Escape

Slowly, the great hall's scenery shifted. The lights started to dim and the ominous shriek came just as I gave Mary a sideways glance.

With everyone distracted, I pulled the trigger letting Takahashi's gun ricochet off from his hold, grabbing Mary, pressing her against me, and still pointing the gun at her.

"Is it time? Is it time?" The mechanical voice boomed over the built-in speakers surrounding the great hall.

It was the same voice that was screaming awhile ago. My father thought it was funny while my mother almost had a heart attack when she first heard it.

"It's story time. It's story time." The mechanical voice boomed once again.

I stared towards Takahashi, daring him to make a move.

"One wrong move and she's dead." I confidently cocked my head at him.

I was eleven when my father had me learn how to use a gun.

The first time I fired one, I was thrilled. But, after he had given me the dagger, I fell in love with that weapon and wanted to use it more than the pistol.

It has become a family tradition to teach all the children upon reaching the age of eleven, the art of gun and using it in real life.

Madelein was taught when she was eleven too. Michael will have his turn when he gets to that age.

Thinking about my family, I felt my heart getting shattered for the nth time tonight. Michael, my little brother, will never experience what Madelein and I had.

My entire family was gone.

My anger sparked looking towards Takahashi, his hand was bleeding. If only I didn't hate him too much, I would be feeling sorry for him and even feel guilty for even pulling the trigger on him.

However, the moment he let me watch my father die helplessly in his hand, I lost the capacity to pity him.

"You wouldn't want to do this Margaux." He said, clutching his bloodied hand.

"You should have thought of that before killing my father, before killing my entire family for that matter."

"Let my fiancé go and I'll let you go."

"No, you let us go and I'll let her live." I could almost feel the magnitude of our stare me down contest, none of us was willing to look away first or admit defeat.

I slowly took a step back, carefully dragging Mary with me.

Takahashi and I never broke eye contact and it almost felt like an eternity before I felt myself pressed against the oaked door of the great hall.

"You walk out that door, I cannot promise that you will be spared." Takahashi warned.

"Let your goons touch me and you can kiss your fiancé goodbye."

Holding Mary securely against me, I pushed the double doors with my body with all my might.

I didn't realize that I was holding a shaky breath until Mary and I finally made it out of there and stepped out in the hallways.

"I'm sorry." I said, releasing her.

"Ma-margie?" I almost dropped the gun I was holding. My eyes widened upon seeing Mikee, unharmed, walking towards me across the hallway.

I accepted him with open arms. Pressing himself tightly around me, I found him shaking.

"We need to get out of here Margie and fast."

I gave Mary a resolute nod, holding my dear brother securely.

"I know of an escape route."

--

If this was a movie, I would have allowed myself to breathe and relax. My brother was alive after all. However, I wasn't given that kind of luxury. Sadly, I'm not living in some kind of dream where I could simply wake up from this horrible nightmare and everything would be fine.

As heartbreaking as it was, this was my reality now.

Partly escaping the horrible death scene from the great hall, I fumbled to remove the bloody heels that had been torturing my feet since earlier in the evening and tore off the lower portion of the gown I was wearing, leveling the length to the slit on my thigh.

I also took the opportunity to grab the blade hidden in my right leg.

Unable to help myself, I smirked upon finding Mary doing the same, handing her the pistol for her own defense.

"We look badass." She muttered, accepting it. I couldn't agree more.

"Who says we're going down without a fight?" I replied, tightening my hold on the handle of the dagger which now has become more valuable to me more than ever.

"By the way, you're bleeding Margie." Remembering the gunshot wound on my shoulder, it was only then that I realized that I probably looked like hell.

However, as of this moment, I didn't care.

"Don't worry about me Mary. We need to keep moving." Mary eyed me prior to giving me a solemn nod.

I led the way through the dimly lit passage. Amidst the silence that had engulfed between me, my brother and Mary, memories began to play in my mind's eye.

I remembered when we were little, Madelein and I had scouted the entire mansion familiarizing and memorizing every hidden passage and where it led.

We were playing hide and seek when she accidentally found one. We told father about the discovery and being the consenter that he had always been, he told us that the entire mansion was filled with them.

The memory made me feel the big hole inside my chest. But I refused to cry. Not right now.

Upon gradually stumbling in our garden, the scent of my mother's Dama de Noche wafted through my nose.

I listened intently. This part of the mansion seemed to be deserted

I gestured for Mary to follow me, while clutching Mikee's hand tightly. The cool grass brushed through my bare feet.

"Shūi zentai o kensaku suru!" I heard the clear Japanese command which seemed to have come from the backdoor of the pantry.

I don't speak Japanese but I have heard quite enough from time to time and understood that it must mean to search the grounds for me and Mary.

I'd like to assume that Takahashi had no clue that my brother was still alive too. And I'd like to keep it that way.