He roughly drags me out of the car and tosses me onto the side of the road. The gravel rocks pierce into my skin as they greet one another. I roll onto my stomach and I try to get onto my knees in hopes of standing, but I feel a throbbing pain as my head smashes against the road.

"You just won't sit still, now will you?" His tone is harsh, I can feel him circling me, like a vulture circling its prey.

"Why'd you kill Paul?" I spit at his boots, he moves his foot before another jolt of pain shoots from my head and I roll further into the ditch. "It's obvious you're going to kill me, so you might as well spill what you know."

His footsteps thud towards me before I feel myself being lifted into the air and thrown into the middle of the road. I cough again and I can hear his chuckles surround me.

"You want to know why? To keep him quiet!" He spits, I got you arrested to keep you quiet too. "But you couldn't just stay away could you? Have you ever wondered that maybe crime solving isn't for you? I mean, did you even scan this Red Lady's DNA to see who she really was?" My eyes flicker up at him before looking back to the pavement. "No, you didn't. You just jumped to conclusions. Basing my thoughts on just that, you're not cut out to be a sleuth. And you never will." He sighs with disappointment. "If you had stopped and done things right instead of frolicking in the joy of having a case, you would have discovered that the Red Lady's real name is Riley Evans."

"She- she was detective, wasn't she? I've heard that name before." I blink with shock, forcing myself to look up at Dave.

"She was, but she was stupid and chose Paul over me. So, I had to get rid of her." He pulls out the knife from his back pocket and twirls it around in his hand. "To think I plunged this into her thirty-two times still amuses me." He looks at the knife's blade as though he were admiring his reflection. "Unfortunately, you won't get the same treatment." His cold, dead, eyes stare deeply into my soul, "you're not even worth the ground you're laying on." He the spits down at me, his gross saliva hits my forehead and I cringe, my body aching as I try to wipe it off.

"What makes you so sure you're not going to get caught?" I call out to him, my voice raspy and broken. "You've already killed two people, you're probably going to kill me. My parents will worry and start a search."

"Ah... poor naive girl. I'll just say it was an accident, you were hit by a car and I found you on my way to look for you. Such a shame, for everyone believes me and no one will believe you." He snickers, insanity radiates off of him like a never dying sun.

"Tsk. You talk too much." I try to inch myself closer towards him, if I could just grab his leg, maybe I could make him trip. "If you're going to kill me, do it and get it over with. You're right, I didn't do everything a detective is supposed to do. I'm not as skilled as you or any other detective for that matter, I'm a failure. I was only kidding myself." I see a grin growing upon his face as he takes pleasure from my pain and self doubting, too bad he doesn't know it's all an act.

Off in the distance behind him, a small black cat quickly approaches us. It's silent and Dave doesn't appear to notice it. The cat's silky black hair and emerald eyes strikes me and I recognize it from the old school house, but why is it here?

"Fine. I will." He huffs, slipping the knife back into his pocket and he pulls out his pistol in return. "Any last words, Red?"

"No, not really." I reply, I close my eyes and hang my head low.

For a moment everything seems quiet, and then the sound of a gun being fired follows the ringing of a bell. I brace myself for impact, but it doesn't come.

I open my eyes, both Dave and Noir lie upon the ground in front of me.

"Noir! You came back!" I shout as loud as I can in that moment - which isn't any louder than a cough - and I drag my body over to her. "Noir? Are you okay?" My voice drops to a whisper as I see her clenching her stomach, where a dark patch slowly grows. The smell of blood wafts through the air and my eyes begin to swell with tears.

"I'm sorry." Sorrow shines from her eyes and we both know the end is near. "I'm sorry I left you."

"Don't apologize. It's fine. I'm not mad anymore." I try to reassure her, though, my attempt sounds harsher than I mean it to be. I try to smile, I can see her pain, I feel her pain. I move my body to lay next to her and I hold her hand in mine. "I'm just happy you came back." I release a light hearted laugh, trying to lighten the moment.

"You pesky little cat." Dave's voice groans and he towers over us again. "You keep getting in my way. Though I guess it's just poetic justice that you'll die here with Red too. You were the loose thread that I needed to end. But I couldn't blow my cover in front of them." He points his gun at me and then points it back at Noir.

"Was he who you were running from back in the alley?" I look to Noir and she nods.

"She saw me kill Riley, she was the only witness. Damn cat thought she could hide," he laughs darkly, "too bad I always won the game of hide and seek." He cackles before staring maliciously towards Noir, his gun pointed at her head. "Any last words?"

"Yeah-" A shot rings out and cuts Noir off, her head falls back and I hold my breath. Dave laughs and I clench her hand in mine, holding it close to my heart. "You forgot..." I hear Noir groan loudly and his face turns pale with fright. "...that cats have nine lives." With her free hand, she shifts herself into a sitting posture. "Also I called the federal police, so you better hope that you don't run out of time."

Anger rages from Dave, he grasps the handle of the gun tighter, but his hand shakes as he points it at Noir's chest. He fires three more shots, one after, at her. 1, 2, 3... there's one shot left. She doesn't appear fazed by the shots, though a dribble of blood spills from her mouth. A twisted grin forms on her face, and for a moment, she appears crazier than he does.

"What's wrong? You only got one shot left and you're afraid of missing?" She spits at him, and then he points his weapon at me.

"You might have nine some odd lives left, but they are human and only have one." He then stares coldly at me, he seems dead inside, ready to die for his crimes. He is no longer the role model I grew to love.

I close my eyes. I hold onto Noir's hand tightly. I can feel his cold stare beating down upon me even with my eyes closed, I can hear his heavy breathing grow deeper.

A shot rings out.

A thump sound follows as I feel something heavy land upon my chest. It's warm and wet. Tears escape my eyes as pain runs through my chest.

"All the loose strands have been taken care of now, too bad no one will believe you if you survive." Dave's voice echoes through the surrounding area, and then his footsteps walk back to his car where the engine is soon started. The sound of his car screeching away rumbles upon the ground and I open my eyes.

I gasp as Noir lays motionless upon my chest, her blood mixing with mine. Our fingers entwined as we hold hands, laying in the middle of an isolated road.

"I'm sorry I dragged you into this," her voice is soft and I let out a sad gasp. I can feel my power draining, soon, it gets harder to breathe.

"Don't apologize. It's going to be okay." I can liquid spilling from the corners of my mouth. I try to keep my eyes open, but they grow too heavy and slowly they close subconsciously.

No!

I can feel Noir's heart beat against mine, I can feel the thumps slowing down.

And soon, they both slow to a stop.

Red and Noir,

we lie together,

we die together.