"Who killed who?" Joe was confused. No longer was his mind lost in a reliving of the past. He needed to focus on the situation in front of him.
"Charlie killed Delphine." Karen looked up a Joe who seemed to tower over her in that instant. Her eyes wide and full of understanding. It would be fitting for Delphine to be the one who got to take him out.
"Right now?" Panic rang through in Joe's voice as he asked the question. His head swiveling around in search of his friend. He couldn't stand it if anything were to happen to her, not after everything they had gone through to get to this point.
"No, the night she arrived, but-" With those words a fact fell loose from her mind. Delphine was dead, so how could she be here fighting Charlie, but then again, Charlie was dead and fighting them. This whole situation was severely messed up.
"But what?"
"What? Oh, sorry. Nothing. This house is just messing with my head a lot." Karen offered Joe a small smile, but her mind was still busy trying to wrap itself around all of the craziness that was this house. Her father came to her, they had supernatural abilities, people who should be dead weren't, and she had killed Paul. She was going to need years of therapy if she survived this.
"You sure, because your face is telling a completely different story." Joe's eyebrows nearly met his hairline as he studied Karen's face.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Well, if you say so." Joe knew that she was lying, but there was too much going on to stop and go into full on interrogation mode. A thing he wasn't super good at, which is why he never became a cop.
"We should go help Delphine." Karen walked away from Joe. Part of her didn't really care if he decided to follow her, but she knew that he would. Joe came a long way to help them and Karen had a feeling that he was important somehow.
"I think I see something up ahead." Sophie looked up at the sound of Wyatt's voice which echoed the exhaustion his body was displaying. They weren't going to make it much longer if they didn't stop to rest and gather their strength. Thing was time wasn't really on their side. They were in the midst of a fight for their lives and their futures.
"Okay." Sophie's eyes never left Wyatt. She knew that she should look ahead and see what he was talking about, but no matter how hard she tried, Sophie's eyes stayed glued on him.
"Do you think we'll survive?" It was a question straight out of left field, but one Wyatt felt compelled to ask. They'd been through so much the last, he couldn't even remember anymore. All Wyatt wanted was to leave this house and live a long and normal life. A life without supernatural abilities, haunted houses, and the occasional, yet very obtrusive death. He known three people who died in this place already and he wasn't about to watch as Karen or Sophie met the same gruesome fate. They were his family now.
"Don't worry so much." Sophie tried to laugh off the question, but the answer was obvious. Not everyone would leave this house after this battle. No matter how much she wished for a different ending, the one that was going to be carried out was going to leave those she loved with tears in their eyes.
"So that's a no then." Wyatt didn't look at her, but Sophie knew that his face was set, no emotion on display. He could see right through her.
"It will be okay Wyatt. I promise. Our stories don't end here tonight." It was as reassuring as she could be given the circumstances. She wanted to tell him everything. The urge to tell him that he would survive and go on after this night weighed on her tongue. It would be so easy, but the repercussions too innumerable to count.
"You shouldn't make promises you can't keep." His voice lacked its usual inflections. He was losing hope. Hope in a better and brighter day tomorrow. Sophie stopped walking and gave his arm a harsh tug. Wyatt whipped around with worry in his eyes.
"Knock it off! You can't go into battle with a losing attitude, everyone knows that. You have a future Wyatt. One bigger and more amazing than even you yourself could dream of. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and dwelling in the past! If you die here tonight, I will never forgive you!" The words came exploding from Sophie's chest. She couldn't hold it back anymore. There was no way in hell she was going to watch someone she loved die because he was too depressed to fight back.
Wyatt's frown found itself turning into a slow smile. He loved seeing the fire burning bright within her eyes. "I love you." Three words not meant to be spoken in that moment came rushing out of his mouth. Three words that he meant with every fiber of his being. He loved her for everything that she was and everything she made him.
Sophie didn't hesitate in her response. It was a stolen fragment of time amidst a raging war. "I love you too." As if to seal it forever, Sophie pushed up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against Wyatt's cheek. Warmth spread through his entire being. He would remember this for the rest of his life.
"I'm going to make you pay for what you did." Delphine ground out the words as she inched closer to Charlie. With each step forward, Delphine pulled the whip tighter around his neck.
Charlie tried to choke out a threatening response, but the cord choked away each effort. Deep in his head he made a vow to make her pay for this. He didn't care how long it would take, but he would tear her apart cell by cell. Time was on his side now after all.
Delphine arched around Charlie as he laid thrashing on the ground, his axe a few feet away from him. Discarded from her attack. It was in that instant of seeing the axe on the floor that she knew what needed to be done. With the whip tightly held in one hand, Delphine bent to the ground and snatched up Charlie's shadow axe. Black smoke billowed from every part of it leaving the tip of the blade the only exposed piece.
