Vic's POV:
"But honestly, I think the light pink looked cute," Liv laughed.
"I thought the pink one was too big for me," I replied, watching the traction light pop on and off the Mustang dashboard as we trekked down a dirt road. The tires Jed had put on were great for drifting, but for some reason, they weren't holding up too well in the dirt.
"Yeah, it was, that's why I took it from your closet," Liv smirked. I shot her an annoyed glance, watching her laugh again.
"Are we there yet?" Luke asked, "We're even more in the middle of nowhere than before,"
"Yeah, just a few more minutes," I replied, following the cones to the rest of the parking lot. I could see several small carnival rides, all of which looked like they were assembled within a few hours. We were in the middle of the Nevada desert, which was a great spot for a fair. The last time I was at a county fair was when Mom and Dad were still together. I distinctly remember winning one of the carnival games and not receiving a prize for it because they had 'run out'. Pulling the parking brake, I exited from the car into the scorching hot desert sun.
"Man, we're really out here," Liv spoke, shielding her eyes from the sun.
"We're still in Nevada, right?" Luke asked, pulling his beanie over his eyes.
"Yep," I sighed, shutting the driver's side door. Nick had his Aviators on, so the sun didn't seem to bother him too badly. After locking the car, we followed the other random families towards the entrance. I kept my eyes facing forward, trying not to look suspicious. I had gotten away with a false identity for nearly a year now, but I still didn't want to risk it. Keeping my conversations with the outside world to a minimum helped me keep my anxiety at bay.
"Have you ever been here?" I asked Liv, who was stumbling through the reeds with her platform sneakers.
"A few times when I was younger, you? Luke?" Liv asked back. Luke shook his head while I nodded.
"Speakin' of which, you're gonna get heatstroke with that beanie," I told Luke, who was sulking behind the rest of us.
"I'll be fine," Luke replied. We soon reached the entrance, finding ourselves behind a rowdy family of ten, eight children total. They kept backing up into me, which was really irritating. The majority of them had to be under six, so I had to cut them some slack there. Behind our group, a teen couple stood patiently. Once it was finally our turn, Liv showed her cracked phone screen bearing the tickets to the angsty-looking teenager at the counter.
"ID?" He asked, looking towards Liv. Liv sighed, fumbling around in her pocket. After she pulled her driver's license, the teen didn't even bother to check it.
"Wrists," He spoke in a monotone voice, as Liv held her wrist forward. The teen clumsily stuck wristbands on each of our wrists. Nick maintained uncomfortable eye contact with him, which made the teen work even quicker to get us out of the line. Inside the fair, I took note of the layout. Several stands lined the sides, each of them bearing either some hand-made bath products, strange and slightly inappropriate cosplay clothes, or random games that I was tempted to try my hand at. There were several random travel rides in the middle of the fair, all with out-of-state license plates. Other than that, the place was surrounded by absolute nothingness on all four sides.
"Well," Liv spoke above the screaming shouts of the happy people.
"Stuff has definitely changed," I replied, raising my voice over a kid shouting next to me.
"Wanna check anything out?" Liv then asked Luke, who looked pretty disinterested.
"I don't really care," He replied.
"We should go get our fortunes told," Liv giggled, motioning towards one of the stands. I scoffed loudly.
"You don't actually believe that kind of stuff, do you?" I replied.
"Sometimes, but that's what makes it fun," Liv shrugged in return, following Nick towards the stand.
"They take your money, then tell you some random BS they pull from a magazine horoscope," I mocked.
"You're just salty because none of your horoscopes never entail you getting married to an animatronic weasel," Liv whispered into my ear. I playfully shoved her, hearing her laughing loudly. I rolled my eyes, smiling.
"Whatever, I'll pay but don't expect me to care about whatever gets spits out,"
As we approached the stand, I took careful note of the entrance. There was a large cardboard sign reading 'FORTUNE TELLING-$5'. There was a very vibrant, large, purple blanket covering some sort of entrance to the wooden frame. There wasn't a line, and I didn't see anyone standing near the stand.
"So, who wants to go first?" Liv asked, smoothing down her shirt.
"I guess I will," Luke shrugged, walking forwards, "Might as well get it over with,"
"Here," I spoke, handing Luke a five dollar bill from my pocket. Luke took it reluctantly, before walking behind the curtain. Liv, Nick, and I were silent, trying to listen to whatever was going on. I was slightly suspicious and concerned, seeing as I couldn't see anything that was going on. I silently reassured Luke was big enough to handle himself. You need to give him a bit of independence, part of his attitude is probably coming from the fact you and him practically go everywhere together.
"So, Vic," Liv said, leaning towards me, "Care to talk about why you looked so torn up this morning?"
