Episode 6: "House of Intruders & House of Proof"
This edited and revised chapter was uploaded on July 13, 2020
Chapter 6: Sisters and Sibuna
"I saw him right outside the door and he was staring right at me," Patricia said.
Patricia was sitting on her bed, Cameron right next to her. Both of them were being comforted by their friends. Cameron's scream had woken the whole house up, only for Patricia to see the same man looming outside her bedroom. They were terrified. Completely terrified. And no one quite knew what to say to make them feel better.
Cameron found something being thrust in her face. It was a half-eaten banana. Mick was offering her a bite.
Cameron felt a surge of warmth for his thoughtfulness, but shook her head. She wasn't sure she had the stomach for anything right now.
The police had come. Patricia quickly confessed to Cameron it was the same policeman who was in on the whole "Joy" thing.
Cameron was not letting anyone touch her. She was practically folded in on herself, shaking so bad it was worrying. Her gaze was blank, but there were tears in her eyes. She clutched a teddy bear tight to her chest. Everyone assumed she was in shock, or that she was simply too scared from the intruder to talk.
Jerome had a theory it was more than that.
He slowly approached her, and held out his hand. Cameron blinked slowly, her eyes trailing to his hand, then up his arm, to his shoulder, to his neck, to his face, to his eyes.
She blinked again. Then slowly took his hand.
Jerome gently pulled her to her feet, and slowly wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him.
"Guys, I'm taking Cameron back to her room."
Everyone stared, startled by the uncharacteristic behavior from Jerome, but the boy himself couldn't be bothered. He simply led Cameron from the room and into her own. She was clearly uncomfortable with everyone surrounding her. Maybe she'd feel better once they were alone.
The last thing she needed right now was to feel crowded and smothered.
Cameron immediately fell into the comfort of her own bed, still clutching the teddy bear. Jerome debated on whether to close the door or not, but quickly decided that might make her feel like she didn't have an escape.
He left it half-open.
Jerome sat at the foot of her bed and studied her. Cameron wasn't quite as tense, but her eyes were still teary and faraway.
Something was up.
Something caught Jerome's eye. There was a name embroidered on the foot of Cameron's teddy bear. Only it wasn't Cameron's name.
Yep, something was definitely up.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Jerome asked.
"Talk about what?" Even Cameron's voice sounded hollow and faraway.
"Whatever's wrong."
"I just woke up to see a strange, scary man staring at me." Cameron's voice never lost its distant quality, but her sass had reemerged. It was a good sign.
"Yes, but he's gone now. You're safe." Jerome scooted a little closer to her. "Cameron."
She looked up. Jerome never called her "Cameron." Always Caramel. Or Shakespeare. Never Cameron. She looked in his eyes, and saw they were more sincere than she had ever seen before.
Sincerity that pure couldn't be faked.
"It happened before," Cameron said quietly. She could hardly believe she was about to tell Jerome this, of all people, but… "But not to me."
"Then, to who?" Jerome asked.
Cameron slowly leaned over and picked up the framed photo on her nightstand. She handed the photo to Jerome and he studied it.
The photo was of a tall boy with dark hair and bright blue eyes flanked by two identical girls.
Identical twin girls.
"It happened to Jill," Cameron whispered. She slowly pointed to the girl on the boy's right. Jerome's eyes widened.
The photo was of Cameron. And her older brother, Matt. And her identical twin sister.
Jill.
"What happened?" Jerome asked quietly.
Cameron sagged.
"We were 13 when it happened. I woke up and saw a man in our bedroom. He was standing over Jill. I was going to scream, but I froze when I saw the… the knife." Jerome's eyes widened, and Cameron clutched the teddy bear tighter. The name embroidered on its foot was "Jill." "If only I had done something. I just sat there and watched as he murdered my twin! What was wrong with me? Why couldn't I do anything? If I had…" Cameron's face crumpled. "She would still be here."
Cameron broke down.
