Chapter 26

Amara's POV

I groan annoyed as the landline phone goes off again for the fifth time this morning. It must be important to be calling this damn early. Before I can answer the phone a loud urgent knock comes from my door.

I look through the peephole to see it's Tatum, I barely open the door before she's pushing her way inside.

"Something happened at the hospital,"

"What?"

"Yeah some staff and patients were attacked, and it would be the day before my Pink party to celebrate me beating Bianca in the race," she rambles off track. I grab her shoulders pulling her close.

"T, I need you to focus, is Billy okay?" I rub my wrist as if to calm myself.

"I'm not sure that's why I grabbed you so we can check on him together," I nod urgently, picking up a random top and throwing it on.

"Really, You're wearing that?" she asks, giving me a look of disgust.

"Leave me alone," I grumble, grabbing her wrist and my bat heading out the door. The closer we got to the hospital the more scared I felt and I'm not sure why. Police had reporters blocked off far from the hospital entrance.

As we left the parking lot I felt relief seeing Stu's car was there. We definitely needed to talk about that kiss and how it almost led to something else. I hate how weak I am when it comes to them.

When we got inside the hall that led to Billy's room was blocked off with caution tape. A man at the front yelled at the receptionist about his car being towed, she kept repeating that she gave him the number which did nothing to ease his yelling. I count to ten in my head before pushing him out of the way.

"What the fuck is your problem," he takes steps toward me but they falter when I hold my bat up.

"Pretty isn't she?" I smile rubbing the bat and turning it so he'd see the dried blood. "And no she isn't for baseball,"

He gulps saying nothing else as he heads out the doors. Tatum laughs behind me whispering well done.

"Billy Loomis, coma patient, is he okay?" I ask tapping the baseball bat on the computer she jumps on but starts typing on her computer.

"You know you're pretty scary, I both love and fear that about you," Tatum says I tilt my head at her not sure whether she wants me to take that as a compliment or not.

"Billy Loomis was moved downstairs, he's fine. Looks like he was unharmed," she says, adjusting the glasses on her face.

"What happened here?" Tatum asks, whispering when cops walk by.

The receptionist looks around before leaning in, "I'm not at liberty to say but since you got rid of that guy for me. We think someone broke in, and a lot of people were hurt. There was so much bloodshed for a moment I thought Daniel Espen had woken up but he's still unresponsive."

I tilt my head confused, "Who?"

"Right it was just a little over your time but twenty years ago a serial killer was brought through these doors comatose and no one could figure out why. The police still watch him but you know ghost stories people think he'll rise again and start his spree all over again,"

"That's scary," Tatum mumbles in thought.

This is what Lucy was talking about: Daniel Espen is the serial killer from twenty years ago. Why would he be here?

"Where is he?"

"Down the hall from the Loomis boy actually. Pretty weird their charts are similar," she adds, digging more into her computer.

Tatum looks at me thinking the same thing I am. That's too weird of a coincidence. I smile in relief when I see him lying there like he's been the whole time. I push the hair from his closed eyes.

"It's so weird to see him like this," Tatum says looking down at him.

I grab his hand holding it in mine. I love him so much and it hurts to see him like this. I noticed the lines I saw on his neck were now spreading down his arm. I rub them letting out a sigh of relief when I don't get those violent images again. It was like someone was hurting him.

"Where's Stu?" I ask looking around. I expected him to be here. Tatum shrugs saying he probably went to a vending machine but I had a bad feeling.

"So are we gonna check out this Daniel dude?" she asks, looking down the hall before looking back at me.

"Hell no, what is wrong with you? With our luck the moment we step into the room, he'll wake up and kill us,"

She nods huffing out. "I was just wondering, come on let's go find Stu," I nod looking back at Billy, I kiss his forehead gripping his hand tighter. I gasp when his hand grips mine back but only for a moment. "I grip his face looking for a reaction.

"Did something happen?" Tatum asks, popping her head back into the room. I stare at him for a few more seconds before shaking my head.

"No..nothing happened," I say quietly disappointed.

STU POV

It was weird being there when they couldn't see us even weirder that Billy's body was here and there. When his actual body gripped her back I saw emotion in his eyes for the first time since I saw him.

"Sad isn't it? Having to watch your loved ones cling to you as if you're still there." the devil mocks as he watches Amara and Tatum leave the room.

"The blond one is beautiful but the brunette Carpenter," he whistles, making me clench my fists. Billy keeps me held down in chains that get tighter every time I move.

"You boys have taste, it's just something about those Carpenters, always seeing the good in you even when you tell them it's not there. So loyal yet so breakable." his voice teases but he looks more at Billy who gives him no reaction.

"I never expected you to become someone else's pet," I mock Billy who looks down at me, he bites his lip looking away saying nothing.

"Wasn't easy either... took so long to break him and believe it or not it didn't take threatening Amara's life for him to cooperate. No, it took something more precious," his sentence is cut off when Billy hurls his knife at his face but he catches it with his hand not even reacting as it sliced into his palm. The hell is going on?

"There it is, that fire" he mocks Billy, handing him back his knife.

