-Chapter 1-
A figure sat hunched over, a dull blue blanket placed haphazardly over her shoulders. Dirty blonde hair spilled over the blanket as fingers ran through the ratty strands in an attempt to untangle the knots that had formed. Suddenly the sound of footsteps entered the room.
"Shelby Miller?"
The blonde looked up, her tired eyes falling on the man standing in uniform by the door. The man gestured for Shelby to follow him as to which she slowly got up to follow. They walked down a dimly lit hallway, the flickering lights casting shadows across the wall. Shelby pulled the blanket tighter to her body, but it seemed that the further she walked down the hall, the colder she got. The man stopped in front of a metal door with only a small square of glass serving as a window before opening the door. Shelby muttered a small thanks as she made her way into the room. The room was nearly desolate minus the plain metal table and two chairs that occupied the middle of the room. Shelby made her way to one of the chairs before she grabbed the back of the chair. The metal was cool to her touch but it still felt as though it really wasn't in her grasp. In fact, none of this seemed real. She vaguely remembered riding in the back of a police car but her memories were foggy beyond that. It was the clearing of a throat that brought Shelby back to where she was.
"Sorry."
The man gave her a small smile.
"It's quite alright. I'm sure this is a lot to process."
Shelby sat down in the chair, the coolness of the metal seeping through her clothes. Why couldn't she get warm? It was as if her body was filled to the brim with an unshakeable numbness. The man cleared his throat once more and Shelby fixed her attention on him.
"I'm sorry. I-I just don't understand why I'm here."
The man nodded along as he placed a folder that Shelby hadn't seen him carry onto the table's surface.
"What happened?"
The man's gaze met Shelby's and she could feel his surprise at her questions.
"That's precisely why you're here Mrs. Miller. After the horrific events you've endured, I'm sure you are going through a hefty amount of shock."
Shelby let the words sink in. Horrific events. That's right. It was as if those two simple words that shouldered such specificity had unlocked a door in her mind she wasn't aware she had locked.
"Before we start the process of what happened exactly, I want you to know that if you need to take a break at any time, just say so and you may step out of the room."
The man paused but Shelby gave no response so he continued.
"To start, my name is David and if I overstep any boundaries whether it be by furthering the recalling of your memories by questions, please say so."
Shelby nodded, but she wasn't listening. Her mind was running at what seemed to be a million miles a second as she began to process everything. She remembered the police car, but there was something else, the sound of silent sobbing. Shelby unconsciously lifted her hand to her shoulder as she felt the bulk of bandages beneath her bloodied sweater. When had that happened?
"Mrs. Miller?"
Shelby looked at the man, a small frown gracing her lips as she toyed with frayed edges of the blanket she wore.
"Who else came in?"
"What do you mean?"
Shelby shook her head.
"There was someone else in the police car."
David nodded as he caught on.
"There was. The other person that was with you when the police arrived at the scene. Audrey Tindall, I believe."
Shelby's head snapped up at the mention of the name of the British actress.
"Where is she? Is she okay?!" Shelby questioned, her voice rising as a sense of panic gripped her gut.
David held up his hands as though the movement would calm Shelby.
"I assure you she is safe. However, you two will be questioned about the events separately for er- safety reasons."
But Shelby wasn't that dense. She knew the police would've found it to be incredibly strange to find two battered women, bloodied and injured on a property with all other residents dead. They wanted to make sure their stories matched up.
"Anyways, how about we move onto-"
"What happened?" Shelby finished, already knowing where the direction of the conversation would be going.
David nodded, his hands going to his tie to loosen it a little. Shelby's gaze dropped as she studied her dirtied hands, even more, grime and faded copper droplets covering her pale skin. Taking a deep breath she forced herself to meet David's eyes.
"It all started when…."
Audrey frowned as she fidgeted in her chair, the incessant droning of the lights driving her absolutely crazy. She had been brought into what looked like a waiting room a while ago and yet no one had come to fetch her. She remembered being with Shelby in the police car, the poor girl an absolute mess from the events that had unfolded. Granted lots of things had happened during that horrible night, but the way Lee had gone off had completely shocked Audrey.
"Mrs. Tindall?"
Audrey's head snapped up at the sound of her name and she was filled with irritation at the calmness of the man's voice.
"It's about bloody time! How long do I have to wait in here?"
The man winced at the shrill tone of Audrey's voice but he held up his hand in some sort of an apology.
"We're sorry about that. We had to first fill out things before we could begin."
"Begin what exactly?"
"I'll explain when we are in the room, Mrs. Tindall."
Audrey frowned, her mind swirling with questions as she followed the man out of the hall. As they made their way to the room, Audrey tried to make sense of where exactly she was. They passed a few metal doors, all of which were closed with no occupants that she could see inside. The man came to a sudden stop and Audrey caught herself before she ran into him.
