Episode 26 Part 2 - THE END

"Aaron..." Alaire watched him closely, "Are you alright..."
Deep down she knew he wasn't. The black cuts in his body now leaked an unearthly dark fume, almost as if he were burning from the inside.
"Hey, buddy..." Gerald tested.
Aaron's eyes stayed a solid black, and only blinked when they spoke. He looked down at his hands, turning them over and flexing his fingers. Alaire clenched the knife in her hand. She couldn't remember how many times she shot the gun, but she had some ammo on her - if there was time for reloading. But could she kill Aaron...? 
"I thought they were trying to put the demon in my body," Gerald whispered, "How did..."
From the trees came Dylan, shouting like a wild man. He attempted taking Aaron out but was caught mid-assault by the throat. Aaron tightened his hand around the boy's neck and threw him back towards the trees with enough force of a moving truck. Dylan's injured arm was definitely broken now - a loud crack echoed in the woods as his body slammed into the bark. He crippled to the ground cradling his elbow.
"You proved to be a nuisance after all," Aaron spoke, not using his actual voice, "I guess family is blood."
Dylan grit his teeth, his dark eyes piercing daggers into Aaron's very being.
"Why Aaron?" Alaire asked.
"Why?" he replied, "He asked for it."
When Alaire didn't react, he continued, "Aaron knew of my intentions - he knew a lot actually. He thought he could handle the transfusion better than the Detective could, as in, fight me off from the inside. But he is foolish."
"Aaron chose..." Alaire gasped, "He wouldn't!"
Or would he? Alaire's mind raced, searching for the reason behind Aaron's sacrifice. And then it hit her. His sacrifice. 
Maybe... The deal was still on. Thanatos wasn't allowed to harm those who struck a deal with him. Up until recently, Alaire thought they were safe from this madness, but Thanatos was stepping over the line.
It still made her feel filthy inside thinking of how they used their friend's several death's to bargain for their own lives the last time. The appropriate amount of sacrifices gave you one wish... Even if Thanatos was a demon, he could suffer some sort of consequence for backing out on a blood pact, couldn't he? It was his own rules.
Alaire had no idea how many people Thanatos or Kellor had already killed tonight, so there was no telling if another deal could be made, and she wasn't betting on it.
What do you want me to do Aaron? Alaire begged her friend to show her a sign. At this point, Thanatos was going to kill them all unless she...
"No..." Alaire breathed.
Aaron closed in on her and Gerald. The detective wriggled in his bonds, but some of the rope still needed cut, "Alaire, get me out of this thing. Alaire!"
"I can't..." Alaire's voice croaked.
"Yes you can," Gerald said.
She shook her head and the detective gazed up at her, puzzled. Realization set in - after everything he learned from this case, the real and almost unbelievable, he knew as well what they must do.
"Damn you, Aaron," Gerald grunted, "Alaire... let me do this. You don't need to."
She knew that. And somehow she knew it was part of Aaron's plan. Because, in all honesty, she would've done the same thing.
Aaron's neck twitched, the ominous possession working its way through his body. The fog seeping from his body reached the floor, caressing Alaire's combat boots. How many bullets were left? One? None? There was still the knife... Alaire choked. After they'd come all this way, how could it end like this? Why did Aaron want this?
Aaron, or Thanatos rather, was in arm's reach - that's all space he needed to kill her. She watched Thanatos squish Kellor and Taylor like they were nothing before- he wasn't going to hold back with her now, even if he was in Aaron's body.
Alaire raised the gun, making Thanatos halt.
"You sure you want to do that?" Thanatos's voice chuckled through Aaron's teeth.
"Of course not," Alaire trembled, "Of course not..."
A hollow growl simmered in Aaron's chest, and he lunged at her.
I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.

Alaire sobbed. Aaron's body lay motionless on top of her. Blood soaked her top from the hole in Aaron's chest.
"I'm so sorry..." Alaire whispered.
There happened to be a bullet left. She'd done it.
"You..." Thanatos sputtered, "I'm im-pressed... You truly are... a killer."
"And you've soiled our contract," Alaire glared.
At first, Thanatos only chuckled softly. Then, he convulsed. It was obvious it was involuntary because his eyebrows pulled together in concern.
"What happens when you break the rules?" Alaire challenged.
"Nothing can happen," he hissed, "I'm in control."
But his body writhed, falling off of hers, and rolled in agony in the snow. The torch was started to vibrate and melt some of the ice coated its frame. Gerald managed to wiggle the remaining ropes off of his body and he staggered to his feet.
"Come on," Gerald pulled Alaire to her feet and took the gun from her hands. Alaire didn't look away from Aaron and Thanatos's seizure episode, even when Gerald scrounged up Dylan from under the tree. "I guess I don't have to beat you anymore," he grunted as he hoisted Dylan up with one of his arms.
Aaron suddenly held his chest. He rolled over onto his front, and black liquid spewed from his mouth - all the while, Thanatos's howls shook the world.
The liquid, like Ryan's blood, was pulled towards the torch until every last drop was absorbed into the artifact. And just like that, there was silence.
"Aaron!" Alaire ran to her dying friend. He fell to his side, but his eyes were his own again. A weak smile spread across his face, "Hey..."
"Are you an idiot?" she said, "You're dying, you know that, right?" She pushed him over to apply pressure to the wound. So much blood was already gone and his face was looking paler. At least it wasn't gray anymore.
"That was kind of the point..." Aaron struggled to keep his eyes open.
"Stay awake, Aaron," Gerald knelt beside them, "Don't sleep. It's going to be hard, but resist."
"We could've found a different way," Alaire pressed, "You didn't have to get yourself killed. How did you know it would actually work?"
"It did," Aaron's voice was faint, "It did..."
"Aaron?" Alaire shook, "Aaron!"
"Detective! Detective Robinson!"
Gerald shot up from the ground. From the thick of the trees, men in suits approached them, following the warm yellow light of the rising sun - melting the gloom fog.
"We're here!" Gerald waved them down, "There are two injured - one is shot, please hurry!"
Alaire didn't remove her hand on Aaron's chest. His eyes had shut, but air still flowed to his lungs.
"Help is here," Alaire whispered, "Stay with me."

"... Ok."

