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! 

Episode 20

___________

"No, he doesn't get one," Gerald said.
"Am I really supposed to walk in without any weapons?" Dylan protested.
"Yes."
Gerald handed Alaire a small black pistol, "Know how to use one?"
"Yeah, point and pew."
Gerald's forehead creased and he reconsidered for a moment. Aaron was already stashing extra clips in his leather jacket, a pistol of his own hidden on his backside. The tension still felt heavy between him and Alaire, but after the threatening phone call, it seemed trivial.
"Can I have... a stick?" Dylan asked.
"You can have my foot in your ass if you'd like," Gerald said. Alaire grabbed the detective's sleeve, "It's stupid to bring him along if he's defenseless, isn't it?" She tried convincing him with logic, but no one was ready to trust Dylan just yet, "He could get himself killed. Or one of us."
"I'm not giving a delinquent, your captor, a gun."
"Then give the boy a stick!" she pressed.
Gerald hadn't asked them to come along. The man on the phone specified each of their names, but Gerald offered to go alone. Noble, but Alaire knew that if they didn't all come then the detective's friends were certainly dead. Also, considering the villain knew where they were, it was likely he could get them to do what he wanted anyway. That's how it all worked, you don't tell the cops and you show up as requested.
Even then you were risking everyone's lives.
Gerald groaned in exasperation, "Here."
He handed Dylan a pocket knife. It wasn't much, but Dylan looked satisfied.
"Do anything stupid, and I will stop you," Gerald flashed his gun as he shoved in a new clip, "Now get in the car," Gerald ordered.
Dylan slumped away and closed himself into the backseat. The detective turned to Aaron and Alaire, "None of you should come. He could kill us on the spot."
"I don't think so," Aaron said, "If this guy is in the cult then he'll be into more elaborate deaths."
"He'll take his time," Alaire nodded, "We might have our own time to make a plan."
The plan so far was - go in guns blazing, literally. Gerald geared them up with at least one gun, ammo, and a switchblade. The detour to retrieve the weapons from his house already put them behind schedule.
"My job wasn't to put you in danger."
The silent snowy night waited and watched the three outside of Gerald's car. He felt a small hand tug on his sleeve again, and he looked down at Alaire, her dark eyes reflecting the moonlight, "To be fair, you did find me with the intentions of rescuing me. I know you're a good detective."
Her gesture was cute, but nothing could put Gerald at ease until the killer was found. Imagining Maren and Ryan being tortured tore at his chest. Images of every past murder case he'd ever worked on flooded his mind like his consciousness was painting a mural of blood. His quickening pulse was like shock waves jolting his entire body.
"Let's get in the car at least," Alaire suggested, "I'm freezing my butt off out here..."
"I still think we should tie the kid up," Aaron grumbled.
Gerald sighed, "There's still time... You can hide out in my house and not-"
The buzzing of Aaron's phone sounded again. He didn't have to check to know who it was.
"Gerald!" the sickening pleasant voice boomed.
"What do you want."
"Just checking in. You're running out of time you know..."
"We're coming."
"Are you?" the voice mulled, "Detective, tsk tsk tsk. I don't want to have to remind you how important it is that all of you get here. Soon..."
This time there was no screaming on the other end, but the silence was worse. Gerald didn't respond, but the man didn't continue either. All Gerald could hear was steady breathing. Well if that's how he's going to be... Gerald was tempted to hang up, but cautious that could anger him.
This time, the voice didn't sound so cheerful, "Looks like you do need an extra push detective."
Beep beep beep. He hung up.
"What the-" Gerald spat.
"Gerald?"
An older woman's voice called out to them from another house over. She waddled out of her front door in fuzzy pink slippers and a matching bathrobe, "Is everything okay?"
