Cricket leaves when it gets dark out, seeking out answers from the spirits about how to get everyone out alive. It's a hopeless cause and all Taylor wants to do is curl up in the basement with Monica's book of poetry and Edward. But she has more important things to do the next morning than mope around. She's getting her cast off.
She's sent to bed a ten when they're pretty sure Cricket isn't going to come back, and she dreams of a dead teenager and a little boy that calls her mommy.
Taylor actually sleeps in the next morning, barely opening her eyes when her daddy starts to get her dressed for the day. She doesn't even insist on wearing her wellies, that's how tired she is. She just curls into her daddy's warmth as he carries her downstairs and to the car so they can make her appointment on time.
The morning is a bit of a blur for her; she remembers the whirring sound of the saw as her cast is removed and tucked into a sack for her to hang on to, remembers the sucker the doctor gave her for being so good, but nothing really clears up until they're back at the house two hours later.
They're getting out of their car right as Cricket is getting into the backseat of a new one, taking off before Nico can say anything.
"Was that an Uber," he asks, scratching at his chin.
"I guess being psychic doesn't mean you can afford car payments." She yawns and shuffles into the house and waves to her aunt and uncle before collapsing face-first on the couch, snoring before her head hits the throw pillow.
When she wakes up again, there's drool on her chin and it's dark out. She's also smooshed between Shelby and the couch cushions. Across from her, curled up like a housecat in the armchair, her daddy is most of the way through the second Lord of the rings movie and quoting along with Sam. That last bit is unsurprising since he's a closeted dork.
"When the sun shines," he whispers," it will shine out the clearer."
"I like that quote," Taylor says, the words muffled by a yawn. "I'm getting a tattoo when I'm bigger and that's what it's gonna say." Nico gives her an indulgent smile, holding out his hand in invitation. She shakes her head, rubbing her cheek against Shel's arm where it's cradling her head.
"Welcome back to the world of the living, sleeping beauty." Shelby lets out a low moan and rubs the heel of her palm against her eye before sitting up slowly. "Seems like we all had a nice little nap."
"Where's Matt," she asks, squinting as she looks around.
"No idea. He was gone when I woke up. Do you know where he might be, Tay?" She shakes her head and sits up, brushing her hair off her face. She's not a mind-reader, she can only get a vague idea of what someone might be thinking when their emotions are high. It's been growing fuzzier the older she gets.
"Matt? Matt, are you in here?" Taylor gets off the couch and heads for the kitchen, wanting a drink, but pauses halfway there when she notices the front door standing wide open. "Taylor, do you see him?"
She shakes her head. "Nope." Shelby and Nico come to stand next to her, Nico resting a protective hand on her shoulder. Matt's not out there, but the colony is and they're carrying torches and pitchforks like in some old horror movie. "They got Flora."
"Matt!"
"Shelby!" Matt comes running around the side of the house, shirt unbuttoned and glasses crooked on his face. "Shel! Taylor!" He tries to pull Shelby in the house from where she'd stepped out on the porch, but she pushes at his arm and points.
"They have her, Matt. They've got Flora." Matt turns, seeming to notice the mob for the first time. He holds his hands up, palms out, in a pleading gesture of peace.
"Please, just let us have Flora and we'll go. Alright? We'll go away and make sure no one else will ever come out here." Thomasin raises her cleaver and holds it to Flora's throat, the other girl letting out a squeal of fear. Nico picks Taylor up and turns her away, hand on the back of her head to keep her face buried in his neck.
"The time for bartering is over," the Butcher states. "Now is time for blood to consecrate the land." Taylor covers her ears as the others scream and then her daddy's moving, the front door slamming shut and tears hot on Taylor's cheeks as they start up the stairs.
"Our room! Nico, get in our room!" There's a sharp left on the landing, Taylor doing her best to bite down on her sobs as she's settled on Mattie's bed. "Flora, oh honey, are you okay? Did she hurt you?" Flora's quiet, not even crying as Taylor struggles to make air stay in her lungs.
"The man," Flora chokes out, voice shaky.
"What man, sweetheart?"
"Th-the man, they…. The man."
"Cricket," Taylor whimpers, covering her ears and ducking under the covers. The monsters can't get her if she's under the covers, right? The bad things will look right over her and not even know where she's hiding. Covers protect you, they keep you safe. She keeps her eyes screwed shut, flinching whenever someone tries to touch her.
Calm down. The words are whispered in her ear, but they don't belong to anyone in North Carolina. Eve will keep you safe. As if summoned, the adder is suddenly next to her beneath the covers, hissing quietly and curling loosely over Taylor's neck like a scarf. She begins to calm after that, coming out from under the heavy blanket.
"Call the cops," Nico demands. "They can't deny that shit's going down when they pull up and see that!" Shelby fumbles with he phone until Matt takes it, quickly dialing the number and pressing the phone to his ear.
"I'm calling from the house on Sappony Road," he says into the speaker. "We need help immediately. There's a mob outside, they're trying to kill us." There's a brief pause and then Mattie's snarling down the line. "Just send the goddamn cops!" He throws the phone on the nightstand, pacing away from the window before dropping down next to Flora, wrapping an arm around her.
"Where the hell did the snake come from? Tay, you said you had her in your room."
"I did," she murmurs, touch featherlight as she passes her fingers along Eve's scales. "She's gonna protect me."
"Deliver yourselves unto me," the Butcher calls," and I shall grant you a merciful death."
"Alright," Matt sighs, standing up. "Shelby, take my keys and make a beeline for the truck. You can carry one of the girls, Nico can take the other, and I'll lead that group of psychopaths away from here." Nico and Shelby talk over each other as they argue against Matt's idea, but Flora and Taylor lock gazes.
"They won't let us go," Flora whispers.