Luke's POV:
Despite the fact I had no firm beliefs in fortune telling, I knew dark magic was real, so why not give it a shot? Maybe I'll be told that I need to run away to live with the cult forever, and I'll never have to see Nick, Liv, Vic, or any of the animatronics again. As I passed through the strange purple blanket, I walked through a short, narrow corridor, before seeing a woman sitting behind a table. Her eyes were closed, and she seemed to be meditating. A long scarf wrapped around her dark hair, and her aging skin had a nice tan to it. I could barely see, since the only light in the room came from whatever cracks were in the wooden stand holding all the blankets up over us. It almost felt like being under a pillow fort Vic and I used to make when we were younger. The woman behind the wooden table instantly sensed my presence, as her striking blue eyes instantly shot open to meet mine.
"Good afternoon," She said. The fortune teller couldn't have been less than fifty years old.
"Hey," I replied, extending the five dollar bill, "I'm here to get my fortune told,"
"Have a seat, have a seat," The woman urged, motioning to the plastic chair in front of her. She bent to the right, bringing what looked like a crystal ball in front of her and onto the table. Taking the five dollars from me, she stared at it, before shoving it into a pocket on her homemade dress. "So tell me, what's your name?"
"Luke," I replied. The woman placed both her hands on the crystal ball. I instantly took note of a very faint design on the back of her right hand. It looked like the cult mark on my hand, but it was slightly different. Are there more than one dark magic cults? I kept both my hands under the table.
"Luke," She breathed, closing her eyes and inhaling, "I sense a very dark presence in your life right now. A very, very dark presence,"
"Like what?" I asked quietly, before instantly being hushed. Her crystal ball began to glow a familiar green color.
"You have a sense of family, yes?" She continued, "Does family mean a lot to you?"
"Yes, ma'am," I replied, obviously knowing I was talking about my cult.
"You are going to be making some very serious decisions sooner or later. Remember your family when you make these decisions,"
She paused.
"And remember that a wolf in sheep's clothing is still very much a wolf. Be careful who you choose as friends, Luke,"
"Yes, ma'am," I replied quietly. The animatronics? Could they be planning some way to hurt me? Or Vic? They can have Vic, she's the one who put all her trust in them in the first place.
"And as for that presence," She shuddered, opening her eyes to look at me, "Get rid of it,"
"What kind of presence?" I asked, as the fortune teller glared at me.
"A very, very, bad presence," The fortune teller replied.
"Does this presence have to do with a bunch of people who claim they're my family?" I asked, hoping to get somewhat of a clear answer. The fortune teller closed her eyes and kept her hands on her crystal ball. I was referring to Vic and the rest of those weirdos.
"Yes, Luke," She nodded her head, removing her hands from her crystal ball quickly. She breathed deeply, as if she was catching her breath.
"Well, thanks, I appreciate it," I said, going to stand up. Almost as soon as I rose from the table, the fortune teller's eyes shot straight to my hand.
"Give me your hand, Luke," She spoke quickly. I hesitated for a moment, slightly alarmed. The fortune teller reached across the table, grabbing my right hand. "A cult mark," She hissed.
"Let me go," I grunted, trying to tug my arm away. Her bony fingers dug into my wrist and remained locked.
"I cannot believe this," She growled, standing up, "Do you have any idea what you've gotten yourself into?"
"Yes, I know exactly-" I went to argue back.
"Look at me," She cried, beginning to sob, "Look what I've become,"
"What-"
"This mark ruined my life," She sobbed, holding out her shaking wrist. I could now visibly see a faded mark, "Don't let it ruin your's, young Luke, free yourself while you still can. There's still time to remove that mark. Once it sinks into your skin, it's there forever. And everyone knows you as a cultivator of the dark arts,"
"Ma'am, I-" I grunted, continuing to try and free my arm from the crying lady. "Why are you still using dark magic if you don't like it?"
The fortune teller stopped crying.
"Why?" She asked back, "Because I'm bound to it forever. And ever. There's no getting out of it once the ritual is complete,"
"I don't know what you're talking about, this is just a birthmark," I tried to speak, trying to play it off as something else. Playing the dumb card was something that got Vic out of a lot of trouble.
"Don't act like you don't know where that mark came from," She hissed, "Jerry Robert Willis has swept that low; taking in a child for a cult member,"
I finally broke free from her grasp, stumbling back. She knows about Jerry. She could tie me directly back to the attacks, and I'll end up in jail with Vic of all people. Wasting no time, I sprinted from her tent, scampering to my feet.
"Run all you want, karma always catches up to those who deserve it," She shouted after me. I panted, feeling my stomach drop as I ran right out into the sun, and right into Vic.
