.
October of 1992
.
Royal Woods, Michigan
.
Three weeks before Halloween
.
Lyra's transition back into society was not as worrisome as Lyle had initially dreaded, on the contrary, she was adjusting accordingly, although, he figured that the most damaging parts of her psyche were being detained by herself as to prevent a mental breakdown in front of them all. She was strong, he saw that now. Still though, he was keeping a close eye on her at all times.
As for Gloom, Lyra was very receptive towards her, the raven haired girl was a natural charmer, much better than he ever could try to be. At the moment both girls were inside doing God knows what, conversing, cooking? As long as Lyra was enjoying herself, that was all that mattered to him.
Currently he was outside in the back, struggling to get the lawnmower to start up. He hated doing manual labor, landscaping was a particular bitch he did not want to get in bed with, yet he had a home to maintain and two very beautiful girls to look after. He paused his work on the blasted machine, rethinking his current thought process.
"Cut it out." Lyle admonished himself.
"Cut what out?" spooked, he spun around yo see Lyra who had exited the house to speak with him.
"Hey." he said.
"Hey." she said back.
She looked great. Actual fresh air was doing wonders for her. She had a certain glow to her as the warm sun basked in her still youthful glory. How strange he found it, too see her smile once more, and for him to be so deeply mesmerized by said smile that being directed towards him, for him. He soon realized that he had been staring, for too long in fact.
"Something on my face?" Lyra asked, she didn't seem to mind at all.
"Not at all." Lyle returned a smile, "Just...its great to be with you again. You have no idea...just...how much I've missed you."
Shyness overtook her, "Oh well, we...we have all the time in the world now. Ya' know?"
When had he become such a charmer? Gloom must be influencing him after all, that or he was just being playfully honest with his feelings. When he had arrived it he was in a constant state of discomfort, everything about this town brought about a sick sensation to his stomach. But now that Lyra was here, it had all changed for the better, he was much more optimistic and those brooding moments had all but disappeared. Only because she was here with him.
"You here to help me?" Lyle pointed at the defective lawnmower.
"The hell would I know? Spend the last five years institutionalized, no sharp, electric or mechanical objects allowed within my grasp." Lyra let out a friendly scoff.
Both cousins shared a laugh. Once again he found it extremely bizarre to see her so calm and collected. At first she was very apprehensive upon arriving at her childhood home, Lyle had to hold her hand the entire time as she entered the old house after many years away from it. Gloom and Lynn made her feel greatly welcomed which helped to ease off much of that intense stress within her. It was still hard for her at times, but she was much more braver than he had given her credit for. At times she could easily traverse the house on her own without an escort, but it was up on the second floor where her mental walls would start to crumble. Two rooms were she could not set foot inside or else begin to suffer from deep anxiety; her parents bedroom and her brother's.
Lyra opted to sleep downstairs, the couch had become her bed much to Lyle's objections. Instead of pushing her, he allowed her to decide her path. No one else should influence her and he would be sure to help her walk her path to recovery.
"Gloom is cooking us dinner and it smells delicious." she said.
"She does cook a mean lasagna." Lyle commented.
"Is that really her name?" Lyra asked.
Lyle snickered, having heard this question before, "Her mother is deep into the poetic irony, she doesn't mind it much."
At dinner the three of them enjoyed a warm meal, followed by casual conversation. They acted like a genuine family, one that was naturally healing. Lyra mentioned how Lynn would be taking her out tomorrow for some physical exercise at the park. Lyra was excited to hang out with her aunt, but Lyle was less than enthusiastic about that labor.
"Look, just, just be careful okay. This town doesn't forget so easily." Lyle recollected all the bad experiences he's been subjugated to since making up residence, "I don't want nothing bad to happen to you."
"Sweetie, she'll be fine. Lynn will be with her the entire time." Gloom assured him.
"Yeah, Aunt Lynn don't fuck around. She kicked every guy's ass in her martial arts class after all." Lyra added.
"Fine. But call me if anything happens and I mean it!" Lyle conceded.
