A/N: This was supposed to be the last chapter, but because it would have been super long and I felt bad about not updating for a while, I'm uploading this smaller chapter tonight. I'm super sorry for all of you who have been invested in this fic even though I've been terrible about updating! Hoping to finish it very soon! I hope you like the ending~

Chapter 10

            Time felt like a rushing river on which I obliviously floated, unaware of the speed, only feeling my body bob slowly up and down.  I wandered through the halls of the mansion, always making my way back to the girls’ rooms, every time checking if they were still breathing.  My heart pounded hard and slow, like it was being weighed down by rocks in the sea.  I couldn’t remember how many times I walked to the bathroom where Handong’s body rested.  I pressed my whole body to the door and held my ear to the wood, as if I’d hear her suddenly awaken from her slumber.  Each time, I listened closely and held my breath for as long as I could.  Only when I felt like I was about to pass out did I finally gulp in some deep breaths and return to Dami, Yoohyeon, and Gahyeon in the east wing of the mansion.

            The rain continued throughout the night, and the dark clouds kept the moonlight from giving the mansion any light.  I lit two or three candlesticks that burned and melted into puddles as the hours passed.  After what felt like both days and only a few minutes at the same time, I sat down outside Gahyeon’s door, placed the candlestick on the floor in front of me, and watched the candlelight.  As I watched the fire dance before me, I started to think of Sua, and my heart beat faster and faster.  I almost wished she would appear before me once again so I could curse her to hell over and over. 

            “Jiu?”

            I turned slowly to look up at Yoohyeon.  She was peeking out of her bedroom door at me, her eyes full of worry.  I just stared at her, unable to smile, unable to say a word.

            “Are you okay?” she asked, stepping out of her room and kneeling down next to me.  “How long have you been awake?”

            I looked at the windows down the hall and noticed a faint white light shining through them.  It was barely noticeable with the heavy rainclouds outside.  I realized I had no idea what time it was or how long I had stayed awake.

            “I’m…not sure,” I finally answered, leaning my head back against the wall and closing my eyes.  Throughout the night, I had a cold anxiety that wouldn’t let my body rest, but as soon as I closed my eyes, a terrible tiredness swept over my body.  I gave a long sigh and looked back up at her.  “What time is it?”

            “It’s eight…in the morning…Jiu, did you even sleep?”

            “Of…Of course.”

            She looked at me with sadness and apprehension.  Something in her eyes reminded me of Siyeon and Handong, the way they looked at me with pity like I was a small shack attempting to stay together amidst a tornado. 

            “Yoohyeon…”  I glared at her with anger as if she had already followed Sua to the other side.  “Yoohyeon…you plan on graduating, right?”

            “What?”  She gave a small chuckle and sat beside me.  “Of course.  Don’t you?”

            “I do…”  I studied her expression, unsure of everything around me.  “And you plan on getting married?  Having a family?”

            “Ah…”  She blushed and patted her cheeks gently.  “I mean, if there’s someone who will fall in love with me…of course.”

            “Yoohyeon…”  I suddenly wrapped my arms around her and squeezed her tightly.  Her words gave me hope that this was all only a horrible nightmare that we would be able to endure together.  “Thank you for saying that.”

            “What?” 

            I leaned back and at looked at her with thanks.  Though my tired red eyes couldn’t produce anymore tears, I could have cried into her shoulder and let me whole body rest in her comforting innocence.  She stared at me in confusion, like none of the horrors I had witnessed from yesterday had every really existed.

            “Yoohyeon, someone will surely love you,” I whispered, pushing her messy bangs away from her eyes.  “I really hope you know that.  And you can’t ever give up on that.  No matter what thoughts come into your mind, you have to keep believing that.”

            She looked down at the floor and took my hand.  Yet again she tapped her fingers on my palm, and she rubbed her thumb up and down my pointer finger.  She pulled my hand up to her face and held it in front of .

