Chapter seven

Chris walks lazily down the hall towards the kitchen, the smell of freshly baked pizza flooding his nostrils. As he is walking past the living room, his eyes catch a glimpse of the tv screen and he freezes, quickly turning towards it. The late night news was on as usual, but it was the picture of the house they were showing on the screen that had caught his attention. The two story manor, now surrounded by flashing red and blue lights and yellow police tape, looks really familiar to him.

Lexi.

Her name flashes through his mind as he stares worriedly at the tv.

"Dad will you turn the tv up a little?" Chris asks as he walks up to the back of the couch, trying to listen to what the news reporter was saying without much success. "What's going on dad, I know who lives at that house, what happened?"

Chris's voice is full of concern as he stares at the tv. His father says nothing however, grabbing the remote and turning the tv up slightly. Chris silently prays that Lexi is alright as he looks at the screen.

"...and in other news, a house in Roseville was broken into earlier this evening. Police say the body of Emily Tackett, age thirty-five, was found stabbed to death just a few hours ago by a passerby. She is the wife of Jerry Grierson, age forty-two, and the mother of fifteen year old Alexis Tackett. There was no sign of Lexi's body at the crime scene. We ask that if anyone sees her to please notify the local authorities immediately..."

Chris doesn't stay to hear the rest. He runs back up to his room and grabs his phone, quickly dialing Lexi's number. After several rings he gives up, not getting an answer. Deciding to leave, he grabs his hoodie from his closet and runs back down the hall.

"Sorry mom, sorry dad," he yells out as he throws on his hoodie and grabs his father's truck keys off the wall, running out the back door. "I have to go, but I will explain everything later when I can I promise."

"Son now hold on a minute, come back here," his father cries out, jumping up from the couch and running out the door after Chris. "Chris you come back here this instant!"

Chris ignores him, starting the truck, throwing it in reverse quickly and backing down the driveway.

"I'm sorry dad, I'll explain everything later, I promise," Chris yells out the window as he begins to drive away.

Soon Chris is out of sight from his father's view, speeding down the street towards Lexi's house. He slows down a little as he begins to see the flashing red and blue lights at the top of the hill in Lexi's driveway. Two paramedics were wheeling a stretcher with a body bag on it out the front door towards the back of the ambulance parked in the yard near the front steps. He parks the truck across the street and tries to call Lexi one more time. After three rings she finally answers.

"Hello?" Chris hears Lexi whisper, her voice a little shaky.

Chris puts the phone on speaker so he can hear her better.

"Lexi."

"Um Chris right now isn't the best time for you to call, Sara and I are in danger," Lexi quickly explains to Chris as he tries to talk to her.

"There's something I need to tell you," he pauses, listening more closely when he thinks he hears heavy footsteps thudding loudly against the concrete in the background.

"Chris please, whatever it is can wait," Lexi hastily whispers.

"I just wanted to make sure you were alright, they were showing your house on the late night news so I drove by and seen cop cars and an ambulance in the driveway," he tells her, pausing to see if she will say something back.

At first there is nothing but silence, then he hears a slight sigh.

"Chris the cops are there because of my stepfather, he's…"

Lexi starts but Chris quickly interrupts. "Lexi there is something else you should know, your mom is dead, someone killed her, and the police are looking for you."

"No, she can't be dead!" Lexi's voice cries out.

Chris can tell Lexi is trying to hold back tears. Suddenly nothing else mattered to her anymore, not being hunted down by her stepfather or trying to hide from the stranger heading towards them.

"She can't be dead," her voice trails off and for a long time all Chris hears is her heavy breathing and the occasional sniff or sob as she begins to cry. "She just can't be."

"I'm really sorry Lexi but she is. I'm sitting right across the street from your house. Look where are you right now?"

There is no response from Lexi.

Chris hesitates, trying to decide whether to hang up the phone or not when Sara's voice comes through the speaker suddenly.

"Me and Lexi are hiding in the alley behind the old butcher shop in the middle of town. Please hurry Chris, I don't know how much longer we can stay hidden."

"I'm on my way, just sit tight and try to stay safe. I'll be there in a few minutes."

