Chapter 14:

The Fire

Warning: this chapter contains violence and themes one may find disturbing. You have been warned.

Spectra sighed as she set up her tripod, hooking up her camera and switching it on. On the couch facing the camera were the Weaver children, who were all seated and, hopefully, ready to answer questions. Once the camera was recording, Spectra took a seat and began to interview.

"All right children," she started, clearing her throat. "You're already a month into your reformation program, and we still have only vague details on your causes of death. Are you ready to shed some light on the 1924 Fire?"

The children all exchanged glances, and Tim held up his head. "I can start," once the attention was focused on him, he unfurled the beginning of a story that Spectra, nor anyone else, would ever forget.

The events of the fire went as follows.

It all began at 10:00 PM. The night was dark and cold, and the children were all asleep in bed while Mary did the laundry and John smoked his pipe while listening to the radio. All was quiet, all was average, until there was a clatter.

The other children heard the sound, but Tim just slept on until Tom shook him awake. "Tom?" Tm sat up, his brow furrowing when he saw the other children standing in the hallway and Tom's anxious expression. "What is it? What's going on?"

Tom pointed down the hallway. "Noise," he half whispered, sounding terrified. "Something's wrong!"

As Tim got out of bed, the sounds of obnoxious yelling suddenly burst from the living room, and Caleb was the one to run ahead of the others to see what was going on. Caleb then witnessed John, his father, attempt to strike Mary with a frying pan, but he missed, and Mary made a loud hissing sound and acted like she was going to bite him.

"Don't you dare try and act like this isn't your fault!" John was shouting as he took a step back. "You're the reason why they're coming!You let a demon into our bed and had those Goddamn kids, and if anyone should suffer the consequences, it should be you!"

"John!" Mary began to sob, hiding her face. "I swear to you, it was no demon!"

"Then who was it!?" John snapped, snatching up her wrist. John then noticed Caleb standing in the doorway, and he released Mary. "Caleb, go to bed!"

Caleb, however, did not move. "But Papa, who's coming?"

John just gripped the frying pan in his hand while rocking back and forth slowly. "The church...the church is coming..."

"The church?" Caleb was confused. "Why is the church coming?

"Because of me!" Mary suddenly wailed, collapsing. "Oh, God, forgive me! They'll come and...oh, who knows what they'll do!"

Caleb just thought this over. "Well...I know! I can run to Pastor's house! I can tell him-"

"No!" John banged the frying pan on the table, making Caleb jump. "I won't let you go into those woods! I forbid you! You may be strong and fast, but none of us can run from this!"

When he said this, Lillian began to cry, and Mary's eyes rested on Tim and Tom. After a moment, she stood up slowly. "I know what to do," she spoke quietly as she moved forward. "I know to cleanse my sin,"

She grabbed Tim and Tom rather suddenly, dragging them towards the door. "Mama!" yelped Tim, struggling in her grip. "Mama, wait! Mama!"

Once they were outside, Mary nearly threw both of her sons on the grass, shouting, "Stay out here, boys! You have to stay out here, and you can't come in, not now or ever!"

"What!?" as Mary started to walk away, Tim grabbed her arm. "But, Mama, why!? Why can't we come home again? Mama, why can't we come home?"

She ignored him, but both boys saw her shoulders trembling as she went to the door. Tim tried again, near to tears.

"Don't you love us anymore?" Mary still did not answer, so he tried once more. "Haven't you talked to Papa?"

Mary suddenly slammed the door shut, and Tom just let out a soft, sad "Oh..."

The winter winds blew harshly on both boys, and Tim shuddered. "It's so cold out here..." he looked out into the woods, where a group of figures were emerging from far away. "Oh, no," Tim grabbed his brother, yanking him in the direction of the shed. "Come on, in the shed!"

In the house, Benny watched as John firmly locked the front door. "Should I pray, Papa?" asked Benny, and John nodded.

"Yes, Benny. Go pray, and pray very hard," as Benny walked away, John picked up Lillian and pressed her close. "Lilly, you must promise that you will not cause any trouble,"

Lillian looked up at her father, nodding. "Yes, Papa," just then, there was a banging on the door, and Lillian gasped. "Papa! The door!"

The banging sounded again, and John pushed Lillian behind him. "Stay back," he warned softly, turning to the door. "Who's out there!?"

"It's us!" a woman's voice called back. "Where is your wife?!"

"In here," answered John, gripping on to Mary's shoulders and pushing her towards the door. "Just take her and leave!"

When Mary screamed in protest, the door handle began to click. After a few minutes of clicking, the door swung open, and there stood a group of people in various masks and hoods. Though their identities were concealed, the children knew that these were people they went to church with. However, leading this group was a woman in a black dress, with thick and curly blond hair. The children swore they'd never seen her before, but as she confronted Mary, she said the following:

"You think you can act innocent? You think you can act like nothing is wrong? You are sorely mistaken, Mary Thatcher-Weaver! The father of those demon children of yours is my husband, and it disgusts me that you think you can get away with what you did, and what you are!"

Mary cowered in the corner, looking helpless. "But...he told me he wasn't married!"

"Probably because he was afraid," the woman clenched her fist, glaring with bright green eyes. "After all you seduced him!"

"Me!?" Mary's voice cracked. "P-please, listen-"

The woman silenced her again. "Mary, I grow tired of your lies! We already know what you are, and we think you should tell your husband!"

"No!" Mary hid her face once more. "I can't!"

In the shed, Tom looked outside and saw the lights on. Something was wrong.

"Mama," Tom murmured, and Tim heard him.

"What?" Tim went to join him, taking his arm. "Tom, we can't-"

Just then, there were a series of gunshots, and they heard Caleb and Lillian screaming. Tom jolted, and he limped to the door hastily. Tim followed. "Tom, wait!"