*****

The hospital ceiling was bland and bright. Alaire watched the same corner of the room for the past hour. Cops and people with cameras flooded the lobby - she could hear them arguing amongst themselves and the staff. 

No one had come to update her. She shared a room with Dylan, who was dead asleep and had been since they fixed his arm up and left him on the hospital bed. The detective brought them some brunch from the hospital cafeteria, but her pudding sat untouched and warm. 

The door to their cozy space opened, and a short nurse came in, "How are you both doing? Need anything? Feel any pain?"

"He's still asleep," Alaire smiled, "But I think we're ok. Have you heard anything...?"

"Not yet, but the doctor is great at his job," she reassured, "We just have to be patient."

"How are the other two? Did they come in yet?"

"Other two?" the nurse cocked her head to the side, "I'm not sure I know who you mean."

Alaire frowned, "Could you ask someone at the front, or send someone to me? There should've been a guy and a girl, Ethan... and Gen I think. She had pink hair, you couldn't miss it."

The nurse looked worried now, "I will do that."

How did no one find them yet? The detective would look into it, Alaire told herself, he knew about them. 

Gerald was enduring his own grief right now too. Ryan's body was being examined, along with the few bodies found through the tunnels Alaire and Dylan found in the woods. The news was blowing up about the newest Thanato cult story. Alaire's parents were on their way to the hospital, along with a hired lawyer - she was going to need one. Luckily, she had the detective's support in their case as a witness to their innocence. There was no way to explain Thanatos, not in a way the world would believe them.

It was unclear if the threat of Thanatos and his influence were gone for good, but Gerald took the artifact and apparently "hid it somewhere no one would ever find it." Hopefully, that meant destroyed... 

"Miss Bowen?" 

This time a different nurse appeared, "Are you feeling well enough to walk?"

"Um... sure?"

Alaire slipped away from her tacky bed sheets, leaving Dylan to his dreams in their hospital room. The nurse took her to an elevator and they made it to floor 4. The map icon on the wall read "intensive recovery."

She didn't want to hope, but her heart pounded loudly in her ears. The nurse smiled as they exited the elevator, "If you head to room 416, you can see your friend."

"Even if I'm not family?"

The nurse put a finger to her lips, "Just real quick."

Alaire entered the dim room and listened to machines beep and beep. Her chest was on fire and she leaned over the long white bed - putting one of her tiny hands against the cold cheek of its occupant.

"Your hand is warm," Aaron grumbled.

"Shut up," Alaire laughed, "Really though, I don't think you should talk while you're recovering."

"You didn't shoot my vocal cords."

"I wish I didn't have to shoot you at all."

Aaron's eyes fluttered open. He looked around him, towards his chest, and then up at Alaire, "Wow. We really did it."

"You almost died," Alaire said flatly.

"I did for a second, actually," Aaron winced, "At least that's what I heard the nurses saying."

Alaire shook her head, "What if it hadn't worked? How could you trust me to do that?"

"I don't know," Aaron said, "I guess I thought... what you would do in that situation. I knew you'd sacrifice yourself to stop that monster if you could. So I did."

Her hand wrapped around his and squeezed. There wasn't much more that needed to be said. Not right now anyway.  She let her friend rest, and eventually fell asleep in the chair next to his bed. They had another long few months, maybe years, of having to deal with their horrific experiences, more news, more questions, more unwanted attention. 

So today, they slept.

*****

"Robinson said there were two more out here, and to keep an eye out for a dark haired woman named Maren Smith. Tall slender male, dark hair and beard, is Ethan, and a woman with short bright pink hair, will be Genessee."

Another troop was sent to the woods, hours after they'd found the detective and the others. A psychologist was also found dead, along with a few unidentified bodies - one looked like he'd gone through a garbage disposal.

"What kind of sick- horror movie loving -freak came up with this," one of the officers grumbled. 

"They're insane, no doubt," his buddy replied, "Sick, twisted... disturbed."
"Reminds me of Saw..."

"But we haven't found the killer?"

"I don't know. The detective is being really careful about what he says. Makes me nervous."

The group stomped through the snow with their heavy boots, guns at eye level. One of the officers put a hand up, and they all paused.

"I see something," he said, "Oh... Oh my god..."

The rest of the officers hurried to his side, one by one each of them holding in their terror. Hanging from a tree was the missing pink haired girl. Her leg was bent out of shape and stuck in a few branches, but her face was covered with her own intestines. The stomach had been ripped open, ribs protruding from her flesh and a thick pool of blood and organs rested at the roots of the tree.

The officers whirled around, their eyes sharp and guns loaded. One of them leaped ten feet in the air when they heard someone shrieking at them.

"Run! Run!" A man with a beard, fitting the description of the second missing victim, came running towards them. He was covered in dry blood and it looked like he was limping.

"Down on the ground!" one of the officers shouted, "Get down, now!"

"Please, we have to run!" the bloody man begged.

" I said-" but the officer was cut off. Just above the girl's mangled body perched a malicious and skinless looking creature. It dove down at the officers and pounced on the one shouting. Sharp white teeth sunk into the officer's throat until it tore out his esophagus.

"Shoot it! Shoot it!" another officer shouted.

The creature bellowed, making the ground quake and trees shake.

