Hello all! I know it's been a while, and I'd like to thank everyone for reading this for their patience; life always seems to get in the way of things. Anyway, thank you so much to everyone who left a favorite or review; I greatly appreciate them. Again, thank you all for reading and having patience with me. I hope you enjoy the chapter.

~The Wandering Piney


3:00 PM

"I gotta say, Fred, you made the right decision to adjust the trap," Luna said, nodding in approval as she looked over the finished trap.

"Thanks" Fred replied as he finished tying a rope. "After thinking it over a bit more, the nets need to fall onto the ghost rather than us pulling the nets up to catch it."

"Yeah, even with the net, I don't think I could lift a person," Luna replied with a slight chuckle, giving the trap another lookover.

Three nets, currently spread open across the floor at the entrance of the lobby, would get raised by a pulley and held in place until Thorn and Dusk lured the ghost into the lobby. Once the ghost and cultists entered the lobby, the nets would get released and fall onto the ghost or cultists. The cage, which remained hoisted in the air near the second entrance into the lobby, was a backup plan in case the nets failed as well as their defense in case something came through the second entrance. Was it a foolproof trap? Absolutely not. Dozens of ways the trap could fail flooded Luna's mind, and despite the upbeat and confident facade she put on for Fred, her anxiety was racing.

"So, is the trap finished?" Brian asked as he approached Luna and Fred.

Luna's smile faded as Brian reached them, but she remained quiet and simply resumed listening to Fred.

"Yup," Fred answered. "Now, we'll get into position since Dusk and Thorn should've reached the basement by now. Do you two remember your roles?"

Luna nodded. "Yeah, I know what to do." Her role was simple, yet crucial: she needed to hold the nets in place and ensure they fell when the ghost or cultists entered the lobby.

"I'm good to go," Brian answered with a nod.

"Okay, I'll take my position and let you both know when to drop the nets," Fred said, motioning toward one of the lobby couches he had repositioned so he could stay hidden and watch the hallway without getting seen.

Luna only had time to nod in acknowledgment as Fred headed over to his spot. She turned and sighed as she saw Brian taking his position on the left side of the lobby entrance, grabbing two of the ropes and hoisting two of the three nets into the air. As much as she didn't want to work with Brian, her friends were depending on her to have the trap set up. With another reluctant sigh, Luna took her spot opposite of Brian.

She grabbed the remaining rope and hoisted the net into the air. Within a minute of holding the rope in place, Luna grunted. Something felt wrong. She adjusted her grip on the rope. Still wrong. She took a step back, putting more tension on the rope. Nope, that didn't fix her problem. She looked around for something to tie the rope to. She smiled when she noticed that she could tie the rope to the hinges of the door. But as she went to tie the rope, she frowned when she saw the net drop.

Ugh, I have to hold the rope, otherwise, the net gets too low, and someone running down the hallway could see it. Luna sighed as she resumed her original position. A minute passed. Then another minute passed. Then another. And another. Thorn and Dusk should be back by now. Why aren't they back yet? Luna trembled. Her hands were sweaty, and her breathing was quick. Shit! What if something happened to them? What if the ghost got them? What if they're hurt? Oh, I need to call them. Agh! But the phones have been acting up since we got to the hotel, it probably won't work. Damnit! Where did Brian put those radios? Ugh, Thorn and Dusk don't have a radio. Luna could barely hold the rope. How am I supposed to know if Thorn and Dusk are okay? Oh god, they could hurt or…

"Are you okay?"

The sudden comment from Brian jolted Luna from her racing thoughts. "Um, yeah, I'm fine," Luna answered with a nod.

"If you say so," Brian replied, and he turned his attention back to the ropes.

Luna took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Relax. Thorn and Dusk can handle themselves. Thorn has magic, and if she feels Dusk or her is in danger, she'll use her magic for protection. And Dusk has gotten herself out of plenty of tough situations, and she can handle herself in a fight. They'll be fine. Luna smiled as felt her calmness returning. Everything is fine. I just need to make sure I release ropes when Fred sees the ghost.

