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“CHANGE (IN THE HOUSE OF FLIES” BY DEFTONES

She died in my arms.

I felt the moment it happened—the moment her heart stopped, her breath ceased, her body went limp. I felt the warmth leave her skin, felt the weight of her become something other than a person.

A corpse.

“No.” The word came out as a whisper. “No, no, no. Zinnia, wake up. Wake up. Please⁠—”

But she didn’t move.

I pressed my hand to her chest, searching for a heartbeat, a breath, anything. But there was nothing. Just silence.

“Bring her back.” I looked up at the entity—or what was left of it. The amphitheater was collapsing, the walls crumbling, the floor buckling beneath us. “Bring her back. Take me instead. Take whatever you want. Just bring her back.”

Silence.

“Please.” My voice cracked. “Please. I’ll do anything. I’ll give you anything. Just⁠—”

“The bargain is complete.”

The entity’s voice was faint now, barely audible over the sound of the House tearing itself apart. The preserved body in the chair had collapsed, Dahlia’s real body finally released from its supernatural preservation. She knelt beside her, sobbing, while Rook and Khaos stood frozen, staring at Zinnia’s lifeless form.

“She’s not dead,” I said. “She can’t be dead. She⁠—”

“She is.” Khaos’s voice was flat. “The entity took everything she offered. And she offered everything.”

“Then we bring her back. We find a way. We⁠—”

“There is no way.” Rook moved closer, his expression unreadable. “She made the bargain. She defined the terms. And she died fulfilling them.”

“No.” I pulled Zinnia’s body closer, feeling the blood soak through my shirt. “No, I’m not accepting that. I’m not⁠—”

The House shuddered violently, and the floor beneath us began to sink. Not collapse—sink. Like the entire structure was being pulled into the ground.

“We have to go,” Khaos said. “Now.”

“I’m not leaving her.”

“Malachi—”

“I’m not fucking leaving her!” The words tore out of me, raw and broken. “I’m not walking out of here without her. I’m not⁠—”

Rook grabbed my arm. “She’s gone. And if we don’t leave now, we’re going with her.”

“Good.” I looked down at Zinnia’s face, pale and still. “Let me go with her.”

“That’s not what she wanted.” Dahlia appeared beside me, her expression fierce despite the tears streaming down her face. “She wanted you to live. She wanted all of us to live. And if you stay here, you’re spitting on her sacrifice.”

“I don’t care.”

“Well, I do.” Dahlia, weak and trembling but alive—reached out and touched my shoulder. “And so does she. So get up. Carry her out of here. And let her rest.”

I stared at her, my vision blurred with tears.

“Please,” Dahlia whispered. “Don’t let her die for nothing.”

The House groaned, and the walls began to collapse inward. Rook grabbed Khaos, and I lifted Zinnia’s body into my arms.