Jerome could only hug her. Cameron immediately released her hold on the bear and held tight to him instead. She pressed herself to his chest, climbing into his lap and clinging to the closeness and comfort he offered her.
Providing comfort like this was new for Jerome, but it came so easily he didn't even need to think about it. He cradled her head, letting her cling to him as tight as she needed. He simply held her, shushing her gently, assuring her it wasn't her fault, soothing her, stroking his hand up and down her back in an attempt to ground her, to comfort her.
He wasn't sure it was enough.
Cameron's tears eventually slowed. Her hold on Jerome relaxed, but she still didn't pull away.
"It's not your fault, Cameron," Jerome quietly told her. She sniffed, but didn't say anything. "Did they ever catch him?"
"No," Cameron said with another sniff. She lifted her head from his chest, but it simply migrated to his shoulder. "Can this stay between us?"
"Of course." Jerome's response was immediate. "I promise." It was rare when Jerome Clarke made promises he intended to keep.
Cameron relaxed even further. "Thanks, Jerome." It was little more than a whisper.
Jerome couldn't remember ever having been thanked so genuinely.
"What are friends for?"
At this, Cameron lifted her head. She met his eyes and cocked her head at him like a curious little kitten.
"Are we friends?"
He could understand why she asked. They had spent most of their conversations bickering and bantering. Or causing each other potential injury with aggressive foot stomps and impromptu pillow fights in the living room.
"Do you want to be?" Jerome asked. Cameron seemed to think about it, but after a beat, nodded. "Me too."
Cameron hugged him tight, and Jerome happily held her.
They were silent for a few minutes before Jerome spoke.
"I've got a sister," he said. "Poppy."
Cameron laughed lightly, something Jerome was glad to hear.
"You say her name like she's devil spawn."
"She is. I call her Poopy. She calls me Gerbil."
"She sounds lovely," Cameron said. A small smile appeared on Jerome's face, something that told her that despite the teasing, Jerome really did care for Poppy.
"What was Jill like?" he suddenly asked.
Cameron smiled just thinking about her sister.
"She was my best friend," she said. "Always teasing me about how she was born 12 minutes before me." Jerome laughed alongside Cameron. "We were identical, so no one was ever able to tell us apart. When we were younger, people could always tell it was Jill because she wore glasses, but she got contacts when we were 12. At school, teachers were able to remember which one of us was in which class, but our friends had to come up with more original methods. Both Jill and I had similar styles except for our shoes. I always wear flats or boots. She always wore Converse or sandals. Some people would look at our shoes in order to tell which one of us was which. Although, sometimes we would switch just to mess with people." Jerome laughed again. "I remember one person telling me that he was able to tell me and Jill apart by the tiny scar Jill had on her hairline. Another person could tell us apart by our voices. Apparently, Jill's was higher than mine. And another person claimed my hair was thicker."
Cameron reached into her nightstand and pulled out a row of photo booth pictures. The photos were of her and Jill. And Jerome was a little embarrassed to admit that he couldn't tell which was which. Cameron had not been lying when she said she and her sister were identical.
"That's me," Cameron said, pointing to herself. Jerome looked at her, and she had a small, teasing smile on her face. She knew he couldn't tell. Jerome ignored the ribbing, looking back at the pictures. The first three were of silly faces and poses, but the last one was of them smiling. They had their arms around each other and were flashing identical bright smiles at the camera.
God, they really were best friends.
"I remember one time…" Cameron launched into a story about her and Jill playing pranks on people one April Fool's Day. Jerome discovered that Cameron had been quite the prankster when she was younger. Jerome smiled and listened to Cameron's story, and found he was disappointed when he was eventually ushered back to bed.
Yeah. Cameron and Jerome were definitely friends.
~)8(~
Morning came, and Trudy quickly took it upon herself to decide that Patricia and Cameron were in no state for school. She helped them downstairs, both girls dressed in their pajamas. They both hadn't been able to fall back asleep after the incident. Both of them were exhausted.
