"What do we do now?" Ella asked as the group walked down the road. The morning air was cool and crisp, as more people began leaving their homes and giving polite smiles and waves to the trio.
Sarah sighed. "I-I'm not sure. Hassan didn't believe us, and now I feel like an asshole."
Ella pondered for a second. "He's too close to this. We need to speak to someone on the mainland, make it seem like an anonymous tip that we think something bad is going to happen tonight. Hopefully, they'll come in time to stop it."
Sarah nodded. "Alright...do we call?"
"No," Mildred stated.
The two looked at her. Her face was harsh and solid.
"No, we should take Erin, and we should go in person," Mildred told them.
Ella shook her head. "We can't, we'd miss the vigil."
"That's exactly what I'm hopping for. My only concern is keeping the three of you safe right now. I want us off the island, we can tell the mainland police office, and stay at a hotel for a while. I don't care. I just want all of us to be away from the island," she rebated.
"We can't Mil. We'd be abandoning them..." Ella replied.
"We're not abandoning anyone, Els. You've got a good heart, too good sometimes, but we can't stay. Riley had told Erin to run for a reason. It's not safe here," Mildred said back.
"My mothers right, Els. It's not safe for any of us to stay here right now. Maybe things will calm down, or...something I don't know. But we need to leave," Sarah agreed.
Ella felt conflicted. She felt guilty, running away, but she didn't want any of her friends getting hurt. But what if Hassan? He'd still be here, and he's not about to go for a trip with them at the moment. And John...what would happen to him? Ella didn't want to leave without saying goodbye...she would really miss him.
However she nodded in agreement.
"Alright. If we want to catch the ferry, we'll need to leave at noon. Ella you head on home and pack, we'll meet up at your house around 11:30," Mildred told her.
Ella silently nodded and slipped away from the group.
She approached her little cottage, wondering if it would be the last time she ever saw it. Suddenly a terrible revelation came over her.
She raced up her steps in in through her door, frantically searching for the little grey kitten.
She heard him screaming, a harsh, raspy scream, and ran over to find him chained up to her table.
"Oh my baby boy!" She cried, fumbling with the chain. Beverly was a heartless monster.
His meow was raspy, since he hasn't drunken any water or eaten anything in 48 hours. He'd been screaming for help for so long, never knowing if anyone was ever going to come back. It broke Ella's heart to see him in such a state.
She quickly unchained him and held the trembling little fluff black in her arms. It seemed like he was crying, he had been terrified.
Ella cried into his soft fur, holding him and making sure he was loved. She felt so awful. She's been trapped in Bev's basement, if only she could've broken out of her depression episode sooner. She'd been wallowing in so much self pity she couldn't bring herself to do anything. She'd felt useless.
After a few minutes, she put food in his bowl and gave him some water, which he consumed very quickly.
It felt so strange, to be at home acting like everything was normal, when in reality this could've been the last time she'd ever be here.
"Don't worry," she told Pebbles in a soft voice, "I'm not leaving you behind."
It would look weird, carrying a cat in a crate throughout the city, but she wasn't about to abandon him. This cat had saved her, been there for her so many times, she wasn't about to let him go.
Ella chugged a cool glass of water, feeling it's refreshing cold touch down her throat. Her leg began to ache again, but she tried to pay no attention to it.
She decided to have a shower, she needed something, anything to take her mind off of reality. Something to wash away all of the unusual and strange life she'd been plunged into for the last three days.
She went to her small bathroom and turned on the water, took off her mud stained clothes and got in.
Almost instantly the messy feelings were something of the past. Showering was like a little slice of heaven, a small break from reality. You were all alone, in your most vulnerable form, and you were safe. It brought a little bit of comfort back into Ella's life.
She glanced down at the wound on her arm. It was nothing but three scars now. It had caused her so much agony before, little did she know it would have become the least of her worries when she got it. She wondered if it would stay as three scars for the rest of her life. What was she going to do with the rest of her life? How can anyone move on from this?