"Yes, Mrs. Johnson," Gerald waved, "Just uh, late night McDonald run with my... niece and nephews..."
"O-oh alright," she didn't sound convinced, "I just heard some yellin' and then some growlin'?"
Growling? Both Alaire and Aaron looked confused as well, but confusion quickly turned to terror.
Slow at first, two figures appeared under a street light, only they weren't human and not entirely animalistic either. It was like a scene in a horror movie coming to life. Gerald blinked a few times before accepting what he was seeing was real.
One short one tall both fleshless creatures. Their breathing was wet and rough like they were choking on their own tongue. Heads were bald, and one of the monster's skulls was smushed inward. They staggered forward like zombies, creeping closer towards Gerald's house.
Aaron pulled out his gun and ushered Alaire into the passenger seat. She resisted, but Aaron was a lot stronger, and with one arm he tossed her into the car. "What are we looking at detective..."
"I shouldn't be surprised by this shit anymore," Gerald muttered, "But..."
His neighbor spotted what everyone was gawking at and started to shriek. "Demons! DEMONS!"
One of the creatures cocked it's head to the sound of her screams, and with startling speed charged towards Mrs. Johnson.
"Mrs. Johnson!" Gerald ran towards her, gun raised at the ready, "Get inside! Mrs. Johnson!"
The beast pounced onto Mr's Johnson, clinging to her chest. Gerald aimed a good shot in its shoulder, but that didn't stop the beast. It reared its head in annoyance, making a scratchy gurgling screech. Before Gerald could fire another shot, the beast's claws plunged into Mrs. Johnson's chest and ripped her rib cage wide open.
"Oh hell!" Gerald fired three more shots at the monster, each making contact but with little effect. The loud gunshots pulled it's attention away from the now exposed woman. Gerald noticed the creature had no eyes, just dark pits. No nose or ears, but holes and more holes.
"Detective!" Aaron bellowed.
Both creatures took off at high speeds towards them. Certain that his gun wasn't going to help, Gerald rushed to the car where Aaron had started the engine. As soon as Gerald's body was inside, Aaron gunned it.
Even without eyes, the creatures were able to dodge the car before it ran them over. Aaron whipped the car around a corner, but the creatures weren't too far behind.
"Okay... that's new," Alaire looked to Aaron.
Dylan's eyes were glued wide open and he clung to his pocket knife like it was a life force. Gerald checked the back window for their pursuers and sure enough, they were keeping a steady pace only a few yards behind them. He punched the roof of the car and cursed, "Argh... Looks like we have an escort..."
"You think those things are with the cult?" Alaire asked. She forced herself to speak like each word caused her pain. Her body was cramped into a tight ball as she hugged her legs in the front seat, "I'm sorry about... your neighbor..."
Gerald didn't take his eyes off the monsters. They followed them, even onto the freeway. It was late, but there were bound to be a few other drivers that would see this. Why risk exposure now? 
"Looks like we're in this together now," Aaron's voice shook, "Unless we want to take our chances on these guys..."
Gerald grumbled.
"Detective," Aaron pressed.
"I know! I know... if you're certain the clue was to lead us to the cabin... here's where we need to go," Gerald gave a resigned sigh, "How did they even know where to find us..." None of this was making sense. By now he would have some sort of concrete explanation, but there was nothing. All he had was a cult, monsters, a serial skinner... A serial skinner making monsters? No...
"That sick bastard," Aaron's hands could barely hold the stirring wheel steady, "I didn't think I'd see this place ever again..."
Alaire placed her hand on his. They looked at each other, the same fear from only months ago resurfacing in their eyes.
"Let's end it. For real this time..." Alaire said.

