"Jess!" Tyler cried. "Are you okay?"
Jess stood on the spot as Simon held her up, and she did a quick inventory of herself, making sure that nothing was broken. She was banged up and a bit numb from the fall, but she was okay. "Yeah, I'm good."
"What happened?" Simon asked, staying calm. He glanced up the staircase.
Emotion overwhelmed her and she broke down into tears as she told her story. "My uncle... he completed his séance."
"I need details," Simon said.
"He had me inside a circle, and he was looking at the moon through the window and reading weird things from a book. Then he cut my hand and his own, and he made us bleed on the floor in the middle of the circle." Jess held her hand up to the light.
Tyler's and Ashley's hearts jumped at the sight, and it looked worse than it was.
"Oh my God, Jess! Are you okay?" Tyler asked, alarmed.
"It's fine," she said.
Simon stared down for a moment. "It's as bad as I thought," he muttered.
Tyler suddenly looked behind them, the glowing spirits around them disturbing him. "You drove up to the house in a car, right? Let's get out of here, then!"
"No," Simon replied, "we're not going anywhere."
Tyler's mouth fell open. "What? Why?"
"You three started this whole mess, and you're going to fix it. What happened here tonight isn't just something that can be walked away from. We have no choice but to reverse the séance."
"How do we do that?" Jess asked.
"All the energy he channeled from the eclipse was harnessed into the energetic anchor point of the house. Every house has one. I have to find it. And you three have got to get that book from your uncle. If I know what he did, I can reverse it." He looked at Jess. "Is he still armed?"
"I took his gun," she said, pulling it out of her jeans to show him. "But he has a knife."
Simon thought about this. "Okay, we're going to have to split up. You three are well-armed, so you should be able to take care of him. But be careful."
Ashley looked incredulously at him. "Can't you help us do that?" she asked.
"We don't have any more time," he said curtly. "We each have our own parts that we have to do, and we have to do them now." He handed Jess his flashlight. "Here, take this so you can see."
"What about you?" Jess asked.
"I'm used to lurking around in the dark," he replied. Simon pulled out a strange device from his coat pocket and pressed a button, turning it on. It emitted a quiet noise, similar to the static-like ping and whine of a Geiger counter. Then he looked at them and said "Go!" before taking off down the hall.
The three of them stood next to each other with the flashlight, all of them scared and uncertain. Jess pointed the light in each direction along the hallway, seeing the ghostly apparitions glacially floating to and fro. Their shapes started to gain form, like a picture being sharpened to see more detail. It still looked like they had a ways to go, but Jess feared that Simon had really understated how quickly they would take form.
"What should we do?" Ashley asked, scared.
"We have to get that book back," Jess replied. The last thing she wanted to do was go near her uncle again, or do a single thing else in this house other than escape it, but she understood the gravity of the situation more than Tyler or Ashley did, and she knew that she had to overcome her fears once and for all. "Let's check the room upstairs."
The three of them began to climb the spiral staircase, Jess in the lead, and Tyler noticed her limping. He looked down and spotted the bandage Roy had wrapped around her wound.
"Jess, what happened?" he asked, his brow furrowing with displeasure.
"My uncle shot me," she said.
"Can you walk?"
"Not easily."
"Here," he said. Tyler put her arm around his neck and held onto her hips, helping her up the stairs.
Ashley watched them from behind and silently took note of how he was touching her. Despite the present circumstances, she found it strange that he was putting his hands right on her hips, and she wondered if she missed something.
They carefully made their way up to the second floor and stopped in the hallway.
The ghosts slipped in and out of the area, into doorways, through walls, and one glided right by them, forcing them to shuffle out of the way, fearful for what would happen if it touched them. They listened, but aside from a soft buzz of energy when the ghosts neared, there was silence.
Jess shone the flashlight down the hallway toward the room she just escaped from. They approached it and Tyler raised the rifle, keeping his eyes peeled around them for any movement or sounds.