"There's no need for him to know about them," Billy says, finally speaking. I knew he wasn't mute he's such a dick.

"I'm gonna show you a memory," the devil tells me ignoring Billy walking by him and up to me. "What broke your friend and what's gonna break you into the submission I need to build my group,"

"Good luck with that," he says, just smirking at me.

It was suddenly dark until it wasn't we were all suddenly in Amara's house. Cotton Weary sat on the couch rubbing his hands through his hair eyes moving to the door. When the door opens I'm shocked to see Amara holding a baby boy covered in a blue blanket.

Her mom comes in holding another baby with a pink blanket.

Cotton gets excited taking the boy from her arms while she relaxes on the couch. I look at Billy whose eyes shine with nothing but pain. His fists clenched as he watched them. It was then I finally understood.

"You got her pregnant," I whisper in awe and disbelief, "A boy and a girl,"

"Beautiful, I was rather happy when he extended our family line,"

I look at Billy shocked, "Our family?" I am so confused.

"He's my uncle. My father's little brother," Billy states, annoyed almost like he's his old self again.

"The Loomis family has been around for years cursed to spill blood for the rest of our days, the men in our family always had it bad but for the girls they always ended up a little twisted" he warns looking at the baby girl in her grandmother's arms.

His eyes shine with evil content when they land on the boy. "If you don't follow orders I'll just take this one, I think he'll grow up to be a fine killer,"

"I'm not letting that happen,"

"You're not gonna have a choice," he says before the memory disappears right before our eyes then another appears. Were in a dark alleyway watching as a younger version of the devil that stood before us kneeled in a pool of blood rocking a lifeless body against him as heartbreaking sobs left his mouth.

"Please. Please I'm so sorry," he whispers against her face, getting a closer look I see that she looks almost like Amara, I look at Billy who has his back against the scene.

"Having love in my family doesn't last ..you can try to make it but it will end up the same way," he tells us not taking his eyes off the scene. He's so different from the broken boy he's showing us.

"After I lost her I felt this darkness. The whispers every fiber of my being was being told to avenge her and I did but something about that first taste of blood. Once I started I couldn't stop..I didn't kill enough to reach full immortality, the police had me cornered in my old home. I knew my revenge wasn't complete so I transferred my soul into that knife but things backfired when I wasn't able to put my soul back in my body. I needed more blood spilled and I obviously couldn't do that," he turns to me smiling before turning to Billy.

"I got lucky when my blood just happened to stumble upon the knife, I was able to transfer just a little part of myself into him. An eleven year old but hey I was desperate. All those blackouts whisper the visions of your worst fears that was all me," he brags, Billy shakes in anger fists clenched.

"Can't take all the credit, finding out about Cotton and Maureen through Roman was too good to pass, He was so angry it was easy to manipulate his emotions. I quickly realized there wasn't that big of a downside to limbo if I could reach other people through their consciousness that had the same similar darkness to Billy,"

"Dude I have a headache, I'm weirdly hungry and I do not know what any of this means," I complained wanting to scratch my nose but the binds grew tighter. He looks at Billy who just shrugs rolling his eyes.

"I needed more acolytes,"

"What are?" I ask confused but he turns sharply, cutting me off.

"Followers! I needed more followers!" he yells impatiently in my face.

"Now you see why I took so long to recruit you," he mumbles in annoyance. I panic standing up.

"Roman is one of your followers? The Roman who's been trying to flirt his way into Amara's pants Roman," I yell feeling my anger rise. I knew something wasn't right about him.

"Of course, the easiest man I've ever manipulated, he has a lot of anger and we had similar goals," he shrugs.

"Unlike your friend here, his will was like a horse and it took a lot of torture to break him but I expect nothing else from family," he looks at Billy with admiration but Billy looks like the moment he's off his leash he's gonna rip his head off.

He suddenly tilts his head, his eyes turning a deep red similar to the way I saw Billy's. "Looks like I have more potential acolytes,"

He stares at me for a few moments before looking at Billy. "Brief him about his job and if you need to break him. If he accepts, send him home. He bores me," he says before disappearing.

"I didn't like you either," I mock, even though he's already gone.

Billy finally turns to me pulling me up to my feet, the chains are suddenly gone and I breathe stretching out my body.

"So... this is where you've been?"

"Not by choice," he replies with anger and pain in his eyes.

"What did that guy do to you?" I ask in horror

"Doesn't matter. You have to be a follower or he'll do the same to you," he warns me but I put my hand on his shoulder in comfort.

"You don't even have to ask. I would've done it no question but you didn't have to stab me. That hurt," I fake complain. He pushes me away from him trying to hide his smile.

"I had to, Only way through here is death,"

"That's why the fire happened?" he nods, staring at the scar on his hand.

"I was gonna kill my dad that night but I guess he wanted to do it himself so he did it through me.. Having someone have control over me like that I hated it."

"Hey don't worry we're gonna fix you.. Once we put his soul back in his body he'll leave you alone right?" I ask, pleading the answer is yes but Billy looks at me for a long few seconds before crossing his arms.

"No Stu he won't this is bigger than us,"