Corruption had crept into their minds. Nearly all of them. And the ones that had been spared were killed by the corrupted. I breathed hard as I swung down from the vents, attempting to land as quietly as possible. He had told me to meet him on the thirty-sixth floor, so here I was following the plan. I didn’t think there were many left besides me and him. He had counted only one-- a tricky one too, so we had to be alert.
I took a look around me and didn’t spot anyone. Through the giant glass window, the sun was slowly being swallowed alive by the horizon, casting sinister shadows of conference tables and swivel chairs long-abandoned upon the floor. Besides a few piles of old projectors and such, there were not many places to hide. My partner was late. I began to worry… Had something happened to him?
Suddenly, I sensed a presence. Inhaling sharply, I turned on my heels and drew my gun. But, my startled expression was only met with a familiar face.
“It’s just me,” my partner said. I relaxed, but only slightly.
“Don’t scare me like that again!” I started, placing my weapon back in its holster, “You–”
“Shhh…” he hushed, inching towards me, “We aren’t alone…”
I glanced around but saw no one besides him. Confused, I looked back into his malachite eyes that were fixed on me in a paralyzing gaze. Something about them was different. I had seen them calm before and even crazed, but now, they reflected a broken soul.
Just then, he embraced me with kind hands.
“Constance,” he started gently, “we may not both come out of this alive…”
My breath caught in my throat.
“But I want you to know…”
My hands trembled as his warm breath grazed my ear.
“I love you.”
My eyes drifted shut as his soft lips kissed my cheek.
My brain attempted to process his sweet words, completely oblivious to the sound of an unsheathed blade.
Then, my heart stopped.
In shock.
In pain.
In hurt.
In betrayal.
I fell to the ground, still captivated by his dark eyes that now were black as coal;
His soft lips that now formed a demented grin;
His firm hands that now clenched a crooked knife dripping with my blood.
