When Amber woke up again it was three in the morning, and since she couldn’t convince herself to go back to sleep she got up and headed outside to the back yard. On her way she grabbed a shovel and a pair of gloves, she staked out a spot on the massive estate and started to dig. She knew that once Carter and Romano found out that Susan had died they would want some one to bury her and get rid of the evidence. She dug for two hours with out even thinking about taking a break, and when she finally stopped her whole body was sore, but the whole was deep enough and big enough to fit Susan’s body. She climbed out and threw the shovel to the side and headed back in covered in dirt and sweat, with a very blank expression on her face. Abby was in the kitchen making breakfast for everyone, and Amber made her way through with out so much as a word.

“Amber, why are you covered in dirt?” Abby said turning away from what she was doing and lighting a cigarette. Amber looked at her and shrugged and continued to walk, she didn’t know if she felt like telling anyone about what happened yet, “Amber…you know I’m going to find out sooner or later…did Romano make you have sex with him outside.” She snickered a bit not yet knowing the seriousness of the situation.

“Susan died last night and I was up digging her grave but I’m finished.” She muttered not taking any time to stop. Abby’s expression went blank and she raced after Amber and caught her half way down the hall.

“Susan…she…she’s dead?” Abby whispered and she felt tears starting to well up in her eyes, she barely even remember that she was still holding her cigarette, well that was until Amber took it and started to smoke.

“Yeah, she’s dead…but trust me…she’s happy.” With that she headed up the stairs to where Susan was laying to make final preparations before she carried the woman out to the yard and buried her for good. Abby stood there for a moment and started to cry, she cried harder then she ever had in her life, because for some reason losing one of them now was a sign that maybe they would never get out of there.

Amber stepped into the bedroom, and then went into the bathroom where she pulled out a container of make up and a brush. She then stopped at the dresser and pulled out a white gown, she couldn’t let anyone see Susan the way she was currently, it would break them. Before she got to work she locked the door to the bed room…she didn’t want to be disturbed.

An hour later there was a knock on the door, luckily Amber was finished she was just sitting there looking at Susan wishing that things could have been different, wishing that she could have taken the woman’s place. Amber slowly got up from the bed and walked over to the door, she unlocked it and pulled it open to see Abby, Corday, and Weaver standing there looking absolutely terrible. With out a word they entered and walked over to the body, where they just stopped and stayed silent.

“I don’t know what religion she is but…would anyone want to say a prayer or a few words or something?” Amber seemed to be the most composed of the group but that was probably because she had the whole night and part of the morning to deal with the loss. The three of them looked at her and shook their heads, it wasn’t that they didn’t have very nice things to say about Susan, it was just very hard for them to believe that she was actually dead, “Well I’m a Buddhist, and I believe that she will move on to another better life…after this she deserves nirvana.”

“Nirvana?” Corday whispered wondering what that was exactly, she had heard the term before and was pretty sure that it meant paradise or heaver, but that was only part of it.

“Yes it’s like, a higher state of being, almost perfection…where everything is beautiful and you don’t have a care in the world.” Amber replied and she stepped over to the bed too wondering how long it was going to take Carter and Romano to find that one of them had died. The continued to stay silent for a moment until Amber whispered a prayer that she knew in Japanese, even though no one had a clue as to what it meant it was very pretty. A moment later she got down and gently wrapped Susan in the white sheet she was laying on and lifted her body, she then headed back out to the yard where she intended to bury her. The three of them followed in silence, not knowing what to say, Amber didn’t mind that no one offered to help her because she thought that this was her duty since she had by all accounts killed Dr. Susan Lewis. She gently lowered Susan into the grave when she got outside and immediately started to cover the body with dirt. The other three stood there, Corday was crying rather hard and hugging Abby who was also crying, but Kerry just stood there like she was in a daze, no tears graced her cheeks at all.

“What the hell is going on out here it’s like a damn funeral.” Carter’s voice called from the doorway to the backyard. Amber was the only one who didn’t turn to look at him, she just continued to fill up the gave as she sang a prayer softly, “Are you burying some one?” Carter then asked as he approached the grave site.

“Susan died Carter…congratulations you killed her.” Abby snarled at him before shoving him out of the way and heading back into the house. Corday glared at him too before following Abby into the kitchen leaving Weaver and Amber out there to face him.

“Oh come on she had a good two days left in her…something isn’t right here.” He said almost as if he could care less that Susan was laying in a now almost completely filled grave, in his own backyard nonetheless. Weaver’s jaw dropped slightly, she couldn’t even find the words to describe the pure disgust he mad her feel at that very moment. “I’m going to go review the tapes Amber, and you better PRAY I don’t find anything bizarre on them.” He looked at his watch and decided that he had time to review the surveillance tapes before going to work.

“I don’t care if you kill me Carter.” She whispered and then got down on all fours to smooth out the dirt that now covered Susan’s body.

