Chapter 31: Hope for the best

It was now morning. When Sharon's phone rang, she expected everything... But now what she heard. Molly was found beaten up, in blood and knocked out under the park's bridge.

Right now, Sharon was standing in front of the doctor's office, so nervous that she could feel her heart burst any moment. After around 20 minutes of waiting, the doctor came out.

''Are you Sharon McGee?''

''YES! It's me! How is my daughter?! What happened?! is she-

''Now, calm down. Your daughter is stable, but... In very bad condition. 5 broken ribs, arm fracture, damaged spinal cord and... One final really bad injury...'' The doctor explained.

Sharon's heart stopped. This was unbelievable. She barely managed to cover up her husband's broken leg, how is she supposed to pay for all of this?

Money didn't actually matter... What will happen to Molly? Will she recover from all of this? And how long will it take? So many questions that Sharon was afraid to know the answer to...

''Wh-What's the last?''

''The Broca's area of her brain was hit... That may result in speech disorders...''

Sharon was now really on the verge of a panic attack...

''S-So... She won't talk?''

''We can only be sure once she wakes up. When this will happen... We have no idea. I'm sorry, Ms. McGee'' The doctor explained.

Sharon had no idea how to react. Not only she had to worry when Molly will wake up... Now she has to worry if her daughter will even have a normal life...

...

Everyone was in shock. Samantha called everyone. Ollie, June, Scratch, Darry, Libby... She and June told everyone that Molly is the phantom.

''NO, THIS CAN'T BE TRUE!'' Scratch said.

''It is! I was gonna tell sooner, but she threatened to kill me!'' June explained.

''Where is she now?'' Ollie asked.

''I carried her to the park and threw her under the bridge. Until now, the O.A.S agents there should've found her'' Samantha said.

''WHAT?!''

''Well, what was I supposed to do? If I was just carrying her around, it will look suspicious! So, I just left here there''

''Samantha, this is NOT a way to handle such a situation! Why didn't you just bring here here?!'' Ollie asked, mad.

''Because... Well, she deserved it''

This was a huge shock. It was even more shocking how proud Samantha was about beating someone from their friend group.

''Just because someone deserves it, DOESN'T MEAN YOU SHOULD DO IT! It's bad enough that she hid this from us, but now we don't even know what will happen to her!'' Libby said.

''Hold a sec, didn't she hurt all of you?! She pretended to be a hero, she threatened June, and she hurt all of you during your first attempt to hunt her! Why should I feel bad?'' Samantha asked, angry and confused.

''Because SHE STILL IS OUR FRIEND! I'm sure she only did all of this because she was too scared to speak with us!'' Libby said.

''Better think twice next time...''

''Sammy, you and me will have a real conversation later!'' Ollie said, mad.

No one had any idea what comes next. So, Molly is in probably in a coma and she is still cursed... The only thing they could do is to wait until Molly wakes up. Scratch couldn't take it anymore, so he flew outside, causing Libby to follow him.

''Scratch, are you okay?''

''Okay?! NO! So, I was spending so much time to figure out who this phantom is, I made so many plans, I WAS PLANNING TO END HER... And all this time, it was MY BEST FRIEND! No, I'm not okay at all!'' Scratch said.

It really was frustrating. What if he hunted her down and caught her? What if he actually tried to end her? He was gonna kill Molly?

''Yeah, that's a lot to take in...''

''Most importantly, HOW AND WHY DID SHE DO THAT?!''

''Listen, Molly is not a stupid girl! There has to be a reason she would turn herself into... That! You don't wake up and say ''Hmm, I wanna be a phantom today!'' There must be something that made her do this!'' Libby said.

''I guess you have a point. But what? Molly had like the perfect life! It doesn't make sense for her to just decide to be a ghost! Well... She was thinking for some time the idea of separating her soul, but I thought that was just a weird phase or something!'' Scratch explained.

''We just have to wait... After she wakes up, we will ask and cure her''

''Oh, we sure will! Anyways... So, you saw what you looked for...''

''Still no... Thanks very much for telling my mom'' Libby sarcastically said.

''Hey, I did warn you!''

''Well, she was mad, but not anymore. I'll check out the files later. It turns out I'll need a lot stronger net connection before opening them up''

Everything was a huge mess. The Ghost Friends lost their leader... And it turned out she was their target the whole time. Scratch most upset from them. Molly put herself in huge danger. The O.A.S was after her, the Ghost Council, the reaper... Scratch sure will want a good explanation when she is back.

...

Next to a tree, a lonely wolf was sitting. It had dark fur and teeth sharp like blades. While it was standing... A snake appeared behind it... And it turned into a human with grey hair and grey eyes.

''I saw her in action... Haven't lost the skills!''

Samantha had no idea... The skinwalkers were watching all her moves. The wolf kept its form and turned around to the skinwalker.

''Good... I'll make sure my best student returns. In the meantime, any news about Nekhbet?''

Nekhbet was the name Abigail was given. They had no idea she was trapped inside an old garage, while the old Frank was looking after her...

''Not yet, but we'll find her. So, main leader... When will we strike?''

''Patience, Basilisk... This town will be ours, but we have a problem to solve. If those idiots see us, I'm afraid we will be the one to get hunted down..''

''Maybe there is someone who can help us...''

This grabbed the wolf's attention... So much, that he finally transformed. It was the same man who was wearing the wolf skin, and who turned Abigail into a skinwalker.

''What do you mean by that?''

''The entity that the Princess of Hunting fought... She goes by the name ''Joy''. Even though she lost, she is probably the most powerful creature I have seen''

This grabbed the man's attention. Normally their pack never used the help of any other supernatural species, but now they couldn't go against the O.A.S. At least not alone...

''Interesting. I'll think about it... Just keep an eye on that ''Joy''. Understand?''

''Of course, lord Amarok''

The man transformed into a snake again and crawled away... While Amarok was staring at the trees. So there is a new strong spirit? Maybe that one is the key for their secret plan...

...

It was a pure silence. Molly opened up her eyes. Her hospital room was dark, with only a few red paintings of... Cages. It scared her, so Molly got up and opened the door... No one was in the hall.

''Hello? Anyone here?''

No response. She looked around, all the doors were locked. She was about to start walking... When Molly heard an evil laugh behind her...

''Wakey, Wakeeeeey''

Molly turned around... It was the nightmare cat. She had those horrible fangs and red eyes. The most terrifying part... Jinx was right behind her, holding her scythe.

''No... It can't be...''

''You enjoyed your all-nighters... Now it's time to play again...''

''NO! DON'T YOU DARE COME ANY CLOSER TO ME!'' Molly cried, as she started to step back.

''Ohhh, no, no, no, I waited long enough for you to fall asleep. And it finally happened... After so much waiting. WE'LL HAVE A HELL OF A TIME!''

Molly realized... She was trapped in her own mind... And she won't wake up any time soon...