!Warning: from here on out there will be heavy mentions of occult topics, rituals, sacrifices, and religious beliefs (mainly Christian) - keep that in mind and enjoy!
(This will be the last chapter for a while, I have band UIL tomorrow so I will not be able to upload until possibly Friday. I'm considering taking the weekend to write and edit one jaw dropping chapter so stay tuned!)
The bells on top of the push door rang out as we exited the small post-office. I began to skim over the note page, only for it to look practically identical to Julie's. A headache had slammed into me about halfway through the interview, mainly because of Eddie's lack of giving clear answers. My brain felt as if it were being scrambled the more I stared down at the notepad. The words seemed to blend together into one black inky mess. I slammed my head into my palms out of frustration, feeling Wally wrap his hands around mine and bring them down from my face gently.
"Calm down, darling. Let's get you back to Home so you can relax that sickening headache, yeah?" Wally practically whispered into my ear, trying desperately not to worsen my pounding head.
I nodded and let him guide me back to Home's safety. When we arrived, I wasted no time opening the door and plopping down onto the comfortable couch. Wally came up from behind me and began to run his fingers through my hair soothingly, it surprised me how relaxed I became shortly after.
"So, I was thinking.. maybe I could pull out my computer so you can search for any missing pieces in this puzzle. I will warn you, it's not exactly new so don't expect it to be fast. But, I do think it would help your mind settle a bit." He said, slowing his fingers movement in my hair.
"I could probably search back through the parents and children to make a clear origin line. That sounds like a good start. Good thinking, Wally!" I said, thinking back to my earlier sentence.
I felt Wally remove his hands from my hair and walk down the hall. I rested my head back against the sofa and stared up at the ceiling, letting myself soak in my rampant thoughts. All of this was so confusing, it felt like things were moving so fast. Too fast.
"Hey, Wally!" I called down the hall, cringing as my voice echoed against the wall and sent a painful shock through my brain.
"Yes?" He said, coming out of the hall carrying an ancient computer and setting it down on the coffee table in front of me.
"What were you and Julie talking about after I left?" I asked, leaning forward and running a finger over the dusty computer screen.
"Oh, that. I was telling her to stop talking so much - she was going to tell you how obsessed I was over them. And I.. was embarrassed. I know she's fond of you and I didn't want her to bring up unfortunate discussions we've already had. Though, I did come off rather harsh. Oh well." He said, picking up the big plug hanging from the computer and bringing the long cord over to the outlet against the far living room wall.
I couldn't trace a single lie buried beneath his words as he spoke, humming in response. The computer screen lit up bright blue when Wally plugged it in, illuminating everything in front of it. I moved closer to the edge of the couch, running my fingers over the dusty off-white keyboard. Wally sat next to me and reached over to open the computer program. The familiar Google page was pulled up and I took over, taking hold of the crusty mouse and dragging it to the search bar where I typed in each child's name from memory. I went through almost every case, looking through the parents job history only to find the same information I had before. Feeling disappointed, I typed in the last name and went to click the 'parental' tab, now noticing that the child's father was listed under; 'former Welcome Home employee' and 'part-time youth pastor'. How had I not noticed that before? I clicked on his description, it taking a second to load up the entire paragraph. At the end, a link was supplied for anyone interested in joining a ceremony at their church. Wally and I both looked over at each other and giggled at the word 'ceremony', it was so fun to say! Once our laughter died down, I double clicked the link and the screen went white, the loading bar going drastically slow. I threw my head back with a loud groan.
"Seriously? We find one weird thing and now the internet is going to crash on us! Unbelievable." I shouted, throwing my hands up and almost hitting Wally.
"Hey, have I ever told you how stunning you are?" Wally said, moving my fist out of the way gently.
"What?-" I blurted out, turning my attention to him and lowering my hands.
"Oh no, totally, I had no idea you thought that of me. The painting and flirting didn't even show it in the slightest." I said, rolling my eyes sarcastically.
"Darn, I guess I'll just have to show you a different way." He said flirtatiously, trailing his hand up and resting it under my chin.
"Oh yeah? And how are you gonna do that?" I said, smirking daringly and glancing down at his lips as our faces got closer and closer.
"I-"
Wally was cut off by the screen turning orange and shining the blinding light into our eyes. We both turned and stared at the website before us, scrambling away from each other and back to the edge of the couch. I immediately grabbed hold of the mouse and scrolled through the website, reading through his 'about me' that seemed far too focused on receiving remorse for his sons disappearance. I scrolled down further and landed on an odd looking calendar. While I had never been to church before, I was almost certain that sacrifice ceremonies weren't a thing. I furrowed my eyebrows, lost in thought. I scrolled back up to the top and read through the introduction over again, now noticing the weird language used such as; join us for salvation, freedom is in sight, and cleansing ritual leaders. This wasn't just any normal site.
"Wally, are you seeing this?" I whispered, my eyes never leaving the screen.
"Yes. I think it's a religious occult." He breathed out, both of us falling eerily quiet.
"If.. if this guy was the leader and he worked with others on this show, do you think they were apart of it? I mean- Look, it says right here the different helpers initials and they just so happen to line up directly with the parents." I said, swallowing down the bile that had started to come up and gagging at the feeling.
"Wally, I think we just made a huge breakthrough."
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
