After me ~ Pretty Little Liars Fanfic

twenty four

***

I wake up freezing cold. My back aches and my hair has dirt in it. I hear the silent buzz of the electric fence that surrounds me, keeping me prisoner as the weather above me worsens. Rain pours down on me as I attempt to take cover under Aria's flamboyant black 'prom' dress. I look to my left as Spencer lays next to me in a purple tartan gown, the memory of several nights ago suddenly drowning me.

For the last week and a half, Spencer and Mona have been building some sort of machine to cut off all the power to get out of here before he backup generators have a chance to kick in. Don't ask me how, but it actually worked. A hosted a sort of 'prom' on our behalf; 'Alison' being the guest of honour that is. We were forced to make decorations and so my brainbox of a sister came up with the plan. It all worked so well until we broke out of the thin metal doors to fresh air to find ourselves surrounded by a gajillion vault electric fence. We've been locked out here for 4 days now. Luckily it's been raining for 72 hours straight so no water wasn't exactly a problem. Although they say that you can make it 3 weeks without food, I'm seriously starting to doubt that. I'm thinking about eating my own hair at some point.

"Are we sure this thing is even on?" Hanna says, getting a little too close to the fence. She reaches out, getting an almighty shock from it, throwing her backwards towards the rest of the group.

"Hanna!" Mona exclaims. She sure didn't care about her this much when she ran her over with her car.

"I'm fine" Hanna assures us. "It's definitely on" She says with a slight laugh. That's what this place is doing to us- it's messing with our brains. Things that should be sad, are hilarious. Things that should be simple, are like trying to make a diamond out of a lump of carbon with the power of the force. Getting out of here shouldn't be this hard.

We sit around for another few hours. I've lost count of what day it is and how long we've been in here. I said this was a bad idea. I said A would retaliate but no. They never listen to me. I'm just 'Spencer's little sister'.

Emily fiddles around with her ripped-to-shreds long teal dress as Aria rakes a hand through her tangled hair. Hanna dabs the pads of her fingers at the ever-growing bags under her eyes and Spencer looks as if she's deep in thought, not to be spoken to. Mona manages to get the entwined tiara out of her hair, ripping a few strands out in the process as I click each of my fingers in turn. A nasty habit I picked up from Jason; before I knew he was my brother.

Suddenly, the door flings open and we all scramble to our feet. We cautiously but eagerly follow the lighted path to our designated rooms. I'm just relieved to be out of the rain for once. I hug Spencer before we go our separate ways; the girls to their side of the building and me to my separate dingy corridor. I start to wonder why A's separated me off to another part away from my friends but I don't get very far as the lighting on the floor signals for me to turn down an all too familiar corridor.

I walk apprehensively to the metal door. I look up to the camera above as it clicks open. I slide inside and wait for the lock to bolt into place behind me. I sit down at the table I front of a tray covered with a blue cloth. I lift it apprehensively to reveal a fresh meal, a glass of water and some more purple thread and a sharp, silver needle. I also spot a small flashlight and slide it into my sweatshirt pocket. I have no idea why A is giving me a flashlight but I'll take it anyway. I engulf the food as fast as possible before A can take it away from me and start to seal up my broken arm wound that eventually dried up. I place the thread lightly back on the table, sliding the needle into my skirt, entwining it in the fabrics. This could come in handy.

***

I lay awake in the middle of the night, a few weeks later from our nights in the cold, wet 'backyard'. I'm waiting for the generator to cut out so I can see Spencer. I don't know what it is but something tells me she needs me. I hear the generator start to cut out and the lights all darken within seconds. The little light on the surveillance camera dims until it goes completely out. I slide out of bed and make a mad dash for Spencer.

"Kenz?" I hear her voice as I approach what I think is her bedroom.

"Spence" I breathe a sigh of relief.

"Mona's missing. For real this time." Hanna tells me. We all grab hands so that we know where we're going. Suddenly A's gift dawns on me and I snatch my hand away from Aria's grip. I rummage around in my pocket for the flashlight- pulling it out and switching it on.

"What the-?" Spencer says as a beam of light slices through the darkness.

"Don't ask" I say. I pass it to her and she leads us to a room that I've been informed is called A's vault.

"I'm getting out of here. Once and for all." Spencer says determined. She drags us through a hole in a wall that she seems to know was already there.

"We've been here before. We found some videos of Jason and a little boy at Campbell Farm with Jessica DiLaurentis."

"What?" I exclaim. No one gives a reply so I just follow the group. We arrive in a room full of old videos and ancient pictures of a perfect family- a loving husband and wife, two young, inseparable boys and a small baby girl in the woman's arms. "The DiLaurentis family has another son?"

"Looks like it. Obviously we don't know much because we're trapped in here and A has a tendency to make us thing one thing that is completely wrong." Emily tells us. "I don't know why Ali wouldn't tell us this"

"Maybe she didn't know?" I say giving her the benefit of the doubt. She's not even here and yet she gets slammed by these girls.

Spencer begins to play a home movie from about 17 years ago. The two boys run around in some kind of yard as Mrs DiLaurentis tries to round them up to take a picture with their new baby sister. They all look so happy, so perfect.

A actually has a soul.

A has a family.