"Why aren't you two dressed?" Victor demanded upon seeing them.
"They're not going to school today," Trudy said.
"I have work to do around the house," Victor argued. "I cannot do it if there are students rustling about the place."
"Yes, students can be such a bother," Trudy quipped sarcastically. "Well you don't need to worry. They'll hardly be rustling around. They're exhausted! A day off won't hurt anybody."
"No, Trudy, it's fine," Patricia protested, reading the irritated look on Victor's face. "I'd rather —"
"No, nonsense," Trudy insisted. "You hardly slept a wink. You need rest, and perhaps a dose of daytime TV."
Trudy led the two girls to the couch and sat them down before bustling off to brew them some tea. She came back with a cup of black tea for Patricia and some chamomile for Cameron, and then left them alone to relax.
Cameron had never fully realized how mind-numbingly boring daytime TV was until she was forced to watch it.
An hour in, Patricia had dozed off. Cameron wished it was as easy for her. But since she had some extra time, Cameron decided to use it for writing.
"How nice of you to pop in and see Patricia and Cameron."
Another hour later, a visitor stopped by. Cameron looked up from her notebook as Trudy led the guest into the living room.
"Mr. Winkler?" Cameron was surprised he had come to visit.
He smiled kindly and took a seat next to her on the couch. Patricia didn't stir.
"How are you doing, Cameron?"
"I'm okay," came Cameron's honest answer. Not great, or even good. But she felt better than before.
"I read your file," Mr. Winkler said. His eyes were piercing, but no less kind than before. Cameron forced herself to hold his gaze. "I'm so sorry about what happened to Jill. Having something similar happen again must've been terrifying."
Cameron swallowed. "Yeah, it was," she admitted. For some reason, she didn't mind Mr. Winkler knowing about Jill. Well, no more than she minded Jerome knowing.
She would never admit it aloud, but it had felt good to talk about Jill. It had felt good to admit her past wasn't all that great. It felt liberating to acknowledge Jill, and her past, and her fears. And what she could barely even admit to herself — it had felt good telling Jerome.
"Mr. Winkler," Cameron started, "Patricia and I spoke. We saw the same man. And it was the one she saw yesterday at school." Mr. Winkler's eyes widened. "We're not crazy. Please believe us."
"I do, Cameron. I really do." Mr. Winkler smiled slightly at her, and Cameron returned in, shoulders sagging with relief.
They talked a little more before Cameron quietly excused herself to get changed. She felt grubby in her pajamas. And a shower would do her good. When she came back down fifteen minutes later with wet hair and fresh clothes, Patricia was awake and talking with Mr. Winkler. After a while though, he had to get back to the school, leaving Patricia and Cameron on their own once more. But both of them felt better, because someone believed them, and they knew that they had people looking out for them.
~)8(~
Dinner rolled around with little fuss and both Patricia and Cameron volunteered to help Trudy set the table. They hadn't seen all their housemates yet, but the ones they had seen looked pleased that the pair were doing better.
Jerome and Cameron didn't speak about last night, and spent five minutes bickering with each other, but undeniably, something between them had changed. But if anyone else noticed, they chose not to comment.
Patricia and Cameron carried on setting the table for dinner when Victor came into the dining room. Patricia looked ready to bolt at the sight of him.
"It's all right, Patricia," Victor said. "I just need to speak to you about last night."
"I don't want to talk about it," Patricia said. Victor pressed on anyway.
"Can you describe to me exactly what this man looks like? It's very important."
"Get away from me!" Patricia cried, scurrying out of the dining room.
Cameron was puzzled, and Victor turned to her.
"Cameron, did you see what the man looked like last night?"
Cameron didn't see the harm in telling Victor. Especially since the man had been stalking the school, and had even broken into Anubis House. Victor may have been creepy, but the other man was downright terrifying. And dangerous.
"He was big," Cameron whispered, "with short hair and large ears. He was wearing a turtleneck and a leather jacket… I think. That's all I can remember. I never saw his face."
