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𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍 : 𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐂 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐑

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I hadn't anticipated the wind to be just as fierce as the cold, bringing in such a dangerous chill that my hands couldn't stop shaking, not even when I had to stuff them inside my pockets, knife and all.

The earth was hard, not nearly as muddy as it had been and I was grateful for the sturdy footing. It was nice knowing that if I needed to take off running, I wouldn't be slipping and sliding. However, the soft patter of misting rain certainly didn't help as its droplets coated my face and matted down my once clean hair.

I kept the light of my flashlight pretty dimmed, not wanting to alert Conner that I was headed his way. With the light so low, it made it difficult to see much of anything around me, the dark trees blending in the night so perfectly it was hard to tell what was right in front of you without the lights. The heavy clouds and lack of moon and stars didn't help, either.

I raised my arm, fingers so cold they felt tight as they gripped my phone. The light shined over trees and stumps and the ground, searching for anything that told me I was in the right place, that this was the spot.

Where are you, my secret, little spot? Did you move with your spirit again?

The trailer I had originally visited for Wrath had been a mile back the way I came and it was set in a small clearing that led right to the creek that must've saved my life somehow. The boys I had met there had warned me and I didn't know that maybe, just maybe, what had spooked them so badly was Conner all along.

At least I liked to believe it was just him and nothing else. Nothing far worse.

I reached a small clearing, wondering if I had been here already but everything looked the same. Just as lost in the dark as everything else was.

On the edge, across the clearing and nearly completely concealed by the trees, was the trailer. I kept myself within the tree line, careful not to keep my flashlight on for too long incase Conner was lurking somewhere inside. As I grew closer, wondering how long it would take for John and Ace to turn and head back to the cars and then come after me, I realized that the trailer was different.

It hadn't aged well. The metal was rusted and discolored, splotchy and worn from the weather. The words were torn and stripped, leaving only fragments of the once colorful writing. The window was boarded up and the wheels were gone, like someone had come in and ripped them free.

Stolen parts, missing pieces, we're all the same.

There was a car, however, parked near the trailer and I had almost not seen it. It was an old, beat up Ford, sleek black so it blended it well with the dark. I crept towards it, shining my light inside the drivers side window and seeing a suitcase in the backseat. It seemed, wherever Conner was going, he wasn't coming back.

I moved back and away from the car, heading for the trailer and pausing. The door was open and once I got my feet moving again, I noticed that there was no door at all. Just an open doorway, the hinges broken and hanging on by crooked nails.

I took the large step up and into the dark trailer, flash up in one hand and my knife in my other, raised and ready. It smelled awful, the trailer wafting out a strong smell of decay and death. The inside was trashed, the beaded curtain was half intact, the rest of the beads covering the ground. I was careful of where I stepped, running my light over the ground and then over the completely gutter couch and splintering table and chairs.

I passed through another beaded curtain, letting my light take over the covered walls. It seemed that Conner was busier than I had anticipated because the walls were covered in photographs, newspaper clippings, and wards.

I grew closer, keeping myself aware of every soft sound outside the trailer and within as I regarded the wall. The newspapers featured my mother in nearly every clipping, even documenting her death in a small article. I reached out, running my fingers over her blurred face, smiling because this was her and I had nearly forgotten what she had looked like. It had been so long since I had really looked at her, taken in that familiar face.

I refused to cry, shaking my head and turning my attention to the photographs. This time, when I reached out, I didn't stop until I was tearing the pictures down, shredding them with my fingers.

They were of me. Practically every single one.

There were photos of Crow, the rest of the Morticianers, but even a few of just John. He was the at the center of this little shrine, his own personal murder board. Why is John the focus? I wondered to myself , plucking the middle picture out and flipping it in my hands.

"The one," I read aloud, frowning as I tossed it aside and reached for another and reading the back, "Risen."

What the hell?

