Deception

-12-

     Lira helps JC stand up as George locks the door he just closed. Colonel walks into the scene, very outraged and confused.

     "What the hell is going on? Where's Celine?" Colonel asks sternly.

     "She's gone. And so is everyone else," George simply states as he walks past Y/N, Abe, and Colonel.

     "Wait a minute, where the hell do you think you're going?!" Abe yells as the telepath finally stands up straight, side hugging the speedster.

     "Away from here!" George yells over his shoulder. "This place is cursed. If you'd half a brain, you'd all do the same."

     The groundskeeper leaves as the butler enters, stepping out of his way. JC looks at Lira, who is staring off. The redhead gently taps her causing the brunette to jump.

     "Are you okay?" JC asks but Lira shakes her head. The redhead hugs her closer. William looks around, his anger growing.

     "Don't walk away from me! Where's Celine?! Where's Damien?!" Colonel yells, Lira taking JC's hand when he mentions Damien. Chef looks around, anger easily being seen by his face.

     "I've spent twenty-five years cooking for these uppity-fucks. I'm not about to die for them! I quit! Bitch!" Chef growls and leaves.

     "Chef!" the telepath starts but sighs. Benjamin steps toward William and places a hand on his shoulder.

     "I know things seem far beyond your control right now, but such that it is for all of us here. I shall take my leave, and I implore you to do the same," Benjamin tells Colonel, but he glares at him.

     "I. Won't let. My friends. Die. In this godforsaken house! And if you all are too much of a coward to do the same, you had best leave before I kill you myself!" Colonel states harshly.

     "William!" JC shouts as he turns to exit, giving her a glare.

    "Now you hold on a second. I've got more questions-!" Abe starts as he places a hand on William's shoulder but he smacks his hand away.

     "Get your hands off me!" Colonel yells as he leaves the room. Abe looks at JC and sighs then gets frustrated.

     "What the hell is going on here?!" Abe states as he leaves. Lira looks up at the redhead.

     "I'll go with him, alright?" she says. The telepath nods as the speedster runs over to Abe. JC and Y/N look up at Benjamin.

     "I know he's in pain, and I know you might be, too... but we need to leave this place," he starts as he walks off. "There's only death here now."

     When the butler leaves, the room around JC and Y/N starts to become distorted. They both look at each other just as they hear a voice in their right ear, then their left.

     "Hey!" the voice whispers as a wisp starts to levitate around the telepath's hand.

     "Help..."

     Y/N starts to look around in panic as JC narrows her eyes. Y/N then seems like they were being guided by something. The redhead looks at them.

     "Hey, Y/N. What's going on?" she asks but they ignore her, following the voices they hear in this twisted place.

     JC is about to say something else but starts to hear a heartbeat... her heartbeat. She summons more wisps as she walks around and starts to hear whispers coming from the room next to where Celine was last seen.

     As she enters the room, she sees a red haze in the silhouette of a man. She readies her hands as she walks into the room.

     "Hey!" she yells and the silhouette looks at her. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

     But, when she gets a better look at the man, she recognizes the man. She glares at him.

     "You were the one inside my head. You were the one that inflicted pain on me when I didn't do what you wanted me to do," she pauses for a second and looks at his hand. She sees the dagger that disappeared many months ago. She glares back up at him.

     "You were the one that made Abe lose control of his mind. You're the reason every time someone says the word 'murder', agonizing pain shoots through my body!" she yells but the silhouette cocks his head, realizing nothing happened when she said the word.

     "How long have you known?"

     "What? That you have been driving everyone mad in this hell house? I've known for quite some time," she starts as she places a finger on her temple. "When you have the ability I do, part of the package is seeing through the bullshit."

     The man growls and charges at her with the dagger in his hand, yet she thrusts her hand toward the ground and flies over him. He fixes his suit when he turns towards her, shaving off some of the haze. Her eyes widen.

     "M-Mark?"

     He grins and charges at her again while her guard was down. He gets to her, the dagger pointed towards her stomach. She growls at him as she pushes his hands away from her, wisps violently pushing against the Entity.

     Back in the rest of the Manor, Lira couldn't find anyone else so she sighs, leaning against the wall. She suddenly starts to hear whispers. The entire world surrounding her starts to distort. She then hears commotion upstairs.

     She speeds upstairs, looking around for the source of the noise. She steps towards the Seer's room and turns towards the room next to it. When she looks in, she sees JC trying to hold the Entity back. Her eyes widen.

     "Jay!" she shouts as she stands in the doorway. JC's eyes shot towards her and widen.

     "Li, NO!" she yells but the speedster had already charged at the Entity, shoving him away.

     As he falls backward, he laughs and slashes across the brunette's back, splattering her blood on JC's face. The telepath yells as the speedster screams. JC's eyes become filled with a white light as she sends some wisps towards Lira to pull her toward her. 

     The brunette leans against the redhead, her breath very staggered. The telepath creates a wisp that goes toward the speedsters cut, stalling the bleeding. She places a hand on her face and sets her up against the wall. She looks back at the Entity, her bright glare boring into his soul. He chuckles at her and grins.

     "That didn't kill her. I could've done worse."

     JC stares emotionless at him, her eyes white and the wisps violently circling around her making her hair levitate. A hand touches a drop of blood on her face from her best friend. Her glare turned into full on rage as she flew at him. The silhouette blocked the hands ready to tear him in half.

     "You knew so much. Figured out so much. Pity."

     He starts to push towards her as her wisps push back, her eyes getting brighter by the minute. Her hair slowly starts to change shades... to a shade of white. Lira's eyes widen.

     "Jay! Don't lose control!" she yells.

     JC's eyes flicker for a moment as the Entity had just enough time to shove the dagger into JC's abdomen, digging deep inside her body.