Lynn showed up in her prized red Tacoma truck with a camper shell in the back. After making Lynn promise multiple times that nothing bad would happen to Lyra and for Lyra herself to not get in any trouble did Lyle finally let go and watched the two women drive off together. He trusted them, had full faith in Lynn, but this town, he worried too much for her at times. He was grateful to be with her, but he could tell that his protective instincts were starting to flare up at times, and it would become a real issue if left unchecked.
"Hey, Lyle can you help me with something?" Gloom's voice called out from upstairs.
Reaching their room, Lyle was met with the stunning appearance of his half naked girlfriend standing next to their bed. Her big ample breasts hanged freely with no fabric to restrict their movements, they were her greatest assets, Lyle loved them, and she knew that he knew this. The only garments she wore were her black panties and those would be gone from her body real soon. Not looking away from her splendid figure, Lyle closed the door behind them, making sure to lock it beforehand.
To say that this was expected was certainly a false statement for him. Ever since arriving, Lyle had been rather reluctant about getting intimate with Gloom. Not that he felt no desire for her, but to do it in this house of all places was a major phycological turn off for the blond man. Right now, however, he was feeling real stiff downstairs the longer he gazed at her perfect topless body.
"It's been a while hasn't it?" the eagerness in her voice was not as subtle, but the message was clear for him.
"Yeah..." he stood right in front of her, his eyes now focused on hers despite the desire to look a just a bit lower, "Haven't been in the mood."
Gloom took a step forward, making sure her breasts pressed themselves against his chest. Caressing bot his cheeks, Gloom reached up for a kiss, Lyle leaned down to accept it. The kiss was deep and meaningful, their lips embraced each other, savoring in the amazing feeling it was emitting for them both. It didn't take long for both to unravel in their desires as their kiss intensified into a primal need. The sexual frustration between them was at an all time high, and right now it has finally blown off.
"Fuck me." Gloom panted heavily, it wasn't a request, but a direct command.
Lyle hungrily kissed her again and removed his shirt. Both their bodies were hot, the friction of their bare skin rubbing on each other was only increasing this uncaged passion. Lyle and Gloom fell down on the bed, making out all the while. Lyle firmly grabbed both her breasts, squeezing them hard. Gloom moaned loudly at his roughness, and even louder when his mouth began to suck on on of them. His teeth scrapped against her soft breasts, the sensitivity well overwhelming, she was certainly gonna be left with multiple bite marks once they were done.
After some time ravishing her body with both his lips and tongue, he lowered himself directly before her crotch area. Biting through the fabric, he ripped it off much to her displeasure.
"Lyle!"
"I'll buy you a new pair." he simply stated and buried himself in between her legs.
He consumed her intensively, never once slowing down as his tongue savored her lower lips, sending bolts of shocks throughout her body. Gloom was in heaven, Lyle may not be much of a fighter and lacking a muscular tone, but he made up for it with mind-blowing passionate lovemaking. Not long after, Gloom hit her tipping point and let out a immense orgasm that has been denied to her for over three weeks. Lyle slurped up all the juices, cleaning her thoroughly with his tongue.
"Fuck...fuck...love you..." Gloom was already a mess, but the main dish had yet to be served.
Lyle stood up and began to unbuckle his pants, "You deserve this babe." he let out a satisfied smile as he thought more about it, "Thank you for being here with me."
.
Royal Woods County Park
.
She had not realized just how liberating it felt to be outdoors again. Years of staring blankly into a padded pale wall took away all the imagination out of her, hell, it even caused her to shift on and out of reality at times, hard times indeed. All that junk medicine they would constantly give her didn't help much either. Pills meant to smoothen her troubled state of mind? What a waste. She couldn't even bother to mention all the bloody group sessions, therapeutic nonsense for the longest time too. It was too much to recall the events of that horrid night, but to also share them with utter strangers, and once every week to boot. Lyra was glad to finally be out of that place and reunited with her family.
Aunt Lynn lead her through the ringer, she was well exhausted by the end of their workout and all they've really done was a 45 minute jog around the park, rather tame for the extreme athlete, but too much for the younger woman, fresh out of the sad house.
