THE DEATH OF LACIE BELLHART PART 4

Alice made good with the daylight they had left and begun packing for the long night ahead of them. She grabbed things like shovels, shotguns with rock salt, kerosene, salt, and even iron rings. Since there was no telling what was going to happen out there, she made sure to pack the most essential equipment and put them in the back of the Mustang's trunk.

"Ally, we got everything?" Aiden called from inside the rat house.

Alice zipped up the duffle bag and closed the lid. "Should be. Is Phil ready to head out?"

"Oh, believe me." Aiden stepped out of the house with Philip leading the way. The man looked nearly catatonic and plainly just done with everything, so they didn't bother binding his hands together. "He's more than ready," her brother said sarcastically before shoving Philip into the back seat. "Come on, let's find this girl...before she kills us all."

The day progressively got darker the longer they drove down the old logging road. Since they were no longer in town, there wasn't much artificial light anymore, aside from the Mustang's headlights, which hardly made a difference since the woodlands were so dense. Still, Alice could somewhat see inside the forest, but they're really wasn't much to make out. Nothing distinct or out of place at least.

Alice looked away from the forest and took a glance at Philip, who hardly said anything the whole car ride. The only time he'd ever talk was to give them directions, and that was it. He didn't fuss about it and told them what they wanted to know if they asked, but aside from that, Philip was as quiet as a dead man.

Alice groaned and leaned her head against the window, watching the trees flash by her eyes, but this time noticing an odd consistency that wasn't there before. It was a shape of some kind that would disappear behind a large tree trunk and reappear a couple of seconds later in a totally different location. Now curious, Alice turned her head fully towards the window and just focused on the shape…which was now appearing more like an outline of a person. She couldn't get any detail from the figure but could clearly see that it had stark blonde hair that was nearly glowing white from the headlights.

Alice swallowed hard and slowly moved her head away from the window. "Lacie…" she breathed out slowly.

"What? You see her?" Aiden asked, jerking his head to try and get a glimpse of what she was looking at.

"Yeah. At the treeline," she said while pointing. "She seems to know we're here and is following us."

"Are you sure she ain't just following Phil?" Aiden said.

"Could be that too." Alice turned her head around to Philip, who now looked slightly different knowing that Lacie was out there. He was pale with dread and his eyes heaved with regret. "Yo, Phil. How much further do we have till we get to the body?

Philip appeared to snap out of his trance when Alice spoke to him, but his words sounded mumbled and mashed together. "N-Not far…it should be at the end of the road…to the left into the woods…a couple of feet away."

Aiden nodded in response to this. "Ok. Alice, when we stop. I want you to keep an eye on the woods and make sure Lacie keeps her distance."

"Sure, but something tells me she's not going to do that," Alice said dryly.

"I wouldn't."

The road eventually came to an end with miles upon miles of woodland on both sides. There wasn't any kind of light source aside from the moon overhead, and the flashlight Alice took from the duffle bag when she took it out from the trunk. She shined the light into the woods but didn't see anything that resembled a human, or anything to that effect. Which honestly made her dread grow more. She'd rather see Lacie's ghost because at least she knew where she was.

"Ally, come on. Grab the bag and let's get this over with." Aiden called out while pulling Philip out of the car. He faced him towards the woods and began to walk in with only the flashlight to guide them.

Alice followed close behind Philip and her brother while shinning the light around them. She took in a deep breath but released frosty air when she exhaled, which immediately alarmed her. Alice turned around in an instant and shined her light behind her, momentarily catching a glimpse of a blonde hair girl wearing a red dress. She was standing a couple of feet behind them but quickly disappeared behind another tree trunk.

Alice backed up closer to her brother but didn't take her eyes off that spot. "Oh, crap…If there was any doubt before. It's gone now."

Aiden let out a deep breath and instantly saw frost haze the air. "Yeah. Phil, how much longer?"

Philip looked up and slowly scanned the forest. He couldn't see far into the woods, so he had to squint his eyes as these crude memories flooded back into him. He could recall the heaviness his arms felt when he carried the body, and the warm wetness of blood that stained his clothes. He saw flashbacks he never wanted to remember, and he saw himself making a knife mark into the tree…a tree that was right beside him.

Philip turned his head towards the tree and ran his hand over the etching in the bark. "Here…I, uh, buried her behind this tree. Right…here…"

Aiden reached over and took a shovel Alice offered him. "Alright. You know what that means, Phil. Start digging her up. We'll keep an eye out. Alice. Make sure you got salt and kerosene ready," he said while handing the shovel to Philip.

"On it. Catch." Alice passed the shotgun to Aiden and crouched down to start looking through the bag.

