A/N: It lives! This story isn't dead yet and as long as I'm not either I want to eventually finish it. Apologies for yet another unplanned hiatus but stuff's been nuts lately and this pandemic isn't helping. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year's to everyone!
The silence was deafening. After the shrill-almost unnatural-giggle of what could only be Stephanie, the house remained silent. Alyssa didn't like the feeling of unease. Not only did it put her on edge whenever Bates reminded her of his presence, it made her skin tingle and brought out some intense paranoia. She didn't trust anything after the incident with the fire poker.
"Where is everybody?" she wondered aloud, taking slow steps through the house. She had thought the laugh came from nearby so she went back into the dining room, but the bedroom door was still locked and she didn't feel right wandering near the basement right now. Instead, she began creeping up the stairs, trying not to make any noise. How many times had she played hide-and-seek with one of her cousins, carefully mapping out the creaky areas of the floor so she could make a clean getaway to her chosen spot? She never would've imagined having to use that knowledge like this.
The landing was empty, save for her uncle Philip's beloved samurai armor, standing watch over the small area. She always had thought the thing was creepy but now its presence carried an unusual weight to it, as though it were observing her. She shivered. She kept her gaze fixed on it as she entered the bathroom. Bates told her to look for a means of defense. Or perhaps it was the paranoia. She wasn't sure what she'd find in there-she'd wanted the sword from the armor but wasn't going near it right now-but maybe there would be something. She wasn't expecting a brush of cold metal when she reached into one of the overhead cabinets and she stifled a gasp. A revolver glinted in the dim lights.
"What was Uncle Philip doing with this?" She couldn't imagine a family man like him carrying a weapon. Not only were the laws too strict, but what if Michael, Ashley or even Stephanie were to get ahold of it? Something was very wrong here. She felt a small surge of giddiness that wasn't her own at the revelation of all six bullets being loaded. She could practically feel Bates smiling. She shook her head to clear it and tucked the gun away into her pocket as best she could. Ignoring what was sure to be Bates' insane grin in the reflection, she rummaged around for anything else of use. Nothing aside from the usual assortment of toiletries. She left the bathroom and continued exploring.
She took careful steps down the hall, listening for any unusual sounds. There was still nothing but the heavy silence left in the wake of Stephanie's demented laughter. She wandered into Ashley's room and was hit with a terrible chill. Alyssa stared at the conspicuous suitcase left open in the middle of the floor, its contents hidden. Her instincts were screaming at her to stay away, though Bates was strangely quiet. She tiptoed towards it as though it might attack her. With everything that had happened so far, she wouldn't be surprised.
Alyssa bumped the suitcase with her foot and gasped in horror when it tipped over and a head that looked too much like Ashley's rolled out. She remained frozen, eyes never tearing from the empty gaze of cloudy white. The skin had turned a sickly green color and congealed bits of yellow clung to the severed neck. The same yellow that had been left in the bathtub.
"No," Alyssa said, taking stiff backward steps. "It can't be." If this head was real, then that meant the body in the tub was, which meant that Ashley...
She let out a short scream as she clutched her head and fell to her knees, the infuriated darkness that was Bates clawing at her mind.
"It isn't safe here," he said, persistent in his efforts. "We need to get out. That girl is a monster."
Despite his efforts, Alyssa could make out something more in his words. He was angry, yes. Angry because even though he claimed not to care, he was in truth just as attached to Ashley as she was. He was angry because Alyssa was in danger and no one got away with threatening her. And he was angry because he was certain that this was all her father's fault.
But underneath all of that unnatural rage was worry. Fear. He was frightened by what was going on here, even though he refused to admit it. She didn't like the way his fear mingled with hers.
"Stay back," she muttered, finally feeling him recede. "We don't know what's going on yet." The argument fell dead before it even left her lips.
"The amulet, Alyssa. It's not safe." A final distant tug at her thoughts.
She sighed. Getting to her feet-and trying very, very hard to ignore the dead stare of her cousin-Alyssa brought the amulet out of her pocket. Bates was right, as much as it scared her to admit it. She swallowed the lump forming in her throat and went over to Ashley's wardrobe. Pulling open the drawer, she placed the amulet beneath some socks before taking a deep breath to calm herself. If she was going to have to deal with Bates with willpower alone, she wanted to be as calm as possible. Especially when she was carrying a gun with a personality who wouldn't hesitate to use it.
Alyssa wasted no more time in Ashley's room and left, taking another moment to compose herself in the hallway. Once she felt her heart steady and the mental throbbing of Bates subside, she ventured into Michael's room. Though devoid of anything useful, she was relieved to find it was also missing any body parts from her family. She stepped back into the hall and decided to explore the rest of the house.
Upon returning to the landing, the sound of metal shifting rang out as the samurai armor's helmet turned to face her. Its armor clinked as it stepped down from its stand and began shuffling towards her, sword gripped tightly in its hand. Alyssa watched it take slow, heavy steps towards her in abject horror. She felt Bates again, eager to use the gun, but she suppressed him. She wouldn't let him get his way and go on a rampage no matter how demented the situation was.
Instead, she held her ground until the armor closed the distance. It seemed to think she was an easy target as it brought its sword high above its head, aiming to slice her in two. Alyssa dove out of the way just before it slashed, got back to her feet and took off down the stairs. She heard its heavy steps as she raced through doors, eventually finding herself outside on the deck circling the house. She rested her arms on the railing as she recovered from the sudden spike in adrenaline.
