Hey! Welcome to a new chapter of The Devil's Trap! I hope you guys are enjoying it so far.
I was on a roll today and figured I'd post this chapter for all of you that read this!
Hope you enjoy!
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I quickly got dressed, making my way downstairs to have a quick breakfast before talking with my aunt about Cory's family before the orphanage. Maybe she could help me get some information.
" Good morning, Allie." Valerie greeted cheerfully as I entered the kitchen. I waved before grabbing a granola bar.
" Auntie, can I ask a favor?" I asked and my aunt turned to me with a raised brow.
" What kind of favor?" She countered and I sagged my shoulders. Okay, how do you explain to your aunt that you talked with a potentially dangerous entity and you want to dig around in a little kids past?
" Uh…" I laughed sheepishly. " I… just kinda wanted to know a bit more about Cory, like where he came from…?"
Smooth Allie.
" Oh… the little boy with the imaginary friend?" My aunt inquired, blinking in surprise. " You onto something, Allie?" I bit my lip, narrowing my eyes at the floor.
" Maybe…" I muttered. " But I still need time to figure things out. Can you help?" Valerie studied my face for a few moments before nodding.
" Yes. I'll see what I can get, okay?" She answered before shooing me out. " I'll come get you when I have something. Why don't you go practice or play with the kids?" I sighed dramatically before turning and walking out, heading for the RV. Hopefully my guitar was in there and no one took off with it. I would be seriously pissed if they did though, that cost quite a lot of money.
I went to open the RV before remembering that my aunt was a smart woman and locked it before we settled inside the orphanage and face palmed. Of course I'd forget something like that. I thought as I head-butted the RV door with a groan.
It was too early for this.
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I strummed a few chords of my guitar, tuning it a little. It's only been a couple days since I played, but the strings did sound a bit off.
Strumming again, I closed my eyes as the acoustic sounds flowed from the stringed instrument, creating the melody I wanted.
" In a while now, I will feel better. I'll face the weather before me…" I sang lowly, dipping my voice into an alto octave. " In a while now, I'll race the irony. And buy back each word of my eulogy.
" All the uninvited tragedies, step outside. Ask yourself now, where would you be without, days like this. When you finally collide with the moment you can't forget."
My voice soared higher as the chorus picked up, a smile curling my lips. My fingers flying on the neck of the guitar as the song played on.
" So do I remind you of, someone you've never met. A lonely silhouette. And do I remind you of, somewhere you wanna be. So far out of reach. Ohhh I wish you'd open up for me, cause I wanna know you… Amaryllis."
" You sing good."
I hit a wrong chord in shock, not expecting the random voice to appear behind me as I swiveled around, blinking at Cory who was holding back a laugh.
" Jesus Cory," I breathed before laughing. " Scared the crap out of me… What're you up to?"
" Jack said he heard something so we decided to investigate!" Cory chirped, bouncing on the balls of his feet. " Then we saw you playing the guitar and singing so we decided to watch… until Jack said I should sneak up on you and startle you." I rolled my eyes playfully.
" How nice of him." I said, smiling lightly. Cory giggles and nods before sitting next to me in the grass.
" What's that song, anyways? It's really pretty." Cory asked.
" Oh, it's called Amaryllis." I said. " It's about starting new. Leaving behind the old and unpleasant things of the past and continuing to look forward to a new and bright future." Cory blinked, mouth open in a slight 'o' form. He nodded slowly.
" That… that's actually really cool." He murmured. " I wish I could sing…" I smiled and patted Cory on the back.
" It's not that hard. Just takes practice, you know?" I told him, nudging his shoulder. Cory nodded and looked at the grass in front of him.
"…could you continue singing?" He asked shyly, not looking up. I chuckled and grabbed my guitar again, picking up where I left off.
" Stay a while now, undress your colors. Cause they're like no others, I've ever seen." I sang, closing my eyes and feeling the music flow through me. " I could get used to your company. Step inside."
" Ask yourself now, where would you be without, days like this. When you finally collide with emotions you can't resist…"
I could feel Cory tapping his foot with the rhythm as I sang through the chorus again, feeling him relax as the song continued.
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I played a few more songs for Cory before I decided to go back inside and see what my aunt was up to. That and I was kind of hungry from only eating a granola bar that morning, so I wanted to raid the fridge to see what I could find.
My aunt was nowhere to be seen, so I headed back for the kitchen to see what I could eat. Grabbing an apple, I took a large bite and munched on it thoughtfully. Everything that's happened so far hadn't really been too much of a surprise to me, other than meeting Laughing Jack in the flesh and living. And seeing that he no longer wants to really kill anyone is a shocker too.
