Number Four

chapter four of Live

Shae's friends sit in a room with a gold carpet and lavender colored walls plastered with posters, Shae's room. Her mom stands worriedly in the doorway, staring at her phone in her shaking hands. Her phone is on recent text messages.

Shae:

I made it! Going on the plane, love you!

In her other shaking hand, her mother holds Shae's phone which she never took with her to the audition, open to sent messages, the most recent one sent to her friend:

To Liz:

On my way 2 the audition, nervus :/

The theme song for Live starts up. And Shae's mom, Nancy, goes to sit on the floor with the other, worried looking girls. An announcers voice starts over the tropical drums.

“This week on Live. Our first episode starts with a bang, when our contestants jump out of a plane to get to their destination. Watch what other drama ensues on the debut episode of Live.” It shoes clips of screaming people, talking in foreign languages, and then two boys holding Shae down, her terrified face looking right at the camera. Nancy jumps up looking ready to kill someone. Shae's friends gasp and look at each other in terror, and sit, their legs jiggling, ready to see what happens. They wait patiently (ish) until the scene where Shae finds the cave. They're still sniffling from the Mexican boy''s death.

They watch in suspense as the two boys hold her down, her mother trying not to scream. Shae opens her mouth and the subtitle “Sorry.” rolls across the screen. She snaps her hand into the boys jaw and he falls backward, dead.

Her friends gape at the camera, focusing at the angle of Mac's neck Her mother wails. Shae cries. They are quickly shushed when it cuts to a funeral. Shae sits outside, or, outside of the outside and listens to the funeral.

Nat comes out and they watch the conversation, Nancy whimpers.

The show ends when Shae discovers how to make fire. The announcer's voice sounds again, “People everywhere are dying for Live! What will happen tomorrow?”

~

“Over a million views.” Carlisle says to Genevieve, shocked.

“Amazing darling! And it will only go up from there with the drama that happened today. I can't wait for tomorrows episode, but I'm worried it will get boring soon, we must add a twist...” She taps her long, blood red fingernails against her chin in deep thought.

~

The rocks are passed around the group and it reaches me. I smash the rocks together in a head-on collision. Nothing. I rub them against each other, creating the most horrible, gut wrenching, nails-on-a-chalkboard sound. Nothing.

“Do you need any help, Emma?” someone asks.

“No, thanks. I'm fine.” I snap and pass them on to Candy, she won't get it, if I couldn't, then she can't. Candy hits the rocks together, a spark erupts and lands on my shirt. I brush it off. I get up and stalk out of the cave.

Mosquitoes buzz outside and the wind rustles the leaves, pushing away the heat from the day and bringing in a slight chill. I call back to the cave, a warm glow emanating from inside, making it seem even colder out here, “Does anyone know where the bathroom is?”

Laughter sounds, “Yeah, see that tree right next to you?” Al's voice says.

“Which one?”

“Any of them! That's the bathroom! Make sure you dig a hole!”

“Ew! Disgusting!” Ugh, I really have to pee. I walk away from the cave and yell into the trees.

“Hello! Mrs. Scary Woman?! Is there a bathroom somewhere? Maybe a hot shower? I'm a little sweaty, what about bug spray?!” I call, slapping at another mosquito. No answer comes, I wasn't really expecting one, though. I stomp angrily through the undergrowth. I hear twigs snapping behind me, but I think nothing of it. Suddenly pain shoots into my shoulder, I turn around to see some animal (it's too dark to see it clearly) biting me. I stare at it in shock, not really comprehending that I am technically being eaten. Then I scream, and my world goes black.

I wake up being carried. I must make a noise because someone looks down at me, it's Al, I think.

“Guys! She's waking up!” He says, we reach the river, I hear the sound of the waves pounding, but that might be my head. He lays me down on the damp earth next to it. He runs water over me, supporting me so I don't drown, only then do I realize I'm completely naked, but I'm too tired to care. The water turns a pinkish red, it's a soothing color, even though I know it should panic me. I let my eyelids close.

“Emma, stay with me here! Stay awake!” I hear Candy say.

“I am.” I sigh. She grabs my eyelashes to open my eyes, it's still dark, my eyes must've rolled back.

“Guys, I know she's dying, but the only way I could get her up at sleepover was to play really good music, sung by a guy, she'd immediately check to see if they were hot, can someone sing?” I hear Shae say, but vaguely, I don't process it.

“Hey, I heard something a while ago, like the scream of an animal, and a few people, what's going on?” A British accent says. “Oh.”

“You don't happen to be able to sing, right? You can't be that perfect.” Shae says, “Was that out loud?”

“Actually I can.” I'm watching this like its a dream, my body lays below me, blood runs out of my shoulder in a deep gash, one of my legs is twisted strangely, and I have many scratches all over me. My chest is barely rising and falling.

“GET ME OUT OF THE WATER IDIOTS!” I scream down at them. They can't hear me. My god, I have to go back, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up! I WILL NOT DIE LIKE THIS! I pinch myself, my hand goes through me. C'mon!

Nat opens his mouth and starts singing Cough Syrup, by Young the Giant. Whoa. He's hot. My feet are being pulled, and my body rushes up at me. I open my eyes meekly.

“Whoa. You have some voice, dude.” I mumble.

“Get me out of the water.” I add. Al picks me up and brings me to the cave and lies me down.

“Someone wrap her shoulder up in a shirt, to stop the bleeding.” The English guy says, done singing. They all look at him.

“Hey, I'm still on the England team.”

“You just want to see him with his shirt off.” I say to Shae.

“You're dying, do you have to be mean to me? He tried to kill me! Of course I don't like him!” Nat looks down like, “awkward”.

“Fine.” He takes off his plaid, button up shirt that was open to a white t shirt and throws the plaid shirt to Al, he ties it around me and sits me up, examining my leg. It's becoming increasingly obvious that I'm naked except for a few scraps of cloth clinging to other smaller, bleeding gashes.

“Um, Candy, I have an extra pair of clothes over there.” I weakly lift an arm and point to a crevice in the cave wall she brings them over.

“Could you just put the shirt over me for now?” She does.

“Thanks.”

~

I'm supposed to be the caretaker, and I'm fine with that, it's my role, but I can't wait to live up to my real roll.

Assassin.

“Um, Candy, I have an extra pair of clothes over there.” Emma says to me. I gratefully put them on her.

“Thanks.”

“No problem.” I reply, smiling, waiting for the day when I can kill her.

Like I killed my sister. And like I did then, I'll frame Al.

And then I'll kill him too, and blame him again.

It's my passion.

Author's Note

thoughts? please, criticism!

Reviews

[Tegon Maus]

Yikes !! Interesting that the most dangerous people are the girls. Interesting that you choose Candy as an assassin... know someone by that name??

[Daenerys]

I hate Candy now. Can't wait to read more :)

[Brooklyn]

lets see.... worried friends with no power to help+ hot guy that can sing+ awkward moment+ surprising twist that includes a murder, a framing, and MORE! = of course you have to continue and do the world a favor and write faster!

[Sylvana]

I fet there was description missing when Emma was attacked. And I like the twist with Candy.

[Abbie]

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Candy's evil? good twist. did not see that coming. keep writing!

[jennifer little]

good job