Zodiac Infection

Part 9

Alec heard yelling. "Alex!" He called down to their library hidden room.

"What Alec?"

"I think someone else has gone into the room and killed somebody."

"Dude you better not be yankin' my chain here."

"I'm not, I'm not. Come on." Alec ran out of his house and down the row. But it wasn't even one house down when he saw Hugo's dead body with an arrow through his back.

"Alec I-*gasp*!" Alex turned away from the gruesome death on the floor. She hung on her brother's shoulder and cried.

"Come on Alex." He took her hand and started to walk towards the door.

"Alec we shouldn't."

"You won't. I will." He dropped her hand and entered. Just a peek. That was all it needed. Just enough to enter your head. In two seconds he heard it, for it entered silently and struggleless. In a whisper, 'leave.' 'Turn around.' 'Kill her." Alec listened.

"Alec? What did you see?"

"Just a tree."

"Tree?"

"Yes." He said it just as Hailey did before she choked me, Harper.

"No need to get snippy with me."

"Shut up!" He did the same as Hailey.

"Alex!" Lindsay came running from his house. For Alex, it was dejà vous. For Alec, it was necessary. For Lindsay, it was a nightmare. He jumped Alec and tried to jerk his chin back to get him off. Instead Alec buckled slightly but didn't let go. Alex was starting to look pale. He tried to use his ears to drive him off. Alex was growing purple now. He was getting desperate. He did the only thing he could do. He got a strong grip under Alec's chin and the top of his head. He gave a hard twist. *CRACK* Alec fell. Lindsay caught Alex when she dropped.

"Alex?" Her only responses were gasps of air. He picked her up and carried her home.

He placed her on her bed to let her rest. He then hurriedly rushed to my place. Harper's house. Although you would think he wouldn't look into the Moss room then run to my house.

"Harper? Harper! It's Lindsay! Are you there?" He knocked repeatedly. No reply. He decided to go to the next best thing. Johnny. Mostly because she was most likely there too. He went to the house next door.

"Johnny? Johnny, are ya there!? It's Lindsay!"

"Yah I'm here. What's up? You seemed panicked."

"Alec went into the room, he killed Hugo and then tried to kill Alex! I couldn't stop him, there was nothing I could do, I had to kill him, you believe me right. Alex is in bed, she is alright now but I-!"

"Lynds chill. It's ok. Alec clearly got infected and it was your last resort. You saved her and that's all that matters."

"Yah ok. But where's Harper?"

"She should be at her house. She doesn't really go anywhere else."

"Nah I was just there. I knocked and yelled but no answer." Johnny got up then; worried. Went straight from his to hers. He gave one hard pound on the door.

"HARPER! It's Johnny. Open up!" Still no answer. He opened it as if with a slam. Opened the bedroom door, the trapdoor, the bathroom door, the pantry door. He looked under the bed, in and around the flower garden (hidden room), and even gave a perimeter search around the house.

"Ok she's definitely not here."

"Maybe she's at Hailey's to help her with her infection. I haven't seen her in a while either."

"Let's check." They went outside and two houses down and right next to John's own house.

"Hailey?" Lindsay instead knocked this time, "Hey it's Johnny and Lindsay. You in?" They both shot a glance at each other and decided to go in. The first half of the house was empty. John knocked on the bedroom door once, waited, then twice before they entered. The room was all packed up and tidy. It was almost like she hadn't been using this house at all. But no matter how tidy the room was, it was unnoticeable compared to the smell. It was atrocious and nauseating. Smelled like rotten meat has been soaked and had been left hanging in the air. It smelled like Billy's house.

"*sound of disgust* What is that smell?" Lindsay covered his nose immediately. They both had their noses covered and tried hard not to breathe as much, for you can taste it too. They both didn't want to talk either for it required breath. They opened the trapdoor and the smell....twenty folds and they thought it couldn't get worse. At first they snapped it closed immediately. Then they removed an article of clothing to breathe through via sock or shirt. Lindsay wearing a wetsuit, removed his sock, and John bunched-up the neck of his shirt. Then together they ventured in. The smell was thick and putrid. It was dark in what looked like a literal maze. Beside the latter in, was the light switch. They flicked it on. With no surprise, they saw it was a huge maze with its walls going from floor to roof. What could the girls possibly be doing in there? They gave each other a nod and went in. Both took one of the two possible entrances. They knew that every hidden room was the same size so it wasn't largely impossible to get through. Plus this was for Hailey, a girl, so there would be no deathly traps or possibilities of death. But they had no idea. Lindsay found no luck for a while. It was dead end after dead end. John found many possible entrances and exits. Each open spot held some kind of girlish activity. A vanity with makeup, a beading and looming stand for making jewelry, a armoire(kind of closet) filled with dresses, and shoes boxes piled to the brim. All untouched. They passed each other multiple times but they ignored each other and continued the search through. Lindsay checking through John's side of the maze and didn't realize the crack on the pink wall. They met up again a few inches from that crack. They both shook their heads. Gesturing that neither had found anything. Lindsay, disappointed, slammed his back on the crack planning just to lean on the wall to think. By sheer convenience or maybe luck some say. I say that it was simply faith and destiny. But that's why they call me crazy. They can't just simply give over to faith alone. Fools. The crack was actually a secret door. It flew back with Lindsay's weight. John, shocked, peered in. Lindsay got up and looked in. They both stood stunned, wide eyed, and in disbelief. On a rope, dead, was Hailey. Her blood was running now dried to her mouth, her clothes, and on the floor where it puddled. On the wall, written in her own blood wrote, "They can hear you".

A metal bar was bent for a hook. They guessed that she tied the rope around her neck. Tied the noose knot. Tied the other end of the rope into a hoop. Holding the hoop, jumped for the metal bar. Once the hoop caught the bar, she let go and slowly and torturously died. The point of dropping went hanging is to break the neck and then die out. Instead her neck did not break but instead burst an artery in her neck causing internal bleeding and suffocating. She died in the tortious way so far in this hangar. So far.