Philip walked over to the mound of dirt where the body was buried and just stared at it. He tightened the grip on the shovel that felt so heavy in his hands, and after a couple of seconds of silence, he lifted it up and slammed it into the earth. The moment the dirt was disturbed though, the wind immediately began to pick up with thunder rolling in from the distance. The sound of snapping twigs reached his ears and made him jump back. He turned all the way around and finally saw it just a couple of feet away. His biggest regret.

She limped out very slowly from behind the trees, dragging her feet across the ground as her Pale and broken body creaked and groaned under her shattered bones. Lacie looked nothing like her picture anymore. Her blue eyes were wild-looking and bloodshot, and she couldn't speak at all past her crushed throat. The only noise that came from her mouth was the same incohesive gurgles of blood. Even her neck made an abhorrent sound when she cranked it to the side, slowly landing her eyes on Philip. Lacie's bones grated together as she turned her body fully around and began limping towards him, stately gaining speed and hissing out blood like a demonic creature.

"Phil, duck!" Aiden turned his shotgun around and waited for Philip to hit the ground. Once it was clear, he pulled the trigger and a round of salt pellets ripped right into Lacie, causing her to disappear upon impact. "That won't keep her back for long. Hurry up and start digging. Alice, help him out!"

Alice picked up the extra shovel she brought with them and began to help Philip dig. Aiden stood close beside them and watched the dark forest with keen eyes, already spotting a fury of white within the blackness a couple of feet in front of them. He raised his gun and pulled the trigger, but the round missed when Lacie disappeared for a second time.

"Crap!" Aiden clicked his tongue and began to reload his weapon.

It was like Lacie was waiting for that chance and finally attacked. She appeared once again and charged at Philip like a wild animal, tackling him to the ground and screamed so loud that he began to hear a sharp ringing noise in his ears. She dug her nails through his clothes and into his skin as Philip just laid there, petrified and beginning to see black.

"Lacie!" Cried a shrill and heartbroken voice.

Chaos froze in that instant as Lacie's horrific shrieks stopped. Fading from a nonsensical scream to a pitiful and gurgling whimper. Aiden stopped trying to load his shotgun and looked up to find where that voice came from, a voice that was once so kind and familiar to him. He looked in the direction of the road and saw Margret Bellhart come out very slowly, no longer holding back tears and finally letting her emotions loose.

"Lacie? Baby, it's me. You know me, right? I've come…to take you back." Margret walked slowly over to them as Lacie lifted her head.

The look on Lacie's face shifted between one of anger, astonishment, grief, then sorrowful relief. She got off of Philip and started to limp very slowly towards her mother, gurgling the same incohesive words they still didn't know.

Margret gestured Lacie closer as the tears turned her eyes and face red. "That's it. Come to me. I'm here…to take you home."

Lacie broke out in a full-blown sprint towards her mother as her outer appearance began to crumble, giving away to what was really behind her mangled shell. A frightened and innocent child who was crying with glass tears in her eyes, reaching out desperately and wishing for the nightmare to end. They were only an arm's reach away, but the moment their hands touched, Lacie's spirit shattered into a million glass pieces that fell at the feet of her mother.

Margret Bellhart must've died for the billionth time at that moment, but she also knew it was going to be the last. For months, she had been searching relentlessly for her daughter, not once giving up despite everyone else around her doing so every day. She just knew she had to keep looking…even though she knew in her heart that her daughter was already dead. It was something she had felt since the first night Lacie went missing. She wasn't looking for someone alive. Never had. She was just looking and hoping for a body to bring home. Margret just wanted the ability to lay her child to rest. Tuck her into bed for one last time.

Aiden closed his eyes tightly as Margret began to wail, falling to her knees and crying her heart out. He had to force himself to look away but also saw Alice peering down into the hole where Lacie's real body was. Finally revealed to the world after months of being hidden. Her body and red dress were half-covered by dirt but already deteriorated by the time spent underground. The only thing that really remained was dried-up skin stretched over a small skeleton.

It was a couple of days later, but the mess was slowly but surely being cleaned up by the local authorities. Lacie's body was taken away and given a proper burial since there was no need to salt and burn it anymore. Lacie's spirit didn't return after being reunited with her mother.

Philip was also given over to the police to be put on trial, despite Alice generously volunteering to be the judge herself. Since it wasn't a matter of their concern anymore, Aiden didn't see it necessary to be the ones to pass judgment on him.

Alice and Aiden stood outside the courthouse by their car and watched Margret Bellhart step outside. She looked a bit better from when they last saw her. Still exhausted, but there was a little bit of satisfaction in her eyes now.

Aiden waved his hand to try and grab her attention. "Miss Bellhart. Over here!"

