"How many angels are there?" Kelly asked, looking around the room. "This dick killed all these girls and you are worried about keeping him alive, Julia?" Kelly was shocked at the amount of people at the table. All shapes and sizes and walks of life that he'd plucked from normal lives and subjected to horrors beyond her comprehension. She had to take a breaks and was emotionally overwhelmed. "I can't watch anymore of this. No. I'm done."
Kelly left the table and hid in the living room in relative quiet with the hum of voices over her shoulder and to her back. The silent pain in that room was deafening. The tears being shed by those she'd made aware was freeing for the victims, but a nightmare for Kelly. Julia was on her heels into the sofa where she sat, holding her head as images of bondage and degradation and humiliation tumbled through the facets of her mind.
"Kelly I understand, but it's important." Julia plead with her.
"No!" She screamed at Julia. "No more. You do it."
"If I could, Kelly, then I would."
"You don't understand. I cant see or feel one more neck breaking."
"I do understand." Julia argued. She took Kelly's hands and held them in hers tightly so she couldn't let go. "Look with me. See why it's so important to me, for us."
"Great, who then?"
"Me."
Julia felt Kelly flow through her, tingling energy through the fingertips and up her arms and to the brain where Julia's memory opened up for her. Kelly didn't say anything aloud like she did with the others as she sensed that Julia's memory held secrets that even she didn't admit to herself.
Tavin and Jayson and Chess stood by the sofa, but far enough away not to disturb either of them.
"Kell, you there?"
"I'm watching." Kelly said quietly. Nearly a whisper. "Julia, you have secrets. Why don't you want anyone to know?" Kelly asked her quietly.
"Know what?" Jayson asked, stepping forward.
Julia's grip on Kelly tightened. "Keep watching." She urged. "Can't you skip this part?" Julia whined.
"You don't want to see it? Why don't-" Kelly said, but Julia disconnected from her. "You're the one that wants them to see the truth, but you don't wanna see your own?"
"I lived it, Kelly."
"The truth about what?" Jayson asked, standing by them.
"It's because you're here. Go away." Kelly said uncomfortable with their company. "I think they already know, Julia."
"No. I deserve to know." Jayson said.
Kelly took Julia's hands again. "No, Julia, go back. You're skipping over it. Is it important or not? It cant be worse than what I already saw."
Julia went back and let her see. Her stomach flopped and she felt nausea well up in the pit of her stomach. "Oh, I see."
"What do you see?" Jayson asked Kelly.
"Shut up, Jay, back off." Tavin said, guiding him away.
"Oh, we're back at the beginning. Julia, calm down." Kelly said starting to get annoyed. "Snow. Tracks in the snow. Screaming. Fear. She tastes his blood in her mouth. She screams. He finally got her. He feels this sense of achievement and it was so easy because you thought he was gone. He's dragging you by your hair. It hurts. You get thrown and you argue, you're stalling...the gun is in your face and you think you're going to die...He ties you down...the knife cuts off your clothes...and he bites your breasts. He hits you. He keeps biting. Fingers inside you. You're struggling to get free cause the straps around your wrists aren't that tight. You have to get your hands free cause it doesn't feel good...you feel him...they're fingers...you know that's not fingers, Julia...it hurts, he's inside you...no, Julia, you know what he's doing to you...she's focusing on her wrists and she tells herself that she's not feeling what she's feeling."
"He's raping me and he's gotta get off me." Julia and Kelly said together softly. Julia's voice broke with a sad ache.
Kelly continued. "They can't find me like this. Your wrists are free and you got his eyes. Jay said get his eyes, blind him. Get his eyes and push till your fingers go through as far as they can. Jay said it once. And you got your legs free. RUN. You're there, but you're too late. You let him get you. If she'd only stayed in the house or gone with you...Jay cut his throat and there's blood everywhere. But she's worried you won't want her or love her like you used to because he...tell them, him that everything's ok. He did save you...it's ok...just in time...burn it down, burn it down, take the books and the gun, Chess. Light it up and burn it down. He deserves this."
Julia snapped her hands away from Kelly. Her hands covered her mouth and she ran to the nearest trash can and hurled up her dinner. Julia finished hurling and dragged herself to her feet where she then sat on the bed in the room she had once shared with Jayson. She held her head in her hands, a splitting headache forming and she wondered how she'd be able to face them again. She sat for what seemed like an eternity before Jayson came in to get her.
"Jay, I don't know what to say?"