Everything in Delphine's body told her to go for it, to take her revenge, but there was something holding her back. No matter how many times she commanded her feet to carry her towards her murderer, they remained cemented in place. Two weapons in hand and yet no ounce of killer instinct. It wasn't like she didn't want to do it; she had every intent on slamming the axe into his body, but-. That was it, that's what was stopping her. There was always a, but. A small three letter word with no obvious answer. No immediate response. Yet, it was always enough to stop her every time.
Karen could hear Joe's footsteps as they trailed after her. She was leading the way, taking them to their destination. Problem was, she didn't know where that was. The dining room wasn't that big, but it felt as though she was wandering through an arena or something bigger. The smoke clouded over every inch of the space making it even more difficult to navigate. Somewhere in this mess was Delphine who was fighting Charlie.
"Do you know where you're going?" Joe voiced Karen's fear. It would have been easy to lie to him and say that she knew exactly where she was, but what good would that do?
Without hesitation, Karen turned to face Joe. "Not a clue." It was a simple answer, straight to the point in fact. The kind of answer she could get behind after a series of unanswered questions and a mess of riddles she couldn't solve.
All Karen wanted to do was throw up her hands and give up. She was tired and the unsure of what she should do. It seemed as though everyone was relying on someone, but Karen couldn't find a place for all her troubles and worries. Since the day she arrived, no, even before that, Karen had difficulties making friends. She could never truly confide or trust in anyone. This aspect of her personality translated into all of her interactions with the other guests. The one person she started to get close to was Charlie. She thought that he would be someone she could trust, but then he turned into a monster. How could she trust herself when those she deemed worthy of her friendship were masked killers?
Karen's eyes frantically searched the smoke for the hope and answers that she so desperately craved, but it offered none. She could feel Joe shifting behind her. Karen knew that he wanted to comfort her, to tell her that it was okay, but she couldn't let herself indulge in that. It was a crutch, a temporary solution, a band-aid.
"Karen-" Joe spoke her name as soft as he could. It was the only tender embrace he could offer her. Karen's stiff shoulders and refusal to look at him was enough for Joe to know that she didn't want to be comforted. He wanted to say more, to reach out and wrap her in his arms and tell her that everything was going to be okay. More than anything Joe wanted those words to be the truth.
"Please don't." The words were earnest and full of tears. Joe watched as Karen's shoulders began to shake.
"Don't worry Karen. We're in this together." Joestepped forward, not stopping until he was standing next to her side. Withoutlooking at her tear covered face he reached down and wrapped her small hand inhis large one. "One step at a time."
"So, what's the plan?" Bobby asked for the third time as John stared up at the house that overshadowed him. He had been quiet since his whole spiel about coming up with a better idea and working together.
"We wait." John spoke with conviction, not bothering to look away from the house.
"We wait?" Bobby was incredulous. How could he say that after everything they had been through? Those kids needed them to break down that door and go rescue them. To save the day and be their heroes.
"The house won't let us in. There isn't anything we can do but wait until whatever is happening in there plays itself out."
"But-" Bobby couldn't find the words to use to chew this idiot out. Joe had died trying to save these kids and this moron shows up here with a wrecking crew. Then he suddenly decides to help only to do nothing. What the hell was with this guy?
"Don't get me wrong. I know that this sounds stupid, but you have to remember, I have been dealing with this house since the day I could talk. This place is a part of my history and my family legacy. It would be stupid to ignore the history of this place simply because the situation seems dire. We need to put our trust in these kids that they will do everything they need to get themselves out of this situation." It was a reasonable argument. However, in this moment in time, Bobby wasn't all that into reason. He was running on instinct and adrenaline.
"Are you nuts? Those kids don't have a clue about this house and all the evil that it holds. I mean you were so freaked out when you learned that they were there that you drove crazy and killed my best friend!"
John's eyes flicked to the ground with the memory of what he'd done to Joe. There would never be enough apologies in the world to make up for that mistake. "I was wrong. When I learned that there were kids in this house and that it was active again, I freaked. All that did was cause a tragedy that can never be taken back. It may sound ridiculous, but I think that these kids know this house better than either of us at this point. They stand a much better chance of surviving this if we stay out here and wait. I will not be the cause of more needless death." John was immovable in his conviction. Ever since he found out about this house; he'd made mistake after mistake. This wasn't the time to rush in and make more. He only hoped that Bobby would see reason and wait with him.
"Are you freaking kidding me?!" Anger spewed from every pore of his body. He hated this man with every fiber of his being. His mind raced with all the possible murder ideas it could muster. He was going to make this eccentric billionaire pay no matter the cost.
Bobby raised his arm, fist at the ready. He was going to knock the day lights out of this-this bastard. Plunging his fist forward, Bobby seethed with every second John paid him no attention. His hand was a few inches away when John turned and snatched it with his own. "I know you're angry, I am too, but this place feeds on our anger. We can fight this out later, but right now we need to stay strong for those kids trapped inside."
Not speaking, Bobby wrenched his fist away from John. "This isn't over." Bobby pointed his finger with each word for emphasis. As soon as this mess was cleaned up and done with, he was going to beat the crap out of this buffoon.