In the house, a masked man had pulled a gun out and had fired some warning shots, but no one was hit. John had just about enough of this, and he grabbed his own gun. "I don't want to shoot anyone!" he warned, loading the weapon. "Mary, just confess! Please!"

Just then, someone in the crowd let out a yelp, and there was a 'pang' sound. Everyone turned to look, and it was Tom. He'd hit a woman in the head with a shovel, and he was standing there staring at everyone with a menacing look. There was a pause, and the woman in the black dress crossed her arms, looking amused.

"Brave young cripple, isn't he?" there was another long pause, and she said curtly, "Kill him,"

Three men all seized Tom at once, descending on him like a pack of wolves descends on an injured deer. As they began to drag him off, Tim ran up and tried to stop them.

"No, stop!" Tim tried to run after them, but another man held him back. "Let go! Stop! Tom!" the man threw Tim before his mother, and Tim looked up at Mary. "Mama, how could you let them take him!?" she didn't answer, so he turned back to find Tom again. "Bring him back! If you hurt him, I'll hurt you!"

As Mary and John stood in their kitchen, with Benny praying feverishly in the corner and Lillian and Caleb hiding under the table, the woman in black reached forward and got Mary by the chin. "Dearest Mary," her voice was sickeningly sweet. "Why can't you just confess your sins?"

Mary stared into the woman's eyes, completely silent. Suddenly, with a quick motion of her hand, Mary knocked over the lit lantern and sent the fire spilling forth from its glass chamber, setting the wooden floor ablaze. The woman jumped, and quickly retreated outside with her other companions.

As soon as the fire began to spread, John quickly rushed to the old sink to collect enough water. "Benny!" he barked. "Take your brother and sister outside! Keep them safe!"

What happened next was unclear. As the three children rushed outside, Benny turned back just in time to see John slam the door to the house shut, locking Mary inside with the fire. Benny tried to call for both of their parents, but to no avail. John ran off to the shed, ignoring his children's cries.

Tim had lost sight of the men who'd taken Tom, but he encountered the woman in the black dress for the final time. "Who are you!?" he yelled, swinging at the woman but missing each time. "Where's my brother!?"

"That's none of your concern, child," the woman seized Tim's arms and twisted them behind his back. "Now, go home!" with that, she turned him around and shoved him in the direction of the fire.

All Tim could remember was a burning sensation on his skin and the muffled sound of his mother's screaming. He couldn't see anything, and all he could do was grope around aimlessly until he felt someone's body beneath his hand, and he heard a cough. "T-Tim..." it was Tom.

Tim began to cough himself, though this cough was uncontrollable. He grasped onto his brother and wheezed over and over until he could no longer breathe, and his lungs just stopped working all together.

Further away, Lillian had separated from her two brothers since they'd told her to go to the village. They'd figured that, because she was so small, the attackers would not notice her running away. However, they did, and someone grabbed her. Lillian did not know who, but they dragged her to the well and tossed her inside. She did not elaborate about her experience in the well.

As Benny and Caleb were looking for a place to escape, Benny noticed the water tower. "Here, Caleb!" he reached up and began to climb up the water tower. "I'll-I'll get up here, and I'll pull you up," He didn't get very far, as his foot slipped rather abruptly and he plummeted down, landing right on his neck.

Caleb gasped as his brother lay motionless on the ground after the fall, but he didn't check to see if he was alive. When he heard the voices of the attackers, he bolted off, leaving Benny behind.

This was when Caleb noticed the shovel Tom had left behind earlier, and he grabbed it with a certain idea in mind. He ran to a cluster of trees, where he began to dig a hole in the ground. His plan was to create a hiding place, where he could hide away from the attackers until morning.

Yet, once he'd finished the hole, he began to think about the others, and this made him weep bitterly. He just stood there and sobbed, staring into the hole he'd just made and dropping the shovel. Right after he'd dropped the shovel, a voice behind him said his name.

"Caleb?"

Caleb turned around, seeing Pastor McAlroy standing there holding an empty paper bag. "Pastor!" Caleb ran to him and grabbed him, crying out, "S-someone came, Pastor! They came and...and they...they-!"

"Calm down, Caleb," McAlroy stroked his hair, turning him around to look back at the hole. "Just keep calm, Caleb. Everything will be fine, son,"

What happened next wasn't exactly clear, as Caleb could only give the following description: "He...he put something over my head. It was paper, I think. Yeah, a paper bag, and he shoved me and I fell in the hole. I took the bag off, but he was covering me with dirt and I couldn't stand up,"

According to the authorities, the children's bodies were never found.

Spectra slowly reached up to switch the camera off, her fingers trembling. "T-thank you, kids. I'm...I'm so sorry,"

The children seemed slightly uncomfortable after sharing their story, and Jared seemed to be thinking very hard about something. "Wait...you said your pastor's last name was 'McAlroy'?"

Tim nodded. "Yes, and Tom and I killed him when Caleb told us what he did. We don't know if-"

"You guys," Jared cut in, anxious. "I...I saw him,"

The children all looked up at once. "You did!?" Benny stood up. "Where!?"

"In the bathroom," explained Jared. "He tried to come in through the window, he was looking for you,"

There was a silence, and the children looked at one another. After a moment, Caleb whispered, "He followed us here,"

Spectra could no longer stand it, and she burst into tears. "Oh, you poor kids!" She scooped up Lillian, holding her close while sobbing. "Out of all the stories I've had to cover, this has to be the worst! Don't worry, we'll find who did this!"

Lillian wriggled away from Spectra, jumping down and asking, "But what can we do? I think that lady might be dead, now,"

Wiping her eyes, Spectra stated factually, "If being a ghost has taught me anything, it's that death is not the barrier we think it is,"