O'Connell snatched up another needle from her bag, then pounced on Chase before the blonde could right herself, pinning her on her side. Chase struggled, trying to swing blows at O'Connell from this awkward position and having little success.

“Alright, now I gotcha.” O'Connell smiled. She lowered the needle. “Now hold still. You're going to feel a small prick.”

“-could have sworn I heard a scream-” A voice. Just outside the kitchen door.

“Shit!” hissed O'Connell. Her eyes darted around, then found the pantry door. She reached up and quickly, as quietly as she could, shut it.

Two people entered the kitchen. A boy and girl, from the sounds of their voices. O'Connell clapped a hand over Chase's mouth to keep her from calling for help. Chase fought awkwardly with the hand, then fought with its owner, groping wildly in the darkness for a face to hit or a throat to squeeze.

“Knock it off,” whispered O'Connell. She was having difficulty in the dark, as well, finding a place to administer the injection. She wasn't a medical professional. She knew where the veins in the arms were, but Chase's arms were moving around way too much to poke her there.

The neck. That was where she'd do it.

Ignoring Chase's determined arms as they buffeted her, wincing through a backhand to the eye, O'Connell located the blonde's neck. Picking her vein, she lowered the needle.

Chase yelped as O'Connell pushed the needle down, down, until the chamber was flush with Chase's smooth, pale skin. Then, she dropped the plunger, slowly emptying the needle's deadly contents into her.

O'Connell felt it working through Chase almost immediately. The blonde's exertions began to slow, her arms lifting only with great effort as they seemed to grow heavier by the second. O'Connell felt her enemy's muscles, previously tensed and coiled for combat, slacken and soften beneath her.

Finally, Chase's arms fell to the floor. Her head went limp, neck muscles no longer able to hold it up. O'Connell took her hand off her mouth, and Chase did not shout for help. Her breathing slowed, then stopped.

It had taken only about thirty seconds. The girl was completely dead.

..........

O'Connell waited in the dark pantry with the corpse until the voices of their visitors left. Once she was sure she and Chase were alone, she calmly stood up and opened the pantry door.

The kitchen was a mess. Broken glass was strewn all over the floor, and needles still riddled the walls.

She closed the door on the crime she'd just committed. If anyone found Chase, they'd think she just had too much to drink. By the time they learned otherwise, O'Connell would be...well, no. Long before that could happen, they'd all be dead too.

Shards of glass crunching under her shoes, she walked to the sink and washed her hands. Then, she took Alicia's top off and washed it too, getting as much of the blood out as she could. She couldn't dry it, but if anybody asked about it, and she doubted anyone would, she could just say somebody spilled their drink on her. It was a believable story.

She dressed her wound as best she could with one hand, her teeth, and paper towels. While she did, she worked her criminal mind. How best to do it? How best to scorch this Earth?

When she was satisfied with her field dressing, she slid the damp top back on. She had an idea.

O'Connell rummaged through Alicia's fridge, then the freezer, until she found just the thing: Two cylinders of grape juice concentrate.

After digging up a large glass punch bowl from one of Alicia's cupboards, she made a big batch of juice. There was just one thing left to add: the secret ingredient.

She walked around the kitchen and firmly yanked all the needles out of the walls. She brought them back to the bowl and began emptying their contents into it, one after the other, in thin, dark streams. How much did she need to add? What would be a lethal dose, when diluted by the juice? She figured it was best to err on the safe side. Ten would surely be plenty. It was nearly all of her remaining fluid but, well, she wouldn't need it much longer anyway. Once she was done here she could easily reconnect with one of her former associates and get hooked up with some genuine firepower. Still, it was a bit of a shame. She was kind of having fun with this.

Cradling the punch bowl in both arms, she left the kitchen and walked into the living room. The seven minutes in heaven game seemed to have broken down into a bunch of people just hanging out. The TV was on, and four people were playing Mario Kart. When everyone saw her enter, they clapped and cheered at the sight of more alcohol.

“Ohhh! Hey, Alicia!” greeted Caitlin drunkenly, giving her a hug that almost sent the bowl flying. “Is that for meee?”

O'Connell gave a tolerant laugh. “Yeah! But you have to share!” She raised her voice, giving herself a chipper tone. “Alright everybody, time for a toast! Let's get everybody in here!”

Word of the toast spread through the house quickly. One guy shouted up the stairs, and another poked his head out the sliding door to the backyard. While people slowly trickled in, O'Connell began ladling out cups of punch to everyone, warning them all not to drink until the toast was made. In short order, the whole party had gathered in the living room. Lindsey was last to arrive, looking breathless and hastily put together, unaware that the front of her shirt was half-tucked into her shorts.

O'Connell handed her a cup, then raised her own. “Alright everybody, sorry to interrupt the party! I just think with all of us in one place like this, it's a good chance for us all to drink to something important!”

She cleared her throat. “I say we drink to Sunnycrest High! We're going to state this season, baby!” The football players had some rowdy cheers for that. But nobody drank. She supposed it was kind of a short speech, but what else should she say? She didn't really know anything about these people. Then, she thought of something. She got a warped smile. Should she say it? It was possibly just a little too cute. But now that it was in her head, there was no way she could just leave it. “And hey, let's also drink to our health. May we all live long, happy lives.”

That was enough for them. Solo cups tapped together, and then everyone lifted them to their mouths to drink.

“NO!” cried Chase. She ran into the crowd and swatted the cups out of Lindsey's and Caitlin's hands. The drinks spilled messily onto Alicia's carpet.

“Ack! What?” asked Lindsey, surprised. “What'd you do that for, Chase?”