Episode 19

Capri's remains slowly sizzled in a puddle of red and yellow. The screen doors remained shut. Not only had they lost Capri, but the keycard as well. Ethan couldn't look back at her melted corpse, not ever again. It took the three of them a few minutes to gather what had happened, but now all of them had the same crazy look in their eyes.
They were dead. They were all dead, Ethan thought, it was all a matter of time.
"W-what now..." Genessee sniffled, "Is there n-no way out?"
"Our way out just melted someone," Ethan said.
Something in Matthew finally broke. He looked wildly about the room, occasionally running towards a wall and pressing against it as if it would move.
"He said... he said... there were two ways out... not to pick the wrong one... where's the right one? Where!"
"Does it matter?" Ethan asked, "We don't have the key anymore. It's gone."
"This can't be it," Matthew ignored him, "There has to be... somewhere we can..."
"Hey, man," Ethan said, "We'll..."
"We'll what!" Matthew shouted, "We'll what? We screwed up, we chose wrong..."
Genessee began to cry again. Ethan gave up trying to talk to Matthew and returned his attention to the sleeping man who fell out of the pig corpse. His fingers began to twitch.
"I think he's waking up," Ethan announced.
The man's eyes flickered open, revealing almost clear colored irises. His nose crinkled in disgust, "Ugh... what stinks. W-... Where am I?"
The man bolted to his feet, but began to sway and fell back to his knees. He brought his fists up as if ready to attack someone.
"Woah!" Ethan backed away, "Chill, chill..."
"Where is he?" the man barked.
"Who? Who!" Ethan put his hands up in defense.
The man spotted Genessee, and if it was her innocent face or bright pink haired that cooled him off, whichever, he seemed to wake up from his trance.
"Where are we?" he asked.
Genessee answered, "We don't know. We were brought here... I-I think by a mad man."
"Wait..." Ryan blinked, "Wait... I know you. And you two."
Matthew drew away from the walls. Everyone seemed confused.
"You're the missing students," the man said, "We've been looking for you! I'm Detective Robinson's assistant, Detective or... Jr. Detective I guess, Ryan! Ryan Nelson."
"Detectives?" Genessee's eyes seemed to glow, "They were looking for us?"
"Yeah!" Ryan said, "You're Genessee, I remember your hair from the photo. We were following some leads in the case but... "
"You're trapped in here with us," Matthew said, "Why?"
Ryan scratched his scalp, "I'm not sure myself. Last thing I remember... I think I was jumped. I remember hearing my phone go off a lot... Aw, man." He buried his face in his hands and spoke muffled nonsense.
"Do you know what's going on here?" Ethan asked, "Because if we don't find a way out we're all going to die."
Ryan recovered, "Sort of... it's a lot to explain. This is the bad guy's domain, huh? Doesn't look good... We don't know who it is yet, but we think he's part of a death cult. Like I said, a lot to explain, and I'll gladly do it once we get you kids out of here. What about that door over there, it's blocked off, but I bet we could-"
"NO!" they all said in unison.
"It's a... trap," Ethan explained.
"Ah, ok," Ryan coughed, "Ugh, I don't feel so good. And I smell awful."
"You were inside of a pig..." Matthew muttered. It was unclear if Ryan actually believed him, but he didn't seem too distracted by it. Instead he was inspecting the room with sluggish and drugged calmness.
"No exit, huh," Ryan walked towards the middle of the room, "Well... That's not entirely true."
His feet stopped at a metal grate on the floor. It was large enough for people to fit through, but none of them had thought about it since...
It was a drain.
"Help me," Ryan grunted as he pulled on the bars.
Matthew didn't look convinced, but stood on the other side of the grate and pulled. The bars groaned, and with the conjoined effort they were able to lift it open. Ethan and Genessee tiptoed closer to get a better look, and were both repelled by the sight. And smell.
"Gah! Oh hell..." Ethan's face twisted.
"Nasty..." Ryan agreed, "Are we desperate enough?"
Genessee was on the brink of tears again, but when she glanced back at acid pool with Capri's very few remains, she nodded, "I think we are..."
"I can go first," Ryan offered.
"No, I'll go..." Matthew said.
"You sure?"
Matthew didn't say anything, but sat on the edge of the hole and swung his legs over. It was hard to tell where this drain went. The drop down wasn't too high, but down below looked like a giant slide. The entire drain was at a slant without an end in sight. That could be do to all the blood and gore.
"Careful," Ryan said.
Matthew nodded. Ethan sat at the edge as well, "Right behind you. This looks like Sun Splash for diseases..."
As soon as Matthew dropped himself into the drain he began to slide. His backside dragged through the chunks of red that smelled rancid and rotted. Blood splashed against the walls of the drain the faster he started to fall. He was picking up speed, hitting more slimy contents that Matthew refused to think about. Vomiting could commence any second.
The light at the end of the tunnel was less than pleasant. The drain suddenly ended, letting Matthew fly out of the tube and fall into a gigantic pool of thick maroon goo. There was no stopping becoming completely submerged. He clamped his mouth and eyes shut as tightly as possible.
Everyone fell in soon after Matthew did. It was a good thing the pool was shallow, because navigating in the gelatin gore was near impossible. Ethan scraped the goop from his face and blew through his nose trying to make an airway.
"This... is... freakin' disgusting!" Ryan chocked.
Genessee struggled to shake off the blood pudding and whimpered in distress.
"This is insane..." Ethan rubbed his beard until it was raw, "This is... Are we out? Is it over?"
Ryan's button down shirt had no chance of being white ever again. He ripped off his tie and shoved his sleeves up to his elbows, "Well... we're definitely out of one room, but it looks like we're in another."
It looked like a really old sewage system. The ceiling was a dome. Multiple tunnels led away from the pool into further darkness. Ethan had to pull his legs like he was walking in tar, but made his way to dry land, which was a ring of cement around the pool. He took a few moments to breathe through his mouth, trying to block the smell. That's when he heard the gurgling.
The grizzly breathing echoed off the walls from one of the tunnels. There's no way, Ethan thought, there's no way that same monster made it all the way down here before they did. No way.
But the gurgling sounds were spot on. The others weren't there when the beast tore Macy apart, but he was. He knew.
They were here in the dark and blood with the blind skinless monster.

