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IF THE GUISE HAD TAUGHT NAOMI MORGAN ANYTHING, IT WAS THAT RETRIBUTION WAS MOST RIGHTEOUS WHEN DELIVERED FROM THE DARK. She prayed they were right. Because that was where Naomi was right now, in the dark, ready to deliver something that resembled a righteous retribution with a baseball bat and a firmly clenched jaw.

The past two days, as The Guise and Tio sat up all day and all night to plan their grand escape from Riverside, all Naomi could really think about was retribution. It was haunting and persistent in her head just like every other idea before it. In a way, it had already been decided. Naomi Morgan could not just leave Riverside behind without rightfully serving back a little of the pain that this place had dealt her so harshly. So she bargained.

Naomi's foolproof plan to get out of Riverside came with conditions. Before they would all leave Riverside for good, they needed to help her do three personal runs, one last time. After that, the plan would be set in motion and they could all leave. There wasn't much back and forth once Saint had agreed, even from Cairo. It seemed fair. Her plan, she gets to decide how everything goes down. Everyone fell in line quickly and it was suddenly decided. The Guise would do Naomi's three final runs before leaving Riverside for good.

This first one in particular found Naomi, Chyna and Saint sitting behind a bush outside a Riverside townhouse in the dead of night, defensively gripping baseball bats, animal masks on. They were waiting in complete silence for about thirty minutes before the Fox sighed.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" she asked annoyingly.

"This is the place Cairo gave us," the Lioness answered. "The address matches."

"Okay, but what if they moved, or something. We've been here for almost an hour."

"They didn't move," Naomi said softly, noting the familiar car parked by the sidewalk.

The Tiger put a hand on The Lioness' shoulder now, his eyebrows furrowed inward with deep concern. "Naomi, if we get caught out here—"

"We won't," she insisted. "Have a little faith." The two other animals held each other's wary looks, before retreating. They withheld any further questions as the Lioness waited for her prey, her mouth salivating.

As it turns out, a little faith stretched a long way because the trio were there for another twenty-six minutes before a car slowed near them. It sailed smoothly past the car on the sidewalk before turning up the driveway. Then, it came to a dead stop. All its lights went out. The Lioness' clenched the grip of her bat.

The Tiger began to whisper slowly, "Alright, let's make sure to be quiet and—"

But driver's door suddenly came open and the Lioness stood up on cue. In an instant, she was stepping out onto the paved driveway and had already made it too far for him to call her back. The Tiger cursed under his breath. A few quick, silent steps led her behind the man exiting the vehicle now. Silently she bided her time. He was on his phone, too preoccupied to notice the silhouette lurking right behind him.

Oblivious, he slammed his car door shut and began making way for the entrance of his house. But he wouldn't make it that far. Naomi's fingers curled around bat's handle and she made a single, hard swing. If there were birds in Riverside, the crack of his skull against the wood would have sent them all flying out into the night. The man went down.

Saint and Chyna came out into the driveway then, standing a short distance from Naomi. The Fox slapped her mouth shut with her palm. Noami was exhaling so heavily, her entire back and shoulders were moving up and down.

The man grabbed the back of his head and turned, horror and fear contorting his features like hot oil was just splashed on him.

Naomi pointed her bat at him. "Mr Letterman," she commanded, "this is your warning. That is what your daughter feels every time you hit her.  Do it again and it will be the last thing you ever do."

He looked like he was about to make an effort to fight back until his eyes glanced the Fox and Tiger staring on quietly at the end of the driveway. His nose flared. "Who are you?"

For a moment, Naomi wanted to move her mask just so he could see her smirk. But she didn't. "Your daughter's guardian angel that you do not want to piss off."

"Please, take my wallet and leave me alone," he said shakily, lowering his head in embarrassment. Now, both his hands were up as he slumped against his car.

Naomi leaned forward. "Keep your money," she seethed under her breath, "You'll need it in prison if you ever raise a hand against Aspen ever again."

Inside the house, a light flickered on.

"Let's go," the Tiger warned.

The Lioness straightened. Peering down at him, she never felt more powerful. It was a different adrenaline from ballet or spray painting some old building. This felt holier, more righteous. Godlike.

