Hour 10

Liam lunged at Emi with lethal intent but she managed to duck under his clawing hand with a strenuous motion that made something in her back grind in pain. Before Liam could redouble his efforts against her, she grabbed Alex by the forearm and sprinted across the sales floor. As they darted down the cooking aisle, Alex Told her, "I think we need to split up!" Emi asked, "What?" Alex said assertively, "We won't get anywhere with Liam and a mob of people chasing us. If we split up at the end of this aisle, the others will follow me, and you can take Liam one-on-one." Emi replied, "I'm not leaving you," but Alex pleaded, "I'll be fine. As soon as you beat Liam, you can come help me." Emi said doubtfully, "You make it sound so easy." Alex remarked, undeterred, "I know you'll think of something." Emi looked back at him, and the face she saw wasn't the timid brother she was used to. His features were still young, but his expression was more man than boy. She realized at that moment, "Alex is growing up. He isn't the little boy I remember." A part of her was saddened by this revelation but a bigger part was proud. "I'll go right," Emi said, and Alex smiled. He replied, "You got this, Emi. Dad's watching over you."

Liam lived for the kill, but the older he got, the more fond he grew of the chase. When he was young he became enamored with death after he helped his father put down a sickly, injured mare on their farm. That night, he couldn't sleep; all he could think about was recreating the feelings he had felt when he had watched the mare take its last breath, its facial features relaxing for the final time. These thoughts infected his mind; he found it hard to focus unless he purged these feelings, resulting in him luring in stray animals to torture. This was his only recourse, he knew he couldn't kill more farm animals without raising suspicion. In high school, he interned at a vet hospital where he could help with euthanizations, but it didn't last long as he knew he wouldn't follow this line of work long-term; it was more of a fun diversion and a way to earn volunteer credits for graduation. He'd enroll in the local police academy at 21 and spend the next 2 years as an officer before being permanently fired for beating an inmate. At age 25, he found his calling in life; he found a way to make a living doing what he loved best. He became a hitman and never looked back. Now, at the age of 38, he had killed over 100 people and dedicated a small closet to what he called "souvenirs." These were items he'd take from victims he either found interesting or hard to kill. As Emi pivoted to her right at the end of the aisle, her blond hair danced beautifully in the energy of her stride, and Liam knew he wanted a lock of that hair, the elegant hair of the first woman to ever give him any kind of challenge for the kill. It would hang perfectly next the the service medal he had taken from her father. It felt right, it felt like fine art.

He followed her down the back of the store as the others followed Alex in the opposite direction. Even though he wore thick jeans and heavy steel-toe boots he was gaining on her; the enhanced speed he had bought for 15 hours was coming in handy. Emi rounded the corner to the alcohol aisle, and as Liam followed, he had just enough time, thanks to this speed, to step back and avoid a wine display that she toppled over. It crashed to the floor in a miraculous eruption of splintered glass and gushing wine that blew past the twisted display frame coating the floor in a rippling deep red. Liam thundered past the mess without hesitation, the heels of his boots crunching the shattered glass and his slanted treads stamping a trail of red in his wake. As Emi took the next left out of the alcohol aisle, Liam was only a couple of arm lengths away. "I'm going to make you scream!" he snarled with a euphoric passion. As he flew past the corner, she was gone. It took a few seconds for him to realize something wasn't right, he had been so locked into chasing his prey that his logical mind was lagging behind. His steps slowed as he understood something was wrong; it was physically impossible for her not to be somewhere in his sight. She hadn't gone down any of the next aisles, nor had she continued down the open length of the storefront. She was gone. He twisted his fingers viscously through his beard as he thought, "Where... How?" He took a few steps back and looked around. He thought, "Invisibility? That little..." Then he corrected himself, "No, she couldn't have. She only had just over 24 hours above her head when the game started and invisibility costs 30 hours." Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him and he whipped his body around with plenty of time to grab Emi by the neck. "Game over, little girl," he said between teeth latched together in a smile like a bear trap. Something wasn't right, though; she was smiling back with an almost infectious gleam. "Game over," she agreed. The IT title was displayed in unmistakable red letters above her head along with her remaining time 0:001:39:09. Liam, who had initiated contact by grabbing her neck, began to feel the strength leaving his body. Emi's smile remained as she flipped her phone around to show her purchase window, revealing she had bought "change location" for 20 hours which was how she had teleported behind the cash registers and out of his sight. She had then bought "instant calories" for 2 and a half hours, lowering her remaining time below his. Liam's dying words rasped, "Not... Bad..." And he fell to the floor in front of her. Emi realized she had been holding her breath, so the necessity for oxygen flared in her chest, and she began heaving. She took a moment to catch her breath and allow her heart rate to steady. She checked her phone to be certain she killed Liam and gained his hours and was happy to to see she now had 0:003:37:49. Now, she knew she had to find Alex. She had only taken a few steps when the impossible happened; Liam had put her in a chokehold from behind. As his arm crushed her airway, he laughed, "I had more than enough hours to buy a revive during our hour break after killing those guys at the end of truth or dare." He lamented, "Though, I never thought I'd have to waste it to kill you of all people." As her neck creaked under the strain of his arm, Emi thought, "he should've lost his boosts after he died... He must be this strong naturally!" She could feel her heartbeat in her head and her consciousness fading. She withdrew the pocket knife she had found in the outdoors section and began stabbing blindly behind her with all her might. The sudden pain was enough to make him loosen his grip slightly, and she used all the leverage she could muster, breaking his hold on her. She tried to run, but he kicked her feet out from under her, and as she tried to regain her balance, he kicked the knife out of her hand and grabbed her by the shirt. She produced a small bottle of wine that she had swiped from the display earlier and cracked him over the head with it. It didn't shatter like in the movies, it slammed into his skull like a baseball bat. He knocked it out of her hand with an angry grunt causing it to shatter uselessly next to them. He threw her to the floor, and the brutal impact on her head was enough to make her mind swim somewhere between conscious and unconscious. His figure loomed over her, fresh blood still spreading under his shirt where she had cut him, and she watched as he prepared his boot over her face. "I'm sorry, Alex," She thought. "I wasn't strong enough." As he dropped his boot, it lost the force behind it halfway through its stomp, missing her face by only a few centimeters. That foot now braced him as he clutched his head and a thin line of blood exited his left nostril, the blow he had taken from the wine bottle taking hold of him. Knowing this was her final chance, Emi forced herself to her feet and rammed into him with all her body weight, taking him to the floor with her. He began punching her relentlessly in the head and each strike was like no pain she had ever felt before. She noticed the pocket knife to her right and knew it was her only chance, she only had a few more head strikes left before she was done for. She made a mad break for the knife, but realizing her intention, Liam gathered all his strength and grabbed her by her hair, pulling her head back. Her hair had soaked up some of the spilled wine when she had fallen and it was now giving him extra traction for his grip. She gritted her teeth as she twisted her body to grab the finger he had broken in truth or dare and bent it all the way back. He roared in pain, and she broke free, leaving him with a handful of beautiful blonde hair. He grabbed her by her legs, his fingers digging deep into the flesh of her thighs, and dragged her back. As he violently turned her body around, she used the momentum to plunge the 4-inch knife into his neck right above his dagger tattoo, all the way up to its cheap metallic handle. In shock, he tried to grab at it to leave it in, but she summoned every last fiber of strength in her body, from the bottoms of her feet to the top of her head, and ripped it out. His neck blossomed into a blast of gore as blood began to be dispensed in meaty bursts that showered the floor mixing with the wine. As he fell to his knees, Emi screamed in a primal rage, "This is for dad!" And stabbed him again. And again.