Infliction

27

I gulp as I look at how high this building is. It looks like it could fall apart from its crutches any minute now. The foundation is cracking and so are the walls. Bricks are packed in one corner and in another are brass poles.

I place my foot on the rusted metallic ladder and it squeaks and wobbles beneath my weight. Shit! Why is there seriously no other way up?

I ignore the sound and hold onto the bars, trying to slowly make my way up. I hold my breath in case that adds to my weight and this thing collapses. After a few treacherous minutes, I finally reach the top floor and sigh in relief.

I look around and take in my surroundings. Leaking roof, clear sky, short wall surrounding and protecting one from falling the edges, although there are a few that stand alone as if they were dividing rooms. Just like at the first floor, there's also piles of bricks and poles. There's also an empty table and a steel chair next to it.

Me - I'm here, where are you?

Almost instantly, I see that she has received and opened the text. My uneasiness grows and I feel someone's presence behind me.

"A good place to kill someone, isn't it?" I ask without turning around. I still don't want to believe Tess is behind all of this.

"That's why I picked it."

I turn around slowly and my eyes widen along with my jaw dropping. "Karina?"

She just smiles and tosses her ponytail over her shoulder

"Surprise," she says smugly, turning to the table where there's a metal case. She opens it and runs her fingers along something I can't see clearly. "No, I'm not Karina. She died, remember? You. Killed. Her," she says, handing me the same pocket knife I saw a few days ago. "I believe that's yours."

Speechless. That's what I am. What is she thinking? What is she planning? I believe I can talk her out of this. If she's Karina, then she still loves me. She will not injure me.

But the look in her eyes tells me otherwise.

"What are you doing? What's all this for?"

"Excuse me?" She asks, taking a step back like my words pushed.

"Listen, I know you won't believe me, but I can explain," I say, putting my hands up and taking small steps towards her.

"What could you possibly explain, Kyle?! After five long years of pain and agony, what could you possibly explain?"

I reach out for her and she surprises me by slapping my hand away. "Don't come close to me!" She screams, swinging a knife at me. I clutch onto my bicep and see that she's sliced right through my jacket and into my skin. The cut burns; what has she laced the knife with?

"I gave you all of me! My virtue, my innocence, my life and my soul. I laid my own life for you to walk on and that was how you repaid me?"

"You do not know the truth."

"Because there isn't any," she spits out. My phone's ringtone starts going off, indicating that I have an incoming call. "Pass it here," she says, stretching out her hand. I toss my phone to her and she easily catches it. She slides to answer and Carlos speaks before either of us could.

"Kyle, it's about time you picked up. We found out that she's really the one behind all of this. I'm on my way there with her friend. My cousin is also coming. Uh, Kyle, are you there? Hello?" She cuts the call and glares at me.

She grips my phone in her hand and flings it over the edge, breaking it to pieces as it lands on the bricks down there. As she overlooks the edge, she stands on a loose wooden piece that shifts under her weight. I quickly rush over to grab her by the waist from the back and pull her back just in time for the thing to fall down.

She starts kicking and scratching at my hands until I feel blood flowing out. I move us to a safer area away from the edge and let her go. She turns and immediately punches my jaw, making my head spin. I stumble back and fall with the pile of poles.

Tess strides to me and picks up one of the poles. She aims at my head and swings with precision. I lift my arm to protect my head and she hits the knife wound. I hiss through the pain and try to get up but she hits that exact same spot again, using it as my weakness. Which is working, if I must admit.

"I don't want to hurt you Tess," I warn her, my hand gripping on a pole of my own. She doesn't notice and swings at me again but I hold onto it with my free hand and pull myself up. I hit her hands with the other pole as hard as I could, causing her to let hers go and try and sooth her fingers.

"Okay, you've really done it now," she mutters, tossing her jacket aside and standing in a fist fight position. "Come on!"

I raise my eyebrows and stare at her, appalled. "I'm not gonna hit you, Karina."

"She's dead, remember?"

I'm about to put the poles down when I lift my head up to see her aiming her gun at me. On instinct, I raise the pole I didn't let go off completely and swing at her, hitting her arms and causing her to miss her target. Multiple fires go off and I duck behind the wall.

She was about to kill me?

Fuck!