Chapter 101 – The Quieting Knife – Erica Henson

“Pass it over here!” Sam shouted at me, “Pass the ball over here!”

I kicked the soccer ball in Sam’s direction. Unfortunately someone was close enough to Sam to intercept my poor pass maneuver. I couldn’t recall the last time I played soccer and it was showing in my performance. My team so far had been carried almost entirely on Sam’s shoulders. She was stronger, faster, and more agile than anyone on either team. So it was no surprise when she managed to steal the ball away by kicking it between the legs of the girl that intercepted my pass. The girl was left spun around in confusion and tripped on her own feet when she tried to match Sam’s pace.

“Got it,” Sam said, “Erica, line up for the shot!”

I moved into position, but I felt like Sam was overestimating my abilities. By now I was panting like a dog and nearly at the end of my rope. There were only a few seconds left in the match and the score was tied. She kicked the ball back to me as she was surrounded by defenders. I moved to go for the goal. The goal was just a line drawn between two trees using some taping on the ground to indicate the scoring area. Before I could take the shot another one of the defenders blocked my path. I passed the ball to Naomi. Naomi passed the ball to Amy. Amy passed the ball back to Sam. Sam took the shot!

“That’s it!” I shouted excitedly as the ball flew by the goalie’s head.

Everyone on the blue team cheered and screamed as the referee blew the whistle. They all fell on me and Sam as they surrounded us for a group hug. I laughed and tried to push them away so I could get a breath of fresh air in. We won! This soccer match was all that the blue team needed to surpass the red team in the field day score tally. When one of the PTA teachers went to draw up the new tally marks the crowd surrounding our makeshift soccer field exploded. More girls wearing blue armbands ran onto the soccer field to join the group hug. I felt practically smothered, being at the center of all this. Despite that, it was hard not to laugh with everyone else having fun.

When the group contracted and everyone went back to their friends I was finally able to rest. I lied down in the grass and breathed deeply. My hair was a mess, my gym clothes were dirty, and I felt like I was drenched in my own sweat. I desperately wanted to take a shower but I’d have to wait until later. There were still more field day events to go and the next one was already being set up not far from where I was lying. The volleyball club was moving their extra net into place and teams were being picked for the first match. Sam walked over to me and put her hand out.

“Need a lift?” She asked.

“Thanks,” I said as I took her hand.

She helped me back to my feet and I wiped all the grass off my backside as she did so.

“You did well out there.” She said. “You might make a good teammate if we’re able to make an actual soccer team.”

I laughed a little at the thought of that.

“Can you imagine that?” I asked rhetorically. “I don’t think I have the stamina.”

Sam smirked and gestured to the other girls sitting in the grass.

“Look around you. You’re not the only one.” Sam said. “You held up pretty well, all things considered.”

“What about you?” I asked. “How come you turned out to be such a monster?”

Sam grinned and put her hands on her hips.

“I’ve got experience with this. I used to be the ace on my last school’s soccer team.” She said proudly, but then her facial expression soured. “That feels almost like a lifetime ago now… What a shame.”

Naomi slapped Sam’s shoulder as she walked into our conversation.

“Well I’m happy to have you here.” Naomi said. “Who cares if you can’t play at that stupid fancy school for rich girls? You have people that love you here.”

Sam put her hand on Naomi’s hand.

“Thanks,” Sam said.

Naomi turned to me.

“You surprised me, Erica. You scored second in points, right? I didn’t know you had that in you.”

“Neither did I,” I admitted.

Naomi smiled.

“Do you think that…”

Our conversation was ended when Val stepped in between us to get closer to Sam. Sam was surprised when Val put a hand on her shoulder. Going by the look on Val’s face it seemed like something serious was going on.

“Sam, did you see where Jay went? She was out here not long ago.” Val said.

“I think she went inside to get something.” Sam said. “Why are you…?”

“The Matriarch, Raven Keyes, is here at the school.” Val said.

“What…?” I asked as I scanned the crowds, “She just snuck in? Where is she?”

“I don’t know.” Val said. “Holly and I bumped into her when we went to go find Lilith. I don’t know what she’s doing but it looks like she’s up to something. We can’t leave her to her own devices. I already told most of the SCA what to be on the lookout for. I just wanted to know where Jay was so that I could explain the situation in person.”

