Chapter 5

Katherine pulled the car to a stop outside the abandoned warehouse. Sure enough, there was a decaying sign on the front of the building reading 'Smith and Bailey Shoe Manufacturers.' They all filed out of the car and looked around. It was getting late and the sky had just begun to turn dark. 'Tell me again why we came here at night?' Dani asked as they walked towards the door.

'Because we need to figure this out.' Amy said as she reached for the door handle.

'Wait.' Christina said, looking up at some smashed in windows. They all looked at her before she began to speak again. 'Lauren, can you project in there and make sure it's empty?'

'Good idea.' Lauren said, focusing her breathing. Her head dropped and she left her body. A few moments later, she opened her eyes and took in a sharp breath.

'And?' Dani prompted.

'It's clear. At least, this floor is.' Lauren confirmed. Amy shook the door but it wouldn't open, they could hear chains rattling from the other side.

'Locked tight.' Amy said. 'Chris can you….'

'Yeah.' Christina stepped up to the door and held out her hand. A small orb of blue began glowing in her palm before shooting away from her into the door. It went right through the wood of the door and the chain behind it. They heard the chains crash to the ground as Christina pushed the door open. They walked in cautiously, looking at the worn down interior. The remaining cabinets were charred and falling apart, the walls were dark and the floor seemed to quake underneath their every step.

'What happened here?' Lisa wondered out loud. Everything was falling apart and covered in something like dirt. Katherine walked over to the wall and put her hand gently on it. As she set her hand on the wall the vision came to her. She took in a deep breath and closed her eyes as she was transported back a year. There were flames surrounding her and she could hear people screaming. She lifted her hand from the wall and just like that she was back in the present, Lauren's hand on her shoulder.

'You okay?' Lauren asked her.

'Yeah.' Katherine said, turning to the group. 'There was a fire. It destroyed almost everything apart from the main structure. We need to be careful walking around.'

'Maybe Jack isn't here.' Lisa said looking up at the charred ceiling.

'Then why would the crystal have landed here?' Christina asked.

'I have no idea, but this place seems pretty deserted.' Lisa said, taking a step to her right. Just as she put her foot on the wooden floor, it snapped underneath her. The weight of her body sent her crashing through the floorboards and onto the ground below.

'Lisa!' Dani yelled, the others following as they ran to the hole in the floor. Dani peered over the edge carefully. 'Lisa?' She called again.

'I'm okay.' They heard from the darkness below. 'I think.'

'I said be careful!' Katherine called after her.

'I know, but I found the basement.' Lisa said.

'Not funny.' Christina said. 'Can you see any stairs?'

'No, I can't see much of anything.' Lisa confirmed. She took her phone out of her pocket and shone the torch.

'Well, stay there. We'll come to you.' Amy said. 'Come on.' Amy motioned to the rest of them as they went in search of the basement door.

xxxxxx

They managed to find the door leading down to the basement. Katherine once again told them to be careful as Christina led the way down the rickety staircase. 'Lisa.' She called once they reached the bottom. They had to duck their heads to get into the room before they could stand upright again.

'What the hell is this place?' Lauren wondered aloud as they walked into the small room.

'Lisa!' Christina called once more.

'Over here.' Lisa said. They followed her voice and found her by several filing cabinets.

'What's that?' Dani asked, coming by her side.

'Old records of some kind.' Lisa said, flipping through some pages.

'Let me see them.' Amy said, coming to her other side. She took a few of the pages. 'These are medical records.' She said after a moment.

'Why would there be medical records in filing cabinets in the basement of a shoe factory?' Lisa asked.

'We can talk about it later.' Christina said. 'Right now we need to go home and sort you out.' She came to Lisa's back.

'What are you talking about?' Lisa asked, confused.

'You have blood coming through your shirt.' Christina told her, lifting the fabric to reveal a nasty scrape down her lower back. 'You must have fallen on something, or scraped it on the way down.'

'Kath, can you put some of these in your bag?' Lisa asked, handing her a stack of papers.

'Sure, if it gets us out of here faster.' She said, taking the files.

'Hang on.' Dani said, looking up. 'Do you hear that?' she asked quietly. They all remained silent and listened to the floorboards creaking above them. Christina put her finger to her lips to keep everyone quiet before motioning to Lauren. Lauren nodded in recognition and left her body. She reappeared at the top of the stairs and looked out into the main room. She quickly moved behind the door so she wouldn't be spotted, and watched Jack and three other demons she didn't recognise. They were walking around as if they were looking for someone. Lauren quickly returned to her body and mouthed 'Jack' to her sisters. Before they could make a plan of action, the room began to shake. Pieces of already damaged wood fell around them as the ceiling began to cave in. Christina quickly pulled Katherine and Dani towards the group and made a forcefield around them. Christina's shield was being bombarded with flying debris as the demons collapsed the floor above them. Her arms were feigning under the weight of everything from the floor above, even with the added energy coming from her sisters around her.

'I can't hold it.' She whispered, her voice straining as a heavy wooden cabinet hit the shield.

'Just hang on Chris.' Katherine encouraged, her hand on her big sister's back. 'Can you force your energy out?' She wondered.

'Jack will definitely know we're here if she does that.' Lisa said.

'Do we have another choice?' Amy asked.

'Guys!' Christina said weakly, her arms shaking. Her eyes began to swirl with crystal blue the more power she used as she looked pleadingly at her sisters.

'Hang on.' Lauren said as she left her body again. A second late she was back. 'They're gone.' She confirmed.

'Chris now.' Katherine said.

'Ahhh.' Christina yelled, putting everything she had into sending her energy upwards, moving the debris away from them. There was a bright flash of light before everything went dark again as the final few planks of wood settled on the ground around them. Christina sank to her knees and fell forwards into Amy, who caught her safely.

'Shit.' Dani said, letting out a breath.

'Everyone okay?' Katherine asked around.

'Yeah, fine.' They confirmed.

'We need to get out of here.' Katherine said, taking over the big sister role for Christina. 'Before Jack comes back.'

'I'll help you with Chris.' Lauren said to Katherine.

'We'll work on clearing a path out of this place.' Lisa said, looking around.

xxxxxx

Katherine was behind the wheel as they drove home. Lisa was next to her in the front, putting pressure on the scrape on her back, they had settled Christina in the middle, head resting on Amy, and Lauren and Dani filled up the back. 'How's the scrape?' Katherine asked, glancing at Lisa.

'It's not too bad, could have been worse.' Lisa confirmed, sitting still for the first time on the journey.

'Is Chris okay?' Katherine asked Amy.

'I think so, her body feels tired but that's normal for her.' Amy confirmed.

'We're lucky she was with us.' Lauren said. 'Otherwise we would have been crushed.'

'That reminds me, Lauren.' Lisa turned in her seat. 'When you checked the room, you told us 'they' were gone, not Jack. Who else was up there?'

'I'm not sure, three other demons. They were all dressed in black cloaks so I couldn't see their faces.' Lisa shot Katherine and Amy a look.

'What are we missing?' Dani asked, looking to Lauren who shrugged.

'Christina had a dream last night, about Belial and the cave.' Katherine swallowed her emotion as she continued. 'She said there were three other demons in the room with her, all in black hooded cloaks.'

'So what does that mean?' Dani asked.

'I have no idea.' Katherine said. 'We need to talk to Chris.'