The Talisman P.3

Uncle Charles, Aunt Amelia, along with Jason and Riley, would go to the basement, and Uncle Will, my mom, and Aunt Jean, would investigate the east wing, where the adults would stay. In the meantime the kids would stay in the living room, all seven of them. We simply instructed them to stay in the room and to stay together, and they would be safe.

So, we set off, climbing the stairs and splitting up, the one group going west, the other east. That separation only led to another, as the hallway split, three rooms on each small hallway, two on each side and one on the end. Without even thinking Haley and her family went one way into a room, me and Ray the other. As the three of them entered the first room, me and Ray stayed in the hallway for a moment. He looked at me, questioningly, I could see he was asking if I was ready. I nodded, and slowly he opened the first door.

“Ray...” It was the coarsest whisper, like something you would hear on the wind, but Ray froze, midway through twisting the doorknob.

“Ray... Help.” A little louder this time, and the voice, it was feminine, it was...

“Meagan,” Ray said, coming to the realization. No, it’s not possible, Meagan was dead, the car accident. Ray was a widow, there was no way.

“Please Ray, come to me,” the small voice called again. It came from the room on the end of the hallway, I looked back, but Haley was still in the bedroom with her family.

“I'm coming Meagan,” Ray answered, his voice cracking with emotion as I could see the tears running down his cheeks. Obediently he turned, making his way to the dark room, as if in a trance.

“Ray,” I warned. But he kept shuffling forward to the door in tear.

“Yes Ray, come to me,” the voice demanded, a little less sweet and familiar. Ray was right outside the door now, as he started turning the knob with a sharp squeaking sound.

“Almost there,” the voice hissed now, its voice darker and raspier. Ray entered the room quickly, not even thinking. I watched silently as he entered the dark abyss of the room. I was too shocked, too confused to do anything. Suddenly the door slammed shut, the loud bang resounding throughout the house.

“Ray!” I yelled, ready to charge into the room. Screaming and yelping suddenly broke out from down stairs, it was the children! I was split, I looked from the door to the stairs, where do I go? Brandith came bursting out of the room, followed by Haley and his mother.

“Come on Cam, we got to help them,” he cried, grabbing my arm and pulling me down the stairs with him. I tried to fight at first, but realized it was pointless, we were already about to enter the living room, and the others were all behind now, except for the group we could hear charging up from the basement.

We burst through the door, almost running into one of the kids. It was Jack, standing there crying his eyes out. I ignored everything else, picking up Jack and comforting him, he seemed uninjured, except he had the strange mark on his head, like the other victims. I tried calming him, shushing him, asking him what happened, but he wouldn't stop. The other adults were screaming and crying all around us, making it impossible for him to calm down. Grimly I observed the scene and children around us, oh god, this was the worst yet. All these dead children. Each one was exactly where we left them, except for one thing. Each one was decapitated, their heads at their feet with the horrid little marks. Jack was the only survivor.

The rest of us regrouped in the dining room, a morbid silence overtaking us all. The only sound was the sobbing of my Aunts. I sat in the corner with Haley and Jack, we had managed to calm him down, but neither Haley nor I could get him to tell us what had happened.

“Please Jack, talk to us,” Haley begged, trying to sound calm and motherly. “You need to tell us what happened out there.” But he just stared off into the distance, his eyes empty and emotionless. I could only imagine how a thing like this would affect a seven year old boy.

“The man,” he murmured.

“What?”

“No, the monster. The man who is a monster,” he said.

“Is that who did this,” I asked.

“Yes, but no.”

“Please, explain what happened Jack,” Haley said softly.