I grabbed one of my own faces, one that I hadn't torn to shreds yet. Written on the back in clear red letters were the words, 'Fate woven together.'

I reached into my bag with one hand, pulling out one of the journals I had stuck inside and slid the photo in between the pages. I bent down, grabbing one of the pictures of John I had discarded and slid it inside too, just in case I needed to remember them later.

I didn't recognize any of the wards used, painted in what I assumed was blood, large and scrawled over the funky wallpaper that was peeling and torn. This little trailer must've been where Conner conducted business, because as I shined my light across the floor, I noticed large dark splotches coating the carpet.

It seemed he must've enjoyed killing here, too.

I sent a quick text to Ace, telling him I found the trailer. I didn't want to be out here alone for any longer than I needed. I went back to my flashlight, turning it on brighter as I turned to leave, my light reflecting against the glistening black eyes of something lurking at the open doorway.

I lowered my light, knowing it had already seen me.

It moved, animal-like, slinking through the doorway and filling the whole exit with it's massive body. Tall and rippling with muscles hidden underneath a big coat. Its hands rested by its sides, one hand curled into a fist and the other holding a sleek handgun.

"All alone, are we?" Eric Conner finally cooed and I lifted my light to see his face. I would not let this end without seeing him, without looking him directly in the eyes. His face was rid of any stubble, clean shaven and he was wearing a baseball cap to hide his dark locks.

"Heard you were looking for me," I replied, turning my light off and slipping my phone into my bag. I needed to have that hand free, I needed to be able to move easily.

He nodded, bringing up his free hand to rub his jaw like he wasn't used to it being so bare. "I was wondering when we'd finally meet."

"Have I lived up to your expectations?"

He shrugged. "I'll find out soon enough."

He moved from the doorway to grab one of the fallen chairs, flipping it back up so he could sit. He rested his gun flat against his thigh, strategically aimed at me. The sight of the lethal weapon made my legs feel stiff, heavy. I could run all I wanted from him but just one shot could take me down, easily.

I ignored the tingling of fear as it crept through my hands and arms, swallowing thickly as I said, "So, you must know why I've come looking for you."

He paused, looking me up at down like I was his next meal. Then, he sat back, relaxing completely in his seat, legs stretched out in front of him as he said, "Enlighten me."

I drummed my thumb against Spiorad's hilt, feeling a swell of irritation rise up in my chest. "Pandora Basks. Where is she?"

He didn't move, barely made any sign that he knew what I was talking about. But he blinked once, his eyes black again as if it was a warning, then they blinked again and they were gone.

"Andrew Stone didn't know who I was talking about, but I'm guessing you do," I said, taking a single step to the side to get closer to the exit. He didn't move but his brows did flicker up at the mention of Stone. "Did you know he wanted to die? He reached out to me and begged for it," I lied, hoping to rile him up, to get any answer I could.

"I'm surprised you've been able to kill some of us," he said, looking to the side with a sigh. "I heard about your fight with West, it seems to me that he left his mark."

As if on cue, my nose sent a ripple of pain through my face.

"But I can't help you," he breathed with a shrug, the hand on the gun not moving an inch as he studied me. "I defected."

I paused, stilling completely. Did this mean he had done the same as John? That he could possibly be on the run from Crow and the rest of the Morticianers as well?

He looked at his nails, bringing them up to his mouth and biting. He spat out pieces of his nail and I scowled as he said, "I only follow orders from one man and it's not Archer Crow, so sorry, can't help."

"You're a liar," I snarled, feeling that same rush and tug of anger build up inside me. It was crawling, clawing at my throat, my chest tight with the restrictive force I was trying to put on myself. I couldn't lash out, I couldn't allow myself to lose control with him here.

He smiled, sinister and as if he thought he was smarter than me. "I serve a man so powerful he'd make even Crow afraid. He's coming, Blaire Lake, with more power and more strength than anyone combined on this godforsaken planet. And he wants one thing and one thing only."

