A week had gone by and everything had returned to normal. Joie was out and about, doing her usual, playing with Becky and chattering away gaily about the stories that her grandpa had told her. She had celebrated her eighth birthday. One thing was odd, however, was that Ellen had not remember the event that had happened that one dinner. It's almost as if it had never taken place. Ellen had grown weary and bored in bed. Doctors had been in and out of her room. Joie had not even had the chance to go visit her mom.

That night, Joie had been awoken by hushed and urgent voices.

"Where is she?" George said in a hushed voice, but clearly audible.

"I don't know!" Charles said, searching frantically throughout the mansion.

Her eyes focused on a spot on her wall, listening intently. She could hear scratching noises on the other side. She frowned, clearly scared.

"Dad?" she managed to choke out.

She ran out into the hallway.

"Dad?" she called out again.

"This has not happened for the first time! It has gone on for about a year now! It's getting more serious, I'm afraid," George said, shaking his head.

"A year and you haven't mentioned one word to me?! Unbelievable!" Charles choked out.

"Dad!" Joie choked, holding onto the banister of the staircase.

"What is it, honey?" George said, quickly climbing the stairs.

"There's scratching – there," Joie said, pointing to her room.

"Scratching?" Charles said faintly, his face pale.

George entered Joie's room quickly, taking her hand. Her other hand clutched the doll closely to her. Joie put her fingers to her lips, to signal her grandpa to be quiet as she pointed to the spot.

"Help me," someone cried out.

Alarmed, they looked at one another.

"Ellen?" George choked out.

"George? George? GET ME OUT OF HERE!" Ellen cried out from behind the walls.

"Ellen?!" Charles said, banging his fists along the wall.

"GET ME OUT OF HERE!" Ellen screamed again.

Joie, who turned white, back up until she was leaning on the opposite wall, her knuckles turning white as well as she clutched her doll tighter.

"MOM!" Joie screamed out, tears streaming down her face.

"Get out of the way, Charles!" George said, sending a fist through the wall.

"GEORGE!" Ellen pleaded through the wall.

Charles and George had already begun tearing the paper thin wall surrounding her, pulling her out. She emerged from the wall, her nightgown torn, her hair matted and tangled, her fingernails filed to a sharp points, and her eyes, empty and hollow, sunken into her sockets, yet, it was wild with terror.

"What in ze world –" Margie said, stopping in midsentence as she stared in horror at Ellen.

"THAT THING!" Ellen screamed, pointing at Joie, advancing towards her.

Joie cowered from Ellen, as if her finger is a gun pointed her head.

"Ellen! Be reasonable – what is going on here?!" Charles said, pulling Ellen back.

"Get off of me!" Ellen said, and with incredible power that she never knew she had, she flung Charles off, running towards Joie and grabbing the doll.

"Ellen!" George said, running to her. "What are you doing?"

Her hair all over face, she turned around and stared at George.

"That thing put me in the wall! That thing – Joie!" she screamed as she advanced towards the window, intending to throw the doll out.

Joie screamed.

"MOM, NO!" she cried, chasing after her.

"Ellen!" Charles warned, grabbing her by the arm.

"LET GO OF ME! This thing!" Ellen screeched again and by accident and by the force of her power, she flung Charles off of her yet again.

Charles went flying through the window, shattering it into a million pieces before falling three stories below him.

"GRANDPA!" Joie screamed running towards the window.

"Joie, no!" Margie said, grabbing her by the arm.

"Margie, take Joie out of the house. Go and look for Dr. Himes. We need to get her to a psych ward, now!" George said, strong enough to take hold of Ellen.

Margie nodded and ran out the house with Joie by her side.



"She's stable now," Dr. Himes told George, his voice considerably low.

"As for Charles…we couldn't save him," Dr. Himes continued. "I'm sorry. He's dead."

George nodded, looking at the doctor.

"I understand. No one would have survived that…All this time I thought Ellen was getting better," George said, rubbing his forehead.

"Where's Joie?" Dr. Himes said quietly.

George looked up.

"She's with Margie now. They've gone back to her place. I told them to both stay put until I go and get them."

"That's quite smart of you. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a house call to tend to. I'll be back tonight to check up on you and Ellen," Dr. Himes said.

And with that he was gone. George sighed and climbed the stairs to the master bedroom.

