Vicious (20 page)

“What are you
doing
?” Mrs. DiLaurentis screamed at her daughter. “Go back inside!”

“Oh, because you have this covered?” Ali howled, tightening her grip on Emily's arms. And now her voice sounded utterly familiar, that beautiful and horrible voice Emily would never forget. “You told me you had this under control. But I
saw
you. You were about to tell her everything!”

Mrs. D rushed over and tried to pry Ali off Emily, but Ali shoved her away, sending her careening into the wrought-iron table. Mrs. D recovered quickly and gave Ali a plaintive, desperate look. “Just go inside, okay?
Please.
She said she called the police. Just go to that place we talked about. It's safe.”

But Ali didn't seem to hear her mom. She yanked Emily closer until her mouth was against Emily's ear. “You made a big, big mistake looking for me, bitch. And now you're going to pay.”

Mrs. D trembled on the other side of the patio. “Alison,
stop
,” she said sternly. “
Go inside.
”

Ali pointed at her mother. “This is your fault, you know. You should have prevented this. I
trusted
you.”

Mrs. D slapped her arms to her sides. “If you just go to that place we talked about, this will be fine!” She pointed at Emily. “I've got her covered. She's a
murderer.
Everyone is looking for her. The police will take her away.”

“Or we could just get rid of her now,” Ali said, turning on Emily. At the same time, Emily yanked away from Ali with a quick spin, shot out her hand, and knocked the gun away. It clattered along the patio, coming to a stop by a large stone birdbath.

“You bitch!” Ali lurched for the weapon, but Emily tackled her and pushed her to the ground. She climbed on top of her, wrapping her legs around Ali's thickened torso. Her breath heaved. Ali wriggled under Emily's weight, her chubby face wincing, her teeth gnashing.

Ali spit in Emily's face. “What are you going to do to me?”

“I could kill you,” Emily whispered.

Ali snickered. “Yeah,
right.
You don't have it in you.”

“I don't?” Emily bellowed in a voice entirely not her own. She reached out and clenched her hands around Ali's neck. Ali's eyes bulged. Emily could feel the muscles and tendons at Ali's throat, and she willed herself to squeeze and squeeze and squeeze. “I
don't
?” she repeated. Dimly, she realized that Mrs. D was screaming.

The furious smirk on Ali's face turned to something more fearful. Emily relished the terror in Ali's eyes—for once, she understood what they'd been through all these years. All she wanted was to get rid of this girl once and for all. All she wanted was for Ali to
pay.

But then she realized: It wouldn't solve anything. And she really
would
be Ali's murderer. No better than Ali was.

She pulled her hands away. Ali turned her head and coughed violently. Emily leaned down, close to her ear. “No. You don't deserve to die. I'm going to make you rot in jail for the rest of your life.”

“Not if I have anything to do with it.”

There was the sound of a short, sharp
click.
Emily whirled around. Mrs. D stood behind them, holding the gun. “Put your hands up,” she whispered.

Emily leapt off Ali. Ali rolled onto her side, still groaning and coughing and clutching her throat.

Mrs. D's hands might have been unsteady, but she was composed enough to release the gun's safety. Her jaw was tight. Cords stood out from her neck. “Don't touch my daughter,” she whispered.

Emily nodded weakly. She glanced back and forth for something to battle Mrs. D with, but there was nothing nearby. She was trapped. Mrs. D had her.

“I'm sorry,” she heard herself say. So this was it. She really
was
going to die. No one would ever know she'd searched valiantly for Ali. And Ali would get away . . .
again.

A sound rose up from down the street. Emily perked up her ears. It was a siren—so the 911 dispatcher
had
heard her. “Back here!” Emily dared to scream. “Help!”

After that, everything happened so quickly: She heard the sounds of footsteps and the
clang
of the gate. The officers exploded onto the patio, and Mrs. D dropped the gun. The cops ran and picked it up, and then there was more shouting and confusion. “What's going on here?” the cops bellowed. “Everyone, hands where we can see them!”