Episode 26 Part 1 - THE END

Professor Kellor repositioned the artifact so that it was completely upside down and angled towards Gerald. From the depths of his pockets, Kellor pulled out a knife. It glistened as if it were just polished. Gerald's body sank deeper into the snow. The probabilities of what was to come shook him to his core.
"You're going to want to put that away," Gerald tried using his stern detective voice.
"That would be a false statement, Detective," Thanato's voice sounded from the old man's lips. Gerald heard it many times in the last several hours, and still, it made him question everything he thought he knew about hell. What other demonic beasts lurked on this earth? Thanato's voice whispered - and yet sounded loudly in Gerald's ear; like being in an empty room with the demon's words surrounding and closing in.
The white hooded and possessed henchmen stood frozen at their stations, except Kellor who paced back and forth, checking the faces of Alaire, Ryan, Dylan, Genessee, and Ethan, and Aaron who hadn't stirred.
"We can start with Pinky," Kellor grabbed a handful of Genessee's hair. She yelped, and the knife was put to her throat.
"Stop!" Gerald shouted, "You won't get away with any of this. I told them where we are."
Kellor paused, "You did, did you...? That's breaking the rules." He released Genessee who glared up at him with her huge chocolate eyes. Instead, his attention turned towards Ryan.
The steps Kellor took before standing in front of Ryan were in slow motion. Gerald felt the panic rise in his chest, but Ryan's face was surprisingly calm - meeting Gerald's eyes with a sad half smile.
"I hate cheaters," Kellor hissed and slashed the knife across Ryan's exposed throat. The blood splattered onto the pure white snow.
Gerald's vision along with his other senses malfunctioned. He shouted for Ryan, and everyone close to Ryan screamed as the blood continued to fall. But Gerald only heard a dull ringing in his ears. Alaire starting flailing against their captors, and soon all of them had to be restrained by at least two white hoods.
Kellor wiped the knife clean with his fingers, "Did you really think I hadn't planned for that?"
The old man, unfazed by the bloodshed, moved into the area of the drawn symbol - right in front of the torch. Now, Gerald and Thanato's puppet were on both sides of the artifact. Hot tears welled up in Gerald's eyes as he recovered from the shock, but not a moment from the terror was spared. The blood collected in the snow from Ryan started getting pulled into the center as if the torch had unexplainable magnetic powers.
As soon as Ryan's body sunk to the ground, Gerald's hearing returned. Alaire's screams sounded horse and pierced his ears. The detective couldn't form words, but his mind scrambled for several escape options. His eyes darted all around him - he was still tied up with little chance of getting out on his own, the kids were going to be slaughtered one by one, but help was coming. They just needed to buy more time.  
"Bastard ... What do you plan to do to cover all this up... I'll kill you for what you've done," Gerald growled.
"I'm already dead," Kellor said, "And I'm playing with a few ideas. Alaire and Aaron already look suspicious considering they never found Taylor and I. Maybe they get caught this time. And the poor detective who trusted Aaron as a comrade turned into their next victim. But don't worry, you'll survive. For a long time."
As Thanato. 

*****

She still had the gun. Alaire couldn't believe no one thought to search her. Both of her arms were held behind her back, so it was impossible to reach. But watching the detective's partner die... She had to do something fast! 

The gun could be her only chance. These people were practically zombies, but if zombie rules applied, then shooting them in the head should stop them for a while - or for good. Alaire already had the adrenaline she needed - now she had to act.

She stilled for a moment, letting her assailants relax their hold, and that's when she struck. All she needed was to get one arm free. She turned her head and bit into one of the hands holding her arm. The skin and blood were cold and unsettling, and for a split second, she worried it wouldn't hurt them at all. Thankfully, the white hood released her instantly, grunting at the wound. 

One second, that's all she had to grab the gun.

Her fingers fumbled in her jacket, searching, while every one's attention turned to her. Gerald seemed to catch on and started shouting at Kellor to distract him. She ripped the gun from her clothes and aimed it straight up. 

The gunshot silenced everyone. 

Her bullet went through Jacob's head; they met briefly when they were all trying to escape the Thanato Project together. He'd been killed by tiny insects eating his insides - and face. She hardly recognized him now.

She made quick work of things - sloppy, but effective. Being in range made head shots easier and she was able to free Dylan and Genessee. Ethan took the opportunity to start fighting as well - wriggling himself free and punching a white hood. 

Kellor came for her, knife swinging, and it cut her across the arm. She bit her lip, but readied the gun for his head, "Put it down," she warned.

"You know that won't stop me," Kellor insisted, but still he hesitated, "This is a useless attempt."

"... I'm getting pretty sick of you talking," Alaire pulled the trigger, once, twice - three times, "That's for Ryan. For my friends. And this one is for me."

It was sickening feeling so satisfied by one's suffering, but Alaire shook it off and stole the knife from the now headless body of Kellor. First, she cut the rope on Aaron's hands. He was still unconscious and looked terrible. The strange grayness to his skin and the oozing black cuts made her stomach knot up. 

Dylan was wasting no time in beating the crap out of the remaining white hoods. He and Ethan both. Genessee disappeared and ran back the way they came. Good. Hopefully, she finds the street in time for the police.

"Ethan, Dylan, get out of here!" Alaire shouted, "Get to the road! Help is coming!"

Ethan nodded and took off after Genessee. Dylan, however, continued to fight, even finding a rock and smashing one of the enemy's faces. It was enough to make Alaire cringe, but after being threatened, people were capable of terrifying things.

"Alaire!"

Gerald called from his stone prison. She hurried over to him and began cutting at the ropes,

"Alaire..." 

"I'm almost done," she said.

"Alaire."

"What!" she snapped. Gerald looked like he was about to be sick, "The old man is dead."

Neither of them knew what that could mean. Did he spontaneously die? Did the weird transfusion take place? But Gerald was still fine...

Either way, the old man lay on his side, pale - almost blue. The ground beneath them started to shake. Alaire hugged the rock to keep from falling. Dylan stumbled and latched onto a tree while the remaining white hoods fell into the snow.
The symbol in front of Gerald howled, actually howled as if it were a person. It's dark imprints thickened and sunk deeper into the earth. The lifeless and fallen white hoods along with Kellor erupted into a black sandy mist. It happened so suddenly, making Alaire gasp, and she watched as the black contents were sucked into the symbol.
"What's happening?" Alaire's heart pounded, making her insides sore.
"Alaire!" Gerald's eyes grew wide, "It's Aaron!"
Behind her, Aaron was now on his two feet. His eyes completely black.

