Tiffany whimpered in fear, and Camilla figured out exactly what her plan of action was going to be.
"Get out of here!" Amy ordered her in a raspy voice because she was being choked, but Tiffany hesitated.
She had every right to hesitate because next, Camilla swore, "If you make any move, she's dead."
Tiffany's body visibly tensed at the suspenseful situation. Amy struggled in her choked state, hoping to be released, but it was to no avail. Camilla drew the blade closer to Amy's throat, her eyes trained on Tiffany, threatening to prick her neck at any moment. Camilla slowly backed against the wall, forcing Amy to follow. With the wall acting as support behind her, she wrapped her legs around Amy's and tightened her grip around Amy's throat, securing her in place. The red hue all over Amy's face deepened.
Amused by Tiffany's petrified state, Camilla asked, "Would you switch spots with her?" Tiffany's face hardly changed, but it turned slightly into confusion. "If you could," Camilla expanded, "would you risk you own safety and, dare I say, trade your life with your best friend in this situation?"
Tiffany looked at her helpless friend with tearful eyes, fear visibly consuming her emotions. Amy's face was turning from red to purple. In another minute, Camilla knew she would probably faint. Tiffany nodded, though it was hardly noticeable. It was clear that she didn't want to be in the same position, but Amy was her best friend. In a way, she was obligated to make the sacrifice if she could.
Camilla smirked. "Hmm, interesting how long it took you to answer," she remarked. "Not like it matters, though. You couldn't help her if you wanted to. Unless you want to risk taking a step and being the reason she dies." Camilla shot Tiffany a challenging stare, but the sobbing girl only swiftly shook her head and held her mouth tighter in her hands as tears streamed down her face.
"Please..." Tiffany whimpered.
Camilla's head snapped to the side. "Please? Please, what? Speak up, for God's sake!"
Tiffany winced, but begged, "Please don't kill her."
"Oh, I'm not," Camilla cooed. "Don't worry, darling. It's hardly been a minute. She's just going to take a little nap." At this point, Amy's face was bright purple. She was quickly losing circulation, and her writhing was becoming desperate.
A few seconds later, Amy's body went limp, and she collapsed in Camilla's grasp. Not wanting Amy to wake up right away, she continued holding her victim's throat while sitting on the bathroom floor.
"Tiffany, come here," Camilla ordered. Tiffany hesitated, remembering the threat from before. "I won't kill her. I just need your phone, dear." Despite the explanation, Tiffany still didn't move. "If you don't give it to me, I will kill her!"
Tiffany jumped at the volume in Camilla's voice, but reluctantly shied toward her with her phone held out. Camilla snatched it away as soon as she could reach, and she found Amy's in her pocket and did the same.
Camilla gradually released her hold on Amy's throat, allowing the blood to rush back to her face. As soon as Camilla stood up to finish her work, Tiffany pulled Amy's limp body against her, desperately trying to check her pulse, but not knowing where to check.
Camilla rolled her eyes. "She's alive," she insisted. "Give her a minute. She'll be conscious soon."
Camilla went back to thoroughly rinsing her knife off with soap. She made sure the handle was completely cleaned before returning it to its sheath. Then, she washed her gloves (mainly the inside, from which her DNA could be identified) and pocketed them. At this point, she couldn't trust throwing them away; they were potential evidence against her.
"Amy!" Tiffany whispered from behind Camilla. She turned around and saw that Amy was conscious again. She was massaging her throat and grimacing. Tiffany hugged her best friend tightly, but Amy looked confused.
"What the hell...?" Amy asked, looking around. From her angle on the floor, she could see right under the bathroom stall where Amanda's dead body was laying. Her eyes widened at the sight, and Tiffany's eyes soon followed. Tiffany sucked in a breath and squeezed Amy's arm in fear.
Camilla stood in the doorway, watching them both with a dark look in her eyes. "Don't bother doing anything about that," she said with a sigh. "That's my job, and it's none of your concern."
"Amy..." Tiffany whispered, frightened. She clung to her, more tears falling down her cheeks.
Amy stood, wincing at her pain, and faced Camilla. "If you think I don't remember anything that happened-"
"Oh, I know you do," Camilla interrupted.
"Well if you think you're going to get away with-"
"Do you think you can stop me?" Camilla challenged. "I'm blocking your escape, I'm armed, and your phone have been confiscated."
Amy swung her head around toward Tiffany, and she reluctantly nodded, confirming that their technology was taken.
"Well...what are you going to do?" Amy inquired, looking at Camilla again, with much less confidence. "How are you going to clean this up with us here?"
Camilla bit the inside of her cheek in thought. She turned to Tiffany and ordered, "Come here, sweetie."
"No!" Amy snapped, thrusting a protective arm in front of her. "Neither of us are going to do what you say! We aren't going to put our lives at stake at the hands of a sick human being like you!"
"Don't you understand that you're putting you're lives at stake just by refusing," Camilla reasoned with a chuckle.
"You won't kill us," Amy insisted. Tiffany squeezed her arm and pressed herself against her in fear. Camilla raised an eyebrow. "You can't."
Camilla burst out laughing. "You CANNOT be serious! Do you see the body in that stall? You don't think I can do the same to both of you?"
Amy scowled, but recovered, "You can't kill us both. You know that too. You know you'll risk getting caught."