Naomi Morgan raised the bat over her head and brought it down with all her strength one last time. The man stilled, his life dripping from the end of the wooden bat.

Heaving, Naomi backed away before the Tiger was grabbing her arm and pulling her down the driveway. She gave Aspen's dad a final look and ensured to point the anointed part of her bat straight at him, even if she could at least see the weakness consume his eyes again.

The three animals took off into the night. They blazed through the property of different houses and jumped wooden picket fences until they made it back to where they parked Tio's old van.

"What was that?" Saint asked, taking off his mask when they were safely inside.

"What was what?"

Chyna glared at her. "You look like you wanted to kill him, Naomi."

Naomi eyed the both of them.

Maybe, Naomi's retribution was masking her vengeance. Maybe, for her they were the same thing. Maybe, she didn't care.

*

Naomi's second run went a lot smoother. The night before, she had cleaned off her bat so well that the blunt end twinkled under the moonlight, like an innocent thing; as if it was not smeared in the blood of another not so long ago. But the blood was easy enough to wash off. In no time, it had returned to its pristine condition, despite it's deadly intentions. Perhaps that was why the little boy looked so confused when he saw The Lioness pointing it at him.

His eyes widened. "You're one of them," he choked out. "The Guise."

Due to last night's waiting, Cairo had the bright idea to hack cell phones this time around. Kids these days say everything over the Internet so it wasn't hard to tap into this boy's accounts and figure out that he was on his way to a friend's house to play video games tonight. His mistake however, was walking alone. But, Naomi supposes she couldn't blame him. Riverside was a mostly peaceful town. But she wasn't.

She bent over and put her hands on her knees, her lioness mask peering at him hungrily under the streetlight. "Hi, there."

He hesitated for a moment before spinning around furiously and dashing in the opposite direction. He made it all of five steps before noticing the bunny with a bat over her shoulder and the monkey sitting idly on the sidewalk using his bat to prop up his arms. They were blocking his path, patiently waiting for him to do something as stupid as trying to run. He spun back around. "Please," he whimpered, "don't hurt me."

"Here's the thing, Sebastian," she opened her palms helplessly, "I have to."

His lips trembled as his eyes begged for mercy. "W-why?"

"Well," Naomi shrugged, "Because you've been hurting other people. You know what they say, what goes around comes around, and all that."

He was frantically shaking his head now. "No, no, no, I didn't hurt anybody. I didn't! I swear!"

Naomi paused. The little boy was shaking, yes, but her message still wasn't clear enough. Before she left she needed to set the record straight. She lifted her mask and smiled.

The Bunny gasped.

Sebastian's eyes fell with recognition.

Naomi didn't give either of them the first word, though. "I don't believe you," she told Sebastian, gently tapping his chest with the other, bigger end of the bat.

"This is about your brother," he let out hopelessly.

A few steps away the monkey cheered. "Ding! Ding! Ding!"

"I'm so sorry-"

"No you aren't," she said, pulling her mask back on, "not yet." In a flash, she sent her bat flying into his centre where the wood snapped against his rib cage. The boy curled with the impact. Then she gave him another, this time square in his back. There was a loud crack. She stood directly over him. Her mouth twisted with disgust.

"Look at me." She tapped him with her bat but he only flinched. "Hey! I said look at me!"

"Naomi, not so loud," pleaded Lia, her neck twisting to look up and down the street wearily.

Naomi ignored her until the boy's eyes finally opened. "If you touch my brother, or anyone, ever again," she leaned in, "I will end you. Do you hear me?" He nodded. But she wasn't done. "You might think you're hot shit in middle school but there will always be someone tougher than you to remind you that you're nothing. Tonight, that's me." She raised the bat again and swung with full force.

*

That night, Riverside was colder than usual. There were calm winds rustling the palm trees and the moon was completely full. In the Evergreen Memorial Park that might have meant something sinister, but Naomi didn't care. Neither did Cairo.

The two of them navigated through the isles of dead bodies rotting in the earth silently before they made it to the short mausoleum that sat in the centre of the grounds. It wasn't as big as Naomi remembered it to be but it held the same contagiously dreadful feeling. As if looking at it made her stomach drop six feet under to rot with the everything else that came here.