"Geez, Luke," She spoke, stumbling slightly. I wasted no time in running as far from the fortune teller woman as I could. "Luke!" Vic screamed after me. I wasn't about to be caught dead associating myself with Vic. Being tied back to the cultists and their rampage on the town could mean very bad news for me. I weaved in and out of the people, trying to find somewhere to hide. I knew my running was pretty much useless, but than woman was scary.
"It's okay Luke, you did the right thing," Jerry spoke hazily. I could barely hear him, but I knew very well it was his voice.
"Thanks," I breathed back, trying to catch my breath against a cotton candy cart, "I promise I won't let that woman walk on your name like that,"
"Don't worry, once we come back, no one will ever disrespect our names ever again,"
Vic's POV:
"I'm going in there to give them a piece of my damn mind," I growled, walking towards the tent. As much as Luke could use a good scare to put him in his place, I wasn't about to let some carny walk over my brother like that.
"Nick and I will go find Luke," Liv replied. I tossed her the Mustang keys.
"You can drive him home if he's out of it, just remember to come back to get me," I called to her, walking inside the tent swiftly. Dad would often drive Luke home from movie theaters when he was a baby, because he wouldn't stop crying. He'd come back to get me hours after the movie ended.
"Alright, what's the big idea-" I started upon entering the tent.
"Well Victoria," A woman spoke, stepping in front of me. I jumped, stumbling backwards.
"What-" I started to speak. She instantly grabbed my hand, telling me to hush.
"Your brother, Luke, is not heading down a good path," She spoke urgently, holding my hand tightly. She seemed to be examining my hand, looking for something.
"What's the big idea freakin' him out like that?" I barked, grabbing my hand away. The fortune teller scoffed, taking a step back from me.
"He paid me to tell him the truth," She spoke, as if it were obvious.
"And you told him what?" I replied, motioning for her to continue. The inside of her tent smelt like burning incense.
"That's his fortune, not your's," She began, "You, Victoria Halifax, are in for a great deal of trouble,"
"Excuse me, that's not my-" I began to interrupt, feeling my stomach drop. Whatever Luke told her obviously had some play on her knowing about my name.
"I see where your brother gets it from now, you've taught him poorly," She smirked, "Don't worry, I'm not here to ruin you,"
"Please lower your voice," I hissed, looking behind me to make sure no one was listening in to this woman screaming my name. I examined her, trying to figure out some form of leverage I could use to my advantage. As my eyes came across a distinct mark on the top of her right hand, I knew I had found something.
"You're part of a cult, aren't you?" I asked, folding my arms.
"Well aren't you nosy," She spat back, yanking her arm away from my glance, "Plus, you haven't paid your five dollars yet,"
"My brother and I want nothing to do with dark magic, so you better have not told him-" I started, holding forward another five dollar bill.
"Don't worry your pretty little face, I didn't try to convince him of that. Jerry Willis is a force to be reckoned with, however," The fortune teller spoke as she yanked the money from my hand.
"How do you know that name," I asked suspiciously. The fortune teller sighed, glancing behind me. After yanking a cord to her left, a blanket fell, covering the entrance.
"Listen closely, Victoria, because I'm only going to tell you this once. I will never take part in any dark magic cult again. It ruins lives. It ruins souls. Get your brother away from that cult before it's too late," She explained, walking towards me.
"If you didn't see this through that stupid crystal ball of yours, Jerry and his cult are gone," I hissed back, taking another step towards her. She slapped me lightly, as I held my cheek in shock.
"Don't talk poorly about forces you don't know about," She reprimanded, waving a finger at me, "I know very well what became of Jerry's cult almost a year ago. Don't you see this mark? This ties me to the art of dark magic forever,"
"Is it too late for Luke?" I asked.
"No. His mark isn't permanent yet. But I sense a very dark presence with him. He wasn't alone when he came in here," She replied, adjusting the scarf wrapped around her forehead.
"What are you talking about?"
The fortune teller paused for a moment.
"Don't you realize?" She started, beginning to laugh, "That boy is very well versed with his dark spells. He's still connected with Jerry,"
"Isn't there some way to break that connection?"
"Don't ask me, I swore I'd never take any part in dark magic again. It ruined my life," She began to sob dramatically. I rolled my eyes.
"So you spend your time predicting fortunes instead of giving life-saving advice?" I asked back.
"I look out for myself on top of everything else. I am the only one who matters to me," She scoffed.
"There's no chance Jerry could come back then, right?"
The fortune teller paused again.
"That's something beyond my prediction, Victoria, that's up to your brother,"
I stopped for a moment, trying to process everything. This woman is insane. She's obviously spent her entire life in some sort of cult, and it's gone right to her head.
"I need to find my brother," I breathed, rushing between the curtains to leave.
