The Wandering.

Chapter 20

I am no stranger to the dark
It owns me
My soul, my head and my heart

1

Shari stared at Diana's decaying body, chained to the bed, her skin shining a faint purple-tinted colour, dripping with sweat and blood. Her eyes were lazy, gazing side to side and rolling back every few seconds and back down again.

Shari couldn't stare at her for long, for it made her uncomfortable, knowing a parasite of darkness was invading her body and robbing her soul.

Diana was now staring back at Shari. No. Not Diana's eyes - the Entity. She formed a wide grin, a couple of teeth missing and her lips cut and bruised. She giggled, her voice sounding despicable and sinister, as if laughing at the most awful tragedy to ever stain the earth.

"Ohhhh Shariiiiiii." The entity from within Diana chuckled. "Oh Shariiiii."

"Shut up." She ordered.

Diana laughed even louder, arching her back on the bed and cackling, shaking the chains in enthusiasm. The laugh now resembled that of an infant, innocent but yet so evil.

Tobias appeared in the doorway, giving her a sure nod to signal it was his turn to take over the watch.

"Thanks." Shari muttered, grateful to finally leave the bedroom. She descended the staircase to find Lorelei, Logan, Justin and Jenny Cooper stood around the dining table, passed the lobby.

"Hey." Shari said, her voice sounding drained and tired.

"Hi Shari," Jenny spoke. "It seems your sister is quite the intellectual."

"Huh?" Shari's voice almost sounded like a broken gargle. "My sister's dead."

Jenny nodded. "I'm a medium. I can summon ghosts forth and sometimes they come to me."

"Oh, I remember." Shari replied with a smile. Inside, her heart was racing at the thought of her sister.

"As Sadie has told me, performing an exorcism would simply expel the entity from Diana's vessel. We need to vanquish this spirit by eternal means." Jenny explained. "We need to exorcise the whole town of evil."

"We attempted this when we were eighteen." Justin explained. "But failed to complete it. We only weakened the spirit."

Jenny nodded, as if she already knew this information. "This time, we won't fail."

2

Gia Davenport held her breathe, her fingers going numb from the pressure of which she held her lips shut. Terrence Pearce's footsteps signalled that he knew somebody was here, as they were long and drawn out, as if to extend the length and enjoyment of his kill.

"Oh, come out come out wherever you are." Terrence sang, taunting out his prey, wriggling his knife around.

Gia's eyes were kept wide open, for she feared if she blinked and closed them, they would never open once more.

"I can smell you, you little slut. That perform reeks of whore." He sneered. And then, he flipped the desk over, sending it skidding towards the wall. He brought the knife down at Gia, who rolled and dodged the sharp bite of the blade. She skidded and rushed to her feet, backing away as his eyes shot towards her.

"I heard that red headed little slut survived my gun shot." Terrence spat.

"Yeah," Gia retorted. "You have a shit aim."

Terrence lunged forward, slicing towards Gia. She grabbed his wrist and pushed it upwards, the knife connecting with the brick wall and falling out of his grasp, sliding across the floor.

Gia brought her knee up and it connected with his pelvis, crippling him to his knees.

"This is for my daughter." Gia shouted, pulling herself back and throwing her force into a sharp kick to his jaw. Blood exploded from his mouth as she heard the sharp crunch of snapped and broken teeth.

"And this this is for all those kids." Gia added and threw her fist into his face, bursting his nose in the aftermath.

She swung again to kick his chest, but this time his hands clamped on her leg and pulled. She fell back, her head smacking on the hard floor.

Gia's vision doubled and blurred, the feeling of nausea and disorientation pooling her brain. Her ears were ringing in an eruption of deafening pain, the coppery taste of blood staining the back of her throat.

She could feel herself being dragged across the floor, helpless and weak.

And then she blacked out.

3

Shari couldn't stay in the house for much longer. It was 5:26AM when she walked out to her truck and set off for Secular Falls, driving half a mile down the dirt road. She parked where the river opened out and walked by the bank, and arrived at the waterfall five minutes later.

She sat there for a while, listening to the birds wake from their nests and watch the rise steadily rise over the horizon. The running sound of water sounded like a beautiful remedy, washing away her worries and fears in the swift course of nature.

She didn't think about much, only dreamed into the water, watching the flourish of fishes dart about, soaking in their world of oblivion.

"Shari Davenport." She heard a voice say. Almost screaming out, Shari turned to see Winnie McFarlane, stood in a long coat and a two dogs on a lead.

"Oh... Hey." Shari replied, secretly disappointed that her alone time had been interrupted.

"I hope I'm not interrupting."

"You're not." Shari lied.

Winnie smiled and gave the dogs a little tug, as they protested, trying to run for the water and the fishes.

"I've heard Sachem Bay hasn't been treating you so well. The death of Prue Harris really hit close to home."

"She was married. She was called Prue Rivers." Shari replied.

"Noted." Winnifred replied. "I still believe in you, you know."

"Believe in me?" Shari repeated, confused.

Winnie gave her a wink. "You're gonna kick some demon ass, ain't you?"

Shari felt a tug of annoyance rush through her. "You don't know me."

Winnie shrugged. "You're right, I don't. But I know a strong little lady when I see one."

Winnie McFarlane gave her dogs another little tug and set off down the path, disappearing around the corner.

Shari wasn't sure about what became of Winnie after that, for that was the last time she saw her. Maybe she died, caught the cancer or some organ disease. Maybe she killed herself, or maybe she landed herself in the home for the mentally ill with her mother. Maybe, just maybe, Winnie McFarlane ran away into the horizon, with only the company of her dogs and found what life beyond Sachem Bay had to offer. If it was the latter, Shari felt nothing but jealousy for her.

Shari watched the water a while, and then set off back to the Boarding House. She wondered what she would find there waiting for her.