Episode 18

Alaire sat across from Aaron at the kitchen table. He was still rubbing the spot where Gerald punched him. The swelling was protruding from underneath his left eye.
Things got a little out of hand when Aaron and the detective caught them. Alaire hadn't seen that look in Aaron's eyes in a long time. It was almost like he was the manifestation of rage like his consciousness was gone and replaced with something else. It was spooky.
No one could blame him, though. She was still kidnapped, after all, Alaire thought. But the poor kid was out with one punch, and Aaron wanted to finish the job, so Gerald had to restrain him...
Aaron was fuming, refusing to look up at her. Alaire sighed, "I'm sorry."
"You don't have anything to be sorry for," he said sharply.
"But you're mad at me..."
Aaron placed his hand on the table, maybe a little too harshly, "I wasn't expecting you to be making friends with your kidnappers. I thought you were... well, dead. I thought that when I found you, you would be dead or dying."
"It's not like he and I are pals," Alaire snapped, "I'm sorry I'm not dead!"
"Don't say that!" Aaron's tone made her jump. He finally made eye contact with her but coughed and awkwardly looked away.
Gerald handcuffed the culprit and leaned him up against the wall as they waited for him to gain consciousness. The detective was making several calls to his assistant, Ryan, but from the sound of it, he was having no luck.
"Care to explain it to me again," Gerald addressed Alaire after he received Ryan's voicemail again.
"Um," Alaire turned from Aaron, "I was kidnapped. I was brought here - had no idea where I was. He left me in the basement, but he fed me and didn't do anything except interrogate me once about who killed Taylor. I didn't realize the significance until..."
"You realized he was her brother," Gerald finished.
Alaire nodded, "He came back tonight and let me go, just like that, told me to leave and that he couldn't do this anymore."
Gerald analyzed the sleeping boy with blood drying under his nose. "You really think he meant you no harm?" he asked.
"I don't know. I think he might've at one point, but... I don't think he's a bad person. I don't think he could go through with it."
Aaron grunted in disgust. Alaire glowered, "If he wanted me dead he would've done it already."
"How can you trust anything after what we went through?" Aaron laughed darkly, "I remember being rescued and it didn't turn out so great for any of us,  did it?"
Alaire continued to glare but said nothing. Gerald raised his eyebrows and went back to his business. The kid was starting to stir, groaning from the pain of his potentially broken nose. Aaron tensed.
"Dylan?" Gerald crouched closer to the ground so they were eye level, "Hey."
Dylan's dark eyes rolled until they focused on Gerald's face. He was startled but didn't try to fight against his handcuffs. Instead, he sunk with a deep sigh and lazily looked at all the faces staring at him.
"I'm Detective Gerald Robinson," Gerald said, "You're under arrest for-"
"Detective."
Gerald jerked his head, "Can it wait?"
"No, um... I don't want to press charges," Alaire's voice trailed away.
Both Aaron and Gerald looked at her in disbelief.
"Excuse me?" Gerald looked to Aaron for validation.
"Don't be stupid," Aaron said, "You're kidding right?"
"No," Alaire noticed Dylan looking up at her, totally expressionless.
"Alaire!" Aaron huffed.
"My brother was killed," Alaire said in a hushed tone, "And you know what? I killed the man who killed him. Without hesitating. I still haven't been punished for it."
Everyone fell silent. Aaron's furrowed eyebrows finally relaxed, "That was different..."
"Is it?" Alaire countered, "He just wants to know what happened to his sister. And he let me go."
Gerald turned to Dylan, still watching them, "I'm taking you in for questioning then."
"K," Dylan grumbled.
There was no sign he was going to put up a fight. The fire of life in his dark eyes were tiny embers gasping for air. Alaire knew it would irk them if she defended Dylan too much, but she ignored them. She left her chair and crouched next to the detective, "What made you decide to let me go?"
Dylan lifted his broad set shoulders. Alaire tried again, "How old are you? You can't be in college yet, are you?"
"No. I'm seventeen."
"Wow, young," Alaire used a soothing tone.
"Dylan," Gerald interjected, "There's reason to believe you murdered Tina, the older woman you worked for."
"You shouldn't question him here..." Alaire said.
Dylan didn't seem to mind and responded with a blunt, "I didn't do it."
"Was it because of those artifacts? Did someone want them? Did you want them for something?" Gerald fired.
"No," Dylan finally showed some sign of emotion, "That's stupid. I'm the one who gave her the artifacts, why would I kill her and steal them back?"
Gerald paused, "You were the supplier?"
"Yeah... I found them in my sister's room one day," Dylan's voice cracked, "I didn't want anyone finding them so..."