"Understood." John turned back to the house. There wasn't much he could do for those kids except stand here and pray that they made it out alive.
"Look, I think I see someone." It was Sophie who pointed it out this time. Through the smoke and darkness, she could see the flutter of a white dress. It didn't take her long to know who it was. It was the same girl she saw in the hallway talking with that boy, the one she left alone. It was the same girl she backed away from as she bled to death. Now was her chance to make it up to her. To stand up and be there for her when she needed it.
"Who is that?" Wyatt squinted his eyes trying to make out the silhouette standing a few feet away.
"Don't worry. Everything is going to be okay." Sophie dropped Wyatt's hand as she stepped away. In response Wyatt turned away from the girl and back to her, his brows furrowed.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm gonna finish this." With a smile Sophie ran through the smoke as it closed behind her leaving Wyatt alone in the darkness.
"Sophie!" Wyatt screamed her name, but she didn't answer. Worry washed over him pushing him to follow, but the darkness grabbed hold and wouldn't let him go. "Be careful." The words were a soft whisper. He knew that she probably couldn't hear them, but at least he put them out into the universe.
Delphine watched Charlie as he writhed on the floor. She needed to do something before he broke free and destroyed them all. It was up to her. It was her revenge, her obligation.
Every time she would talk herself up, it never managed to reach her feet. She was going to let everyone down because she wasn't brave enough to step up to the plate and save the day. If she could just let, go of the piece of her she'd been holding onto. Letting that go would provide her with the push that she needed.
"Delphine!" Her name reached her ears accompanied by heavy footfalls. It would be easy enough to turn and see who it was, but common sense told her to never take her eyes off the enemy.
Compromising with herself, Delphine kept her eyes on the prisoner and called back to the person. "Who's there?" Delphine waited for a response, for the person to say something back, but instead she felt a small hand land on her shoulder. Eyes moving to the side, Delphine saw a mess of blonde hair. "Sophie?" In response the girl turned and smiled at her.
"Thought you could use some back up." Even in the darkness Sophie's eyes held a sparkle of hope and optimism.
"I can't kill him." Delphine was ashamed to admit it, but it was true. She'd tried and tried to get her feet to move, to push her forward to end Charlie's pathetic existence. No matter how much she wanted too, her body wouldn't let her.
"I know." Sophie's fingers laced themselves around the handle of Charlie's axe. Delphine watch in awe as she took all the responsibility of it. Charlie yanked on the whip forcing Delphine to latch onto it with both hands. Sophie twirled the axe like it was a baton as she took slow deliberate steps towards Charlie who was still thrashing on the ground, his eyes now focused on Sophie.
"What are you going to do?" Delphine voiced the question that was clearly displayed in Charlie's eyes.
"What no one else can." Sophie stopped beside Charlie who was now motionless, his eyes dead set on Sophie. "Have fun in hell asshole." With that Sophie swung the axe down and separated Charlie's head from his body.
Without anything to hold onto anymore, Delphine's whip fell to the ground. "He's dead." The statement was an echo of shock from Delphine as she stared at Sophie who stood casually over Charlie's dissolving body. Her mind a jumble of thoughts as she juggled all the emotions, she had about everything that led to this moment. "Is it over now?"
Sophie looked around the room once Charlie's body was fully dissipated. It was still full of smoke and dense fog. "I don't think so."
"But-But he's dead right? He was the bad guy, the person that we needed to defeat to win." Delphine's words were jumbled as they leapt from her lips. This was the end, right? It had to be. Everything she'd learned from being in this house said that he was the bad guy and that killing him would set everyone free.
"I'm afraid it's never as simple or easy as it may first appear."
"So, what do we do now?"
"We meet up with the others and figure this out together." As the last word left Sophie's mouth, her eyes focused on shadows as they broke through the barrier of darkness. From her left came Karen and a man she didn't know and from her right came Wyatt who was panting and out of breath.
Out in the hallway Jason could hear the house as it began to whisper again. Voices of the damned calling out to him like he was some kind of savior, but there was one that rang out above all the others. It spoke two simple words. The words he'd been waiting for all this time. "Your turn."
HOLY SMOKES GUYS! I did not think I would make it to today. I wanted to post this chapter so bad as soon as I finished it, but as I decided to wait until Sunday to post new chapters once a week, I had to force myself to go through with it. So as you can imagine, this week has been a whirlwind of ups and downs and I am so happy to share this chapter with you.
Don't worry there is still a bit more story to tell and a few more loose ends to tie off before we are done this this crazy bunch. As such, please stay tuned for CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX: REUNION which will be coming at you next Sunday so watch out!
Thank you to all of my new followers! You guys are amazing! Thanks to all those who follow and stick around, you guys are the best.
Sorry this chapter and after chapter message is so long. I really hope that you've enjoyed this chapter and I hope you like the one that's coming. Please don't forget to vote and leave a comment (if you so wish.)