Maria hurried down the streets, heading towards the trashy part of town.
She was looking for Ryan Verybadword's house.
Though she didn't know exactly where he lived, she was just following her instinct and going to the trashiest house in town.
There was one in the middle of the streets with half the front door missing and hobos crawling inside. Maria walked up to the door and rang the bell.
A couple minutes later, a boy around a year younger than Maria who was dressed in greasy rags answered. His hair dropped down to his waste and his face was nearly concealed in piercings and acne.
“Um... hi completely random stranger,” he grunted.
“Are you Ryan Verybadword?” Maria asked, taking a tiny step away from his stench.
“Yeah...”
Maria mentally prepared herself. This was it. The entire year led up to this.
“Don't ask any questions, PLEASE. There's almost no time left. Everything will make sense eventually. I just need to know ONE thing.” she paused. “Why did you break up with Sara?”
Ryan was visibly confused.
“How...?”
“PLEASE!” Maria said.
Ryan quickly glanced left and right down the roads, as though looking for eavesdroppers.
“Come inside,” he said, nodding to his house. Maria reluctantly entered. Ryan slammed the door shut.
The two were in a dimly lit hallway. Maria looked around cautiously.
“Why are you here?” Ryan demanded. “Who the heck are you, first of all?!”
“UGH! There's just no time!” Maria yelled.
Ryan stared at her unblinking.
“Fine,” Maria said. “I'm Sara's roommate at the Academy. And I'm here because I need to know why you broke up with Sara! Just answer, QUICKLY, so we can both get back to our lives.”
“Why do you need to know?” Ryan demanded.
“Like I said before, there's no time to explain!” Maria exclaimed impatiently. “But there's something really bad happening. REALLY bad. And important. And dangerous.”
“What does this have to do with me and Sara?” Ryan continued.
“OH MY GOD!” Maria screamed. “Just answer my question!!”
Ryan stared at her for a while, as though examining her.
“I don't know who you are,” he said, walking down the dimly lit hallway. Maria followed him, dodging a cockroach. “But it's obvious that you know who Katie Dibble is.”
“Katie Dibble?” Maria repeated. “What does she have to do with anything??”
“It was her!” Ryan said. “Katie appeared out of nowhere and forces me to break up with Sara. Or else... she would have killed her.”
Shock flashed in Maria's eyes.
“K... Katie?” she repeated.
“I've been terrified of her since then. She's not right in the head. She'd seriously kill someone, anyone, who got in her way. And Sara was the best thing that ever happened to me... wait.”
Ryan's voice was now filled with worry.
“Is she ok?”
He didn't need to say who he was talking about.
“As far as I know,” Maria lied.
“Please - “ Ryan began.
“Listen, I really have to go,” Maria quickly cut across him. She started heading back towards the door. “Thank you so much for - “
“Make sure she's ok,” Ryan said desperately.
Maria stopped walking and turned around. Her eyes locked with Ryan, if only for a brief moment.
“Ryan...,” Maria took a deep breath.
“I'm just not sure I can.”
She hurried back outside.
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