Episode 25

Alaire didn't know whether to run or stay frozen. It couldn't see her, but it could hear her. It may have already heard her, and if not, it was going to walk right into her anyway. The monster was inches from her face, and she tried holding her breath while she panicked. It was the beast with the misshapen head that stalked them from Gerald's house. The sewers must be their home.
She had a second the make a decision. One. And yet her body and brain remained handicapped. The monster's head emerged from the tunnel, and if not for the removed skin and missing facial parts, their noses would've been touching. Those dark pits gazed into her eyes as doom approached.
From above, Dylan came flying downwards, his pocket knife in his good hand. Without either of them noticing, Dylan had moved atop the tunnel and jumped down in time to stab the monster through the mushy skull. The creature thrashed, sending him and Alaire tumbling backward, but the knife seemed to do the trick, for now. Its arms twitched as it fled the tunnel and bashed into a tree, and then another until it croaked and rolled onto its back.
"Nicely done..." Alaire said.
"Thanks," Dylan cradled his other arm, "What are those ugly things anyway... They look like something out of a horror movie."
"Indeed. Hopefully, there aren't any more surprises..."
"Think those people can hear us?" Dylan asked.
"Maybe... and perhaps more monsters, if there are any. I doubt that one is actually dead..."
Dylan pointed to her gun, "We'll be ready this time. Kill or not, we at least stopped it for a second."
Alaire nodded, and Dylan used his traveling voice, "HELLO! THIS WAY! WE'RE HERE! THE OPENING IS THIS WAY!"
"HERE! OVER HERE!" Alaire shouted, "I really don't want to go inside..."
"Me neither," Dylan checked on the incapacitated monster still twitching under a tree, "Man, it stinks..."
"Wait, I think I heard someone," Alaire said.
Through the dark and narrow tunnel, the faint voices responded. It was incoherent at first, but Alaire and Dylan started to hear the running of footsteps splashing through the blood and the voices shouting with excitement.

They crammed the exit at first until a girl with bubblegum pink hair was pushed through. The rest of her was covered head to toe in guts. Her face looked so miserable like she could spend the rest of the week crying in her room. After her, two more people followed - also completely saturated in red. One of the men had a tie and the other a D-backs t-shirt.
"Thank the lord!" the man in the baseball tee threw himself into the white snow, "We're out. We're really out. Hallelujah."
"Who are you?" the man in the tie asked, "You don't look like a rescue team. No offense."
"We're not, really," Alaire admitted, "But we did come with Detective Robinson. I'm Alaire... This is Dylan."
Dylan lazily lifted his good arm to wave.
"I'm Ryan, as I told you earlier," he spoke while whipping blood from his face, "I actually barely met these two myself. He's Ethan, and this is Genessee. Where is Gerald anyway?"
"We don't know..." Alaire said, "We lost him recently. Things aren't looking too good."
The five of them huddled together, standing next to the river of blood, as Alaire filled everyone in on the situation at hand.

"So Gerald is missing. Aaron could be dead or captured by snowmen. And you weren't even sure you'd find us, but you were all baited here by a mad man... am I doing ok?" Ryan listed.
"Yeah sounds close enough," Alaire said.
"So we're still screwed?" Ethan whined, "Hey... How did you kill that... awful thing?"
Dylan watched the creature like a hawk. It hadn't moved and still had the pocket knife lodged into its head.
"We aren't really sure if it's dead, so we should get away from it," Alaire said.
"Or kill it again!" Ethan looked appalled, "Double tap!"
Ryan nodded, "I like his idea." But neither Alaire nor Dylan moved. Dylan seemed entranced by the sleeping (or dying) monster. He didn't look away or even blink.
Alaire was tempted to nudge him, but someone got to him first.
Hidden in plain sight, a white hooded henchman jumped Dylan and pinned him to the ground, shoving his face into the cold wet ground. The same thing happened all of them. The wind was knocked out of Alaire's chest as she was forced onto her stomach. Strong arms pulled her own arms back, and she yelped in pain.
Her captor pressed his mouth against her ear so she could hear every word clearly.
"Sorry about our bargain."
Bargain?
"But you did choose to come here... Consider the deal off."
His voice changed at the end of his sentence. Alaire felt the familiar sense of dread and hopelessness consume her. An evil not visible, but tangible. The atmosphere was so sinister and thick with corruption that she could taste it on her tongue.

*****

"Aaron?" Gerald hissed.

Moments earlier, a tied up and beaten Aaron was tossed into Gerald's view; careful to not touch the symbol. These weren't normal wounds. The cuts in Aaron's face were black and inky. Most of his skin had turned an odd grayish color.

"Aaron!" Gerald tried, "Come on, man..."

Gerald watched as more people started coming into view. One of them was Alaire, although she was being carried like a sack of potatoes by a man in a marshmallow suit. 

"Well, shit," Gerald grumbled. There they were; the missing students. And Ryan. Gerald noted there were only two of the students left, and he cursed under his breath. Ryan, Alaire, Dylan, Genessee, and Ethan were forced to their knees in a line next to the unconscious Aaron. 

"Hello, detective. You did it," Professor Kellor revealed himself from behind the line of victims, "You found them. Congratulations."

"How?" 

"We already played the 'how' game earlier," Kellor sneered, "I'll leave that mystery to you, detective."
Professor Kellor was still a missing suspect, along with Taylor, since neither were pronounced dead. But by the look of things, it's a miracle Kellor was still alive. Gerald wasn't shy in observing his sunken face with disgust.
"Where's Maren?" Gerald asked.
"Oh, well," Kellor hummed, "I got a little bored while waiting for you. You took your sweet time getting here... I wondered what you were up to. Hopefully not telling anyone where you were going..."
"Where is she!"
"I can't be sure, but I'm certain her face is still hanging in my office."
Gerald took a sharp breath. He was bluffing, hopefully... he had to be! "Wait, wait, wait..." He scanned the other faces of the white clothed people, or the henchmen rather, and realized that not only had he found the few remaining victims, but some of the dead ones too.
"I love the look of surprise on your face. Every time," Kellor said, "It's amazing really - what our lord can do."
Everything looked in order for something terrible to occur. The symbol in the snow, the victims in a line, Gerald tied to a rock, and the old man stepping out of the shadows. Not to mention the murdered victims from the last case that Gerald himself found along with the police. Witchcraft.
The old man, the psychiatrist, lingered in the trees while waiting for everyone to arrive. This time when Gerald stared him down, the black figure on Thanatos followed him like a shadow.
"Shall we begin."