“I’ll go tell Jackie.” I said.

“I already told the vice principal.” Val said. “She’s on the lookout along with Officer Morelli, and the other couple of police officers in attendance. Raven probably thought it was smart to sneak onto campus during a crowded event but she doesn’t realize that she’s made a mistake. We have enough informed people to keep up a constant network of lookouts.”

“Then it’s only a matter of time before this person is caught…?” Naomi asked. “What should we do?”

“For now I’d just like to know where Jay is.” Val said. “She’s probably fine, but she didn’t respond to my message in ChatCat.”

Sam gestured over to Naomi.

“We’ll find her.” Sam said. “She’s probably on her way back out right now. I’ll ask around in Naomi’s ChatCat.”

“Alright,” Val said. “I’ll meet back up with you and the others later. For now I’m going to do some searching by myself. I’ll message you later.”

“Good luck,” Sam said.

Sam and Naomi left to go look for Jay. Val started to walk away but I took her by the hand. Before, she would’ve been upset at me for holding her hand like this but now she looked fine with it.

“I want to help too. Should I come with you?”

“No,” Val said. “Didn’t Holly say that you’ve done enough already? Don’t you remember what we talked about yesterday? Just stay out of the way.”

Her words were cold but her tone of voice was unusually warm. It sounded almost like she was legitimately concerned about me. My surprise must’ve shown in my face because she didn’t move to walk away.

“Don’t get the wrong idea,” She said. “I don’t care what you do. It’s just that Holly would be upset if something happened to you. It’s best that you make yourself scarce until we figure out what Raven is up to. She is officially an intruder on campus and the proper people have already been alerted. Just keep your distance. Everything is under control.”

I let go of her hand and she walked away in a different direction. It made me happy that I was finally on decent terms with her now. Maybe I’d never again be able to properly call her my friend but it was nice to know that she no longer considered me an enemy. It made me feel relieved. I felt like I had finally overcome something that I imagined as insurmountable before. Sure, it took a lot of hardship to get here but the results spoke for themselves. With this, I could finally begin to bury my troubled past with Iris and Kate.

Since I was still covered in sweat and dirt I decided that I’d head inside to get cleaned up a little. I wasn’t planning on getting involved in the volleyball event after the intensity of the soccer match. I was probably spent for the rest of the day. I’d be mostly recharged in a few hours, sure, but my muscles were hurting in a way that they weren’t used to. I didn’t have any athletic outlets lately and my body was paying the toll for that. It would be best if I just took it easy.

The bathroom closest to the outdoor activity area was so full that there was a queue of girls waiting just outside of it. I sighed audibly and walked past the groups of talking girls. I assumed that the second closest bathroom would be in a similar state so I decided to go a little further. The bathroom was far away enough from the back of the school that there wasn’t a queue for entrance. The only girl that apparently had the same idea that I did was walking out just as I entered. After quickly using the toilet I went over to the water faucet to get cleaned up. My hands were so filthy with sweat and dirt that it was practically coming off in layers. I overflowed my hands with soap and hot water to try scrubbing the nastiness away from me.

That’s when I heard someone else creak open the bathroom door from behind me. I didn’t pay it much attention since I was almost done cleaning up. I grabbed a few paper towels and started drying off my hands.

“Aren’t you quite a cutie, my lovely?” Raven asked.

I jumped in place, dropped my paper towels, and spun around sharply the moment I heard her voice. She had on a long jacket that concealed most of what she was wearing other than the strapped boots she had on.

“I always knew that Jackie liked them young.” Raven said. “She was a creep even in her younger years.”

“What are you doing here?” I asked as she took a step towards me.

She gave me an amused look.

“What…?” She asked innocently, “Does a former student really need an excuse to take a trip down memory lane? Besides, I have a relative that attends this school. I’m the cool aunt that comes and supports her at events like this.”

“What are you doing here?” I asked, pointing at the floor of the bathroom.

She slowly took another few steps towards me and I was sufficiently freaked out enough to start backing away. She blinked at me innocently like my behavior was strange.