“This girl was trying to break into my home!” Mrs. D pointed at Emily. “She's Emily Fields, the girl who's supposed to be dead! She's a murderer!”

The cops turned and stared at Emily. The tall one grabbed her wrist. The dark-haired one reached for his walkie-talkie. “Wait!” Emily cried. “The girl I supposedly murdered? She's here!”

She gestured to where Ali had fallen—and gasped. Ali was gone.

There was a tinny, clanking sound at the edge of the property. Emily turned and caught sight of a shadowy figure scaling the chain-link fence. Ali was halfway up by now. “It's Alison DiLaurentis!” Emily screamed to the cops, who were next to her. “You know who she is, right?”

The tall cop, who was still holding Emily's wrist, glared at her. “Isn't she dead?”

The other cop shouted up the fence. “Hey, you! Come back down.
Now
.” But Ali kept climbing. The short cop climbed up the fence after her. Ali let out a wail and scurried as quickly as she could, but her excess weight slowed her down. The cop caught her by the ankle and dragged her back. Ali's legs kicked, and her fists flew. “Don't touch me!” she screeched. “You're hurting me! You can't do this!”

“Stop struggling,” the cop said, shoving Ali to the dirt. Her hair fell in her face. Her too-small T-shirt pulled unattractively across her stomach. But as she twisted around to spit in the cop's face, he looked at his partner, recognition dawning. The second cop leaned down and stared into Ali's face, which was pushed against the grass. Now it was his turn to look baffled . . . and maybe a little bit frightened. He pulled out his walkie-talkie. “I'm going to need backup. Will you send two more black-and-whites to 8901 Hyacinth Drive?”

Mrs. D touched the cops' arms. “Don't believe a word that girl says,” she warned, her eyes on Emily. “She's insane. My daughter's name is Tiffany Day, not Alison DiLaurentis.”

“Yeah?” Emily felt heat in her face. “Do you have ID?”

Ali twisted around and looked at her mother. “Get my ID, Mom.”

Mrs. D stood very still. The corners of her mouth turned down. “S-she doesn't have ID.”

Ali's eyebrows shot up. “Of course I do.”

Mrs. D averted her eyes. “I didn't get it yet,” she whispered to her daughter. “There wasn't enough time.”

Ali just stared. There was a look of horror on her face.

The dark-haired cop reached for a pair of handcuffs and clapped them around Ali's wrists. “Let's all go down to the station so we can talk. You, too, Mrs. . . .” He looked searchingly at Ali's mom, then shrugged and clapped cuffs around her wrists, too.

Mrs. D looked stunned. “
We're
not the ones you want.” She nodded her head toward Emily. “It's
her.
”

“Oh, we're bringing her, too,” the dark-haired cop murmured. “We'll get all this sorted out.”

It took all of the first cop's strength to restrain Ali enough to get her into the squad car, and Mrs. D howled the whole way to the curb. Emily, however, walked calmly and patiently. She could feel a big smile spreading across her face. Sure, the cops would bring her in and ask her questions. But she knew she wouldn't be in trouble. Once they realized who Ali was—once they realized everything—she wouldn't be in trouble at all.

A second police cruiser had pulled up, and two officers loaded Mrs. D and Ali into the backseat. Just as Ali was about to climb inside, she twisted around and gave Emily a damning look. Her features were small and tight. She was so angry that her jaw was shaking.

“This isn't over,” she hissed at Emily, little droplets of spit flying from her mouth. “We're not even
close
to being done.”

But Emily knew they were. She knew, finally, she'd won.

Present, Monday,

Rosewood, Pennsylvania

“
Emily?
” Hanna gaped at the girl at the front of the courtroom. It was the most incredible thing she'd ever seen. There was Emily, whole, undamaged, bright-eyed, almost
excited
looking at the front of the courtroom. Not pulled out of the water, dead. Not huddled in a corner, crazy.
Alive.
Smiling.

