Oleander
Ollie was used to being unstable, herself, but this instability was different -- a warning. The end of the beginning. The beginning of the end. She had failed Mr. Fletcher, and she had failed everyone else, and it wasn’t even her fault. The men in suits led Mr. Fletcher away without ceremony. He didn’t resist. Instead he just looked at his apprentice with a sad smile and a slight nod. Mr. Fletcher didn’t deserve this, yet he wasn’t angry at all, and that just made it worse. “You tried,” he said simply as he and the suits walked past her, out the door. Ollie felt herself shake as she realized she would never see him again. She had known what to say. She had known how to get him out of this. But then the player had chosen wrong. Instead of giving herself up, doing the right thing, she had slipped back into silence and let the accusations stand. When the suits closed the door behind them, Ollie fell to the floor and began to cry. Game over. * Begin again?