Simi slipped in and out of consciousness, her body still static and a dizzy spell attacking her eyes every time she tried to concentrate.
Each she slipped back to reality, the slither of hope that she held on to that all this was a dream reduced.

El really was killed by Julia and now she was being held hostage by her, who at that moment, was smiling too much at Simi.

"Please let me go," Simi pleaded, her voice frail.

Julia gave her a lopsided grin and traced the blunt side of the knife on Simi's back. The warmth that was normally in her eyes was absent and it made scared Simi even more.

This was Julia. The same Julia she'd had grown up together with Elder. Julia, her first friend she had told about her lady issues.
Simi'd had countless sleepovers with Julia and had spent endless nights talking about boys, sex and kissing. It was unreal that this same Julia had killed her brother and wanted to hurt her.

"I will Si. So you and Malachi can run off to the sunset," sarcasm dripped from Julia's voice.

"Why did you do it?"

Even as Simi spoke, a single tear fell down her cheek and she realized that she could move two of her right fingers.

"I know what you're thinking. That I'll tell you everything and somehow you'll manage to escape and tell everyone," Simi put the knife down and patted Simi's static back. "Well I have some bad news for you Si, I've planned everything out. You will die before you speak to Malachi. Sure he'll see you. But you'll still die."

"We loved you Jules,"

Anger flashed in Julia's eyes. "Loved me? How dare you? I was unemployed for two years after uni, always at home listening to my mother complain all day and my dad barely looking at me in the face. Was anyone there for me then?
I had first class Simi! But no one would hire me and my friends were all doing well. I was depressed and suicidal and nobody realized! It was Dr. de Heer who helped me. She gave me a job distributing Chill and it paid well too. I hated doing it at first but did my parents care? Did Elder care? No one bothered to ask me how I was getting money."

Julia stood up and began pacing in the room. There was fury on her face and Simi knew if she played her cards right, Julia would spill everything.

"You could have talked to me Jules, we were always close," her voice was becoming clearer and Julia was so angry she didn't realize that the effect of Chill was wearing off.

"Don't annoy me Si," Julia flashed Simi an angry look. "You were always busy when I called you and it was your first year. How dumb did you think I was?"

"I'm sorry Jules."

"Of course you are. Only because of now. Everyone forgot about me except de Heer. She listened to me, gave me a job and made one of the big players.
Then Elder came to me with a plan of exposing de Heer with some photos he had just to get money for you."

"Me?" Simi squeaked.

"He overheard you talking about your money issues and came to his precious sister for advice. He wanted to blackmail a certain female lecturer, get the money and still expose her to the world. Of course I knew it was de Heer. The sheer hypocrisy of it all. I advised him not to but he didn't listen to me."

"It was Dr. de Heer El was trying to blackmail? Not Dr. Forson?"

"Of course. Forson is an idiot. De Heer runs everything. She's head of the Chill Network and I'm- oops," Julia paused and continued, "I was her second in command."

She paused and asked Simi, "Do you think he would have listened to me if he knew I was part of de Heer's crew?"

Simi saw that her friend's hands were shaking. "You didn't mean to kill El, did you?"

Immediately she asked Julia, Julia walked towards her and placed the knife at Simi's neck. Simi's eyes widened and she began to hyperventilate. Just as fast, Julia walked away from her and began pacing again.

"I wouldn't have killed him but he told me about his photobook and I knew he had to go. The boy had too much on us, on too many people in the school. He would ruin our lives."

"The boy? He was your brother Julia. You're a monster." Simi spat out.

Julia stopped and looked at Simi. "Someone's getting bold. The Chill is wearing off right? Don't worry, you'll be gone soon anyway."

Simi's heart skipped a beat and began to beat faster. "What do you mean?"

"You'll know," Julia smiled and continued, "After Elder came to me, I went to de Heer and told her we had to take Elder out. She agreed and set up the meet that night. Elder didn't see it coming and oh my God, the adrenaline I had that night."

Julia stopped talking and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath as if taking everything in and smiled. She opened her eyes again and Simi wondered what happened to her friend.
De Heer. De Heer happened to her, she heard Elder's voice in her head.