The candles were still glowing in the room and light splashed out into the hallway, but as they rounded the corner and timidly entered the room, even searching the closet, they saw that Roy was gone.
Jess shuddered as she spotted her own blood splashed on the floor, knowing firsthand what terrible things had happened here. She glanced through the windows at the blood moon, big and red, hanging in the sky. She didn't know how much longer it would last, but she feared if they screwed up, she and her friends might have one final stop in this room, and she certainly meant final.
The three of them walked out into the hallway and Jess waved the flashlight in each direction.
"Where is he?" Ashley asked.
"I don't know," Jess said. "But he took the book with him. We'll have to search."
She walked along the back hallway of the second floor toward the master bedroom. Tyler stayed at her side, holding her with the rifle hung around his neck and ready to go. They took a wide berth of each doorway, carefully shining the light inside.
Fear coursed through them like an icy bath every time they entered a room, expecting Roy to jump out at them from around a corner.
But so far he hadn't, and the second floor was silent.
They checked closets, bedrooms, a sewing room, and a small sitting room with a picture window overlooking the back of the property.
When they approached the master bedroom at the end of the hallway, they heard noise from around the corner.
Heavy footsteps strode down the corridor, coming for them.
Tyler stopped and pulled Jess away from the corner. The three of them stumbled backward, and Tyler shouted the words "Get back!" in a rough whisper.
They turned around and doubled back along the hallway, their groaning footsteps painfully giving them away. But Tyler wasn't worried about that; he just wanted to get enough distance between them and Roy to aim before he came around the corner.
But as they retreated, a ghost suddenly floated through a wall and glided in front of them, stopping dead in their path. Its features became more definitive, and the three of them could see a face materializing. It was still only half-finished, and it looked like an abomination in its current form—a Frankenstein patchwork of facial features. But its eyes had formed, and they were wide, staring down at the three teenagers like the spirit wanted to reach out and cut the life out of them.
They skidded to a stop, not wanting to get too close to it, just as the footsteps behind them neared the corner.
"In here!" Tyler said, pulling Jess into a small bedroom to the right. He slammed the door behind the three of them and ushered the girls to the back of the room between the bed and a dresser. They hunkered down against the far wall as the footsteps closed in.
"I think he knows we're here!" Ashley said.
"I know," Tyler replied. "Turn the flashlight off."
Jess complied and switched it off, leaving them in darkness. There was only a faint bit of light coming through a small window behind them that gave just enough illumination to see vague shapes and outlines.
As the creaking floorboards neared the other side of the door, Tyler aimed the rifle at the doorway and waited. He turned his head to Jess. "When I say so, turn on the flashlight and point it at the door."
Jess nodded.
The doorknob turned and the door creaked op
en. Roy's black silhouette stood in the threshold.
"Now!" Tyler shouted. He fired the gun and a loud bang ripped through the room.
Jess turned on the flashlight and shined it on the figure, and the three of them were horrified when Simon grunted and crumpled to the ground.
Rise of the Dead
"No..." Jess gasped. The word escaped her lips before she even knew she made it. As she saw Simon fall to the ground, it was like she was watching her own world crashing down.
The three teens ran toward him and hovered over his motionless body lying in the doorway.
Simon groaned and started to move his arm. He pulled it away from his body and they saw that Tyler had shot him in the abdomen.
"Help him!" Jess said frantically, and the three of them grabbed him and pulled him into the room, propping him up against the wall. But Simon just groaned and slid down the wall, lying on the dusty hardwood and holding his hand on his wound.
Tyler was horrified. He stared down at him and desperately tried to figure out what he could do to undo his mistake. "I... I didn't mean to!" he said, his voice shaking. "I thought he was—"
The floorboards just outside the door in the hallway creaked suddenly and before any of them could look up in time, Roy strode into the room briskly. He took them by surprise and wrenched the Winchester rifle away from Tyler.
The three teens scrambled away from him in surprise, quickly jumping up to their feet. Jess pulled the revolver out of her jeans and tried to aim at her uncle, but it was too late.