Camilla sucked her cheeks again, this time with frustration. She'd never been caught committing a crime before, and this situation was rather tricky. "You think I'm just going to let you both go? And let you charge me for murder in court? I'm not a fool. Killing you both would be far better than neither."
"No matter if you kill one of us or neither," Amy began, "we will charge you for murder. You will be brought to justice, Camilla Green. If not by me, by Tiffany. If not by her, by me."
"No one will testify if you're both dead," Camilla threatened, creeping closer to them. Tiffany screamed in terror, but Amy hushed her.
"If we're both dead, someone is likely to catch you trying to dispose of all the evidence."
"Which are you choosing? Helping me dispose the evidence or death?"
Tiffany froze where she stood while Amy's face darkened with fury. "We are never going to help you!" She promised.
As soon as Amy finished her sentence, Camilla lunged at her, grabbing her hair and pulling her toward the killer. Tiffany shrieked in horror as Camilla shoved her arm around Amy's throat again. Both her and Tiffany were going to relive the same trauma from just a few minutes ago.
"Did you know," Camilla quizzed, "that it only takes 3 minutes for someone to die from strangulation?" She looked up at Tiffany's horrified face after aking the question.
"Let her go!" Tiffany screamed, surprisingly trying to pry her friend from Camilla's grip.
"You want her to die?" Camilla challenged.
Tiffany stopped and considered whether she was going to continue fighting or give up to save Amy's life.
"Tiffany, darling," Camilla cooed, "be a doll, and keep Amy still and quiet."
Tiffany was shaking where she stood, but managed to squeak, "N-no."
Camilla rolled her eyes. "Then help me dispose of the body."
"N-no way!" Tiffany shook her head, violently. Her face was going pale.
Camilla turned to where both her and Amy's sides were facing Tiffany, and she took two steps closer to the timid girl. "Listen to me, dear," Camilla whispered, barely a foot from Tiffany. "All I need you to do is keep Amy from running off. It's not that hard. If she does run off, you will be responsible for her death. Don't think for a second that I won't be able to catch up with you two if you dare to escape. Don't think for a second that I won't kill whoever runs off, even if it's both of you." Tiffany shuddered. "Just keep Amy quiet and still. It's not a hard job. You're basically just letting her keep her life. If you care enough about her, you'll do just that."
Camilla glared at Tiffany for a few more seconds before she released Amy and slung Amanda's backpack on one of her shoulders. Amy pushed away from Camilla before collapsing into Tiffany's arms, gasping for air. Her face had started turning blue just moments before she was let go.
Camilla didn't waste a second, and she stepped right past them to the stall with the dead body. The body was hardly bleeding anymore, so it wouldn't drip through the backpack anytime soon. She grabbed the body by the neck where there was no blood and stuffed it into her empty backpack (since all her school items had been transferred to Amanda's backpack). Her eyes snapped from the body to the witnesses rapidly as she worked. Next, she shoved the bones in wherever they could fit around the body. Then, she took the witness's phones out of her back pockets and stuffed them in the smaller pockets of the backpack.
Camilla zipped up the backpack, put it on the other shoulder, and stood up to make sure she had cleaned up completely. When she saw that the entire stall was spotless, she turned to look outside the stall. To her surprise, Amy hadn't moved from where she was before. Clearly, she had been trying to convince Tiffany to let her run off, but they must have argued over it for too long because neither of them had left.
They appeared to be arguing in hushed voices, but when they saw Camilla exiting the stall, they stiffened up and fell silent. Amy was glaring at Camilla. Camilla scoffed at her and attempted to walk past her, but Amy stood up suddenly and crossed her arms.
Camilla raised an eyebrow. "What do you think you're doing?" she asked, unimpressed.
Amy's scowl deepened as she answered, "We're not letting you get away."
Camilla sighed and shook her head. "Honestly, you and I both know that I could easily get past the both of you. Tiffany could never be a threat to me if she tried, and you, though you have a fighter's spirit, certainly don't have the physical ability to take me down."
"You forget that I was in wrestling in middle school," Amy reminded her.
"You we're," Camilla pointed out, "and you aren't anymore. That means you don't have the same build as you used to."
"Maybe not, but I'm still strong. I'm definitely stronger than you; you're just a cheerleader."
"I would criticize you for being stereotypical, but even if I wasn't a cheerleader, I'd still be strong. Kinda have to be when you do what I do."
"Wait...why are you saying it like this is a regular thing for you?" Amy looked at Camilla in disgust and shock.
"Oh, no reason." Camilla smirked and shoved Amy by her shoulder. Since she wasn't prepared for it, Amy stumbled back, allowing room for Camilla to leave. She didn't turn around once as she walked briskly out of the bathroom and to the lobby doors that led her to the student parking lot.
"Where is she going?" Amy asked herself, not taking her eyes off the criminal.
Camilla left the building without any confrontation. There was nobody she could see in the parking lot. She turned left toward the greenhouse in front of the agricultural building, and she broke into a run once she knew she was out of the sight of the witnesses.
The original plan hadn't gone in her favor at all, but a new one began blossoming in her mind. All she needed to do now was continue with the original plan, but she would have to act fast. She didn't want to get caught by the police or anyone else for that matter.
All that she needed to do was not get caught.