“When I saw you pass me I just wanted to talk. That’s all.” She said.

“You manipulated Sofi and got her suspended from school! I have nothing to say to you!”

Raven rolled her eyes and smiled playfully as she took another step towards me. My back was now against the far bathroom wall, the opposite my only point of escape. My plan was to just try pushing her aside and making a run for it. The way she was creeping up towards me like this was making me nervous. I didn’t know what she really wanted but I didn’t like being alone with her like this.

“Oh please, don’t bring Sofi into this. Her own stupidity is what got her suspended. She couldn’t even follow my simple instructions without mucking it up. What a waste of my time.” She said with a huff. “Maybe you could help me with something that she couldn’t?”

Now she was stepping uncomfortably close, coming into my personal space.

“What’s that?” I asked.

She smiled.

“I need you to send a message for me.” She said.

Her smile vanished and she pulled a concealed knife from the pocket of her jacket.

“Die!” She shouted.

She pulled her arm back and slung the weapon towards me! Because of her long wind up speed I could see it coming. I ducked beneath her swing, and managed to swiftly run by her as she rebounded from her attack.

“Get back here!” She shouted as I rushed for the exit.

The question now was how did I procede from here? Obviously I needed to flee outside to get help, or even to one of the more populated areas. The closest area like that would be the first bathroom that I passed on my way in. The only problem with that was the fact that it was quite a distance from where we were now! Could I beat this woman in a long distance race like that? Of course I was fleeing for my life, but she'd be just as vigorous about silencing me!

What to do? What to do? How did this happen to me? Why was she flying at me with a knife? What did I do to her? Was it because I was working to help shut the Society of Sisters down? Did she think I was the one responsible for shutting down her plans? Was this revenge?

So many thoughts where spinning through my confused mind. The fact that I was still tired from my soccer match meant this woman had a horrifying advantage on me. I didn't dare to look back, but I could still hear the clicking of her boots running not far behind me. One advantage that I had was that I was in light gym clothing and proper running shoes. Using my superior agility, I decided that I'd tried to lose her by taking a route that would maximize twists and turns to take her off my trail. I was still heading outside, just from a different direction.

After a couple of clever maneuvers it looked like I was able to outfox her. When I could no longer hear her running behind me I slowed down and checked my surroundings. Now that it was clear that she hadn't managed to keep up with me I took a moment to gather my breath and recompose myself. That was until she came around from an unexpected corner and tried to slice me! She barely nicked one of my shoulders as I pulled away. The cut was small, but it demonstrated that she was entirely serious about trying to kill me.

"What, did you seriously think you could lose me with a cheap trick?" She asked as she flaunted her weapon, "I went to this school, remember? I know every shortcut you do!"

I took off and immediately headed in a different direction.

"You can't escape!" She shouted.

She was right about one thing. I wasn't going to lose her that easily! Maybe I could change my strategy, however? She managed to cut me off because the fact that I was heading to a nearby exit was obvious. However, I didn't need to go up to anyone directly. I just needed to draw their attention. The area I was at gave me an idea of how I could stop her attack.

I waited for her to dive at me before executing my plan. I managed to evade her reach, but she cut a hole straight through the mid-section of my gym shirt. That made me even more nervous. The knife was incredibly sharp. A little bit more and that would've been my guts spilling out. However, the risk was worth it. As I ran by her I was able to reach the staircase leading up to the roof of the building. It was thanks to Holly showing me this place before that I was actually able to consider this plan.

I burst through the rooftop door and immediately ran over to the fencing on the far side of the open-air area.

"Help…!" I screamed down towards the ground, "Help! I'm being attacked! Jackie! Someone! Anyone…!"

The thing I didn't take into consideration when I made this plan was just how loud the field day activities would be. No one could hear me! They were all shouting and laughing down below. Everyone was so focused on the ongoing volleyball game that no one even paid attention to me flailing my arms about. Just as I started to scream again in frustration, the rooftop door slammed behind me in the distance.

"It's no use!" Raven said. "They can't hear you down there. You've backed yourself into a corner!”

