Life Curse: Taber Blood I

Chapter 25

"Daniel!' Macey pushed her way through the others aiming to help Daniel. But Eddie grabbed her as David and Roxanna stared at Brian Braxton. Brian lowered his camera to scowl at them as they stood helpless at the top of the stairs. They were afraid and unsure of what to do next. Stunned by Brian's actions and what appeared to be a shadow of a woman inside Brian.   

Brian circled Daniel at a slow pace, grinning at the sight of his limp body. An eerie sight to watch, one that causes nightmares in young children.   

"It's her," Eddie said. "That's not Brian you're looking at." The others had already guessed Evalena possessed Brian. 

Roxanna stepped closer to David, "What do we do?"

David glanced at her, "I suggest we remain up here," was the answer he gave her. 

"For how long?" Roxanna said, thinking they had to do something or be the next victims.

"We must get to the tree," Eddie said, which sparked a laugh from Brian, aka the wicked witch from hell. 

"Yeah, he doesn't seem friendly enough to let us just walk by," David said. 

Evalena could jump into anyone of them if they get too close. Separating wasn't an option David would go for, but what else could they do? 

"We should split. Someone take the back stairs," Macey said.  

"What then? What happens if we get to the tree?" David said. None of them took their eyes off Brian as if he could magically leap up to the first-floor landing. If they were non-believers before, they weren't skeptical now. Not while watching Brian take dozens of snapshots of them rooted on their throne of safe distance.  

"I'll use the back stairs," Eddie said. "The ancestors can reach us through the tree."

Roxanna sighed, "Just what we need. Ghosts to join the witches." 

"Not just any ghost," Eddie said. "Sarah."

Macey thought back to the photo Brian took of Sarah in the upstairs window. Maybe she knew Brian would somehow be possessed or that Evalena was on the prowl. She knew they'd all be terrified more so of Evalena than any ghost who could come through a haunted hand-painted family tree. Or maybe, just maybe, Macey was losing her mind, and none of this was real. 

 The front doorbell rang. 

"Roxanna!"

"That's Chad," Roxanna and Macey said at the same time.

They watched in horror as Brian turned away from them and Daniel's body and strode toward the front door.  "Chad," Roxanna screamed.

"No time to worry about him," Eddie said. "This is our chance to get to the library."

Roxanna glared at Eddie, "He's my husband," she said.

Eddie cut his eyes at her, "He's been cheating on you for several years now. You deserve better." 

Though it doesn't happen too often, Roxanna was speechless. How was it a stranger knew about Chad cheating,  and what did it matter to him?

David said, "Those midnight card games are vicious," then nodded toward the kids. 

"Sorry," Eddie whispered to Roxanna. At once, they heard the front door open. "Now!" Eddie said. 

It wasn't the best of plans. It was all they had at that precise moment. They had a quest to somehow get to the library. And then what? Follow Eddie's lead? The stranger claims to know how to stop the evil witch in Brian's body. The same one about to kill Chad. So when Eddie said, "Now," everyone paused. Unsure if they should plunge into uncertainty. The timing of their stalled moment was short and wouldn't have had much significance, except it did. Brian, aka, Evalena heard the sound of the front door and cocked her head with a swift jerk. The witch could turn on them with the same speed. Macey, Roxanna, and David waited in what felt like an eternity watching every move of possessed Brian. Eddie came to a sudden halt when he realized no one moved. He looked at them and then down the stairs.