Episode 24

"That's impossible." Aaron glowered. But there was no denying that a badly mangled version of Professor Kellor was standing before him. It was difficult to determine if he was smiling at Aaron or not - it was amazing that he could speak at all.
"We told you," Professor Kellor said, "Thanatos makes us immortal."
"Yeah... after killing several people."
"Nothing in life is free, Aaron, especially something as precious as life. Do the math. Fifteen sacrifices in exchange for eternity... that's a bargain, really."
"You're disgusting," Aaron spat, "I'll make sure you really die this time." He lifted the gun in his hand.
"You still don't get it..." Kellor sighed, "How do you think we were able to get the clowns? Or the typical chainsaw henchmen, I suppose you'd remember best."
What was he on about?
The white clones were back, all of them closing in on him and Kellor. The last few retreating from their hiding spots in the trees. Aaron kept his eyes on all of them as they made a half circle around him. There were twelve of them.
Aaron could feel the blood draining from his face. The one closest to Professor Kellor started removing the white mask and revealed a woman with long red hair, and a chunk of her head blown.
"Oh no..." Aaron whispered, "Katie, no..."
One by one - the rest of the masks were removed. Aaron couldn't say he remembered them all, but he did recognize Jacob. Even Blake was among them. When Aaron was captured and endured the Thanato Project, at the very end, the last in their group was Katie, Jacob, Alaire, and Blake. There were three stuck in bathtubs, and one of them was Taylor...
"Remembering?" Kellor asked.
"What've you done to them?"
"It wasn't I... It was our god."
"They aren't even... themselves. And neither are you!"
Even though their faces were familiar, their eyes were pure white - no pupils and no colors. Their mortal injuries remained, so they looked more like zombies.
"So everyone in the Thanato Project was already dead..." Aaron spoke aloud. Then Alaire never actually killed anyone? He had to tell her, but first had to deal with the situation at hand.
"Where is Taylor," Aaron growled.
"Hmm?"
"Where. Is. Taylor!"
Kellor chuckled, "Have you ever heard of a Keres?"
Such a vague question, Aaron thought, but the name did ring a bell. He stayed silent, so Kellor continued, "Keres are female death spirits. Apparently. My lord decided it was time to let his family free. Of course, it's not easy giving an entity an entire body. He experimented for a long time, seeing how much of the human body needed to be removed for the Keres to be able to enter. First, it was the eyes, always the eyes," Kellor mulled, "You know, the eyes are the gateway to the soul and whatever."
"What?"
"But that wasn't enough," Kellor continued, "We also had to remove the shield, which essentially was the flesh. No skin, no eyes, and a body is finally vulnerable for the Keres to intrude."
"The monsters," Aaron said, "The skinless monsters? That was you?"
"Thanato," Kellor corrected.
Keep talking, Aaron thought, stall him. Aaron's mouth was dry as he tried his hardest not to look at the ghostly and, some, mangled faces. One guy was missing an arm and Spencer... Aaron grimaced. Spencer's death was the first and least pleasant. A few deep holes from the iron maiden were present on his face. The girl with the afro hair was swollen like a balloon. Andrew was there too! Aaron remembered all of them from his group, but couldn't enjoy this reunion knowing what they were.
"What does that have to do with my question?"
"It should be obvious," Kellor said, "Our first successful Keres was Taylor."
Aaron resisted the urge to gasp. The monster with the squished head wasn't a coincidence at all. That was actually her; a beast that can rip open a person's ribcage.
"The other one...?" Aaron asked.
"Other one?"
"You have more?"
Kellor grinned, "Soon to be plenty more. They're an amazing creation don't you think?"
"Manipulation."
All of them locked their eyes on Aaron, tension brewing.
"That's what you are," Aaron said, "Manipulations, black magic, foul creatures. Neither you or Thanatos can make anything. Devils only kill. So your magic tricks are bullshit and your monsters are an abomination."
"SILENCE!"
All of their mouths opened, but only one voice spoke from them. It was like Aaron predicted, none of them were actually back to life, or themselves. It was a strange form of possession. The dark entity was close, he could feel it in his heart.
"We talked to our friend about your cult Thanatos," Aaron mocked, "You know you're making fun of Greek mythology right? I know what you really are."
"Oh really..." the thirteen mouth's continued to move in unison, "What I am, is more than you, pathetic earth child."
"And yet you can't touch me," Aaron lifted one hand away from his gun, and slowly raised his middle finger, "So bite me, Satan's dog."
The group hissed in displeasure.
"You didn't forget our deal, did you?" Aaron smirked, "What exactly happens if you break it?"
Professor Kellor started to snicker, the voice still controlled by an unearthly source, "Funny that you put my word on such a high pedestal, when you've already witnessed my promise to these people."
Aaron paused. He hadn't thought of that. Devils were deceivers. He promised his slaves immortality to escape their fear of death, but really he's only possessed their bodies. What did that mean for him and Alaire then? Were they really protected at all?
That meant Alaire was in trouble too.

*****

Gerald awoke, shivering uncontrollably. He was still outside in the cold, but his hands were bound to a large boulder where his back was pressed against. No one was around, but someone had been there with him. In the snow, in front of his legs, was a symbol drawn with maroon blood. Gerald knew too well what the symbol was from, he'd only seen the image a handful of times from his investigation with the cult case. A butterfly, skulls, the whole enchilada.

Placed in the center of the painted symbol was the artifact, the upside-down torch. 

"I thought virgin chicks were the preferred sheep for these rituals," Gerald spoke to no one. But someone answered. 

"A sense of humor to the end, most refreshing."

Gerald gulped. 

"Most men shriek, scream, cry even,. You'd be amazed. What humans are like when they crack."

"Who the hell are you?"

A man stepped out from behind the boulder imprisoning Gerald. He was older with wise wrinkles and almost kind eyes. Not exactly the image of pure evil Gerald was expecting.

"Wait. I do know you," Gerald said, "You're the psychiatrist, aren't you?"

The old man nodded, "I expected nothing less from the great detective."

"Why you? Why are you here?"

"I want you to guess. Use that intellect of yours."

Gerald grumbled but did as the old man said, and thought out every reason he could think of. Until he had a decent hypothesis, "You were Taylor's psychiatrist, but you were at work even before that. You were collecting these people, the thanatophobic ones. You were building your cult by using people's fears against them."

"I'm impressed." 

"But you aren't a psychiatrist at all, are you?"

"No."

"You're actually Thanato... Not in person, I've seen his ghost a couple times..." Gerald said, "But he is in you, isn't he?"