"Don't let him bring them back, Victoria, don't trust them!" She screamed after me. I felt just as terrified as Luke left as I left her tent. I looked quickly around for Liv and Nick, both of whom were nowhere in sight. People gave me strange looks as I tried to catch my bearings. Luke was serious about the ritual. This isn't a phase at this point. If Liv and Nick took him home, there's no telling what he's doing there…
"Vic?" A voice asked, placing a hand on my shoulder. I screamed, jumping. It was only Liv, "Geez, woman, what's gotten into you?" She asked, handing me back my keys.
"Where's Luke?" I breathed, checking behind Nick to see if they had Luke still.
"The poor kid just wanted to leave, so I took him home," Liv replied, "Do you think there's a food stand near here?"
I groaned loudly, running both hands over my face.
"What, it's not like I won't buy you food too," Liv scoffed.
"We need to find Luke, he's going to bring Jerry back," I panted.
"Calm down, how do you know that? Are you sure?" Liv asked, placing a hand on my back.
"That freaky woman told me, and she's the real deal," I replied, beginning to pace towards the parking lot. Liv and Nick followed close behind. "I promise I'll pay you back for the tickets, but I gotta go,"
"We're coming too, we're not about to let you try and deal with that by yourself," Liv replied, catching up to my side.
"Did he say anything on the way out?" I asked, pushing through the crowds of people. I heard the angsty teen yelling at me to exit from the other side, but I paid no attention to him.
"Nope. I tried to get him to tell me what was wrong, but he just kept saying that she was trying to convince him to join her cult," Liv replied.
"I doubt that's true. That woman was once in a cult, but she seemed very against Jerry's name," I spoke quickly, unlocking the Mustang. The seats were hot, but I didn't care. I was completely focused on getting back to Luke to make sure he wasn't performing any rituals. "She kept hinting at the idea that Luke was going to end up bringing Jerry back,"
"Do you think he will?" Liv asked, grasping the door handle as I accelerated out of the parking lot quickly.
"At this point, there's no telling what that brat is capable of," I replied.
"Nick keeps the security locks on at all times, so there's no chance he can leave or let anyone in," Liv continued.
"That's the thing, Jerry is somehow attached to Luke," I explained.
"What?" Liv asked in return.
"I don't know anything about dark magic, I'll have to ask Willy, but I don't trust them all alone together," I replied, swerving between the cars on the freeway. I got several rude honks and crass gestures.
"I agree. If what that woman says checks it, it's probably a good idea not to leave Luke alone with-VIC WATCH THE ROAD," Liv suddenly screamed, as I gunned the pedal to pass a lane-changing semi. I was used to this type of driving, but it was very obvious Liv was not. Nick looked pretty indifferent, as always.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I returned, keeping my eyes out for any police lights. I knew I only had a bit of time before Luke would try anything weird on the animatronics. There's no doubt he's going to, there's no way this kid is going down without a fight.
Luke's POV:
"So, tell us again why you're back?" Ozzie asked, as I sat in the middle of the eight animatronics.
"To put it simply, there was a woman trying to convince me to join her cult," I explained again, feeling annoyed none of them had picked up on my very lengthy, somewhat incorrect description of what happened at the fair. I hadn't planned to run in fear, but it gave me the perfect opportunity. Actually, it gave Jerry the perfect opportunity. Since Liv was stupid enough to believe my sob story about being 'too scared to stay at the fair', she and Nick brought me home. I had assumed Vic had gone off to give the fortune teller a piece of her mind, as Vic would do. Jerry's plan revolved around my ability to get the animatronics to somehow get directly involved with the ritual. Unfortunately, they weren't exactly dumb.
"Well, you're safe with us, we won't let anyone hurt you," Ozzie spoke, ruffling his feathers.
"Thanks, Nick and Liv went back to grab Vic, so they should be coming home soon anyways," I shrugged, trying to sound genuine.
"So, Luke," Willy started, "Care to talk about the lighter behind your back?"
Vic was definitely rubbing off her intuition onto Willy, which equated to me being parented by the both of them.
"Oh, this?" I replied, bringing the lighter up to my face. I had been trying to conceal it, hoping to get the candles lit quickly. I should've thought about this earlier.
"Isn't that Vic's?" Willy asked again.
"Yeah, she let me borrow it," I replied, knowing very well Willy saw right through my lies. Out of all the animatronics, I'd have to say I got along with Willy the least.
"Borrow it, huh?" Arty joined. I clenched the lighter tightly, reading Vic's name written in Sharpie.
"Yeah. Self defense tool,"
"What do you need self defense for when you're with us?" Sara asked, "We're the entire protection package!"
"At the fair, I still had it in my pocket. I haven't had time to unwind," I shrugged. That was true. I had stolen Vic's lighter and had kept it for the ritual. Taking it to the fear was an 'in case of emergency' act.
