~BOOK 5/PART ONE~ Paranormal: Too Close To Home (Multi-Bandom FanFic)

Chapter 3 - Link

I appeared outside of a house and was mortified by what I saw. The left side of the supposed-to-be white painted house was charred black, and one of the windows was boarded up with a piece of plywood. I glanced around and saw that the rest of my surroundings were just as apocalyptic as the residence. The tree that stood tall to my right was missing all of its leaves, and its branches were burnt to the point that they couldn't hold themselves up anymore and had fallen to the ground. The grass that should've been green had since been turned an ugly yellow, brownish color, and there was a smoking hole not too far from the sad tree. My eyebrows furrowed together.

This couldn't be New Orleans, could it?

Just then, I heard a door swing in, followed by a gasp. I looked back and saw Rachael standing in the doorway, wearing a plain white t-shirt that was splattered with blood and a pair of ripped jeans. "Link?"

"Rachael!" I exclaimed, delighted to see her. My elation didn't last long, however, and it wasn't long before the smile that appeared on my face vanished and was replaced with a frown. "What the heck happened here?"

"Come inside," She ordered, motioning me in quickly. I didn't hesitate to follow her instructions, wanting to get away from the destruction that surrounded me. She shut the door almost immediately after I stepped foot in the house, and to my dismay, I was met with the same scenery. The house was just as much of a wreck inside as it was out. The walls were decaying and the furniture was either destroyed or covered in a dusty, white sheet.

"Oh my god," was all I could say.

"I know, not the most ideal place to hide out, but-"

"What? Why are you hiding?" I turned towards her, watching her pull her messy hair back into a loose ponytail.

She chuckled. "Why do you always ask questions you already know the answer to?"

"Did Natalie do something to you?" I couldn't help but follow up with, feeling responsible for my daughter and her actions.

"Not yet," Rachael answered, crossing her arms over her chest and looking to the side, "I tried confronting the demon inside of her, but when I did, she told me she had to go. I haven't seen her since, but after she left, all of this happened."

"All of what happened?" I followed her gaze and saw that she was looking at Brendon who was pulling in a witch that'd been hurt. The struggling wizard met my gaze and instantly he rolled his eyes. I wasn't too glad to see him either, so I glared in response.

"Kenya's pact fell through," Rachael answered my question, "They acquired all the signatures, but once word got out that Bruno lost his challenge with Jack, the treaty meant nothing. The humans and the wizards couldn't trust that Jack would hold up the werewolves' end of the bargain, thinking that the faction's interests weren't of his interest. This put the factions at odds with one another and a civil war was announced. The demons have become second priority, everyone too busy at each other's necks."

I returned my attention to my step-daughter and asked, "Well then why are you and Brendon here? Where even is 'here'?"

"This used to be the house Halsey and Brendon lived in when she stayed with him. It's a little outside of New Orleans. The demons may be second priority to everyone in New Orleans, but they're not for us. They don't have targets on their backs like we do." I noticed how she was using 'they' and 'we', as if Brendon was also being targeted by this demon, but I knew she was only saying it because it made her feel better, thinking that she wasn't the only one who was probably not going to make it out alive at the end of this.

"Oh, Rachael, I'm so-" I began to apologize when she brought her hand up and silenced me.

"I don't want your sympathy, Link." She met my gaze with tired eyes, absent of the life they once used to possess, "I don't deserve it, and if I'm being honest, it's not going to change anything." She dropped her hand to her side and then folded them both over her chest. "But anyways, how have you been? Halsey hasn't been too much trouble for you, has she?"