The trio turned to meet the gaze of the owner of the voice they had just heard. While Josie and Sarah didn't seem fazed (by this time they had seen their best friend dead and fought for their lives) Mark acted like a bullet of fear had just been shot through him, the gunpowder flooding through his bloodstream. It caused him to go into a panic.
"W-w-why are you messing with us?"
"There was no real reason for you to be here. Well, not as much as these two."
Jones stepped out of the shadows and pointed his knife towards the girls.
"What do you mean? Why have I been dragged into this then?"
"Mark, let me condense this down as much as I can for you. From what Anna has told me, you have previously dated Josie for a long time. Josie still has feelings for you, and we knew exactly how the night was going to pan out. You were, quite simply, brought here as bait. We knew that Josie would bite, and now you're all trapped in this mess."
Out of that whole speech, the only thing that Mark got was that Josie still liked him.
"Is this true Josie? You still like me? I guess we could have another go at our relat-"
Before Mark could finish his sentence, Jones marched forward and stuck his knife into the left side of Mark's chest. The next few moments happened in slow motion for Josie, as she rushed to catch Mark before he collapsed. She couldn't save him; blood was seeping from his mouth and the wound where the knife was driven in. It was an unbearable pain for Josie to feel helpless, as she couldn't do anything to prevent the love of her life from dying a horrible death. Mark's final words were a whisper of "I love you" in Josie's ear. The only time she allowed herself to begin grieving was the moment she saw his chest fall for the last time. In that moment, her heart felt like it had been ripped up and chewed to pieces. Her tears formed this river of despair that she couldn't stop flowing. She must've sat there rocking Mark's soulless body for about 5 minutes, though it seemed an eternity in Josie's mind. Sarah gently knelt down by Josie and took her into a tight hug. That's when Josie's sadness melted into anger, as she wiped her tears away and got up to face Jones.
"WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU JUST DONE?!"
"I have spared you a lifetime with a dumb idiot like him. Did you not hear what he said, or were you distracted by his pretty face?"
"YOU ARE A DISGUSTING, VILE EXCUSE OF A HUMAN. YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS."
Josie got out the handgun that the girls had found earlier and pulled back the safety catch. With no hesitation whatsoever, she stretched out her arm and put her gun to Jones' head.
"Say hello to the devil for me."
BANG!
She brought the gun away from his head as he crashed to the floor.
"I'm proud of you for that, Jo."
"I had to do something, didn't I? Now he can rot in hell for his actions."
Sarah nodded, still in disbelief that Jo just did what she did.
"Let's get out of here. We need to find Anna."
Sarah led the way this time. They went through the same door they had entered, the one that greeted the room with the cupboard. Anna wasn't in there, so they went to try the next door that led them to the bottom of the stairs. As soon as Sarah opened the door, she came face to face with the muzzle of a gun barrel.
"No one kills my hitman and gets away with it."
BANG!