Sam stood at the doorway with his phone to his ear, speaking solemnly with an emergency operator. He watched as Simon desperately performed CPR, wiping his tears away on his shoulder and begging Melanie to breathe. He had been going from the second they had gotten Melanie down and he refused to stop, but at no point was he able to get a pulse from her. He gently tipped her head back, pinching her nose and pressing his lips to hers, then forcing air into her lungs. As soon as he released his hold on her, her head would drop limply to the side at an awkward angle, her neck clearly broken. Her glassy, empty eyes were open and fixed blindly into the space in front of her.
There was no saving her.
Sam winced as he heard Melanie's rib crack, the second one since Simon had started. He knelt next to Simon and Melanie, taking Melanie's wrist in his free hand and feeling for a pulse for the dozenth time, instantly noticing how cold her skin had become. Even with Simon attempting to force her heart to beat, Sam couldn't feel anything close to a pulse. He gently set her arm back on the floor, letting the emergency operator know there was still no sign of life. Just looking at Melanie's face, he could tell she was no longer there. Her lips were blue, there was no colour left to her skin, and her eyes were beginning to glaze over. Simon had been trying to bring her back for nearly half an hour and nothing had changed. The emergency operator gently gave Sam permission to stop CPR. He sighed and nodded, passing along the message, but Simon refused to quit.
"You did everything you could, buddy," Sam breathed sympathetically, placing his hand on Simon's shoulder. "She's gone."
"She's not!" Simon grunted, aggressively thrusting his weight through his arms and into Melanie's fragile, little body. "I can get her back."
Another rib snapped.
Sam stepped away, letting Simon do what he needed to do, the minutes slowly ticking by. Finally, knocking could be heard at the door. He quietly slipped out of the room and ran upstairs to let the paramedics in. They rushed downstairs, defibrillator in hand, and they gently coaxed Simon out of the way so they could try to help Melanie. Sam disconnected his call with emergency operator and wrapped his arm around Simon, pulling him off to the side to keep out of the paramedics' way. He looked at Simon sympathetically, seeing the look of desperation on his face as he stared at the paramedics. They injected Melanie with epinephrine and tried to bring her back, but it was more of a formality. As soon as they'd seen her, they knew there would be no reviving her.
"I'm really sorry," one of the paramedics apologized regretfully, looking back at the two men as they stopped working on Melanie.
Simon broke down, turning away as Melanie's time of death was called and the paramedics stepped away from her body.
Sam coaxed Simon upstairs to the kitchen, sitting him at the table and doing what he could to console the man while the paramedics organized for a coroner to attend to the scene. One of the paramedics stayed with Melanie while the other joined the men in the kitchen to be a sympathetic ear until they could remove Melanie's body.
---
Physically and emotionally exhausted after a long day of rehearsals, the musicians were silent on the ride back to the cabin. Emma was dropped off at her hotel first, then the van continued on its way up the mountain through snow that seemed to float heavily through the air. Geri had her head resting against the window next to her, staring absently through the dark at the road ahead as she listened to the song playing softly on the radio. She watched as headlights from an oncoming vehicle pierced through the abyss of black ahead and made their way toward them. No one apart from themselves and the cooking and maintenance staff traveled that private road. The staff all left long before the sun set, so she expected it was either Simon or Sam heading back to their hotel for the night. She frowned and sat up as the vehicle got close enough for her to make it out. Her heart began to race as she realized it was an emergency van. She grabbed Mel's hand, squeezing it tightly to get her attention. She needn't have bothered. Everyone had noticed it.
It didn't seem to be hurrying and the emergency lights and sirens hadn't been turned on, so she had to assume whatever had happened hadn't been too bad. She wondered if it was Simon or Melanie who had needed medical attention. Perhaps it had been Sam. What she was most certain of was whatever had happened had to have been caused by the spirits in the house. Quiet conversations broke out amongst the musicians, everyone speculating on what could have happened while they were away.
Another set of headlights approached, garnering everyone's full attention. They all assumed it had to be Simon or Sam, following the emergency vehicle to the hospital. The quiet soon erupted into panic as the vehicle came fully into view, revealing a sleek, black hearse.
---
Simon sat alone in the laundry room, his back resting against the wall and his arms wrapped over his knees as he stared at the spot on the floor Melanie had occupied only an hour earlier. He could hear the faint sound of some of the girls crying upstairs. They were inconsolable. He couldn't face them, knowing he was responsible for Melanie's death. He had excused himself, wanting to be alone, and slinked back down to the basement.
Melanie was right, it had been his fault. He had failed her. She had been thrust into the spotlight and immediately criticized and picked apart, and all he had done was add more pressure and forced her to continue on with a smile on her face. He had thrown her to the wolves, completely unprepared and had taken away what she would have had for a support system.