Chris hangs up the phone and slowly drives away from Lexi's house. Once he is away from all the sirens he begins speeding down the deserted streets again. I'm coming just hold on girls.

~

Sara hangs up the phone and tells Lexi everything is going to be okay. Lexi raises her head slightly and tries to smile, but Sara catches a glimpse of the sadness in Lexi's eyes. Sara wants to ask what happened, why Lexi had reached her the phone, but hesitates, the footsteps sounding as though they are right upon them now. Lexi peaks around the side of the dumpster and sees a tall figure standing just a few feet away from them, looking back towards the street.

They can hear another vehicle speeding down the street, screeching to a sudden stop, its headlights illuminating the darkened alley. Sara chances a peak around the dumpster, looking up at the strange figure as the headlights shine down the alley, illuminating the man clearly.

Sara lets out a sigh of relief as she recognizes the man standing in front of her.

"Its okay."

"Sara wait, what are you doing?" Lexi asks, grabbing Sara's arm as she starts to stand up.

"It's okay Lexi," Sara whispers, turning to give Lexi a wide grin. "Mr. Williams!" she calls out to the figure standing in front of them. "Do you have any idea how scared you had us?"

She steps out from behind the dumpster, followed closely by a nervous Lexi. They hear a car door slam as someone gets out of the other vehicle and starts walking towards them.

"Sara, Lexi, are you two alright?" the other figure calls out into the alley.

Sara smiles as she hears Chris's voice, looking down at the ground quickly as she feels herself blushing.

Chris approaches them slowly, cautiously, not sure exactly what he is walking into. He sees Mr. Williams standing there, his back to him, and raises his left hand, exposing a short, metal pipe.

"No Chris don't, we're fine," Lexi cries out as Chris begins to swing the pipe at Mr. Williams. "Now why don't you tell us what exactly you are doing out here Mr. Williams?"

"I have been driving around for hours looking for you girls. It's not safe for you two to be out here wondering the streets with Sara's father out there looking for you both now."

"Well you could have at least told us who you were when you got out of your car," Sara tells him as they begin walking back down the alley towards the two vehicles, making sure there was no one else around them.

"I'm sorry but I had to make sure it was safe first. I didn't want to just start calling out your names in case there were any unexpected guests around. Now, come on. We have to leave."

"Sara how do we know we can trust him?" Lexi's voice is just slightly above a whisper as she looks at Sara.

They turn to see Mr. Williams leaning up against his car, waiting very impatiently for them.

"She's right Sara, how do we know we can trust him or anyone else for that matter?" Chris whispers, eyeing Mr. Williams and tightening his grip on the short piece of metal pipe.

"I can't really explain it, I just have this feeling that we can trust him," Sara whispers as they walk on over to where Mr. Williams is standing. "Alright we will go with you but we are going to ride with Chris and follow you."

With that, Sara walks on over to Chris's truck and climbs in the passenger seat. Lexi pouts a little as she climbs in and sits in the back seat, sitting in the middle of the seat. Mr. Williams climbs into his own car and soon they are following him out of town and out onto the highway.

"I still don't trust him Sara," Chris mumbles as they follow Mr. Williams down the highway. "I mean where exactly are we even going?" He wonders out loud as Mr. Williams puts his left turn signal on suddenly after driving for over an hour down the dark highway.

"I don't know, I've never been down this road before," Sara says as they follow him onto a narrow dirt road.

Sara stares out the window as they pass by several old rundown farm houses and barns. Mr. Williams slows down and turns onto a long, narrow driveway still half hidden by the trees. They drive down the road for about five minutes before they finally stop.

"Where are we?"

Lexi shakes her head slightly as she climbs out of the truck, looking all around her in awe. Chris and Sara climb out of the truck and head towards Mr. Williams, following him up the porch steps to the front door.

"Welcome to my house."

Mr. Williams smiles as he pushes the door open and steps aside for them to enter. They stare around in amazement as they enter the rustic farmhouse. While everyone else goes off to explore the rest of the house, Sara stays in the living room, wanting to be alone. She starts to look around the living room, but her eyes seem only able to focus on a small group of pictures clustered together on a nearby wall.

