Alexa woke up early the next morning to "Hold On" playing on her phone. She swiped her phone causing the song to cease. Even though it wasn't very alarm-y type of song she still liked it, hence why it was set as her alarm.

After pushing herself to do some stretches despite not being in the mood to, Alexa grabbed clothes and went in to take a long shower.

* * *

"Where are you going?"

Turning her head around, Alexa sighed when she saw her mother's light eyes staring back at her from the pantry. Walking up to her while mentally planning a believable lie, Alexa sat down at the table while her mother pushed a bowl of cereal towards her.

"I've got some homework I need Ryan's help with." Alexa replied as she cast her eyes down to the floating blobs of chocolate in her bowl.

"Lexi," her mother said the word slowly. Lexi. A nickname her mother rarely called her anymore. "Look at me."

Alexa raised her head up while containing an eye roll and muttering about how annoying her family was being. A thought she immediately regretted when she saw her mother's kind face staring back at her.

Fia Taylor was just one of those women that were just born gorgeous. Her dark hair which she'd passed on to both her kids, framed her face with a few strands while the rest was pulled back in a bun. And her skin was always fair for she never stepped out of the house without sunscreen.

"Irish people get burnt and I mean burnt. We don't get normally tanned like y'all." She would say almost every year during the summer, where she would dump a whole lot of sunscreen on herself and Alexa, even Alex when he was alive.

Alex. His death just wrecked apart the entire Taylor family. Long gone were those beach picnics, long gone were those kind words and smiles from her mother, long gone was her father's heart. That is if he ever had one.

But at this moment, with her mother looking down at her with so much love, all Alexa wanted to do was spill out her worries and cry into her arms.

"I know what you're going through is hard." Her mother's voice snapped her out of her movie of memories.

"But you need to understand. What you're doing isn't normal Alexa." She said slowly. Biting into her toast and pausing for a moment. "There is no demon or devil or whatever. There are coyotes and wolves and a month ago I heard that there are bears in those woods!" She said.

"I know," was all Alexa replied with as she sulked. Why did she still have hope? Her parents are never gonna understand.

"No you don't," her mother snapped as she stood up and with her empty plate.

And she's back.

"If you did then you wouldn't risk yours' and those other kids lives just for some weird obsession of yours!"

"For the hundredth time it's not an obsession!" Alexa shot back and she rose to her feet. Tired of people calling her obsessed, crazy, and more. "But you'll never believe me so what's the point." She spat as she turned around before running upstairs and slamming her room door.

Her heart hammered in her chest. She knew she was being disrespectful but at this point she couldn't be bothered to care.

Think calming thoughts, think calming thoughts.

Falling onto her bed, Alexa shut her eyes as she focused on the calming sound of waves hitting the rocks on a faraway beach.

* * *

"Hello?"

"So much for Saturday's being peaceful." Alexa heard the voice on the other end of the phone say.

"How bad is it?"

"The funeral's tomorrow," Kylie replied as she shut her eyes and sighed. "My parents weren't that harsh on me. Said that I was actually through trauma and that I was in shock. Ryan though," She paused and Alexa made herself comfortable on the bed, pressing the phone harder to her ear.

"He got blasted. He's spoken about Malthus a few times before after what happened to you. So now they're scolding him for influencing me as well."

"Damn," Alexa replied. "My dad's really pissed at me cuz apparently everyone at the station are talking about us. Part of the reasons I hate this town, it's too damn small. Anyways he's got half day today and he said that he's gonna try sorting this out and they're gonna get animal control from outside as well and see what happens."

"Animal control my ass." Kylie muttered before bringing up Cathy.

"So her dad's actually agreed to come back!?" Alexa asked, referring to the stuff Kylie had said about Cathy.

The brunette's phone had been taken (again) hence she couldn't contact anyone. And Anther (who's phone had been taken as well) had found her house number after snooping through the phone book. And after seeing Cathy's mom walk out of the house, he'd run down while his mom slept and hurriedly dialed her number.

"I still can't believe her mom's quitting her job," Alexa continued.