"After you."
Audrey bit her lip as she entered the room, her eyes falling upon its practically barren amount of decor. An interrogation room. Of all places, it had to be this?
"You must be joking."
The man raised a questioning brow as he shook his head.
"This" Audrey started, her arms gesturing to the set up "is absolutely insane."
"Mrs. Tindall, I just need you to take a seat and I'll explain everything.' The man said as he made his way over to a chair.
Audrey, however, was not having any of it. She sat down, but as soon as she did, she shot a glare at the man across from her.
"Um," the man began, his forehead beginning to glisten as he started to sweat underneath the intensity of Audrey's unimpressed gaze.
"You and Mrs. Miller were brought here. Do you remember-"
"Hold on just a bloody moment." Audrey suddenly stated.
The man's voice faltered at the firmness of Audrey's tone.
"What makes you think you can just sit me down and question me? This isn't a chat Mr. Also, for a police station, you are all horribly inconsiderate."
The man's expression shifted to confusion at Audrey's statement.
"I'm not sure I know what you mean."
Audrey threw her hands up in exasperation before letting out a sharp cry of pain. Her right shoulder throbbed causing white sparks to fly across her vision.
"Are you alright?!" The man asked, suddenly appearing by Audrey's side.
"Oh, I am absolutely fabulous!"
'"Really?" he questioned as he leaned closer.
"Of course I'm not fine you nitwit! Clearly, there is something wrong with my arm." Audrey cried as she tried to further herself from the closeness of the man.
Much to Audrey's delight, the man stepped away, but it wasn't because of Audrey moving. No, his eyes were wide and he seemed paler than before. Audrey felt a little pang of sympathy believing that she had maybe intimidated the man too much, but her mind quickly changed as she realized the man wasn't meeting her eyes, but that his gaze was on her shoulder.
"What? What is it?" She asked, her accent getting heavier with the panic she felt, the man's incredulous stare enough to tell her something was wrong.
Audrey attempted to see her shoulder and when she did, she practically blanched at the sight. She had a large cut in her shoulder, the ripped edges of her dress stained in blood and dirtied beyond repair. At that moment, she became fully aware of the throbbing, the pain growing with every passing second. How had she not noticed it before? Her hand was shaking as she placed it on the table to steady herself. The man had run out of the room to fetch a medic leaving Audrey alone in the room. She frowned as she rubbed her mouth which was beginning to become a little bit of a nuisance. It was yet another thing the police had neglected, not that Audrey felt obligated to talk about the torture of having her tooth ripped out. The door opened and Audrey turned to see a woman in white with medical supplies enter the room.
"You better be a trained professional." Audrey said as she eyed the woman warily.
"Don't worry ma'am. I am trained and certified."
Audrey let out a grunt as she sat down.
"Don't call me ma'am"
The woman muttered a quick apology before she began to attend to Audrey's wound. Audrey winced but she had to admit, the woman made quick work of attending to her, not that Audrey would say that aloud though.
"So," the man started once Audrey's wounds were dressed and the woman had left "do you mind if we start now?"
Audrey shot the man a glare.
"Eager to hear about my suffering, aren't you?"
The man didn't respond but he was obviously uncomfortable. Audrey sighed before she continued.
"No matter. The sooner I do this, the quicker I can get out."
The man nodded, happy to see that the actress was finally going to go along with this. Audrey leaned back in the chair before she brushed her bangs back.
"Well, none of us believed it at first but that house was truly evil. I guess you could say things changed when I found Shelby…."
{Flashback}
-A few days before - Roanoke house, North Carolina-
Was there still an ounce of hope for Shelby? At least she didn't think so, as she let herself slip down to the floor of the gloomy room. The dim lighting only worsened her state, and Dominic's attempts at keeping her conscious weren't of any help. All she wanted was to breathe. Breathe. Free herself from this place that she was imprisoned in and these thoughts that had crawled into her mind. It was as if her entire body had gone numb, all she could feel was the cold wooden handle of the knife she'd been holding onto for a while. She tried to gather her thoughts but her vision was becoming more and more blurry. A loud distorted scream coming from downstairs caused Dominic to rush out of the room, leaving Shelby who was already on the edge of the abyss. That scream surely wasn't human-like, but did that really matter?
He wasn't coming back. Shelby knew it. She would've thought that he would've at least had the courage to rid her of the deadly weapon, but he had just left her there. Now, what would she do? Wait for the sweet relief of death? She couldn't bear to wait that long. With the little energy that she had left, she slowly started raising the knife over her head until her arm was fully extended, ready to end it all at any moment. The noises around her didn't seem to affect her, as all of her attention was focused on the final act she was about to perform. One tiny effort, one last effort, and she would be free. Shelby was longing for the cold caress of the sharp blade against her skin, expecting the agony of the blood streaming out of her wound, she could almost visualize her body lifelessly laying on the wooden floor.