One thing she did notice during their trek around the public park were the residents of this small town, all of them giving them weird looks as they ran past them. She had been warned about it, yet Lyra chose to confront them all instead of hiding forever. This was her road to recovery and she would not allow her biological origins as well his brother's murderous acts define her future and keep her trapped in an escapable social standing. As long as she had her family all would be good. For as long, Lyle stayed by her side and didn't abandon her, Lyra actually felt an actual kindle of hope.
"Let's take ten. You've done great so far. Do this every week and you will be in perfect shape with an incredible endurance for more rigid activities and a sharp clear mind." Lynn praised her niece's efforts.
"Thanks..." Lyra laid down on the grass to rest.
Both women rested their aching bodies. It would take longer for Lyra to be well adjusted to these workout sessions, but Lynn insisted that she stick to it. No better medicine for the brain than a good physical workout to burn off all the negative she said. At least it was better than munching on tasteless pills 24/7, so much better. Lyra was just grateful to have her family's full support, that meant more than anything else in the world right now.
"It's been a a nice week, how you hanging so far?" Lynn asked.
"It's...much better than being locked up." Lyra confessed.
"...Lyra, you know...you can...talk with us, about...it." Lynn reluctantly asked. The killings that Lemy committed were too tough to honestly talk about, for everyone in the family not just Lyra.
"Yeah..." Lyra quietly nodded, "I know that."
Lynn felt her gut swell painfully. She was never great at expressing her emotions, never great at being empathetic in the right way. She grew up a hyper competitive, sports junkie, talking about her feelings or others was never a priority. After Lincoln and Luna were killed, she still had a trouble expressing the turmoil that had taken over, so instead of words she used the gym as her outlier, robotically concentrated in her routine of exercises, all to simply avoid confronting her own grief.
Looking back, she came to accept the reality of her being, she was a terrible shoulder to cry on for she would deny it in the first place. She had admonished Lincoln and Luna and never got to fully make amends with them both, never stuck around Lyra and Lemy for they reminded her of what her siblings had committed, and was mostly absent from their lives, same as her other sisters.
Lori had cut off all contact with the family and nobody knew where she currently was. Leni was a kindhearted gentle soul and did her best for Lyra before being forced to move away. Luan lost her smile and had relocated to California, every once in a while they would get postcards from her. The twins drifted off, Lola, just like Lori had brushed off her family, distancing herself as much as possible so it would not affect her modeling career, and Lana was down in Florida making good money as a Nascar mechanic, she was one of the main individuals helping pay Lyra's medical expenses. As for Lucy, she became even more morbid than before, her obsession with the occult and death took an extreme turn, she had to be institutionalized after being caught killing animals as part of a blood ritual, all too just speak with the spirits of her late brother and sister. Clyde tried helping her a few times, but the goth had refused all help, that was two Louds he had failed. Lisa, was a professor at MIT, she never called or visited, but she was also another family member that was aiding Lyra with monthly payments during her years of being institutionalized for therapy.
Lily was the exact same age as Lyle, as well Lemy and was a resident student the University of Michigan, she was aiming for a bachelor's degree in both medical science and psychology. She wished to prevent another family to suffer the same painful loss as them, a noble act on her behalf. Clyde actually helped her get in through recommendation. She did say that she would try to come by for Thanksgiving, Lynn would be very happy to see her and so would Lyra and Lyle.
While Lynn was reminiscing, Lyra stood up to drink some water from the fountain nearby. As she drank an unknown person approached her from behind. She immediately sensed their presence and spun around with a mortified look on her.
"Whoa easy there girl. Didn't mean to spook ya." a woman with black hair and a punk rock attire raised her hands in peaceful gesture.
"Right." Lyra eyes her suspiciously.
"Name's Terry, never seen you before. You new here?" the woman asked.
"... something like that." Lyra said.
"Cool, so am I. Just moved into town a few weeks back and it's been a struggle trying to find someone to talk to. Small towns you know? Tight-knit social circles that are wary of outsiders like you and I, so where you from?" Terry had started a conversation with a confused Lyra.