"Uh uh uh," he said, aiming the gun at her face. "Toss it away," his gravelly voice echoed in the room. He had a hitch in his side, and Jess could see that he was favoring the wound she gave him.
Jess felt the weight of the revolver in her hand. She didn't want to toss away her only lifeline, but she knew if she made any sudden movement with it, it would be the last that she did. Painful indecision tore apart her insides, and she grunted and dropped the gun. It clattered at her feet.
"Kick it away," he said, not taking his eyes off her.
Jess looked down and slid the gun behind her with her foot.
The three teens stood helplessly as Simon groaned on the floor. They held their hands up in the air, a thin layer of sweat developing on their brows. They prayed to God for Roy to change his mind and let them go, but each of them knew that wasn't going to happen.
Roy checked his watch. "The summoning is almost complete," he said. "But the blood moon will last for another ten minutes. That's still enough time to sacrifice all of you to strengthen their power..." He looked up at them with a devilish grin.
Jess swallowed. She could feel her heartbeat in her throat and the surface of her skin prickled like hot needles were being stabbed into it. His finger wrapped around the trigger and began to squeeze as he aimed the gun at her. She pressed her eyes shut, waiting for the end.
A loud bark echoed in the room and before Roy could react, Buddy flew through the doorway and jumped into the air at him. Buddy snatched up his arm in his jaw and bit down hard.
Roy's arm was yanked to the side as he squeezed the trigger and fired the gun. The shot hit the ceiling, raining plaster down on all of them as the bang nearly deafened them. Roy screamed in agony, but Buddy wouldn't let go of his arm, growling and digging his teeth deeper into his flesh.
"Buddy!" Jess cried in shock. She couldn't believe her own eyes. But right in front of her was her dog that she thought she had lost. He was wet and full of mud and leaves, but she couldn't see any injuries on him. He looked okay.
After his own shock wore off, Tyler rushed forward and tried to wrestle the gun out of Roy's hands.
Roy clenched his teeth, and he didn't know who to focus on more: Buddy or Tyler. But ultimately the dog won out due to the excruciating pain, and he desperately tried to rip the dog off of him.
Tyler wrested the gun from his control and aimed it at him. Buddy finally let go of his arm, tearing a chunk of flesh out of it.
Roy shouted in pain, holding his arm up to his unbelieving eyes as he gazed at the horrible damage. He glanced over his shoulder at the open doorway, planning to flee, but then he noticed the gun trained on him.
"Don't move!" Tyler shouted. "Don't move or I'll shoot!"
Roy suddenly became calm, quietly whimpering under his breath. His eyes slowly drifted to the barrel of the gun pointed at him.
"On your knees," Tyler instructed, and he followed his movement with the rifle as Roy grudgingly sank down to the floor. "Hands behind your head."
Roy complied, grimacing as he moved his arm. They could all see the blood running down it as he wrapped his hands around the back of his head.
Buddy galloped over to Jess and she knelt down and hugged his dirty body. "Buddy! I thought I'd lost you!" She looked him over, making sure he was okay, and he just stared up at her with his happy brown eyes. She didn't know what happened to him or why he decided to come back now, but she was relieved that he did.
She turned her eyes on the revolver behind her that she kicked away and she went over and grabbed it, returning to her uncle and standing in front of him.
Tyler moved out of the way and Jess pointed his own revolver at him. "Reverse the séance," she commanded.
"I can't," he said. "It's too late."
"You're lying," Jess said.
He shook his head as blood trickled down his arm. "It can't be undone," he said. "It's too late."
Jess cast a glance on Simon, but he was still barely conscious, and in no frame of mind to do anything or offer his input.
"Please," Roy said, and Jess returned her eyes to him. Suddenly she could see fear in his face, that same fear she'd seen twelve years ago. "Please don't kill me," he said.
"Shut up," Tyler said.
But Roy didn't take his eyes off his niece. "Please, Jessica. I'm so sorry!" His voice shook and tears ran down his face. If the tears weren't genuine, he was a great actor.
