Dead On Arrival~ Season 2- Episode 27: The Wolf In Sheep's Clothing (Part 3)

Episode 27: The Wolf In Sheep's Clothing (Part 3)

"Aaron. Aaron. Speak to me. Please."

I rubbed his shoulder, but he sat there in a daze. I shook him, but he remained silent. I then whispered in his ear. "Stay here. I'm going to get help."

I quickly ran out of the room and found myself in the hallway. Not a soul in sight. There was an eerie quietness that I wasn't used to hearing in the mornings in the hall. Jones's music was no longer playing and not a single person was around when they would be at least someone. My breath quickened and I felt on the verge of panic. Then I heard a door open beside me and there Nathan stood in the doorway of the bathroom. He wiped his face with a towel and threw it over his bare shoulder. He then spotted me and a big grin spread across his face.

"Sup Audrey!" he beamed and then his smile faded into an expression of concern as he studied my face. "You ok?"

"A...Aaron! It's... it's Aaron," I stuttered. "Gemma..."

He looked around and placed his hands on my shoulders. "Gemma? Did she do something? What happen?"

"She threatened Aaron and did something to him. I..I don't know."

"Where is he?"

"In his room."

"Ok. And you're ok, right? Did she hurt you?"

"No, but she knows I saw her and she's already threatened to kill me."

He nodded. "Ok. Just calm down. I'll check on Aaron and then we'll let DJ and the others know what she did. She's not going to get away with it. It's going to be ok."

He hurried over to Aaron's room and pushed the door open. The doctor remained the same looking paralyzed with fear. His eyes flickered at the sight of Nathan, but he remained sitting there in a daze.

"Aaron. Aaron. You ok? What she do to you?" Nathan said lowering himself to his eye level. "You can tell me."

"I...I can't," the doctor mumbled.

"Come on. It's ok. You're safe. It's going to be alright."

The doctor shook his head. "No, it won't. No."

Nathan rubbed his shoulder with sadness in his eyes. We waited several minutes hoping the doctor would say more, but he sat there quietly avoiding our eye contact.

"Is it anything I can do?" I whispered.

"No. He appears to be in shock," he frowned. "I'm sure whatever Gemma said or did must have really shaken him."

As we exchanged concerned looks, we heard a knock on the door. We looked back to see DJ staring back at us. His cool composure replaced with intensity and seriousness. He trained his eyes on me.

"Audrey, can you come here for a minute? I need you downstairs."

"Just the guy we need. Do you see what she did?" Nathan complained as he gestured to the doctor. "She did this."

"Yeah. I heard. When Aaron is up to it, he can speak his piece too. For now, come on Audrey."

I immediately thought this is it. I figured DJ must know and Jones knows too. Everyone must know by now. Maybe she confessed? Maybe someone heard her? Lin was just next door. Maybe she heard? I don't know, but this was it. I would tell them what I witnessed. What she said and that would be enough to nail her. Then Aaron would later provide the proof needed to show how much of a threat she was. Then she would be gone. This would be finally it. If only Vince was here.

"Have you seen Vince?"

"Yeah. This morning. He said he had something to do and he'll be back. I tried to stop him, but he was really determined. Maybe it's good I didn't stop him considering what happened."

"Did he leave me?" I thought instantly. He had stayed put all this time in the house. Why now? Was it because of the fight we had? Would he really leave me over that? No. I was being stupid. Was I?

I persisted. "So did he say where he was going?"

"No. He just said he needed to do something and he'll be back."

""Oh. Alright, I guess,” I mumbled. “So did she confess? Is that how you know?"

"Huh?" he said sounding genuinely confused. "Gemma? Yeah, she told us what happened if that's what you're asking."

"Really? I bet she cried her eyes out again. Did she?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't she?"

"Yeah, it's her go-to move when she wants sympathy."

He scowled. "There's no need to gloat. You've done enough."

"Woah? What?"

He sighed. "I just can't believe you..."

"Huh?"

"I told you I was going to tell them about what happened in the garden and I did. About Ace. About Grace. All you needed to do was let me handle it," he grumbled. "But no, you just had to do it your way. Even after everything I said."

I stared at his back completely dumbfounded as we reached the end of the hall. I was utterly lost as to what he was even talking about. He seemed so angry. Not at Gemma, but at me. He stopped at the steps and held out his hand. "Give me the sword."

"No. What is your problem?"

"Ok. Play dumb if want, but this isn't helping anything. I'm still going to have to take it from you. You broke the rules."

He turned his back on me and went down the stairs. I followed him feeling dread now. The hopefulness and elation I felt fading as I tried to decipher what was happening here. I followed him into the kitchen and I was met by various troubled faces. Omar and Tao sat at the table peering back at me with looks of disappointment. Madison leaned on the wall beside the doorway looking stressed. While Jones stood by looking furious with his hands on his hips. Then I noticed Wade standing by Gemma. He appeared to be comforting her as she held onto her arm. Then Gemma herself looked up at me with tears in her eyes.

"You did this!" she cried. She held up her arm and a long cut on her wrist could be seen. It looked as if it had been sliced open. Blood drip from the wound and ran down her arm. Her piercing blue eyes stared back. Wade shushed her and applied a cloth to her wound. She then sniffled. "It hurts so much..."

"What the hell? What's going on here?"

