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.