What Lies Beneath

PART TWO Chapter Twenty-One: Consequences

It would be a lie to say that everyone went about their business as usual that night. After Delphine's sudden bloody arrival at dinner, everything seemed to slow down for the inhabitants of the house.

Karen was the first to reach the unconscious girl. She held her for what felt like hours before anyone else got there. The weight of Delphine's head pressed firmly in the open palms of her hands. Wyatt was the second to arrive. He leaned over the girl and checked for a pulse. Memories of his second mother flashed through his mind as he breathed a sigh of relief.

Wyatt closed his eyes and focused on the faint thump of her heart as it pulsed from her arm into his fingertips.

Sophie watched from the sidelines. The feeling of dread spreading through her body and deadening her limbs. She had hoped that this time things might be different. That maybe, no one would die. Now she knew that this hope was childish imaginings.

Charlie was drawn in by the scent of the blood. Flashes of red filled his vision. He wanted to touch it, to taste it. He could picture the hot, thick blood running down his fingers and tongue. Needless to say, he was the third person to reach the girl. He picked her up in his arms and carried her over to the table.

It wasn't that he wanted to help her, so much as he wanted to feel her blood on his skin.

Before he let go of her, he wiped his hand across one of her bloody legs. As soon as her blood touched his skin, it was like a light show behind his eyes went off. Every sound in the room went silent. He didn't even feel Agatha's hand on his arm pulling him away from the girl's bloody body.

The only thing on his mind was visions of blood. He wanted it. He wanted to bathe in it, to drink it. Never had he been so consumed by his lust for blood. All he could think, was that he wanted it in him. He wanted to cover himself in the red-hot liquid. He needed it. He needed to taste it, to roll around in it. He needed it inside of him.

The only one to notice Charlie's strange behavior was Agatha. She knew what was happening, and she knew that she had to stop him. She didn't stop at pulling him away from the body though, instead she removed him from the room entirely.

Gwyneth found herself consumed with horror. She had spent most of her life around blood due to her career as a nurse. However, on this particular occasion, she found herself flooded with distant memories that she had tried to forget.

There had been so much blood, and secrets then too. It was in that moment that Gwyneth found herself questioning her motives. She had believed that bringing the children to the house was the right thing to do, but now something had shifted. It was never her intent to cause harm to anyone, and yet, here she was, standing next to a table with an unconscious bloody girl dying on it once again.

She could hear someone calling out to her, but it was faint and distant. She stood, unmoving. How could she have let this happen again? Her eyes remained fixed on the unconscious girl, but it wasn't Delphine that she was seeing. Instead, she saw a small blonde girl with her abdomen ripped open. Gwyneth could feel pressure building up in the back of her throat. She wanted to scream. To save the girl, but nothing happened. Her limbs ignored every command that she gave them.

Then, she saw Sophie.

The small blonde girl had practically hidden herself in the corner of the room. Half of her was covered by the curtains that hung loosely from the window. Her complexion was white, and her face twisted in fear. Suddenly, Gwyneth found herself moving. She was headed straight for the cowering child.

Wyatt and Karen tried to stop the bleeding that seemed to have increased after Charlie moved her, but everything that they tried only made things that much worse.

Sophie didn't notice Gwyneth heading for her, she could only see the bloody girl on the table. Deep down she knew that she was at fault. After all, everyone around her ended up dead.

Time seemed to stand still. To everyone in that house, nothing felt real anymore. That is until the panic was broken with a few whispered words.

"She's dead." Wyatt's voice was soft. He hadn't meant to speak at all, but the shock had knocked the words right out of his mouth. He had been consistently checking her pulse every few minutes like his mom had taught him to do when he was young. Everything seemed to be okay, until it wasn't.

Everyone in the room stopped. Nobody moved or dared to breathe. Instead they all found themselves staring at Wyatt, who in turn was staring at the now dead girl on the table.

Out in the hallway, Charlie finally came down from his blood high, only to realize that he had been pulled from the room by the wretched old hag. How dare she lay her wrinkled hands on him.

Anger flooded through his entire body. He wanted to kill her. In that moment he didn't care if anyone saw him. He only wished that he had his axe so that he could chop her hands off. His hands twisted into tight fists. It didn't matter that he didn't have his axe, he would just beat her to death, after all he had done it before.

He could feel his perfectly manicured nails digging deep into the flesh of his palms. His fist was in the process of moving back to get enough momentum for his punch when he heard a small voice whisper, not yet, inside his head.

He didn't recognize the voice, but it seemed to have a strange soothing effect on his anger. So once more, Charlie decided to postpone his murderous plans.

Agatha knew that Charlie was angry with her. After all, she understood why the house really wanted him. What she didn't know was that, by bringing him here, she had guaranteed her fate. She watched as Charlie struggled to keep his hatred for her in check as they waited out in the hallway. She even thought for a moment that he was going to hit her, then suddenly the murderous look vanished from his eyes and his hands unclenched.

Thoughts of what happened raced through her mind. From what she knew about Charlie, he wasn't the type to quell his rage. How curious, she thought. However, before she could think more of it, the dining room door swung open.

A group of pale faced children stood in front of her with fresh tears pouring from their eyes.

"What happened?" Agatha found that her voice sounded harsh against the quiet that had enveloped them.

"The girl, she's dead." It was Karen who delivered the news to Agatha and Charlie while Sophie and Wyatt stood silently at her side.

"Impossible." It was the only word that Agatha could think to say in that moment. How could this have happened?

"I'm afraid not." Everyone except Charlie, who was trying to hide his smile, jumped at the sound of Gwyneth's voice.

"But how? She didn't look that injured."

"It appears that a piece of glass nicked one of the arteries in her leg and when Charlie moved her onto the table, the glass shard dislodged, and she bled out almost instantaneously."

"We should call an ambulance." Wyatt's voice was barely audible when he spoke.

"Of course. Now I know that tonight has been, shocking, but I would appreciate it if you would all wait in your rooms while I deal with the police." Gwyneth, having finally come out of her distant state, was back to her usual self.

"But shouldn't we be down here if they have any questions?" Karen seemed to be the only one confused by Gwyneth's orders.

"No need, I will be able to answer any questions that they might have. There is no reason for any of you to have to relive what just happened. Now please, go to your rooms." Karen wanted to protest again, but after seeing the looks on Wyatt and Sophie's faces, she clamped her lips shut and nodded her head in response.

She could ask questions later, right now she needed to help the others.