Dakota entered my house without knocking--she knew where the key was. She thrust her phone into my face. "'Headline: Johanna Creonte Suspect in Harris Murder,'" she read aloud. "Who's Johanna Creonte?"

"Her family was killed in the car crash that Carson caused," I replied, grabbing Dakota's arm and ushering her into the house. "She used Xander to attack Katherine and do all the shit to me, and she moved up to Maine, and she killed Carson."

Dakota clutched onto her phone, breathing as if the wind had gotten knocked out of her. "So, we find her, and you're free?" I vigorously nodded my head. She embraced me tightly, her faded-blue hair cascading off my shoulder as as nuzzled her head on my neck. "You're gonna be free, Avery. Everything's gonna be okay."

I smiled and returned the hug. "We can clear everyone's name. Everyone is gonna be free." My face fell. "Dakota, I found security footage of that night. Someone in a hoodie--Johanna, probably--stole my car. I left the drive with the footage on it at Pierce's house, and he called me to tell me that the police found it. They...they're gonna come for me, Dakota."

Determined, Dakota shook her head and planted her feet firmly on the floor, refusing to leave my side. "They're gonna have to get through me first, Avery. I promise." I beamed at her, clapping my hands and letting my thoughts go wild. The first thing I'm gonna do when I'm free is scream at the top of my lungs, have a goddamn drink, and sleep forever. Then we can all binge Star Wars and everything will be okay. "Let's go get this bitch, Avery."

My phone began to urgently buzz in my pocket. "Hello?" I answered.

"Avery, I'm coming over," Katherine hurriedly replied.

"Why, Kat?" I asked, my voice dripping with agitation. I had to be honest with myself: I was pretty pissed at Katherine for calling the cops on Pierce.

"I got a call from the station."

"From who?"

"Xander. Xander Masefield. He told me he saw cops filing out of the station to come arrest you. They think you did it, Avery. They said they have proof that you were there."

"I know, Kat. Dakota and I are leaving right now."

"Where are you going?" she demanded.

"Maine, I guess. We're going to go find Johanna Creonte."

"No, Avery!" Katherine protested. "You can't!"

"Why not, Kat?"

"Xander told me to go to that old hotel. The one where Carson was shot."

"Why?"

"He said that we're gonna find her there, Avery! She's there!"

A pounding erupted on the door. Fuck. "Eldbourne PD, open up!" Officer Eugene announced. "We have a warrant for Avery Carter's arrest!" I locked the door and crouched below the window to hide from the officers.

"Avery, what're we gonna do?" Dakota whimpered. "They're here."

"Avery, backyard, now," Katherine ordered, hanging up the phone. I glanced out the kitchen's window to see a car skidding onto the curb by our yard. I snatched Dakota's hand and dashed towards the back exit. The door that I was previously resting on splintered open, wood flying everywhere as Eugene's foot collided with it.

"Avery!" he yelled. I grabbed a nearby bookcase, and with newfound strength, pushed it over and let its contents crash onto the floor. Eugene tripped over a book right before his arm reached out to grab me. "Avery, you can't run from this!"

"Watch us, asshole!" Dakota retorted. She threw the backdoor open and slammed it shut behind her. "Go, go!" I didn't need to be told twice. I leaped over a hedge and bolted to Katherine's car. She threw the door open and sped away before we were even entirely in the vehicle. Katherine sped away as I heard curses emanating from my house and police sirens blare in the distance.

"Daddy's gonna kill me for taking his car," Katherine groaned.

"That doesn't matter right now, Katherine," Dakota retorted. "What do you mean that Johanna is there?"

"All Xander did was tell me that Johanna Creonte was going to be where Carson Harris died in an hour. We can get her, Avery!" Katherine exclaimed, swerving in the road due to her jubilation. She peeked in the rear view mirror. "Are they behind us?"

"I-I don't see anyone," I panted. "Do you know where you're going, Katherine?"

"Of course I do," Katherine spat. In a softer tone, she added, "Sorry. I just...I just hate that place."

"I know, Kat. I'm sorry," I said, rubbing her shoulder as she choked back the tears.

"I'm coming, Carson. I'm coming."

The first thing I observed about the hotel was that its driveway was rocky and dilapidated, causing me to jump in my seat whenever Katherine turned the wheel. The second thing was that the whole place reeked of death: the whole atmosphere was perfect for a The Shining-esc scenario to unfold. I glanced out of the window to witness clouds forming above, gray skies conquering the light blue. The sun was unable to charge through the barricade of a storm.

A sign that may have once glowed proudly in the night bore the words: The Theban. "It looks exactly the same," Katherine uttered. She didn't prevent the tears from streaking down her cheeks. She sniffed her snotty nose into her sleeve, wiping her dripping mascara away with her index finger. "Nothing's changed."

"It's going to, Kat. Don't worry," I reassured. "We're gonna avenge, Carson."

"It'll be okay," Dakota whispered.

As we approached the hotel, I realized that the tower reached up into the heavens. It was so tall that I was shocked that it hadn't simply collapsed under its own weight. I wondered if Carson was on the top floor, waiting for somebody to come check him out and come back home. "Guess we wait?" I asked.

"Guess we wait," Katherine echoed, heaving and taking one large step into the hotel. Dakota reached out for my hand, her fingers twitching as she teetered closer to me.

"What's wrong, Dakota?" I asked as I intertwined her fingers with mine.