Back with Lynn, she started stretching her muscles to avoid any cramps. She looked around for Lyra and spotted her speaking to a stranger. Lynn was ready to intervene but soon noticed a rare smile from Lyra as she spoke with this random girl. No signs of social anxiety on her as they both spoke out of ear shot. This was the first time that Lyra was actually speaking to someone outside the family. Just looking at her be so casual and... normal was truly a blessing. Lynn felt her heart warm up at the sight of her niece enjoying her day. As if the last ten years had never occurred the way they did.
A ringing from her phone brought Lynn back to reality. Checking the caller's identification, her bright smile quickly morphed to a deep frown.
"What do you want?" Lynn demanded, her tone absolutely antagonistic.
"Lynn don't hang up. This is extremely important." Clyde spoke from the other end.
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October of 1992
.
Royal, Woods Michigan
.
Two weeks before Halloween
.
Whatever semblance of peace the Louds had been living under had been soured after a single phone call from the family doctor. The news of Lemy's incoming prison transfer and finale court hearing had been a surprise to them all. They had completely erased him from their memories, leaving him to rot in that mental prison for the criminally insane. Disowned and forgotten, everybody has stopped keeping tabs on him long ago. Everyone except for one, child psychiatrist and close friend of the family, Dr. Clyde McBride.
When Lemy had been taken to a juvenile facility it was Clyde who chose to aid the then thirteen year old into understanding what was happening in that min so his and hopefully rehabilitate him. A full decade later his attempts had become moot and instead of curing the young man, he was fully dedicated, obsessed even, with keeping him locked up forever.
The news hit Lyra like a sack of bricks to the face, for the past few days she had become very quiet, almost withdrawn from everyone around her. Lyle wished that Clyde would have kept that damn news to himself and leave them all be, now he had to once again draw Lyra out of her mental shell.
"We can't force her to open up. Just...give her some time is all." Gloom had been very supportive, yet Lyle still felt powerless all the same.
She remained unresponsive for the whole day, none of Lyle words made it through her. When nigh came around he was having trouble sleeping. Scenes from that night coming too life, a livid nightmare that was becoming too real for him to call a dream. It involved him and Lyra in this very house, running and hiding, from him. Lyle shifted uncomfortably in his bed, his dream causing his body to become slightly erratic.
Next thing that happened in said dream was him being stabbed. Upon it happening, he looked up at his killer's eyes, cold and empty. Emotionless, unmoving, the devil's eyes, Lemy's eyes.
With a loud gasp, Lyle shot right up from bed. Fully awake, breathing heavily and his heart pounding uncontrollably, he looked around the room, eyes frantically searching for any signs of danger. Next to him Gloom slightly stirred in her sleep, off in her own dreams, unaware that her boyfriend was recovering from a nightmare. Seeing her sound and safe calmed him down, he remained in place allowing his nerves to settle down as he held her hand for support.
Slowly getting out of bed, Lyle tiptoed his way out of their room, making sure not to awake Gloom from her slumber. Closing the door behind him, he looked around the empty hallway of the upper floor.
"Fuck hell." Lyle muttered. His throat has gone numb and mostly dry, so he decided to descent down the stairs and grab a drink from the kitchen.
Reaching the first floor, he tries his best to soften his steps down the stairs for the old wooden planks squeaked and creaked with each press of his foot. He did not wish to wake up Lyra, she needed her good night's rest. Lyle went past the living room, making sure not to bump into any furniture since it was quite dark for his eyesight to adjust quite well. Nearing the couch he could somewhat see the resemblance of a prone body laying down. The need to check up on her was sudden, but he chose not to disturb her and went straight for the kitchen for his original purpose.
Drinking a carton if orange juice had quenched his thirst, Lyle closed the fridge and turned back around, Lyra's woken presence before him spooked him tremendously.
"Holy...fuck!" Lyle held in his shout, he had staggered against the kitchen counter.
"Sorry! Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you like that." Lyra apologized profoundly.
"Nah, it's good." Lyle composed himself, "Good scare."
Both cousins shared a small laugh, low enough to not disturb the peaceful silence around them. Lyra beckoned him over to the living room where she sat down and invited him to sit next to her. Sitting in total silence, the only benefit to this matter was the shroud of darkness in the room preventing them from exposing their awkward stares to each other. Neither said anything for a good minute, not entirely sure how to start this late night chat.