All of a sudden, a hand swiftly grabbed the knife from hers out of her grasp before throwing it to the side, the loud clatter of it enough to tell Shelby it couldn't be reached.
The screams were unbearable. Audrey had never heard such things, yet it was safe to say that she'd been through an utter amount of trauma during her life. She had only just passed through the front door when the resemblance of a pig-headed man came stumbling towards her, brandishing a blood-covered ax. Promptly changing directions to avoid the devilish beast, Audrey ran. Each step that Audrey took could be her last, and who knew what she would come upon at the next corner. To say that she was petrified would be a clear understatement. She was moving through the mansion with no actual awareness of her path, she subconsciously grabbed a metal bar that had probably been discarded by one of those creatures.
Instinctively rushing through the hallway and up the stairs, Audrey called out, desperately seeking a sign of life. Lee wasn't far behind, she followed her with her phone still recording the scene. Turning around to face her, Audrey could sense that the woman wasn't entirely dedicated to finding any of their companions.
"Oh for heaven's sake Lee, turn the bloody thing off!"
The bathroom door had swung open, revealing what seemed to be a woman's body.
"Oh my God! Oh my God! Shelby!" Audrey cried out, the tears filling her eyes making it even more difficult for her to perceive the situation and to act upon it.
Audrey let her body fall to the floor in front of the unconscious-looking body. She turned to Lee in despair, her heart filled with anguish.
"Do something, Lee!"
She screamed, shocked by the woman's lack of reaction, who was more concentrated on her filming than on the actual events. As soon as she saw the body on her screen, Lee let the phone slip through her fingers and rushed to Shelby. She rid her of the blade she was holding and knelt in front of the woman, holding her in her arms, while Audrey was still moaning about what was going on. At the sound of Audrey's cries, Monet appeared at the door
"What in the living hell is going on down here?"
Lee tilted her head to meet the woman's gaze, feeling a little relieved by Monet's presence. At least someone was here to help, unlike that spoiled brat who wouldn't stop crying, Lee thought. She picked up a towel and started pressing it against Shelby's shoulder to try and sponge up the blood running down her arm. Monet approached as Lee gestured to her.
"Here, help me with this."
Gathering her thoughts, Audrey got up and crouched herself in front of Shelby, pushing aside the two women, to their surprise.
"Let me take care of it."
"Are you out of your mind? The woman doesn't even know what she's doing!" Lee spat in her usual blunt tone, raising an eyebrow at Monet as if Audrey wasn't presently there.
"Well, if this is a death wish, I'll leave you to it!"
The British woman retorted as she raised her hands and retreated, implying that she could leave them to do this themselves.
Lee looked up at Monet who simply rolled her eyes and sighed, indicating that they'd be better off not interfering with Audrey's actions.
Audrey held the soaked towel to try and stop the uncontrollable bleeding. She held Shelby tightly and nestled the woman's head into her neck. She whispered softly, attempting to get a reaction from her.
"Shelby. Follow my voice."
She could feel the light shaking of the woman's body, to which her response was to hug her even tighter. Caressing her head, Audrey placed a strand of blonde hair behind Shelby's ear, so that she could see her face. Her eyes filled with dread at the sight of the scar covered skin. Audrey discarded the bloodied towel before she reached for a fresh towel with a loud sigh.
As her gaze went back to the wound, Shelby slightly shifted her arm. Audrey whispered a small "yes" under breath, tilting the woman's chin up so that she could she was facing her. Eyelids fluttered softly, Audrey was ready to meet Shelby's stare at any moment.
"You're doing very good. Come on, you can do this."
Her breath hitching, Shelby was gasping for air. Lee and Money rushed up to her, but kept their distances, as they knew Audrey would wish so. Meanwhile, the roaring seemed to get closer and closer. Shelby's eyes were still shut, loud coughs escaping her lips. When she finally managed to open her eyes, her gaze immediately met Audrey's, who responded with a wide smile. The actress didn't bother to wipe her tears, she squeezed Shelby's hand softly.
"Can you get up, dear?"
Shelby grunted at her unsuccessful attempt. Audrey gestured at the two women behind her, who helped her stand her up. Shelby leaned on Audrey's shoulder to keep her balance, gasping at the pain that Agnes had caused earlier on. Lee and Monet leading, they rapidly made their way to the ground floor, covering their ears. Audrey stumbled to the door with Shelby's arm over her shoulder, the woman shutting her eyes to avoid the gruesome sight.
They had to escape this living hell. Just a simple nod and they were already running out into the wilderness, chased by a tribe of burning torches.