It was confirmed at Bob Mewis' funeral: Abby Dahlkemper was one of Satan's heirs - or at least according to Kristie's theory and memories.
Feeling like this was never going to end, and having a bad gut feeling inside her body, Christen just sighs in exasperation, burying her face in her hands. Yesterday, in the Eastside, Abby saved in extremis around 300 people, before collapsing and being taken away in intensive care by her father in a maximum-security private hospital outside of town. Shelina almost died, which only showed that the witch was closer than ever to killing her heir and continuing the curse that is maintaining her alive.
Helpless, Christen just groans in anger again, before throwing every visible piece of paper or book on her desk all around her on the ground, visibly very concerned. Once her episode is over, she just sits down in the middle of the room, her whole body shaking, feeling like the world was about to end sooner than later.
This is when she sees it: the small piece of paper that just escaped from within an old book's pages - one that she got from her grandmother's place when she and her family had to go over her stuff in order to throw them away and empty the apartment. Frowning, she puts her glasses on and unfolds the piece of paper.
She frowns while realising nothing was written on it: it was a drawing probably made with a pen many years ago, or maybe only days ago, as it was quite hard to tell.
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*picture found on Google / picture it black and white
Frowning, Christen just stares closer: in the middle of the picture, two women that looked a lot like each other, except for the hair and eyes colours, as one of the two girls was drawn clearer that then other. And, which his wings, Satan, and then... Hidden in the back, right before the huge claws symbolising the limits of Hell, a shadowy human form, that Christen cannot quite distinguish.
She turns the picture around, before realising two words were written in Greek, and the handwriting was quite unique:
"What the hell, Abuela" Christen whispers.
όλοι νεκροί
She then immediately grabs her computer and opens her DeepL application in order to translate the two words into English: and she immediately regrets doing so, as the words were loud enough to be understood clearly:
ALL DEAD
Now opening her WhatsApp application on the computer, Christen quickly creates a group chat including herself, Crystal, Sam, Abby, Tierna, Shelina and Tobin, that she names 'THE CURSED BITCHES', before typing her text rapidly.
Taking a deep breath, she then sends it.
Christen {11:34 PM} : We need to talk - I think I found out something important.
***
Tierna gasps.
As she and Sam secretly met by the river that separated East from West sides of Sunnyvale in the middle of the night, not having the chance to meet earlier because of the invisible attack that everybody was talking about since it happened - even spreading rumours that the mayor's daughters and other people were possessed by an evil force - Tierna immediately realises that Sam was crying.
After hugging her and making sure she felt safe, she whispers in her ear:
"Sammy, I think-"
"Shh" Sam orders, before getting away from Tierna's embrace, her eyes set on the water running quietly next to them. Before Tierna can say another word, Sam asks: "Did you see that?"
Tierna looks closely at the water, but she doesn't see anything.
"See what, Sam?" she asks, frowning in confusion.
But Sam wasn't listening to her.
Instead, when the water starts moving abnormally, Tierna finally pays attention to the right details: there are bubbles coming out of the depths of the water, before something big starts moving.
When they see blonde hair emerging from the water, floating all around a face that was still hidden. But when Sam takes a closer look at the girl's t-shirt, she gasps: of course she knew this logo, as it was her school's soccer team last year.
Julie Johnston emerges fully from the water, her clothes all bloody despite the little skinny dipping on the water.
"U-uh... J-J-Julie?" Sam stammers, carefully staring at the girl.
But her iris were gone, replaced by a glowing white colour instead, as she wasn't really staring toward them while also seemingly staring at them.
Tierna felt tingling in her hands, as a sudden headache struck her.
Nevertheless, Tierna grabs Sam's arm, still very conscious of what was going on, as Julie's teeth - that now were pointy, while her fingers and nails looked just like those of the shadows from earlier - were showing, hostile.
Holding her breath back, Tierna states the obvious:
"S-Sammy, I don't think this is J-J-Julie anymore..."
Indeed was she right.
After letting a long and terrifying scream, Julie gets out of the water, running straight toward Sam and Tierna. By natural reflex, Tierna puts her body in between Sam's and the now possessed ex-Eastsider, as she feels a stranger force taking over her body.
When Julie lets yet another blood-stopping scream out, she jumps very high and points the knives that served her as nails toward the two girls. Seeing her getting closer and closer with every nanosecond, they both close their eyes.
But Julie's nails did not make it where they were standing.
Opening her eyes, Tierna gasps as she realises her hands were glowing in green, while the surrounding vegetation of the lake just raised up - as the long roots of the trees just got out of the underground, wrapping around the legs and torso of the blonde, preventing her from moving.
Obviously conscious that her friend was causing the plants to obey her every desire, Sam just stares at her, asking:
"How?"
Tierna has her eyes and full attention on Julie: inside her fingers, she could see the four elements responding to her - it was as if she could just make the cold and soft wind turn into a tornado within second ; or make the trees swallow the whole city within minutes, letting nature take over its rights ; or that she would be able to create waves or earthquakes great enough to destroy Sunnyvale and its surroundings.
Instead, she just focuses on Julie, and responds:
"I've got no idea"
"Well, it's working, so keep doing that please!" Sam screams, panicked.
Julie is trying to get away from the plants' embrace, as Tierna makes an abrupt gesture with her hands: the roots just propel Julie Johnston inside the river, before the waters would just strongly deport her body away from the two girls.
Never in their lives Sam and Tierna had ran this fast until they were able to reach the Mewis' empty family house, out of breath.
"That was amazing, Baby T!" Sam exclaims, her eyes going wide.
"We'll have time to think about that later, alright?" Tierna immediately interrupts her, frowning.
"What's more important than you being able to control Mother Nature, uh?"
Tierna throws her a disobliged look.
"Maybe the fact that Julie Johnston is Kristie's replacement in the witch's murderous favours?"