"Let me guess," I scowled, tightening my grip on my knife. "He wants me?"

He nodded, rolling his wrist as he held up the gun.

Do not be afraid, do not be afraid.

"He'll bleed you dry and pour your very essence across the earth, you'll be his loyal servant even through death," he smiled, sitting up straighter in his chair, looking like he was ready to pounce at a moment's notice. "Your corpse will be a prize."

I kept my stance, I couldn't show him how badly my hand was shaking at the thought of being used. To be torn apart for his 'master.'

You'll be just another puppet, another pathetic pawn.

"You talk too much," I finally forced out, taking this small moment to take off towards the door. It was a desperate play to get away from his taunts, to run from whatever mission he'd been sent on to retrieve me.

I also realized he had the upper hand in such a small space, that I would be trapped like an animal if he decided to strike. I needed the open space within the trees, I needed the wet ground to act as my friend.

Thunder boomed the moment I passed through the threshold as Conner wrapped big arms around my middle and slammed me to the ground. My bag was torn from my shoulder and Spiorad was lost in the grass, and it was like I couldn't breathe, let alone see.

Don't be afraid, don't be afraid!

I coughed as Conner pressed a knee into my back and one hand clamped around a fist full of my hair as he pushed my face into the ground. I couldn't get air through my nose as I panted in rain and dirt through my mouth, choking.

Suffocation, asphyxiating, choking on your own dribble, pathetic, pathetic, pathetic--

I wheezed as his grip on my hair tightened and he tried to wrench my head back, exposing my neck. It felt as if I would never breathe again. I struggled to move, one arm pinned underneath me and the other clawing at the ground.

"I should just kill you right now!" he laughed, slamming my face back into the ground and I fought back tears, my throat tightening. I tried to kick my feet but found them being restrained by his huge bulk of a body as he continued to laugh loudly over the growing ring in my ears. "To taste you myself before the others," he hissed, his face so close to mine I could smell his breath. Minty and with the faint hint of metal. Blood, blood, he wants your blood. He licked his lips and I shuddered, practically feeling his tongue against my cheek.

He flipped me in one easy move and I gasped once my back hit the ground and I was staring up at him. I blinked away the falling rain, straining my eyes to watch him as my chest heaved, the wetness of the grass seeping into my clothes. I tried to bring my arms up but he kept them pinned down by the sides of my head as he now sat on my hips to block the use of my legs and body. His weight was crushing, straining completely against my body.

"No one is going to save you," he grinned, chuckling from his throat as lightning flashed in the sky behind him, casting an unsettling illumination across his face. "No one will ever hear you scream out here, just like that pathetic friend of yours--"

I saw red. I thrashed in his grip as hard as I could and he laughed. Open mouthed, head thrown back, deep laughter. "Tell me where she is!" I screamed, seething through clenched teeth. My jaw was so tight it felt like I could've cracked my teeth if I bit down any harder.

"You won't make it to her, not in time."

I opened my mouth, gaping, "It hasn't even been the two days yet--"

"Who says he didn't just kill her the second he got her?" he cooed and forced both my hands together above my head so he was able to hold them both down at the same time. With his free hand, he stroked a finger down my cheek. "Who's to say she isn't dead, right now?"

I shook my head, no, no, she would've come to me if she was dead. She would've appeared, she wouldn't just die and not return.

"I think you'd make a far greater pet than her," he whispered, leaning down closer and I moved my head to the side to avoid how close he was. I didn't want him touching me, I didn't want to feel how hot his breath was against my face. He grabbed me by the jaw, forcing me to look him in the eyes as he said, "You won't ever see her again."

He let go of my face to reach behind him, pulling up the back of his jacket and pulling his gun free from his waistband. I had been hoping the thing had been lost in the grass with my knife and bag, that I wouldn't have to face it so soon.

"Tell me," he said, now admiring his weapon. "Can you really see them like your old man?"

