by C. E. Wilson
“Archer was the one who told you about Devony?”
“Yes, dammit. I said that already.”
“He’s the one who put all these ideas in your head about Dev cheating?”
“My accent is not that hard to understand,” Orion said, squeezing her ribs. “Are you deaf, blind, or stupid? I told you that it was Archer!”
She gasped for air, feeling a panic attack beginning in her chest. Archer. He was the one. He must have been feeding Orion’s paranoia for weeks. She felt her lunch gurgling in her stomach, rising in her throat. Still in Orion’s arms, she began retching into the grass. He released her and she fell to the ground. She immediately pulled out her phone and sent the message ‘fire at devs’ to the first number that came up. “Archer was the one who told you?”
Orion stood over her as he surveyed the blazing house. “I told you that.”
“Archer lied to you.”
“Archer cared enough to tell me the truth.”
“He LIED to you!” she shouted, tears streaming from her eyes. “He lied to you and you believed him!”
“Watch your mouth,” Orion warned. “Archer wouldn’t lie to me.”
“He did,” she said as Orion knelt down. His hand reached out and took her by the throat. “What?” she gasped out. “You’re going to kill me now?”
“Perhaps I will.”
“Do whatever you want, monster. I never liked you in the first place. I just never had the balls to tell Devony that and now I wish I had!”
“Shut your mouth!” Orion said, squeezing her neck.
She tried to spit at him but it dribbled down her chin. “You’re so stupid,” she croaked. “You’re so stupid Orion, for believing him. If you want to choke me, go ahead and just do it, but there are witnesses now.”
“Who?” he asked, releasing her neck. Several cars were coming up the street.
Orion left Ellie in the middle of the yard and walked close to the inferno. As the first car screeched to a halt in front of the house, Mason leapt out from the back. “There really is a fire here,” he said as he ran onto the lawn towards Ellie. Archer and Gavin followed.
“She’s dead!” Ellie wailed.
“Who’s dead?”
“Devony!”
“Devony’s in there!?” Mason yelled and turned towards the flames. Archer grabbed him by the arm.
“Stop now,” he warned. “The fire will kill you too.”
“I can’t believe you had the nerve to show up,” Ellie said to Archer as she stood. “Do you see what you’ve done?”
“I just got here,” Archer replied.
“You did this!” Ellie said, pointing a finger at Archer.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You told Orion that Devony was cheating on him! He told me! Did you really tell him that? Archer, please. Tell me you didn’t do that.” Everyone turned to look at Archer as he meticulously thought over the question. The house blazed on behind them but time seemed to stand still as Archer looked at the ground and pondered. “Archer?” Ellie asked. “Did you?”
He shrugged and looked up at her with his piercing gray eyes. “I told him what I thought.”
Chapter Five
Ellie’s face contorted openly. “Y-you…you what?”
“I told him what I thought. I didn’t say anything I didn’t think was true…or at least something that I thought Orion would take as truth.” He shrugged openly again as he watched the house burn. “Though in hindsight I might have said too much.”
“You were the one who told Orion that Dev was sleeping around.”
“I did.”
“You lied!” she screamed. “Why would you say that? Did you know that Dev’s in there?”
“I’m assuming she is.”
“Well she is! Archer, did you really say Dev was sleeping with Micah?”
“I did,” he said in a low voice as the wail of sirens began to fill the night sky. “Now shut up about it.”
“I’m not just going to shut up! Archer, please!” she screamed, running up to him and shaking him. “Devony’s dead, you asshole!”
“I can’t believe she’s still alive in there,” Mason said sadly.
“Yes. And his words killed her,” Ellie said.
“They have eyes, Ellie,” Orion said as he walked back to the group. “Everyone can see what’s happened.”
“His words might have caused this, but Archer didn’t set her house on fire,” Gavin said.
“You!” Mason shouted to Orion. “How could you believe him?”
“Because he’s a monster!” Ellie wailed. “He must be! I thought something odd was going on, but I…I never suspected this! Archer, you have to tell him the truth!”