Margret looked a little surprised to see them, but it was quickly welcomed with that genuine smile she had worn when Aiden first met her. "You two actually came," she said while walking over to them.

Aiden shrugged. "Yeah. Could've just left…since that's what we're used to doing, but we wanna know what Phil's sentence was. I'm pretty sure he was found guilty, right?"

"What were the charges?" Alice asked.

Margret's smile quickly fell. She swallowed hard and looked away for a moment, holding her breath with every painful word. "He was charged with manslaughter…and, uh, tampering with a c…corpse," she managed to sputter out to the best of her abilities.

"Which means…he ain't gonna get out anytime soon. That's good to hear."

Margret bit down on her lips when Alice said that. She took in a deep breath and spoke loud and clear. "I forgave him."

Alice flinched like someone just tried to take a jab at her. She opened her mouth but the only thing that came out was emptiness. She looked at Aiden, but he didn't seem as shocked as she was.

"I took the stage and only said three words to him. The only words I could bring myself to say…nothing more," Margret began speaking in a much quieter voice. "I said…'I forgive you.'"

Alice felt her jaw hit the floor with what she heard, nearly giving her whiplash too. "Why?"

"Alice…" Aiden said in a wary tone.

Margret quickly waved her hand to tell him it was alright for her to ask. "No, no…it's alright. I forgave him…for both our sakes. For peace of mind. People can't continue to go through life with guilt on their hearts and rage in every breath they take…we must have a reprieve…a chance to let things go so we can move on. That's the only reason why I did that back in the courthouse," she said with the usual worn-down smile, but this time Aiden noticed it looked a bit livelier than before.

"And…how did Phil react?" he asked

Margret shrugged. "He cried. A very childish cry, I might add, but I think that speaks volumes. He's a very pitiful man who was given a bad hand in life. So I hope he finds peace within himself someday."

Aiden couldn't help but scoff. "You are far too forgiving of a person."

"Yeah. I don't think I would be able to do that if I were in your shoes," Alice said, still as astonished as before.

Margret smiled. She could see how ridiculous the situation looked and could understand where both Aiden and Alice were coming from. "You might see things differently if you ever have a child. Everyone lives a small life…but being given the chance to raise an even smaller one feels like the world's greatest accomplishment."

"You're still young, Miss Bellhart. Maybe you'll find someone to settle down with, and maybe even have another child." Aiden said and could see Margret's eyes melt with the warm idea.

Margret couldn't even bring herself to think that far ahead, but she hoped that one day she'll have the chance to start over. Have another child and maybe even find a husband if she's lucky. A big family. The all-American dream. "Perhaps…but right now that feels worlds away," she said with a sullen voice before reaching out and shaking their hands. It was the least she could do after finding her daughter's body. "I'm going to head on home now. Please take care of yourselves out there," she said after releasing the Cromwell siblings.

Aiden grinned and stepped back beside his sister. "Watch out for yourself, Miss Bellhart." He waved while Margret walked off towards her car.

The Cromwell siblings watched silently as Margret got into her car and drove off.

"What a mess," Alice groan while getting into the Mustang. She slammed the door behind her and leaned against the window.

Aiden followed suit and hopped into the driver's seat. "Yeah. Tends to be that way when a kid is involved. Always leaves a sour taste in my mouth." He rested his hands against the wheel for a moment before reaching over into the glove compartment and pulling out a VHS box. "At least we have her last performance."

"Yeah. Phil said he cried when he heard it," Alice recalled while reaching for the VHS, holding it with care like it was the most fragile thing she had ever seen.

"Miss Bellhart kinda said the same thing. Wonder if it's true." He paused for a moment as if he had just remembered something…and looked a little reluctant to bring it up. "Which reminds me. I finally…figured out what Lacie was saying in Phil's voice recorder."

Alice froze since she never thought he'd figure it out. "You did? Was she actually saying something?"

Aiden clenched his teeth together and cringed a bit. "She was…and it kinda made sense in the end. What Lacie really wanted. " He tapped his hands against the wheel and just waited for a couple of seconds to gather the courage. "She said, 'I wanna go home.'"

Alice could feel her heart tremble while staring down at the VHS on her lap. She thought back to Lacie, the ugly and mangled spirit that quickly reverted back to a scared child once her mother was there to take her home. The thing she wanted all along…was just to go home and end the nightmare.

Alice leaned back against her seat and tucked her legs close to her chest. "That sounds about right. At least she got what she wanted…in a sense."

"At least she got what she wanted. Yeah," Aiden agreed quietly while turning the keys to the engine. The radio immediately started to chime with the classic violin opening of ELO's Sweet Talkin' Woman, and after a couple of seconds of Jeff Lynn singing in their ears, Aiden put the car in drive and headed out.