I nodded, I didn't want to speak, I didn't want him to think of anywhere to put that gun.

"Your father was talented, I'll give 'em that," he said. "But we didn't see eye to eye, me and a few others didn't like his plans. He was all about keeping the worlds separated, keeping the devil at bay behind one veil and the spirits behind another. But what he didn't get was, when we would be summoning and getting, you know, those incredible highs, we were playing at both veils so dangerously that it was...like getting drunk on it." He shrugged, bringing the gun closer to me and ghosting it over my face like he was marking his target. "But, when he brought your blood into it all, it changed everything. You had more power in you than Cage and Crow combined, and it was only with one single drop that made the sky go white and you could almost hear the earth moving. I could see everything and I felt invincible, I could've gone out and killed hundreds and not even break a sweat. It was exhilarating. But the comedown after," he shook his head, sighing, "nearly had to be hospitalized, and that's saying a lot with our healing capabilities."

So they can heal themselves? I guess that black blood comes more in handy than I thought.

"The withdrawal period was even worse, followed us for a month, maybe even longer," he whispered. He ran his gun across my cheek, cold and hard and deadly. "To have just one taste," he licked his lips but leaned back and away, resting the gun against his leg. "But the boss doesn't want any of that yet, wants to save you for something special for us all, wants to be the first." His eyes ran over my face, lingering on my taped nose. "He didn't say I couldn't leave my own mark, though."

And with that, he swung the gun back and pistol-whipped me as hard as he could across the face. There was a sickening crunch and I screamed, open mouthed and wailing as tears streamed down my face as hot and warm as the blood gushing from my nose.

My head was spinning and I tasted blood as pain swelled through my broken face. You're going to die here, disfigured and broken before ever meeting his master. Conner laughed, wiping his gun off on his pant leg, taunting me as he said, "Too bad your corpse won't be pretty, but don't worry, I'll try to avoid the face next time."

He was on his feet before I even had the chance to regain my semi-consciousness. He sent a rattling kick into my side and I yelped like a dog, my body curling into itself as I coughed and choked, stomach already on fire.

"Little, ghost bitch!" he sang. "Stupid, pathetic, necromancer can't do shit to stop me! The boss will have a fun time breaking you, tearing your pretty body apart piece by piece."

I wheezed, trying to breathe through my nose and I choked on my own blood that ran thickly over my lips and chin. With myself on my side, exhaustion already creeping in, I prodded the ground with one hand for my knife.

I just needed to get him once, just one little prick and it'd be over.

Pandora-don't forget about Pandora--

"Tell me--" I rasped, my throat raw. "Where's-my friend?"

"Oh, so she speaks," he murmured, getting on all fours to force me to look him in the eyes as I shook. My body was raked with bouts of pain that I could barely stomach it, my head feeling heavy but I knew if I closed my eyes, he would only inflict even more damage.

"Where-is-she--" I breathed out, wincing at my forcefulness. I needed to get up, to run, but I didn't think I could, not with the stabbing pain in my side. God, what if he broke a rib?

"You won't ever make it to her, you know that right? Your little plan will never work."

I tried to sit up on my elbows, my arms shaking. "Where is-she?" I spat blood from my mouth, coppery and tangy.

"She's in the barn," he smiled, using that blasted gun to brush my hair from my face. "She's been there the entire time, I'm surprised you hadn't figured it out yet."

But I did, I did, I did! Why didn't I just go there? Why didn't I just avoid this all and go to her like I thought? This is all too easy, this isn't right, how could she be there after my first guess?

Somethings not right.

"Oh, but did you? Did you already know?"

I didn't say anything, only trying to force myself to my knees.

"You probably drove here and thought so, thought it was too obvious, right? Too simple?" he shook his head and looked as if he was ready to strike again. "You'll be too late, you'll always be too late--"

I surged forward with what little strength I had left, panting as I hit him as hard as I could across the face before shoving him to the ground. He landed heavy, like he had only lost his balance but when he raised his hand to wipe at his busted lip, the gun was nowhere to be seen.