Hanna tore down the aisle to her friend. Emily stretched her arms out and gave her a huge hug. It felt so good to breathe in Emily's lemony smell and look into her eyes. Hanna didn't even realize she was crying until she tried to speak and her words came out all blubbery. “I can't believe it,” she said. “You're . . .
here
. Really here!”

“I'm here,” Emily answered, tearing up, too. “I'm just sorry I'm late. You had to go to prison. I didn't mean for that to happen.”

Hanna waved her hand. “You're alive,” she whispered. “That's all that matters.”

The others had approached and flocked around Emily, too. “How is this possible?” Spencer asked.

“How did you survive that storm?” Aria cried.

“Where have you
been
?” Hanna asked. She wondered, too, why Emily was back here. Had she survived only to turn herself in?

But Emily was looking back at the doors through which they'd all just come. Hanna swiveled around, too, and so did everyone else in the courtroom—which was mostly empty except for the judge, the lawyers, and some official-looking note-taking people. The double doors had opened, and someone new had just been escorted through. Hanna's jaw dropped.

“
Ali?
” she whispered.

At least she
thought
it was Ali. The girl's hair was stringy and brown. Layers of fat concealed her fine-boned face and made her blue eyes look all squishy and piggish. The black T-shirt she was wearing didn't remotely fit across her stomach or her boobs. A single thought bubbled to the surface of Hanna's mind: If this girl had been at Rosewood Day, and if the old Ali were still around, she would have ruthlessly made fun of her. Ali had become her own worst nightmare.

The rest of the courtroom exploded into whispers as a guard led Ali to the front of the court. Ali shuffled despondently. Hanna's heart was pounding so hard. Their almost-killer, the mastermind who'd gotten them sentenced to life in prison, was standing just feet away. Part of her wanted to break free from the others and pummel Ali to the ground. Another part wanted to run far away as fast as she could.

She wheeled around and stared at Emily. All at once, she understood why Emily was here. It wasn't a coincidence that both Emily and Ali were in the courthouse at the same time. Somehow, Emily had survived her death and . . .
found
Ali, wherever she'd been hiding.

She gawked at her friend. “I don't believe it.”

“Where
was
she?” Aria asked at the same time, her eyes wide.

Emily gave them a patient smile. “I'll tell you the whole story soon,” she whispered.

They all turned back to Ali, who was standing at the judge's bench, her head down. The judge looked from Ali to the girls. “It seems we have another surprise witness,” he said wryly. “The murdered girl, arisen from the dead.”

Ali's head snapped up. “They
did
try to kill me,” she suddenly blurted. “You don't understand. They did everything I said in my journal. They tied me up. They hurt me. Everything I told you is true.”

“Yeah, right,” Spencer shouted.

Ali sneered at them, her face twisted and terrible. “They're horrible bitches,” she told the judge. “They deserve to go to jail.”

The judge stared at her evenly. “Watch what you say, Miss DiLaurentis. Everything that comes out of your mouth can and will be used against you—in your trial.”

Ali's eyes widened. She opened her mouth to speak, but a man in a pin-striped suit who'd joined her at the bench, presumably her lawyer, placed a hand on her arm to silence her. Ali wilted, letting out a small, weak whimper.

Hanna felt a triumphant flurry in her chest. In every situation, Ali had gotten the better of them. Until now. It was the best feeling in the world. The judge then turned to them and gave the news that Hanna thought she'd never hear: All four of them were cleared of their murder charges, since the victim was
still alive
. “Not just
alive
, either, but she faked her own death and has been on the lam, evaded the law, tried to escape, and threatened Miss Fields here with a gun,” the judge added, glancing in Emily's direction.

Hanna gawked at Emily. “She tried to shoot you?”

Emily shrugged. “Her mom did, too.”

Spencer's mouth dropped open. So did Hanna's. She was too dumbstruck to ask questions.