"Don't say anything." He said, kneeling on the floor in front of her. "I already knew." He whispered. "I sleep next to you every night. Well, I slept next to you for a lot of nights. The nightmares. The fear. I just knew even though you never told me. You weren't the same after that night."
"I'm still not the same." She said, her stomach dry heaving. She pointed to the trash can, which he handed off to her. "It just kinda fades over time, but it doesn't go away."
"I know."
"For this to work, it has to happen the same way all over again. Don't kill him. In fact, I don't want you three to even go there. I want you to stay outside and call 911 like you were already doing."
"What? We can't stand by and do nothing."
"Call 911 and I want you to wait for them and lead them to me and let them come in and do their job."
"The snow. It'll slow them down and -"
"Jayson, no. You have to separate yourself from me. Just call 911."
"You're going in alone?"
"I am not alone. That's what the angels are for."
"When?"
"When they're all aware and they're all ready. That's it."
"I doubt that I can do that."
"It's what I want. It releases you from your pain and your guilt. It takes the choice away from you."
"It takes your choice away from you all over again."
"I'll take one for the team, Jay. It's what leaders do." She laughed. "Don't you think the angels deserve a little sweet revenge?"
Julia spent extra time doting on Amanda. She hung out with her and separated her from the rest of the girls. Amanda was an innocent, like a sheep led to slaughter. She'd accepted what had happened and had forgiven him almost immediately. Amanda was her angel. Of all the stories in Caleb's diaries she'd read, she knew that she was the one that was the weakest, the sweetest and the absolute most gullible. She only saw the good in people. She prayed for Caleb Downing as those around her swarmed like bees around a hive of hate.
Amanda started to trust Julia almost instantly and she had no reservations accepting Julia, a fellow victim, as her friend. She was so trusting and Julia had reservations and pangs of guilt from the outset. Amanda was just a peanut of a girl. Only stood about five foot tall and she was thin and fragile. Kind of clumsy and Julia felt that she leaned on that cross of hers too much. She hadn't survived this long among the living and the dead to not know the truth; there is no God. Julia also knew there was a nugget of evil inside every human being. Or maybe there were people in the world that were pure and there were people in the world that were not. Julia knew absolutely that everyone was either born or not born into that purity, the kind of soul that does not hurt others. Amanda was born pure and was going to stay pure despite being defiled by a monster. Julia latched onto and chose Amanda because, if for no other reason, that she'd be forgiven in the end. Amanda would seek to pray for and forgive those who trespassed against her both in life and in death.
She coaxed Amanda over a few days, gaining her trust. While Kelly worked and made aware the rest of the girls, Julia worked on Amanda. She kept telling Amanda the stories of how they arrived to the farmhouse. She told her certain specific details, leaving out as much of the gory zombie stuff as possible and left out the history of her group. She didn't speak negatively of Caleb Downing and Julia sat and prayed for him with Amanda. As hard as it was not to have a physical reaction, Julia believed whatever Amanda said. She had a friends' night with Amanda and she dyed her hair red, they painted their nails and they had girl talk. She excluded the others on purpose. Amanda's hair was just light brown enough to take the red dye and hold it.
As the activity at the farmhouse wound down for the evening, she purposefully got Amanda in her room and allowed Chess to be her guinea pig. If it would work with her Chess, her husband, the love of her life, then it would work with anyone. Could he be fooled? She left her beneath a light blanket on the bed reading over passages in the bible and she asked Chess to join her in bed. Face to face, her Chess would know right away, but if her back was to him for a certain length of time...Julia slipped into Jay's room and hushed him as he and Jess lay together. "I won't be long. Shhh." Julia warned them. Chess passed Jay's room and Julia peered through the crease in the door into the hall way.
"What are you doing?" Jay asked.
Julia waited. "Listen." She whispered, crouching by the bed next to Jay. "Wait for it."
Quite a few minutes passed and Julia started to worry.
"What are we waiting for?" Jay groaned.
Amanda screamed.
"That." Julia sprung off the floor and walked into their room. Chess was standing in the corner, covering himself up. Amanda lay in shock in the bed, pulling the blanket over her body like a shield.
"Chess, what is going on here?" Julia asked.
"You-"
"What are you trying to do? Leave her alone. Oh, my gosh, Amanda, I apologize. Chess, what the heck were you thinking?"
"She looked just like you, Julia."
"You mean to tell me you couldn't tell the difference between this girl and your wife, Chester Morgan? How dare you?"