Luna glanced at Fred's hiding spot. She couldn't see Fred due to the couch, but he assured her that he'd call her when he saw the ghost. He was, after all, an expert when it came to trapping monsters; he knew what to do. Plus, Thorn and Dusk would pass the trap first, informing her that the ghost was close behind. Yet despite this knowledge, Luna still felt uncomfortable. What if Fred makes the wrong call? What if…

Luna shook her head. Stop! You're overthinking things. Fred knows what he's doing. We'll be fine. She adjusted her grip on the rope and then leaned against the wall. Relax. Everything is fine. Fred is watching the hallway, you have one of the nets, and the other two are with…

Her eyes widened and she quickly turned to the wall to hide her alarmed gasp as the realization finally hit her. Brian had the other two nets. Two-thirds of the trap were controlled by a liar whose father had connections with the cult and was suspicious of Thorn being a witch. He had accused them all of being cultists, and his motive for staying, simple curiosity, was dubious at best. Plus, Luna couldn't shake the feeling that he was still hiding something. And there he was, taking a key position in Fred's trap.

Shit, what if Brian sabotages the trap! What if he's telling the ghost or monster about our plan? What if he drops the nets on Thorn and Dusk? I need to stop him.

"Hey," Luna said, turning to Brian with a feigned smile. "I know it's an odd request, but, uh, do you mind if I take one of the nets from you? With Thorn and Dusk going under the nets, I feel more comfortable if I had two of the nets."

Brian looked at her for a moment, as if examining her, before shrugging his shoulder. "Of course," he said. He walked over to Luna and handed her the rope. Luna merely nodded as he returned to his position.

Luna sighed. Okay, I have two of the nets and have minimized the harm Brian could do. Now I just need to keep an eye on him.

Luna fully expected to catch Brian in a traitorous act. Perhaps he'd text his cultist accomplices informing them of the trap awaiting them, or maybe he'd mess with the net; a small part of her even thought he'd do something, esoteric, magic even, given his ties to the cult. But as seconds ticked on to minutes, Luna found herself frowning when boredom overtook her as Brian would only occasionally peek down the hall or adjust his grip on the rope in silence, never once looking in her direction.

He's avoiding eye contact with me. He must be hiding something. Or maybe he knows I'm watching him, and he's trying to act innocently. Hmm. I need to be more discreet. Every once in a while, she'd take a peek down the hall or go through her purse.

Then for all of two seconds, Brian took out his phone. Luna nearly shouted, "Got you!", accusing him of colluding with the ghost and cultists. But then the rush of excitement in being right swiftly vanished when Brian returned his phone to his pocket after completing the mundane task of checking the time.

Luna grimaced. Damn, he's good. I don't know how I'm supposed to catch him at this rate. Ugh, what if he already told the cultists about the plan? Shit! What if that's why Thorn and Dusk haven't returned; the cultists caught them!

"Okay, this is getting annoying. Please, stop."

The sudden comment shook Luna from her thoughts, and she quickly turned to the comment's source: Brian.

"Stop what?" Luna asked as innocently as possible.

"You've been watching me the entire we've been standing here," Brian replied, the annoyance in his voice subdued yet still evident.

"No, I haven't," Luna quickly lied.

Brian shook his head, chuckling to himself. "You still don't trust me, do you?"

Luna remained silent. The time for lies was over, and a new course of action was required. "Why are you still here?" she asked. "And don't tell me it's because you're just curious."

Brian nodded. "A fair question," he replied, the tension between the two momentarily easing as the hostility in his voice disappeared. "Two reasons," he explained. "One: I still hope to find answers about what happened to my father. If we can catch these cultists, maybe they can give me answers, or at least point me in the direction of answers." He paused and looked Luna in the eye. "And two," he began. "I know you three are hiding something from me, and I want to know what."

"We're not hiding anything from you, Fred, or anyone else," Luna maintained.

"How did Thorn kill that centipede monster?" Brian retorted.

Luna glared at Brian. "She told how she did it."

"I know what she said, and she's a worse liar than you," Brian stated.

Luna said nothing and continued to glare at Brian.

Brian chuckled. "You don't have to answer my question; I'm in no position to be interrogating you anyway, your lead singer made sure of that," he said, glancing at the cage dangling from the ceiling above the lobby's side entrance. "But that's okay. I just have to bide my time and wait for one of you to slip up, as sooner or later, the truth will come out for all to see."