The judge cleared his throat. “Now, there are some charges we will need to clear up with you girls. Miss Fields, you put a lot of people through a lot of strife, thinking you were dead. Not to mention you deliberately broke your court-ordered mandate to stay in the state of Pennsylvania and took off for Florida. But I suppose we'll let those charges rest, considering the ordeal you've been through.”

Emily let out a huge sigh. “
Thank
you,” she gushed. Hanna squeezed her hand.

“And Miss Montgomery.” The judge flipped a page on his desk. “You fled the country, which is a bigger offense. But I think we can negotiate community service in lieu of prison time.”

Aria's eyes brightened and she clapped a gleeful hand over her mouth.

The judge flipped more pages. “As for everything else with you girls, you've been cleared. You're free to go.”

Spencer looked down at her prison uniform. “We can take this off?”

The judge nodded. He motioned toward a guard in the corner. The man strode over to the girls and began removing their ankle shackles one by one. The weights fell to the ground with a satisfying clunk.

Hanna took a moment to relish what was happening. She wasn't going back to prison! She wouldn't have to shower in plain sight or starve for fear of the disgusting food or sleep next to a murderer. She'd get to be with Mike again. She'd get to do
everything
again!

Hanna stared at Emily. “You actually did it. You found her. You got us all free!”

Emily grinned, still seeming a bit stunned herself. “It's crazy, isn't it? The whole time I wasn't sure if I could actually do it. But you guys were what kept me going. I thought of you the whole time—and that's why I did what I did.”

They moved together into another group hug, everyone crying a little. Then Aria pulled back, sniffing, crying tears of joy. “You know, Em, we thought you were suicidal. We were so worried.”

Emily nodded. “I
was
struggling a lot, ever since what Ali did to Jordan. And I know I took a huge risk going after her—it probably
was
crazy. I had no idea if I would actually find her.” She slung one arm around Hanna's shoulders and another around Spencer's. “I'm just sorry that I had to leave you guys the way that I did. I felt terrible that I wasn't there during the trial. It looked awful.”

“It was,” Spencer said. But then she shrugged. “I get it. What you were doing was far more important. We'll never be able to repay you.”

“You never have to,” Emily said quickly. “You would have done the same for me.”

Hanna turned to the judge. He was flipping another page, his gaze on Alison. “As for you,” he said, the courtroom falling silent again. “You're a flight risk, you're a menace to society, you faked your own death, and you're unsafe on your own, so you will await your trial in prison.” He banged his gavel. “Take her away.”

Two guards appeared at Ali's sides and grabbed her arms. Ali let out a little grunt but let her limbs go limp. As they dragged her down the aisle, she glared at Hanna and the others. A shiver ran up Hanna's spine as their eyes met.

Neither of them blinked. Ali stared at Hanna and the others with disdain and a seething fury. It was a look Hanna had never quite seen from her before, probably because Ali had always been the one in control. This look said,
I can't believe this is happening to me.
Ali wasn't used to being on the losing end. The last time she'd lost,
really
lost, was after Courtney switched places with her, sending her to The Preserve.

And just like that, everyone in the courtroom was rising and filing out. No guards rushed up to Hanna and the others to escort them away. Slowly, the girls turned and walked out on their own. Through the doorway, Hanna caught sight of her mom and Mike waiting in the lobby. She squealed.

“Is this a dream?” she asked her friends, her grin stretched wide.

“Maybe,” Spencer said, looking just as dazed. Then she reached out and took Hanna's hand, breaking out into a smile. Hanna reached for Emily on her other side, and Em reached for Aria.

Hand-in-hand, the four girls walked into the lobby together. Reporters pounced on them immediately with questions, microphones thrust in their faces. “What did you think when you saw Alison today?” one yelled. “Do you think she'll get the death penalty?” “Emily, how did you find her?” “What are your thoughts on this whole ordeal?”

For some reason, Hanna felt compelled to answer that last one. She leaned toward the reporter and took a deep breath. “What are my thoughts on this whole ordeal?” she repeated, pausing to contemplate. And then she thought of the perfect answer. “Ali didn't manage to kill us,” she said. “She only made us stronger.”