"Is everything okay, chico?" Tito asked.
"I'm fine, I don't get why you guys keep asking," I breathed back.
"Just hang in there, Luke, leave the rest up to me," I heard Jerry speak from somewhere in my mind. I couldn't help but smile slightly. Willy was about to make some other annoying comment, when the garage door opened. This ended the conversation, as all the animatronics knew to move out of the way when Vic was driving. Vic wasted no time in flying from the car, not even bothering to park it, and running towards me.
"Luke," She breathed, grasping her knees. Liv and Nick exited the car shortly after.
"What on earth is wrong with you?" I asked, slightly disgusted.
"Alright. What are you planning. Tell me now so I can put a stop to it," Vic spoke, standing upright to look down on me.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I returned.
"There's something going on, and don't-" Vic began to speak, before completely stopping. Her eyes were locked forwards.
"Vic?" Liv asked, walking towards her. Vic looked completely dazed, and I knew exactly why.
"What," Vic breathed, rubbing her head.
"You look like you're gonna be sick again," Gus commented. Vic took a very annoyed, deep breath.
"I need to go for a few hours. I'll be back," She breathed, turning around to go back to the Mustang.
"What the Hell," I asked, "Not gonna yell at me, huh?"
"Luke," Liv scolded, watching Vic.
"Need me to-" Willy started as Vic fiddled with the gear shift.
"Please," Vic replied. She and Willy had gotten extremely good at knowing what the other was feeling or thinking...almost like a real couple. They weren't though, no matter how hard they tried.
"Vic, are you okay?" Liv asked, looking at Vic though the passenger window. The tint made it hard to see through the glass, which usually benefited whoever was inside.
"I'll be okay," Vic replied, her eyes clouding over with tears. I've broke her. I actually broke her.
"Where do you think you're going?" Liv asked.
"Yeah, you just got back," Arty added. Before any other words could be spoken, Vic gunned the accelerator, whipping back down the dirt road. There was a moment of silence.
"Senstive much?" I mumbled. Liv instantly turned her attention towards me.
"Luke, do you have any idea the kind of stress you're putting Vic through?" She snapped.
"Vic can handle herself, she has for her entire life," I shrugged, not wanting to have this conversation.
"What is this idea you have about the cult? What makes you think you want to watch all of Ely fall right into Jerry's hands?" Liv barked. Everyone else in the room was quiet, which was typical for these kinds of conversations.
"It's none of your business how I feel, everyone here is always trying to manipulate me into being someone I'm not," I argued back.
"You're not a psychotic murderer, maybe?" Liv asked.
"Just give it a rest, Luke-" Willy started. There was no way I was about to let Willy upend this conversation.
"Now look who's talking. Now that Vic has finally left you alone, I finally get to tell you how much I hate being related to someone who has a serious relationship with an animatronic weasel," I barked. I knew both Vic and Willy hated when conversations took this turn. It shut Liv up, as she really didn't have any place in this topic.
Willy sighed loudly.
"Vic and I are not in a serious relationship," He started.
"Shut up, you both are such wusses. It's no secret what the two of you do-"
"Alright, alright, Luke, I didn't want to have to deal it to ya' like this. But you've really left me no choice," Willy started, lowering his voice.
"What're you gonna do, finally spill the secret on how you two-"
"You are being a complete brat. If I didn't know better, I'd say you've been readin' way too much into dark magic. I've seen firsthand what happens to the poor souls who get involved in that sh-sh," Willy spoke, stumbling over the cursing. Arty must've seen me about to insult Willy, because he quickly took the time to explain:
"We're built family friendly, we can't curse,"
"They end up trapped forever. There's no good ending to living with a cult, there's only a never ending Hell," Willy continued.
"Whatever it is, it must be better than living with the likes of you," I hissed.
"You wanna smart mouth me? Wanna try?" Willy instigated.
"Stop, Willy, don't try and argue," Sara spoke, placing a hand on Willy's shoulder.
"Yeah, Willy, what are you gonna get from trying to prove a point to an eleven year old?" I sneered.
"Luke," Liv warned.
"I've dealt with kids like you, and I think you know very well what became of them," Willy continued.
"Mind doing a repeat on Vic?" I smiled, "It's not like any of you are getting the justice you deserve for killing all those people anyways,"
"I cannot believe you'd talk that way about her, she's your sister. Your best friend," Cammy added.
"Do you think we chose to live like this?" Ozzie asked.
"She was never my sister. She was just someone I grew up with. Never my family. Never anything more than someone to drive me around. Now she's finally trying to be the parent I never had, and it's not going to work," I argued.
"Vic has some patience," Arty mumbled.
"How do any of you even put up with her?" I asked, directing my question at Liv.