"Weak, but strong," he commented, spitting off to the side and licking his lips.

I searched the ground with my eyes, holding my side as I stood on uneasy legs. Where is it? Where is it? There!

Lightning struck and metal reflected in the grass and I dove for it. He grabbed me by the feet, trying to drag me back and towards him but my hands were already gripping the weapon and as he flipped me to face him, I aimed and fired.

The sound echoed so loudly I could barely hear for a fraction of a second, my ears ringing. Conner held his shoulder and through the darkness, I could see black blood seeping through his fingers. His blood ran lighter with the rain that began to pour heavier, making it run in steady streams. He scowled, looking at me with deadly eyes before lunging like I had and his big hands wrapped around my neck.

Squeezing.

I felt pressure building up in my head, feeling tight and already seeing the darkness begin to make its way into my vision. I pressed his gun into his stomach and his eyes darted down before back up to mine as I smiled, choking from lack of air and on the blood rushing down the back of my throat from my nose.

I squeezed the trigger.

Once.

Twice.

He was screaming as he fell off of me, holding a bloody gut. I dragged my body up and through the grass, coughing as I sucked in air through my mouth.

Get up and start running, you have to get to Pandora!

Pandora-Pandora-Pandora-please!

"You're one ruthless bitch, you know that?" he laughed and in his hands were two bullets. He flicked them to the side and I watched as he dug the one free from his shoulder with a sickening pop.

"Fuck you," I seethed, as thunder clapped and it felt like the world shook. I continued to drag myself away, searching the grass again as I went. I needed my bag, my knife--

Hands wrapped around my hair and yanked. Screaming, I was dragged backwards through the grass, my grip on the gun utterly gone. He took that as his chance to grab it as lightning flashed in the sky overhead and I found exactly what I was looking for.

With newfound adrenalin with the blade now happily wrapped up in my fist, I took off. I snatched my bag off the ground as I heard shots behind me as I zig zagged the best I could through the trees.

I didn't get far, mostly because my rush of energy could only take me so far with the searing pain in my face and side, and now my throat. He caught up to me easily and caught onto my foot, forcing me to lose my balance.

Stumbling forward, I swung blindly behind me. I crashed to the ground with an agonizing thud, my knife catching nothing but air.

"I'm surprised you can still stand," he sneered, standing above me. "That necromancer blood must be giving you more strength than you realize." He wiped his face with the hand holding the gun. "It did the same for Cage, he always healed faster than a human should."

Voice sounded in the distance, over the rain and the wind that was picking up. It blew my hair to the side, bringing with it a strong, fierce cold. My body already shaking from pain, shook harder from the dreadful icy air.

"Brought friends with you?" Conner asked. He grinned, checking the rounds in his gun before looking off into the darkness. "Just another kill for me, I suppose. How do you think I should do it? Gun to the face? Or, better yet, the neck?"

I took the chance with him looking out into the woods, to slash. I caught nothing but air as he jumped back, yelling.

"Put that damn thing down!" he hissed, sounding like he was afraid. Finally.

Be afraid, you monster. Be afraid of what I can do, coward.

"How about you put that gun down, instead?" I whispered, finding my voice scratchy and throat still raw from screaming and his attempt at strangling me. 

He seemed to consider it before holding the weapon up and snarling, "Looks like the boss is just gonna have to deal with you being dead. He'll get over it."

He didn't get a chance to shoot me when a dark mass side tackled Conner to the ground, his gun firing to the side and I used my hands to push off the ground and roll away just in case, hands over my head. I heard wood splinter from a nearby tree and lowered my hands.

"Hey, asshole," John snarled and I broke out into a smile. "Pick on someone your own size!" He sent a punch into Conner's face and the demon screamed.

