Aiden Dean Cordell...

By now The Redness of Thompson's face calmed down and returned to its original pale colour.

"Brooklyn..."

I looked up and met a pair of concerned eyes.
"Please be careful. Molly is very dangerous and is capable of dangerous things", Thompson said in a humourless tone, his voice hoarse from shouting.

"How do you know Molly?"

"She's been around for as long as I can remember. She had a reputation of being a bit different. Cordell was also quite close to her. She would do some strange things you could say". Thompson's hand was supporting his head, his left hand tracing the floral patterns on the table cloth as he spoke.

"Do you remember me?"

"No...I don't think so"

"The man that waved at you, when you first moved, that was me. I was also the one in the graveyard"

"Why did you wave?"

"You look like your father", Thompson replied, not answering my question completely, his eyes downcast;focusing on the table cloth.

"You know I whent to school with your father. He wasn't exactly someone people wanted to be around, he was very.." Thompson waved his finger in the air trying to look for a certain word, his brows furrowed.

"That"s the words", he said, clicking his fingers.

"Your father was very introvert and condescending. He would smoke, drink and steal. He was known to be obsessed with the paranormal, I suppose he kept it into adulthood"

"What do you mean?" Alex questioned, gulping with nerves.

"Caught him the last couple of days"

Alexander shook his head in discontent at our father"s decisions.

"I can"t believe it. All this time it was Cordell we were looking for all-along, but now he's gone"

"Well, I hope what I told you was useful". As he finished speaking, Thompson slid a piece of paper across the table.

"Ring me if you need anything"

Thompson stood up, the chair skidding across the floorboards.

"I must go, take care". By now, Thompson was out the door, hands in his pockets as he walked down the street, taking long strides.

I looked over at Alex and Violet.
"Looks like we're one step closer to figuring out the mystery of everything that's occurring", I said, breaking the silence. I tightened my grip on my shirt as the feeling of fear and adrenaline rushed through me.