Luna shuddered, her confidence shaken. How long could they hide Thorn being a witch from him? The fact they lasted this long was a miracle given everything that happened. But it was getting harder to keep that fact hidden thanks to the monsters running around the hotel, and Brian's suspicions made things worse. And on top of that, they were still lying to both Brian and Fred about their true motives for being at the Regal Hotel. If they did remove the cultists and began searching for the treasure, they'd reveal their motives to Brian and Fred. That revelation was a disaster waiting to happen; hell, that might be enough to get Fred angry, let alone Brian. Luna sighed. There was no way she could indefinitely hide their secrets; she could only delay their reveal. And delay was what she did.

Luna finally spoke. "Let's just focus on catching the ghost, and then we…"

Ka-boom!

"What the hell was that!" Luna gasped, dropping the rope and letting the nets fall to the ground.

"I have no idea," Brian said with a look of concern on his face. "It sounded like something exploded."

"Are you two alright?" Fred called out, poking his head above the couch.

"I'm fine," Brian replied. "Luna?"

"Uh, yeah," Luna answered. Her eyes widened in terror. "Oh, god, Thorn and Dusk!" She took her phone from her purse and called Thorn.

"Please answer, please answer," Luna muttered as the phone kept ringing. Seconds ticked by, and Thorn didn't answer. Then suddenly, the call dropped. Luna grunted. She called Dusk. The phone rang for several seconds before the call disconnected again.

"Damnit!" Luna yelled. "Why the fuck do the phones keep failing when we need them the most!" She tossed the useless device back into her purse.

"What are their numbers?" Brian asked with his phone in hand. "I have service here. I can try calling them."

"Okay, it's…" Luna stopped herself from saying Thorn and Dusk's numbers when she realized what she was doing. "Uh…hey, Fred!" she instead called out. "Can you try calling Thorn? I can't reach her or Dusk."

"I'll try," Fred replied, and he called Thorn.

While waiting for Thorn to answer was nerve-wracking, Luna found herself sighing with relief as she avoided making, in her mind, a major mistake. She shot a glance at Brian. He simply put his phone away and waited for Fred to make contact with Thorn.

After what felt like an enormous amount of time, but was in actually just several seconds, Fred shook his head. "Thorn's not answering."

"Damnit," Luna muttered as she pulled her hair. "Why isn't she answering?" She shook her head and began fidgeting. "Something's wrong. Something's very, very wrong."

"We don't know that," Brian countered. "They could be running up right now and-"

"Just shut it!" Luna snapped, much to Brian's, and to an extent, herself, shock.

"Hey, get ready, I hear someone running!" Fred called out.

Luna gasped and scrambled to grab the two ropes, nearly tripping over herself in a panicked frenzy. She hoisted the nets into the air so that they were above the doorway, and she took her position; Brian did the same on his side of the doorway.

Luna stood in silence, waiting. She could hear her own racing heartbeat and her hastened breathing, yet down the hall, there were footsteps. Or more accurately, someone running. Several people running. This is it, they're coming. Stay calm. Let Thorn and Dusk pass, then Fred will give you the signal. Her hands shook as the running became louder.

"Hang on," Fred said. "Thorn and Dusk should be right…Huh?" Fred's sudden silence and perplexed expression caused Luna to become still and tense.

"It's the ghost!" Fred announced.

"What?" Luna gasped. "Where's Thorn and Dusk?"

The ghost's ghastly shrieks echoed through the hallway, announcing its presence.

"Stick to the plan," Fred ordered. "Wait for it."

Luna waited, her heart beating faster and shaking more observable.

"Wait for it."

Panting and terrified shouts joined the racing footsteps and ghostly cries.

"Wait for it."

Amid the commotion, Luna could tell that the people shouting were men, and there were no signs of Thorn or Dusk.

"GET OUT!"

Luna gasped and nearly jumped back when the ghost flew into the room, shrieking and wailing as it aimlessly swiped at its surroundings. It flew around the lobby, looking at her and Brian, yet not attacking either of them.

The ghost got through! Why didn't Fred tell us to drop the nets! She shot a worried glance at Fred, yet he shook his head.

"Wait for it."

The ghost hovered in the air, shaking up in down. Luna's attention was quickly drawn to something she'd never noticed about the ghost: a faint beam of flickering light that protruded from the ghost and connected to something farther down the hall. That something, or perhaps more accurately, someone, was quickly approaching as the footsteps grew louder.

"Wait for it."

