Page 28 of No Way Back
But the chainsaw chokes, stuttering and sticking right around Kyle’s rib. Harkins presses the throttle, but there’s only a silent click, the blade still fully embedded. “It’s stuck,” he states dryly, like that isn’t obvious, ignoring the seizing and shaking of the body dying next to him.
“I’m sure one blade is only good for like two, maybe three murders max before it gunks up,” I say with a nod, ducking out from under his arms so he can deal with the situation.
He yanks it back, but it’s lodged in there pretty well, stuck somewhere inside the douchebag’s guts. Kyle’s dead as fuck, but he doesn’t care; he revs the throttle, and somehow, it gets goingagain. Even through the roar of the chainsaw, though, there’s a sound in the distance.
“Mila?” I spin halfway on my heels at hearing my name.
There’s suddenly a colony of butterflies breeding and laying larva all over my stomach, an endless cycle of bug-fest cohabitating inside me, and it threatens to explode. Of course, I’m paralyzed, making eye contact with my best friend, who’s naked and covered in blood. There’s nothing but pure terror on her face as she watches Demetri finish slicing Kyle in half. I turn my head his way when he splits, both pieces dangling there, still hanging from the shackles on the walls by his broken wrists.
The room shrinks in size, and I can’t breathe under the mask. I’m suffocating and her expression doesn’t change, doesn’t tell me what’s on her mind and I’m mere seconds from losing my shit. I lift the mask over my forehead, confirming what she already knows.
She says nothing; the pale look on her face says it for her.
I’m nervous, anxious that maybe this was a mistake. “Ta-da!” I shout, gesturing at Kyle with both my arms in a grand gesture.
“You killed him.” She’s not asking, she’s declaring, her voice small and shaky.
“For you,” I clarify. “I did itfor you.”
“W-what?” She hasn’t looked at me yet, her eyes still glued to Kyle, and I’m honestly a little annoyed that, even in death, this asshole still comes between us.
She takes a step back into the hallway, her gaze darting over to the direction she came from.
“Y-you killed other people too?” Naya thinks I don’t notice her leg moving back slowly into another step.
She’s getting ready to run.
“You’re missing the point, Naya.” I gesture more aggressively toward the hanging halved corpse. “I killedhimfor you.” I smile, but she doesn’t return it.
The butterflies in my stomach die, letting me know there’s nothing good left to come.
“Don’t do it, Naya.” I warn her with a slow shake of my head, repeating myself on a whisper. “Don’t do it.”
She glances into the empty hall, and I can see it on her face.
My best friend is gone.
There’s nothing but fear in her voice when she asks, “Do what?”
“Don’t make me kill you.” I’m not sure if I speak the words, or if she even hears them.
She takes off, but I’m ready, ax in hand as I chase after her. My lungs burn, but sheer need for self-preservation pushes me forward. I lunge for her, falling into her, both of us rolling on the ground.
“Mila, stop!” she cries, kicking me in the chest.
But I can’t. I hit her with my free hand and shove her back down. “I did this for you!” I think tears fall from my eyes, but there’s too much of Kyle’s blood still splattered across my face for me to tell.
She claws at me, tearfully screaming the words. “I didn’t want this!”
I’m on top of her now, straddling her naked body, both of us crying, Naya still trying to push me off with one hand. That’s when I notice the other, disfigured, broken, bent in a weird shape, and three different shades of blue already.
“I did it for you.” I shake my head with a final sob, sending the blade of the ax into her temple.
There’s an expression on her face even as she lays there, mouth open and eyes staring lifeless under me.
Heartbreak, maybe?
No, it’s just fear.