I turned around to face her and pushed back against the fencing behind me. It was too tall to scale, and even if I could that would be a lethal fall down to the ground level. Like she said, I was trapped. My only way out was to try to get past her again. She seemed to be approaching me more cautiously since she knew what I'd try to do. The same trick probably wouldn't work on her again. I racked my brain trying to figure out some way to save myself that didn't involve coming close to her knife. At best, I could try fighting her off and grimly hope that I didn't take a lethal blow in the process.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked in desperation.

She smiled in a slimy manner.

"It's nothing personal, and I honestly mean that." She said as she walked closer to me. "It wasn't supposed to be you, actually. My original plan was to have Sofi publicly cause trouble for Jackie. That way when Sofi's dead body showed up on school grounds the police would immediately arrest Jackie without any sort of deeper investigation."

My jaw dropped.

"You planned to kill Sofi from the very start...? Even though she was helping you...?"

"Some help she was," Raven said. "She didn't even last long enough to bring more public suspicion to Jackie's behavior. Still, you're a wonderful alternative. You live with Jackie. You're in an illicit relationship with her. You're cut off from your parents. It was a mistake for you to reveal your identity to me the first time we met. When your dead body shows up on school grounds the media will do the rest for me. Jackie's fate is sealed either way."

"You think that will clear you of all the sins from your past?" I asked.

"It doesn't have to clear me of anything. I just need Jackie to take the heat for long enough for me to implicate anyone else if I need to. I'm willing to sell each and every one of them out."

"You're a monster!" I shouted.

"So is your lover!" She said with an evil grin.

She raised her knife above her murderously and I steeled myself for a desperate fight. I wasn't going to take this lying down. I'd need to fight for my life if I was going to have a future beyond this day. I didn't want to die here! A defiant fire was awakening within me as I prepared to try grabbing her once she was close enough. I wasn't sure how I'd beat her, but I was going to claw, bite, kick, and scream, anything to try wrenching the knife out of her hands.

Just as she prepared to attack she suddenly froze up. She let out a pained gasp and her eyes went wide. She dropped her knife and fell to one knee. As she fell I saw another face in the distance behind her. It was the mask of the Killing Cat. This mask had glowing red eyes, unlike her old mask. She was wearing a black hoodie, black gloves, black leggings, and black shoes with not an inch of skin showing. The uniform darkness of her clothing made her look like a walking shadow with red eyes. Even in the bright light of daylight she looked like an evil spirit.

Raven picked her knife back up off the ground and started to turn around.

“You bitch!” Raven hissed. “What the hell are you supposed to be?”

Raven took the knife out of her backside and tossed it to the ground. This throwing knife looked like a proper store purchase, unlike the ones used against Vivian Hale. Raven stood up straight and held her knife out towards the Killing Cat threateningly. The Killing Cat pulled out another knife with one hand. With her other hand, she put a finger in front of her stitched lips.

“Shh…” She whispered.

Raven eyed the masked figure speculatively.

“Is that all you have to say? Name yourself!” Raven demanded. “Don’t tell me you’re one of the girls from the society gone rogue… I’ll have to kill you for interrupting me!”

“You don’t know who that is…?” I whispered in horror.

Raven turned back to give me a confused look.

“Why should I…? Is this a friend of yours come to the rescue…? Don’t think that I’ll-…”

“I thought she was working for you... The fact that she isn’t working for you means my entire theory was wrong.” I said as my brain processed the deeper implications of this. “I was chasing down the wrong lead the entire time...”

“What are you mumbling about?”

“That,” I pointed at the mask figure staring towards us with glowing red eyes. “That’s the Killing Cat. She killed Ms. Logan... She killed Vivian Hale… And now…”

Raven turned back to face the Killing Cat. She fixed her posture to try intimidating the shorter knife-wielding person. The wound in her back clearly didn’t go deep enough to do any real damage. I had to ask myself if these daggers had poison like last time? I pulled away from Raven now that her attention was sufficiently drawn away from me. Raven walked over towards the Killing Cat with a grin while tossing her knife from hand to hand threateningly.

“Normally people aren’t stupid enough to challenge me to a knife fight.” Raven said. “This was something I got kicked out for back in the day. You see, I had a bit of a reputation and my skills haven’t slipped since then.”

