Song of the chapter is
The Last Goodbye by The Kills

-67-
-Siya Natekar-
-Present-

______________

Delmore High
26 December, 2019
3:56 am

Our screams rang through the atmosphere like sirens in the silent night.

I tried to speak but there was no breath left in my body. My throat hurt too much and my tongue felt like a weight in my mouth. Everything started to get blurry as tears swelled in my eyes. I bit down my bottom lip to prevent myself from crying.

I could hear my friends calling out my name but it all sounded far away. So far away.

I couldn't take this pain anymore. It felt like an open wound on my chest. I could feel Kartik sunk beside me as his hand travelled towards my face. Without really thinking it through, something propelled me to hug him. I buried my head in his chest, finding comfort in his strong cologne and pushed my face against it to stop the tears from falling. His heart was beating fiercely against my face.

My tears betrayed me and they let themselves out anyway.

Deep down in my heart I knew she didn't deserve an ounce of it. She betrayed me. She had put me through pain for the last two months. She was a killer. I shouldn't be feeling any remorse or guilt for what came to her. But I just couldn't bring myself up to hate her.

She was my sister. The person with whom I had shared eons talking about anything and everything. The person who held my hair up when I vomitted at nights due to anxiety. The person whom I had grown up with. The person who I thought was my confidant.

The pain I was experiencing because of her was immense. But not immense enough for me to despise her.

I guess now I could fully understand how Kartik felt after Alishka's death. Even if Alishka was a sociopath , he couldn't hate her. She was his sister no matter what.

I heard footsteps approach behind me and I turned back to find Himanshu and Veronica standing behind us. They looked at my sister's limp body in front of them and exchanged worried glances. Himanshu immediately ran up to me and hugged me tightly. I buried my face in the crook of his neck and cried. He caressed my hair.

" Guys, I don't mean to intrude....but we need to leave before he finds us." Veronica said after a minute passed.

" Is the back exit open?" Zoya asked hopefully.

" No, it is enclosed with some chains. But if we try hard enough, we can get it open." Veronica informed.

" So that's what he meant by that." Kartik said.

" What are you talking about?" Himanshu asked as we parted.

Kartik informed him about Yash's call from a few minutes ago.

" Okay, then.... let's get going." Himanshu said.

" Moose, it wouldn't be that easy." Veronica said, exchanging a worried glance with him. " Yash has planned this. He isn't gonna let us go without a fight."

" Then let's give him that." Kartik intervened. We all exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.

"Before that....can I .....can I... please....?" I stammered with my words and thankfully my friends understood.

Himanshu let go of my hand slowly and I somehow managed to get over the numbness and walked over to Sanchi's limp body hanging from the ceiling. I swallowed the huge lump forming in my throat and extended my hands towards her . As I touched her feet, I felt as though a thread of electricity passed through my limbs.

I immediately moved away.

I kept tracing my steps backwards until I hit something hard. I turned in a swift only to realise that it was Kartik. He held my hand and kissed my forehead which calmed my nerves.

" It's okay. It's not your fault." He whispered to me.

I nodded somehow.

"Come on , let's go." He said as he intertwined his fingers with mine and together all of us made our downstairs.

We made it downstairs to the first floor and relief set into me as I saw the outside world through the windows on either side. It seemed so different being here after god knows how many hours, we had all lost track of time.

" Do you have a bobby pin?" Himanshu asked Zoya as he inspected the chains with a lock on the door handles.

"Sure, because I'm a pretty little girl, I have to have a bobby pin." Zoya said sarcastically.

" I have one." I said with a chuckle and hand it to him.

Himanshu started fiddling with the lock and managed to make some progress. "I think I can get it open. But I just need some more time."

" How do you know how to do this, goody-two-shoes?" Zoya asked, raising her brow.

" Let's just say I'm not as good as you think I am." Himanshu said, whilst still working on the lock.

" You know, I finally like you a little." Zoya said with a smile.

Himanshu stopped and gave her a smile and then went back to working on the lock.

And then all the hope we had of escaping and getting help vanished as that damn song started playing again.

'Got a secret, can you keep it?
Swear this one you'll save.
Gotta lock it in your pocket,
Taking this one to the grave.'

" No, no, no, no!" Himanshu yelled.

"There's that damn song again!" Saina exclaimed.

As everyone started panicking, I caught something from the peripheral of my eye and turned back in an instant only to find Yash in his ghostface mask, standing a few feet away from us.

" Guys!" I screamed and the rest followed my line of sight and saw what I was screaming about.

" Himanshu, how much time do you need?!" Kartik asked hurriedly looking at Himanshu.

" I'm almost done!" Himanshu yelled as he fiddled with the lock some more and managed to get the lock open.

But Yash still stood in the same place, his head tilted to the side. He didn't make a move. It was like he was waiting for us to run so that he could get to us.

" What's taking so long?!" Zoya yelled.

" These fucking chains are all tangled up!" Himanshu answered.

Veronica turned around to help him and get the chains removed from the handle.

" Hurry!" I yelled as I noticed Yash stepping towards us.

" Got it! It's open!" Himanshu exclaimed, pushing the door's open.

Veronica pushed Himanshu in front of him and let him go out first. Kartik, Zoya, Saina and I followed suit . Veronica was the last to leave.

As we all ran for our lives, suddenly the screams of Saina echoed from behind. We all looked back and saw that Yash has stabbed her from behind.

" Saina!" Zoya exclaimed and ran back to her as she fell to her knees.

We started running back towards the both of them as Yash swung his knife in the air and started walking faster than before. Himanshu and Veronica retrieved some of the sharp objects lying around in the yard and approached him.

