Siouxsie, Scott and Shelly watched as Ashly helped his sister to his car in the suffocating, unforgiving darkness, the dim lights of the cabin helping nothing at all. "I know it must be hard to take your crazy sister to town when your wife is freaked. You must feel like you're abandoning Fable," said Cheryl. Ash opened his mouth to say something but his sister stopped him. "I'll stay some place in town tonight, don't worry."
He tried to start his car. Vrrr, vrr, whir, whir, die. Again and again. Same and the same. Cheryl grew somewhat worried but Ashly kept trying none the less. Again and again. Same and the same. A look of dread washed over Cheryl's face. "It's not gonna start," mumbled Cheryl. Regardless, Ash tried again. "I know it's not gonna start. It's not gonna let us leave."
He keyed the engine once more and to Cheryl's surprise, it had turned over. The car was roaring with life now. Ashly drove off into the thick blackness of the night through the wooded mountains towards the town. The car approached the narrow bridge and Ash slowed down, causing Cheryl to grab his arm. "Why are you slowing down, brother?" his sister asked in a worried voice. He stopped all together. "What is this?"
Ashley's jaw dropped open slowly as his hand found the high beams. Ash flipped the switched and the two narrow stakes of light stabbed through the darkness. The bridge had been torn away. Cheryl panicked silently in the front seat as her brother got out. His sister watched him as he walked to the cliff's edge to examine the remains.
"No, no, no, no, no...it's not going to let us leave," mumbled Cheryl, her eyes wide and filled with fright. "It's not going to let us go...it's not gonna let us gooooo!"
Scott stood outside chopping wood for the fire. He felt it safe to be outside when Siouxsie's shining told them all outside was safe for the time being. Of course, Scott was more freaked that his friend was married to a damned spoon bender than any force in the woods. Cheryl watched Scott through the window, more so the woods. Shelly and Siouxsie sat on the floor near Ashly. They busied themselves by playing with Fable. Ash sat not too far away from the girls with the tape recorder.
He made sure to have headphones in so that he could be the only one to hear. "Cheryl, wanna play peek-a-boo with your niece?" asked Siouxsie. Cheryl simply shook her head, not breaking her view of Scott and the woods. "Hey, tomorrow morning, we'll find some way around that cliff into town, okay?"
Nothing. "March 12th. Suzanne came after me and almost murdered me. My own wife," said the voice through the headphones that Ashly had in. "At first I thought it was a mental or physical disorder because of what had happened to her eyes, but I was only fooling myself. I knew what it was."
Shelly clasped her hands over her face. "Oh no! Where did Shelly go?" she giggled to Fable.
Fable looked to her mother for guidance on where Shelly had disappeared. "Fable have you seen Shelly? She was right here a moment ago?"
She took her hands away and revealed a big goofy grin. "I'm right here!" Which made Fable crack up. Ash could hear the pure sound of his daughter's laughter over the voice on the tape, he smiled to himself.
It was her mommy's turn to quote un quote disappear. "Where's mommy?"
Fable did not look to Shelly or Cheryl for the answer but instead, she looked to Ashly. Ash hit stop and shrugged. "Mommy was there a second ago? Help daddy find her?"
Siouxsie removed her hands with the same goofy grin Shelly had adorned moments ago. "I'm right here!"
He smiled as his daughter once again laughed and turned back to the tape, pressing play once more. "Three days have passed since that thing has been down there. I was hoping to weaken it without food or water. Nothing worked," said the tape. "Finally, in desperation I dragged her out to the shed and dismembered her so that whatever it was could not get up again."
"Cheryl, are you sure you don't want to play peek-a-boo with Fable?" asked Shelly. Nothing still. Shelly sighed. "Can you say Shelly? Shell-ee."
"Can you say Mama? Ma-ma," urged Siouxsie. "Ma-ma."
"Shell-ee!"
"Ma-Ma!"
"Shell-ee!"
"Can you say dada? Da-da," giggled Siouxsie, pointing to Ashly. "Da-da. Da-da."
Ash glanced over, giving his wife and daughter a smile. He gave Fable a small wave. "This is when I saw the dark figures moving about in the woods. I should have never tampered with the "Book Of The Dead." I now know that whatever it is I have resurrected through this book, is coming for me," continued the voice.
"You know, I always hoped that Fable would have some sort of extra sense. A touch of the shining like her mommy," smiled Siouxsie.