The sound of the gun erupts.
Ryan’s body is flung into the wall, his knees instantly buckling beneath him.
Emilia stares down at him, the world slow and blurry.
All that’s left of him is a crumpled sack of bones and skin. Everything he was – son, friend – obsessed, deranged maniac – gone forever.
Because of her.
A man is gone because of her.
Her ears ring loudly and the room spins, the world suddenly off-kilter. Nothing will ever be the same again.
She drops to her knees but she can’t tear her eyes away from him. Is this really the man who killed Sophie? What if she’s killed an innocent person?
But he had a photograph of Sophie. A photo that he told Emilia was of his ex-girlfriend Fiona. He was her stalker – the person Sophie had been scared of all along. What other possible conclusion is there?
But even if he is her killer … did he deserve this?
Is this justice?
‘Emilia?’
Her body jolts at the sound of her name. The man and the woman are both now standing above her, their faces shielded by their masks.
‘Emilia,’ the man repeats, clasping his hands in front of him, his gun no longer visible. She’s no longer a threat. ‘What happens next is very simple. As long as you do exactly what we say, you can go back to living your normal life without any consequences. And you get to fall asleep every night with the satisfaction that you rid the world of someone like Ryan Kirkland.’
‘I won’t be able to sleep at all,’ she whispers. ‘How will I live with myself?’
‘If you hadn’t done it, you would be dead now instead of him,’ the woman mutters. ‘Is that really what you believe is right? Do you truly think that his life was worth more than yours?’
Emilia lowers her head, her eyes drawn back to Ryan’s body. Blood is spilling from the hole in his head, coating the floor, pooling around her fingers. She pulls her hands away and wipes them frantically on her jeans. But they are stained now. Always.
The man holds up a piece of thick black material. ‘We are going to place this hood over your head and take you into another room while we clean up,’ he says, his face full of disdain at the interruption. ‘After we’ve cleaned up, we will take you and Ryan’s body to a location where eventually you will be found, just like the others.’
Ryan’s eyes are still open: wide and bright blue. But empty, now. All of the emotion, the hope, fear, the horror, the life – gone.
‘Emilia!’ The man claps his hands in front of her face and she startles, a lost animal, bewildered and alone. ‘What I’m about to say is very important. You need to focus. When you are found, no matter who you speak to – the police, your parents, a fucking stranger in the street – you need to say the same thing. You do not remember anything about this place except it’s a concrete room with a countdown. You both had to confess and then we chose who should die. These lies don’t just protect us; they protect you. And we will be watching you. So if you try to reveal anything about either of us, or this place and what really happens here, we can really hurt you. So stay quiet, be the survivor. Get on with your life. And live with the satisfaction that you killed the man who murdered your sister and nobody ever needs to know it was you.’
Emilia closes her eyes, trying to shut them out, to shut out the room and the glare of the lights, and the metallic smell of blood that is permeating the air.
‘And if we call on you, Emilia – and we will call on you – you will do as we ask. Understood?’
‘I’m not doing anything for you,’ she spits.
‘The others have,’ the woman whispers. ‘How do you think we got into your house?’
Emilia’s eyes fly open and she blinks up at them, not understanding. But then a voice echoes in her ears, innocent and sad.
‘Can I just quickly use your toilet?’
That’s what Isabella asked her, just after her mum had dropped her off for the vigil. Emilia had thought nothing of it. She didn’t even watch to see where Isabella went. But when Emilia came home from the park that night, the back door was unlocked.
She helped them.
‘Isabella didn’t want to help us,’ he says, reading her reaction. ‘But she did, in the end. Like I said: when it comes down to it, humans have a strong sense of self-preservation. And a strong need to protect their loved ones.’
Emilia sucks in air through gritted teeth. ‘What did you say?’
‘You heard me correctly. Killing you isn’t the worst we can do. We know who is most important to you. And we know where they live.’
‘I don’t believe you –’
‘David and Marie Haines live at 153 Garrett Wood Road. Both retired, carrying out the same routine, day in, day out. It wouldn’t be difficult.’
Emilia hangs her head, the weight of defeat, all too much.
‘If you don’t do exactly as we say, you know what will happen. And that will be on your conscience too.’
‘Do you understand everything we have said?’ the woman asks.
Emilia stares at the floor, her body numb against the concrete.
‘Yes,’ she whispers.
‘And you’ll do exactly as we said?’
Her vision blurs, the room glazing over.
I have no choice.
‘Yes.’
He lunges towards her and she freezes. The hood rustles in his hands, the material rough against her skin, his breath hot against her face until finally –
The room disappears and she is alone in the dark.
They’re letting her go. Setting her free.
Something wet and warm soaks her fingers again – Ryan’s blood.
She will never escape this place.