Hands grabbed me from behind and Ace helped me stand, his body solid and warm. Once I was on both feet, he moved forward and grabbed Conner's gun from the ground.

"You find out where Pandora is?" he asked as I came up to stand next to him as John attacked the man.

Another scream.

I nodded. "The barn, a few miles up the road we came on."

"You better head out then-"

I shook my head. "Not until we find out who his boss is, cause apparently it's not Crow."

John stopped pummeling him, panting as he asked, "What do you mean it's not Crow?"

Conner laughed, gurgling as he croaked, "He'll kill you all once he finds out what you've done. He'll kill every last one of you!"

"Then how does he know where Pandora is? He could be lying," Ace murmured, checking the rounds in the gun in a similar way Conner had moments before. I didn't know he knew how to handle a gun so well.

"Or he's just trying to distract us from killing his pathetic ass," John snarled, punching and earning another scream and grunt from the demon.

"Hold him down," I instructed and both boys did just that. They grabbed Conner's arms, holding him back as he tried to jump up to attack.

He thrashed in their hands.

I held out Spiorad, his eyes going wide and his fighting stilled. "Just tell us and maybe, just maybe, I won't make it painful for you."

He laughed, opening his mouth and cackling in my face as I stepped closer. The rain began to let up and I noticed the rain water running down his face, his hair hanging in his face in wet strands, he looked as if he was melting away.

I licked my lips, my mouth coated in thick blood. "I really don't want to have to ask twice."

"Screw you," he smiled.

"I suggest you listen to the lady," John hissed and Conner's head snapped to him.

"Well, isn't it the traitor," Conner sneered and John yanked on his arm, jerking the man to the side. "My betrayal will never hurt worse than yours. Going with the necromancer, you've just sentenced yourself to an early grave--"

"She will save us," he said in a dark voice and I noticed his grip tightening on the other man's arms. "She's more powerful than you and whoever the hell you're working for. I'm sure they're just some loser, a coward for making you do all their dirty work."

"He is the great morning star, our servant of death, our sinful leader!" he shouted, his body shaking with such discomforting delight. "He will rid this place of you and everyone you love, he will tear you apart from the inside out, he will drink and feast on your corpse, he will devour every last ounce of you--"

"The devil," Ace breathed, looking up and his eyes meeting mine. Conner grew quiet, his chest heaving as he realized his mistake. "His 'great morning star,' he's referring to the devil, Blaire."

My mouth fell open as I turned to look at the demon. "Is that true?" I asked in a small voice.

Conner fumbled to find the right words as he blurted out, "He'll-he'll rise soon enough! We will bring him forth, we-we will create a godless plane for him--"

"How is he communicating with you?" John asked. "If he's not here yet, then how are you getting your orders?"

The demon looked to the ground, knowing he'd screwed up. "Through the summonings. He appeared, as only a voice in my head. He's coming and he when he arrives," he looked up at me and I saw the psychotic gleam in his eyes. "He'll come for you and finally take what's his. You've got his blood in you, like all necromancers do, and he needs it to finally--"

John struck him in the face and Conner knocked back into Ace, the two hitting the wet ground. I surged forward, Spiorad up and ready as Conner looked to the other man on the ground with a hungry smile.

I struck down hard into Eric Conner's leg, feeling the blade slice through flesh like butter. I waited for the lights, that golden shower of excellence but it never came. The night grew darker and the air even colder as a voice rang out into the darkness from a mouth no longer familiar.

"I'm a goddamn floater, you stupid bitch."

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tbh i HATE eric conner.....like i HATE HIM, he's just gross and mean and evil smh

alsooooo.......

NEXT CHAPTER IS THE LAST ONE AHHHHH

im going to be uploading it pretty soon because i have it all written out but i'm just making some last minute edits to make it perfect for you guys!!

hope u liked this and are just as excited as i am rn for the next chapter!!!!! 

everything will 'techinally' wrap up. but not really hehe soooooooooo get hype

xxxxx day