"Thank you, Miss Zack," Victor said. He strode from the dining room. Cameron forced the image of the man out of her mind. She wasn't going to let him haunt her.
She needed something to do. She needed to clear her head.
Cameron went down the hall and knocked on Mick's door. "Hey, Mick?" She opened the door, seeing him lounging on his bed. "Fancy a run?"
"No, not today, Speedy. Sorry."
Cameron frowned. Mick seemed really down.
"Okay, what's wrong?" she asked. She came and sat down next to him on the bed. Mick sighed.
"Mara cheated for me on the French test."
Cameron wondered how Mick had found out.
"What?" she breathed, pretending this was news to her. "But why would she do that?"
"She obviously thinks I'm stupid or something," Mick said. Cameron frowned, hating to see her friend so dour. "However, Mrs. Andrews said you told her Mara cheated." Cameron's eyes widened, realizing she was caught in her fib, but Mick looked more amused than anything.
"I'm really sorry I didn't tell you, Mick," Cameron said. "I just wasn't sure you would believe me."
Mick nodded in understanding. "It's okay, Cameron. I understand why you didn't. I just have to retake the rest now."
"I could help you study," Cameron offered. "I'm fluent in French."
"You are?" Mick gasped. Cameron nodded. "Well, okay. Yeah, thanks!" Cameron smiled and nodded, then left Mick to himself. She went upstairs to her bedroom, only to find Amber knocking on the wall near her bed.
"Um, what are you doing?" Cameron asked.
"She's looking for clues," Nina answered from her bed. She sounded annoyed. Maybe because she was trying to do homework while Amber was knocking on the walls and floors. Suddenly, Amber gasped.
"Nina, Cam, look!" she cried. Both girls looked up and saw Amber had pulled back the peeling wallpaper to reveal a message. Both girls scrambled towards the wall to get a better look.
The words looked scratched into the wall.
"Help me! Sarah Frobisher-Smythe," Nina read. "Okay, good knocking, Amber!"
"The Frobisher-Smythes are that miserable-looking couple from that picture in the living room, aren't they?" Amber asked. "Sarah must be their daughter."
"The old lady at the house, she's called Sarah!" Nina cried. Cameron smirked.
"I told you so," she said. Nina smiled and giggled.
"I can't believe Sarah Frobisher-Smythe is still alive," Amber said. "Let's go and talk to her, she might know something!"
"We've tried, Amber, but she's not quite with it," Nina said sadly.
"Oh, sad," Amber said.
Cameron studied the message again. Above the writing were 38 tally marks.
"She said there was evil in this house," Nina mused.
"Poor Sarah," Amber said. "What was she so afraid of?"
Cameron was starting to wonder that, too.
"I know one way to find out."
~)8(~
That night, Nina, Fabian, Amber, and Cameron were back in the attic. Nina had told Cameron about Amber's idea to record the cylinders on an MP3. It was smart, Cameron had to admit. She had not thought of that. Fabian was recording the cylinder, Cameron on one side of him while Nina and Amber were on the other.
"Cameron? You like to write, can you tell me a story about something nice, please?"
Fabian stopped the cylinder and spoke.
"Okay, Amber? We sit and record every single cylinder, in silence. Even though it's fuzzy, we need total silence to be able to clear it later. Okay?" Amber apologized and zipped her lips. Fabian restarted the recording.
"I wish my parents could come back. Sometimes I see their faces in the mirror, but I know they're not there, and I know it wasn't an accident." Everyone froze. "He did it. He murdered them."
Nina and Amber gasped. Fabian looked at the phonograph in shock. Cameron's eyes widened and her jaw dropped.
What on earth happened to this girl? What on earth had Sarah been through?
~)8(~
The next day was fairly normal. Mr. Winkler walked into the classroom and set down his things, Alfie just behind him mocking his actions. Mr. Winkler caught him, and sent him a look coupled with a raised eyebrow.