Gerald's face soothed over, satisfied with the new information. Alaire watched him puzzle something together in his head.
"Did you know what they were?" Gerald asked.
"Not really," Dylan said, "Just that... it had to be something bad. Everyone was saying Taylor did all these terrible things. But she wasn't like that."
"She fooled everyone," Aaron suddenly said.
Dylan's eyes slowly found Aaron's. Alaire felt panic rising in her chest. She'd forgotten what her last conversation with Dylan was about. He had been dead set on finding Aaron.
"Did you kill her?" Dylan asked.
Aaron didn't look angry anymore. His teeth were still clenched, but his face showed pity, "No. I did not."
For some reason, that seemed to break Dylan. Though handcuffed, he pulled his knees up and hid his face in his bound hands. His back shook, "I... They told me it was you. But... then they killed Tina and... I freaked out."
"That's why you came back... you were worried they'd pin the murder on you," Alaire said out loud.
"Who are 'they'?" Gerald demanded. Dylan sniffed and refused to respond. That irritated the detective, so he grabbed the kid by the shoulders, "You want to go to jail? You better tell me who the murderers are."
"Detective..." Alaire whispered disapprovingly.
"They still haven't found Taylor or Matt or anyone related to the murder of those college students," Gerald pressed, "If we don't catch them now, we may not get another chance for a very long time."
"I didn't see their face... They just gave me a recording, that's all," Dylan's voice croaked.
Gerald frowned, "Alright, well. Lets' get out of here. We can continue our little discussion down-"
His phone went off, "Ah, Ryan, finally..."
Alaire put a hand under Dylan's arm and offered to help him off the ground. Dylan didn't look at her but surrendered to the gesture. Aaron placed himself in between the two, keeping a close eye on the boy in handcuffs while they waited for Gerald's phone call.
Gerald hadn't said a word since greeting Ryan. When he turned to face them, they knew right away something was wrong.
Gerald set his phone on the kitchen table and set it to speaker;
"Detective? Don't tell me I've lost you already."
Alaire felt her body jolt in response when she recognized this man's voice. No! Gerald put a finger to his lips before saying, "I'm here."
"Ah, that's good! What are you up to tonight? Seems odd to trespass into empty homes. If you ask me it doesn't sound like you're looking for the missing students very hard."
Alaire was itching to ask Aaron if she recognized this voice too. She stared at him until he looked up at her and gave a slight nod. What does that mean? Is this really him?
"Where's Ryan," Gerald ignored the man's pestering, "You have his phone, so what've you done with him?"
"Oh he's fine!" the voice said jubilantly, "At the moment anyway."
"That's two people you've taken from me," Gerald said.
"Correct! I'll gladly give them back. In fact, I'm feeling charitable, I'll even help you find the students! I'm too busy to chase you around right now, so maybe you can meet me halfway this time."
Gerald breathed harshly out his nose, "What do you want."
"Who I want. They're with you now, aren't they? Hello, Alaire!"
"Shit," Gerald's eyes were burning holes through his phone.
"In fact," the voice continued, "Why don't you, Alaire, Aaron, and Dylan come join me. But no one else... I don't want this party to get out of hand."
After he said that, faint screams were heard, "Gerald! Gerald!" Along with a rather unpleasant sound of metal scratching metal.
"Maren..." Gerald's face was getting red.
"Do we have a deal then?" the voice asked casually, "Oh, I forgot to mention. You need to get here pretty quick... You see, I don't have a lot of time on my hands. If you could get here before oh... dawn?"
"Give me the location," Gerald growled.
"Detective! That would be silly. I have a better idea. Aaron? This clue is for you!"
Aaron didn't respond, but he didn't have to. Somehow, this guy knew they were all listening.
"Get to know each other..." the voice giggled, "That's your only clue. Now hurry, hurry!"
Before he hung up, Maren started screaming, and it sounded like she was in pain. Alaire shivered and felt bile wanting to escape her stomach. Gerald released a ballad of curse words.
"That's the same guy," Dylan said, "The one who gave me the tape."
"Is it just me or..." Alaire turned to Aaron, "Did he sound an awful lot like Professor Kellor?"
"He does," he agreed.
"What does his cryptic clue mean?" Gerald asked.
"I'm confused too... we all got that message," Alaire said.
"What do you mean?" the detective's eyes darted from Aaron to Alaire.
Alaire cleared her throat, "When we were captured, they gave us notes that said 'get to know each other.' But he singled Aaron out... We were in different places. I was at an amusement park and Aaron was..."
"At the cabin," Aaron said.