As she walks over to the wall, she sees photos of her grandparents and her mom together. There were even a few pictures of her and Julie as kids but the picture in the center of the group catches her attention the most. There stood Mr. Williams and her mom together, smiling as they stand in the doorway of the farm house.

She jumps as she feels a hand gently touch her shoulder, a little surprised and startled. Fear creeps up the back of her neck, realizing someone has snuck up on her. But as she turns around, she can't help but to smile. Meanwhile just outside by the tree line at the edge of the driveway a dark figure lurks.

"I know where you can find Sara," the mysterious figure whispers into her phone as the farmhouse slowly comes into view.

"Excellent! Soon everything will be finished once and for all," Jerry's voice comes through the speaker. "Thank you Kayla, you have proven to be very useful to me once again. I want you to keep an eye on her for me."

Kayla can almost hear Jerry smiling to himself.

"Everything is finally falling into place, soon all the wrongs will be righted," he whispers to himself just before hanging up his phone.

Kayla smiles and puts her phone away as she stares through the open window, watching as someone walks up to Sara.

"Mom!" Sara exclaims as she turns around and looks up into her mom's face. "I've been so worried about you."

She throws her arms around her mom's waist, hugging her a little to tightly.

"Sara, not so tight sweetie," her mom cries out, gasping slightly.

Sara quickly loosens her grip and looks into her mom's eyes.

"I'm sorry mom, I've just missed you and I thought something terrible had happened to you."

A single tear rolls down Sara's cheek as she speaks. Her mom reaches up and gently wipes it away as she smiles warmly at Sara.

"I'm fine Sara, someone broke into the house and tried to harm me, but Jeffery showed up and saved me."

Sara looks up at her mom feeling puzzled.

"Mom who is Jeffery?"

"Jeffery Williams, he's the guy that brought you all here. He is my brother, your only uncle Sara," she explains to her daughter. "I know, I should have told you everything when you first woke from your coma. Now I'm afraid that there isn't a lot of time left and there is so much I have to tell you."

"What do you mean exactly by not enough time left?" Sara begins to feel more and more confused and a little scared of what her mom's answer is going to be. "Mom please just tell me what is going on?"

"Look Sara, I promise that you will know everything soon. But right now is not the time, you look completely exhausted. Go eat and get some rest, then I will tell you everything you want the answers to as soon as you wake back up. I promise."

Sara begins to protest, but she can't deny that she is tired. It felt like days since she had slept instead of hours so she hugs her mom again and heads through the house, trying to find the kitchen. She hears voices coming from a door to her left and walks through it. She enters the kitchen only to find that everyone else was already sitting around the kitchen table.

"Well what has put you in such a happy mood?" Lexi wonders as Sara sits down in between her and Chris.

Sara just smiles as she grabs a few pieces of chicken and begins to eat.

"I just spoke with my mom. I'm glad she is alright," Sara says cheerfully without thinking. She looks up and sees a hint of sadness in her friends eyes. "Oh, I'm so sorry Lexi I didn't mean..."

"It's okay," Lexi interrupts, giving her friend a faint smile. "I'm just glad your mom is alright." She places a hand on Sara's shoulder. "Sara, I..."

"Your mom's finally woken up?" Jeffery looks over at Sara as he feels slightly relieved. "Where is she now?"

"She was in the living room and I know that you are her brother, mine and Julie's uncle," Sara smiles brightly at her uncle. "That's how come you knew so much about me and Julie and how come you were there that night and saved us."

Chris and Lexi stop eating and stare curiously at Sara.

"Yes. it's true. Now, if you will excuse me, I must go and check on my sister."

Jeffery pushes his empty plate away and looks around to them all one last time before standing up, walking out of the kitchen quickly. Chris waits until Jeffery is out of the room before he speaks.

"Sara what's going on?"

"I don't know but I will get all the answers tomorrow hopefully," she smiles at the thought of her mom finally telling her everything. She yawns suddenly as her eyes begin to feel heavy. "Now I'm going to go on to bed so good night guys."

Sara stands up and heads down the hall in search of an empty bedroom. As soon as she crawls into bed, her eyes close and she is surrounded by the familiar darkness of the shadow realm. She smiles as she sees a familiar figure walking towards her.