They were a force as a group and it was difficult as their manager to keep them reigned in and under control. He had separate rules for each of them to follow, creating a subtle hierarchy in an attempt to keep them in line. He had allowed the girls, even convinced them on occasion, to pick at each other, to self-police one another, and he tried to keep them somewhat separated in their downtime in order to maintain some control. He had started booking vacations for them, ensuring they were apart. The less time they had to communicate with one another outside of work about how things were being run, the less chance they would fight back. If there was an underlying doubt about their friendship with one another and a lack of trust, they wouldn't work together to demand things be changed.
They were much easier to sway individually. He made himself the father figure, the one they could talk to when they couldn't talk to one another – made them feel as though they couldn't always go to one another. He made them feel safe and like he had things under control, that he was the one they could turn to for support. He wanted them to believe no one else could help them like he could. It wasn't meant to be vindictive, just a subtle way of holding some power with a group he knew he wouldn't be able to keep under control otherwise.
He had taken it too far.
He dropped his head, unable to stop picturing Melanie hanging from the joist above him. He had driven her to madness. He had put his job and his paycheque before her well-being. He had sent her off the edge.
"Murderer!"
Simon flinched and looked up to see who was in the room with him. He expected to see one of the girls, prepared himself to be screamed at.
But no one was there.
"Hello?" he croaked, leaning forward to look into Melanie's room.
"Simon?"
He broke into a cold sweat.
His heart racing, he got to his feet and walked slowly into Melanie's room. The door to the staircase was closed. He was the only one in the basement. He could still hear everyone mourning upstairs.
Had he heard someone call him from upstairs?
No. Listening to the voices upstairs, they were muffled and it was difficult to make out what anyone was saying. The voice he had heard had been so clear.
"Simon?"
It was a tortured, desperate voice that cut to the depths of his soul.
It was Melanie's voice.
He pressed his back against the wall, looking towards the darkened doorway of Melanie's bathroom. The light inside suddenly flickered and turned on. He could hear the metallic squeal of the door hinges and watched in horror as the door slowly swung closed and clicked shut.
Someone inside started to cry.
He stayed put for a moment, trying to make sense of what was happening. He hadn't heard anyone come downstairs. He would have heard them descend the staircase and open the door. He would have seen them walk past the laundry room.
He walked shakily toward the bathroom, straining to hear the crying of the person inside over the sound of his heartbeat pounding in his ears. He struggled to swallow, his mouth dry, and he placed his hand on the door knob.
He clenched his teeth, trying not to break down as he heard Melanie crying from within the room. He knew it couldn't be her. His mind was playing tricks on him. It had to be one of the other girls. Because of the stress he was under, his mind was messing with him, making him hear Melanie's voice instead.
His hand gripped the door knob tightly and he finally forced himself to turn it, slowly and apprehensively pushing the door open. He let go of the door knob, letting the door swing open the rest of the way on its own as he stared in disbelief at Melanie curled in a ball in the shower. She was wearing the same pyjamas she had been wearing when he had seen her earlier. He took a few apprehensive steps toward her, trying to make sense of what he was seeing.
"Why did you let me die?" Melanie sobbed. She raised her head slightly, but Simon couldn't see her face through the hair that dangled in front of her face.
"I didn't," Simon squeaked guiltily, not understanding what he was seeing. "How did you..."
Something metallic fell in the sink and he turned to see what it was. An old, brass key lay at the bottom of the sink, balancing over the drain. He felt strangely attracted to it and took a step toward the sink to get a better look at it.
He shook his head, realizing he needed to tend to Melanie first. He would come back to the key.
But when he turned back to the shower Melanie was gone.
Simon's heart began pounding once again and his ears began to ring. He knew it wasn't possible, but she had seemed so real. He walked toward the shower, pulling the glass door to the side and kneeling to where Melanie had been sat just seconds ago. He slowly held his hand out, feeling the empty space in front of him. He dropped his head, choking back a sob as he let his arm fall back to his side.
"I'm so sorry," he whimpered, allowing himself to break down.
Another metallic sound came from this sink and he looked behind him to see what it was. Inhaling deeply, he stood up and walked back to the cupboard. The key was still in the basin and it seemed to be vibrating slightly.
Simon frowned and slowly picked up the key, turning it between his fingers to get a better look at it.
He froze as he heard Melanie giggle.
Looking up at the mirror, he found himself face to face with Melanie instead of his own reflection. She had a sinister smile on her face and blood poured from her eyes, mouth, and ears. Her head suddenly fell jarringly to the side, the broken bones in her neck unable to hold it upright. Still staring at Simon, she opened her mouth and released a loud, inhuman scream. Simon backed against the wall, staring at Melanie with horror as her eyes became completely black and the corners of her mouth curved down angrily.
