Chapter X.5-The helpless bystander

Third Person POV

Few seconds before the kidnapping...

After taking a few hours to collect herself, due to seeing her brother was alive, Lizzie was on the way to her best friend's room. She was going to tell her that Alex was her little brother and that she could trust him.

The time she had spent scouring the mansion made her think of how she had become Evie's emotional support. How long had it been? It seems like it was just yesterday...

Lizzie had never lived her life to the fullest and wasn't able to fulfill her wishes before her life was cut short. So, she didn't want either Evelynn or Alex to lose this second chance at life, and maybe at their relationship.

-/-

Centuries ago when she saw the state her little brother was in, she couldn't move on as her parents had. They said he would be alright, yet Lizzie knew best. After all her parents did not know who had caused their deaths, unlike her. People like him stopped at nothing until they tied up their loose ends and unfortunately, her little brother was one.

If only he could see her, so she could warn him... Yet, the moment she saw the young girl entering his room for the first time, she had hope. Hope that her brother would be able to be happy once more and hope that someone would protect him from that monster.

Being dead gave her enough time to examine her brother's new friend, without being seen or so she thought. From what her brother told her later when he left the asylum, Evie could see ghosts.

Now that's what she called a match made in heaven. Her brother sees things that don't exist and Evelynn sees beyond the average eye. Oh well, no matter the circumstances they were, Lizzie for a fact that made the cutest couple.

Just like Evelynn, she was never a big fan of romance novels, but seeing their dynamics and relationship blossom with the passing of the years made her giggle as if she were a schoolgirl. The only thing which frustrated her deeply was their cluelessness towards each other's feelings.

Imagine her surprise when she saw her brother grow bolder in his affections. She might have been dead, but Lizzie wanted to have nephews or nieces! And how cute their features would look combined.

-/-

However her joy was short-lived when she noticed the place her brother was placed in and to her despair, she saw Bumby set his sights on Evie. Oh no, not again! She would never wish what she went through to another person, especially someone she had grown to care for.

The day Evelynn vanished, she felt dread overtake her and no matter how much they tried to find her, Lizzie knew deep inside she had become another victim of that monster, and once more he would go unpunished. Still, she couldn't give up! She had to do something, and fast!

Lizzie wished she could go after her but she was connected to her brother and to their painting, therefore she couldn't leave his side. How would she go look for the girl?

Seeing her brother desperate to find his love broke her heart. Then he cried and begged that we protected her. And as if a weight had left her spiritual form, Lizzie felt like she could move more freely.

Attempting to dash to the outside, she realized that whatever her brother had done, had made her able to move wherever she wanted. And so she did. The burning remains in the slums as if something more was there.

When she got there, the previous commotion had left already and only the police stood there, trying to find out who had caused the arson. Arson had been Bumby's MO so maybe she could find something in the ashes.

Scooting around the remains of the old shack, she spotted something glinting amidst the ash. When she got closer Lizzie noticed a cuff button that was too familiar to her. It was silver and it had a B.

Oh no, she had gotten too late! He had caught her too...Hmm, where were the human remains? Her eyes spotted burning red footsteps leaving the crime scene. Since when she could see that? It didn't matter, she needed to find Evie.

-/-

Following the burning trail, she traversed a forest until she reached the depths. The track had stopped but she couldn't see Evelynn anywhere or any evidence of recently dug ground. A crackle startled her out of her wits.

Trigger alert: description of a corpse

Now, where did that sound come from? Rummaging through the trees and the bushes, she finally saw a sight that would haunt her forever. There in the ground was Evie's mangled corpse.

Lizzie dashed towards the young girl and wept. Her once shiny grey eyes were now empty with red and purple splotches. There was blood on her lips. Evie always had been fair but now she seemed as if she was translucent.

They shared the same mark around the neck now. Dark purple handprint bruises wrapped around her neck. Bastard! He had torn her blouse and corset, leaving her marked and discolored chest bare.

She didn't have the heart to see the rest but Lizzie could see from the corner of her eyes, her blood-caked inner thighs. She was going to haunt that bastard till the end of his days. That was a promise.

As she was going to attempt closing Evie's eyes she heard footsteps approaching so she dove into the bushes instinctively. A man in a black tuxedo, with scarlet locks and charred skin, lifted her corpse into his arms and opened a portal in front of him.

No! Where was he going to take her? Evelynn deserved to have a good burial at least. And as he stepped inside the portal, Lizzie looked back one last time for she was going to leave her brother behind in such a terrifying time but she had to do something.

"I'm so sorry, little brother, but I need to do this. I hope you forgive me one day..."-And off she went, as she followed the demon who carried Evie and watched over as she woke up.

Lizzie presumed that she would be able to help her, even if it was just emotional support, but seeing her now best friend be tortured, manipulated, and neglected by her own father, broke her spirit.

Evelynn always refused to take Lizzie with her when she went hunting, saying that spirits are easily corrupted by what they experience and see. If she saw what she did to her victims, Lizzie would surely turn into a vengeful spirit and wouldn't be able to move on, to be with her family once more.

Oh, poor Evie, she believed that Lizzie was still her previous pure form, but little did she know that Lizzie had thrown her moral compass away, a long time ago. She would do anything to protect Evelynn and Alex...anything.

Chapter End