"She's family, that's why. You need to think about what you're saying. You're taking her for granted. One day, her unconditional support may be gone," Liv replied.
"Oh how I look forward to then," I cooed, glaring at Willy.
"Listen here you little-" Willy started, walking towards me before instantly being restrained by Gus and Knighty.
"Just let him have his fun. Think of Vic," Sara spoke softly to him. Willy stared at me for a moment, as I glared back.
"Luke, I am only going to tell you this once. You need to remember what's really important to 'ya. It doesn't lie in Jerry's cult, it doesn't lie in your school mates, it lies in Vic. I've seen kiddos at the restaurant who'd give an arm and leg to have a sister like Vic. Someone to be there for them. Someone to spend their money to try and give you a better life. Someone that literally put her soul through Hell in order to save you," Willy barked.
"If she cared for me, she'd let me bring back my family," I replied. Willy gave an annoyed growl.
"You will not bring those idiots back. You don't have the dark magic skills required to perform a feat like that," Willy spoke again.
"What makes you think that?" I smiled. Willy cocked his head to the left.
"Because that sort of spell requires the signing over of your soul; you don't necessarily belong to that cult yet," Willy started, "And as far as I can see, you're still holding onto your soul,"
I paused.
"Yeah, well that'll be no problem for me," I replied. Jerry hadn't mentioned this.
"Just give it a rest Willy, you're not gonna get through to him," Sara spoke quietly.
"Give it a rest Willy," I mocked in return.
"You remind me an awful lot of Vic, you know that?" Willy spoke, turning his focus back to me.
"Annoying? Selfish? Egotistical?" I asked back.
"Stubborn. Gritty. Attitude." Willy replied, "You have some of the same mannerisms as her, there's no doubt about that. It's almost like the two of you were made from the same parents,"
"Sure, my Mom stayed with Dad 'till about six years ago. We were the only two children they made. Your point?" I scoffed back.
"My point being you two are natural family," Willy replied.
"Biological evidence," Ozzie piped up.
"That means absolutely nothing," I sneered, throwing my hands in the air.
"I cannot believe you, Luke," Willy grunted, motioning towards me.
"There are plenty of things I don't believe about this entire situation, but you don't see me running from it," I shot, aiming my rude comment at Vic.
"Vic isn't running, there's something she needs to go to," Liv replied quietly.
"Oh yeah? Like what? Leave just like Mom did?" I asked back.
"I watched her leave. There was a strange force with her. Somethin' told her to leave," Willy replied.
"If that's so true, why didn't you stop her?" I replied.
"I made a promise to both she and I that I would never try and stop her from leaving a situation she wasn't-" Willy started.
"Oh yeah, I heard from Jerry you tried to-" I went to speak.
"Luke, that's quite enough," Cammy spoke up.
"All of you are taking her side, and it's really hilarious. A year ago all of you should've jumped on the chance to take her soul. No one in Hayesville would've missed-" I started to speak again.
"Are you literally going to sit here and talk bad about your sister like that?" Liv spat at me, "You need to stop, it's not funny,"
"You're really hurting her," Ozzie added.
"I don't care if I'm hurting poor little Vic's feelings, she can grow a spine and let it rest," I shot back.
"If you're gonna talk like that, just leave for a few hours, okay? No one wants to hear you talk badly about Vic like that," Liv replied.
"Fine. I'm gonna walk right out of here just like Vic, and you guys are not gonna question me, because just like Vic, you guys view me as an annoyance," I hissed, walking out of the garage. No one tried to stop me, and I could faintly hear Willy muttering something under his breath. I knew I couldn't single handedly fight Willy, despite the fact I wanted to very badly. Even I couldn't deny he could easily kill me if he wanted to. All the animatronics probably could, but I think if Vic wasn't around, Willy would have ripped me to shreds by now. I guess that is something Vic is good for. Walking back towards my room, I kept flicking the lighter in my hand. Jerry said that patience was key, but I was becoming extremely restless. If only there was some way to get the ritual done with the animatronics. I wouldn't have to keep carrying the cult around with me. As much as I liked their presence in my dreams, I wanted them to be real. I wanted them back. I knew Vic was beginning to break down, which meant this ritual would be all the easier to complete. I even told them I was going to bring the cult back, and no one has done anything yet. They still view me as a child. Someone with all talk and no walk.
I opened the door to my shed, making sure to lock it. I didn't want to be bothered, and I definitely didn't want Tito to come in here either. Sleeping was definitely an option, or I could just wait for Jerry to speak to me. I wasn't sure how he was able to communicate with me, but whatever he was doing was fine with me. It's not like I'm losing anything from it.