“None of you drink juice!” Chase warned the group. “Have bad stuff in!” She pointed at O'Connell. “That girl not Leash! Is bad tee vee girl!”

Caitlin understood. “H-holy moley! You mean that's...that's Babyface O'Connell?!”

A shockwave ran through the crowd. Gasps and murmurs took flight as everyone stepped back from the redhead. O'Connell ignored them and kept her panicked eyes on Chase. How was she here? She should be dead! “Yes! Her get out of die, come here!”

Babyface O'Connell managed an innocent, confused laugh. “What are you talking about, Chase? I think maybe you've had a little too much to drink!” She looked around. “Come on, guys, who are you going to believe? Her or me?”

They all pondered what to do, nervously looking between Alicia and Chase.

Chase grabbed a cup from the nearest person to her. The crowd parted for her as she strode over to a potted plant. She tossed the drink into its soil.

Before everyone's eyes, the plant's leaves wrinkled. The plant's shade of green paled rapidly into a blighted white before wilting. A girl standing nearby screamed.

O'Connell saw the jig was up. She made a desperate play, the only one she felt she could. Like lightning, she pulled a needle out of her sleeve, then grabbed Lindsey and pulled her close to her. She spun the blonde around and pressed the needle viciously to her throat.

More screams as everyone backed off from O'Connell even further. A few of the horrified partygoers dashed for the door. “Aaah! H-hey!” shouted Lindsey.

“Alright, here's what's going to happen,” snarled O'Connell, eyes jumping from person to person, challenging everyone they fell upon. “Me and blondie here are going for a little walk. None of you are going to follow us, and none of you are going to call the cops. I see any of you tailing me, I see any cops, she dies. Got it?”

Those who were either too brave or too scared to run said nothing, stunned and intimidated into silence. “Got it?!” shouted O'Connell. A couple more people broke and ran, and some others nodded and whimpered out their affirmations. She turned to Chase. “How about you, Chase? You understand, don't you? You don't want to be responsible for your little friend's untimely death, right?”

“No,” said Chase, an honest reply. She watched the redhead carefully. How could she get Lindsey away from her?

O'Connell noticed her scrutinizing gaze. “Yeah? You sure about that? You sure you don't wanna try something stupid?” taunted O'Connell. “You're pretty quick, maybe you can get to me before I can kill her. Why don't you try it?”

Chase had an idea. She struck a fighting stance. “Might do,” she said. She continued to eye O'Connell, as though waiting for an opening.

After a tense moment, the gangster grinned. “Well? Come on, what's the matter? You were so tough and sure of yourself in the closet.”

Finally, Lindsey got the idea. While all of O'Connell's attention was on Chase, waiting for her to strike, Lindsey hit her with her own attack, an elbow in the stomach.

In an instant, Chase was on them. She pried O'Connell off, the gangster's weakened, dazed grip falling away from Lindsey with ease. Lindsey threw another elbow back before they were separated, hitting her captor in the eye.

Chase spun around, holding O'Connell by the nape of her neck, and released her, sending the girl careening headfirst through Alicia's sliding door. The sound of shattering glass briefly pierced the sound of booming music. O'Connell hit the red brick porch outside and rolled. She came to a rest on her side and didn't move.

Chase turned to the room. “All run! Not safe here!” she instructed. “TV girl kill! Much kill! All run so not die!”

Much like how these kids knew by now to listen to Lindsey when she said things were going to get interesting, they also knew by now to listen to Chase when she said people were going to get killed. Everyone ran in a panic, shoving past each other to get out the door.

In a matter of seconds, only Lindsey and Caitlin remained. “You two run too,” said Chase, giving them a quick hug. She looked around and saw the needle that had only seconds ago been millimeters from robbing Lindsey of her life lying innocently on the carpet. Chase picked it up and showed it to them. “Her throw these. These fly fast and much! Must not get hit!”

Caitlin seemed to have sobered up quickly. “But-” she protested.

Chase interrupted her. There wasn't much time. She knew O'Connell wasn't knocked out, only stunned. “These not like get shot with gun. Shoot with gun, need good aim to kill. These have bad juice, can hit all parts to kill. Might just need scratch. Cait and Lin must not be here when they fly.”

Caitlin didn't like it, but she saw her point. “O-okay, Chase. Okay. We'll get safe.”

“Be careful,” said Lindsey worriedly. The two girls ran, but they didn't go out the front door. They went upstairs, probably to hide.

Behind Chase, O'Connell was already stirring. She slowly rose to all fours, glass fragments crunching under her knees, hands, and elbows.

Chase wasn't sure if her opponent had any more needles on her, but if she did, Chase decided to act before she could fling one. She ran at O'Connell, planted a foot, and swept a charging kick up at her enemy's chin.

O'Connell caught it. Regaining her senses at the last second, she threw her arms around Chase's leg, receiving and neutralizing the brunt of Chase's force with her underarm. Now it was her turn to throw somebody around. Holding on tight to Chase's calf and shin, she quickly rose to her feet and hurled the blonde across Alicia's backyard. Chase collided with Alicia's picket fence, snapping a couple of the thin, wide fenceposts.

With the soft, yellow light of the living room behind her, O'Connell was a silhouette. She stepped down off the porch onto the cool grass. “How the hell did you survive my injection?” she asked, frustrated. “That was a lethal dose. I know it was.”

After the impact she took, Chase was slow to rise to one knee. She watched O'Connell as she gingerly reached into her pocket. “Yes, but you not stab me with.” She removed her hand and opened it. In her palm was a thin, glass tube. The shaft of a hypodermic needle. “While you hold me down in dark, I break your bite bottle. Tee vee girl thought it go in me, but go-in-bit not there.”