The Wandering.

Chapter 19

Whispers in the woods
Wind blowing strong
Voices from the beyond
The warning of this song

1

The town of Sachem Bay was masked in silence, sleeping, warped in their own mask of oblivion. Shari was not sleeping tonight. She stood upon her balcony, letting the summer air gently caress her skin, offering herself and spirit to the soft touch of nature. It was 2.36AM, but Shari was far from tired. She had spent the evening with Tobias and Logan, sat out on the porch, relaxing and making small-talk.

Earlier that day, she had caught them, kissing, much to their surprise.

"Oh." Shari had said plainly, standing in the doorway. "Well this is interesting."

Tobias moved his hand away from Logan's side but Logan didn't seem to be bothered.

"This only just happened..." Tobias muttered, seeming to panic.

Logan rolled his eyes. "Tobias, chill. I'm not fussed."

"I had zero idea you also hit for another team?" Shari said, a raised eyebrow. "Why'd you never tell me?"

Logan laughed a little. "Why'd I ever need to? And why the labels?"

Shari nodded in fair agreement. She was never a girl to use labels, so why was she now?

"You know what? Do whatever makes you happy, that's what I say. Now who wants a beer?" Shari suggested.

So the three of them fetched up some beers and  sat on the porch, sipping them as the sun retreated behind the horizon of Sachem Bay, behind the distant mountains and hills.

"This place is really beautiful, if you look past the pain and guilt." Tobias said, placing an empty bottle down and picking up a new one.

"Sachem Bay has always been beautiful," Logan said. "people are just too scared to see past the horror."

Shari held back a shudder, for she knew she was one of those people. She hated this town, she always had.

After the sun finally disappeared, Logan decided to stay the night, taking one of the spare rooms.

Shari disappeared to her bedroom, where she read a while and watched a little TV, until it brought her to 2:36AM, stood on the balcony.

The night was basking in the quiet, only the distant sound of animals in the woods could he heard, along with the static sound of silence.

Then Shari saw her. Diana was heading, ever so slowly, towards the boarding house. She wasn't sure if she had seen her at the balcony, but Shari retreated into her bedroom immediately.

A minute later, Shari heard the groaning of the doors opening, one inch at a time. Shari wasn't afraid, the hatred for the entity that was exploiting Diana was raging through her, forcing her to confront the darkness.
Shari descended the staircase, to see Diana waiting in the lobby.

"Have you got bored yet? I want my friend back." Shari said, baseball bat in her hand.

Diana didn't look well. Unhealthy dark, black veins had sprouted around neck and arms, her eyes red and sore, bags swelled under her eyes. It seemed her bones were bulging out of her skin, aching for desperate release.

"Bored? Never." Diana replied, her voice sounded deep and demonic. She cracked her neck, her smile broadening into a sinister grin.

"Then why are you here?" Shari asked, her hand tightening on the baseball bat.

"I feed on death. You're my next victim. I imagine you will taste just like you're sister-"

Shari threw the bat forward, letting it collide directly in Diana's face, knocking her backwards onto her ass on the hard wooden floor. The bat rattled on to the floor and rolled away under the dining table.

Diana giggled, as if somebody was tickling her.

"You think you can hurt me?" Diana laughed, getting to her feet. She grabbed her left index finger and swiftly snapped it in half.

"You think you can harm me?" She shouted, ripping a chunk of her hair out of her head instantly, then ripping a tooth out with ease.

"You think you can break me?" Diana bellowed, the force of her shout causing Shari to stumble backwards as the air rippled out towards her. With that, Diana's head twisted, cracking and breaking, until it turned all the way around, to reveal her cunning smile on the other side.

"This is some exorcist shit." Shari muttered, gripping the wooden staircase for support.

From upstairs, Shari could hear the banging of the doors, as Lorelei, Logan and Tobias was locked within her rooms, desperate to get out.

"Come to Mommy..." Diana growled, her legs literally snapping forwards, blood pouring through her jeans.

At that moment, the doors burst open and Justin appeared, a woman at his side.

He flicked some sort of liquid at water and muttered a few words, somehow causing her to scream as if she was on fire, burning in the pits of hell.

The woman pulled out some large chains from her suitcase and clipped them on to Diana's arms, legs, body and throat.

Diana choked, the liquid seemed to have intoxicated her, as if she had inhaled a poisonous gas.

Shari heard the doors upstairs swing open and soon after, Lorelei, Tobias and Logan came rushing down.

"Take her to an empty bedroom. It's time we end this, once and for all." The woman said. Then she turned to face Shari. "It's been a while since we briefly crossed paths. I'm Jenny Cooper."

2

Gia Davenport pulled up at the police station and left the car parked in the lot. She made her way towards the building, pulling her trench coat over herself to shield the night breeze.

The police station was deserted.

"Hello?" Gia called out, her voice echoing through the lobby and down the corridor. No answer. The light seemed to flicker, faulty and eerily broken.

She walked past the desk and computer, where someone was usually sat. Tonight it was absent - which Gia knew was out of the norm.

Every door was open, wide and ajar, drops of blood leading down the corridor. Gia was shaking as she made her way down the hallway, glancing in the rooms, praying that whatever had caused the blood was long gone.

"Chief Tenner?" Gia called out. Still, nothing.

On the floor, was a bloodied up photograph of Rich Wheeler and Samuel Tenner, arms around each other with a table of beers, grinning heartily as if they had never had any worries in the world.

She picked it up, tracing her finger around the frame, thinking about how much had changed in the last two months.

A loud bang erupted into the corridor, causing her to drop the photo in fright, almost screaming out.

Then she heard footsteps, coming from the end room, along with the awful sound of heavy breathing. She knew the sound of the panting - it was Terrence Pearce. And a second later, he would walk through the door, to where Gia was stood.

Gia slipped into one of the offices, sliding under the large desk. His footsteps grew louder as he entered the office slowly, his boots hard against the floor. From under the desk, Gia could see his legs, and the blood dripping from his long kitchen knife. She clasped a hand over her mouth and closed her eyes.

One sound and she would be dead.