She should leave. Find help and bring it back. She'd be safe, but what about the others? Ashley was already gone but that didn't mean that Michael, Stephanie, Uncle Philip and Aunt Katherine were too, did it? She shook her head, deciding that she wouldn't leave until she had answers. She'd never forgive herself if she had the chance to save them and instead left them to die.
"Found you!"
Alyssa yelped and whirled around to find none other than the youngest Tate standing by the door. But she wasn't the same sweet little girl who liked play games and eat candy when her parents and older siblings weren't around. She was grinning wickedly and holding a kitchen knife, the blade pointing at her cousin with every intent to kill.
"Stephanie...?" She couldn't believe her eyes.
"You never were very good at hiding," the girl said as she stepped closer. "Even Ashley was more fun than you."
"...Ashley? Stephanie, what are you saying?" Her mind refused to believe any of it. Bates, on the other hand...
Stephanie lunged and tried to drive the knife into Alyssa's stomach. She croaked out a grunt when a hand pushed the knife away and she felt a knee knock the wind out of her. She fell to the ground, disoriented.
Bates towered over the girl, hands on his hips and sneer in place. "You're a real handful, y'know that?" He watched her get back up, recovering quickly for someone who just took a blow to the stomach. Though he had tried, he failed to twist the knife out of her grasp. "You oughta be careful with that. Someone could get hurt," he joked, sidestepping as she lunged again. He put some space between himself and the child, stopping once his back met the railing. Though he was still a bit bothered by the whole situation, he wasn't going to be intimidated by a little girl just because she had a knife. He hadn't forgotten about the weight in his left pocket, but could not forget the weight of his promise to keep Alyssa safe. He'd never be able to do that if he broke her trust in him.
Instead, he looked around for something useful and less deadly while the girl laughed manically.
"Tag! You're it," she shouted suddenly, rushing forward.
Bates saw a potted fern resting on the railing, grabbed it, and smashed it into the girl's head before she could come up with any more games to play. Stephanie wordlessly collapsed face-first onto the wooden floor and ceased moving. Bates stared at her for several moments until he was sure she was still breathing before letting out a chuckle and heading back inside. After all, why not use this unexpected freedom to do a little digging on Hale? Especially since he was sure that damn cohort of his was hiding somewhere in the house like the spineless roach he was.
Bates stepped through doors like a man on a mission even though he had no idea where anyone else was. He kept an ear open for the potentially possessed armor and heard it stomping around the front door. He pursed his lips at the realization that the gun would probably be useless against it. As he continued to wander, he heard a voice. It was quiet, male, and sounded rather distressed. He let out a grunt as he opened a door to reveal Philip Tate standing in the middle of a small room, muttering to himself.
"Hey, old man," he started, crossing his arms and giving him a dangerous scowl. "What the hell is going on here? This place is like a haunted house."
Philip, perhaps numb from the many other freakish incidents already happening, did not startle at the sudden presence of Alyssa's more... unsavory personality. Instead, he simply turned to observe her. Him. "So it's true," he said after a long silence. "You really are possessed." All he could do was shake his head in mild disbelief. He wasn't-couldn't-be surprised. Not with everything else that had happened. Not with...
"That damned curse," Philip muttered, placing his hands over his face in defeat.
"Curse? What curse? Do you mean me?" He chuckled. "You're even crazier than I thought."
He looked at the girl before him, the girl who he'd cared for and watched over on behalf of his once best friend. The same girl who his three children adored, despite her unique issues. This was the same young girl who was the center of all things bad and evil. The poor thing had no idea and he couldn't bring himself to let her go on like that forever.
Bates snapped his fingers in front of Philip's face. "You still with me, Grandpa? I want answers."
"You shouldn't be here, Alyssa. It isn't safe." He watched the deep scowl morph into mild confusion. "It isn't safe. You need to hide," he reiterated before he left the room, consumed by his internal musings once more.
Bates huffed and shook his head. He could have forced answers out of the old coot, but he was clearly out of his mind. Whatever was happening here was affecting him too, only he didn't seem to know it. "How fitting," he said, deciding to leave the man alone for now. He figured now was as good a time as any to let Alyssa regain control. Of course, it was a pain to have to go and fetch the amulet, especially with that armor roaming around.
The door behind him suddenly slammed open and the cursed suit prepared to take a swing. Bates swore as he jumped back, wondering how the thing had managed to sneak up on him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the gun, grinning maniacally as he took aim.
Bang!
Ping!
The bullet bounced off and lodged itself into the wall. Bates grit his teeth as he realized his original hunch had been right and shooting it was a waste of time. He ducked just in time to avoid getting his and Alyssa's head cut off.
He managed to awkwardly tumble between its legs and rush out of the door it had entered. As he ran back up the stairs to retrieve that damn useless trinket, he remembered that Stephanie had only been incapacitated for a short while. He hoped she'd be out long enough for him to get shit done. He paused outside of Ashley's room to listen for any signs of movement. Stehpanie may have turned evil, but she was still a child. Children never were very good at hiding for long.
When several moments passed and he still hadn't heard a sound-save for the slow, heavy clunking of the approaching armor-he entered, snatched up the amulet, and receded in record time. He sent one final warning to Alyssa about the current situation so she'd have some idea of what was going on.
She gulped at the thought of having to face her own family in a life-or-death situation like this. Sometimes she wished she'd never been let back into the public.
A/N: Bit of a cliffhanger, I know, but this chapter was already way longer than I meant it to be so... In any case, hope you guys enjoy!