After becoming sick of Cathy galavanting into the woods, Mrs. Williams had turned her resignation form in to focus more on Cathy. And after screaming at her husband on the phone for his lack of support, she'd made him agree to accept the position he was offered here.

"Yeah Anther said that Cathy felt real bad. Her mom's the workaholic type you know. And apparently she can't just stay put so that's why she busies herself with work." Kylie yawned, the previous nightmare filled night making her eyes feel heavy.

"But what about Bethany?"

"Hold up let me drink some water first-" Kylie paused before coming back. "She's at the local hospital, Anther told them that he found her unconscious in an alley on his way home from the dance. And since none of them had seen her ever before, they're suspecting she's a runaway. Thinking of putting her picture on the news."

"Crap that won't be good."

"Yeah exactly. That's why Anther wants Cathy to go claim that they're cousins or something, and if Cathy can show them her previous yearbook and point out that they went to the same school and stuff."

"I doubt we're gonna be let out of the house until Monday though. And that'll only be for school."

"They're planning on sneaking out during the funeral tomorrow. " Kylie replied in a sombre tone. "I'm not joining."

"Hey you don't gave too. Heck I'd stay with you if you want."

"I'd like that," Kylie replied, a sad smile appearing on her face. "Ryan would probably ruin the whole mood with his crappy jokes."

"How's he doing he the way?"

"Buried in his room to avoid seeing mom and dad."

* * *

The crows cawed loudly as they settled on top of the dying trees in the graveyard as the crowd of people dressed in black walked into the church.

"Hey."

Kylie looked up from her phone to see a pair of blue eyes looking down at her. Smiling sadly, she reached in for a hug as she felt her heart break into a million pieces. "It hurts Anther." She said softly.

"I know," Anther replied as he stroked her back, he hated seeing Kylie this way given that she was practically his sister. He'd seen her have her first heartbreak when the guy she'd liked in middle school ended up spreading false rumours about her. He and Ryan had stayed in her room the entire night as they watched rom-coms together.

Before they went and beat the guy up the next morning but whatever.

And then Kyle came. And Anther saw Kylie transform into a happier person before his eyes, the way her smile would brighten everytime she spoke about her boyfriend would give Anther hope of one day falling in love.

"I'm gonna sit a bit back okay?" He said as he walked into the church with her, Ryan joining them.

"Hey guys."

The three of them turned around to see Cathy dressed in a black blouse with a pair of matching jeans. "I'm sorry," she said, her eyes glistening as she blinked. "I shouldn't have dragged y'all into this and I know there's nothing I can do to fix this but I'm just so sorry Kylie, I really am."

"Cathy I don't blame you-"

"No you don't understand I could've stopped it." Cathy interrupted as the previous night's guilt filled thoughts resurfaced. "I thought he was coming for you because I kept of hearing the word "Ky..." and Beth tried to warn me and I didn't know she was talking about Kyle and that's why I called you that night and when you said you were home-"

"Cathy- Cathy stop." Kylie snapped. "I don't blame you okay? It's not your fault. You're still my friend and I have nothing against you." She said as she pulled Cathy in for a hug.

"You're the best." Cathy replied as she hugged her friend back. "And I'm going to stop this before anyone else gets hurt. I promise."

"I know you will."

After splitting up and taking their seats as the prayers started. Cathy watched Kylie out of the corner of her eye as a head covered girl approached the blonde and hugged her for a long time, whispering stuff into Kylie's ear.

Maybe one day she'd be a good replacement for me.

Turning off the voice in her head that repeated how bad of a friend she was, Cathy turned to look at her mom as everyone rose, about to make their way to the graveyard. "Can I just stay with them for today please?" She begged.

"Cathy we already went through this so don't make a scene," her mother said back through gritted teeth as she stood up, smiling and nodding and people she didn't even know."

"I swear that I won't do anything dumb," Cathy replied, moving past a teary eyed football player to catch up to her mom.

"And how can I trust you?" Her mother shot back as she touched her blonde hair gently, making sure her bun was in place, as if her ever wasn't in place.

