NORA

Marked? Hunted?

My mind is already forming images of things that are far worse than I can imagine. The pictures of what could have possibly happened because in my head it was only that an animal attacked them while they were on the hike. They often went, sometimes even took me along, and I had seen the animals in the wilderness.

It was possible.

"No... no, that's not true," I whisper, shaking my head. "That's not just true. The police, the reports—"

"Did you see their bodies?"

I blink.

No.

I never did see them after the accident, not their bodies, not their faces. Everything was arranged by the time I had come into consciousness, and I told Mrs Cohen that I wasn't going to be able to see them. She made sure that I didn't.

No one did.

"No. But that's not what—" I argue back. "They were dead. They were attacked by a freaking animal!"

There was no one else who did it, who'd do it.

"What are you even trying to say here, Mr Marcelli? That someone—someone killed them?"

I can't believe that it's happening right now. I can't believe that I'm listening to this and that there's a possibility of it being true.

It can't be.

And yet, the look on his face, the seriousness of it, all point toward something that I'm not ready to believe.

It has to be a lie. It has to be, because otherwise it means that I had been living in the dark for the past few months, and that just sounds terrible. I had already made peace that they were gone, that it was their time, and I had mourned them.

"They were, Nora." He says. "By someone. And you're the only remaining survivor of the Locke family. Which means, you're next in line to be killed. That's why you're here."

My chest is rising and falling at a quick pace. It's hard to breathe, and it's even harder to think. There are no words forming in my head, nothing but a blank space. I can't believe it.

"You're lying to me."

"I have no reason to lie, not to you and certainly not about your parents." He tells me, still void of any emotion. "Your father knew that it was coming. What happened cannot be changed, but we can prevent what is going to happen. I promised your father when he left here that at his death, I would protect you."

It doesn't make sense. At all. Why would someone want my parents dead? Why would someone even want to hurt my parents? They never did anything wrong, they were good and kind to everyone.

"I have no reason to lie, not to you and certainly not about your parents." He tells me, still void of any emotion. "Your father knew that it was coming. What happened cannot be changed, but we can prevent what is going to happen. I promised your father when he left here that at his death, I would protect you."

It doesn't make sense. At all. Why would someone want my parents dead? Why would someone even want to hurt my parents? They never did anything wrong, they were good and kind to everyone.

They didn't owe any debts, and they hadn't done anything bad.

"Why would someone kill them?" I demand to know.

"That isn't for your knowledge at the moment."

I scoff, "You're lying and you're just doing this on purpose to keep me here, aren't you?"

"You're more than welcome to leave, find another residence here, but you will not be allowed to leave town. If you do, you will be killed."

My stomach drops at the sound of it. The thing I dreaded, the whole horror movie scenario that had been in my head from the beginning, is becoming reality.

"That's insane. I lived for months after the funeral. If someone wanted to kill me, wouldn't they have done it by now?" The fact that I'm even asking that is so absurd.

This is ridiculous.

Why is he even telling me all this? How do I even know if I'm supposed to trust him or not? Am I even thinking right?

Maybe he's lying to me, and this is a trap.

"It was the middle of summer, and you weren't in your parents' house. You were at your friend's. It's more difficult to get inside a house full of people compared to when your friend would leave for college and you'd go back home. Alone."

My throat tightens at the way he says that. He knows. He knows where I was, what I was doing, even who I was with. This is not right.

"How—how do you know that?"

"I know a lot of things, as I said."

"You shouldn't know," I whisper, my voice trembling as I take a step back. "You shouldn't know where I was, what I was doing, or who I was with. That's—that's private. That's my life."

He watches, a brow lifting slightly. "Nothing about your life is private anymore, Nora. The moment that your parents died, your life became my responsibility. Every choice you make, every step that you take, it's all connected. And if I don't know, then I can't stop what's coming for you."

"What's coming?" I repeat those words, still unable to grasp the reality of it. "Who—who is it?"

He doesn't answer, and it's the answer that makes me realise that I'm not going to get anything more out of him. He's already given me more than I can chew.

"If I were to tell you, you'd be more inclined to run away than stay. That's not in your best interest. So, I will refrain from telling you until the time comes. Until you can understand that this is all to keep you alive." He takes a step around and then sits down again while his eyes remain on me. "Now, you can continue to deny this reality, but that would be to your detriment. You can choose to believe it, and you'll remain perfectly alive."

I swallow the growing lump in my throat. Everything feels so heavy.

"Then why aren't my parents alive?" I question, holding back my tears. "Why didn't you keep them alive if you're so adamant about keeping me alive?"

"They choose differently, and that's what resulted in their unfortunate fate. Had they chosen to stay here, they'd be alive today. Your father was a stubborn man who refused to listen to reason, and it cost him and your mother their lives."

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