"I...I just...I can't believe it's all over," she whispered. "We're...we're almost done."

"So what's there to be sad about, then?"

"I just don't want you to get hurt, Avery. I just want you to be okay."

"I'm gonna be okay, I promise. Okay, Dakota?" I said with a smile. She grunted and nodded, pushing her windblown hair out of her face. "After you." I held the door open for her, and we both took frightened steps inside.

Katherine was standing in the middle of the room, staring at the floor--more specifically, at a stain that soiled the hardwood. Blood. She traced her hand against the hardwood, her body shuddering and her eyes watering. "Kat, come here," I offered. She mechanically walked over to me, her legs moving as if someone else were puppeteering her every action.

"I'm gonna go scout upstairs," Dakota offered, her voice shaking. "Just to make sure there's no one waiting up there."

"Want me to come with you?" I asked.

"No, stay down here with Katherine," Dakota whispered in my ear. "She needs it right now. I'll be fine." She exhaled, gripped my shoulder, and then trekked up the rotten staircase.

Glancing around, I realized that the whole place had been gutted out, resembling a house decimated by a fire. The counter where a concierge would reside was crumbled onto the floor, a wall had collapsed into black dust, and a few doors had converted to ash. We had entered Hell.

"Do you...do you think that there's anything here for us to find?" Katherine softly asked. "Maybe Johanna left something here."

"Yeah, maybe. Let's look around." She trailed behind me like a lost puppy, whimpering when she walked over the stain on the floor. "Take a look at this," I whispered, tracing my hand against splintered wood on the wall. "It's an indent. Like maybe a bullet hit it."

"Where's the bullet, then?"

"The cops probably took it into evidence during their sweep," I figured with an indifferent shrug. "Pierce didn't do it, y'know."

"No. I don't. Maybe he was in cahoots with Xander."

"He wouldn't be," I murmured. "Xander's father killed Pierce's daughter. That tape was about Xander's dad, Kat. It wasn't him."

A pathetic "Oh" was all the response I was given.

"Johanna Creonte killed Carson, Kat," I said. "We were suspecting all the wrong people. We should've looked at more people. It's my fault that we're in this mess, Kat. All I did was accuse you and other people that I care about. Landon, Liam and Jane, Pierce, Matt and Hunter, your father, even my father."

"I guess the only constant was Dakota," Katherine muttered. "I wish I could be her."

"Yeah, me too, sometimes," I sheepishly agreed. "I wish I could be anyone else in the world."

After several minutes of searching, Katherine perked her head up from behind a dilapidated counter. "Avery, take a look at this." She tossed me a light, cardboard box. Unraveling the carelessly-tied string, I left it slip onto the floor and the flaps spring open.

"It's...it's a file...," I said. Katherine rejoined my side and peered over my shoulder. There was nothing else in the box's inside, so I let it clatter on the ground and be forgotten. There were but a few pages contained in the manila envelope. The police report entailing Johanna Creonte's family's death was the first page. When I carefully examined it, I realized it was nothing more than the medical reports: Broken ribs, shattered bones, loss of blood, punctures, and death. The next page page was just a sneak peek of the case's transcript.

The Defendant: Q. Mr. Harris, how has this case impacted you personally?
A: I think about it every second of every single day. I've thought about killing myself because of it--I mean, I probably deserve it. There's nothing I can do that can get Johanna to forgive me, and I don't expect her to. I don't forgive myself.
Q: So then why shouldn't you go to jail, Mr. Harris?
A: I...I don't know, Mr. Prescott. I'm sorry.
Q: Don't be sorry, Mr. Harris
The Prosecution: Ma'am, what does this have to do with anything?
The Court: Yes, Mr. Prescott. Please get to the point.
The Defendant: Of course, ma'am. Carson, do you want to go to jail?
A: No, sir. I just want to die.
The Defendant: No further questions, Your Honor
Miss Johanna Creonte: IF YOU REALLY FELT BAD, YOU WOULD'VE KILLED YOURSELF THE FIRST TIME YOU TRIED, CARSON! YOU SHOULD BE DEAD RIGHT NOW!
The Court: Order! Order!

The remainder of the text was cut off by a tear in the page. "I'm sorry you had to read that," I muttered to Katherine.

"It's okay, Avery. That was one of the days that I missed. It must've been the day Johanna testified, because I hadn't seen her on any of the other days of the case. I'm...I'm glad that I got to read what I missed."

"Wait, there's something else..." Flipping over the transcript, I pinched out a family picture. The parents' smiles were so radiant that they bore out of the page and forced me to imagine a happy family that had no clue they would be torn apart. A young boy with dirty-blonde hair greeted the camera by sticking his tongue out and waving his arms rapidly in the air. "This is Johanna's family..." I'm sorry, I prayed to them.

"Avery...what is she doing in that picture?" Katherine uttered, covering her mouth in shock.

The face was too familiar, but alien. Johanna's face was twisted in a very foreign, yet much too discernible expression.

And behind me, the all too intimate act of hearing a gun cock behind me rang out. Katherine yelped and clutched onto my arm. "Avery," she sobbed softly. "It's her. I-I should've been there that day, and I could've told you...I...it's her."

"I'm sorry, Avery," Johanna said behind me. It sounded like a plea for help (one that somehow managed to seem arrogant and cocky).

I let the picture of Dakota and her family slip from my hand and crash onto the ground.