The sun. That was all Ella could see. Spending so long in that dark little room, made the sunlight a warm welcome. The sky was red, in the morning light. It had just become morning, the sun barley peeking out.
She closed her eyes, feeling the warm presence of the sunlight on her face, just as she used to love doing every morning. It immediately calmed her down, she felt like herself again, maybe even better. Bev unfortunately had been right. Keeping her in that basement was the best way for her to shatter her own broken soul, and fix it up again, bigger and stronger this time.
Ella shook her head free from the miserableness. The good thing was that since it was so early, no one was around. She was able to limp her way to Sarah's without anyone seeing her. At least she hoped not.
Ella opened the door, not having the strength to try and knock. Her leg was very agonized, and made sure to agonize her in return. It hurt awfully, as she swung open the door, and immediately collapsed, unable to keep herself upright any more.
"Woah! SARAH!" A strange voice called, before everything went black.
*****
Tonight. I was sitting in my rectory on my bed, staring out the window and the little wooden church I knew so well. I knew every inch of that church. I knew the way it breathed with the wind, the way it smelled on a cold winters morning, the feel of the birch bark walls, the entire church had a soul. Ive watched it grow up. It's aged just as I have, and tonight, tonight it'll see many things, and they may be the last it ever sees.
*****
Ella woke on the small hospital bed. Grateful to find she was in Sarah's room, not a hospital on the mainland. There was a tight sensation all around her leg, and she realized it had been bandaged.
"You're one lucky person, Ella," Sarah told her, giving her a warm smile.
Ella sat up quickly, her head pounded as she did but she ignored it. "What happened with my leg?"
"My mother found you, on our floor. When I looked at you I found you'd splintered your ankle, I mean your lucky your leg didn't break. But I've got to ask...how did this happen?"
"Wait...you're mother?" Ella replied, shaking her head in confusion.
Sarah gave her the same surprised look and nodded. "Yeah!"
"Hello again Dear."
Ella looked up at the doorframe to find Sarah's mom, Mildred Gunning, standing proudly against the door. Mildred had been suffering from dementia for the last few years, barley able to get out of bed. Ella had helped Sarah with her a few times, and now, here she was, standing in the door way. Her face looked as if she was in her mid fourties. The only way you could ever tell she had been 87, was her grey hair. However even that seemed to have grown back into her long, reddish brown she used to have.
It didn't take long for Ella to connect the dots, the blood from the Angel Pruitt had been giving out had been healing her as well. She was de-aging just as he had.
"Wow. Look at you Ella! You've grown so much!" She exclaimed, wrapping Ella in a big hug. Mildred had been there for Ella when she was a kid just as much as Annie had been.
After everything that had happened, it felt incredible to be held up for once.
Ella's eyes stung as the hot tears began trailing down her cheeks again.
"Oh dear, what happened?" Mildred asked kindly, sitting next to her and rubbing her back gently.
Sarah also watched intently, waiting to hear Ella's story. However Ella didn't know where to start.
"Bev..." she said through sobs.
"Oh I never liked that kid," Mildred replied.
This actually took Ella by surprise. Mildred was very faithful to the church, she had such a kind loving heart.
Sensing her confusion, Mildred went on to explain, "she never was one to face her problems head on, dear. I've seen a lot in my days, and that Beverly...she would run. Unlike you, Ella. You are courageous and brave, and have a bigger heart than many," she told her, taking her in her arms once again.
It felt so nice to see a friendly face, especially Mildreds. She felt warm and familiar, it made Ella miss her parents. But she was so grateful they weren't on the island anymore.
I guess I have Bev to thank for that.
"You say Bev's done this to you?" Sarah asked, her voice soaked with concern.
Ella nodded. There was no point in hiding it anymore, it would come to light tonight anyways.
"I've been locked in Bev's basement for the past two days," Ella explained.
"Are you serious?" Mildred asked, appalled. "You poor thing!"
