92. Delicate Balance Of Life

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"Well, well, well," Diana began in a mocking tone as she stood on the top stair. She snapped her fingers and in a blink of an eye she was down - close to Clyde, Helena, and Ryan. "look who we have here," She faced Ryan. "It's been so long since I have seen you two together... well, it could've been three but you know," Diana shrugged her shoulders.

"What did you do to Emily?" Helena asked looking at Emily who laid in the middle of the red pentagram.

"Diana, leave her alone!" Ryan demanded. There was fear with a little tint of courage in his voice.

At first, Diana stared coldly into his eyes and then said, "And what makes you think I would, Ryan?" She scoffed and smiled.

"Scarlett!" Diana demanded. "Place the candles in their position. Now!"

Hearing Diana's command, Scarlett at once began placing the candles which she had lit around the pentagram - one candle at the end of each pointy side.

"What are you gonna do to her?" Clyde asked looking a bit frightened.

"And, who are you?" Diana continued after a pause. "wait, you must be Clyde, Nick's friend. That poor kid." Diana looked into space as if she went down a memory lane.

"Done." Came the sound of Diana's pawn.

"Don't worry, Clyde," Diana began. "I'm just gonna do this -" She snapped her fingers at an unconscious Emily and all five pairs of eyes watched as Emily slowly rose up in the air still inside the pentagram.

"No, Diana, stop," Helena begged but Diana continued reciting something under her breaths as Emily's body floated in mid-air.

The pentagram now began to glow with the red light which radiated from its edges and fell upon Emily.

Emily's floating body arched backward as her energy was getting sucked into the pentagram.

Clyde, Helena, and Ryan looked desperately at each other. They didn't know what to do or how to stop it before the pentagram ends up absorbing all the life out of Emily.

Without thinking anything or any consequences, Clyde jumped into the pentagram causing the force field to disbalance making Emily move outside the pentagram and hit herself hard against the basement wall.

"No, Clyde!" Helena and Ryan screamed in unison looking at the painful face of Clyde inside the pentagram.

"Stupid boy!" Diana roared, "look what you did."

The fall made Emily gain a bit of consciousness making her groan in pain.

"Emily!" Clyde yelled through his state of affliction. "Emily, you need to get up!" Clyde continued yelling with concern and hope but his voice slowly started to become weak and shaky due to the ongoing effect the pentagram was having on him. One could clearly see the struggle on Clyde's face.

Emily slowly gained knowledge of her surroundings as she struggled to get up with the support of the wall.

"Clyde," Emily said meekly still trying to take a hold on herself. "What did you do?"

"Don't worry about me," Clyde's voice was beginning to die down. "Run. Now."

Emily looked at Ryan and Helena. Both of them nodded as if giving an assurance that they'll take care of the situation and signaling Emily to run.

Emily nodded back and got up with a bit disbalance. The whole room spun in front of her eyes as she got up but she closed her eyes to recover a bit.

"Like I would let that happen," Diana said. "Scarlett!" she commanded. "Finish her off. Go!"

Emily felt really weak and loose - like she's gonna faint anytime. She had no strength to continue but giving up wasn't a choice. With Scarlett - Diana's pawn - still behind her, she had to hide. She can't die just like that - there's so much on the line. Especially, she cannot let what Clyde did for her go to waste.

Even though she cannot leave Clyde, Helena, and Ryan just like that to save herself, but it's not like she has a choice. They were too weak against Diana. They had nothing to counter the growing power of Diana and her pawns.

A part of her felt so stupid reflecting on how easily Scarlett tricked her and almost made her lose her life, for nothing. But that cannot happen now. Emily felt this as her second chance to live which she cannot give up - no matter how exhausted she was.

With the courage that was still left inside her, she ran up the stairs, outside the house but where would she go? She could see Scarlett behind her and in no time she could catch up to her.

Emily expected Skylar, Mr. and Mrs. Swift to do something but she wasn't surprised at all when the car in which the three were, didn't move. All three of them were sitting in it like statues - like lifeless statues. Diana had them too.

Suddenly, Emily remembered the car. The car in which she and Clyde came. Running out her breaths and burning lungs, she looked in desperation for the car, and to her luck, she spotted it near the sidewalk - just where she parked it.

"I'm gonna get you, Emily." Came a mocking sound of Scarlett. "You can't run far, sweety. You are tired, exhausted, worn out, out of breaths, and jaded."

Considering how weary Emily was feeling, hearing Scarlett's words weren't helping at all. She felt her lungs giving up - shrinking due to the lack of oxygen - her head throbbing, vision hazed and her heart ready to give up. But she had to make it to the car which was only just a few meters away now.

Emily stretched her hands and wrapped it around the handle and opened the door. Good thing she didn't lock it considering how it would've been more time consuming to unlock it.

