Tell Me A Story

Chapter 34: Face to Face

"Chris..." mumbled Anna. Her eyes were red from crying and she seemed too weak to get up on her own.

Apart from her sobs, the room was cold and silent. Mom and Nana appeared as astounded as ever. Everybody had their eyes on me. Even the victims, who constituted a barrier as if to prevent us from escaping.

"It can't be... Someone's manipulated you..." I said. It just can't be...

"I am the reincarnation of George, Chris!" she repeated.

"No..." I sobbed and knelt down. I couldn't control it...

"When Seth opened the vial last year, I got my soul back," she said. "My pure, unaltered soul!"

"I remembered everything at once and I knew that you were Edward. I couldn't wait. Years of vengeance was boiling in my veins. I poisoned your food."

"No..." I sobbed.

"Yes, I did. But you survived. That was when I realized that I couldn't harm you anywhere else but here. It wasn't just that easy. At the very place it all happened. I hatched another plan... After you told me a story every night, I knew what you were up to. I decided to take advantage of that. It was time for mom's transfer. It was I who possessed Cathy and suggested Little Falls."

"This can't be true..." I mumbled.

"Ignornace has always been a trait of yours, Edward," she said in the voice of a boy, "Even when the truth lies before your eyes, you choose to believe the unbelievable. Like you did when you murdered my parents!"

"I didn't kill them! It was-"

"Silence!" she hissed. "Tonight, I decide when you should open your mouth. Is that clear?"

I shook my head as tears streamed down my face.

"In order for your mom to be convinced, I added a little melodrama. Don't you think your children have a right to see their father? They don't have to be told the truth!" she mocked and chuckled.

"I couldn't do anything until you've entered The Old Cemetery. So I made Cathy mention about it all to you, to spark an interest in you. And then I thought, if my parents could bring me back, why couldn't I do the same? I was done with Cathy and she became my first victim.

Then Molly Crate brought us all to here. From the very first night, you started your late night adventures and eventually you found The Old Cemetery, helping me gain my full strength. The stories about the cemetery were supposed to make you turn your back on it. Trust your dad to come up with something like that. But I couldn't let you find the truth... That it was me behind all this. I sent Seth to you that night and he told you some beautiful lies.

I needed assistance by then. And you'd to perform one other task for me to be able to have total control over things. You had to dig six graves. I had no idea how to talk you into doing that. But your father found a way. The detention! I was standing outside his office when he was talking to you and your mom about it and I manipulated him. A detention that lasted an entire night. It was my idea.

I possessed him later and ordered you to dig six graves. They all returned. All those six victims. They all wanted to help me. I was done with Swit as well and once you left, or rather ran away, I buried him alive. Imagine his shock when he realized that I was George."

Mom broke down and started wailing. Irene ignored her.

"It was fun watching you trying to unfold the truth because I knew that you'd hit the wrong end anyways. I acted all scared and you guys believed me. Your bedtime stories ended but I was all too glad to see you spending sleepless nights.