https://youtu.be/jTwdGRHl5Mw

There was a narrow winding staircase leading to the upper floor of the bell tower. Cherie ventured up there once, years ago, just to see it. The upper space was cramped and narrow, half of one side of the room taken up by the bell itself, which was deafening when it rang. Cherie wasn't impressed, preferring the lower, more open level. She ignored the winding staircase, never paying attention to it, which was why she didn't notice the webs until she stood at the bottom.

Wide swaths of web strung from wall to wall, clogging the rails and steps.

Cherie glanced at the ceiling, the same webs drifting from the rafters. The monster was waving a flag in front of her face and she didn't realize it. Between the webs and the sunken state of Alice's body, Cherie had a pretty clear idea of what she'd be facing up top.

She didn't exactly loathe spiders, but she was not a fan either.

"Will you walk into my parlor, said the Spider to the Fly," said Cherie.

"What was that?" Lizzy's tone was waspish, her expression tense.

"Nothing, just a poem the Sisters like to read to us." Cherie shifted her grip on the poker, placing her foot on the first step. The wood creaked beneath her weight while the webs vibrated. If the monster was up there, it already knew they were coming. She took another step, using the poker to slice a path through the webs. "Will it see you?"

"Yes," said Lizzy, "though I'll probably just annoy it more than anything."

Cherie took a steadying breath. "I'm still glad you're here." Glad that she wasn't doing this alone.

"Me too," said Lizzy a beat later.

Neither of them spoke as they continued upward. If Cherie held any doubts they were in the right place they disappeared as her vision crested above the upper landing. The first sight to greet her were the missing girls, what was left of them. Nine cocoons of webbing, gauzy wrapping for the grisly package within. Alice appeared sunken, hollowed out inside. It was nothing compared to the others. The bodies were crumbling, desiccated beyond recognition, nothing left but peeling skin and bone.

Her stomach gave a treacherous roll as she realized the monster hadn't finished with Alice. Why leave the body out? It didn't make sense.

Cherie swallowed the bile creeping up her throat and forced herself to look away from the ruined bodies, catching sight of Sister Joan unconscious on the floor by the window. The monster crouched beside her, its back to Cherie. It knew she was there, it had to know. It just didn't consider her a threat.

She kept the poker loose at her side as she stepped onto the floor. "Hello Jenny."

Lizzy stifled a gasp, her hands over her mouth, as she looked between Cherie and the monster. It turned toward them, the familiar features of the face Cherie once loved like a sister set in unreadable mask.

"You haven't called me that since the first day," said the monster, its voice soft.

Cherie remembered that day well. Jenny had been missing for two weeks at that point, when she showed up at the front door to the orphanage. As if nothing had happened. She'd stood blithely while the Sisters scolded and yelled. Cherie thought she was playing dumb to keep the punishment to a minimum. She didn't know until later, when they were alone, when she finally got a good look at the eyes she'd known most of her life, that her best friend was gone. There was a monster wearing her skin.

"I didn't think there was anything left of her," said Cherie, twirling the poker between her fingers. The monster's eyes followed the movement but the blank expression didn't change. "Why the bell tower?"

Monster Jenny shrugged. "The body remembers."

Cherie's jaw clenched but she refused to show any other reaction. If Monster Jenny could keep up an emotionless mask, then so could she, no matter how much she ached inside. No matter that she wondered how much of the real Jenny was still in there.

"I can't let you hurt Sister Joan," said Cherie, taking a step toward them. "I can't let you hurt anyone else."

"I wasn't going to hurt the Sister," said Monster Jenny. "I never take more than my fill."

"Then why take her at all," snapped Cherie, driving her point home with a thrust of the poker. "Why leave Alice out like a discarded wrapper?"

The monster twitched at the movement of the poker. "I already told you, I didn't move her," it said, flashing an annoyed glance over Cherie's shoulder. "And I didn't bring the nun up here."

"But then who--" Cherie glanced back to find Lizzy gone.

Sister Joan groaned, sitting up as she rubbed a visible bruise peeking out from her hairline. "Girls? What's going on? Why are we--" The Sisters words shuddered to a halt as her eyes caught sight of the cocoons. She screamed, scrambling to her feet, her hands up, as if she could fend off the horror of the truth. She backed up against the window, her voice dropping to a breathless shriek as she sucked in more air. The monster watched the Sister's reaction with frank curiosity, head cocked to the side. The Sister's life was still very much in danger. Cherie moved to intervene, brandishing the poker before her as the nun began to scream again.