“Go home,” Archer said. “Unless you want to be involved with this, I’m telling you to leave.”
“Orion, Mason, Gavin, you have to listen to me! Archer’s been the one spreading rumors around! Orion, he lied to you! He lied and convinced you that Devony was cheating!”
“I don’t believe it,” Orion said. The fire trucks grew closer. “Archer wouldn’t lie.”
“He did! He’s always been lying to you! He’s jealous of you. He always has been!”
“I thought I told you to shut up!” Archer growled.
“Did you really lie to me?” Orion asked, his eyes finally coming into focus. “You did all of this because you’re jealous?”
“As if I’d be jealous of a poor black kid,” Archer sneered.
“Oh God,” Orion muttered, falling to his knees. “You…you lied to me. I…I refuse to believe it! Devony was unfaithful, she must have been.”
“She was a saint, you idiot. You killed her! I hope you rot in jail for this! Better yet, I hope they burn you alive just like you’ve done to her.”
“Hell’s fire will be worse than this,” Orion said, the anger in his voice gone. A fire engine pulled up and he could only watch with empty eyes as the men ran out and began to set up the hoses.
“Anyone in there?” a burly fireman called over to them.
“At least one!” Mason shouted over.
“More than one,” Orion said. “One of the maids was there. I didn’t see anyone else.”
“I’m on it,” the man said, then attached his respirator and disappeared into the smoke.
“She was seeing Micah,” Orion said to Ellie. “Gavin, you must know what I’m talking about. You’ve heard that she was sleeping around. Archer told me everyone knew.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Gavin said. “I can only think about how her father will be when he learns of this. This news will kill him.”
“And then he’ll kill you!” Ellie shouted through her anger and tears. “You’ll die for this, you asshole!”
Orion was still looking at Gavin with a puzzled expression. “I forgot, you go to college now. Devony was seeing Micah for some time now. Archer told me and even Micah was bragging about it. He was wearing the ring I gave Devony on a chain around his neck. I saw him take the promise ring I gave to Devony and give it to another girl, as if it meant nothing!”
“R-ring?” Ellie uttered in a hollow voice, her face growing even paler. “You think she cheated on you because someone else had your ring?”
“Enough,” Archer said, going to grab her. “You’re sick. I’ll take you home.”
“N-no! He has a right to know!”
“If you have a single brain cell in your head, you’ll leave now. I’m giving you a chance. Take it.”
“I’m not going anywhere, you psychopath!”
With no hesitation Archer reached into the back of his jeans. A heartbeat later, Ellie found herself looking down the barrel of a snub-nosed revolver. She stared at it dumbly for an instant, then glanced around. The firemen and police were too busy with the fire to notice. “Go home, Ellie. Don’t make me shoot you.”
“What the hell are you doing, man?” Gavin said in a low voice, not wanting to trigger him.
“Put that away,” Mason said.
“You moron, Orion!” Ellie screamed once she found her voice again. “Devony dropped that ring in the hall this morning! I picked it up and gave it to Archer! Did you know how many times he’s begged me to steal it from her?”
“So you’re betraying me now?” Archer asked, pulling back the hammer. “Once a bitch, always a bitch, I suppose.”
“Did you really think that Devony gave your ring to Micah?” Ellie went on as though he hadn’t spoken. “Is that what you believe? Archer must have given it to him.”
“She’s lying, Orion,” Archer said. “All women lie, it’s in their nature.”
“I’m not lying! You didn’t deserve her, Orion. She always treated you well! You’re a coward for what you’ve done!”
“It…it can’t be!” Orion gasped out. For a moment he seemed likely to fall, and then he suddenly lunged towards Archer. A gunshot rang out, freezing him in his tracks. Ellie crumpled to the ground.
“Police, help!” Gavin screamed as Archer turned the gun on Orion with an expression of hatred on his face.