"Can't sleep?" Lyle nodded. In fact, he did not feel the need to go back to bed, his sleep had vanished soon after waking up.
"Did I wake you?"
"No. I was already up. Thinking, remembering..."
He understood what she was referring to. Sinking himself into the couch, Lyle sighed loudly, apparently this unavoidable and deeply dreaded conversation was about to finally take place. It was just them two, alone in the dark and with no intrusions bound to occur. Best to get it over with once and for all.
"Do you-"
"I miss him." Lyra interrupted him.
The response caught him off guard, "You...what? Wait, what?"
This was so unexpected from her, Lyle couldn't believe his own hearing, "Lyra, what the hell are you talking about? You can not be serious right now."
"He's still my brother."
"He murdered your parents!" he hissed, resisting the urge to raise his voice, "Tried to kill you! Why the fuck are you still feeling sorry for that fucking piece of shit? Look what he did to you, to us!"
He shouldn't be mad at her, but for her to have any sort of sympathy for that psychotic murderer was earth shattering, a legit bombshell that just went off on his face. Lemy took everything from them, Lyle had made his peace with him and wished him nothing but death and eternal damnation, yet here he was, sitting across the only other person who's suffered more than all of them combined stating her familial care for the only person that ruined her life. He just couldn't wrap his head around it. What was wrong with her?
"You wouldn't understand."
"You're right. I don't! What the hell is wrong with you?"
"A lot actually. Too much to ever fix." Lyle was too exasperated already, he should have gone back to sleep. Now he was trapped, having to talk about it, talk about him, talk about them.
"I'm sorry." Lyle sighed, easing his stress down, "I...help me understand. I'm here now."
Lyra looked at him, her stare too eerily long for his comfort. Breaking eye contact, Lyle felt his cheeks flare up, he was becoming uncomfortable in this situation and considered going back up stairs with Gloom. His plans were halted with a touch from her hand on his. It was gentle almost tangible, her skin was colder than the weather outside and it sent a chill across his arm.
"I was always there for him. Never ignored him, helped him in everyway I possibly could. Lemy is my little brother and I love him deeply. Ten years and I still can't bring myself to ever accept the reality of that night. To accept that he is no longer the young boy I so lovingly cherished. To let him go." Lyle listened in silence as Lyra spoke her peace.
"I don't know what went wrong? For ten years I've been sleepless at night trying to answer that single question. What the fuck went wrong? Where didn't we went wrong? He always laughed, smiled and loved interacting with us all, so what the fuck happened to him?"
Fresh tears were starting to form the more she spoke from the heart. It was gut wrecking for him to witness such vulnerability from someone he had admired and looked up to from a young age. She couldn't speak no more and chose silence as she attempted to recuperate her emotions. Lyle couldn't bare it no more and scooted himself closer to her, he embraced her without warning, letting her know that he was her for her.
Lyra appreciated the kind gesture and allowed it. Melting herself in his arms, she buried her face on his shoulder, wiping the tears away with his shirt. He didn't mind it, he was too busy caressing her, granting her the love and care that had been missing from her life for an entire decade. Pressing himself into her, Lyle did not mind having Lyra squeeze him with her arms around his neck. She needed someone, he was that someone.
"I...I love you, you know right?"
Lyra let out a chuckle She pulled away to see him clearly, her hands resting on both sides of his face. She had a serene look to her, all her previous fears, worries and overall sadness having vanished thanks to him.
"I know that silly. I love you too." Lyle wasn't sure, perhaps the darkness in the room was playing tricks on him, but he could vaguely see Lyra leaning close to him.
Locked in place, he could not move, didn't want to move as he watched her slowly close her eyes, watched her lips lean in closer, and closer and closer to his own. His chest became heavy as did his breathing, he had no idea what to do, his body had surrendered to the feeling. What was happening? Why is she doing and why is he just letting it happen? Yet, he couldn't help but to sense the want from his own end, he couldn't explain it but he wanted it to happen. With just mere centimeters apart they would had sealed this encounter, but a loud crash disrupted the tranquility of their private moment.