"After that, De Heer thought everything was settled but I knew wiser. Elder wouldn't go without making sure the photobook was released if anything happened to him. And the only person he trusted enough was Malachi. So a little nudging and I knew he would lead me to it."

"That's why you talked to us that day of El's memorial right?"
More pieces were coming together for Simi.

Julia nodded. "I knew Malachi would get it and when he did, it was so damn difficult getting it from you guys. His place was always locked and I went through your room once. That was how I became friends with Bahija."

Simi remembered arguing with her now deceased roommate about who had gone through Bahija's stuff. Bajiha had blamed her but they later they patched things up.

"Who killed Bahija?" Simi asked her.

Julia opened her arms and gave a wicked grin. "It was me of course. You guys were becoming annoying. I just wanted the photobook, jeez. It was easy, going to your room again when you weren't around with a fruit juice laced with Chill. The dosage was so high she died almost immediately after I left. I got two of my boys to get her body where it was found."

The ease at which Julia talked about what she did frightened Simi more and more. Her friend was truly gone and there was nothing she could do about it.
"Why Julia?"

Simi could turn her right hand now and slowly she moved it towards Julia's phone lying on the table near the couch. She would have made it but Julia caught her.

"You bitch!" she shouted and jumped on Simi.

Simi, with her only moving hand, tried to get Julia off her but felt a sharp pain in her other hand. Julia had slashed it and she was bleeding.

"You cut me you bitch!"

Julia moved off her like a graceful cat and said, "Calm down it was just a light gash. You listen to me till I'm done talking."
She pointed the knife at Simi as she wiped the blood off her hurt hand.

"It's okay Jules. I've heard enough," Simi's eyes were wet. "You killed El and Bahija. What do you want now?"

"We're getting to the interesting part," Julia smiled and continued, "I saw you with Peter a few times and I knew it wasn't a coincidence. Either you or Malachi knew about Peter in Chill. So I leaked the hierarchy table and -,"

"Julia, please stop talking," Simi heaved but Julia didn't pay attention to her.

"Ta-da! When either you or Malachi forced Peter to get the List for you, guessed who had left a tweaked version of it in de Heer's office? My name wasn't part so that when you guys released it, no one would know I was part."

"And you did. Why do you want to hurt me and Kai?"

"Because you still know too much. I may have sold de Heer and everyone out to the NSA but I still have to cover my tracks someway. So that there wouldn't be any proof linking me to El and Bahija's death."

"Well guess what? Malachi has the photobook and people will find out."

Julia smiled again at Simi. It was irritating to Simi every time she smiled. A smile was supposed to be something positive and Julia was everything but that.

"From here, I'm going to Malachi's hostel. The manager would let El's sister in his room for his stuff right?"

"You claim de Heer saved you yet you still sold her out. You're a monster Julia," Simi spat out.

Julia did a mock bow and clapped for herself. She pointed the knife at Simi again and ordered her to stand.
With wobbly feet and a feeling that the end was near for her, Simi stood up and faced Julia.

They looked at each other eyeball to eyeball and the pain that filled Simi's heart was too much for her. They'd trusted Julia and she would be the end of them all.

There was a loud banging on the front door and it flew open suddenly and one would have thought Julia would be alarmed. Instead the smile on her face grew larger and she waited for Malachi to enter the living room.

Julia ordered Simi to turn her back to her and with one hand on Simi's shoulder, she placed the knife in her other hand across Simi's neck.

Malachi entered the living room in anger to see a tearful Simi, with blood on her left hand, facing him with Julia behind her, holding a long thin knife on her neck. The smell of gasoline in the house was so strong but he didn't have the luxury of thinking about that.

He paused and raised both hands to Julia and Simi. "Julia, please let the knife go. Please."

Julia shrugged and let the knife fall to the ground. There was a look of surprise on Malachi's face because he didn't think it wouldn't be that easy.

In that split second Julia dropped the knife, Simi took two steps forward in a run towards Malachi. She didn't get anywhere as Julia held Simi's hand, pulled Simi back to her and with both hands, snapped Simi's neck.

A loud crack sound resonated through the room and Simi fell down in a crumpled heap. Julia grinned at Malachi. "Ha! Fooled you."