"Maybe we'll figure this out, maybe..."
~~~
After Violet went home, Alex and I walked back to our house. Opening the door slowly, we walked in, the smell of tea brewing hit us. Alex and I went down the overcast hallway but stopped when we heard our father and Molly talking behind the kitchen door, which was slightly ajar.

Slowly, my brother put his ear against the door. I did the same.

"What are we going to do now!" The sound of a fist slamming down on the wooden table made me slightly jump.

"Don't worry Charles. We'll write another fabricated letter. If that doesn't work, we'll use the fact that Logan and Brook were friends to our advantage", Molly explained, overjoyed at her own plan.

"You may be onto something. Although the letter I wrote before we moved didn't work, I'm sure Logan can come up with something. After all, it was his idea to send the mysterious texts and package. I'm sure that scared the daft child out of her mind. If we do the same thing again, we may be able to wrap Alexander into the whole plan". By now my father was clapping with what seemed like enthusiasm.

"Yes, YES, this will work. It won"t be long until they end up like their sister!" Molly sighed as she thought of their 'prodigious' plan.

I walked slowly away from the door, my hand covering my mouth. I felt myself lose my balance as my legs became numb. My hands began to shake.

"Our father was the one behind all this, but...Logan! That must be why he was acting so strange when I told him we were moving". I whispered to my brother as I slowly walked to the door, slowly opening it.

"What are you doing?", Alex asked as he raised an eyebrow, the colour still drained from his face, his hands still slightly shaking as the realisation of what our father and Molly were talking about hit him.

"Pretending we only came back now", I whispered.

I opened the door and slammed it shut, ensuring Molly and our father heard it. I took a deep breath and put on a fake smile.
"We're back!" I shouted, hiding my shock.

"O-oh, yes, welcome back! I was just talking with your father about your night terrors"

Lies!

"Oh, well, Alex and I will be upstairs"

"Alright kids, bedtime is soon. You've got your first day of school tomorrow". The mention of kids, our father's face distorted into a look of disgust, but was soon hidden with the happy-go-lucky face I was so familiar with. Who knew that all this time it was a mask, hiding his true identity!

Before I could respond, Alex grabbed me by my arm, waved at Molly and our father and skipped out of the room, still holding my hand. As soon as we were up the stairs, his smile vanished and was replaced with a frown, his eyes glossing over.

"I can't believe it..." Before he could finish, we heard a quiet sob.

We slowly walked over to our parents room and opened the door. The sound of the rusty hinges caused our mother to look up, her tear stained face facing us. My chest tightened at the sight of our Mom in such a devastating state, just like Violet.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked in an urgent tone.

"Nothing, nothing at all". By now she was wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

"Please tell us what's wrong", my brother and I said in sync.

"..."

"Please!"

"It's nothing too serious. Your father is changing and I'm just worried for your safety"

"Mom, we're here for each other. Brook and I have noticed as well". Alex sat on the bed looking at our Mom with concern.

"I think it's time"

"Time for what?", my brother and I both ask curiously.

"Tomorrow, after school, I'll bring you to see your sister. It may be a bit of a long Journey, but Molly and your father are going somewhere. I'm not sure where, but it'll be your chance for you to see her"

"Why haven't we seen her before?"

"Your father never wanted to. Never knew why...". Our mother stopped speaking as she tried to recall why.

"He never said why"

"It's OK; tomorrow we'll finally get to see her"

Before anyone of us could speak, we heard a grumble and the sound of someone walking up the stairs. Alex and I clumsily stumbled out of the room, into mine.

"OK, I'll see you tomorrow then. Don't forget to set an alarm". Once my brother finished talking, he turned on his heel and walked to his vacant bedroom.

I slowly turned around and climbed into my bed. I was mentally exhausted. I lay down and slowly I began to tear up; "Why is this happening to us?"

I slowly sobbed. I held my hands up to my mouth to stifle my cry.

My chest tightened like someone was slowly squeezing every ounce of energy out of me, until I slowly fell asleep.

Darkness...that"s all I could see.

Everything was black.

My feet felt cold against what I presumed was the floor. My hands were numb. I felt light-headed and dizzy, as if I had just got off a rollercoaster. I felt sick.

I turned around and saw nothing.

I began to feel my heart beat faster with every breath I took. Soon I was out of breath, like I had just finished running. My mouth began to feel dry and my throat began to tighten. I slowly turned around. The feeling of someone, or something, staring at me overwhelmed me.

Elise...

As we make eye contact, she smiles.

"It's time", she said in the same demented voice as the faceless creature that haunted my dreams before. Soon Elise began to twitch and she began to laugh, her empty laugh filled the room, echoing against each wall.

"Oh, it's time, finally time". By now Elise was jumping in excitement as she began to twitch even more, like a glitch. Soon her limbs began to stretch as her smile disappeared, her eyes rolling to the back of her head. Her bones began to show as her once porcelain skin became dry and cracked. Soon, the only noise that filled the room was a low gurgling sound as the demented creature stood up, crouching as it began to grow. Pushing all its force on their front abnormally long arms, it ran.

The last thing I remember was a thin line forming across the things face, opening up a pit of infinite darkness. The thing's face opened up until its jaw dislocated, swallowing me. The feeling of scratches running up my arm filled my body as I collapsed.

As I stood up, I fell back down. Looking at my hand, it began to become disorienting. I swallowed hard. Soon my mouth became watery as I began to swallow harder and harder trying to make the excruciating pain from my stomach disappear. Soon the lump raised and my gag reflex kicked in as I got sick.

After getting sick, I slowly sat up, the foul taste lingering in my mouth. Soon the dizziness came back but much more intense. White dots clouded my vision as I felt myself slowly fall into unconsciousness. The pain slowly faded away until I felt nothing...

End of Chapter 18

I hope you enjoyed Chapter 18. If you consider adding 'The Terror Within' to your library, I will keep you up-to-date.

Thanks again for reading!