Vic's POV:
As much as I wanted to wring Luke's little neck, I knew I didn't have it in me to do that. I didn't want to hurt him. I just really wanted him to know the damage he was causing. The fortune teller was right. There's a very dark force with Luke, and right as I came home to comfort him, the force attacked me. It wasn't a very harsh attack, but I could feel it. It came over me like a cloud. I couldn't move for a few seconds, as Jerry managed to completely overtake me with fear. "Well, Vic, looks like your brother was right,". That's when I knew I had to leave. I just needed to get away from Luke until he calmed down again. He must've been somehow faking wanting to leave the fair, unless he was genuinely scared of the fortune teller. I wanted to heed Willy's warnings about my soul being somewhat fragile still, which meant I needed to stay far away from Jerry. And at this point, maybe even Luke. With everything that had happened to him, I had assumed Luke was just faking it for attention. I was apparently wrong. The only thing you can do is either send him to juvie or keep an eye on him from afar. I'd been to juvie, and I doubted it'd do Luke any good.
I sang along to a song playing over the radio, catching the unwanted attention of several gawkers at the stoplight. I'd often go on short drives when I felt overwhelmed, in hopes that the nothingness of the Nevada desert would clear my mind. This drive was different, however, as I became interested in a strange woman tossing things from her house into her lawn. A sloppily written sign was posted to her mailbox, reading 'GARAGE SALE'. She was tossing some cute t-shirts into the grass, which caught my eye. I had driven through this neighborhood hundreds of times alone, but never bothered to become acquainted with its residents. Might as well stop and chat, it'd give you something to do. Pulling onto the curb, I got out from the Mustang and walked over to the woman. She was a little shorter than me, and had an 80's haircut made from her brown hair.
"Need any help, ma'am?" I asked, noticing her struggling to take a box from the house to dump into the lawn. She was breathing heavily as her brown eyes instantly shot up to mine to smirk.
"No, I don't," She replied, letting the box drop. A sense of familiarity flooded over me.
"Mom?" I asked. The woman, who had turned around, stopped in place. She turned back to face me slowly.
"Vic?" She spoke slowly, "Aren't you supposed to be in jail?"
"Can we talk about this inside?" I asked, realizing I had just found my mother. She seemed reluctant, but let me into her house anyway.
"You're not gonna call the cops on me, right?" I asked, following her underneath the roof of her porch.
"Of course not, you're my daughter for cryin' out loud," She laughed back, shutting the front door behind me. Her house was small, probably only having one bedroom. She had hung up several family photos, all of which had my Dad cut out from them. A loud barking could be heard from outside.
"Bonzo?" I asked, seeing a familiar dog run into the house. The strange looking Saint Bernard instantly recognized me, too.
"Yep, that's Bonzo," Mom sighed, shutting the back screen door.
"I thought he was dead," I laughed, letting Bonzo jump up against my legs.
"That's what your Dad wanted you to think. I took him so he'd have somewhere better to live," Mom replied, shrugging, "Enough of that, tell me what's going on,"
"So basically, what you've heard about me is a lie," I started. Mom scoffed loudly, sitting on one of her chairs. "I wasn't responsible for any of the Hayesville attacks. Luke wasn't either-"
"Is Luke still alive?" Mom then asked.
"Yeah, Luke is alive still,"
"And Liv? Your father?"
I paused for a moment, trying to convince myself not to relay too much information. She's family, Vic, she deserves to know.
"Both are dead,"
Mom was quiet.
"I'm sorry Vic, I know how much Liv meant to you," She then replied. I nodded my head.
"Luke had brought back the Hayesville cult, you remember them, right?"
"Jerry? Yes, I do remember him. You can't tell me little Luke brought back a dead man," Mom laughed.
"I'm serious, he literally used dark magic-"
"I taught you both very well not to tamper with things like that, Vic," Mom interrupted. I had almost forgotten about Mom's very superstitious personality. Apart from being extremely religious, she was also extremely superstitious.
"I'm being serious. And that isn't the point. Anyways, Luke brought back Jerry and his cult, who ended up possessing the Willy's Wonderland animatronics-" I began again.
"Those things were already possessed, Vic," Mom interrupted yet again. I nearly forgot she didn't believe Dad and I about the animatronics not being possessed from the get-go.
"That's where y'all were wrong. I was right about the animatronics. But that's a different story. After they came back, they ended up possessing the animatronics and murdering the entire town, holding me hostage. Eventually, Liv and one of her friends put a stop to it and ended up saving the rest of Nevada,"
"I thought Liv was dead?" Mom asked.
"She died," I restated. Mom nodded her head slowly.
"How'd you and Luke end up getting involved with Willy's?"
"Well, after I got ticketed-" I started.
"Lemme guess, for speeding?"
I paused, sighing.