"I know," Taylor says back, acutely aware of her daddy standing not three feet away. They're not focused on the girls, though, don't even seem to realize that Flora has inside knowledge of how their plan will go horribly wrong.
"The ghosts in the house will try to stop us." Matt actually does hear that, turning to look at Flora with wide eyes. "Maybe not Edward since he hates everyone, but definitely the others. Priscilla said that they have to obey the Butcher or they get hurt."
"Baby, look at me," Matts says, kneeling to her level. "I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you ever again. Not ever." Her gaze darts away, landing on Eve. Taylor reaches up a possessive hand to rest on the snake's tail, silently daring the other girl to make a move. "Come on, we need to get moving."
"They're gonna get us."
"I won't let them," Shelby promises, hoisting Flora up on her hip. "Hold on as tight as you can." Flora nods and wraps her arms around Shelby's neck. Nico bends at the knees, letting Taylor climb onto his back. This used to be fun for her, piggyback rides are the best, but now all she feels is dread.
"The stairs are clear," Matt says, just loud enough to be heard in the bedroom.
"No they're not," Taylor argues, pointing at where Grace Chen is clinging to the ceiling above one of the curves. "Let me down. I can get us to the basement."
"What? No, we're going to the front door."
"Uncle Matt, this is gonna hurt your heart, but the ghosts just set your truck on fire." His eyes widen behind his glasses and he sprints to the window on the landing, letting out a low whine. "And your fancy sportscar, Daddy." She wriggles and struggles until Nico is forced to set her down or drop her, then sprints over to the stairs to make eye contact with the ghost.
Grace is older, a teenager and still filled to the brim with rebellion against everything, but she's also a sucker for tradition. Sometimes, like now, that tradition means terrorizing an innocent family and using their bones for decorations in the backyard. Taylor's stubborn too, and she tilts her chin up and eyes the ghost with all the defiance she possesses.
"Let us pass." The ghost doesn't move, doesn't even twitch. That's fine, Taylor can feel darkness crawling over her skin like ice water, making something inside her flare to life and her vision sharpen to the point of seeing individual grains in the wooden arches overhead. "Let us pass or I'll use what's left of your soul as a necklace." The words come out growled, unfamiliar and far too deep for her vocal chords. Around her throat, Eve bares fangs dripping with venom. Grace scuttles away like a spider, clearing the staircase for the others to go down.
"What the fuck was that?" She looks at Shelby over her shoulder, the fear making that thing writhing in her chest calm, all the little threads going still when she sees her family whole. "How did you do that?"
"My cousin helped me." She shrugs and her vision dims, back to normal in the near pitch black landing. The only light they have is streaming in through the window from the full moon, casting everything in an eerie red glow. "We need to get to the basement before the others come after us."
That seems all the motivation they need, Nico scooping Taylor back up onto his back before leading the way downstairs. Matt slams the basement door behind him, sliding the bolt in place for a little extra security.
"Edward," Taylor shouts. "Edward, are you down here?"
"I'm right here," he answers. "There's no need for shouting, little one." He comes out of the shadows, adjusting his silken frock coat over his shoulders and brushing the dirt off. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd forgotten our plan."
"Kinda hard to do that since you made me say it back to you three times everyday since last week." She wiggles again and Nico seems a little less hesitant to put her down this time. "We had some trouble with the Chens."
"Ah yes, her little spiders. They're a distasteful lot when the Butcher's in control of them." He heaves a sigh and gestures at the massive, gilded frame leaning against the wall on the left, the frame empty apart from some moldering canvas clinging to the bottom. "Matthew, if you could do me the favor of moving this, please."
"How do you two know each other," Matt asks, rigid next to Shelby.
"The little brat's been invading my privacy since day one. I've learned to talk over her when needs be." Taylor scoffs and shakes her head, scowling up at him. "Will you move the damn frame? There's a door behind it that can get you safely out of this foul place. If nothing else, I'll get some peace and quiet back."
"Don't be rude," Taylor scolds, wagging a finger at him. "I was great company and you know it." If nothing else, she learned how to fake interest as he talked on and on and on about art and clothes and the proper way to apply rouge. Edward looks about ready to argue but cuts his attention to where Matt has shoved the frame aside.
"Careful with that, it costs more than your entire wardobe." Matt looks skeptically at the frame, the gold dimmed and faded over time to nothing more than grime-covered swirls. "Follow me." He ducks as he enters the tunnel and only tenses a little when Taylor slides one of her hands in his, the touch comforting.
"I can't see anything," Nico complains. Edward grabs one of the torches off the wall and holds it out, brows raised expectantly until Nico produces a match to light it. It's almost too bright after all the darkness, making Taylor squint until she's used to it. The tunnel beneath the house is like something out of a movie, hard-packed dirt with wooden frames to hold it all up.
They're quiet for the next twenty minutes, Taylor sticking close to Edward the further they go as she catches sight of insects writhing in the dirt walls, making them seem to pulse like a heart. The fresh air at the end of the tunnel is a blessing, so much easier to breathe than the dampness they left behind them.
"I'm cold," Flora says, no longer so timid.
"Cold is far better than the Butcher's flames, I assure you," Edward says, leading the way through the dense woods. They stop a couple of minutes later, still in the middle of the woods with nothing in sight but trees. "This is as far as I can go, I'm afraid. Keep following this path and it should lead you off of the property."
"Thank you, Mister Mott."
"My solitude will be thanks enough." He pries his hand free from Taylor's grasp and pats the top of her head. "Be safe, little one. There are worse things out here than the Butcher and her band of miscreants." Then he's gone, dissolved like fog when sunlight hits it. The torch is discarded on the path, burnt out with powder left over from Edward's hold.
They're alone in the night. In the dark.