"I am part of many," the old man said, "But many of my hosts are rotting. Literally. I can only have one living host to keep me linked to this world."

Gerald observed his surroundings some more, before coming to another heavy conclusion.

"You're dying."

"Yes."

"Is that what this artifact is supposed to do... this ritual you've laid out for us," Gerald muttered, "You're going to be me now."

"Yes."

"Great..." 

Episode 23

Alaire's jeans, now moist from trudging through the snow, stuck to her skinny legs and numbed her skin. The gunshots finally stopped, and it took every effort for her to not turn around. We just have to wait this out, she reminded herself.
Gerald, the still missing detective, tipped off one of his friends from the police force about their whereabouts just before arriving. It was a plan B of sorts - assuming that everything wasn't going to go as smoothly as they hoped. Might as well catch the villains if they were going to die anyway. 
"Rrrgh," Dylan groaned. His arm looked bent out of shape.
"Can you keep going?" Alaire asked.
"Yeah," Dylan nodded, "Well, I'm definitely not going to fall behind. No thank you."
"Good."
"When is help coming?" he asked.
"I don't know..." Alaire confessed, "Hopefully soon. Keep an eye out for the detective or any signs of..."
"What?"
Finally, something that wasn't snow or tree roots appeared in their path. It looked like a short metal pipe sticking out of the ground. At first, it didn't appear too significant, until Alaire and Dylan heard something coming from inside the pipe.
Alaire pressed her ear against the opening and waited. Voices echoed from the other side, although it sounded like they were far away, deep into the ground.
"There's people..." Alaire breathed, "No... the victims. The other missing students! HELLO!"
She wasn't sure it would work or not, but the shouting from down the pipe got more excited. Their volume grew as if they were getting closer.
"HELLO!" Alaire called again. Dylan had a deeper voice that carried much farther than her own, "HEY!"
"... help! Help us!"
"Oh my gosh," Alaire beamed, "We found them!"
"Yeah, but how do we get them out?" Dylan started kicking away the piles of snow, "We need a shovel, and my arm is pretty useless."
Alaire scooped the snow surrounding the pipe, throwing it behind her. How badly she wanted someone to find them back when she was trapped in the Thanato Project. She knew exactly what these kids were going through. Even though her hands turned blue, she continued digging, while Dyaln continued to help (sort of) with his legs.
Her fingers found the earth as dirt burrowed into her nails, "No..."
"See," Dylan's face blushed from the cold, "We need a shovel."
"Even then," Alaire pondered, "We don't know if it will get us inside, or them out."
"Please, help!"
Their voices were sounding clearer every second. This gave Alaire an idea.
"Hello!" she said.
"Yes! We're here! Help!"
"Ok... um. What do you see down there? Is there any sign of an opening?"
"I think we would've used it by now..." a male voice said. Another voice called up, "I think we're in some kind of sewage system! There's not much around us right now. Just tunnels!"
Tunnels. That meant there had to be an opening somewhere.
"Is Detective Robinson with you?"
Alaire's eyes widened, "Yes! He... he was."
"I'm his partner, Ryan Nelson!" the voice sounded ecstatic, "Tell him we're here!"
Dylan and Alaire shared a painful glance. Right now, she wanted to worry about finding the exit to these sewers, "We're going to find a way to get you out!"
"How are we going to do that?" Dylan said in a hushed tone.
"I don't know."
They searched the surrounding area for anything suspicious, but they were bombarded with more white snow. Frustrated, Alaire picked up a large stick and started dragging it behind her as she walked down a tree infested path.
"Follow me, but don't step on my trail," Alaire said, "I want to be able to find this pipe again if we have to."
They were so close now, Alaire thought. It was frustrating having terrorized people just beneath them with no way to get them out. She peered over her shoulder every few steps to check on her trail the stick was making. Dylan was getting progressively slower - Alaire imagined from the adrenaline wearing off. He grit his teeth and continued anyway, of which she was grateful. Being alone would suck.
Something began to stink. It gave Alaire hope, remembering the victims were trapped in a sewer, so perhaps they were getting closer to an opening. The smell didn't remind her so much of sewage, though. The scent was thick and heavy with rust.
The two approached a clearing and were baffled by what they saw.  In the opposite direction of where the cabin was located was a small lake. Unfrozen.
"Sick!" Dylan spat.
The body of water wasn't clear, but red. The smell of rust was actually the blood - a whole pond's worth. Fresh blood trickling down a creek formed in the ice, along with a hint of steam from the top.
"What the crap is this?" Dylan asked.
"Maybe... an entrance?" Alaire followed the creek until it came to an end.
A tunnel, big enough for humans to squeeze through. The warm blood spilled from the tunnel's exit.
"Yes!" Alaire gasped, "That has to be where they are!"
"And you're happy about this?" Dylan mumbled, still distraught with the gory pond.
She was too excited to argue. Her legs were crouched as she readied to enter the tunnel, when a not very welcoming sound greeted her. Chills ran down her spine, and she froze in place.
Not too far from the exit was one of the monsters. The gurgling throat noises confirmed it. Though dark inside the tunnel, as it crawled closer towards Alaire, it's hideous features were brought to light. It's hot and rancid breath blew against her face. She closed her eyes.

