𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 | 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐞

Chapter 12

"Sorry, we haven't visited in a few nights. Things have gotten worse..." Ashley started, looking down. When Sal passed, I felt estranged from everything I knew. I didn't know how long I spent in his room with Gizmo, gripping his mask and asking why. Ash had to be called in to drag me out many times following EVERYTHING, yet I always found myself back there. We promised each other we would be always together. Ash betrays me, Larry takes his life, Todd is abducted by the cult and Sal is put in the electric chair. What have we done to deserve this, did they even find what they were looking for? They don't even understand that they will be devoured by their Demon slowly, step by step. I chose not to say anything to Travis, but I had the feeling he already knew.

It wasn't fair, none of this is fair. None of us deserved this, if only I could have stopped them, I was sure there were memory removal spells in the books, I could have. But I chose not to, I know it would turn against me in time. I can revive Sal with time and power, but I was absolutely drained, I had to protect everyone around me from the infection, and I didn't have time for myself, not anymore. When we found the pyramids, Ashley and I were thrilled, it was an option we were going to try. And even if we followed every instruction, nothing happened. I looked at the ground, reaching over to Ash, trying to comfort her as much as I could. Neither of us knew how long we sat here.

The cult, the apartments, the ghosts... I didn't wanna let that shit get to me, I wanted to support them. "We got these weird pyramid things in the mail. Another package from our mysterious cultist insider. Todd had the third pyramid in the shed, and in his notes, he says he found it in the temple under the old apartments. There are several mentions of a 'prophecy' in (Y/N)'s books, her entity wasn't supposed to make the Demon disappear at the moment, but to free her from (Y/N)'s so she could grab onto the opportunity to contaminate the Demon with her infection and kill it in due time."

"We think the pyramids might be linked to you somehow, but no matter how we turn these, nothing happens. We thought SOMETHING would happen this time..." I said and took a deep breath, Ashley looked at me and I nodded, knowing that Sal would want to hear it. I stared blankly at my own hands, trembling. My mind was flooded with thoughts, if I was still powerful enough, I could've held them and not let them fall. But these people needed Sal! We couldn't call for help, either, even if Sal was alive, just barely, he couldn't do anything. I backed away slowly, feeling a bit nauseous. The deterioration of the human psyche was evident around the world. They need Sal. "We went back to the burnt tree every night for weeks... Larry is just... Gone. I can't bring myself to go anymore, another screw up in a long list of my failures..." I rested a hand on her shoulder.

"This morning, I went over to Neil's place, but..." But some things don't end how we'd like them to. And, in life, that's something you have to get used to, to give your life for someone you love, is it worth it? Or is it inherently the same as ending your own life to accomplish a selfish motive, like Larry himself had done?

"I know we planned to blow the temple up, even if we failed, but I couldn't do it. I didn't bring myself to press that button knowing that our friends are there... Even if I only managed to get (Y/N) out of there safe thanks to Travis... We can't do this alone. If you are out there, somewhere, please, Sal. We need your help... Please... You can't be gone." I watched her worriedly for a long moment, but I eventually smile sadly at Sal's grave. I knew he would find the way back to us, just in time. It's weird for the atmosphere to be so subdued while we stood there. I remembered my visit to the old apartments, the same feeling of my trembling hands, light from the cloudy, gray sky shifted into the dark hallways. The blackness of the halls looms from the sides. The paint on the walls was peeled and cracked, and cobwebs seemed to have spawned in every corner.

The ground creaked with every step I took, and tiles of the floor were broken over time, their residue left to crumble into small piles. Some daring graffiti littered the walls and were the only hint of color left in the drab and dull interior. Memories flooded back. I had been in the building quite a few times visiting, and know nothing of those happy memories were left as dust and death hung in the air. The feelings were overpowering as if the negative energy was concentrated there. The cemetery was not so different, everything is engulfed with the smell of meat and the same sadness emanating from the graves. I felt as if everything in the world stopped at that moment. I clenched my fist, wishing, praying, that he would come back. To us. To me.