"You've been locked in Beverly's basement?! Why on earth would she do that to you?" Sarah asked.
Now was the hard part.
"Because-" But Ella was cut off by a knock on Sarah's door.
The three looked at each other for a moment, worried it might be Bev, coming back for Ella.
Sarah left to open it and a second later returned with a dishevelled looking Erin.
Her eyes were red and puffy, and she looked almost hallow. And Ella could just immediately read it from her.
She knew.
After a long explanation from Erin, the group was completely silent.
Ella had a lump in her throat, her eyes stung with tears once again. Riley was dead. Actually dead. Her best friend, dead. Burnt up in the sun, on one final attempt to protect the island.
Erin had tears streaming down her face, as she gazed on into a place no other in the room could see.
Ella studied her face, trying to swallow down her own tears. She looked so empty and lost. Erin had been a bright beacon of light in Ella's life for so long, it hurt to see her in such a state. She looked scared and confused.
Ella wanted to make her feel heard, and since Mildred and Sarah were still processing, she decided to speak up.
"I knew...Erin," Ella replied, her voice cracking.
Erin glanced up at her, recognition in her somber eyes.
"When?" She asked.
"I..." Ella let out a shaky sigh, "I was in the rec centre...when it happened."
"And you didn't do anything?" Her voice wasn't angry nor resentful. But she was definitely confused.
"I've been in Bev's basement for the past two days. There was nothing I could do," Ella replied, her voice heavy with shame. If only she had just broken out of that spiral sooner. Maybe she could've done something.
"Bev locked you in her basement?" Erin asked.
Ella nodded, choking back the tears for a second time.
The room was silent again. No one dared to make eye contact with each other. The weight of the atmosphere pulling on all of them.
Until Sarah spoke up. Her voice cutting through the silence, a beacon in the night.
"I have something to show you..."
*****
Ella and Mildred stood nervously outside the General store, waiting for Sarah.
Ella paced back and forth, fiddling with a hangnail on her thumb, something she did when she was anxious. It stung wildly, every time she flicked that sharp little flap of skin, but it kept her mind in check.
Mildred stood behind her, her arms crossed and staring out into the distance.
The silence was a mixture of awkward and tense. Ella didn't know if it was appropriate to talk, but the silence was so loud she felt compelled to.
They were waiting for Sarah to finish explaining their theory to Sheriff Hassan. Their theory being that the Church was going to commit a mass murder, in order to convert everyone into what Father Paul and Riley were, whatever that was.
They had decided on the term "vampire". Perhaps they weren't exactly vampires, that had to be an old myth, but their behaviour matched that of a "vampire".
Sarah wasn't going to explain the vampire aspect, but rather the law aspect, in hopes of getting the Sheriff to listen. They hoped if she presented him the theory like a tip, he might look into it.
However Ella wasn't so sure, and she was worried he would think she's crazy. Even she thought she was crazy. This whole thing was crazy, she was still half expecting to wake up from some sort of fever dream.
"This is real, isn't it?" Ella asked, her voice shaking, feeling the grips of fear on her mind.
Mildred gave her a sympathetic look, and walked over outstretching her arms and wrapping them around her.
"Lord I wish it wasn't. But I'm afraid...it's real. We've seen the proof, from you and Sarah and Erin, and I still can't believe John would do that. I didn't know him too well, but I grew up with him, and it's just..." she took a shaky breath.
Ella sighed. "I understand. I-I don't even know how to feel. I don't even know what I feel!"
Mildred placed her hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes.
Mildreds eyes were glossy and grey, but there was such a prominent spark of life in them, it made Ella question everything all over again.
"Dear, I know you don't like not knowing what's going to happen, you don't like change, you're a practical person, you've always been, and this whole thing must feel out of your control. But let's trust ourselves, each other, and God, that we're going to be okay. And if not, we're going to do what's right. Do you agree?"
Ella felt that stung of tears again and nodded. Mildred was correct, it was time to do what was right.
