Chapter 3 Set the Place on Fire
1201 Words
Cornelia's mind was clouded, but the sharp pain from the wound on her forehead kept her from fully passing out.
She lay on the ground, helpless, as Mary tied her hands and feet. No resistance was left in her. 'Fooled again by someone I tried to trust. And she calls herself my biggest fan? She doesn't even know I don't drink soda. I should have suspected something. Why am I so unlucky?'
"Tell me, how did you hurt Tracy?" Mary pulled a small knife from the drawer, slashing open Cornelia's shirt and grazing the blade along her neck. A small trickle of blood oozed from the fresh cut.
Well, Cornelia was certainly awake now.
The sweet, harmless college girl Cornelia had first met was long gone. In her place stood someone entirely unhinged.
"Believe it or not, I just scratched her arm," Cornelia muttered weakly, though she knew this woman wouldn't believe a word.
In any case, here's what had transpired.
Cornelia had already been cast as the female lead in Director Wesker's new film. However, just a week before shooting began, she was told that the role had been given to her rival, Tracy Williams!
Coincidentally, both of them were scheduled to attend the same a red carpet event for a new film. This gave Cornelia an opportunity. She needed to defend the job she had worked so hard for, so she entered Tracy's dressing room with a bottle of champagne.
A small confrontation ensued, and Tracy's hand was cut by the shards of the smashed bottle. The incident was blown out of proportion by the media, with Tracy crying on camera, claiming she needed skin transplant to save her career. The police were also considering issuing a warrant for Cornelia's arrest.
She had acted impulsively. The media didn't want the truth; they wanted the sensational story of two female stars fighting.
At the thought of this, Cornelia ground her teeth in frustration—after all, it was Tracy who made the first move!
"You demon! She was hurt by you so badly she even needed skin grafts!"
Cornelia couldn't help but laugh. "Oh please, Tracy getting plastic surgery sounds more like it."
"You know, I never liked you. Ever since I saw Killer Queen, I hated how every man was head over heels for you. It was so unfair to Tracy's character!"
'Great, another one who let TV rot her brain.'
Cornelia's first major role was Killer Queen, and Tracy played the second lead. The show tanked, barely making it through one season before the network canceled it. But what about the rivalry that started on set between Cornelia and Tracy? That was only just the beginning.
"Just get it over with already. If you're going to kill me, stop wasting time." Cornelia sighed. Falling into the hands of Tracy's crazed fan wasn't a situation she expected to walk away from alive.
"Kill you? No, no." Mary yanked Cornelia up off the floor, her wounds tearing painfully. Cornelia winced, her face contorting in agony.
"I know you're wanted. Handing you over to the police would be too easy for you. No, I'm taking you to Lothyrium tomorrow, to Tracy's company. I'll give you to her personally! Every time I try to see her, the security guards kick me out. Those arrogant jerks! But Tracy doesn't care about me either... Why? I even dyed my hair the same red as hers," Mary rambled on, lost in her own world of despair and obsession.
Cornelia just wanted to scream. 'God, being handed over to Tracy would be worse than dying right here.'
"I hate your eyes. They're soulless, dead." Mary's grip on Cornelia's hair tightened, her expression growing crazed by the second. "Before I give you to her, I'll gouge out those empty eyes!"
"You crazy b***h!" Cornelia spat a mouthful of blood at Mary's face, putting every last ounce of strength she had into the act.
That did it. Furious, Mary grabbed a hockey stick from the bed and swung it brutally into Cornelia's back. Cornelia screamed, her body wracked with pain. Bound and defenseless, she could only endure Mary's onslaught.
Dazed and on the edge of consciousness, Cornelia suddenly thought of Blake. Ironically, she found herself missing the warmth of his fingers.
"If you're still in pain, bite down on my thumb as hard as you need to." His voice, smooth and tempting, echoed in her mind. 'The thought of agreeing to his proposal doesn't seem so bad now. But it is too late for that. The pain that lies ahead is a burden I must carry myself.'
Mary finally exhausted from beating Cornelia, panting heavily. After a brief rest, she opened a box, pulling out several candles. She lit them one by one, then two, three... until six surrounded Cornelia in a grim circle.
"Gouging out a demon's eyes, the ritual can't be skipped," Mary muttered nonsensically as she completed her twisted ritual. All six candles were set. She propped Cornelia up again, gripping her hair with one hand and the knife with the other.
"Soon, you won't see anything!" The knife tip approached Cornelia's eye, and instinctively, Cornelia shut them tight, but Mary pried one open, preparing to start with her left eye.
"Crazy woman!!!" Terror surged through Cornelia, and she slammed into Mary in a burst of adrenaline, sending her crashing into the table. Mary groaned and fell unconscious, her head hitting the corner hard.
Cornelia, still bound, rolled into the circle of candles. Some toppled over, setting nearby items on fire.
She wriggled her way to the knife that had been knocked out of Mary's hand. Gripping it tightly, despite cutting herself, she managed to see through the ropes binding her. Ignoring the pain, she slapped at the growing flames on her clothes.
'I didn't drown. I'm sure as hell not dying in a fire!'
With newfound determination, Cornelia grabbed the hockey stick and struck Mary with a vengeance, delivering blows five times harder than she had received.
Dozens of hits later, the stick was bent, and Mary lay unconscious on the floor. Only then did Cornelia stop.
The fire had spread rapidly, devouring the room. Limping and battered, dragging her wounded body, Cornelia made her way downstairs and out of the house just as the blaze became uncontrollable.
Surviving another ordeal, she collapsed 20 yards from the burning house, watching in silence as the flames engulfed it completely.
Night had fallen completely, save for the brilliant glow of Mary's house burning to the ground.
"Well, I was already wanted for assault. Now add arson and murder to the list. But... will anyone believe I was the one almost killed? Bloody hell, I didn't even start the fire!"
'How many years would this get me in state prison?' Cornelia felt hopeless from the string of events.
Despair crept in as she sat there, defeated. Then, as she stared blankly at the inferno, someone familiar appeared beside her, clapping slowly.
"That was quite the show! Exactly what I'd expect from the woman I've set my sights on."
Cornelia looked up, and it was Blake.
His sly smile gleamed in the firelight, his mischievous expression completely unmasked.
- Writer