Alfie apologized and scurried to his seat.
"Right, everyone settle down, please!" Mr. Winkler looked at them all. "Okay, uh, before we start the class, the school is having Prospective Parents' Day next week, and I would like some volunteers to help show the outside world what a talented bunch you are."
The door suddenly opened, and in walked Miss Robinson, the PE teacher.
"Quietly, take a seat," she instructed her students.
"Umm, Miss Robinson, I'm in the middle of a class here," Mr. Winkler told her.
"This is my classroom, Mr. Winkler," she said. "You can look on the timetable, I've had it booked for weeks.
"Shall we —"
"I don't think so."
Mr. Winkler, looking vastly uncomfortable, gave up.
"Okay, um, quiet everyone, please. Can you go to the drama studio and we'll carry on there?"
Everyone gathered their things, making their way from the room when there was a sudden crash. Everyone whirled around and saw Alfie had fallen over. His shoelaces had been tied to the desk.
Cameron didn't say anything, but smacked Jerome upside the head. He merely grinned at her, knowing that she was suppressing a grin of her own.
"I saw him again, you know."
Patricia's quiet admission to Mr. Winkler caught Cameron's attention.
"You did?" she gasped. Patricia nodded.
"He's real, Mr. Winkler. I know it."
Cameron sighed and followed the girl from the room. Now was not the time or place.
~)8(~
Cameron was studying at the school when Nina and Amber returned from their trip to go visit Sarah. Cameron had decided to sit this one out. The last time three of them had gone to visit Sarah, she'd gotten overwhelmed.
During the time the girls were gone, Patricia told Cameron that Mr. Winkler had found Joy's phone in the trash. Smashed. Things were definitely looking more and more suspicious. Mr. Winkler had promised to confront Mr. Sweet, and Patricia was thankful for that. Cameron was too, really. She was truly starting to believe that something terrible had happened to Joy Mercer.
But when Nina and Amber returned, Joy was put out of her mind.
"Sarah's definitely the girl in the recordings," Nina told her and Fabian.
"And what about the murder?" Fabian asked.
"Yeah, we kind of lost her by then, something about tipping the scales —"
"Okay," Amber said, cutting Nina off. "I've had a really important idea. We're the only four students who know about all this. We're a club, gang, posse, whatever you want to call it. I think we should make it official." Amber took her right hand and put it over her right eye. "Sibuna."
"Sibuna?" Nina questioned.
"Anubis backwards," Cameron immediately explained. Amber nodded.
"Exactly. See what I did there? I'm a little bit of a genius."
"A little bit," Fabian said, humoring the girl.
"I know. So, what do you say?" Amber asked.
"Okay, does this mean that we make a solemn oath not to tell anyone about this?" Nina said.
"Absolutely," Amber said.
"Okay," Nina agreed. Cameron didn't mind "Sibuna" either. "I'm in. But no pricking our fingers or eating snakes or anything like that."
"And tonight, we make it official."
The four teenagers exchanged smiles. This was going to be interesting.
~)8(~
As soon as classes were over, the four went back to the house to change before Amber led the other three to a clearing in the woods. They lit a fire, and the ceremony began.
"Oh, Ancient Gods of Anubis House, we pledge ourselves to your secrets and quest. We are the Sibuna club. And we make these sacrifices as our pledge," Amber said.
She started pulling things out of her bag. Nina's eyes widened with panic when she spotted her stuffed bunny rabbit.
"Wait, wait, wait," she said, snatching her childhood memento. "You are not sacrificing Merle."
Cameron gasped and reached out for the photograph Amber held. It was the one of her, Matt, and Jill.
"This is my signed copy of The Solar System is Your Friend,"Fabian protested.
"Amber, I don't care if I'm not in this club. You are not, I repeat, you are not burning this photo."
"Okay, even though these things seem really dumb to me, I know they mean something to you. It has to be a sacrifice!"