"The fuck?" both cousins jumped up from the couch as the window from the living room was shattered by an unknown projectile that came crashing against the floor.
He approached the broken window and peered outside. He made out the silhouettes of a pair of laughing individuals hauling themselves inside a stationed car. Not wasting a single breath, Lyle raced for the front door, grabbing a fire poker on the way. Outside he ran towards the hooligans that dared to attack his home. What he was planning to do if he caught them? Well, he was armed for a very specific reason and it wasn't for self-defense.
"Fuck you Loud!" Lyle's blood boiled as he ran up to the car, only managing to strike it once before they peeled off. Leaving him alone and furious on the road.
"Motherfuckers." he cussed out.
Lyra was standing by the doorway looking outside and Gloom and opened up the window to their upstairs bedroom, "What happened? Lyle is everyone okay?"
Lyle angrily trekked back inside, trying his best to ease his temper, "I'm calling the cops. There's glass downstairs so be careful."
"Hey, Lyle..." she attempted to reach for him, but he rebuked her.
"It's nothing. Just...please, don't worry for me." he offered her a sweet smile and she appreciated it. Once he turned around to grab the house phone, Lyra's smile faltered as she reminded herself of what had occurred before the unexpected interruption.
.
October of 1992
.
45 miles from Royal Woods, Michigan
.
Nine days before Halloween
.
Clyde drove his car quite above the speed limit. He had been driving non-stop for about 20 minutes since leaving Hexwood in a hurry. Lemy's date was fast approaching and he had been working extra hard to ensure that all went smoothly, so his visitations had doubled in the past couple of weeks. Half of them were about him and Reagan debating on Lemy's case while the rest was him speaking to the young man one on one. He could never get a word out of him, it had become impossible after ten years. Still, he kept on going, spoke with him relentlessly, laid it all out on the table for them both to hear out loud.
He was no longer trying to help him, he was simply keeping him in check. Letting him know that it was over, that he would never harm another person ever again. Telling him that Lyra will live on without him.
He had arrived for his appointment on time. When he arrived at the front desk, he was giving the surprise of a lifetime when he was informed that the log book had a different name aside from his own written down. Clyde had been the only person, only visitor of Lemy's for a whole decade, so when he saw Lucy Loud's name on the visitor's log in all the alarms in his brain overloaded into an intense headache.
Now here he was, on the backwoods of rural Michigan in route to meet up with the individual that had kickstarted this whole mess, "Damn it, did I take the wrong turn?" Lucy's place of residence was far away and very isolated, from town. Clyde had never been to her home before, and had been met with nothing but a dense forest.
"Is that it up ahead?"
A lonely house came into view. Surrounded by trees and a single dirt road, the place appeared abandoned if nobody bothered to check. Old, isolated and spooky, all the trademarks for a gothic person obsessed with the occult to live in. Clyde parked his vehicle and got out. He knocked on the door, waited a few seconds before knocking again.
"Lucy! It's Dr. Clyde McBride, open up!" his fist pounded on the door, "Lucy, I need to speak to you!"
Nobody answered. Clyde was restless the longer he waited at the front door. He checked the windows but the black curtains were obscuring his view of the inside. He tapped on the glass, calling out her name, still no answer. Walking around the house Clyde tried the back, for an entry way. Everything was locked. A shed in the back was the only thing he had left to check. Approaching the shed, Clyde cautiously pulled back on the door handle, light from the outside slowly illuminating the dark interior.
"What are you doing here?"
Clyde jumped out of his skin as Lucy manifested from behind him. Even after so many decades her stealth remained unmatched, only increasing through time. She had not changed much at all. The whole gothic aesthetics remained strong with her with ninety percent of her clothing colored black, with small glints of red and white here and there. Her eyes remained hidden behind those black bangs. No one could tell what she was thinking or feeling, her monotone voice never changed and her disinterest for the modern society where all well implanted in her. Probably why she chose to isolate herself this far away from town, get away from all the 'negative' energy of the living and relish on the supernatural and all other things that went bump in the night. All these reasons had always been of concern for Clyde and he needed to now what it had to do with Lemy.