The people were close enough that Luna could hear their hastened breathing. Luna felt the sweat beading on her forehead as the people were seconds away from entering the lobby. When's Fred going to tell us to drop the net? It has to be soon; they're right there. Ahhh! What if he messes up? What if Brian doesn't drop his net? Or what if I screw up. Luna shook her head. Pay attention! Fred could tell us to drop the nets at any mome-

"Now! Drop the nets!"

Luna didn't think. She simply let the ropes leave her hands. For an infinitesimally small moment, she noticed so many things around her. The rush of the rope on the pulley. The swoosh of nets the falling. Three people wearing dark, hooded sweatshirts ran into the lobby, each one wearing a cheap, green skeleton mask one might find in the discount section of a Halloween store. The nets landed on the hooded people, one for each person. The hooded men stepped into the small openings of the nets and quickly became entangled. They fell, their momentum carrying them several feet before they crashed into the ground with a loud thud. The massive man in the middle dropped what looked like one of the large film cameras Luna had seen when they shot their music video for Petrified Bride, and the ghost disappeared when the device hit the ground and smashed into pieces.

"Yes! We caught them!" Fred cheered as he emerged from behind the couch.

Luna, Fred, and Brian quickly surrounded the hooded men so they couldn't escape.

"Good job everyone," Brian said before giving Fred a high-five.

Luna stood in complete awe as the hooded men groaned. "It worked! The trap actually worked!" she stammered, a smile slowly spreading across her face. She gave a high-five to Fred, and, much to her surprise, accepted one from Brian.

"Yeah, everything went perfectly," Fred said, giving everything a quick look-over.

But as Fred and Brian celebrated a successful trap, Luna's smile faded as she glanced down the hall. "Where's Thorn and Dusk?"

Both Fred and Brian turned toward the empty hallway. Neither Thorn nor Dusk arrived.

"I don't know," Brian said, turning his attention back toward the captured men. "But I bet they do.

Fred nodded. "Now, let's see who these so-called cultists really are," he declared. He pulled the hood off the large man in the center and then removed the mask. "It's…uh." Fred turned to Luna. "Do you know this guy?"

"I've seen him before," Luna answered. "We saw him on the security footage entering the hotel in the early morning, but I don't know him."

"I don't know him either," Brian stated.

The "cultist" was a middle-aged man with short brown hair and blue eyes. As Luna noted before, he was a massive man that made Fred look small, and she was surprised the net even worked on him. The man grumbled but said nothing to any of them.

Without hesitation, Brian quickly removed the hoods and masks from the other two "cultists." "Do you recognize them?" he asked Luna.

The first was a young man with short black hair and brown eyes. The second was an older man with messy, gray hair and brown eyes. Luna's attention was drawn to a pack of cigarettes pocking out from the gray-haired man's sweatshirt pocket. There were only two people Luna saw smoking today.

"Wait a second," Luna announced. "You two are construction workers we met outside!" Luna laughed and turned to Fred. "I can't you believe you were right about them."

Before Fred could reply, the large man scowled at his accomplices. "You morons didn't tell me you knew these people."

"They were just some hot chicks asking about the hotel; we didn't think they'd actually enter," the young, black-haired guy said.

"And these two dudes weren't with them," the gray-haired man added.

"You two are useless," the large man grunted.

"Well, you got caught on camera," the gray-haired man countered.

The large man shook his head and scoffed.

"Okay, who are you?" Brian asked, putting an end to their bickering.

The large man sighed. "The name's Ray. I'm, well, I guess was, the Head of Security for the Regal Hotel."

"So, you're the Ray the foreman tried calling," Luna concluded, recalling the last calls the foreman made before he died.

Ray nodded before continuing the introductions. "This is Dominic," he said, gesturing to the brown-haired man. "And this is Eddie," he said, gesturing to the gray-haired man. "They're construction workers I hired to help me."

Dominic and Eddie sighed and nodded.

"Where are my friends?" Luna demand. "The other two women that were with me when we arrived."

"No idea," Ray replied, though Dominic looked startled when Luna mentioned Thorn and Dusk. But much to her dismay, none of them spoke or further elaborated.

They know where Thorn and Dusk are. Luna glared at the men, but before she could question them further, especially Dominic, Brian stepped forward.

"Are you three cultists?" he asked, as serious as ever. They clearly weren't, so why ask?

Ray laughed. "Of course not."

"They used the urban legends of the cult and the rumors of ghosts to create a fake ghost so they could scare people away while they searched for the treasure," Fred concluded. He pointed at the broken camera-like device on the floor. "And used this hologram projector to create the ghost."