“No…don’t pray for yourself…how stupid do you think I am? If I kill your or even lay a hand on you Romano will have my head. Don’t pray for yourself…pray for her.” He motioned at Weaver before storming off into the house, Amber froze she was still on her hands and knees, she then moved back and sat on her heels, then she started to sob.

“Do you know something about this Amber? Something that could put me in danger?” Weaver asked and she got down next to Amber, she wasn’t angry because she was pretty sure that if Amber did have anything to do with the death of Susan, then it was completely justified. She could tell Amber was hiding something from the look on her face when Carter told her to start praying.

“I killed her because she asked me to,” Amber whispered and wiped away her tears leaving smudges of dirt on her face, “Kerry you don’t know…she was so bad…so bad…I…well I cleaned her up before any of you came in there…she was in so much pain…I just…” Weaver swallowed hard and took in a deep breath, it was clear that Amber did what she thought was right and she knew that if she would have been in Amber’s place she would have done the same thing.

“Don’t try to explain it.” Weaver whispered as she wrapped her arms around Amber’s shaky frame, “She died peacefully with some one who cared about her at her side, and I think that’s a million times better then her dying because of Romano or Carter.” She leaned in and kissed Amber on the cheek, but all Amber could think about now is what Carter was going to do with Weaver once he found out about what she had done.

“I won’t let him do anything to you…” Amber whispered and turned to look at Kerry, “I won’t let him touch you, you are going to get out of here alive and that’s it.”

“Amber please don’t do anything stu…”

‘KERRY!” She yelled and then closed her eyes and took a deep breath, “He won’t hurt you, or anyone else…this is now my problem not any of yours.” She then looked down at the mound of dirt she was sitting on and started to cry again, Weaver sighed and held Amber in her arms as the sun continued to rise over the freshly filled grave.

After going inside and taking a shower Amber walked into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of orange juice and then quickly added some vodka too it before sitting down at the table with the rest of the women. None of them felt like talking or eating, or even being alive at this point but if they were going to get out they were all going to have to work together. They had to stop being afraid of Romano and Carter and fight back, or at least that’s what Weaver thought even though she had no idea about the electrodes which had been implanted into Corday and Abby. With the push of a button he could send both of them to their knees and they were the only ones that knew that. Elizabeth and Abby had every reason to fear Romano and it was going to be very hard to stand up against him when they knew he could probably fry them from the inside out if he wanted to.

“Amber, Amber, Amber…” Carter said in an almost scolding tone of voice as he entered the kitchen holding a black video tape in his hand, “If you would have just told me what you did then maybe things would have to end they way they are going to.”

“What the FUCK are you talking about Carter?” Amber growled before downing the rest of her drink and standing up, she violently pushed the chair away from her and got ready to move just incase he decided to attack Kerry.

“It’s okay, I’ve been looking for a reason to kill her.” Carter smiled slightly and then lunged forward and pulled Kerry to a standing position and he put a knife to her neck, “If you have anything terribly important to say to Dr. Weaver then you should probably say it now.”

“CARTER DON’T!” Amber screeched, Weaver reached up and tried to pull his hand away but she was certainly no match for him, especially not with the state of mind she was in. She saw Carter press the blade into Kerry’s throat harder, drawing just a hint of blood.

“John…please…you don’t want to do this.” Kerry breathed as her eyes glanced over the shocked faces of Corday and Abby, they weren’t very sure what they were supposed to do. Then they saw Romano step into the room behind Carter and he held up the small remote he had, and mouthed the words “Don’t even think about it” to the both of them.

“LIZZIE! ABBY! COME ON WE CAN TAKE HIM!” She hadn’t yet noticed that Romano was standing in the door way because she was too busy watching Carter, she was trying to find an opening to take him down but it was just too dangerous with him holding the knife to her neck like he was.

“No, we can’t…” Corday said softly looking in the direction of Romano, Amber looked up to see Romano standing in the doorway holding something in his hand.

“Robert please, don’t let him do this…PLEASE don’t let him…” Amber pleaded looking back and fourth from Weaver to Romano desperately. He smiled sadistically but it didn’t look like he was going to stop Carter any time soon.

“If he gets rid of her then you’ll only love me.” Romano replied, Carter laughed slightly and in one quick motion he sliced Weaver’s throat open and let her fall to the ground. Amber screamed and raced over to her trying to do everything she could to stop the bleeding but she knew that it wasn’t going to do anything. Weaver couldn’t even talk at this point she was basically drowning in her own blood, and Amber sat there trying to apply pressure to wherever she could.

“Kerry, don’t do this to me please don’t do this to me.” Amber cried but by the time she said that Weaver was already dead, “NO GOD!” She screamed and pulled Weaver into her arms and held her tightly, her body rocking back and fourth in a futile attempt to comfort herself. Corday got up suddenly and raced for the bathroom because she knew she was going to be sick, and Abby relapsed into the state of shock she was in before they buried Susan.