"Julie!" Sara cries out, running over and throwing her arms around her sister's neck, hugging her tightly. "It feels like forever since we got to talk." She smiles as she looks at her sister but the smile quickly fades away as she sees the pained expression on her sisters weary face. "What's wrong sis?"

"Hello Sara," Julie whispers as she returns Sara's hug. She tries to smile at her sister, but she can't. "I think he's finally found me at last Sara, I don't know how, but he has. It's only a matter of time now before he comes after me."

They walk over to a small bench across from them and sit down on it. Sara quickly wraps her arms around her sister and pulls her against her, letting her cry softly into her shoulder.

"I won't let that happen."

"I'm so scared Sara."

Sara notices something wrapped around Julie's wrist and pulls her sisters sleeve on up to see a white hospital band taped around her wrist.

How could I have never noticed this before now.

"Julie, everything is going to be fine," Sara smiles as she takes the hospital band off her sister's arm. "Don't worry sis, everything will be okay. We are going to finally be reunited again soon."

She slips the hospital band inside her pocket and leans back against the back of the bench.

"How is mom doing? I had this vision of her being attacked earlier."

Julie raises her head slightly to look at her sister, tears still running down her cheeks as she cries.

"She's fine. We are all staying with Jeffery, our uncle."

Julie's eyes suddenly become wide with fear as she looks at Sara, frightened as soon as she hears Jeffery's name.

"You shouldn't be there."

"Is there something else bothering you?"

"You should not be there Sara, he will be coming there for you first," Julie cries out fearfully, letting Sara see the fear in her eyes. "You all have to leave now before he gets there."

"But where else are we supposed to go Julie, there doesn't seem to be any place left for us to go."

"Sara that house is where our father took us to the night everything went wrong. He will come back and try to complete what he started that night."

Julie begins to have flashbacks of what happened to them that night. She is laying on the ground as thunder booms above her. Streaks of lightning dance along the sky, striking down at the ground viciously as her father reads from an ancient looking book. She can hear his chanting being carried through the air just before everything is enveloped in a bright white light.

She shivers suddenly as she looks around.

"We must not let him finish the ritual though."

"But how are we supposed to stop him?" Sara cries out, her voice rising in anger. "Why hasn't anyone told me the exact truth about everything that happened to us that night?" She cries out as tears form in the corners of her eyes. "Why does it seem like all of my memories have been blocked and why weren't we put together when we were both taken to the hospital?"

"I know you have a lot of questions Sara, but I'm afraid the only answer I have for you right now is that our mom thought it would be safer to keep us away from each other," Julie places a hand on Sara's shoulder. "When our mom found out that our father was still alive after that night I'm guessing she split us up. Maybe she will tell you everything soon, but Sara you need to come save me soon. Otherwise I fear that our father finding me is the least of our worries."

Sara feels confused once again by her sisters words.

"What do you mean Julie?"

"Do you remember when I told Chris that the longer you stay in the shadow realm, the harder it will be for you to wake up?" Julie asks as Sara continues to stare at her, both confused and curious.

"Yeah, so are you trying to tell me that you are stuck in here now?" Sara's voice is suddenly full of worry.

"Not exactly Sara but I am afraid that if I don't wake up soon, then I will be stuck in here permanently," Julie tells her. "I've lost track of how long I've been trapped in here already."

She stares off into the darkness as she speaks.

"Julie I will find you as soon as I can, I know where you are now. Just please try to hold on for a little while longer sis."

Sara can feel the darkness beginning to slip away as she feels herself being pulled away from the shadow realm.

"I will try but please hurry sis."

Julie begins to fade away.

Sara can feel herself being pulled away from the shadow realm.

"No I don't want to go just yet."

"I know, but we will get to see each other again soon," Julie cries out as she continues to fade away.

Sara reaches her hand out, trying to grab her sisters hand, but Julie continues fading away until Sara is left staring out into the empty darkness in front of her. She can feel herself slowly being ripped away from the shadow realm. She opens her eyes and smiles as she sits up on the bed, knowing what she has to do.