Ray sighed. "Yeah," he admitted. "I'm pretty proud of the ghost hologram. My wife made it. She's a stage technician for that big theatre that some dude dressed as a fire monster tried burning down a week ago. I convinced her to make a ghost for me."

"Hey, that's the last case the gang and I solved," Fred recalled. "We managed to stop him before he could burn the entire place down."

Luna crossed her arms. Huh, small world. That's the venue we were supposed to play at.

"Huh, you saved my wife's job, thanks," Ray said before he continued to explain his scheme. "Before I had the hologram, I just messed around with folks. You know, moving tools without anyone knowing. Closing doors with fishing line. Spreading rumors of the ghost. I also had a neat little speaker that made some convincing ghostly cries, wails, and even footsteps." Ray reached into his pocket pulled out a small device. He pressed a button.

"GET OUT!" the speaker played before he shut it off.

Ray continued. "Pretty soon, I had everyone convinced the place was haunted. People wouldn't go to places where the 'ghost' was. Given my position, nobody questioned me as I went around the hotel, and workers would report the ghost to me, and then I'd 'investigate' it."

"Instead of investigating, you were looking for the treasure," Fred stated.

Ray nodded, a small smirk forming on his face. "Yup. I then got the hologram projector, and man, that was fantastic. I scared the other security guard so badly he quit the job right there and then, which was great since he was the only one suspicious of me. Once he was gone, I had free reign of the place, and could pretty much scare anyone I needed to with the projector. It was near perfect. The only problem was, this place is huge, even with the upper stories burnt to a crisp and access to the hotel's blueprints. I needed help, particularly with the basement."

"And that's where you two came in," Luna concluded, gesturing to Dominic and Eddie.

"Yeah, first we just spread rumors about the ghost and made sure nobody saw Ray when he was working the hologram projector," Eddie explained.

"Then we use the hologram projector when Ray needed to be seen," Dominic continued. "Of course, Eddie and I had the GPR. We needed that for the basement."

"GPR?" Luna asked.

"Ground Penetrating Radar," Eddie answered with a hint of annoyance in his voice. "We use it outside to survey for water, gas, and electrical lines outside the hotel. Ray was convinced the treasure was hidden in a secret room in the basement, so we needed to bring it down. The problem was that the damn thing wouldn't fit down the stairs, so we cut a hole in the floor of the room over there last night and lowered it down."

"Man, cutting that hole took forever," Dominic added.

Luna glanced at the closed room with the hole and then glared at the men. "You know, people fell down that hole," she scolded.

"Well, nobody is supposed to be back there," Eddie remarked, the lack of care in his voice distinct.

"I told you we should've put a warning sign up," Dominic said.

"Eh, we had boxes of pillows underneath it," Eddie countered. "And besides, some blonde broad was kicking it; she deserved to fall down the hole."

"Hey!" Luna yelled. "Several of us fell through that hole. We could've been hurt or worse!"

"You look fine to me," Eddie said, dismissing Luna.

Luna wasn't one to get physical, that was Dusk's forte, but she wanted to smack Eddie across the face. Instead, Fred stepped between them.

"Okay, so you got the equipment, then what happened?" Fred asked, bringing the conversation back on track.

"Once the GPR was downstairs, we had to get rid of everyone," Ray answered.

"We made the ghost appear in front of a bunch of us," Eddie said, grinning.

"We scared everyone shitless, and I pretended to almost fall off some scaffolding. That got everyone to walk out," Dominic proudly said.

"Hehe, you should be an actor for that performance," Eddie chuckled.

"Anyway, the walk-out went perfectly, and there was nothing our foreman could do about the ghost. Everything was going perfectly," Ray bragged before frowning as he glared at Luna, Fred, and Brian. "Our plan was foolproof, and we would've found the treasure if it wasn't for you meddling kids!"

"Uh, we're all adults here," Brian corrected.

"Eh, you get used to it after a while," Fred said with a shrug.

After hearing the mens' explanation of why they created the ghost, Luna shook her head in disbelief. "I can't believe you did all that just to find a treasure that may not even exist!" Luna realized it was a bit hypocritical to criticize Ray for his elaborate plan given she was here to find the treasure because some mysterious entity told Thorn to do so, though there wasn't much she could do about it.