Episode 17

Matthew's fingers started to stick together due to the remains of the snake blood drying. He was fairing better than Capri, though, still dripping wet with several substances. Her long dark hair stuck to her back and her body shivered uncontrollably. The pink haired chick, Genessee, seemed to be the calmest, or she was good at hiding her panic. Her eyes stayed down at her feet and her pouty lips swooshed from side to side.
Then there was Ethan.
He was wired. His eyes stretched so wide it looked like they could pop out anytime now. Matthew couldn't remember noticing the poor guy blink even once. Ethan's breathing was getting progressively worse the further the four of them walked the long tunnel.
"Looks like another door up ahead..." Matthew said, "It's open."
Between uneven breaths, Ethan muttered, "Great... Can't wait to see what's on the other side. Can't wait!"
Capri whimpered. She shoved herself into the middle of the group, "What is that smell? It's getting worse!" Her nose scrunched in disgust.
Ethan's mouth formed a thin line. Matthew noticed the smell too, and now it was starting to burn his nose hairs, "You're right... egh."
Genessee covered her nose with both of her dainty hands, "It smells like... chemicals."
"Chemicals and something else," Matthew agreed.
As soon as they filed through the open doorway, it closed behind them with a metal clank, and clunk of a lock. A warm light illuminated the room as if activated by their presence. Ethan clutched his stomach, "Oh, come on!"
Inside this room was a small factory. A metal stairway was set before them and on the bottom floor, on either wall, was a line of pigs all hanging from a conveyor belt. The ones on the right side of the room were already sawed in half, exposing their anatomy, bones, and meat.

"Welcome!"

"Of course..." Matthew sighed.
"You heard this guy before?" Ethan asked.
Capri, Genessee, and Matthew all nodded. Ethan tensed, "Yeah, me too..."

"You've made it this far. We'll see how long your luck continues to serve you."
"I don't think this room needs much introduction. But I'll let you in on a little secret."

The creepy voice that echoed through the factory had a mild playfulness to it this time around. When Matthew and Genessee heard it the first time he was mostly threatening. Why this time did he sound so... excited?      

"There's someone here who wants to help you. Isn't that nice? However, he needs your help first."
"You'll find I'm rather fond of old-fashioned procedures... Perhaps I could show you?"

A short alarm sounded along with a ringing noise. The conveyor belt slowly started to move clockwise.  

"The exit to this room is also the... cleansing room. Removing meat from bone was not always an easy task. It could be a bit of an obstacle for you. To shut it down, find the man inside one of the pigs before he's sliced up preferably. He has the key. 
However. There will be two doors. Make sure you don't choose the wrong one..." 