She decided not to dwell on it. It would only cause more trouble in her already troubled mind. Instead she closed her eyes and put her face right in the water from the shower head. It was warm and her surroundings felt so bright. She felt the water trickle down her face and body, like a protection from all things. Anything and everything she'd need protection from.
Eventually though, the warm water ran out, and was replaced with a sharp cold one. At first she didn't mind it, it was a refreshing change. It reminded her of the cold swims she used to take to keep her mind off things, but it soon became unbearable. And it to, had to come to an end.
She stepped out and wrapped herself in a towel, and glanced at herself in the mirror. It's funny, she looked just the same as she always had. She still had bright green eyes, and freckles, and a small little beauty mark by her right eye. She looked like the same Ella, but on the inside she'd changed. Grown more than a person should have to in just the span of a few days. Learned more of the world than some learn in the entire lifetimes. But you could never tell, she looked like the same old Ella.
She walked across the hall to her familiar little room. God it had been a long time since she'd slept in this bed. Perhaps not that long, but it had felt like an eternity.
She threw herself on her big white comforter and fluffy pillows and let her entire body weight sink into the mattress. She didn't need to hold herself up right now, and she took comfort in that fact.
She became aware of the hot, sharp glass against her bare skin. That small jar necklace of her mother's didn't much like being lay on.
She heard the little pats of tiny paw pads marching into her room, and jumping up onto her bed. A soft little fuzz ball curled up next to her body. Ella smiled genuinely for the first time in ages. She couldn't believe how relaxed she was, it's almost like she forgot what relaxing was. But reality hit her quickly when she realized she needed to get dressed. It was nearly 11:00, and she still had to pack and dig through her storage closet to find Pebbles crate, then somehow find a way to get him into it.
She groaned, standing up and stretching out her arms. She dressed in flowy pastel yellow sundress, that complemented her copper tanned skin. The dress had been her mother's, and at the moment, she just really wanted her parents. She felt a bit embarrassed about it, she was nearly 30, and she still needed her mom when she felt upset. But then again, who could really blame her.
She brushed out her hair and then began to look around her very messy storage closet, coming across a lot of old memorabilia from her child hood. Each object hurt a little more than the last, knowing the past would always stay in the past. But eventually she found the crate, and hastily closed the closet, locking away the painful memories.
It was a struggle, getting Pebbles in the crate. He'd been trapped in the house to a coffee table for so long, apparently he didn't much like the idea of being confined again. Ella eventually lured him in with treats and quickly packed her overnight bag, before hearing the rap at her door.
She looked around the little cabin a final time. This place had felt everything she had felt on the island the last year. It'd seen her at her best and her worst and she was sad to leave it. She took in a deep breath, that didn't make her feel any better, and left.
Back in the midday air, she tried to convince her self she was simply going on vacation with her friends. Maybe if she could distort reality in her mind, it wouldn't hurt so much. But her mind knew better, and it never truly worked.
Erin, Sarah and Mildred seemed to all be feeling the same. They were all leaving the island they had called home for so long, and they didn't know if they would be back.
"Hey Pebbles," Erin greeted the crate in her best masking voice she could muster.
Ella could tell she felt just as guilty about leaving. She tried to convince herself this was for the best, and if they convinced the police to check it out, everything would be fine. But she had a gut feelings that was eating her away, something that told her it wasn't right. Still she has agreed to do this, so she wasn't going to back out. Not to mention she was scared, every part of her rational mind was telling her that it wasn't safe and she needed to leave, but she couldn't push down the feelings of guilt and worry of regret that she'd leave everyone she loved and cared about on the island.
"Are we ready?" Sarah asked, reading Ella's conflicted face.
Ella didn't say anything, she just nodded and swallowed down the guilt. She walked down the steps as Mildred put her arm across her shoulder comfortingly, as of to say "it's going to be okay." However Ella wasn't so sure of that.