"Oh, it exists alright," Ray said, a sense of seriousness in his voice. "I have proof of it. How else do think I got my wife to give me the hologram projector, and how I recruited Dominic and Eddie?"

Luna raised an eyebrow. "Proof?"

Ray nodded. "Several months ago, while moving salvaged items from one of the penthouses to the basement, a stumbled upon an old box. I honestly don't know how it survived the fire, but when I opened that sucker up, it contained a bunch of weird papers and letters, some of them written in what looked like gibberish. But more importantly, I found a small satchel containing silver coins." Ray paused to collect thoughts. "I grew up in the city and knew about the urban legends surrounding this place, and I would've called you crazy if you said you believed in the treasure and the cult. Now I can't believe I was wrong. "

"Where is this box?" Brian asked, breaking his silence.

"We had it in the backroom, but then we moved it downstairs after some people, presumably all of you, went through it," Ray explained.

Luna wasn't sure what to say. There was physical evidence of a treasure at the hotel. Evidence that she, Dusk, and Thorn saw. And that meant there was a cult as well. Luna shuddered as a new thought came to mind: What if actual cultists scared them upstairs and got Thorn and Dusk. I need to find out why they ran upstairs.

Before she could ask, her attention was drawn to Fred.

"Hmm, I don't get it," Fred said, his hand to his chin.

"Get what?" Luna asked.

"I don't understand why they killed the foreman and how they made the costume," Fred clarified.

"W-what? Mr. Kurtz is dead?" Ray stammered his expression a mix of sadness and confusion.

"We'd never do something like that," Dominic said in a shaky voice.

"There's no way he's dead," Eddie said, shaking his head. "He left hours ago."

Brian shook his head. "No, was brutally killed by a cloaked figure several hours ago in his office. We thought you did it, perhaps because he discovered your plan."

The crooks shook their heads, all three still in shock over the death of Mr. Kurtz. "No, we'd never kill anybody, let alone ."

"They said a cloaked figure killed him," Dominic shuddered. "Do you guys think it's the same guy we saw?"

"You saw the cloaked figure?" Luna gasped.

"Once," Ray said. "It was a little before the blonde girl found the GPR. There was this terrible smell, and we saw someone in a cloak at the top of the stairs. He just stood there for a bit and then left."

"We thought it was you guys trying to smoke us out with some gas," Eddie added.

"That wasn't us," Luna stammered, rubbing her neck.

"Then who is the cloaked figure?" Fred asked aloud.

Luna shuddered as a sense of dread overcame her. She knew what the cloaked was and why it was there. A small part of her hoped it wasn't true, and Ray, Dominic, and Eddie were lying, but she knew better. That monstrosity lurking in the hotel, hunting and killing indiscriminately, was here because she and her fellow Hex Girls were here. And it was unaccounted for. And so were Thorn and Dusk.

She could hear Fred and Brian argue with the crooks about who was at fault for the murder, but it became background noise to her. Thorn and Dusk were missing while the killer was still about. Try as she might, she couldn't stop herself from drawing that terrible conclusion.

As she trembled, her attention was suddenly drawn to the hallway as she heard people approaching. For a split second, she felt paralyzed as she expected the cloaked monster to be standing there. Instead, the fear melted away, and she smiled as Thorn and Dusk ran into the lobby, panting. All her thoughts about cultists and cloaked killers vanished for a moment as she saw her friends safe and sound.

"Sorry we're late," Thorn said between quick breaths. "We thought we heard someone go down the other hallway and wanted to make sure they didn't try leaving through the back door."

"Aww, we missed the capture," Dusk groaned. "Hey, those are the workers we saw outside."

Luna barely heard Thorn and Dusk as she ran and hugged her bandmates.

"Hey, we weren't gone that long," Dusk teased as Luna released them from her embrace.

"You missed the long-winded explanation of how and why they faked the ghost; I'd say that counts as being gone for a while, " Luna teased back. "Are two okay? I heard an explosion downstairs."

"We're fine," Thorn quickly assured, and the three Hex Girls headed back to Fred, Brian, and the captured crooks. As they neared the group, Luna noticed that Thorn slowed her pace and avoided eye contact with Ray, Eddie, and Dominic.

Luna let Dusk walk ahead and whispered to Thorn. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Thorn simply replied, her voice hushed.

No, you're not, Luna thought, her eyes narrowing. They did something to you.

