And then there were 10 (LYNCH HIT)

They had returned down to the lobby after the explosion upstairs. Poor Mr. Green had become completely frazzled after experiencing something but he huddled at the edge of the group, his eyes large and glazed. There were 10 of them now and were in the 7th hour of their event.

Danielle was petite with a slender frame, but with enough hips to grip. Clear blue eyes that had seen more than anyone in the bank had or ever will see. Her job involved more than fetching coffee or taking notes. Looking out the windows, the night called to her and she wondered if Arinn, her playboy boss, was missing her just then. Reaching up, she grabbed her bottom lip and then turned toward the back of the bank, toward the vault.

Guilt rose up in her. She had come to the bank to visit her father, but it was Alfarinn she thought of first. Why was that, she wondered? Danielle supposed he just had that affect on people. Tears welled up in her eyes as her sadness went out to her father, one of the security guards that lay dead in the vault. Mr. Green caught her eye just then and the empty fear had been replaced with sorrow as he nodded to her.

Danielle had stopped paying attention to the murmur of the remaining bank customers and that, unfortunately, was stupid.

She had been seeing the images that Victor Wes had told everyone about before someone blew a chunk of his neck out with his own gun. Danielle had been seeing them, not just one man like some of the others had mumbled to each other with frightened whispers. There were two of them; tall, dark and handsome and the other reminded her of blond Simon. She only heard one voice though – the blond Simon’s; he whispered to her, encouraging her to stay focus and watch for the clues that were hidden in the murders. Danielle tried, she really did, but in the end it turned out she was wrong.

Focusing her eyes, she saw the looks on the other survivors. It was her turn and she had been waiting for it for some time. Suddenly the taste of bitter copper was in her mouth and she realized that she had bitten her lip as she stood in quietly in the center of the group. It closed around her like a noose and choked the life out of her. This was her last chance, she thought.

‘Victor was right, but…wrong. I see them, too. I hear his voice,’ Danielle covered her ears with a grimace, ‘…just the one. I think, by now, we all know what’s happening. What this…event…really is. We were worried about surviving this but in the end, and this is the end, you’ll see we played into their hands. We’re toys. Those of you that heard his voice with me, you have no idea what you’re in for. Those of you that heard Him? I pity you the most. But I’m not going to give all my secrets away.

I'm no angel.’

Then Danielle closed her eyes.

In the end, they had been at least a little merciful. They laid her broken, pixie like body next to her father’s.