“You won’t get off so easy, Capetown. You’ll have to live with what you’ve done,” Archer sneered. He lowered the gun and turned to flee.
As he took his first step, a gunshot grazed his arm just as a white-haired police officer shouted, “Drop your weapon!” Archer dropped the revolver in surprise and sprinted towards the woods. The older police officer chased him, already puffing loudly.
“She’s in trouble,” Mason said, falling to his knees at Ellie’s side and looking at the wound. “He got her in the neck. There’s nothing we can do.”
“He got away,” Gavin said. “There’s no way that old cop can catch him.”
“He can’t,” Mason said, stroking Ellie’s head gently on the ground, “but I sure as hell can.” He took off running towards the woods at a full sprint.
As Gavin turned to follow him, he heard the gun cock again.
“You’re not going anywhere.”
Chapter Six
“Orion…what are you doing?” Gavin asked. “He’s going to get away.”
“Leave him.”
“Orion…” Gavin said. “Don’t do anything stupid. At least no stupider than what you’ve already done. Drop the damn gun. You’re already in a lot of trouble and you should let us go before—”
“Before he kills someone else,” Ellie croaked weakly. “Orion, she never cheated on you. She loved you…”
“Ellie,” Gavin muttered, going to her.
“No. That won’t be necessary,” Orion said, pointing the gun at him. “She’s dead now. Leave her be.”
“You sick bastard,” Gavin spat out. “People are dead. Try to understand that.”
“There’s going to be more dead if you don’t shut that hole in your face,” Orion warned. “I have nothing to live for now. I could pull this trigger without a second thought because it doesn’t really matter, does it? I killed Dev. Could Archer really have betrayed me like that?”
“He did!” Gavin said, holding up his hands. “Devony would never cheat on you!”
“Liar! It can’t be true! It can’t be! What would Archer gain by lying to me?”
“You heard Ellie! He was jealous of you!”
“I have nothing to be jealous of!” Orion said. “I know what people think of me! I hear their jokes in the halls! I was never accepted here! Even my girlfriend saw me as an outsider!” He rubbed his forehead with the gun in his hand. “She’s dead,” he croaked out. “Devony’s really dead.”
“Drop the weapon!” a loud voice shouted. “Drop it now, boy!”
“Boy?” Orion said, turning around to look at a policeman with his gun drawn.
“Whatever you are, drop the weapon.”
“Lucas, be careful!” Gavin shouted as he saw him walking back from the woods with a few others in tow.
“We found Archer,” Lucas said as the old policeman and Mason came into focus, leading Archer between them. “Orion, just drop the gun! We have him so you don’t have to do this!”
“Do what?” Orion asked, pointing the gun at Archer. Several more police showed up with their guns drawn but Orion didn’t take notice. “Kill this monster? Murder this abomination? Why not? It’s like looking the devil in the eye.”
“Drop the weapon!” one of the police yelled.
“I should kill him!” Orion said, as the police advanced on him. “You deserve to die!”
“You won’t kill me,” Archer said, smiling. “You only kill women.”
“Shut the fuck up!” Orion shouted as his hand holding the revolver quivered.
“Stop, Orion!” Lucas said. “They’ll take you out! Drop the gun!”
“Not until he’s dead!”
“He’s not yours to kill!” Lucas shouted. “Please! Don’t shoot him!”
“Say whatever you want, my mind’s made up. What’s going to happen when I drop the gun? I’ve already killed two people. What’s one more? Why should he get to live when he started this whole thing?”
“Orion, he’s admitted what he did,” Lucas begged.
“DROP THE WEAPON!”
“Did you really want to kill Devony?”
“I wanted to teach her a lesson.”
“And you really believed that she was sleeping with Micah?”
“She was!”
“That’s not true!” Micah shouted from behind the line of police, his injured arm and shoulder in a sling and a paramedic trying to pull him away from the scene. “Orion, I never did! Why didn’t you talk to me about this? Why didn’t you try to find out the truth? You blindly believed Archer’s lies but you never asked anyone else!”
