What Lies Beneath

Chapter Seventy: Battle of Betrayals

Sophie could feel her friends close behind her, but she didn't want them to see what came next. Using her newfound abilities, Sophie manipulated the smoke that remained to block her trail and shroud her from their prying eyes. This wasn't their fight, it was hers and whether she won or lost, she didn't need to fight it under their watchful gaze.

When Sophie was sure that she was far enough away she halted her solemn footsteps. There was no way to determine the outcome of what was to come. How could one predict an end when even the beginning of this place seemed impossible? An image of Paul flashed through Sophie's mind. He claimed to be able to see the future. In the back of her mind, Sophie found herself wondering if he once saw this exact moment. Then again, she'd always imagined to future to be like a giant jigsaw puzzle, you never quite knew what the end picture would be until you got the last piece. Perhaps seeing the future was like that. You only got a few extra pieces before everyone else and then from there you had to make an educated guess.

A small chuckle pushed its way through Sophie's diaphragm. Paul was one that didn't quite make it to the end, but Sophie knew from the first moment she met him, he'd known all along. Peace was something she'd longed to achieve her entire life, but Paul did it by coming here. He had made the choice to accept his fate instead of running from it. In a way, he was kind of her hero.

"This is for you Paul." Sophie whispered the words under her breath as she braced herself for whatever the house had to throw at her. She had no way of knowing what was to come, but she had to face it for Paul and all the others who'd given their lives for this moment. This last chance to save the day.

 Wyatt tried pushing through the smoke, but it was no use. The smoke seemed to become denser every time he tried to take a step forward. As much as he wished he could be by Sophie's side, Wyatt knew, deep down in his gut that that Sophie had to face this foe on her own.

"Feeling brave?" The words mocked Sophie with every syllable. She didn't need to turn around to know that the manifestation of the human house she'd made now lurked behind her.

"Funny. I mean coming from you." Sophie turned her head to the side and let her peripheral vision do the rest of the work.

"Awe, is that your idea of a comeback little girl?" The outline of the girl's image crossed its arms as it rocked its weight to one foot. The urge to whip around and smack her washed over Sophie, but she couldn't, no, she wouldn't give it the satisfaction.

Rolling her eyes and turning her vision back to the smoke in front of her, Sophie closed her eyes. This shadow was nothing. Just a canvas for her paint. "You don't scare me." The words sounded as though they could have come from a second grader gearing up to take on the fifth-grade bully for the first time, but they were filled with truth. The house didn't scare her. Truth is, it hadn't for a while. The only thing that scared her was the idea of losing another person that she loved.

"Is that so?" Soft footsteps inched closer as Sophie forced her eyes to stay focused. She couldn't risk showing anything but absolute resolve.

"Your nothing but a house, a poor pathetic excuse for one in fact. You can't even accomplish one simple thing. You had to hire out just to pile up the bodies. Your pathetic." A hint of laughter echoed in Sophie's voice as she spoke. The more she insulted the house the more amusement she found in the whole situation.

"I got you, didn't I?" Now it was the voices turn to mock her. Its comeback was quick and without hesitation, but the meaning lost on its target.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Fear built up in Sophie's chest like a runaway train. Did she somehow unwittingly play into its hands?