The Ghost of RoseBurn Mansion

Chapter 16: The Truth At Last

     Theodore was going to get rid of Thomas and make me pay. Slowly and painfully. He was jealous of Thomas. I had feelings for someone who wasn't even alive. Theodore glanced back at Alison. "Can I see the special file dear sister?" She went into her bag, pulled out the file and handed it to him. Theodore cleared his throat like he was in glory mode. "His name is Thomas Clarneh. Born in 1899. Died in 1923. He used to work for the original owners of this house. He fell in love with a woman from a different class. She was murdered. He died of a disease years later. His room was ransacked, and they found some strange things. Cravings under the bed, signs of the devil. They blessed the room. But he's still there."

I didn't believe him for a second. Half of it, he was probably making up. He handed her back the papers; she stuffed back in her bag. His grip tightened on my arm. We were almost at the mansion. Alison looked at us. "Don't worry brother, there's plenty of time for her to earn your forgiveness." We stood in front of the mansion.

Theodore threw me into the steps. I quickly stood up. "All will be forgiven once Thomas is no more." Alison walked over to a car parked on the side of the mansion. She opened the door and grabbed someone from the back seat. My eyes widened. It was Molly! Her hands were bound behind her back. Mouth was gaged and her makeup was smeared. I went to run but he pulled me back. "I told you I didn't like your friend." He spoke through his teeth. Alison shoved Molly in front of her. We headed up the steps. Theodore broke into the house and threw me inside. I slid across the floor. My head hit the staircase. Theodore slammed the door. "COME OUT THOMAS!"

My eyes weren't focusing. My body wanted to black out. I fought it off with all my might. Molly dropped to her knees, moaning in pain. Alison looked around. "Do you want Lizzy to stay alive or become dead with you?" Nothing. I forced myself on my feet and quickly ran up the stairs. My legs grew numb from the adrenaline running through my body, stumbling down the hallway. I hid in another room. My eyes looked at the mirror. My head was bleeding, and my nose dripped blood. Maria was in the mirror. "I need your help." She didn't say anything. "They plan on an exorcism. You must help me stop them. Please!" She disappeared from the mirror. I sighed deeply. Hands grabbed me.

Freaking out, I was ready to fight back. Thomas jumped. "Hey, it's okay. It's me." His eyes studied me. "What did he do to you?" Nothing he wouldn't have done to me. Theodore was abusive. Thomas gently touched my face. I wiped the blood on a sweater I had on. He was pissed. "Where is HE?"

I shook my head. "They know everything about your past. Theodore wants to do an exorcism to get rid of you."

Thomas sighed deeply, almost like he felt defeated. "There's not much I can do. But you have to realize that I may not see you again after tonight." I could feel my stomach twisting into knots.

Shaking my head, "No, please. There has to be something..."

Thomas kissed me gently. "Be brave." Tears began to make my vison blurry. Footsteps were stomping up the stairs. The door swung open. Thomas was already gone. Theodore yanked me by my hair and threw me into the hallway wall. "Where is he? I know you were just talking to him!" I didn't even know where he was. Theodore dragged me up to the third floor by my hair. I tried to run the other way but he made sure his grip was tight. They had no idea what was waiting for them up there.

Alison was already setting up the room with candles. Molly was in the middle of the floor. She was still bound. She sniffled and cried. Theodore threw me into a chair and tied me down to it. He tightened the knot to make sure I wasn't going anywhere. "You can't do this! Leave him alone!" I shouted.

He pinched my cheeks. "You have no say so shut the fuck up and watch the magic happen." He walked away. How could this be happening? They were going to win, and I couldn't do anything to stop them. I hated feeling helpless. Theodore turned off the lights. The candles were lit. Alison handed him a paper. He smirked at her. "Ready?" Alison got down on her knees. A Ouija board was in front of her. She dragged Molly closer to the board. She was freaking out. Alison reached for her back pocket and pulled out a curved knife. I wiggled in the chair. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? LEAVE HER ALONE!"

She ignored me and sliced her throat open. Molly began to gargle and twitch. Theodore pushed the board towards her blood. He looked back at me and smirked. "Thomas was part of a satanic cult. According to our research, this is the only way to summon him." My eyes watered. Watching Molly slowly die was the worst thing to happen. Theodore grabbed her neck and twisted it quickly. It snapped. Her body went limp. I cried softly. How could they do this to her? She was innocent. The candles flickered and went out one after the other. They both stood up. "Do you think it worked?" Alison whispered.

Theodore pulled out a flashlight and scanned the room. Maria darted across the room giggling. Alison screamed and grabbed his arm. He shoved her away. "Relax, we probably summoned other ghosts as well."

She glared at him. "I didn't sign up for ghost children. They creep me out."

He rolled his eyes. "Let's wait a few more minutes for Thomas." Maria ran right past them. Alison screamed and jumped on his back. He dropped her on her ass. They both began to bicker at each other.

While they were arguing, my ropes were coming loose. Glancing behind me, nothing was there. A cold breath hit my cheek. "Don't scream. I'm freeing you. You need to get off the floor before they come." Thomas whispered softly into my ear. Hearing the sound of his voice was the best thing that could happen right now. The ropes become loose enough to jump out of the chair and run out of the room as fast as I could. Someone was chasing after me. Then a loud snarl came. Screams echoed throughout the whole house. I ran down the hallway. Something grabbed my ankle. My body hit the floor hard. I was being dragged across the floor. My nails scratching away. I kicked at it to get away. It released me. Arms were lifting me up. Thomas ran as fast as he could into the camera room with me. He locked the door, setting my body in a chair. He held my face in his hands. I kissed him. Thomas wrapped his arms around me. "It's okay." He whispered. My mind felt mushy. That was a lot to go through.

I rested my head on his shoulder. "You could have disappeared forever! I was so scared. Thomas..."

He kissed me again. "Were both here. It's okay." I sighed deeply. His arms wrapped around me. Holding on tightly. Thomas kissed my head. I placed on hands on his chest. "What happened to them?" He was about to object. "Please?"

He took in a deep breath. "For your own good, I can't. Just accept the fact that they're..."

"Dead?" The words escaped my mouth like it was a dirty word. Thomas just nodded. The demons killed them both. One must have come after me. Thomas protected me from them, again.

"Molly..." Tears ran down my face. It was hard to believe they killed my best friend. Just to use her as a sacrifice to summon Thomas. Thomas pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped my tears away. "I'm so sorry about your friend."

"What happened to her body? Can we..." I wanted to at least have her buried.

He shook his head. "They took it. Check the camera." I turned my head and glanced at the screen. My eyes couldn't believe it. The ballroom was clean. No blood or bodies. He stood up and searched for a minute. He pulled out a first aid kit. He got on his knees, then grabbed a wipe and started wiping blood off my face. He wiped the rest of my face. I looked up at the calendar. October 3. It was coming. Thomas stood up then helped me to my feet. "I won't have to worry about him hurting you again." His fingers brushed against my face. I stood on my toes and kissed him. He smiled. His fingers grasped my chin. "I have to go check on Maria. She's frightened."

I nodded as my hands touched his chest. "I'll be fine."

His eyes gazed into mine. "Call me if you need me." His face said it all, he didn't want to leave me after all that. But he would come back if I needed him to. He disappeared in front of me. I sat at the desk and stared at the screen monitors. My eyes were getting heavy. I tried to force myself to stay up. It was about 3am. I couldn't fight the urge to sleep off much longer. My head leaned back in the chair as I doused off.