They walked towards the docks where the Belle should've been docked. However there was no ship in sight.
The air felt heavy. Something definitely wasn't right. This could be deeper than they thought.
"In all my years in this island, that ship has never been late," Mildred pointed out.
Ella knew as well, the Belle was never late. No matter the weather or the circumstances, that ship always showed up.
"Sturge!" Erin shouted to the man working in a nearby speed boat.
He glanced up at the group, his eyes shifting nervously.
"Where's the Belle? We were hoping to take a trip to the mainland," Ella asked him.
His eyes darted to there bags and the cat in the crate.
"We're visiting Ella's parents for Easter weekend," Sarah quickly responded, sensing his curiosity.
He nodded and swallowed nervously. He definitely knew something.
"Sturge?" Ella asked snapping his attention back.
"Uh sorry folks you've missed the chance. The...Mayor sent both ships for maintenance," he told them, standing straighter and refusing to make any sort of eye contact.
"That's what your doing?" Mildred asked motioning to the toolbox next to him on the boat.
He hesitated for a moment but nodded. This didn't sit right with Ella. But now something else began to make her worry, they were trapped. Looks like they were staying on the island after all.
"Well, look at the bright side, at least you don't have to miss Easter Vigil," Sturge laughed nervously.
Sarah responded with her own nervous laugh. "Right. Well...we'll see you there tonight."
He gave them a weak smile and turned back to his maintenance.
The group gave each other nervous looks as they turned away and quietly walked back to Sarah and Mildred's house.
They sat in the house for some time, none of them wishing to speak. But they were all thinking the same thing. This was much worse than they thought.
Ella watched Pebbles explore the house, sniffing and scratching up against everything he came across.
"Should we tell Annie and Ed?" Ella proposed.
Erin shook her head. "I already tried. Everyone thinks we're nuts."
Ella nodded sadly and turned back away, laying her head on the round wooden table.
"No ferrys, no boats, what are they planning? Are Sturge and the Mayor in on this?" Sarah asked.
"They must be. At least the Mayor probably is. He works so closely with the church, there's no way he doesn't know," Ella sighed.
"What do they think they're doing? That's my question," Erin asked, glancing up and making eye contact with Ella.
Ella shrugged. "John was under the impression he was spreading God's gospel. That....thing, he thinks it's helping. He told me he wants to keep it to just the church, that he had a plan to make sure it wouldn't go haywire...but I'm not so sure. And Beverly definitely doesn't have the best intentions in mind."
Erin nodded. "From what Riley told me, when she went to visit them, she almost seemed scared."
Ella scoffed. "Just as cowardly as always, she is."
They let the silence hang in the air for a while. Everyone was completely lost in thought, trying to come up with any sort of plan. But it looks like the "cult" was a few steps ahead.
"Are...are we going tonight?" Sarah asked.
"No. No way, Sarah we don't know what's going to happen," Mildred replied taking a deep breath.
"I am," Ella stated, gaining worried looks from the others.
Erin nodded. "Me to. Riley thought I could help...and I don't want to let him down."
"We don't know what's going to happen, it could be nothing at all. But if anything were to happen to the people I care about that will be there...I don't know if I could live with that," Ella sighed.
Sarah nodded. "Your right. We're the only others who know, we have enough intel to stop it."
Mildred let out a shaky breath. "Okay, we can go. You girls are much braver than I."
Sarah put her hands on her mother's shoulders lovingly. It made Ella miss her parents dearly, but she was so thankful they were hundreds of miles away.
Just then the power cut out, plunging them into a pure darkness.
Ella hadn't realized how dark it'd gotten, the evening was quickly upon then.
They gathered around the large bay window in the kitchen and looked out to the horizon.
The room filled with an ominous, hazy red glow.
Outside a large Blood Moon rose in the sky, all of them feeling a sinking sensation with it.