"Yeah, but such a big sacrifice?" Nina argued. She took a keychain off her bag. "Look, you can have this, but you can't have Merle. This guy, he's my lucky mascot. So it's still a sacrifice, but just not such a big one."
Amber accepted it, and Nina dropped the keychain into the fire.
Fabian patted his pockets frantically, looking for something else to sacrifice, but all he came up with was a crumpled tissue.
His face fell.
"Fabian, wait."
Cameron reached into her bag and pulled something out. A square little package. New guitar strings.
"Remember," she said, "you asked me to put these in my bag last week so you wouldn't forget them at school?"
Fabian was so, so grateful for Cameron in that moment. And her ability to fib.
"Yeah," Fabian said. "I remember."
So with Amber's permission, the brand new, high-end guitar strings were tossed into the fire.
Cameron was glad she saved Fabian's book. That could've been a true tragedy. Too bad her little gift for him was ruined. Ah, well. She'd get him another set.
Cameron clutched the photo of her and her siblings tight. There was no way she was burning this. No way.
Cameron leaned down and untied her anklet.
"My brother gave this to me when I turned 13. I haven't taken it off since."
What Cameron didn't mention, though, was that Matt had gotten her and Jill a matching set. It was almost as big a sacrifice as the photo. But one Cameron was more willing to make.
The anklet didn't have her twin's smile on it.
The leather anklet, too, was tossed into the fire.
Lastly, Amber dropped a photo of herself into the flames. Everyone said their vows, and it was done.
Sibuna was born.
A booming thunderclap was quick to send them on their way home. Fabian picked up his bag and the puzzle piece fell out of it.
"Any luck?" Nina asked, picking it up.
"No," Fabian lamented. "I've tried every single possible combination."
The puzzle piece practically came apart in Nina's hands.
"Except that one. Obviously."
There was writing on the inside of the pieces. Cameron helped Nina hold them all together so they could read the words.
"When daytime ends at midday, through tears of glass the eye shall see."
Cameron sighed. A riddle. Great.
Everyone agreed it was best to leave it for tomorrow and continued the trek back to Anubis House.
"So, Cam," Amber started. "Why didn't you tell us you have a twin sister?"
Cameron stopped in her tracks. She had really been hoping Amber wouldn't bring it up.
"You have a twin?" Fabian asked, curious.
"No," Cameron said. And it was true. She no longer had a twin.
"But, the photo —"
Cameron cut Amber off. "I had a twin."
Amber fell silent. Cameron felt drained. Talking about Jill with Jerome had been one thing — she had been a raw, emotional wreck needing to get everything off her chest. Talking about her with Mr. Winkler had also been different. He already knew what had happened.
Talking about it with Nina, Fabian, and Amber felt different. Didn't feel right. Not yet.
"What happened?" Nina asked softly.
Cameron sighed.
"She was murdered when we were 13."
Cameron started towards the house, leaving her friends frozen in shock.
Hey all! Here's the update! Let me know what you all think!
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Reviews
scarlett quagmire: Haha, I'm glad you liked the chapter and moment. I was really tempted to have them kiss then, but it's way too early for that. There's still a ways to go before those two get together. But stay tuned! I promise it will be worth it :)
origamigriffon3246: Here's the newest update for you! Hope you enjoy it! Thanks for the love :)
thunderyoshi: I definitely was interested in having Nina and Cameron clash - because as close as they are, they are still wildly different people. And that will lead to some more teen angst, but nothing too horrible. Their friendship will eventually outweigh anything else. Also, some of Cameron's past comes to light in this chapter, but the language thing will still take a while. Stay tuned!
gossamermouse101: Yeah, waking up with someone standing over you sounds awful. I'm so glad you like how Jerome and Cameron progressing! This chapter is pretty essential in them starting to understand each other. From here on, their friendship is less clashing and more... bantering. And of course, when it's only the two of them, they become far more genuine with each other. Their relationship will only progress from here, so stick around :)
Sammiemoosam