            “Sometimes I have a hard time believing that,” she said quietly, still looking at the floor.  “But…whenever I do, I think about how much you love me, Jiu.  How much all of you love me.  And if so many people can love me this much, I think I’ll be okay.  We’ll be okay.”

            I finally smiled at this young woman who seemed like a toddler holding onto my hand.  Yoohyeon’s innocence was something I could never comprehend, yet it was like a lighthouse in my life always guiding me back from stormy times.  I sat with her there for a little while longer until Dami and Gahyeon finally woke up.  The rain fell slowly let up, and the day seemed bright and new.  I wondered if it was really all a nightmare.  I wondered if it would all go back to normal again.

            “Is Handong awake?” she asked suddenly, shattering my hopes to pieces. 

I closed my eyes tightly, and they burned from exhaustion.  Images of her corpse flashed in my mind, mixed with the moments I saw her spirit roaming the halls of this mansion and my dreams.  Squeezing her hand weakly, I finally opened my eyes and looked at her.  “Not yet.  I think she’ll sleep in for a little longer.”

            “How much longer?” 

Her soft, trusting voice seized my heart and crushed it.  I could barely look at her anymore.  Slowly taking my hand back and covering my face with it, I gave a long sigh.  “Just a little longer.”

“Good,” she grinned, resting her head on my shoulder.  “I want to make the most of this weekend.  I want to explore the forest as much as possible.”

“Don’t go off by yourself,” I pleaded quietly.  “I’ll…I’ll go with you.”

“We can all go together.”

            Her words left a chilling worry in my mind.  Even as the morning passed and the sunlight grew brighter and brighter, I couldn’t forget those words.  My mind swirled with fear.

            Eventually Handong and Siyeon appeared throughout the day to speak with Yoohyeon, Dami, and Gahyeon and even wander the grounds with them.  I never left them alone together; I never let them wander off without me.  Handong refused to meet my gaze, and Siyeon would seldom glance over at me with the saddest eyes I had ever seen.  It was amazing how they remained among us, always managing to avoid a sudden hug from Gahyeon or a playful smack from Yoohyeon.  I watched their nonexistent bodies as we took a walk out in the field, and I was sure I saw the sunlight pass through their skin like crystal.

            The night came so slowly.  I was so tired, my body felt like it was floating.  Every few hours, I would receive bursts of energy that kept me glued to my three remaining friends with intense focus.  My heartrate slowed and accelerated without warning or reason.  Even with every element of my body telling me to sleep, I wouldn’t bring myself to close my eyes for a moment.

            I sat around the fireplace with Yoohyeon, Dami, and Gahyeon as midnight approached.  They spoke and jested together with immense energy, and I could only stare blankly into the firelight and try to stay awake.  Their voices seem to drift in and out of my ears, and I was so afraid I would fall asleep, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the fire.

            When I finally broke out of my trance, I grabbed the arms of Yoohyeon and Gahyeon who were next to me.  My heart raced as I felt the warmth of their skin, desperately hoping they were still alive.

            “Did I fall asleep?” I asked as they watched me in confusion.  “Where is Dami?”

            “You zoned out for a little bit, but I don’t think you fell asleep,” Gahyeon assured, staring puzzled at my hand around her arm.  “Dami went to get a book from the library.”

            “I told you not to go into the west wing!” I cried, leaping up from the couch.  My head was spinning suddenly, and I felt like I was about to faint, but Yoohyeon quickly jumped up next to me and held me up.

            “Are you okay, Jiu?” she questioned anxiously.  “Maybe you should lie down.”

            “What’s wrong with Jiu?”

            I turned around as soon as I heard Dami’s voice, quickly feeling fully alert.  She was standing in the doorway of the parlor holding a dark book upon her chest.  My heart skipped a beat when I saw that familiar book, and my body filled with rage.

            “Where did you get that?” I growled, quickly stepping around the sofa towards her.

            “It was on the desk in the small library,” she explained, her eyes filled with fear.  “What’s wrong, Jiu?”

