9 Marking Her First prey

Chapter 9

The night was silent, but Amelia's heart was not.

It pounded in her chest, slow and steady, like the ticking of a clock counting down to something inevitable. She stood in the shadows, watching. Waiting. Her breath was calm, but inside, something dark twisted, coiled, ready to strike.

Lena Dawson. The weakest of them all.

She wasn't like Victoria or the others. She never slapped Amelia. Never shoved her into lockers. Never pulled her hair or spit on her books. But she laughed. She always laughed. While Amelia was on the ground, bruised and humiliated, Lena's laughter rang out the loudest. She never stopped them. She never helped.

She was just as guilty.

And tonight, Amelia would make her feel every ounce of the pain she had suffered.

Lena walked alone, hugging herself, shivering slightly against the cold. She had no idea she was being followed. Amelia moved soundlessly, her footsteps blending with the night. Her body had changed—stronger, faster, sharper. The world around her pulsed with life. She could hear Lena's heartbeat, could smell the faint traces of perfume mixed with fear. It was intoxicating.

Fear.

It was her weapon now.

Amelia stepped forward. Just enough.

A twig snapped under her foot.

Lena froze. Her head snapped up, eyes darting around the empty street.

"Hello?" Her voice was small, uncertain.

Silence.

Amelia took another step, letting her presence linger just at the edge of Lena's senses. Enough to be felt, but not seen. She wanted the fear to build, to seep into Lena's bones.

Lena swallowed, quickening her pace.

Amelia followed.

Lena walked faster.

Amelia matched her.

Lena broke into a run.

Amelia disappeared.

Lena spun around, chest heaving, eyes wide. "Who's there?"

Silence.

Nothing but the wind whispering through the trees.

Lena let out a shaky breath, shaking her head. "Get a grip," she muttered to herself.

She turned back towards her house, just a few blocks away. Safety was close.

Too close.

Amelia couldn't allow that.

The moment Lena turned, Amelia stepped in front of her.

Lena slammed into something solid. Something unmoving. Her breath hitched, and she stumbled back, looking up—

And froze.

Amelia.

She wasn't the same Amelia that used to cower in the hallways, too afraid to speak, too weak to fight back. No, the girl standing in front of Lena now was something else entirely. Shadows clung to her like a second skin. Her eyes, once dull and filled with silent pain, now gleamed with something far more terrifying.

Power.

Lena took a step back. "A-Amelia?"

Amelia tilted her head slightly. "You sound surprised."

Lena swallowed hard. "I—I thought you—"

"Died?" Amelia finished for her, her lips curling slightly. "I did. You all killed me."

Lena shook her head, panic rising. "No! I—I didn't do anything—"

Amelia stepped forward, and Lena instinctively backed away. "Exactly." Her voice was quiet, calm, but each word was a dagger. "You didn't do anything."

Lena's breathing quickened. "I never touched you, Amelia! I never—"

"But you laughed." Amelia's voice was a whisper, laced with something dark. "You watched me suffer, and you laughed."

Lena trembled. "I—I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Amelia's voice hardened. "You're sorry?"

Lena nodded rapidly, tears pooling in her eyes. "Yes! Yes, I swear—I never meant—"

Amelia chuckled. A cold, humorless sound. "You never meant for what? For me to break? For me to beg? For me to want to die?"

Lena shook her head violently. "No! I—"

Amelia moved faster than Lena could react. One second, she was standing in front of her, the next, she was behind her, her breath warm against Lena's ear.

Lena shrieked, spinning around, but Amelia was gone.

"You never stopped them," Amelia's voice whispered from the darkness. "You let them destroy me. And now…"

A hand shot out from the shadows, grabbing Lena's wrist. She gasped, struggling, but Amelia's grip was unyielding. Cold. Like steel.

"…I'm going to return the favor."

Lena whimpered, tears spilling over. "Please… Amelia… don't—"

A sharp squeeze.

A sickening crack filled the air.

Lena's scream tore through the night as her wrist bent at an unnatural angle. She collapsed to the ground, cradling her broken limb, sobbing.

Amelia crouched beside her, watching. Studying. There was something… satisfying about this. About seeing fear on the face of someone who had only ever known power over her.

She reached out, brushing a strand of hair from Lena's face. The girl flinched violently.

"Shh," Amelia cooed. "We're just getting started."

Lena's sobs grew louder. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry—"

Amelia sighed. "You keep saying that, but I don't think you really mean it."

"I do!" Lena cried. "I do, I swear!"

Amelia leaned in, until their faces were inches apart. "Then prove it."

Lena blinked through her tears. "H-how?"

Amelia smiled, slow and cruel. "Tell me the truth."

Lena sniffled. "W-what truth?"

"About them." Amelia's voice was soft, but the weight behind it was suffocating. "About Victoria. About everything she's done."

Lena hesitated.

Amelia's fingers ghosted over her broken wrist.

Lena screamed. "Okay! Okay! I'll tell you!"

Amelia sat back, waiting.

Lena choked on her sobs, gasping for breath. "Victoria—she… she's the one who—who tells us what to do. She—she makes the others go further. She—she was the one who—who…"

Her voice trailed off into silence.

Amelia's eyes darkened. "Who what, Lena?"

Lena whimpered, shaking her head. "I can't—"

Another sharp squeeze to her injured wrist.

A strangled cry. "She told them to kill you!"

The night froze.

Amelia stared at her, unblinking.

Lena sobbed. "That night… she told them to go all the way. She—she wanted you dead. It was all her plan. Please, Amelia, you have to believe me!"

Amelia inhaled slowly. Her chest rose and fell in perfect rhythm, but inside, a storm raged.

Victoria.

It had always been her.

A slow smile stretched across Amelia's lips. "Thank you, Lena."

Lena's eyes widened with hope. "So… you'll let me go?"

Amelia stood, tilting her head. "Let you go?"

Lena nodded desperately.

Amelia stepped back into the shadows, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Run."

Lena didn't need to be told twice. She scrambled to her feet, clutching her broken wrist, and ran. Fast. Desperate. Like a rabbit fleeing the jaws of a wolf.

Amelia watched her disappear into the night.

Her first prey had been marked.

But she wasn't done yet.

This was only the beginning.