white coloring now. I'd watch over everybody from my nice little spot in the clouds with Cindy, Tommy, Joan, Jeremy, the good Dad I grew up with, Gary, Rosie, and everybody else. We'd be happy. I'd make sure everybody with two feet on the ground in my family would always be safe, and happy, and healthy, with the reassurance that one day we'd meet in the clouds.

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I'M SOBBING OH FUCK

I'M SO SORRY

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I'M SO SORRY

I'M SO SORRY