"Yes, Mom, for speeding, Dad made me take Luke to Willy's. Same day, I wrecked and got pulled into the whole 'visitors' loop with Jed and Tex, so they made me clean for the night,"
"I know Willy was your favorite, but that doesn't mean you had to go on and m-"
"Just forget you ever saw that photo, alright?" I sneered. She, like everyone else in Rockwell County, had seen the delightful little image of Willy and I that Chris had posted on Facebook.
"What about the news?"
"Everything you've seen on the news is just Jerry possessing the animatronics," I shrugged. Mom glared at me.
"And is he still at large?"
"No, Luke and I damned him back to Hell," I smiled. Mom widened her eyes.
"My goodness, we need to take you back to church," She spoke.
"I'm fine now, Mom, you know I don't involve myself with dark forces,"
"Whatever, I'm just glad you're okay," She spoke, standing up to hug me. I hugged her back. She smelled like rose perfume, which was something I remembered from my childhood.
"Are you and Luke okay? Living on your own?" Mom asked, breaking from the hug.
"We're fine, we have an apartment. I'm going by Liv's last name and so is Luke," I explained.
"Is Luke in school? What about you?"
"I work for the school Luke is enrolled in,"
"You two better not be dabling with the dark arts," She warned.
"I promise we're not," I replied, a knot forming in my stomach.
"Good. Goodness knows I'd have a fit if you did," Mom smiled, pinching my cheek.
"You believed everything I told you? You're not gonna tell anyone, right?" I asked, pushing her hand playfully off my face.
"I don't believe a single word you spat out, Vic, I just know that you're innocent enough to not be sent to jail over this," Mom replied. "Who am I gonna tell? You're my daughter, and I love you too much for that. "
Good enough for me.
"Did you keep your last name?" I asked.
"Nope, changed it to my maiden name. Welder," She replied.
"That's pretty, I like it," I spoke, smiling.
"After rumor started spreading about you being involved with the possessed robots, I decided it'd be safest to change it,"
"Smart,"
"Where's Luke?"
"Oh, Luke didn't want to come, he's at home right now," I said. Bonzo laid down on the carpet, drooling everywhere.
"He's eleven now, right? How are you dealing with the teen angst?" She smirked.
"Not well, but well enough to get him by," I shrugged.
"I'm sure you're doing a fine job. Send him over here if it's too much for you, you know you're both welcome at this home," Mom replied.
"Why didn't you let us leave Hayesville?" I asked.
"We didn't have the money to get you both back and forth. I still don't have a car, but I see you kept the 'Stang?" Mom smiled.
"Yeah, I salvaged it," I snickered back.
"Well, I'll be going back to my yard sale, if everything hasn't been stolen by now. Feel free to take whatever you want," Mom spoke, opening the front door again. Bonzo yelped, running out the door and into the yard. I followed her, picking up several of her old shirts. They were obviously from before she became pregnant with me, because some of them were pretty small.
"Love you Mom," I called to her, walking back to the Mustang.
"I love you too, Vic, come back if you ever wanna visit again," Mom smiled back, waving. A warm feeling filled my stomach as I couldn't help but to smile. It felt relieving to have at least one other superior alive. Now, time to return to the chaos.
By the time I finally mustered the patience to return home, it was nearly seven. Liv had called me, but I hadn't had my ringer on. Almost as soon as I opened the garage, I instantly noticed Willy pacing back and forth across the floor. He spotted me, moving out of the way. I pulled the Mustang in next to the Camaro, shutting off the engine and closing the garage door.
"Vic, are you okay?" Willy asked as soon as I exited the car.
"I'm fine now," I replied, rubbing the bridge of my nose, "Did everything get sorted out? Or am I gonna walk in to utter destruction?"
"Luke is in his room, Tito went to check on him a few times. We were all worried about you though," Willy replied.
"Don't worry, I'm okay. I just had to leave," I smiled.
"Before we go in, is there anything you need to talk about?" Willy asked, placing a hand on my shoulder.
"I saw my Mom," I shrugged.
"Your Mom? Really now," Willy replied. I nodded.
"She let me take some of her clothes. It was nice to catch up with her,"
"Sounds like it. On that note, Liv taught me how to make your favorite tea. I made some for you, but she ended up drinking it instead," Willy smiled. I chuckled in return.
"That's alright, it's the thought that counts,"
"Are you good to go back inside? Or do you wanna stay out here for a while?"
"I can't let that twit get the best of me, I'm gonna go back inside,"
"Smart,"
I wasn't about to let Luke think he could push me around like that. I had left for a good reason, as to not let myself fall into any more trances, which I knew very well Luke wouldn't understand. He should, seeing as he's responsible for them in a sense. At least Willy understood why you left, that's what counts, right? This weekend was going to be very, very, long. For the first time in a hot second, I couldn't wait to go back to school.