Cairo worked the simple lock on the gates of the mausoleum for a few seconds before the thing snapped right open. "That was easy," he said to himself, "Guess no one's breaking into mausoleums these days. Except for us, apparently." He held the gate open for Naomi and ignored the suspicious look she was giving him, saying, "Let's just make this quick, okay?"

"Why? Are you scared?" Naomi teased.

"We're literally disturbing the dead. I'm sure there's a price to pay for that," he told her, taking out his phone and switching on the flashlight.

Naomi couldn't help but laugh at that. "The dead disturb us all the time," she looked around at all the gravestones jutting out of the earth around her, then she looked back at Cairo and asked, "What's their punishment?"

He was silent, examining the hurt and torment that revealed itself in the way she narrowed her eyes at him. But he told himself this would all be over soon. She would get what she needed. The Guise would be safe. Everything would turn out okay. Shining his phone's flashlight inside the building, Cairo gave her way to enter. "Lead the way."

Naomi didn't hesitate. She stepped onto the marbled flooring layering the inside of the building and sighed. There were high rows and rows of crypts filling the inside to the brim and making the walkways narrow. More death than life, Naomi thought to herself. She inhaled and began walking.

Only a few steps in and her throat was cracking and sweat was beginning to form. Notwithstanding, her feet managed to take her in the only direction she could remember from the first and last time she was here. It wasn't a very vivid memory, but it did exist somewhere in the back of her mind, drenched so deeply in pain that she couldn't even think about it without her rib cage tightening. As she retraced her steps, the memories felt like an anchor she could not reel in, but was instead pulling her downward to drown her in its depths.

It made sense, she supposed. After all, she did stop breathing the second she stepped foot in front of the crypt. It read:

Jessica Kingsley

Beloved daughter, friend and dancer

"This is her?" Cairo asked softly.

Naomi stifled her voice, too afraid of what other things would spill out, and nodded instead. Against her better judgement, her hand reached out to touch the slab of marble where she knew behind it was resting the ash of her best friend. Naomi felt the room give way as if all the other crypts had turned to dust and the walls of the mausoleum evaporated into nothingness.

For a brief moment, she was floating. But instead of the feeling freeing her like it used to, Naomi felt increscently lost. She did not know where to turn. What to experience first. Where she was. She did not know what this, all the empty space, meant nor what to do with it.

And it only reminded her that if Jessica were here that she would fill all that empty space as easy as the moon lit up the sky.

Tears, a thing Naomi Morgan thought she didn't have any more of, began streaming out of her eyes. But, she kept it quiet, curling her fingers to grasp at the marble, ultimately holding onto nothing but empty air. Naomi Morgan kept her head down and relaxed against the marble plate with her forehead as if it was Jessica Kingsley. Mentally she spoke the final words she had been resisting since her silence at the funeral.

Words like:

I'm sorry.

I hate you.

I miss you.

Help me.

Who am I without you?

Come back.

Why did you do this to me?

I can't breathe.

...

I love you.

Cairo put a hand on her shoulder, saying nothing but allowing his head to fall in respect.

Minutes passed. Until it finally felt right, Naomi Morgan let go. She gave Jessica Kingsley a final look and wiped her cheek dry.

"Okay," she told Cairo. "I'm ready."

This was her final run. It was all over.

Cairo didn't ask twice. He took out his camera, went across from her and held it up to her. "Ready, when you are," he told her.

It was time for her master plan to begin. The Guise was about to have a chance at leaving Riverside. And this would be their ticket out.

"Hi. My name is Naomi Morgan and I have to clear the air..."

Author's Note

Hit that vote button if you never saw any of this coming! I now dub thee, Naomi, a savage.

This week's dedication belongs rightfully to the wonderful DEEPTI1999 because damn. I did not it was possible to read that fast! Thank you so much for your votes, I really really really really really appreciate it! Nuff love! If you guys vote and comment the next dedication could be you!

Alright now that that's out of the way, I have two big announcements to make but I can only make one right now. The next one is coming soon I promise! But for now, I wanted to let you guys know that I have finished writing Wicked, Wild, Wonderful and that means chapters will be coming back every week! Yes! No more waiting two weeks for a chapter! You're welcome!

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IN THE NEXT CHAPTER...

The phone fell from her hands and shattered on the floor. She knew immediately, she could not set foot on that stage...