The Killing Cat said nothing.

The two circled each other with Raven in a low defensive stance. By the look on her face it was like she was analyzing her opponent for a clear sign of opening or anticipating a potential attack. She was using this circling to try feeling out her enemy a little. The Killing Cat, on the other hand, seemed entirely nonchalant. Her stance was casual. She was circling not with her knife facing her opponent, like Raven, but merely down at her side like she simply wasn’t expecting to use it.

Raven took that laid-back body language as a sign to go on the offensive. Raven swiped, jabbed, and sliced away at the Killing Cat, hitting nothing but air. The Killing Cat dodged every single incoming attack with such agility that Raven was being taken for a ride. At one point the Killing Cat even tripped her while ducking underneath one of Raven’s swings. Raven was so full of openings and yet the Killing Cat wasn’t even going in for the kill.

Raven seemed to realize she was being toyed with after a few more swings. She turned her eyes on me, perhaps to use me as a hostage. I had been making my way towards the rooftop door as their fight went on. It seemed she wasn’t going to let me escape so easily. She started to run towards me but this was when the Killing Cat went on the offensive for the first time. Raven anticipated the attack and spun to counter. The Killing Cat ducked away from Raven’s reach in an incredibly agile feint. Then she simply flicked the knife she was holding into Raven’s shoulder. Raven tore the knife out and tossed it to the floor.

“Who the hell are you?!” Raven demanded once again.

Her voice sounded hoarse and worn out now after her intense flurry of knife movements. She was no longer in any condition to be chasing anyone, let alone fighting. I could leave at any moment now. However I still wanted to know the outcome of this fight. I couldn’t bring myself to run just yet. The Killing Cat put her finger up in front of her mouth once again.

“Shh…”

“Is that all you can say?!” Raven screamed.

Raven took another dive at the Killing Cat. This time she missed miserably and barreled straight into the ground. It took Raven precious moments to get off her knees and stand back up. She was sweating profusely and only barely managing to keep herself standing. She was teetering back and forth on the edges of her feet like a drunkard. She raised a shaky hand to her own face while gasping heavily.

“What…?” She asked in a short breath, “What the hell did you do to me?”

The Killing Cat raised a small vial from out of her pocket. The vial was filled with a viscous green liquid that slithered in its container as she shook it back and forth. Raven dropped down to one knee as the Killing Cat slid the bottle back into her pocket.

“No…! You…! Damn cheater!” She shouted.

Raven tried to tackle the masked girl. It seemed like the Killing Cat was done playing games because this time when she side-stepped the attack she launched herself upon Raven. She slapped the knife out of Raven’s hand while bringing up her own. The Killing Cat brought her knife down into Raven’s neck and I could barely bring myself to watch.

“No…! N-No!” Raven screamed.

She fought frantically to push the Killing Cat away but it wasn’t helping her. I began to turn away but something caught my attention before I did. Raven had slapped the mask off of the Killing Cat. They were angled away from me and I couldn’t see her face, but I could see Raven’s reaction. Raven went pale white, the scarlet blood painted on her facing seeming even more saturated.

It looked like something broke inside her and she simply gave up. She no longer screamed and no longer resisted. The Killing Cat simply finished her off at the neck in a brutal execution. Raven’s eyes rolled into the back of her head and she drifted away into deadly unconsciousness. The Killing Cat reached out for the mask that landed beside her dying victim and carefully placed it back on. She then turned to look at me with her glowing red eyes.

Immediately I burst through the rooftop door and sprinted down the stairwell. I wasn’t sure if she would follow me and I wasn’t going to risk stopping to check. It was a miracle that I managed to survive Raven Keyes and I didn’t want to test my luck with the Killing Cat. This time I actually made it outside and was relieved to enter the safety of the public eye. I found Jackie together with Angelica Morelli, which was perfect for what I needed to tell them. Jackie put her arms on my shoulders as I nearly pushed her over with my sudden embrace.

“Erica…?” Jackie asked. “Erica, what’s wrong…? You’re bleeding!”

“It’s her…! She’s here, up on the roof!”

“Who…?” Jackie asked.

“The Killing Cat!” I said.