I took another thoughtful bite of my apple and furrowed my brows, thinking of what he told me. The entire story sort of lined up, with his bond with Isaac it wasn't really a surprise to me that he became a killer once Isaac did. But what I still didn't know was why did he stop? Did he finally come to his senses or something? Did the bond between him and Isaac last even two hundred years after his death? Or was there more to it?
" Allie?"
I nearly jumped out of my skin as my aunt leaned on the doorway, looking at me in confusion.
" Yeah?" I asked, leaning against the counter.
" I found some interesting information for you about Cory, are you alright?" She explained before looking me over with concern. I nodded and waved off her question.
" Fine, what'd you dig up?" I questioned, walking over to her. She frowned at me for a moment before pulling up a folder from her side.
" Well, he's been here since he was about… two years old." My aunt started. " His mother died while giving birth. His father was a horrible alcoholic. There was a case of child abuse in his file. But then his father suddenly committed suicide-"
I froze at that. Suicide?
He had a little… accident.
" How?" I asked abruptly, causing my aunt to look at me. " How'd he… kill himself?" Flipping through a few pages, my aunt scanned through the papers before speaking.
" Apparently a shotgun…" She murmured before narrowing her eyes. "…that isn't right…" I looked at my aunt, brows furrowed.
" What's not right?" I asked.
" It says he died of a shotgun wound in his abdomen." She stated. "… but that means it couldn't have been a suicide. The position of the gun at the scene was wrong for the angle to be at his abdomen."
" So… what you're telling me is that he didn't kill himself?" I asked, blinking.
" He couldn't have." My aunt agreed. " The position of the gun was wrong. And Cory was nowhere near the scene, had no blood on him, just a few bruises that were from his father. The door and windows were locked. The neighbors heard the shot and called the police." I furrowed my brows again. That wasn't making any sense.
" No other traces of anyone else in the house?" I inquired. My aunt scanned the file before shaking her head slowly.
" No… nothing. So they ruled it a suicide." She muttered. " Allie, I think you may have found a big clue in all this." I raised a brow at Valerie.
" What?" I asked, folding my arms across my chest.
" Whatever Ms. McOlsen feels is in this house must've been the thing that killed Cory's father." She told me, looking at me with hard eyes. " And whatever it is, it's dangerous. It's all making sense now. It must've followed Cory here." I swallowed thickly. My aunt believed that LJ was going to hurt other people now because of what happened when Cory was little. And she was a force to be reckoned with when you got on her bad side.
" What're you going to do?" I pressed, a little fearful of the answer. Sure, LJ probably killed Cory's dad, but there had to be more to it. It wasn't like him to murder the parent straight out. He toyed with them.
" I'm going to do whatever I can to get rid of this thing." My aunt declared before turning sharply and leaving. I blinked a few more times before quickly darting out of the room to find Cory. I needed to talk to LJ and get all the facts straight before we end up doing something we regret.
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I finally found Cory, leaning against a tree in the back and talking animatedly to LJ. The little eight year old looked over at me with confusion once he saw me running up.
" Allie? What's wrong?" He asked as he stood.
" I need… to talk to Jack…" I panted, looking at the boy before looking around the area. " LJ I know you're here, I really need to talk with you." Cory furrowed his brows and looked up to his left at his friend before looking back at me.
" He wants to know why." Cory said.
" Because if he doesn't my aunt is going to do something to get rid of him." I snapped, not meaning to say it so harshly. Cory looked at me with shock before looking at LJ. The little boy nodded before turning back to me and wringing his hands.
" He says your aunt isn't a threat to him." He replied nervously and I rolled my eyes.
" LJ don't be stupid." I growled. " My aunt has had her share of dealing with paranormal beings like yourself, she'll find something to take you down. I just need you to clear up some things, okay? She thinks you're going to hurt somebody here and I can prove her wrong, but you gotta help me out here."
There was silence as Cory looked at his friend again, only to furrow his brows. I was pretty sure LJ was thinking by how long the silence took before Cory turned to me and spoke again.
" He said okay, but what do you need from him?" Cory said and I nodded looking at the spot LJ was supposedly standing in.
" I need to know what happened six years ago."
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So, how was this chapter?
What do you think happened six years ago?
How do you think Allie's aunt is gonna try and stop LJ?
Do you think LJ has something to do with the death of Cory's father?
Comment your answers! I'd love to see what you think!