Episode 22

Fog crawled from the mountaintops, down the hills, and swamped the street where Alaire, Aaron, and Dylan were still parked, anxiously waiting for the detective. The sun was rising, but hadn't peeked over the mountains yet and was badly dimmed from cloud coverage. They left the car running in case they needed a quick getaway, but Alaire's blood ran cold. She'd lost sight of Gerald after he entered the thick forest.
"Any sign of him?" she asked.
Aaron was having a hard time focusing. His hands fidgeted as if deciding to drive away or grab his gun, "I lost him, too."
"Something's wrong," she muttered, "I just know it."
"We should've gone together," Aaron said.
Alaire looked at him, a bit surprised, "You would've gone back?"
"Well, not happily. But we came all this way anyway. I tagged along the entire time while trying to find you, so I should.."
She gave him a sad smile, her chest felt warm for a second, "You really did?"
"What?"
"Stayed with him until you found me."
"Yeah," Aaron snorted, "I wasn't going to let you go missing again. Not again, not ever."
Alaire took a deep inhale, not letting it out. Her eyes felt moist like at any moment she'd become a human sprinkler, spraying petty emotions. Just hold it in... 
From the backseat, Dylan sighed loud enough for them to remember he was present. Aaron coughed while adjusting in his seat, "We'll give him a couple minutes, then I'll go look for him."
"Not by yourself," Alaire added.
"Yes, by myself."
"You're being annoyingly protective..."
"You're being annoyingly difficult to protect."
"Touche."
Aaron rolled his eyes, "I just barely got you back, can you let me enjoy that at least."
Alaire pouted but didn't know how to reply. He's being awfully weird... She studied his face until he turned away.
Dylan suddenly poked his head in the front, "Hey."
Aaron spoke in an aggravated tone, "Yes?"
"Well," Dylan's voice was animated with satire, "I heard something, and uh, I'm pretty sure we're screwed."
"Screwed?" Aaron grunted.
Alaire and Aaron scanned their surroundings again, only this time, white figures moved silently out from the trees. They were dressed similarly to how Dylan was earlier - hoodies and masks, except instead of black they were all white to match the snow. They glided from the snow and into the street like ghosts in the fog.
"I think the detective is in trouble," Aaron switched gears so they were no longer parked.
"We can't leave him behind!" Alaire pleaded.
Aaron ignored her and revved the car's engine. The white hooded strangers didn't to take to his warning and continued standing still. "Alright, then," Aaron slammed on the gas, creating some ice in the gravel, and sped towards them. They jumped out of the way, but Alaire spotted something left behind on the road. "Aaron...!"
A line of silver spikes was planted on the gravel. They could've easily been mistaken for chunks of ice, but there was no denying it, especially when both front tires exploded on impact. Aaron tried regaining control of the car but as the shredded tires and metal ground against the asphalt, they headed straight for the trees.
The car came to a crashing halt - the right side taking the biggest hit. The airbag punched Alaire in the face. She tried shouting, but her words were muffled. Dylan was thrown around in the backseat before hitting Aaron's chair from behind.
Pressure built from Alaire's nose and to her brain. She was in pain, but nothing serious, nothing broken. Dylan, on the other hand, was moaning, "Oh-ho, ow!"
Aaron took the least of the blow and was alert, high off adrenaline, "Alaire, you two get out. Get out now."
"Get... what?"
"Now! Get out!" Aaron barked, "Run!"
Aaron shoved the deflating airbag until he could free himself from the vehicle. The gun once hidden in his pants was now aimed at the ready in his hands. Alaire's stomach dropped when she heard the booming sounds of gunshots.
"Go!" Aaron said, "Don't let them take us both."
Dylan slumped out of the car, his arm in pretty bad shape. His face scrunched together every inch he moved. Alaire hesitated, looking from right to left at Aaron shooting and Dylan making his way to the forest.
Alaire went for her gun as well, but Aaron yelled at her again, "Alaire!"
She forced back tears and she fled from the car, following Dylan into the trees and snow. They tripped over roots that were buried under the white and cold powder. Aaron... Alaire turned back only once. He was holding up, for now... Until he ran out of bullets. 
Alaire remembered what Aaron told them about Thanato, and how he couldn't touch him. Hopefully, that was still true... It didn't look like Aaron was aiming to kill. Only a couple of them had shots in the leg and shoulder, and the others scattered taking cover where they could. None of them had guns, at least, none of them had retaliated.
How many of them could there be? Alaire kept her eyes peeled, making sure to not mistaken any lump in the snow as a hooded creep in disguise.
Dylan cradled his arm, "Where should we go..."
"I-I don't know," Alaire's voice shook, "Just keep going."

*****

Aaron was down to his last bullet. Not one of them had shot back at him - assuming they had weapons. They just behind trees and rocks and blended in with piles of snow. He'd shot a few of them, something he'd never really done before. Sure, he went shooting every now and then, but as far as shooting people, of course, this was a first. 

He remembered what it felt like getting shot in the shoulder - I hope this hurts too, bastards. This couldn't be it; this couldn't be all Thanato was capable of. These hooded henchmen weren't stationed here to be shot at. So what was going on?

"Aaron?"

Aaron had positioned himself behind his opened car door as he contemplated what to do with this last bullet. Hopefully, he'd given Alaire time to get some distance from this place. But that voice...

"Aaron? Come out, come out..."

He couldn't help but peer out to see who was calling for him. Standing out against the winter landscape was the figure covered in black. Aaron stepped out, aiming his gun at the man's chest.

"There you are!" the man outstretched his arms in welcome, "Oh, but... where's your pretty little friend?"

"Who are you," Aaron growled.

"Aaron..." the man pretended to sound distraught, "I know you've recognized me by now."

That's impossible, totally and completely ... 

The man reached for the mask covering his face. Slowly, like peeling off a bandaid, Aaron watched as the face of the mystery man came into the open. The surprise almost made Aaron drop his weapon.

"How...?" 

Underneath the black hood was the mangled face of Matt. Professor Kellor. His head caved inwards. Wounds from torn flesh had healed and scabbed over. One eye was completely missing, the other looked splotchy and red and hardly functional. His jaw was unhinged and lopsided as he tried to grin in Aaron's direction. Aside from these impossible injuries, something was amiss. Aaron could feel a darkness radiating from Professor Kellor's very soul. Even as he spoke, his mouth hardly moved - like something was speaking for him.

"Immortality, baby." Professor Kellor.

