You Did Good

Eleven

"Are you okay?"

"Of course she's not fucking okay."

Benji frowns at Lorraine as she sits down on the sofa, narrowing his eyes at her. "That's not what I mean."

Renata forces out a stale laugh, resting her hand tightly on his knee. "I'm okay, Benji. Thanks for the concern."

They had run all the way to the first floor, trying to get as far away from the thing that attacked Renata as possible. Lorraine had said that the living room- the room they had first talked to the groundskeeper in- was one of the safest in the house, so they had been camping out there ever since. They had gone to the car for the sandwiches they had bought, deciding that there was no better time to eat them than when they were recuperating from whatever had just happened.

"Do the scratches still hurt?" Seth asks softly.

"Not really. They mostly itch now." She shakes her head, glancing to Lorraine. "What was that? Was that really the evil spirit the housekeeper warned us about?"

"I'm afraid so." She admits.

"What do we do now?" She glances to the other. "It hasn't been the hour I promised you yet, but is it safe to stay with that thing here?"

"He'll stay in the attic, most likely," Lorraine says. "If you stay on the first two floors, you should be safe."

"What even was that thing?" Benji asks. "We tried to get the groundskeeper to say something, but she wouldn't budge."

Seth nods in agreement. "It's like she was terrified of it."

"She has every right to be." She answers. "It is capable of a lot more than a few scratches."

Benji's eyes widen. "Seriously?"

She nods. "We don't really know where he came from. We believe him to be a egregore- a manifestation of multiple energies coming together to make an apparition. Many people believed that the spirits of the men who killed Phoebe and Elise are still here, trapped within their own guilt and anger, waiting for someone new to come along for them to pray on."

"So that's why it scratched you!" He shouts, becoming overexcited. Beside him, Renata winces. "Sorry!"

"Just don't shout in my ear." She groans.

"So a bunch of people have manifested this thing over the years?" Seth asks, being the sane voice of reason amongst their petulant fighting match.

Lorraine nods. "From what we have gathered, yes."

"And seems to only go after women?"

Again, she nods. "Yes."

"So what's to say that if we go in there again, this time without Renata, it will leave us alone and we can talk to Phoebe unscathed?"

"Nothing certain."

Renata shivers. "I don't know if that's such a good idea. Getting attacked by that thing isn't fun, and I don't know if we should be tempting fate."

"Then what else can we do?" Benji asks. "I still want to get this hour in. After that, we can leave. I promise."

"You can split up." Lorraine suggests.

"What?" Renata gawks. "No way."

"These girls aren't frightened by a single person sitting by themselves. They're only afraid of the big groups." She explains. "If you go into one of the more active rooms alone, I'm sure you'll get something."

"I have gotten enough for a lifetime."

"You can stay here." She offers. "Let the boys go off by themselves. I'll stay here with you."

The guys glances back and forth, shrugging.

"I don't see a problem with it." Benji states.

"I'm down only if you are." Seth adds, making direct eye contact with Renata.

She sighs. "It's not like I have a choice in the matter." She shoos them away. "Go on. Get. I'll be here counting down the hour."

Benji smiles, jumping to his feet. He quickly presses an appreciative kiss to her forehead, running towards the dining room to call dibs on the piano that they heard earlier. Seth is a little slower, not wanting to leave her behind to quickly. Still, she coaxes him out of the room, leaving only her and Lorraine alone.

After a few minutes, unlike what she promises, even Lorraine leaves.