The phone receiver almost slips off Lorraine's grip as she hears Bob rattle off on the other side of the line. She can't make out every word he says because of his frantic breathing, but she gets the idea. She knew that this would happen. She knew it all along. If only everyone listened to her.

"We're going now," Lorraine says after she finds her voice, her eyes fixed on Sandra who is looking at her with anticipation. "Bob, please stay there until we arrive."

The next scene is a blur. Lorraine spaces out on the passenger seat while Sandra speeds to Aubrey's school. Her mind is full of speculations about Aubrey's whereabouts. Her first guess is the church, but Pastor Marlon just confirmed she's not there. Lorraine has come to realize that she doesn't know much about the girl anymore. Ever since Aubrey grew into a reserved and distant teenager, Lorraine has been trying to reach out to her. But the more she tried, the more she created the gap between them. Lorraine is so close to giving up trying. All she needs to know is Claire's daughter is a good kid.

Silently, Lorraine makes a vow that she will try harder once she finds Aubrey. Please let her be safe, dear Lord.

When they reach the school, Bob and Lizzie are already at the school gate, talking with a group of girls. As Lorraine and Sandra stride toward them, a girl in a silver blue dress and with a crown on her head is pacing back and forth, her phone pressed on her ear.

"Nope. He's not picking up," she says before turning off her phone screen.

"Who? The Coleman boy?" Lorraine asks and is answered by a nod from the girl. "Can I have his number, please?"

As Lorraine adds Aubrey's date number to her phone, Bob rubs his face in frustration. "This is my fault. I was too busy dancing with Lizzie, I didn't pay attention to her. I should've known better. This is my fault!" He then buries his face in his hands. Lizzie is standing next to him, her face pale and her lips quivering.

Sandra positions herself between the couple, pulling them in a big embrace. "We all took part here. I also shouldn't have asked Lori to let Aubrey go. But now, we need to focus on finding her. It's not only her I'm worried about, the boy might be in danger, too."

"I think I know where they are!" the prom queen shouts. "They are going to the house!"

"What house?" Bob asks.

"The deserted house down the woods. He and his group often go there to hang out. Ew! It's a gross place."

Lorraine's breath hitches in her throat as her knees wobble. "I know that place..."

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"The house is empty again," said Claire as she ran her fingers through her five-year-old daughter's hair. The little girl's eyelids kept dropping but she fought the urge to sleep.

"Oh? What happened to the new owner?" Lorraine put down her book and gave Claire her full attention. "They still stayed there last summer, but I never saw them again after that."

Claire shrugged. "Franz and Cecil said that the new owner is planning to sell it after experiencing several disturbing occurrences there."

"You're still talking to them?" Lorraine frowned. She never liked the gothic-look couple and how they represented themselves as spiritual experts. Because they knew nothing about it. Unlike those misleading satan and demons drama series on television nowadays, the spiritual world was way more dangerous than that. No human should try to communicate or open the gate to that dark world.

"No, not really." Claire shook her head, avoiding eye contact. "I just happened to bump into them at the supermarket the other day. They're engaged now."

"Good on them. I'm happy for them." Lorraine opened her book again before adding, "I hope that the house is empty again doesn't give them the idea to use it for another occult practice."

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"Yeah." Claire reverted her eyes to her daughter and started humming a lullaby to her sleeping child. "The basement is blocked. They built a wall to replace the door, you know. So yeah, it's good that it can't be accessed anymore."

"Talking about the house always gives me the creeps. Can we change the subject? Obby is turning five next month, then she will be freed from this messed up situation."

Claire stared out of the window, watching the congregation who are now busy talking, laughing, and enjoying the barbeque at the churchyard. She then stood up and laid Aubrey down on their bed. After her coming back, Pastor Marlon offered one of the space behind the church building for Claire and her baby to live. His pastoral home was right next to it —they even shared the same yard— so that he could watch over her.

"I have to say, I'm nervous now. I'm so afraid that they will get me, or her before then. I have a feeling they won't let me escape it just like that."

"I'm sure you and Aubrey will be just fine. You two are safe here."

But Lorraine was wrong. In the next few months, Claire was found dead in that forest, not far from the house. According to the news, it was an animal attack that was suspected of coming from the deeper forest. They left the fact that her body was not only ruined from the assault, it was also burnt.

