Chapter III – Final frenzy
Rain went on even the morning after. Me, Lillya, Nelya and Annaliese were sitting at the table, eating breakfast. William left to take care of Rosie’s shop. He couldn’t take the ownership, and none of us could have it either. So he was going to sell it and give us the money of the property when bought.
“Did you hear that Steelia left last night?” Annaliese sighed, shaking her head.
Cléa bowed with sad expression, sighing right after her. “I’m mortified. I would have never expected her to flee like this...it was in the middle of the night even.”
“Yeah...she was probably having some business with one of those two.” Nelya added. “They left with her without even saying goodbye.”
“Rest assured, Kruz and Satomi will find another gardener. Ferya will take care of the outdoors in the meantime.”
“Tell her that I’ll pay her more.” Annaliese replied. “She’s doing two maids' job all alone.”
“I definitely will.” Cléa bowed again, smiling.
I leaned back on my chair, looking outside.
It wasn’t right – the witch really let our two brothers escape. Why didn’t she stop them?
She didn’t have Katherine anymore, that was true...but I thought that she was going to at least find someone else...someone easy to manipulate like Annaliese.
To achieve that twisted dream...she had to draw a lot of blood, right?
I sighed and shook my head to myself. My memories of those days were too blurry. I probably wasn’t remembering things right. Maybe she didn’t have to kill anyone else after Rosie and Katherine...maybe she did order Katherine to kill herself.
So that was it, right?
I lost, the witch won. Lillya, Nelya and Annaliese were still alive, at least...three girls that would have accompanied me until the day I set off and have the success in life I always wanted.
I looked at my own hands, shaking my head again.
No.
I was never going to live a normal life...I knew that. The purpose I was born with was one, and I failed fulfilling it.
Did I have to kill myself, then? No. I didn’t want to give more pain to my sisters, who were oblivious of my origins.
So...I didn’t want to die. But after reaching this point...I didn’t feel any need to go on. My life was void.
I looked at Nelya as she chatted with Annaliese. Then I glanced towards Lillya, who was silently finishing her cake.
I stood up and thanked Cléa for the breakfast, leaving abruptly.
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What do I want, then? What am I going to do with my existence?
I brushed my hand across the windows, slowly reaching my room.
Finish my novel? No. That novel didn’t make sense anyway.
Live lazily the rest of my years at this mansion, using my father’s wealth? No. That would have bored me quick.
Start a business and become a noble just like this family did...hence, following my original plan before all this happened? No.
No. No. No.
Though, death didn’t sound right either.
“Oh...what am I to do?” I whined, sighing deeply. I reached my bedroom and grabbed the knob, hiding inside my safe space.
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Rain was endless at that point. Almost twenty-four hours and it wasn’t showing any will to stop.
I sat with the witch at the usual spot, staring at her as she smiled at me sweetly.
“Who do I kill next?” I asked her.
“Either Annaliese or William. You choose. Then, Nelya and Erika in this order.” She listed. “We’re almost done, my dear puppet.”
“Yeah…” I sighed and looked down. A faint smile painted on my lips. “Finally.”
She grabbed my hand and squeezed it gently. I rose my head and smiled at her. “What happens next?” I asked her. “We live here together? We travel across the world as I serve you for eternity?”
Anything was good. I just wanted to leave that place.
“What happens next...is up to you.”
Her answer was puzzling. I tilted my head and furrowed my brows. “What do you mean?”
“I mean what I said. After this family is erased...it’s up to you.”
She stood up and walked over the railing once more, rain falling on it as it slid down its roof.
“I can’t wait.” She talked through the sounds of the rain.
And so, she disappeared.
I walked back inside. I looked right – William.
Then, I looked left – Annaliese.
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Who do I kill first?
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Katherine. She was manipulated and traumatized by the witch...and forced to kill.
A sudden instinct befell me – the instinct I was born with.
I lock-picked her room, locked by Annaliese herself after the funeral, and closed the door behind me. The rain fell hard against the windows as I took a deep breath, scanning the room.
I emptied all the drawers, scraped everything inside her huge wardrobe, checked every nook and cranny of that room thoroughly.
I didn’t feel the witch’s presence...yet, I wanted to do something more. I still wanted to act. A brainless instinct. I didn’t have any purpose left, after all.
Alas, I didn’t find anything worth.
“Why did I even expect anything in the first place?” I sighed, shaking my head. “You gotta get yourself together, Erika.” I told myself.
I looked at my figure in the mirror of the bathroom, sighing.
It was then that my eyes locked onto something. The frame of that same mirror.
As far as I remembered, our mirrors didn’t have a hidden compartment behind them. However, the frame of that mirror was misplaced...a bit crooked.
I was convinced that I was going crazy and laughed at myself as my hand grasped the misplaced corner, pulling on it.
“What the…?”
To my surprise, I could remove the frame with little effort. I was shocked. Behind it, there was a narrow opening...in which there lied a small journal that fit perfectly. The hole was dug very badly, and it didn’t look like it was made by those who built that mansion...thermite's work, maybe? I didn't know.
My trembling hand grabbed the journal. I rushed outside the bathroom and sat on the desk, opening it.
It was a standard journal...with many, many pages. I immediately noticed it was old and that it started a long time ago, since the first page had a very old date, from when she was very little.
I skimmed through the pages. She didn’t write every single day...she wrote only when something important happened.