"Someone who wants to help us?" Matthew looked at everyone's face for an idea.
Ethan waved his hands, "I don't know. I don't have a freakin idea..."
"Well, go find this guy!" Capri declared.
Matthew raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, alright. We'll all go."
Capri looked against the idea of leaving the steps but followed everyone begrudgingly. It looked like the same kind of set up, Matthew thought. They were low on time and needed a solution fast. First, finding the stuffed pig.
"Look through all these pigs on the left side. Find one that already has a slit through its stomach," Matthew said, "It'll most likely be stitched up."
The pigs were pressed close together, so everyone had to grab the dead animals to get a better look, even as the belt moved them along. The smell of chemicals was getting stronger, and mixed together with the scent of rust and meat made them all nauseous.
Matthew couldn't stop thinking about what the "cleansing room" was or meant. If the voice parading them through this rooms of torment was behind it, then it had to be something terrible...
"I found one!" Ethan shouted.
Matthew rushed towards his voice and found the suspended big with a thin gash down its torso. It was stapled shut, which Matthew found pretty obvious. A little too obvious. They found the pig well before it reached the large saw blade that was tearing through pig corpses like tissue paper.
Ethan and Matthew took each flap of flesh and pulled them apart. Inside the meat cage was a dark haired man wearing a white button down and black tie. His limbs were shoved tightly next to the pig's ribcage. Good thing he was unconscious, Matthew noted, it looked painful...
Ethan pulled the man out from under his arms while Matthew held the legs. Capri and Genessee rushed over just as Ethan started sorting through the man's pockets.
"Who is he?" Genessee asked.
"Uh..." Ethan pulled out a wallet, "Looks like... a Mr. Nelson...?"
"What kind of identification is that? Is he a cop?"
"Maybe, maybe... here! The keycard!" Ethan whipped out a keycard, similar to the ones they already collected, from the man's wallet. Hastily, Capri took the card from Ethan's outstretched hand. "Let's get out of here!"
She ran towards the right side of the room, where the only apparent door was located. Her arms flailed through the line of pig halves as she squealed in fright. Matthew watched her go, his mind putting together a puzzle in his head... cleansing room, cleansing room... what was the cleansing room?
"Capri... WAIT!" Matthew yelled.
The exit door was in a separate cube-shaped area away from the hanging bodies. The cubed room was tiled quite particularly. It didn't match the rest of the factory at all. Something about it looked like a locker room shower.
Unfortunately, it was a shower.
As soon as Capri slid the keycard another alarm sounded. The door didn't budge, but two clear screens started to slide together, closing Capri inside the cube. She whirled around looking flabbergasted.  Then, the shower started.
Similar to a car wash, blast of liquids came from both sides. Capri screamed and ran in circles trying to dodge the assaults to her body, but there was nowhere to go. She was trapped.
And melting.
It was too late for anyone to stop it. Matthew tried prying the screen doors open, but they were sealed tight. Genessee turned away, covering her ears with her hands, and sobbed.
Capri's skin, facial features, muscle... and just about everything but the bones, were slowly sizzling and dripping from her bones.

R.I.P. 

My darling Capri ;)

Episode 16

"What the hell are we doing here..." Aaron muttered.
"Hey, you were the one who wanted to tag along on all our great adventures," Ryan countered. His finger pressed the scan button on the car radio repeatedly. It would've been annoying, but Aaron was too distracted by what Gerald was doing.
The destination was Taylor's house. Correction, her parent's house. Even so. Aaron felt sick to his stomach and glowered at the seemingly normal family home. You wouldn't guess that a disturbed killer was born and raised in the white picket fence,
"Didn't you guys already talk to Taylor's family during your investigations?" Aaron asked, "What does Gerald want now?"
"Well," Ryan sighed, "I noticed something earlier, that I thought was nothing, but looks like Gerald noticed it too. Remember the truck that followed you the other night?"
"Yeah."
"I think-"
The front door of Taylor's house opened and Gerald came into view. The look on his face confirmed he found what he came for. Ryan started the car before Gerald hopped back in, and the first thing he says is, "The brother hasn't been home since the old woman was murdered."
"Uh... what?" Ryan's eyes narrowed.
"Brother?" Aaron asked.
"My friend who called from the crime scene," Gerald sparked the memory, and all of them shivered, "I asked him who knew Tina, who worked for her... Remember the shop boy, Ryan?"
Ryan nodded, and Aaron just tried his best to follow along.
"Dylan. Dylan Atchley," Gerald stated.
"What?" Aaron felt his blood boil.
"And the truck," Ryan added, a bit too excitedly, "It's the one that followed Aaron right?"
"Maybe," Gerald said, "But he's been gone since that incident, the parents haven't seen him. I have a hunch... And I remembered during our first interview with Taylor's parents that they used to flip homes. Since their daughter's disappearance or death, they've been taking a break. But those homes are still owned by them... empty."
"No one would check..." Ryan joined in his train of thought, "If he was hiding anything..."
"This is just a hunch," Gerald informed, "But it's something."
"What should we do first?" Ryan asked.
"We need another car," Gerald said, "We'll take Aaron home, we'll split up and if you find anything, call the police."
"I'm coming," Aaron argued.
"We don't know what we'll find," Gerald said, "Could be nothing, could be terrible."
"I do well with terrible."