"Lucy. Why did you visit Lemy?" Clyde shut the shed and faced her.
"...He was lonely." a simple reply, but not good enough for the specialized doctor.
Squinting his eyes at her, Clyde flared his nostrils, "I'm not here to joke around, Lucy. Tell me why you visited him out of the blue after ten years!"
Instead of replying, Lucy turned around and walked away. Clyde was stumped by her actions and followed her back to the house. Lucy ignored his repeated questions as she waltz back inside. He was having none of it and grabbed her by the arm.
"Lucy -"
"What exactly do you want me to say Clyde? What are you desperate to hear about?" Lucy raised her voice, shaking off his grip on her.
"Just tell me..." he asked, no, demanded.
Lucy eyed him intensively, her eyes well hidden behind her curtain of hair. Clyde was not one to be so easily intimidated, but there was always something about Lucy that brought out an deep sense of anxiety on anyone who was left alone with her. Since a young child she had always been this way, and most recently it had only gotten stronger for her. Those couple of years under therapy had only caused her to become more bizarre.
"I had a dream." she sat down on one of her chairs which was filled with many trinkets and candles, all apparently items of the occult. Looking around, her entire home was decorated like it belonged to a coven. She truly was fascinated by the supernatural.
"A dream?" Clyde raised an eyebrow at her.
"Yes. A dream about the night that death visited my family. The spirits of Lincoln and Luna have warned me. Death shall return on Hallow's Eve."
Clyde had never believed in the supernatural, he wasn't a kid anymore. Ghosts, spirits, vampires and werewolves? Lucy may buy into that fantasy, but he was grounded to reality. Even so, her words echoed in his mind. A cold fear manifested as wild thoughts began to race around. His body had gone numb, all sensation gone and yet, he could feel his entire body temperature drop down to a shivering low. He needed to know more.
Grabbing her by the shoulders, Clyde began to shake her aggressively, "What did you tell him? What did he say? Did Lemy say anything to you?"
Lucy visiting Lemy just a week away from his move out date fast approaching was all too coincidental for his taste. Clyde needed to get all the facts straight, dread overwhelming him the closer they got to his birthday. He had been living in fear of his potential escape for many years and now that fear was on the verge of becoming true because of her. He should have let go of Lucy and grabbed the house phone or just get back on the car and race all the way back to Hexwood, but his obsessive need to learn the full truth then and there became his downfall. He was so consumed by his questioning he failed to react on time to Lucy's actions.
Lucy hovered her hand in his face, a strange powder in her palm. She then blew it all in his face, his nostrils inhaled the substance.
His entire body suddenly began to falter all around. His vision blurred out, his equilibrium was off balance and numbness soon encompassed him completely. Letting go of her, Clyde stumbled around, knocking over anything that he tried to grasp a hold of. Lucy remained still, watching him struggle to stay afloat, her lips inched up into a smirk.
"Something wrong?" Clyde could barely focus on her words as he attempted to reach the front door.
"Where you going Clyde?"
He had to reach his car. He needed to contact Dr. Reagan, inform him of the deadly danger that they were all about to be in. His legs were giving out, all sensation was gone as his head spun around relentlessly. Lucy strolled behind him, no worries on her features, watching him fail to make any progress in his escape. Clyde could no longer stand, and he fell down on the floor, just a couple of feet from the door. His breathing slowed down. Feeling lightheaded, Clyde used what was left of his physical strength to flip himself over.
Lucy hovered above him, her black gothic dress complementing her deathly pale skin and dark raven hair. She had the perfect imagery of a young practitioner of the dark arts and that wicked grin on her was beyond sinister. As his vision started to go out, he wondered if she, possibly, was somehow involved in the killings of '82. What was her agenda with Lemy? This was all just sudden speculation from a tired and panicking psychologist. Slumber took possession of his being and darkness followed afterwards.
"Don't worry Dr. McBride. You can stay here for as long as you wish." Lucy's voice echoed in the dark, "Death will very soon join us for supper and then, guide us all into the afterlife."