“Oops my hand slipped.” Carter said and then walked away like what he did was no big deal, Amber continued to cry holding Weaver’s body close to hers. Her own clothes were now covered in Weaver’s blood but that was the least of her worries. Romano watched her for a moment, when suddenly she laid the body down and stood up, in a complete daze she walked over to the kitchen counter and grabbed a rather large knife.

“Amber,” Romano started looking skeptical, “What the hell do you think you are going to do to me with that…when I have this?” He pulled out a small hand gun and pointed it in Amber’s direction, she ignored it and shrugged and then walked back over to Weaver’s body where she kneeled.

“Ritual Seppuku…” She whispered, “I will die an honorable death with the one that I love.” Then with out another moments hesitation she thrust the knife into her chest between the rib cage, she then pulled it up, then back down, and then from left to right in a cross type motion. She took one last desperate gasp for air and collapsed on top of Weaver.

“AMBER!” Romano instantly forgot that he was even holding the remote of the gun and he dropped them and ran to her side. He laid her on her back but the damage the knife had done was too great, she still had a faint pulse but it was only a matter of time before she died. By moving the knife in a cross pattern she had managed to sever her lungs, stomach, throat and heart.

“I’ll see you in hell…” she coughed before her eyes went blank and then rolled back into her head, Abby then screamed in horror and took off running for the gun that Romano had set on the counter. She grabbed it and with shaky hands the aimed it at Romano.

“Give me the keys to the car and I won’t shoot you…even though I see absolutely no reason not to shoot you at this point…so you better hurry up and tell me where they are.” Abby screamed at him, Corday returned from the kitchen looking completely pale, and a thin coat of sweat lined her forehead, and that’s when she saw Amber on the floor next to Weaver, and she was bleeding out. “Oh and give me the code to the security gate…DO IT NOW!!!”

“Put the gun down Abby…haven’t you seen enough carnage?” Romano muttered as he lay Amber back onto the floor and closed her eyelids gently. Abby’s lower lip trembled and she looked to Corday who was mouthing the words “Shoot him, just fucking shoot him”. Abby closed her eyes and screamed again this time with rage and she pulled the trigger twice, only one bullet hit him right in the shoulder, which would mean he still had a chance at survival.

“The keys and the code please.” She said through clenched teeth as she approached him, he sat up and clutched the wound tightly for a moment.

“The keys are up on my dresser and the code is 2017.” He groaned, “Now get the hell out of here I don’t ever want to see your face again.” Abby nodded and looked at Corday, they both took off running to find the keys. Abby didn’t want to leave behind the bodies of Kerry and Amber but she knew that she had little choice, and she also knew that if they got out of there alive they could come back to retrieve the bodies. The only obstacle left now was getting passed Carter.

When they entered the upstairs hallway Carter was waiting for them at the doorway to Romano’s bed room, his arms were crossed and he looked positively pissed off. “I know you shot him…and if you want to get passed me you are going to have to shoot me too I’m not going to jail.” He said with complete conviction in his voice, Abby looked at Corday wondering what she was supposed to do, she most certainly didn’t want to shoot Carter.

“Listen to me John, if you let us go both Lizzie and I will pin this whole thing on Romano and you won’t have to go to jail…” Abby pleaded with him desperately, even though over the past few days he had been a complete ass she still couldn’t bring herself to shoot him, “Please Carter.” Carter looked at Elizabeth who nodded eagerly even though she had every intention of telling the police that he had killed Kerry. Carter stepped to the side and opened the door letting them in, he was willing to believe anything at this point if it was going to keep him from going to jail.

A week later the funerals of Amber and Weaver were held together in a very nice ceremony out at Amber’s would be family plot. There were five graves there reserved for her, her husband, and her kids if she ever had any but it obviously wasn’t going to work out that way. Corday stood next to Abby with tears running down her cheeks, yeah they had gotten out of there alive but at what cost? Romano was in custody and Elizabeth had no idea where Carter was, she had held off from telling the police what he did but seeing those two young women in the coffins before her made her realize that she had absolutely no reason to protect him.

When she got home that night she called the police and told them the whole story, from beginning to end, including what had happened to Susan and where she was buried in Carter’s yard. Carter was tracked down and arrested on two counts of aggravated murder, his trial is still on going, and it doesn’t look good because he has the best lawyers that money can buy.

As for Romano, he confessed to killing Amber. He thought that he should take some responsibility for what happened to her because he knew that it was his fault. With out Amber he didn’t feel like he deserved to live or be free anymore so he decided to go and turn himself in.

Finally, Abby went and saw a shrink and after a few months of therapy she began to recover so she could return to her normal life. She had said goodbye to Corday who had left to go back to England to be with her parents for a while and then started a rotation at county a few days later. After another few months she decided to take Luka up on his offer for dinner, where she told him everything that had happened to her over those seven and a half months she was missing. A few days later they were engaged and soon there after they were married. Even though Abby had a bad experience she was willing to put that behind her to start a new life, with her new love, Luka Kovach.