Things were a blur again, but this time Evergreen was prepared. Tom and Bella kept her locked in her room, and even though she admired their efforts, she knew it was no good. If Maddison or...Him, wanted to find her, they would. In fact it was only a matter of time before someone did, and Evergreen was aware of what would happen if He got to her first. She refused to be just another victim, she refused to end up like her father.
She slowly learned the patterns of their visits and gathered the courage to say what she had been brewing in her mind in her solitude.
"I need to go back."
The words were met with a deadly, stunned silence. Both Tom and Bella were struck with disbelief.
"Absolutely not! I will not lose my only baby to those...those monsters!" Bella exclaimed in a near shriek, making her daughter flinch.
"I have to agree with your mother on this, Evie. It's too dangerous, I'm not sure what we would do if something happened to you." Tom nervously scratched his beard, he had gained this tic anytime he felt paranoid about something.
"I don't want to be the one to say this, but if anything is going to happen, it's going to, whether we like it or not. No amount of locking me away in this room is going to keep me safe. If I don't get to the center of this mystery, who else is going to be blindsided by these individuals? Some young girl or boy may fall victim to the incidents we have been experiencing." Evergreen stood her ground, she couldn't let anything happen to anyone else like it had to her family or families before her. They at least needed to know how to fight against this situation, and she already knew enough, there was no escaping her fate.
"I won't! You can't! I can't lose you!" Bella bursted into tears, leaving the room.
Tom stood silently and kneeled down to level himself with the seated Evergreen.
"Listen...Your mother and I don't want you to do anything that could put your life at risk, but if what you say is true and there is no way to properly keep you safe.....I want you to do what you feel is right. I'll protect your mother and take care of her, just....do what you have to." Tom's eyes were stern but understanding, Evergreen blinked a couple times before smiling.
"Don't worry, I don't plan on dying."
Late that night, Evergreen snuck out of her window with a bunch of gear, dropping into a bush. She packed the bag with the camera Maddison gave her, a flashlight, her medication and some water. She also had a gun that Tom slipped her when her mother was busy, and a matching holster on her hip. She took out her flashlight and made her way to the forest, staying aware of her surroundings. As she came to the mouth of the woods, she left behind a note, just in case she didn't make it back. Something mushy and sweet, just so her family knew they were on her mind the whole time she was doing this, tacked directly to the first tree.
She disappeared into the brush and trees, watching her back the whole time. Paranoia swallowed her mind as she made her way deeper and deeper, and she knew He was watching. Especially when she came up to a tree with a page attached to it.
"You shouldn't have come here."
She felt the heat emanating off the piece of paper, and knew this was the way she needed to go. She continued following the small dirt trail, marching through the brush and trees. She kept her hand on her gun, eyes darting back and forth. She heard noises all around herself, and immediately knew that somebody was close.
A woman's giggle was heard, but not one she recognized. She felt a cold chill, immediately unnerved.
"He's going to get you!~" The woman darted across the path, scaring the wits out of Evergreen. She caught a glimpse of her mask, and recognized it immediately. It was the person from the store who magically disappeared!
"You!" This was all Evergreen could manage before the woman appeared again, this time from behind.
"Yeah, me! I am me, but who do you think YOU are!" This woman was dangerous, and Evergreen kne this, hand staying on her gun the whole time.
"Ooohh!~ A gun! Pretty! Can I see?" The woman was too close for comfort, now. Immediately Evergreen shied away from her.
"Don't come any closer!" Even though she meant to bark the order, it came out shaky and more like a plea. Evergreen cursed herself, and immediately started walking faster.
"I'm not the only one you need to worry about Evie~! He's coming!" The woman disappeared amongst the trees, and all was silent again.
Evergreen's pace picked up, and as she passed a massive grain silo, she saw a piece of paper fluttering from it. She walked over and grabbed it, and saw it was a picture of Tom's late wife, immediately feeling sick. She was hogtied, bruised and in tears, it wasn't a nice picture to look at, but Evergreen put it next to the note in the water bottle mesh on the side of her bag. This road felt so much longer than she remembered, but she had also sprinted down it a few months prior, not the walking she was doing.
She continued following the path, and came across an old cemetery, it was small and had only a few graves. She recognized the last name, "Valentine", it was Maddison's family graveyard. This was where her parents were buried, and she slowly crept closer. She pulled another page off the fence, it was a picture of Maddison, her parents, her Uncle Edgar and Aunt Angel. In the background however, something was off, the photo was slightly distorted, and in the background you could see the man standing, watching the family.
Evergreen felt a dark presence in that moment, and frantically kept walking, feeling eyes on her back. The crickets had silenced, and she knew something was wrong. She started to pick up her pace, finding herself almost running now, coming up to the large house. She got the mailbox and noticed something blue and glowing in it, and decided to reach in and grab it.
It was a rose, an ethereal blue, glowing and glittering on its own. She took it and decided to nestle it behind her ear, the stem lacking any thorns to hurt her. She then headed up to the house, trying the front door.
It was locked.
She felt defeated, until she saw a cellar door. She figured this was her only chance, and pulled on it. Surprisingly, it wasn't locked, and she headed down the dark stairwell into the abyss. She shone her flashlight on the walls, revealing scribbles on the walls of strange markings and symbols. She was feeling sick again, but she just took some nausea meds and continued down. She made it to the bottom of the concrete trap, nothing really sticking out to her. She hoped there would be a doorway leading to the large house, at first finding nothing.
She sighed and was ready to head back upstairs when her flashlight caused something on the wall to glimmer. It was a handle, and when she pulled it, a door came unstuck from the frame, opening to show a set of stairs that led upwards. Evergreen quietly celebrated, heading up the stairs when she heard an insane laugh from behind her, the voice uncomfortably familiar.
"I knew you would come back, darling! You just can't stay away~!" Jeffery's voice rang out from the dark pit, and Evergreen ran as fast as she could, slamming the door behind her. She could hear him running his way up, and she bolted into the dark hallway, looking for a place to hide. There was no place to hide this time, and he was approaching fast, her eyes darting from place to place. She found her way into a massive kitchen, and tried to hide behind the island, holding her breath.
It was useless.
He came around the corner and immediately came upon her, backing her into a corner, knife in hand. She went to take out her gun, but his large hand was immediately around her wrist.
"No use, darlin'. One wrong move and I'll carve you like a Thanksgiving turkey." He continued to close the space between them, pressing her further against the counter. "Actually, tell me why I shouldn't do that now...." He ran the knife against her arm, causing her to shiver. She had to think fast, she had to stay alive.
"I-I know why you shouldn't." She spoke shakily, trying not to make direct eye contact.
He gently grabbed her chin and moved her face to force eye contact, his gaze intense.
"Go on, tell me little songbird, why shouldn't I cut you up, huh?" He almost spoke seductively, as if this was a perfectly normal sentence to be spoken in a flirtatious tone.
"I have something you crave." Evergreen's tank top strap fell down her arm slightly, as she batted her eyelashes. She felt gross, using her....physical appeal to keep her life, but it was either that or completely losing all ability to finish her mission. His eyes glanced at her shoulder for a moment, the back up to her eyes. His already smile-carved mouth broke into an even wider, more unsettling grin.
"Oh baby, what makes you think I won't still kill you after I'm done?" His ripped lips her inches from hers, and her blood was running cold. Was she really about to do this?
"I bet no woman has willingly offered herself to you."