Lizzy appeared between them. Cherie puzzled over what the ghost could do to protect the Sister, when the girl turned and gave Sister Joan a shove.

It happened so fast, too fast. The woman was already off balance and the window sill was just low enough for her to tumble right out of it. The fall jolted the scream from her lungs. She fell from the window in silence.

Cherie recovered from the shock a moment later. "No!" She ran for the window, heedless of Lizzy's presence. She caught a glimpse of Sister Joan's broken body on the ground below before something slammed behind her. Cherie whirled around the staircase sealed off by the entry way trapdoor. Lizzy stood on top of it.

The hurt was a rod of ice in her chest but Cherie gripped the poker tight as she faced the ghost. "You were the one who moved Alice." Her shoulders tensed as she kept herself from looking at the window. "You brought Sister Joan up here."

"Yes," said Lizzy, her fingers tracing along the support beam by the stairwell. "I wondered when you'd put it all together. You seemed so smart."

Cherie clenched her teeth until her jaw ached. "Why?"

Lizzy glared at her. "You knew who the monster was from the beginning and you let it keep killing, keep feeding for months," she hissed. Her pale lips curled into a sneer as she looked at the monster. "Now I know why. Your pathetic sentiments kept you from action. You needed a push."

The monster gave a snort. "Awfully self righteous of you," it muttered.

The pieces began to click into place, forming an awful picture that made her stomach churn. "There were a lot of files on Sister Joan's desk. Old ones."

Lizzy's smile wasn't sad now, only cruel. "There you are, smart girl."

So many missing girls, from decades ago. The monster was encroaching on claimed hunting ground.

"So where do you hide the bodies?"

"A little here, a little there," said Lizzy, flicking her fingers at Cherie. "I brought up here to finish things. Do get on with it."

As if the monster would just stand still and let her kill it. It snarled at Lizzy's words. The sound of tearing cloth filled the air. Cherie ducked to the side as something scuttled behind her, the drumming sound of too many legs tapping across the floor. Adrenaline kicked in, helping her tumble out of the way as a shadow descended, slicing the air she'd occupied a moment ago. Pulse pounding in her ears, Cherie blindly swung with the poker. She barely clipped something, but it was enough to make the monster howl in pain. The scent of burning flesh made her gag.

A bar slammed into her middle, knocking the air from her lungs and sending her flying.

Cherie clung to the poker for dear life. If she lost it now, she knew she'd die.

She landed hard, slamming into the wall. The impact jarred her bones. Her head smacked back into plaster, a burst of pain that grayed her vision. The floor came up a second later, a secondary sting. The poker knocked against her knees. The bruises would be worth it if she survived this. A massive shape hurtled towards her out of the shadows. There was no time to do anything but thrust the poker up in front of her.

She felt the impact jolt up her arms, felt the moment the poker pierced through flesh. Momentum drove the poker deep as the monster impaled itself. The body shuddered, going still. Cherie's vision cleared, looking up at the monster's true form. A melding of spider and human, terrible and beautiful in the way of all deadly things. The face was still Jenny's, augmented by extra eyes and spider fangs. The poker pushed through the monster's chest, a fatal blow. Except, in that moment, it wasn't a monster anymore.

Jenny's eyes gazed down at her, full of sorrow and regret. "I'm sorry I took your friend," she said. She choked as a trickle of blood dribbled from her mouth. She leaned closer, her voice a broken whisper. "Iron...dispels...ghosts."

The words were her final effort as her eyes glazed over. The body toppled over, too heavy and ungainly. The spider's legs curled up in a position of death. The poker was still embedded in her chest.

Cherie stayed against the wall, shaking and gasping for air. Across the room, Lizzy clapped with an excited squeal. "Well done!"

She stared at the ghost, seeing the malevolent light in her eyes. Why did it take her so long to see it?

"I thought you were my friend," she said.

Lizzy pursed her lips. "I am your friend. Believe it or not, I like you, Cherie. Your loneliness called to me. I felt you were a kindred spirit. Someone who'd protect my secrets." She hopped off the trap door, lifting it with ease. "Now come on. I doubt you want to be up here when they discover this lovely little massacre."

Cherie glanced at the remains of Jenny. The monstrous body was already beginning to dissolve. Jenny's face was serene. Her friend was finally, completely at peace.

Iron dispels ghosts. She ripped her necklace free.

Cherie wrapped the iron cross around her fist. "I'm coming."