The glass suddenly shattered, shooting toward Simon, and he quickly raised his arms to block his face. Terrified, he ran out of the bathroom and back into Melanie's room. He turned to face the bathroom, placing his hand over his chest and feeling the steady, rapid beating of his heart. He took a few steps back toward the door to the staircase, not wanting to turn his back on the bathroom in case something ran out to attack him.
He winced, his nerves suddenly registering the pain in his left hand. A small shard of glass was sticking out of the back of his hand and blood was beginning to trickle from the wound. He carefully plucked the glass out of skin and tossed it onto the chair next to him. He covered the wound with his other hand, flinching as he realized he was still holding the key. He opened his palm to look at the key, watching as a few beads of blood seeped into some of the weathered engravings in the brass.
He heard Melanie giggle, in a more menacing manner than before, and he quickly tore the door open and raced upstairs.
---
Sam sat on the arm of the couch with his hand on Mel's shoulder as she sobbed into her hands. Victoria was on the love seat, enveloped in Kevin's arms as she cried into his shoulder. Geri had paced around the living room for a while before going to the kitchen and collapsing into a chair and breaking down once the reality of Melanie's death had sunk in. Brian and Howie had joined her. AJ had tried to go off to his room on his own, but had been followed by Nick.
"Are you absolutely sure she was really dead?" Mel sobbed, looking up at Sam desperately. He squeezed her shoulder and nodded tearfully.
"I promise, we did everything we could to help her," Sam explained softly. "She went really quickly."
He hadn't told any of them how Melanie had died, feeling it was better if they didn't know the details. They all knew Melanie's passing was self-inflicted, but that was as much as he would share.
They were interrupted by hurried footsteps coming from the basement. Simon appeared at the top of the stairs and frantically ran outside without a word, pulling on his boots and tearing his coat from the closet along the way. The door slammed shut behind him and Sam watched as he tore open the door of the van and sat in the passenger seat with a terrified expression on his face.
Sam squeezed Mel's shoulder supportively once more before quietly excusing himself to check on Simon. He pulled his jacket on, shoved his feet in his shoes, and stepped outside, pulling the door gently closed behind himself.
"You ok?" Sam asked softly. Simon stared straight ahead, his face pale, and he shook his head.
Sam sighed, looking back through the picture window as Nick emerged at the top of the upper floor staircase and made his way down to the kitchen.
"Maybe we should put them all up in a hotel for the next few days until we figure out what we're going to do," Sam suggested, looking back at Simon.
"No," Simon replied, his brow furrowing. He had stopped shaking and he no longer looked terrified. An eerie calm seemed to have come over him. "They should stay. I think I'll stay with them tonight, to be there if anyone needs someone to talk to."
Sam looked at him curiously, his attention moving quickly to Simon's hand.
"Simon, you're bleeding."
Simon flinched and looked at the back of his hand. Blood had smeared from the wound when he had put his jacket on and more was beginning to trickle onto his jeans. He cursed and quickly dug in his jacket pocket for a tissue, but Sam was already holding one out to him. Simon gratefully took it and pressed the cotton against the wound, hissing as it began to sting.
Sam tried to get Simon to tell him what had happened, but Simon brushed him off, stepping out of the vehicle and going back inside to clean and bandage his hand.
In the kitchen, Geri leaned against Brian and sobbed, overcome with grief, but also guilt. She had taken too long to piece everything together. If she had figured things out just one day earlier, she could have saved Melanie, but now it was too late. Melanie's death was her fault.
She tried to catch her breath and wiped her nose with the already saturated tissue she had balled up in her hand as Simon walked past the kitchen door towards the bathroom.
Geri's eyes were immediately drawn to his hand.
She stopped crying, her thoughts suddenly pulled away from Melanie's death.
It wasn't over.
She had to get Simon out of the house before the spirits could latch onto him and continue their plague. She had to stop them from killing the lot of them.
She pushed away from the table and walked with determination toward the living room.
"I want him out of here!" she demanded, pointing toward the hallway where Simon had disappeared as Sam walked back in from outside.
"Geri," Sam sighed calmly. "It wasn't Simon's fault. Let's not make him feel worse than he already is."
He had given her the perfect excuse.
"No, I want him gone," she stated firmly. "I can't look at him. Maybe we can talk tomorrow, but right now, I want him out of here!"
Victoria and Kevin looked over at her sympathetically. Neither of them blamed Simon, but they could both see why Geri was placing the blame on him. Mel lifted her head out of her hands and turned toward Geri. She knew exactly what she was up to. For a moment, she wanted to shut Geri up. She didn't want to fall back into the possession nonsense.
But then she remembered the bite.
And the warning from Lady Violet.
"You're all going to die."
Melanie was just the first.