"You've got to give me a chance. Besides, you're still sick-"

The words had barely left Cathy's mouth before her mother sneezed loudly.

"See, " Cathy pressed. "You go home and I'll come a bit after the burial." She said.

And after a lengthy list of stern warnings, Cathy got what she wanted.

* * *

Throwing her handful of sand over the coffin, Cathy checked her watch before rushing up to Kyle's parents and paying her respects before speed walking out as the crowd thinned.

"Leaving without us?"

"Guys we discussed this." Cathy replied as she put her hand out, trying to catch a cab. "I don't want you guys in this anymore."

"Well we're not leaving you so you've got no choice." Anther replied as he checked his phone.
"My cab's coming here in less than a minute anyway, so if you let me come with you, you'll save more time."

Turning around to frown at the dark haired boy and the other black clad teens behind him, Cathy sighed before complying. "I'm not saving y'all if you get in trouble though," she said as she walked closer to the stopping cab before opening the door and hopping in.

"Oh come on darling, you know you love me." Anther winked before following in.

* * *

After being the first to get off, Cathy waited for a while for the others to get off before entering along with them.

She raised her eyebrows at Anther's choice when she saw the appearance of the hospital. It had tall white walls which were covered with children's stickers. Not to mention the lobby was almost completely empty, the omnious laughter and crying of a couple of infants coming from the floors above being the only sound surrounding the room.

Cathy inched her way close to Anther and poked him in the ribs. "Couldn't you find a better place?" She asked when he turned to her with a frown.

"It was the only one I knew the road to."

"I'd have a fit if I woke up staring at creepy ass dolls," Alexa joined, giving the stink eye to the baby doll a little girl was cradling.

Anther signed and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I don't know what to do with y'all."

"That's exactly what I like about myself," teased Cathy in reply, feeling much better than she did before.

"Exactly! No one knows what the hell to do with me." Alexa added.

"I do!" Piped out Ryan.

Alexa gave one look at him and just rolled her eyes and walked towards Cathy and Kylie, that didn't stop her slight smile from showing though.

The 5 of them reached the elevator and and waited for it to open while Cathy was busily chatting with Kylie.

"Kyle's parents are thinking of moving," said Kylie looking down at her phone screen with the notice.

"Why?" Ryan asked, joining into the conversation.

"I spoke to his parents," said Kylie turning towards Ryan while the elevator dinged open and she stepped in.

You could clearly see that she had applied extra makeup than she had one before the prayer service. Kylie was naturally pretty, and even though she didn't know that, she hardly ever wore any makeup. And Ryan had let the fact that she'd worn some today, slide because he had too much on his mind. But now it was pretty visible that she had hurriedly caked herself with it, but to mention you could still see the puffy eyes and bags underneath them.

"They want to hurry it up," Kylie continued bending her head to her phone once more while Ryan made eye contact with Alexa before they both looked down at Kylie.

"His sister's family lives in Canada. So they're are planning to move there." Kylie let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in before stepping out.

The others followed while Anther led them to room number 528. He raised his hand to knock on the door before Alexa pulled him back.

"Anther," She hissed, pulling him back while the others watched in confusion. "You idiot, the room number clearly says 28," she said holding him by his collar.

"So?" Asked Anther cluelessly.

"Oh boy, you're so dead," Alexa said giving him her signature serial killer look while her eyes widened.

"Wait," said Cathy hurriedly stepping in between the two before they ended up slitting each others throats. "We still aren't sure that 28 is a bad number."

"Are you shitting me?" Asked Alexa raising her eyebrows at Cathy. "It-"

"May I help you?" Said a voice interrupting Alexa.

The five of them turned their heads in sync to face a frowning looking nurse.

"Uh yeah," said Cathy stepping forward while Alexa let go of Anther. "We're here to meet the girl that was admitted her last night..." she trailed off not knowing by what Anther had admitted her.

"The runaway girl?" Asked the nurse opening the door behind her.