Aaron and Gerald paired up while Ryan went solo. There were three homes the Atchley's were fixing up, all at least an hour or less apart. Aaron was confident at first, but the closer they came to the first house, more dark thoughts filled his mind. After Seattle, he was running off adrenaline, they all were. Seeing Thanatos again was too surreal, familiar, disorienting...
"Will Ryan be okay?" Aaron asked.
"Yeah, I'm not too worried," Gerald didn't sound convincing, "He's competent."
There was something Gerald wanted to ask. Aaron could feel the tension since his friend, Maren, was kidnapped and the artifact was stolen. It wouldn't hurt to tell him now, he had to be a believer at this point.
"Detective," Aaron started, "I...what happened with that thing..."
"What did happen, Aaron," Gerald snapped, "I was prepared to die in the least logical way possible - by some shadow beast. I saw my life coming to an end, and all you had to do was stand there."
Aaron took a deep breath, "When Alaire and I watched Matt and Taylor die by Thanatos, it told us we had enough sacrifices. Apparently, when you do that, he makes a deal with you. Kind of like dealing with the devil... I think that's what the cult was up to... Matt and Taylor I mean. They wanted to gain immortality. But since it was Alaire and I left, we told him to leave us alone, for good."
"So Thanatos can't touch you..." Gerald mused.
"I wasn't sure it would work..."
"You're brave. And an idiot," Gerald said. He grumbled something under his breath.
"What is it?"
"If Thanatos can't touch you or Alaire... Then wouldn't that conflict with her kidnapping?"
Aaron felt like he was hit with a ton of bricks. Was the detective right? No, he told himself, she wouldn't run away.
"Well, here we are," Gerald said.
The house was gorgeous, but inside the windows was black. The layer of snow and the night sky reminded them it was going to be freezing. As they shivered and walked the stone steps of the walkway, Gerald's phone buzzed.
"Yeah?" he whispered, "Okay. Let me know."
He turned to Aaron, "Ryan's heading to the other house, the first one was empty."
That meant it was possible this house held horrors. A 50/50 chance. Aaron pushed back the memories of the last abandoned house he was in. His fists clenched, and despite the chill, he felt his forehead start to sweat.
Gerald approached a security pad placed on the door.
"You know the code?"
"Codes," Gerald corrected, "They were on a piece of paper at the parent's house. Figured it was better than breaking in."
Both of them jumped when they heard something stirring on the other side of the door. Aaron's eyes widened and his heart quickened. No way... It wasn't that he wanted them to find nothing. He wanted to find Alaire. He wanted to catch the killer. They'd already faced Thanatos, so what was he afraid of?
"Stay behind me," Gerald instructed. Through an opening in his jacket, his gun reflected the moonlight. This was it, Aaron psyched himself up, potentially walking into another nightmare.

Gerald was careful to not make a sound when entering the home. Everything was perfectly clean and photo worthy. No signs of a struggle, but there was a light - a faint one. It was coming from a basement, Aaron felt his memories punch him in the face, keep it together... 
But nothing could have prepared him for what he saw next.
He and the detective stayed crouched as they maneuvered around the fancy furniture, a voice spoke quietly from the kitchen. A female voice. Aaron's body was numb but kept moving, pulling him along through the darkness towards the unknown. Gerald's held his gun at the ready before turning the corner leading to the kitchen.
Aaron stopped dead.
Alaire. She was in a gray sweater, hair in a ponytail, and not a scratch on her. Her eyes brightened when she saw Aaron, but Gerald aimed his gun at the person standing next to her. A tall younger fellow with dark hair in a black hoodie. Tall, hoodie, all he was missing was... Aaron spotted a black bundle in the guy's hand... a mask! And that face. It reminded him so much of her, of everything, of Thanatos, of death, of Taylor...
White hot fury took over Aaron. It felt like slow motion. He shoved past Gerald who barked at him, "Aaron!" Alaire's face changed to concern and her arms flew up trying to make Aaron stop. But it was too late. Aaron's fist made contact with the black hoodie's nose.
With a loud thud, the guy landed flat on his back, out cold.