Episode 21

Ethan pressed himself against the walls, his vision blurring, heart pounding, limbs going numb. What was left of his sanity tried processing or  blocking out what he'd just seen. One moment, they were tasting what could've been freedom, and the next, more blood. So much more.

before

The sounds of the monster faded away as suddenly as Ethan's ears picked up on them. Relief swept over him at first. Perhaps he even imagined it? Which wouldn't be surprising. Everyone else was probably feeling the same way - all seated together on one big traumatic roller coaster.
Genessee, Ryan, and Matthew continued to make their way through the red pool of (animal?) remains, when a deep thunk from the depths startled them.
After witnessing Capri's sudden demise with the acid shower, Ethan knew in his gut something bad was about to occur. Even so, he could hardly speak - or rather, couldn't form words.
"G-get.... out," Ethan's voice was barely a whisper.
The goo started to churn, making it harder for Genessee, Ryan, and Matthew to maneuver. Genessee started to sink when Ryan lifted her up by the arm. "Something tripped me," she said.
"Probably shouldn't think about it," Ryan suggested.
"It was moving," she insisted.
Ryan pulled her along even quicker, "Definitely don't think about it."
"Ah!" Matthew doubled over in pain. He was closest to the center of the pool where the source of the churning seemed to be located. A gut-filled whirlpool was forming more apparent ripples as the churning picked up speed.
"I'm... I'm..." Matthew's face went pale.
"GET OUT!" Ethan shouted.
Matthew staggered, the current pulling him into the dead center. Something tripped both Ryan and Genessee this time, both of them falling face first into the blood. Ryan spat and vigorously wiped his face as best he could, while Genessee surrendered to dry vomiting.
There was no questioning it now. From the outside looking in, Ethan could see this was yet another death trap. The loud grinding sounds confirmed it. The center started to clunk and spray bits of guts as it pulverized pieces of bone and other unmentionables.
Ryan yanked on Genessee, practically hurling her towards the edge to climb to safety. She was blind still, gunk covering her face, but she clung desperately to the concrete until Ethan helped her up. The pool almost pulled her back in, making Ethan lose his footing. His knees came down hard, but he swallowed the pain.
"Come on!" Ethan said.
Once Genessee was at least beached, Ethan reached for Ryan's hand, only to let it slip. Ryan roared as he stomped his way back towards the wall. The current was only getting stronger by each passing second.

They heard it before they saw Matthew get sucked in.

A nasty crunching sound accompanied by wailing and the grinding of gears. They hadn't been paying attention to how close Matthew was to the whirling center. Now that he was right before it, whatever garbage-disposal type machinery had dug it's teeth into Matthew's lower body.
It was quick after that.
His screams were literally drowned out as his body was torn below the liquids. The gears were hungry as they tried to finish him off, but it still groaned whenever stuck. One shoe and a few fingers still reached passed the surface when the blender finally gave up.
Ryan almost forgot to save himself, but the churning slowed and he was able to climb out, the only struggle being his paralysis from shock.
It was impossible to see through the red liquids, but after the churning stopped completely, everything was still.
Everything.

*****

After a while, Gerald lost sight of the monsters. He wasn't at all relieved, knowing they were driving to their death's anyway. And if his hunch was correct, the beasts were going to be lurking around every wrong turn to make sure they were headed to their destination. 

It couldn't be the work of one man. Not even one man and one demon.

There were too many coincidences, Gerald thought, the murderer always knew where they were. He went to the antique shop, he found them in Seattle, he knew the house Dylan was holding Alaire in, he knew they went to Gerald's own house... That can't all be witchcraft.

It was irritating feeling so powerless. He should've gotten more cops involved earlier. Or would that have made a difference? Would it have made it worse? It was too late to question that now.
Here he was, a "great" detective, letting the victims literally drive them to their nightmare. Everyone was armed, barely, but how much experience did any of them have? Gerald tried distracting himself from his own fear by puzzling out every possible scenario. The outlooks weren't optimistic.
As they got closer to where they needed to be, Aaron got more and more tense. Gerald could hear his breathing from the driver seat. At one point, Gerald thought Aaron was going to pull over and stop, but Aaron whispered a pep-talk to himself and kept going. Gerald felt guilt and pity with each desperate glance Alaire and Aaron gave each other.
I was supposed to solve this.
It was obvious Dylan was holding back - the way his shoulders kept moving as he constantly readjusted in his seat and his head turned to every window of the car like a paranoid cat. Gerald didn't know what to make of this kid yet. From the surface he looked like a normal high schooler with no real signs of psychotic behavior, other than he totally kidnapped someone.
Still. It was creepy looking at his innocent face and comparing it to the blonde girl Gerald saw in the photos. The girl who allegedly killed all those students. She didn't look like a psycho either, so he wasn't about to let his guard down around some punk kid.
"I think we're close..." Aaron hissed.
"Do you remember this place?" Gerald asked Alaire. She shook her head, "My group was at the theme park. I'd rather die in a car wreck then see that place again..."
Don't give him any ideas, Gerald thought, his eyes darting to Aaron at the wheel. Gerald had a plan in mind, and that was to kill the bastard. No questioning or arrest or detainment. Even if Gerald got in trouble for it later, he didn't care. The sooner the deed was done the better.
Aaron parked in the dirt off the road. A thick and white forest filled with tall trees topped with snow were on each side of them.
"It's up that way," Aaron  pointed. Gerald nodded, "I'm going first. He didn't specify, so stay in here until I get to talk to him."
"But..." Alaire shifted her focus to the trees, "What if those things see you? Or us?"
"Safer to be in the car," he said, "Keep an eye on this one," he added, giving Dylan a hard glare before exiting the vehicle.

He trudged through the mountains of snow, making his way up the hill and deeper into the forest. The rising sun was barely peering over the mountain tops, giving him some light. He still used the flashlight on his smartphone to avoid tripping on the protruding roots. A ways off he could see the outline of a house, but no sign of anyone. If they'd gotten the clue wrong, Ryan and Maren were toast. Gerald gulped.
His gun was at the ready, the butt-end resting in his palm. The tops of his fingers were freezing and turning blue, but his palms were still sweaty. Just have to keep an eye out for Silent Hill creatures and a murderer, no big deal.
It was silent and almost soothing outside in this winter morning, but Gerald could feel someone's eyes on him - some sixth-sense human's had when danger was nearby. His breath came out in small clouds and his eyes watered both from the cold and refusing to blink.
The sound of a footstep delicately stepping just behind him filled the detective with panic and dread.
"Detective."
Gerald felt pressure and a pinch on the back of his neck. NO! He was able to throw his elbow back and hit whoever was behind him, but the damage was done. Instantly, Gerald felt woozy. The spot on his neck was tender to the touch, and he spotted a needle laying in the snow.
The assailant staggered away from the blow. A gleeful chuckle escaped the dark mask, "Nighty-night, Detective."

R.I.P Matthew!