Graveyard, Backyard

Chapter 42 - Sinking Hope

My legs were dizzy. So was my body and my vision. Yet, I know this was the night. This was where it ends. The sooner, the better. I was done with this.

I had no idea why my instincts pushed me to chase him. Instincts never lie. But when I stepped out of my house, all I caught was darkness. He wasn't there. Of course he would disappear. He was a freaking demon after all.

Dang it!

Bending down on my knees, I steadied my breath. I turned around to look up at the house. I was not going in there again with a life sucking monster ready to take my life anytime.

Now I understood the indecisiveness of Hamlet. It's difficult to make decisions when your life is at stake but you can't postpone it. You'll have to eventually make a decision and stick to it. And my decision was to exorcise the heck of the demon out of me regardless of the outcome. I don't care about Will's motives but if he's with me in the procedure, fine. We have to do it before mom comes home.

I groaned in frustration and stand straight when I find some movement down the lake. The faint lights from the backyard didn't help much but among four or five people standing on shore was Rick. I ran down the shore. The ache in my knees didn't even bother me then. The people were talking nonchalantly with each other, one of them was calling someone.

When I got near Rick to ask him for help, I noticed something near his leg. Something at which everyone had their attention. Something - a human dead body. When Rick acknowledged my presence and moved towards me, the light shone upon the body perfectly. My scream muffled in my own throat and my knees kissed the gravel beneath.

The body had swollen. It was rotten and reeking. It was horrendous. But somehow I recognized it.

I recognized it from the drenched clothes that clung to the body. All what happened next passed in a haze. Rick dropped by my side - asked if I was okay - asked if I recognized the lifeless form - informed how some people just found it from the lake.

I was frozen. Feared that if I moved an inch, the view in front of me would be true. Not a single drop of tear ran down my cheeks. This can't be true. There was no way this was real. I felt Rick shaking me, jerking me up, dragging me away. He was taking me far from it but my eyes never left the body. This was not real. This was a dream, it can't be real!

My own body felt lifeless being dragged by a tremendous effort. That's how it felt to inhale every ounce of air into my lungs. Rick shoved something cold in my hand - his phone. We were back in my backyard.

"Hello, honey?" my mom's voice chirped in my ears. My eyes shot wide open in terror. I threw the phone across the ground and screamed, "NO!!"

My fingers found my hair roots and I snatched them. "No!! Noooo..." and I wept with every inch of my being. Truth stung me so hard I couldn't breathe.

"Yes, Juliet. It'd be nice if you come here. She's not OK." Rick said into his phone. I wanted to scream that the person he was talking on the phone was not Juliet.

Juliet was down the lake - swollen, rotten, reeking, horrendous, lifeless. Just the vision of the body's popped out eyes and purple lips took my breath away. The person pretending to be my mom was not my mom. Who in the hell was she? The moment I heard her voice I knew. I knew that she was not my mom - I knew the remains of a human body on the shore was my mom's. The question is since when?

My mother's body had my father's gifted dress on. The dress she wore last week to take a walk down the lake. She was drenched when she climbed up, cheerful than usual. The lost pieces of puzzle fitted. Did that mean-

Rick handed me his phone to me, eyed me to answer it, "Claire, are you okay-" the lady pretending to be my mom asked.

I gritted through my teeth, "Rebecca," and that silenced her. That selfish bitch took her own sister's life! She convinced me out of exorcism! How can I be so foolish? She tricked me!

My mom is dead. She's dead - never coming back. Jake is god knows where and Dad is half paralyzed. What am I going to do?

"Claire," Rick's face showed worry, "do you recognize the lady's body? The paramedics will-"

I whirled around and rushed to Monroe's house. I no longer have the time to explain things.

"Call the priest for exorcism." I shouted to Rick as I stood near the Monroe's backdoor, while wiping my damp eyes. He looked confused but I didn't bother to clear it.

Mrs. Monroe appeared from the creak of the half opened door. "Claire!" she opened the door fully when she recognized me.

"Come in," she motioned me in and I followed her to the living room. "Do you want something?"

"Will. I need Will."

"Oh, he will be upstairs. First room on the right."

I rushed to the stairs at the end of the hallway and found out Will's room. I knocked hard but he didn't answer.

"Will?"

I tried to turned the knob. The door was not locked. It opened revealing a dark room. The bed was empty. In fact, the room seemed unused. I peeked in and found that there was no attached washroom.

"Who are you?" I swirled around at the voice of a little girl. Kasie, Will's younger sister stood in the hallway.

"Oh, hey Claire. What are you doing here?" she looked at my wrinkled clothes and messed up hair. She stared at my face which was I'm sure red.

"Where's Will?" I came out of the room and shut the door behind me.

She stared me for a moment before asking, "My brother - Will?"

I nodded as a matter of fact.

Her eyes went wide before she answered. "Claire, Will died a year ago - just a week after Kathy died."