"Er, yeah that's the one...I'm one of her friends," said Cathy writhing her fingers together.

"She's in this ward," said the nurse stepping in while looking around at the lot of teenagers. "But only one of you can enter, she's not in the right state of mind to see you all at once."

Cathy turned behind at looked at the others, all who nodded in agreement for her to go in. All except Alexa at least. She just stood in the corner while dragging her finger along her throat.

The nurse gave Alexa a weird look before closing the door behind Cathy.

"She still hasn't woken up from the time she was brought here," said the nurse staring sympathetically at Bethany's unconscious form.

"You didn't happen to see a rash or anything on her right?" Cathy asked carefully.

"No..." replied the nurse. "Why?"

"Oh no it's just that she used to have this really bad rash when I knew her." Cathy smiled as she lied through her teeth, her mind boggling as to why the weird black poison hadn't appeared when they'd changed Bethany into her hospital gown.

"She's not a runway." Cathy suddenly said. "She's an orphan, she used to live with her grandmother," she lied as she pulled out two photocopied papers from her bag. Unfolding them, she showed it to the nurse. "I knew her, we used to go to school together before I moved here."

The dark skinned nurse eyed Cathy warily before taking the yearbook papers and examining them while Cathy took a step closer to the bed, her eyes looking down to Bethany's hand before she placed her hand over it.

And that was started everything.

Bethany's eyes burst open at the contact before her inhumanly widened eyes met Cathy's. "He's coming," she said in a whisper before screaming the words out. "He's coming!"

"We need to get out of here!" She said looking frantically across the room as the vein in her forehead started bulging.

"Wha-" said the nurse taking a step back the moment Ryan and the others stormed through the door.

"I'll go get the doctor," said the nurse fleeing sight as soon as she got the chance.

"HE'S WATCHING US!" Bethany screamed while kicking her feet and struggling against Anther and Ryan's grip on her arms.

"Beth he's not here," said Cathy trying to maintain her own calm while Alexa continued to repeat how she had been right.

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Screamed Bethany finally succeeding in kicking her covers to the floor. "HE-"

The door slammed shut and the last thing Claire saw were Bethany's fear covered eyes before the room was plunged into darkness.

The room was deadly quiet while an eerie stillness hung in the air. But then the sound of glass shattering reached everyone's ears.

First the first window. Bam! Then the second, and then the third.

Cathy tried her best to see through the darkness while her heartbeat increased. The darkness was unatural. A familiar type of unnatural. It was as if someone had sucked the sun out of the world. Or even worse. Only out of their room.

Cathy felt a cold piece of fabric brush on her arm before Bethany started to scream once more.

"Beth?!" Asked Cathy unsurely feeling for an arm on the bed. She let go of a sigh of relief before grabbing it. "Beth you're as cold as ice," she said remembering the feel of the fabric that had touched her before. The way it gave off a feeling death and misery.

"Everyone stay calm," she heard Ryan's voice from not too far. A second later the light from his phone flashed across the room, giving it an light blue glow.

Cathy let go of a whimper when the light reached her hand. She wasn't holding Bethany's hand, but instead Malthus'. Cathy backed away in panic and looked at the others for help.

No hope there. They looked frozen in motion. None of them were even moving the slightest. Ryan still held the phone in his hand and Anther was stuck in the position of trying to grab onto the foot of the bed while Alexa was looking down into her pockets and Kylie was reaching for Alexa.

Cathy sucked in a breath when she noticed that they didn't seem to be breathing at all.

She was going to die all alone. In the dark. Death's hand was the last thing she was ever going to feel.

* * *

Heya!

I tried really hard to write this chapter cuz I didn't have the motivation (shoutout to Snowbaz_is_OTP and Ama_Perera for giving me some!) but here you go!

And I've been losing readers lol so just comment here if ur reading this cuz I really wanna know if this is worth losing my sleep over >

Anyhow, I hope u have a great day and see u next week!

Fun fact : I got the name Malthus by combining 2 demons names, but, turns out there actually IS a demon named Malthus. Even though it's nothing like our book Malthus.