This helped Ella calm, thinking about the situation logically.
Just do what's right. Don't focus on the craziness, just do what's right.
She felt her mind click into her autopilot mode. No, that wasn't right. She was in control, but she had a co-pilot, a part of her brain that would kick into gear when she needed. Something that wouldn't let her spiral out of control, it would just use its reflexes and do the right thing. Once again, Mildred was right. She needed to trust herself.
Ella let out a small, somewhat content sigh as shyly smiled back at Mildred to signal she was okay.
"You don't know how nice it is to have you right now," Ella said as Mildred wrapped her in one last hug.
She laughed, a young vibrant laugh, "I'm just amazed I woke up from that and this is what's happened to the island. Still wondering if I'm hallucinating or not."
The guilt suddenly rose up Ella's body catching in her throat and making her cough.
"I-I'm so sorry! Here I am complaining and not thinking about how hard this must be for you!" Ella replied, the desperation of her apology leaking through her voice.
Mildred laughs again, and waves the apology off. "Ella please, don't apologize. This isn't easy for any of us. Hell, you were trapped in Bev Keanes creepy dungeon for two days! You're a smart girl Ella, but you need to learn to identify your emotions."
Ella smiled and nodded. "I'm not so sure I'll get the chance."
Mildred gave her a sad look, then straightened and they sat on the bench Pike used to get tied to. Now he and his owner, we're gone. And not one person but Ella knew.
"Ella, tell me. How are you feeling?" Mildred asked.
Ella stared blankly at her. "I'm not sure. So confused?"
Mildred straightened her shoulders and sat up. "One trick I've learnt from all my years, is close your eyes, and imagine you're looking into your soul. Think of the first colour that comes to mind, and watch it form and twist in front of you. Now touch the colour with your conscious, and convince yourself you're feeling the emotion that colour feels to you. You're good at reading emotions Ella, I know you can understand someone in blink of an eye just by looking at them, so try it on yourself."
Ella inhaled a shaky breath and held it in her chest as she closed her eyes.
The darkness from her eyelids seeped around her, and formed a dark void in her mind.
"Exhale, you don't need to be so tense," Mildreds gentle voice said from somewhere behind the dark.
Ella did as she was told and let the air out of her lungs. As she did she began to see a colour form in the blackness. It was a little speck at first but then it flowed out of the black and overtook it. It was a light yellow, and as she moved her mind-hand towards it, it filled her with an overwhelming sense of relaxation.
"Do you feel it?" Mildred asked, breaking Ella's consecration.
Ella nodded, and tried again. She thought about Joe and Pike, knowing they would never sit together on this bench again, and prayed he at least got a respectful burial, or whatever happened to him. The black swirled into a deep blood red, and as Ella's little spark of consciousness reached out to it, she could feel the blood boiling anger run through all of her veins as her faces became hot. It was working, she could isolate the emotions and really feel them, and really understand. She was angry. Angry with John for lying and hurting her island. Angry with Bev, for her constant manipulation, and angry with herself, for letting it all happen under her nose.
As she came to this revaluation, the red faded into a light blue, wistful and depressing. Now the overwhelming sadness became apparent, as she watched the blue twist into a reason. She was hurt. Lied to be John, a man she let herself care for. She longed to be back in Father Paul's arms, John being long gone, and in the safe embrace of Paul Hill. He has a way of making her feel heard. She also missed Riley. He was gone, truly gone. Her best friend had warned them, saved them. And she didn't want to let him down.
The blue left her eyes and was replaced with a deep vibrant orange. Ella felt this orange glow like the morning light she used to love to feel against her face when she woke. The feeling now was the most apparent of all. She was determined. Determined to save the island she loved so much, as well as the people on it. She was determined to avenge Riley, Joe, Pike, her parents and everyone else affected by Beverly Keane's grip on the island. And she was determined to have the last laugh. Bev couldn't hide behind that halo anymore. Not while Ella was still breathing.