By the time we ran back to the front of the church, the whole building was up in flames in a deadly red and orange glow.
From a distance, I heard someone cackling and it grew louder the closer we got to my truck.
Who was laughing at a time like this? Shouldn't they be trying to escape?
My car finally came into view and next to it the old woman from before was standing in front of the burning building. Her hair was wilder than before and flew in all different directions.
Was this her distraction that she was talking about?
Camila must have seen what I was looking at because she froze and stopped us from getting to the vehicles.
"Camila what's wrong?"
"Bruja used all the gas tanks we got to start the fire!"
I looked over and sure enough laying on the grass next to the crazy old lady was the empty red gas cans. Her ragged clothes and hair had hay sticking out of them and when I glanced down there was a ring of more hay circling around the church where the fire rose up from.
"That's fine. If it wasn't for her, we wouldn't have been able to save Ray or Sofia." I said watching the woman spew slurs and rude gestures at the building.
"Rot in hell, you pig fuckers!" She laughed menacingly.
"I guess you're right.." Camila trailed off then did a quick cross sign over her head and chest. She handed me over to Ray and took Sofia from him. "Here, you two get to your truck. I'm gonna go grab the other van."
"Okay, but what about her?" I asked, referring to the old woman.
We watched her for a moment, and as if we all agreed just from what we were seeing alone, decided to leave her behind.
Camila left to sneak behind the woman's back and Ray escorted us back to my Chevy.
Once I heard Camila start the van up, the woman jerked around unnaturally towards the vehicle and started chasing after them.
I quickly turned on my truck and set it in reverse. I floored it, sending us backwards roughly and took off with Camila tailing not too far behind.
******************************************************************************
The bright rays of morning slowly cleared the night sky and Camila slowed down to the side of the road next to us once we were miles away from the church.
"Crazy adventure right?" She joked from the driver window.
"Yeah." I sighed out of exhaustion.
This was really crazy. I don't know what's going on in the world where cults like this form and people are suddenly just dying. Whatever it was, I was just glad it was over. Once we got home, I planned on calling every number possible on these freaks, on the city and for someone to save Lily.
And after that...years and years of therapy to numb what I've seen.
"What's your plan now?" I asked her.
Sofia appeared up on Camila's lap. "Hi!" She screamed excitedly while waving really big.
I envied her innocence so badly.
Camila smiled and stroked her hair while I waved back.
Sofia shook her head stubbornly. "No, no! Aki! Aki!" She jumped up and down pointing over me.
"Huh?"
We all started laughing when I realized she was trying to say hi to Ray and not me.
"Aww how cute, looks like she might have a little crush on you for saving her Ray." I teased him.
Sofia let out an audible excited gurgle in response and Ray slouched in his chair while groaning.
"Anyway Camila, do you have somewhere to go? Maybe you guys can come with us?" I offered. "I was thinking of heading home and trying to figure out what's going on."
"Sorry, we can't." Camila responded softly while settling her little sister down. "I was thinking about checking up on mi abela over at the retirement home in Chino Hills. Bless her soul, she doesn't have any family left and she would want to know about our dad." She squeezed Sofia's small hand. "And I wouldn't want her to die alone either."
"Okay" I said, swallowing the lump in my throat. Even though it's been only a day, I had kinda liked Camila and didn't mind her companionship through this mess. It would be nice if we could at least stay friends but who knows if we would ever see each other again.
"I wish you two the best of luck then. Hope she's alright."
Camila gave me a smile that glimmered as bright as the sun. "You too chica. Let's survive this shit together."
"You too...uh, chica." I replied awkwardly.
"Also, don't forget to give your feet some rest. You could use it after today."
With a quick wave and a smile, she rolled the window up and took off down the road as quickly as she came.
I wonder if we'll ever see each other again?
"Hey sis?" My brother called out.
"Yeah, what's up Ray?"
"Do you think...with helping Sofia...did I do okay?"
I smiled wide at him. "Are you kidding me? You did awesome! You saw what they were doing to people in there. If it wasn't for you, Sofia could have easily been the first one to go."
Ray returned the smile. "Yeah they were pretty scary weren't they? Are you alright by the way?"
I rubbed my neck. The cut was already starting to scab.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Seriously though Ray, you surprised me. You handled that situation really well."
I thought for a moment and then smiled softly. "So good in fact..." I hesitated before saying this but after all the hell he's been through, he deserves it.
"How about we teach you how to drive?"
Thank you so much for reading!
Please be sure to vote at the end of each chapter~
It helps others in finding this book and also lets me know you're enjoying it where I want to keep making more exciting books for you!
Feel free to follow me for updates, news on upcoming books, and much more! I also have a Patreon full of goodies and +18 content that is too saucy for Wattpad! https://www.patreon.com/chocolatetentacles
YOU ARE READING
The Downward Spiral Book 1
ParanormalBlood? My wrist was covered in it. It wasn't dried up or reeked of the combination of that black gunk from all those other freaks. It was fresh and warm too. Where was it coming from? I checked my body. My t-shirt was splattered in everyone else's b...