"I'm glad to see you two made it back okay," Fred said to Thorn and Dusk. "How'd it go down there?"

The scream made everyone jump.

"IT'S HER!"

Luna knew fear. True fear. A deep, primordial fear that ripped away hope and rational thought, leaving a person as nothing more than a primitive ape only capable of understanding that their existence was about to end, and flight or flight didn't work. She saw that fear when the cloaked figure held her like a predator held its prey. And now she saw that unbridled terror in Dominic's eyes as he looked at Thorn

The net was strong and heavy, and it ensnared him. This didn't seem to faze Dominic. He tore a hole in the top of the net. He got his head and upper torso through and then tripped. He screamed, his terrified gaze never once leaving Thorn. He scampered across the floor in a desperate bid to get up, kicking the net like a captured animal trying to flee from an approaching hunter. He flailed his limbs wildly around doing everything in his power to get the net off of him and run away.

"IT'S HER!"

Fred and Brian took the nets off Ray and Eddie so the four of them could help Dominic. They didn't need to since Dominic had gotten the net down his legs and had reached the front desk.

"IT'S HER!"

His clothes were drenched in sweat and his entire body trembled. He reached behind him to grab something from his backside.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Ray shouted as he and Eddie subdued Dominic and prevented him from getting whatever it was he had.

"It's the psycho chick!" Dominic shrieked as he pointed at Thorn. Both Ray and Eddie's faces paled when they looked at Thorn.

Luna gasped. They didn't do something to Thorn; she did something to them!

"Holy shit! I think he's right," Ray shouted as he backed up.

"She killed Kurtz!" Eddie yelled.

"Woah, just calm down," Fred said, trying to ease tensions. "Why do you think Thorn killed the foreman?"

"She almost fucking killed me!" Dominic cried, his face in tears. "Her hand was glowing, and a fucking dresser slammed into me and almost crushed me to death! I bet she killed the foreman the same way!"

Luna gasped. There's no way she did that. She wouldn't let herself hurt anyone. She looked at Thorn. The poor girl just looked at the ground and scratched her arm. No. No, it can't be.

Brian backed away from Thorn. "How'd you do that, Thorn? The same way you took care of that centipede monster?"

Thorn didn't say anything. She began to tremble and sniffle.

No.

"Uh, let's, uh, not jump to any conclusions," Fred stuttered, but even he had taken a few steps back from Thorn.

"She's a fucking monster!" Eddie yelled.

"Will you just shut up!" Dusk yelled back as she stepped in front of Thorn. "She didn't do anything!"

Luna approached Thorn. She was going to get the truth, one way or another. "Thorn, what happened?"

"Luna, she didn't do anything," Dusk defended, blocking Thorn from her with her arm.

Luna felt like someone sucker-punched her. Dusk knows. Her stomach ached, and she was certain she was going to puke. They didn't tell me about this. They didn't fucking tell me that Thorn hurt someone.

"Jane, get out of the way. I need to talk to her," Luna ordered. She was taken back by how cold she sounded.

Dusk also seemed surprised as she lowered her arm and stepped aside. With Dusk away, Luna had Thorn to herself.

"Thorn, what happened?" Luna questioned.

Thorn sniffled and whimpered, her eyes shut, no doubt holding back tears.

Luna held Thorn's hand. "Sally, what happened?"


The moment she entered the lobby and recognized who was under the net, Thorn knew it was over. The confrontation between her and the cultist, who she now knew was actually a construction worker, she nearly killed was inevitable. She had tried to delay it by taking her time getting to the lobby and then staying with Luna, thinking perhaps Fred and Brian would keep them distracted by questioning them. That didn't happen. Instead, Dominic came face-to-face with his almost-killer.

Thorn was hit by the most intense sense of nausea she ever felt when she saw Dominic's face. She had to turn away from him. No one should ever experience that much terror, that horrible feeling only a true monster could instill in someone. She felt that terror when the Fallen possessed her. The Fallen was, of course, a monster. The cloaked figure was a monster. Matella was a monster. The Ravencrofts were as well.

And one of the other workers called her that.

A monster.

Thorn trembled, and her eyes became teary. She had a face for the person she nearly killed. A person with friends and a family, whose crime was not worth a death sentence. Her nausea became even worse. She had enjoyed hurting him. She enjoyed hearing his cries of agony. She enjoyed watching his life fade away.

I'm a monster.