She held a steely wall against his cries of mercy, but she didn't say anything.
"I'm so sorry! I never wanted to do this. But they made me!"
Jess scoffed. "No one made you do anything. You always had a choice."
"I know," he said, "you're right. It was all my fault. I killed all those people. I was so weak! I didn't want to do it, but Vernon made me! All of them did!
"I was just a teenager, no older than you when I first came to this house. I was so young and stupid, but I was just looking for something to keep my mind occupied. Your father started dating your mother back then, and he never liked me. My own foster parents never liked me. Your mom was the only one who showed me the slightest kindness, but I always felt like the outcast—the black sheep of the family. Nobody wanted me and I was all alone. I developed an interest in ghosts and I came to this house, looking for answers, looking for anything to keep my mind off of darker things... When I came here, I began to feel at peace, like there was no one to criticize me. It was the only place I really felt okay with myself.
"But then Vernon came to me, my grandfather. He and the whole family came to me. They were angry and tired of being chained to this house, bound by it. They wanted to be let out. I was so foolish, and I listened. He aired many of the same frustrations that I had, and I developed a kinship to him that I never experienced before. I see now how wrong it was, but you have to believe me! I didn't know what I was doing at the time! Before long, the Dovers became my only friends. I thought we had a good friendship at first, but then I got deeper and deeper into it, and they began manipulating me. I couldn't see it at first, but then it was too late. I was in too deep.
"Vernon wanted me to start killing for him. I still remember the first time I did. I never felt so scared before in my life! But he said if I ever stopped, he would torture me to death! I should've walked away, I should've gotten help, but I was too weak. He had a powerful hold over me; he still does. So many times I wanted to run away from this whole mess; get help; turn myself in. But I was so scared. You can't underst
and how scared I was!"
Roy's face was a mess of tears and his eyes were beet-red. Jess's face looked much the same as she stared down at her uncle in woeful pity. She hated herself for it, but in that moment she felt so bad for him. What he did was detestable—wretched—but he was still a human being, and she could finally see how such an abomination could still be linked to her family; there was still a thread of humanity tying the two of them together, no matter how thin.
"Please!" Roy pleaded again. "I'll turn myself in, I'll do anything. Just don't kill me! I always wanted to run away from this, but I couldn't realize how before you!"
"I'll shoot him," Tyler said.
Jess snapped her head at him. "No," she said sternly. She looked at her uncle, the revolver shaking in her hand. She struggled internally at what to do, but the gun felt so heavy, and soon her arm lowered. In that moment, Jess truly saw how scared he was, and her whole twelve-year cycle of misery came full circle. She finally realized that he had been just as scared as she was that night.
Roy extended his good arm toward her. "Would you help your uncle up?" he asked. A warmness came over his face, and he smiled quietly at her.
Jess hesitated, then she slowly reached out for him.
"Jess, don't touch him!" Tyler warned.
But when her hand neared his, Roy smirked and he suddenly reached out and grabbed her wrist, yanking her hard. Jess stumbled toward him, then he reached up and shoved her into Tyler.
Both of them hit the wall and Roy shot up to his feet, disappearing through the doorway and cackling down the hallway.
Jess stared at the open doorway in shock. Just when she finally opened up to him and tried to bury those memories forever, he betrayed her again. How could she be so foolish?
"We have to get that book!" Tyler shouted. He looked at Ashley. "Stay here and watch him," he said, motioning to Simon who was still in a daze on the floor.
Jess threw her arm over Tyler's shoulders for support. "Let's get that bastard," she said coldly.
Tyler looked at her for a moment to see if she was sure, then he set off with her. They ran out of the room and pursued her uncle's distant sounds down the hallway. Jess used her bad leg to run, forcing the pain out of her mind, and the two of them managed a respectable speed. Buddy came out of the room and followed them, barking and boisterously wagging his tail.
The Haunting of Bloodmoon House Page 22