            Before anyway could say another word, I ripped the book from her hands and opened it.  All of the pages I had ripped were completely intact and the whole book seemed in perfect condition.  I quickly flipped through the pages to the image of Handong crying in the mirror.  My heart was overwhelmed with grief and anger, but it gave a deep, frozen pound when I noticed the outlines of a sketch on the very next page.

            “Did you draw in this, Dami?”  My words shot out one after the other faster than I had ever spoken before.  “What is this page?”

            “I didn’t draw anything in it,” she insisted timidly, taking a step back from me.  “Why are you so mad, Jiu?”

            “This book…”  I couldn’t believe it had appeared again intact.  My body was shaking.  My stomach twirled, and I felt like I was going to vomit.  “This book…don’t read this book!”

            “Jiu, calm down!” Yoohyeon begged, gingerly taking my arm.

            I ripped myself away from her and stomped over to the fireplace.  With one shaky throw, I sent the book into the flames and watched the pages start to burn and curl.

            “Jiu!”  Dami rushed over to the fireplace and knelt before it, her hands wandering helplessly over the flames.  “Why did you do that?”

            I felt out of control as I grabbed both of Dami’s arms and yanked her up from the floor.  I squeezed her upper arms like dough until her skin turned red.  “Do not read that book!” I cried, shaking her whole body as hard as I could.

            “Jiu, stop!”  My grip on Dami barely loosened even as I felt Yoohyeon’s arms wrap around me from behind.  She tried desperately to loosen my grip while Gahyeon pulled Dami away from me.  Even when I realized what was happening, it took me a few moments to finally release my grasp.

            “Jiu…”  Dami looked up at me with teary eyes as she reached for her bruised arms.  My tired eyes widened in shock as I realized her tears, her pain; they were because of me. 

            “Dami…Dami, I’m so sorry,” I said in a desperate, whispery voice.  As I tried to reach out for her, Yoohyeon tightened her hold on me and pulled me back.  Dami turned around speechless, wiping tears from her eyes as she ran out of the room.  “Dami!  Dami, I’m sorry!”

            “Jiu, why did you do that?” Gahyeon shouted, her eyes full of anger and confusion.  “I thought you were going to slap her!”

            My heart ached, wishing I could turn back time for just a moment.  Yoohyeon’s arms started to shake faintly as they held me, and I felt her rest her head on my shoulder.  “Jiu…That was so scary.”

            “I’m so sorry…”  My eyes filled with tears and I couldn’t believe the last few moments as they flashed across my eyes.  I dropped to the floor in front of the fireplace, and Yoohyeon followed me with her arms still wrapped around my body.  I sobbed as the fire and tears made my face hot and red.  “God, I’m so sorry!”

            “Jiu, are you okay?” Gahyeon asked frantically, kneeling down next to me.  “Should I go get Sua?  Or one of the professors?”

            “No…Please go follow Dami,” I pleaded, taking Gahyeon’s hand as gently as I could.  “Don’t let her be alone.  We should all go to bed now.  Please just go up to your rooms and go to bed.  Don’t worry about Sua or the rest.  I’ll take care of them.”

            Gahyeon remained perplexed as she rose up from the ground and followed Dami out of the room.  My heart broke more and more as Yoohyeon let out soft whimpers into the back of my shoulder.  I was so tired, my burning eyes felt like they would melt inside my head.  My chest took in gulps of air as I wept long and hard.

            “Jiu, what is happening to you?” Yoohyeon sniffled, holding me tightly with her shaking arms.  “You don’t seem like yourself at all.”

            I cried there on the floor with her as long as I had to before I could speak again.  My wanted to lie down and cry myself to sleep, to just give up on everything and let dreams, or death, or whatever it was consume us all.  But the little hope and fear inside me began to steady my mind, and I slowly ceased my sobbing.

            “I’m sorry…”  Turning around to face her, I gently took her trembling hands.  “It won’t happen again, Yoohyeon.  I promise it won’t.  Let’s go to bed.  Let’s just sleep a little.  It will all be better by tomorrow.”