"Honey?" he called out.

There was no answer.

"Ellen, darling?" he called again.

He heard a noise from Joie's room and quickly walked over.

"Ellen?" he called out again.

"Daddy! Look at this!" a voice came from the closed door.

Puzzled and slightly alarmed, George opened the door carefully.

"Ellen?" George said, walking quickly over to her and kneeling beside her.

"Daddy, look! Look at all these beautiful toys!" Ellen said.

She was sitting down, pulling the toys from Joie's toy box.

"Oh, geez…" George said quietly to himself, as he leaned against the bed, rubbing his forehead.

"Daddy? What's wrong?" Ellen said, looking innocently back at George.

"We've go to get you back to bed, Ellen," George said, looking at her with sad eyes.

"No! I don't want to!" Ellen said, standing up and throwing the doll down on the ground.

"Ellen, listen to me. You're not well. We need to get you back into bed," he said a little more sternly.

"I don't want to! I don't want to! I don't want to!" Ellen said, stamping her feet.

"Ellen, we need you to get better!" George said, taking her by the hand and leading her back to their own bedroom.

"I don't want to go to bed! I'm not tired yet! And my name isn't Ellen! It's Joie!" Ellen pouted.

"Look at yourself Ellen. Snap out of this. You are twenty-five years old. You've got to gain control –" George started.

"Control of myself is that what you wanted to say?" Ellen said.

Startled, George let go of her hand.

"I – "George started.

"All my life, all I ever wanted was freedom. Why I married you, I don't know!" Ellen said, nearly shouting.

"Please, Ellen, calm down, please," George said, grabbing her by the wrist.

"George? Vat iz going on 'ere?" a voice called out from somewhere.

"Margie?! Margie! Get out of here!" George called out.

"Vat iz going on 'ere? Ellen!" Margie screamed as she saw her struggling again George's grip.

"Get out of here NOW!" George managed to say to Margie.

Margie looked at them, lost at words. She ran back down the stairs.

"Joie! Joie…" Margie called out as she saw Joie.

"What's going on?" Joie whispered, scared.

"Here…I found your doll on ze stairs. Take zis and go hide in the cupboard in ze kitchen. You vill be safe there," Margie whispered.

"Margie.." Joie started.

"Go now!" Margie said, pushing her along. "You vill be safe dere!"

Joie nodded and climbed into the cupboard, kissing Margie on the cheek. Margie gave her a warm smile before she got up again.

"George, you need help!" Margie said, running up the stairs.

"Where is Joie?" George cried out.

"She iz safe, George," Margie answered, trying to get a hold of Ellen.

"GET OFF ME!" Ellen screamed.

With one push, she flung George off. She tore off the top of the banister, leaving several rungs of bars standing alone. She swung it hard at George.

"Please, Madame, please stop!" Margie screamed, holding her by the arms.

She stretched out her arms to shield her from Ellen, but it was too late. The piece of wood Ellen had torn from the banister hit Margie's head. She stumbled back, holding onto the door.

"You little maid," Ellen said. "How should we end your pathetic little life?"

Margie, with her eyes wide open, screamed as Ellen took another blow at her, leaving her dead.

"ELLEN!" George shouted.

Ellen spun around.

"I've forgotten you were there," she said, her eyes narrowing.

"Now, stop –" George said, "Ellen please…I love you."

Ellen screamed as she flung him off. George's eyes were wide opened as he flew through the air, and off the hallway down to the first floor. His neck caught between two of the rungs and with a sickening pop, his neck cracked, his body hanging limply there, and his head staying between the two bars. His eyes wide opened in surprise, blood sputtering out from his mouth. George was dead.

"No…NO!" Ellen screamed, her hand at her mouth.

She chewed on her hand.

"What happened? How did…?" Ellen said, backing away from George's body.

She looked over at Margie's body as well.

"How did this happen? WHO DID THIS?" she screamed out at no one. "GEORGE!"

With that, she flung herself off with a scream, her neck caught at the bars besides George. Her neck popped and cracked in half, and she hung there, limp. Blood spewed out from her mouth instantly, but her eyes weren't opened like her husbands. It was simply closed, as if she died a violent and peaceful death, right next to her husband.

From the doorway at the kitchen, little Joie, with tears streaming down her face, had witnessed the whole thing.