Yash suddenly pointed the knife at Zoya's back when she was too busy with Saina.

" Zoya, look out!" I yelled and she looked up just as he was about to attack her and escaped the attack.

Himanshu and Veronica ran towards Yash as he limped towards us and tried to escape. Himanshu attacked him and they both rolled around on the ground, fighting. The knife in his hands got thrown away in the hustle.

" Kartik, the knife!" I yelled and Kartik quickly picked it up from the floor. Yash was back on his feet again after kicking Himanshu in the stomach.

Kartik somehow managed to run after him and stabbed him in the shoulder. Yash held his injured shoulder and staggered back as the knife fell out of Kartik's hand and he fell down to the ground, exhausted. I ran up to him and helped him get up and huddled with the rest.

" Are you okay?" I asked, and then immediately realised how idiotic it sounded.

" I've been better." He muttered slowly. His breaths grew shallower every minute. I held him close to him as we all stood huddled closer together.

As we could finally let out a breath , the click sound of the gun echoed again and we all looked back at Yash. He was standing upright with all his strength and he had his gun pointed at us. Kartik stepped in front of me , shielding me. From my peripheral vision , I saw Veronica and Himanshu hold each other's hands.

" You all fucking thought that you could escape from here that easily, huh? Well guess what, you were wrong. You understand?! You were all fucking wrong! You all must think of yourself as so smart but guess what? You didn't win! You'll never win! I win! I've always won! And I'll always win!" Yash yelled , with gritted teeth.

" Yash, there's still time...... don't do this.... please...." I begged.

" No! No! Shut up!" He screamed at me and I subdued. "I can't! I can't leave any witnesses! Not when I've come so far. This is for you, mom." He looked up and then back at us.

Kartik pulled me into a hug and I shut my eyes to prevent myself from watching whatever was going to unfold in front of me. Before we could make a run for it, a gunshot was heard. My glistening eyes opened and I looked up to see Kartik still holding me and nothing had happened to him. And then another gunshot was heard, then another one.

I forced myself to look away from Kartik's face that gave me comfort and looked at all of my friends who were all standing in shock just like me.

I looked back at Yash and found him lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood. His eyes were wide open, looking at me but I knew he couldn't see me.

He was dead.

" What a mess!" A voice made it's way to my ears and I tore my gaze away from Yash.

I looked up and saw a guy dressed in his navy-blue police uniform standing a few feet away from where Yash was standing earlier. Several other police officers surrounded the place as the officer approached us.

Zoya suddenly ran up to him and hugged him tightly. The rest of us stood there , confused.

" Oh thank god, you came in time!" Zoya exclaimed as they parted ways. The officer looked softly at her. " Of course." He replied.

" You shot him?" I asked in a whispered voice.

" Yeah." He looked at me and nodded with a small smile.

" How did you know?" Himanshu asked.

" Zoya told me everything two days ago." The officer said and exchanged a glance with her. She looked at him and then back at the rest of us.

"I thought that was the best thing to do. So....I told him everything." Zoya told us.

We all sighed, exhausted from the past events of the night.

"How did you know when to come? It's almost 4 in the morning." Veronica asked.

" I texted him when we found Sanchi's body earlier. I knew that things could get messy...so..." Zoya said.

Suddenly sirens filled the air and red ,blue and white lights bathed us in a comforting hue. About ten or more officers ran inside the building to search for other bodies. Soon after, a body was dragged out of the school in a plastic bag and I watched as they took her away from me and everyone else. My eyes welled up again, but this time I could contain my tears in.

The paramedics ran towards Saina first and took her away on a gurney. The paramedics then approached Kartik and I for help and took us both in the opposite directions. Himanshu and Veronica went for an inspection too whilst Zoya stood with the officer, watching everything unfold. I watched as the officer handed her his kerchief to put some pressure on her eye.

The paramedics took care of my wound and cleaned it up and after doing other routine check ups, she told me that there was no other serious injury and that I was going to be okay.

An officer walked up to me and asked me for my statement. After I was done giving it to him, I slowly made my way towards Kartik.

He was sitting in one of the ambulances , with his leg bandaged up completely and his head resting against the door of the ambulance. I smiled slightly as he saw me approaching him.

" Kartik," I began shaking my head.

He shushed me and said, "Siya, it's okay. We got out." He cupped my cheeks and I breathed a sigh in comfort.  " It's over."

" Guys....can I come?" Zoya's voice startled us and we both parted ways to look at her. She walked up to us with a soft smile.

" You guys are okay?" She asked.

" Yeah." Kartik and I said in unison.

" What about your eye?" Kartik asked her.

" It's okay. I've been in more badass fights than this." Zoya said , making us all chuckle.

Saina approached us too as soon as the other paramedic had finished fixing her up.

" Saina, I know it's a really stupid question to ask right now....but how are you feeling?" Kartik asked.

"Glad I'm alive." She scoffed.

"How's everyone doing?" Himanshu asked as both him and Veronica approached us from behind.

" Quite alright, considering the circumstances." Kartik said, chuckling slightly.

" So , what now?" Veronica asked.

" How about Christmas dinner?" I said and we all looked at each other and burst out laughing.

" Probably not a good idea." Saina said.

" This all feels so surreal, doesn't it? I mean.....I still can't believe it's finally over." Himanshu said after a moment.

" True, but we also...lost our friends in the way." Veronica said , sadly.

" Yeah, Delmore will surely miss them." I said.

" No one deserved what came to them." Zoya said, with a frown. "All of our rivalries feel so childish and stupid now."

" It's over now." Kartik said.

" Yeah, now we can all go back to our boring and monotone lives again." Zoya said.

Veronica shook her head.

" Our lives will never be the same again."