She stood up and took Geri's hand, pulling her close and wrapping her arms around her. She looked over Geri's shoulder at Sam.
"I think you should take him back to the hotel," she agreed softly. "We just need some time to ourselves."
Sam sighed and nodded, clearing his throat as he kicked off his shoes and followed after Simon to convince him they needed to leave. Not wanting to be involved if there was a scene, Victoria and Kevin excused themselves and joined the rest of the group in the kitchen.
Convincing Simon to leave wasn't easy. Simon was adamant that he needed to stay at the cabin, that he would stay in Melanie's room and out of everyone's way, but Sam was eventually able to coax him out the door and into their car, promising him they'd both go to the bar for a drink once they got back to the hotel.
"I'm just a phone call away," Sam insisted, poking his head back into the front door of the cabin. "If you need anything at any time, call me."
"Thanks, Sam," Geri replied stoically, crossing her arms in front of her as she sat next to Mel on the couch.
They were interrupted by the ring of a mobile phone.
On the side table next to the couch, Simon's mobile vibrated and wiggled across the glass, went silent and still, then rang and vibrated once more. Geri looked at the illuminated screen reading "Unknown Caller," then picked it up and answered the call.
"May I ask who's calling?" she asked after exchanging pleasantries with the caller.
She quickly pressed the mute button and held the phone out to Sam.
"Pretend you're Simon," she instructed. "It's about Melanie."
Sam nodded, taking the phone and unmuting the call. He greeted the caller and listened for a moment, his brows furrowing. He looked at Geri and Mel with shock, his jaw dropping. They both looked at him curiously, silently motioning for him to let them in on the news.
"Put it on speaker!" Geri whispered eagerly, wanting to know if the doctors had found something regarding the spirits that had possessed Melanie. She needed all the information she could get to keep it from happening again.
Simon looked at her warily for a moment, clearly not wanting her to hear what he had just been told. She waved her hands at him impatiently, getting up to take the phone from him. She quickly hit the speaker button and looked at him intensely. He sighed and shook his head, defeated.
"I'm sorry, can you say that again?" Sam croaked.
"I've just arrived at the morgue," the caller explained anxiously. "I didn't make any stops from your place to here. At no point did I leave the vehicle. There's no explanation... but Melanie's body is gone."
Geri took a step back, staring at the phone with confusion. Mel pushed herself off the couch and walked toward the two of them.
"Mr. Fuller, this is going to sound really strange and unprofessional," the caller stated, beginning to stutter slightly. "That place you're staying... I know this sounds crazy, but you really need to-"
The three of them stared at the phone, listening in anticipatory silence, all of them leaning forward toward the phone.
The phone beeped a few times, then the screen went black.
"Hello?" Sam asked, tapping the screen to try to get the phone to come back on. He pressed the side button, but the phone wouldn't turn back on. He cursed and shoved the phone in his pocket to give back to Simon.
"I can't tell Simon," he groaned. "He's already gone over the edge." He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, clenching his teeth as he tried to think of what he was going to do. "How do you lose a fucking body?" he snapped.
He looked back at the girls. They were both staring at him, their expressions unreadable.
"I'll sort this out," he assured them, looking at them apologetically. "Don't worry about it. Try to get some rest. Everything is going to be fine."
Geri nodded, more an automatic reaction than an actual response to what Sam was saying. She gripped Mel's hand, garnering the girl's attention.
"We won't tell anyone," Mel assured him, her mouth and throat dry from anxiety. Sam sighed a thank you, moving back toward the door.
A mobile phone ringer went off once more. Sam quickly tore Simon's phone from his pocket and tried to get the screen to come on so he could answer the call. Geri cleared her throat sheepishly and pulled her own phone from her pocket, holding it out to show him the call was for her.
"Shit," Sam breathed, his shoulders drooping.
Geri turned the phone around to see who was calling.
It was Emma.
They hadn't told her yet.
Geri's cursed under her breath and she hovered her thumb over the button to answer the call, dreading the thought of having to be the one to tell Emma what had happened.
"It's ok, Sam," said Mel, glancing out of the picture window as Simon opened the car door and began walking back toward the cabin. "Take Simon. We've got this."
Sam nodded, looking at the girls sympathetically before stepping outside and talking Simon into getting back into the car.
Geri felt Mel grip her hand for support. She inhaled deeply and connected the call.
"Emma," she began apprehensively, preparing herself to break the news.
"Geri, if you lot are looking for Melanie, she's here," Emma squeaked in a terrified whisper.
Geri pulled the phone from her ear and looked at it with confusion, certain she hadn't heard Emma correctly. She quickly pressed the speaker button so Mel could hear.
"What?" Geri asked, stunned. Mel looked at her worriedly, waiting for her to fill her in.
"Please, don't leave me alone with her," Emma whimpered.