SUNNYVALE

(26) THIS IS WHEN SHIT TRULY GETS INTERESTING

Tierna, Sam and Abby show up at Annemarie Press' door the morning after the double murder - Sam's presence being only due to insistent demands from Abby, to which Tierna had no good reason to say no, since the tall blonde was also high over hells into this weird shit they're in - at the verge of town, in a small retirement facility with individuals apartments. 

The old woman really was Christen's grandmother: the same amazing black hair, as well as the same expression in their green eyes that were intense yet sweet. She let the three teenagers inside her apartment, immediately offering them some tea, which they politely accepted, all smiles. 

But behind the smiles, there was an underlying nervousness that would take over their anxieties: they knew they had to solve whatever all of this is, because The Bathtub Killer wasn't slowing down - quite the contrary.

"So, you said you know my Christen? Mi preciosa niña, qué tresoro (English: my precious grand-daughter, what a treasure)... How is she doing? She hasn't written to me in days now. Did something happen?"

The three girls look at each other, until Sam starts:

"M'mam, we appreciate you letting us into your home and, in truth, we came because your granddaughter might need some help, and you are the only one that could provide us with the information we seek..." 

"She is fine, though" Abby interrupts her childhood friend, seeing the old woman's face change from happiness to deep concern in a matter of seconds.

Sam nods, thankful for Abby's great catch.

"Yes, she is currently in a hospital because... well..."

But Tierna was fed up with all the formalities, so she goes straight to the point:

"She saw shadows... I mean, we saw shadows, and after conducting extensive researches in the police's archives, we found out that a person had complained about shadows before, without being taken seriously, so if you-"

"Tierna" Abby warns her, not detaching her eyes from the old lady.

When Tierna looks at her too, she see the expression on her face, and freezes: it was confusion, fright, relief and apprehension all at once, as all four emotions could be read in her eyes.

This is the breaking point.

The old woman gets up, before posting at the exit, starting to yell things in another language they did not know - by the sounds of it, it didn't sound quite encouraging for them to keep to talking.

When she switches back to an English/Spanish mix, the girls realise they have hit a weak point:

"Váyanse, espíritus malignos, tú que destruiste mi vida! (English: go away, evil spirits, you who have destroyed my life)" she yells, before staring at Abby specifically: "Evil ! You are Evil, Satan's daughter risen to destroy our world! El heredero de satanás ha llegado entre los humanos, y no dejará supervivientes" (English: Satan's heir has arrived among humans, and she will leave no survivors)

With that said, she starts praying all in Spanish, and from her very bad learning of the beautiful language at school, Tierna was able to make the most of it: it was a specific prayer to chase away evil spirits.

Before either of them can say anything, the old woman stops breathing for a while: she had just caught eyes with Abby, who was very upset about her words.

The blonde's eyes had turned red again, as she was intensively staring at the old woman, just like if she was staring right into her soul. The more Abby's face would tense up, the less Christen's grandmother would be able to breath.

Sam wraps her arms around Abby's whole body, putting all of her weight on the girl, so that the eye contact between her and Annemarie Press would end. As soon as Abby's on the ground and therefore not looking at the woman anymore, the old lady is able to breathe again, as she now is sitting on the ground, breathless, her eyes wide open by fear.

"Get Abby out of here!" Tierna orders, terrified.

Intuitively, Sam pulls away off from the ground, immediately carrying her to the exit of the apartment - Abby's eyes had just become normal again, filling up with tears of anger and disgust at herself, and if eyes could speak she would've apologised to Christen's grandmother a thousand times - leaving the latter alone with Tierna.

The brunette did not know what to say. 

"M'mam, Mrs Press, I am so, deeply sorry for what happened, I... we..."

But the old woman, who has her hand on her neck, managed to gather enough breath to indicate to Tierna:

"The prophecy is real... The prophecy is real..." she repeats like a mad woman, before turning toward her library. She then points at a particularly old book, adding. "T-t-take it, it's yours... you'll need it to fight el diablo (English: the devil). Now, get the hell away from here and NEVER come back."

"Understood" Tierna only says, before getting up in a rush, grabbing the old book. On her way out, she turns around and tells the old lady: "Thank you so much."

She gets outside, actually terrified to get in the same car as Abby, who seemingly was way over her head with everything happening to her lately...

Before she gets into the car, Tierna takes a look at the book cover: the title had been erased by time.

***

Christen wakes up in a white room, her wrists handcuffed to each side of the bed she was lying down on. 

Around her, there was a lot of movement: big screens showing her vitals and related health status - blood flows, each type of cell, everything - were hanging on each wall, with numerous people with white blouses walking around, taking notes, making analysis. All their clothes were marked with a specific badge with the shape of a tiger, which makes Christen frowns. As her eyes are still getting used to the new source of very white light, she manages to look around, trying to understand where she was, but failed to do so unnoticed.

A woman immediately steps forward, a black mask on her face, as well as medical gloves the same colour. Her blouse, however, was a different colour - a navy blue, with on her badge written DR NAEHER. 

"Hello, Christen" the woman calmly says.

"Where am I?" the dark-haired asks, getting agitated, hurting her wrists in the process. As the doctor is already calling reinforcements, Christen yells: "What did you inject me ? Let me go! Let me go!"

But before she can say anything, the doctor had already taken a syringe out of her blouse and planted it in Christen's neck. 

Shushing while injecting the glowing blue liquid, the doctor gets closer to Christen's ears, and whispers in a sadistic voice:

"This is a solution designed especially for you, my dear Christen, because you are a beauty of nature, and we will take such good care of you that you will eventually grow fond of this place. Now, shhhhh, time to sleep a little bit more, not everything's ready..."

Christen's eyes close again.