Within Grim Wedlock

Chapter Twenty Seven: Childhood Natalie

Fiona looked sad in a way, sad yet determined. At that moment Natalie trusted her with her life. Even if it meant she died along the way. Whatever Fiona says goes she told herself. It made her angry to not be in charge. She understood how silly it was to have that on her mind but she couldn’t help it. It was simply how her brain was wired.

She was jealous Fiona carried a sense of intelligence she didn’t carry. She wanted to be the one to save everyone, she felt like she had too. But at the same time, she was happy she didn’t have the sense Fiona did. It sounded frightening to live with always seeing more than everyone and feeling so deeply.

Despite how much she tried to hold herself together and fake her perfect image, she knew she was fucked up. Eating problems, horrible self confidence, life sucking mother…everything that would tend to break a person made her feel strong.

They quietly jogged up the stairs, barely breathing as Fiona led the way.

She ran her fingers along the walls, carefully observing each door before stopping abruptly and throwing one open.

“This room, I was just in it.” She said, breathing heavily as she locked the door.

“Holy shit…” Anthony said, looking down at the ground.

A pool of brown, dried blood stained the carpet along with a notebook and a series of burned out candles.

“That’s the body of Raymond, Millicent’s fiance.” Fiona said quickly, snatching the book off the floor.

“Please elaborate.” Natalie said in confusion, sitting down on the large bed.

“Through that engraved looking handprint, I saw the beginning by touching it just like I did with the painting and I saw how this thing came to our world. This girl who lived here, Millicent Scott, was just like me. She had gifts but couldn’t control them and she could hear voices which made it easy for that being to contact, manipulate and possess her. In this book she recorded what it told her. This is the book that Lillith and Rowan learned the rituals and vows from. She was going to be married the day she killed Raymond in her wedding dress, ate him and made that fucking disgusting crown like the one Ellie has…her own dad killed her and locked her in that room with the iron door.” Fiona rambled, sweat dripping off her forehead.

“Thats why the dress and wedding must happen…it's how it becomes one with the selected killer!” Fiona exclaimed.

“Slow down, slow down, what happened next?” Natalie asked.

“I saw what's behind that door, and it wasn’t pretty.” She said, her hands trembling. 

“Her corpse…it melted into the floor into this horrible, steaming  black ooze and crusted up. It was awful. Harriet and Nelson said that the being can rest for the amount of years that it had a victim meaning it rested for one year that time before someone was lured in again after stepping near the fence that must’ve been installed by the family after what happened. I think that her body created the portal when she died because she was possessed, that's how this thing took control over the forest. Whenever it’s reopened, their property is the territory it can control. The second round of people must’ve unlocked the iron door after being lured in.” She said, wiping her face.

“And because the fence was built right on the edge, if someone steps close to it that's how the door appears to its victims, and how we got lured in.” Natalie mumbled.

“Meaning anyone who even stumbles on there is lured in, friends accidentally luring friends, curious kids, rebellious teens…and people don’t take it seriously because it only happens once in a while because of the rest cycle.” Fiona stated, dropping the book.