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Despite being covered by dense foliage and the intertwined ivy twigs, Lorraine can still recognize the house. Surprisingly, the dark gambrel roof, despite its poor condition, is still very much intact. It takes more than five minutes for them to find the way in. They have to climb over the iron fence since the usual entrance is blocked by bushes.

Lorraine strides to the house, followed by Sandra, Bob, and Lizzie. She can't lie that she was relieved when she saw the Coleman boy's jeep by the fence. The two teenagers must be inside, or somewhere around here, doing the thing she doesn't dare to think about. If he ever hurts Aubrey, she will —God forbids— make the boy pay, at any cost.

Bob kicks the front door open. Once they see the scene in the main room, Bob sprints to the sofa to pull the nearly naked Asher off Aubrey. Lorraine quickly takes off her trench coat to cover Aubrey who is now curling up on the sofa.

"You man-whore bastard! Don't you dare touch her!" Bob blows a punch square on the boy's jaw.

Even though Asher's body is bulgier than Bob's, he is thrown backward, hitting the dirty wall behind him. Instinctively, he covers his throbbing jaw while roaming his eyes over the room. His eyes widen once he recognizes who they are. Quickly, he brings both his hands over his private area.

Asher is about to open her mouth when Bob cuts him. "One word from your filthy mouth, you're a dead meat!"

It's when a deep throaty laugh rumbles across the room, followed by clapping hands. All heads turn to the source of the noise.

Aubrey, who is now sitting straight on the sofa, shakes with laughter. She lifts her head facing the ceiling before the gurgle in her throat halts. Her face has turned a few shades lighter; it looks almost white even for the room that is lacking the light. Her pupils have turned darker while her corneas are coated with amber color. A snarl rises into her lips as she fixes her gaze on Bob.

"Don't you dare lay your hand on my toy, you stupid gospel boy!" A harsh grunt escapes her lips. "I'm not done with him."

Lorraine's knees buckle when she realizes what is happening. While everyone's eyes widen in horror, Lorraine grabs her adoptive daughter by the shoulders and shakes her. "Aubrey, honey, can you hear me? Please, come back to us! Fight it! Don't let it take over your body completely!"

Aubrey roars into laughter again, shaking the sofa she's now sitting on. "Lori, Lori, Lori... You are five minutes too late. Your girl has given in and she's in a happy place with her mother right now. Wanna join them?" The monster sneers at her.

"Leave Aubrey alone! Your deal is paid off the day you killed Claire. You have no right to take her daughter!"

"I'm not taking her daughter, I'm just borrowing her body and soon reclaiming my prize: the child offering. Her mother bailed on me, meaning, she needs to finish what her mother has failed to accomplish." Aubrey makes a slurping noise before turning her face to Asher. "Come, boy, let's finish what we have started. Put your delicious seed into this girl's womb. Let's get her pregnant."

Asher shrieks in horror as Aubrey flies and pounces on him. Her feral growl thunders across the room, followed by the boy screaming on the top of his lungs. Asher wriggles away with all he might when Aubrey sits on his hip, trying to finish where they were left off.

"Help him!" says Sandra to her son while she grabs Lizzie's and Lorraine's hands. "We need to pray now. We need to stall, my father is on his way."

While Bob helps Asher off the monster's grip, the three women begin praying.

"Father, in the name of Jesus, we lift up ourselves to You and pray a hedge of protection around us. We thank You, Father, that you are a wall of fire round about us and that you set Your angels round about us. We thank you, Father, that we dwell in the secret place of the Most High and abide under the shadow of the Almighty..."

The prayer loosens Aubrey's grasp on Asher. She snarls at the women, saliva gushing out of her mouth. Once Bob manages to pull Asher, the boys scoot away and join the rest. Aubrey growls louder, crouching on the floor like an animal yet she stays rooted to her spot.

It's when a group of people shouting from the yard, followed by flashlights randomly glazing through the window. When one of the lights falls on Aubrey's face, the girl squeals in a throaty voice before she crawls on the wall, and up to the ceiling. Her jet black hair hangs down as she moves quickly and disappears behind the living room wall.

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