“I’m going to have to take him out,” a policewoman said in a low voice. “He’s unstable. Look how his eyes are darting around. He’s probably on drugs.”
“Micah…” Orion said. “I believe you…I should have talked to you but that…that demon over there, tricked me. I should have talked to you.”
“Give him a moment,” another policeman whispered. “He looks like he’s calming down. He’s lowering the weapon.”
“Do we really want to take that chance?”
“Archer!” Orion shouted. “Can’t you tell me why you did this to me? Why did you ruin me? Were you really jealous?”
Archer lifted up his head, a tight smile still on his lips. His eyes were empty and grim. “You’ve made your bed, now lie in it. I won’t say another word to you.”
Orion started to lift his arm again and one of the policemen fired. The bullet struck Orion’s leg, causing him to stagger backwards but he kept his footing somehow. His gun fired into the air.
“Orion, relax!” Lucas said. “It was all Archer! He even told Roderick to hurt Micah! Can’t you see? You need to stop!”
“What the fuck?” Orion groaned, lowering the gun again.
“He’s a monster!” Micah said.
“We found all sorts of messages on Roderick’s phone. He was too stupid to delete them.”
“You devil!” Orion shouted. “Micah, just tell me how you ended up with my girl’s ring.”
“It was in my locker. Archer admitted he put it there.”
“I’m so stupid for believing you!” Orion shouted in the air as he glared at Archer’s smug face.
“Don’t make us shoot you again,” a cop bellowed. “Put the gun down.”
“Do what he says!” Micah shouted. “Orion, you may not want to hear this, but Archer’s also the one who got me drunk at my parent’s house. He put something in my drinks, I don’t know what it was, but I couldn’t control myself, just like you’re acting now. It was Archer, Orion. It was all him.”
“You’re going away for a long time,” the old policeman said, tugging on Archer. “You kids today. What’s wrong with you lot?”
The policewoman yelled again. “Put down your weapon!”
“I won’t!” Orion shouted back.
“Don’t shoot him,” Lucas said
to her. “He’ll calm down.”
“He’s standing there with a bullet in his leg,” she replied. “We’ve got no choice.”
“Just wait a moment!” Orion said, keeping the gun in his hands but holding them up to the dark skies. “Don’t shoot yet.”
“So put down the gun,” an officer warned.
Orion swallowed hard and began to speak. “My family was happy in South Africa for many years – we never planned to come to America. My parents had a good friend who would travel with us around the country. One evening about four years ago we were staying in a small village when our friend suddenly went missing. My father was nervous so he started the car to go looking for him. We came out to see him off, which saved our lives. As he kissed my mother, gunfire erupted from the hills and struck all around us. We leapt into the car and managed to escape with only a few wounds, but we feared that our friend was dead.” Orion looked at Archer with haggard eyes. “Our friend was found days later trying to leave the country with a suitcase full of money. He betrayed us – my father – who trusted him like a brother. It was my mother’s wish to come live in this country so that such a thing could never happen again.”
“Orion…what are you—”
With a quick motion, Orion suddenly brought the gun down to his own temple and pulled the trigger. Blood spurted over the grass and his body fell limply to the ground.
Lucas ran to his side and shouted into his bloody, expressionless face. “No! You didn’t have to do this!”
“Get the stretchers,” the old policeman said sadly. “This is the worst night of my life.”
“Stupid idiot,” Lucas said, collapsing over Orion’s body. He turned to look at Archer, who still wore a satisfied grin on his face. “I thought villains like you only lived in horror movies, Archer. Do you see what you’ve done? This blood bath is on your hands. I would love to see you dead but I hope they keep you alive so you have to think about this day for the rest of your pathetic life.” Archer’s expression never changed as he went silently with the police.
“W-what…what do we do now?” Gavin asked.
“Has anyone tried to get in contact with their parents?” Lucas asked. Gavin shook his head. “Start trying. And track the headmaster down as well.”