Madison bit her lip and answered. "Well, Gemma here said she went up to Aaron's room to see him and she found you there sleeping on the couch. Said you woke up and started yelling at her. She tried to reason with you and make amends, but you went berserk and threatened to kill her. Then you sliced her arm open."

"I did what? I didn't do that. I didn't do any of that. It's her. She threatened me. She even threatened Aaron. He's upstairs right now with Nathan, petrified of her!"

"She said you would say that."

"What?!"

DJ groaned. "She said Aaron tried to stop you from hurting her even more and you told him to stay out of it. Then you pushed him to the floor. That's when she ran out to get help."

"Oh, God. You're kidding, right? This is just a joke right?" I laughed. It was the only thing keeping me from crying, but they stared back at me unmoved. I continued. "Well, how about Aaron's scalpel? She held it to his throat while she was threatening him. She probably still has it on her somewhere. I bet she cut herself with it just so she can make up her lame story."

Wade scoffed. "Girlie, are you trying to say she cut herself open like this?"

"Yes, because she's a fucking psychopath!" I roared. "I didn't do it. In fact, she threatened to cut my throat from ear to ear!"

"I did no such thing!" she cried.

"Enough," Jones snapped. "It's obvious there are two very different stories being told here. I would like to hear from both of you in private and Aaron as well, but for now, we must do something. DJ. Would you please?"

"Yeah, Gramps," he sighed. He came closer to me and held out his hand again. "Audrey. The sword. Give it here now."

"No. Are you fucking crazy?!"

"Audrey. I don't want to do this, but I can't have you walking around the house posing a threat," he said. "I'm not going to keep it. You'll have it back soon enough."

"No!"

"Audrey!"

"Fuck off!" I yelled. I pointed it at him and he backed away. I felt my eyes swell with tears. I was losing control. I felt like an angry animal backed into a corner. "I'm not giving you shit! Nothing!"

"Audrey please!"

"You don't have to take her sword,"  Gemma intruded sounding sickly sweet. "She obviously loves it and she may need it. I wouldn't want to render her defenseless just because of me."

"Shut the fuck up!" I screamed.

"Audrey!" Jones shouted. "I think it's quite commendable she would think of you and your safety even after what you...er, what happened."

"I said I didn't do anything you decrep-"

"What the fuck is going on here?" I then heard a voice say. Vince entered the room from the front door entrance. Despite his dirty and disheveled appearance, he was a sight for sore eyes. He stood at the doorway looking from one to the other at first. Then he came closer. "What the fuck is going on?"

"They're trying to take my sword. They said I threatened Gemma!" I cried running into his arms. "I didn't do anything. I didn't do it!"

"Ok. Ok. Calm down," he said softly. "DJ, what the hell?!"

"I'm sorry, Vince. Gramps was against her having a sword in the house in the first place, but we can't ignore it any longer. Not when someone is claiming she used it to hurt them."

"And that person would be Gemma?"

"Correct."

He looked over at Gemma and scowled. Gemma held out her arm again as if looking for sympathy from him, but he rolled his eyes in contempt. He shook his head. "That bitch is lying!"

Jones gasped. "Vince!"

"Don't you see? She lies about everything and Audrey wouldn't do that. It's total bullshit."

Gemma began sobbing again. She buried her face in Wade's shoulder. Jones, on the other hand, looked taken aback by Vince's bluntness. If I wasn't so angry and upset, I might have laughed. The scene was somewhat comical. Madison cracked a small smile as she watched.

"Fine, but I still need to take her sword."

"Then what about Gemma? What you're going to do to her in the likely event she's lying?"

"We're going tie her up."

"What?" Gemma croaked. Her head rose up immediately and she wiped tears from her eyes. "Tied up?"

At this instant, Madison bust out laughing. Jones shot her a look and she quieted down, but she remained watching with an amused expression on her face.

"Well, what if we said no about the sword thing then?"

"Then you and her can leave with her sword," the old man snarled sounding increasingly annoyed. His cheerful and calm composure disintegrating before our eyes.

"Ok, then we'll leave."

"Wait. What?!" I gasped looking up into Vince's eyes. "But..."

He sighed. "It's up to you."

I looked down at my katana and then around the room. These people had took me in. Befriended me. Cared for me. I glanced over at Madison. She looked sad as she watched to hear my decision. Who would think we would be friends after how we met. Who would think I would have grown to care about any of them. I even found a sense of normalcy with all of them strangely enough. Sharing meals, doing chores, the simple stuff. I  had even grown to love the weirdness of this group and how different we were from each other. Sometimes it felt like we were a family. If I left now, what would happen to them? Would I ever see them again? I couldn't leave. Not now. I couldn't live with myself if something happened to them. If the Vultures got to them. I had to finish this fight.

"No. I'm staying," I said. I looked down at my katana one last time and smiled. It had saved me too many times. So many memories attached to it. Good and bad. To think my first kill was its owner and my friend. From that moment, I knew I would wield it in her honor. I handed it to DJ. He looked stunned.

"I'm not going anywhere," I said angrily. I cut my eye at Vince and pushed past him. I paused for a moment taking in my decision, but then I found myself running towards the front door. I didn't look back. I was still furious, but also emotional. I wiped a tear as closed the door behind me.

Onto to the next episode. No more parts to this. xD There’s a reason why Vince is so dirty tho. ;)