"Amanda, I am so sorry. Please believe me. I would never-I thought you were Julia."
"Chess, it was a mistake. It's alright."
"No, Amanda, sweetie. He's an ass. I-I, how could you do this, Chess? We were here reading and I go to the bathroom and this is what you do?"
"Julia, I am sorry. I thought she was you." Chess started to look panicked.
Julia feigned tears and stomped out of the room. She went through the addition and out the door at the end. She ran a distance for effect and wound up at the still where she sat on the crate and waited for her husband to ask her forgiveness and explain. She pulled a bottle off the wall and opened it. "God, forgive me." Julia asked, looking up at the night sky.
Chess had pulled on his shorts and followed her like she knew he would. "Baby, I swear to God. I am sorry. I had-"
"Stop, Chess. It's ok."
He dropped to his knees and put his hands on hers. He was shaking and she swore for a split second he had tears in his eyes. "I would never go out on you like that. She's looked just like you with and-."
"I know and I need to apologize to you, but it had to be done."
"What?"
"I set you up. Did you really think she was me? It's very important. Did you think she was me?"
"Yes."
"Thank God." Julia said, taking a drink of the hooch Chess had made. It didn't rot her teeth or anything. It was really quite sweet. "This is good, Chess."
"I know. I worked on the recipe a little. Thanks."
"Well, get off your knees and quit apologizing. I need to tell you the plan. I'm going straight to hell for this, Chess. I mean, if there was one."
Julia sat in her living room with Amanda. She fended of Amanda's questions as she hoped Kelly was in her place and ready for her part of the plan. Kelly was unaware until Julia pulled her there. Ordered her to stay put and do not move from her spot. For no reason was she to move her body from that spot. Just wait till I get to you.
"Where are we, Julia?" Amanda asked looking around the living room at the pictures on the wall. Julia and her dad, Julia and Jayson. The kids' pictures.
"This is a memory." Julia answered, "I like to come here from time to time. It's warm." Julia looked at the clock.
"It's nice, small and cozy."
"The snow's coming down still." Julia said, looking out her window. She waited nervously for it to let up. "I like to make snow angels when there's a few inches on the ground. Ever do that?"
"Yeah, when we were kids. My dad would take us sledding a lot on the hill by the grade school." Amanda answered.
As the snow let up a bit, Julia suggested that's just what they should do. Have fun. This world was so sad and evil and they should remember what it was like to be kids and have some fun.
"Amanda, sweetie, let's make some right now. Together."
Amanda pulled her coat on and her hat and her gloves and head toward the door. "You coming?"
"Yes. Let me go pee first. I'll be right out. Ok?"
Julia watched Amanda step outside into the winter night. Sober. Julia had been drunk. Julia slipped to the window and watched as Amanda made the angels and when she saw Caleb Downing emerge from the yard down the street, Julia took herself and her cell out the back door to meet Kelly by the play set. Julia moved to the side yard and as Caleb Downing abducted her raven haired twin, dragging her down the street, Julia opened the cell and dialed 9-1-1. She gave Kelly the thumbs up and Kelly channeled the angels to come to Amanda. Amanda's muffled screams could be heard only slightly as she struggled against him and his strength. Her squeals became whimpers and Julia slipped down the side of her house and saw him dragging her off the street into the yard. Julia hit send and when the dispatch answered, Julia reported an abduction and rape at the abandoned house at 200 Green Street.
"Who was abducted?"
"Her name is Julia Fry. Officer Ripkin knows her family. Caleb Downing has her." Julia disconnected the call and retreated to the back yard with Kelly who was channeling the angels to 200 Green Street.
They waited what seemed an eternity before the lights appeared, flashing, to Green Street. Officers from 3 patrol cars parked and officers, including Officer Ripkin, exited their vehicles and head into the abandoned home on Green Street. Caleb was too busy to notice the lights flashing. Too busy doing his evil to notice they were coming for him.
"Are the angels protecting her?" Julia asked.
Kelly didn't answer. She sat, eyes closed and concentrating. When they heard shots being fired, Julia took Kelly's hand and they jumped. The darkness in which they hurdled themselves, became light and she and Kelly separated.
She hadn't needed Jayson or Chess or Hayley. She only needed the angels and her psychic friend Kelly. She was present to absorb the guilt of what she'd done to an innocent girl. She prayed she was alive and coming home with them. She prayed they were all going home.
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