At some point, I found a recent one – I started from there, the journey towards something I would have never erase from my mind.
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April 8th, 1923.
Tonight, I saw something I’d like to forget. I think it was a ghost.
Everyone was sleeping, and I was taking my usual, nightly stroll. I was walking outside, since it’s spring and nights are mildly fresh.
When I reached the backyard, I saw someone standing under the tree. I froze, since it wasn’t anyone I could recognize.
It was a woman – a woman with a black, beautiful dress. She had white hair, like snow.
At first, I thought it was Lillya...but then I realized that she was way too tall. She was tall as mom, actually.
Curiosity took over, so I walked closer and closer, until I was a few meters away from her. She was looking slightly up, right through the leaves and at the moon. The moon was as white as her, that was my thought.
I asked her who she was, and what she was doing in our backyard. The more I realized a stranger broke in our house, the more I started feeling scared and uneasy.
Right after my voice came out, I stepped back and became wary.
She turned around and smiled. She had red, shiny eyes. Just like Lillya.
Then, she said something that wasn’t even close to an answer to my question.
“You won’t have to suffer anymore”
I don’t know what it means, but at that point I just yelped and ran away.
I want to forget her. She was scary.
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April 9th, 1923.
Dear diary. Please forget about what I wrote yesterday. I would rip the page off if this wasn’t mom and dad’s gift. I don’t want to ruin it so just forget what I wrote, okay?
I probably dreamed of Lillya and I thought I was awake.
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April 18th, 1923.
It’s morning. I heard weird noises during the night. At some point, I even start to feel like something is clawing at my throat. What is going on? What is this bad feeling, dear diary?
If only you could write back…
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April 21st, 1923.
Dad is dead. He killed himself, they say.
I can’t accept it. He would have never killed himself.
The girl in white did it. That ghost is still here...I can hear her walking in the night. Every night is the same...I heard footsteps near my door last night and then dad was found dead today.
She did it. A ghost is killing us.
I want to tell everyone but deep down I think I’m just going crazy.
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April 24th
Mom is dead too now. She got stabbed by her and then she made it look like mom killed herself. I saw white hair over the right side of the bed...they were right near mom’s neck.
She is real. She is killing us.
I tried to die before it was too late, but Rosie stopped me.
They don’t understand. They don’t get it.
We are all going to die.
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She is coming for me. She is trying to let herself in by making me think she is Erika. She can disguise.
SHE IS NOT ERIKA SHE IS A MONSTER
She is going to kill me, she is going to kill us all.
There is no way out. I am the only one who knows but I can't tell anyone. They will just laugh and laugh.
I have to die. I must die before she kills me.
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That was the last page.
I closed the journal, my heart beating hard and fast, my hands trembling.
“How...how could I be so fucking stupid?!” I yelled at myself, hitting my cheek hard.
Lillya! It’s Lillya!
That shadow...that ghost Katherine saw…! It was who the witch is trying to bring back. And she was doing it through Lillya.
How did I not see it sooner? How did I fly over the bad aura I had always felt inside her?
I secretly knew why. And I blame myself every, single second for that.
I immediately rushed out of my room.
It was a matter of seconds. William was going to be next – he was the only one capable of stopping her easily, after all. He was a trained soldier.
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I calmly knocked at her door, a smile on my face.
Peace was nearing, at last. I couldn’t wait any longer. I wanted to kill everyone that same night, in a fierce and silent last move.
Unlike Rosie, she immediately opened it. She looked at me with a confused expression, trying to figure out what I was standing there with a smile for.
“Lillya? Are you okay?” She asked me. “What are you doing up this late?”
She was very, very smart. She didn’t let me in, or acted friendly at all. In fact, as soon as I stepped forward, she tried to close the door.
I put my foot through the crack and pushed hard, making her fall on the floor. I immediately straddled her, wrapping my tiny hands over her neck and squeezing as hard as I could.
I looked down at her, ignoring the kicks and scratches. I wanted to kill her as fast as I could.
“Die...die...die…” I muttered, my teeth gritted as her life poured out of every single inch of her being, refusing to fade away. “...DIE, ANNALIESE!”
I lost my temper and shouted at her, slamming my head against hers. Her consciousness slipped away.
The back of my mind tingled. I felt danger right behind me.
I dodged whatever was going after me, rolling away and backing off, deep inside my sister’s bedroom.
William stood there, his arm stretched out as he stared at me with pure horror. Erika was behind him, covering herself with his huge body.
A mistake. I made a mistake.
“After all this time...you catch me now?!” I shouted at the two, grabbing the nearest thing on the desk. “Right now? Right before I could finish?!”
Erika ran over Annaliese, aiding her. William walked forward, covering distance.
He knew I wasn’t going to surrender. He had to stop me with force. On the other hand, I knew he was going to win. He was a soldier, he fought for the cross, he fought for the kingdom.
But I wanted to win – at all costs.
It wasn’t because the witch would have punished me if I didn’t.
No.
It was because I wanted to see him dead. I wanted to kill him.
Blood rushed in my veins as I calmly analyzed the situation.
I had to kill him.
image [https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/jmph9vhou03zdenon5eqi/artist_missile228-a-lot-of-particles-depth-of-field-best-quality-illus-s-712987673.png?rlkey=icshrnar8lfttc0464d3d7vsv&st=9u9uxzrc&raw=1]I HAD TO KILL WILLIAM