She sobbed when she saw Brian and Fred back away from her. Brian was always suspicious of her, so it didn't surprise her when he questioned her. Fred seeing her as a threat hurt, but it was nothing compared to when Luna approached her.

"Thorn, what happened?"

Thorn shut her eyes. She heard Dusk defend her, but even that was short-lived as Luna made Dusk step aside.

"Thorn, what happened?"

She whimpered, and her eyelids felt like a weak dam holding back a flood of tears.

Luna held her hand. Her grip was gentle and comforting, yet there was a sense of sadness and anger.

"Sally, what happened?"

Thorn couldn't hold back her tears as guilt devoured her like, rather appropriately, a ravenous monster. She sobbed, her tears rolling down her face. She faced Luna and hugged her. "I'm sorry." Her words came out weak and garbled as if she choked on them. "I'm sorry."

"Sally, did you hurt Dominic?" Luna calmly asked as she stroked Thorn's hair.

Thorn cried, her face red and drenched in tears. "Yes."

Fred gasped. Shouts of "Monster!" came from the construction workers. Brian demanded to know what she was. Dusk lowered her head and did nothing.

Luna sighed. "Was it with-"

"Yes," Thorn sobbed.

Again, Luna sighed. "It's okay."

"No, it's not!" Thorn cried, shaking her head. "I almost killed someone, and I enjoyed it."

"What the fuck is wrong with you!?" Ray shouted, grimacing at the sick act.

"She's a fucking monster!" Dominic screamed.

Luna pulled Thorn closer to her, and Thorn cried into Luna's shoulder. "Ignore them," Luna calmly said.

"No, they're right. I am a monster," Thorn whimpered.

"I've seen real monsters," Luna stated. "And Thorn, you're the furthest thing from a monster."

Thorn's sobs lightened, and she hugged Luna tightly; she even managed to look her friend in the eye. "But I still…"

"Yes," Luna calmly stated before sighing. "You need to apologize by telling everyone the truth. No more secrets."

"Everything," Thorn whimpered.

"Everything," Luna repeated.

Thorn gave a slight nod as she slowly released Luna from her hug. Luna was right. She needed to tell everyone here about her magic and why they were at the Regal Hotel. Would it absolve her of her sin? No. Nothing could truly do that, and she didn't expect forgiveness; if Dominic wanted to call the police and press charges, she'd plead guilty to whatever was thrown at her. But without secrets, the healing process could begin for everyone.

She wiped her eyes and approached Dominic, Ray, and Eddie. "I'm sorry," she began. "I know those words mean nothing to you, but I am truly sorry for what I did."

"They sure as hell mean shit," Dominic grunted.

Thorn lowered her head. They all have to know the truth. She looked back at Dominic, though she addressed everyone in the lobby.

"I'm sorry for all the pain and misery I caused to everyone," Thorn announced. "I'm sorry for the lies and the manipulation." She paused to collect her thoughts and wipe a tear from her eye as everyone watched and listened with great intent. "I don't expect to be forgiven, but you all deserve to know the truth about me and why my friends and I are here."

Thorn sighed. "You see, I'm a-"

The scent of rotten eggs left her speechless, and a shiver went down her spine. No, it can't be…

She screamed as a searing pain scorched her shoulder. She fell to the floor and clutched her shoulder, kicking and screaming as the pain enveloped her body.

"What the hell is happening to her?" Brian yelled as he and the rest of the guys looked on in confusion and shock.

Luna and Dusk rushed to Thorn and tried to keep her from accidentally injuring herself with her spasms.

"We need to get out of here," Luna warned.

"What's happening?" Fred asked. "Why do we need to lea- Ugh!"

Everyone gagged and covered their noses as the stench of rotten eggs grew stronger. Thorn screamed louder and flailed harder as the pain worsened in conjunction with the stench. She felt like her entire body was on fire with no end in sight.

"AHHHH! HELP ME!" she shrieked.

And just like that, the pain stopped.

Thorn was drenched in sweat and panting. She lay on the floor, too exhausted to get up. Luna and Dusk helped her. As they got her to her feet, Thorn shivered as an overwhelming feeling of dread washed over her like a wretched wave. Something was with them. Something dangerous. Something evil. Something one could truly call a monster.

Thorn's attention was swiftly drawn to the side hallway that lead to the foreman's office. There, she locked eyes with an ancient and predatory set of yellow eyes.