"Sort me?" I repeated, a twinge of nervousness entering my tone. "How?"

     "Well, we both know you're far too special for just a normal killing.  You've caused me so much more hurt and pain than that." A grin of delight spread across her features as she revelled in her plan. "So instead, I'm going to make you sit and watch, while everyone you ever came into contact with gets pulled into this. That's far more satisfactory, don't you think? Then, once their blood is on the floor, when you are feeling the guilt of causing their death, my knife will cut through, ever so slowly..."

     She savoured in the moment, dancing her blade lightly across my arm as a bead of blood boiled to the surface. Then she stood up, her face hard again, unlike anything I'd ever seen from her. She wasn't my aunt. She was nobody. She was just Lily now. She didn't deserve the title Kate held.

     "Bring in the first pair." Lily commanded, standing up. Ushered in immediately were a frightened looking Daphne and Fergie, their hands linked together in chains. I had barely known either of them, yet they were being punished because of me. That hurt even more.

     "Why am here?" Daphne demanded, flipping her hair dramatically over her shoulder. Fergie rolled her eyes; I felt suddenly sorry for her, having to spend all that time attached to Daphne.

     "All of that will become very clear." Lily answered with a devilish smile. She then turned to me, a hand raised invitational. "Choose."

     My eyebrows crept up a centimetre. "Choose? What does that mean?"

     "I mean, choose which of these two you want to die, and which you want to save." She looked smug in the pleasure of finally telling me what was going to happen.

     "Die?" Fergie echoed, her eyes full of confusion. "You can't kill us!"

     "No, just one of you. Hurry up and pick, or both get killed." Lily snapped. 

     I felt like a judge on X Factor or Strictly Come Dancing, eyeing up the bottom two contestants. Which to send home, and which to continue in the competition. Only it was worse then that. Lily had turned me into the Grim Reaper. What gave anybody the right to decide who dies and who lives?

     I may not have liked Daphne, at all, but that didn't mean I wanted her dead. She didn't deserve to die just because I said so.

      "Your time is running out." Lily reminded me in a sing song voice, standing behind the two girls. She grabbed their heads with either hand and squeezed them together. "Three, two, one - "

     "Daphne dies!" I blurted out, terrified she'd hold true to her word and kill them both. Better one dead than both. Right?"

     "No!" Daphne cried out, as the grip on her head remained firm as Fergie's was released. "I don't know who you are, but please don't kill me!" The terror in her eyes was enough to send me spiralling into a deep state of guilt, my eyes unable to meet hers.

     Lily sliced suddenly, cutting through her neck as if it was a piece of chicken being prepared for dinner. Daphne's head fell to the floor immediately with a great splurge of blood. It rolled towards me, and I stuffed my hand into my mouth to prevent a wail coming out as her blue eyes stared up at me, never to see again.

     "Unchain me!" Fergie yelled as she struggled to support Daphne's lifeless body. She tried to drag herself towards the wall, but ended up slipping in the pool of fresh blood and landing face down in it. She screamed as she pulled herself into a seated position, wiping furiously at the layer of blood coating her face. Lily laughed menacingly as I rushed forward to help her, and succeeded in getting the chain off.

     "You. Against the wall." Trembling, Fergie obeyed, tears streaming freely from her face. "That was just the tip of the iceberg, Rosie. They were two people you barely knew, an innocent girl's blood literally on your hands." She gestured at my hands as I spread them wide up to my face, droplets of blood falling slowly from helping release Fergie. "Now, the next two."

     The next few continued in a similar fashion; her bringing in a pair, me staring at the ground as I mumbled who should die, my guilt levels increasing with every bone-chilling scream.

     "Brona or Nathan."

     "Brona."

      "Julia or Finn."

     "Finn."

     "Who even are you?" Julia screamed as she was forced to join the other blood splattered survivors. "Why are you deciding who dies? You just killed one of my friends! I hate you, I hate you! You've never even met us!" Nathan put an arm around her shoulder consolingly as she sobbed.

     That made my heart break even further, to see these people who had no idea who I was. To them, I was a stranger. I was not the girl who'd spent the last few months laughing and chatting with them.

     Appearances are a funny thing.

      "Please." I whispered, my breath catching in my throat. "Don't do it. If you want to hurt someone, hurt me. Just leave them alone."

      She went to call in the best pair but then hesitated. "Actually, I think I've sufficiently broken you." She decided, and my heart filled with hope. But it only came plummeting down a few milliseconds later as she continued, "I'll go straight onto stage two."

     She grabbed my arm, pulling me along behind her as we exited the room. As if by some unspoken agreement, the three survivors solely followed, and as Lily relinquished her grip on me the trio swarmed around me, a mixture of fury and misery.

     "Who are you?" Julia hissed into my ear, while scratching her nails up and down my arm, leaving poker straight red marks. "Tell me or he hits." She nodded at Nathan, who threateningly cracked his knuckles.

      "Rosalind Parker." I whispered, just loud enough for them to hear. I wondered if she'd make the connection to me and Owen, who had quite clearly told them about me when he received news of my death.

     But no recognition sparked in her eyes, an unusual feat for someone as smart as her. Instead, she turned away, brimming with disgust. "None of us know you, so tell me why we're here."

     Because I failed. I was meant to be a Cupid, but I'd never get that far now. I would die here, surrounded by the most terrible memories of my childhood, swarmed with the guilt of three dead people. I remembered my brother once telling me that Harriet was so protective of them because she was afraid I'd hurt them. Well, I had. Poor Finn was dead, and Julia was behaving most unlike herself. Harriet looked like she could slip away into endless sleep any moment. And I had no doubt Lily would continue to torment those who I held most dear.

     And I knew what I had to do.

      I ran forward and pushed Lily to the ground from behind. As she cried out on surprise, I snatched the blade and ran it through.

     As the knife clattered the ground and I fell to the floor, loud alarm bells began to sound. For a moment I thought they were in my head, but as a swarm of people flooded on followed by an angry looking Juliet, I realised they were very much real.

     And as the blood began to gather in a pool around me, I discovered that I'd picked a very bad time to try to kill myself.

     It was sheer luck that my shaking hand had slipped and I'd ended up cutting through the top of my arm instead.

This chapter is SO short, I'm so angry with myself at the immense writer's block I have. Luckily I get off for Halloween soon, by which time I hope to have nearly finished so I can go through this and do some major editing. There's only one more chapter left, which I hope will be VERY long, and a short epilogue to show where the remaining characters are at in five years' time.
Zoe xxx