She was just about to sit inside when she looked back and gave a final look to have an idea where Scarlett was or if she was being followed by anyone else too. But to her surprise, there was no one behind her. Neither there was Scarlett nor the whole Swift family along with the car.

Even though she was confused as to where they all went, she wasted no time to get inside and start the car. Thankfully, the engine started with no issue and the car dashed off as Emily pressed the gas - all the way down. There wasn't any time for speed limits to consider.

When Emily thought she left the house behind, she slowed down a bit and looked at the rearview mirror - the house got smaller and smaller - but Emily continued to drive as fast as she could.

All she could think about was to get away from all this and get to the Church. That was the first thing that she could think of. She couldn't go to the hospital as John was a pawn. She couldn't go back to Jackson's house as no one was there. So, the only option was the Church and Father Murphy.

But she got just too sure. When you think the danger's gone, you forget that it always is one step ahead of you.

Emily gave one final look at the almost disappeared house in the rearview mirror when she heard the windows of the backseat break and the glass being shattered. She craned her neck back but her eyes popped out seeing Scarlett smiling eerily after breaking in.

The road was empty which gave Emily no luck to call someone for help. The road ahead gave a hint of a forest being ahead with the trail of bushes and trees getting dense with every passing mile. Emily must've taken a wrong turn in the haze.

Before Emily could even think of something, Scarlett charged at her which made Emily's hand lose grip from the steering wheel as the car went wild. Scarlett moved forward from the backseat and grabbed Emily's neck and began to choke her.

Grasping for air, Emily tried to free herself but the strength of Scarlett overpowered her nearly non-existent and drained energy.

The chaotic scene of screams, being choked, the car moving in the random short direction, the screeching sounds of tires, and the car horn filled the air.

"Let go of me!" Emily yelled. Her hands trying to break herself free while her legs moving in desperation for life just like a fish begging for water. But Scarlett just laughed at her hopeless tries.

After being sure that Scarlett won't let go and that trying to get freed won't help, gathering whatever was left inside her, Emily yanked Scarlett to the passenger's seat which made Scarlett's grip lose - loose enough for Emily to make her move. Even though she felt like her life flashing in front of her, this cannot be her end.

Scarlett came dashing towards Emily and began pushing her in a way to throw her out of the speeding car which was going towards what looked like an outskirt of a forest.

Scarlett got to the driver's seat and opened the door. With the chilly and high-speed air coming inside from the rapid speed at which the car was going, Scarlett pushed Emily causing Emily to lose her balance making her body halfway through the door with her hands still holding tight onto the steering wheel to not let herself fall outside because if she will, the 90 miles per hour speed will definitely make her meet her death.

But with a determination of not letting the death come today, Emily pushed herself in and dashed towards Scarlett. She didn't want to hurt her at first, but that wasn't Scarlett who was in front of her - who just tried to take her life.

Emily shoved Scarlett making her head crash the window of the passenger's seat. Opening the door, Emily threw Scarlett out which was a success.

Emily felt the accelerated speed of the wind against her face as she saw Scarlett's body rolling and tumbling down the road with her screams as the scenery changed to a rough road with many trees and bushes on the side.

"This isn't over, Emily!" came the sound of Scarlett which got dissolved and faded into the air.

Remember how when you think the danger's gone, you forget that it always is one step ahead of you?

Well, a sound of the car being hit by something hard on the ground came twice - the car must've hit something on the road once in the front and another in the back - as the car sprung in the air causing Emily to hit her head on the car roof and just as Emily gathered herself to take control of the steering wheel after sitting in the driver's seat, she saw a huge tree in front of her.

Before she could do anything or swerve the wheels in another direction, the car hit the bark of the tree making Emily hit her head on the steering wheels. Her injured and bleeding head fell on the wheels causing the air to fill with a continuous sound of the car horn as smoke came out of the hood.

There were a laugh and a scoff that slowly approached the car in which there was an unconscious Emily.

Scarlett limped her way through the car and saw the fuel covering the leaves and the grasses and slowly spreading around. Scarlett looked behind. The car had hit two huge rocks causing the gas tank to leak.

Scarlett smiled at the pool of the fuel and an unconscious Emily. "Told you it wasn't over." Scarlett smiled at Emily's despair as she reached to her pocket.

Scarlett took out a matchbox with which she had earlier lit the candles, took out matchsticks, went behind the car where the fuel painted the ground, and lit the matchsticks.

"Goodbye, Emily," Scarlett said and without wasting any second, she threw the matchsticks on the ground and ran.

The combustible fuel with the combination of the fire from the matchsticks was enough to cause the car to burst into flames with a loud noise.

Scarlett looked back and laughed watching the unconscious Emily burning in the flames.

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