Chapter 32: A nightmare to remember
The streets of Brighton were empty. The sky was bloody red. The town looked like it was abandoned. Molly was running for her life, while the trauma cat was chasing her down the center.
''COME HERE, MOLLY!''
''LEAVE ME ALONE, YOU BEAST!'' Molly cried, while she was running for her life.
Molly couldn't run very fast, so the cat easily jumped and pinned her down. Those predatory red eyes were staring at Molly's soul. She was so scared by the way the cat looked and how she was drooling at Molly.
''What's the matter, mouse? Can't hide forever?''
''GET OFF ME!''
Molly kicked as hard as she could in the cat's stomach, causing her to let go of Molly. Molly didn't waste a single second, she got up and started to run away.
''Agh, you sneaky little brat... Whatever, go on! Run! IT ONLY MAKES THE CHASE MORE FUN FOR ME!''
Molly had no idea when she would wake up, but she really wanted this nightmare to end. She was just praying to wake up before the cat ripped her apart...
...
John and Kaito were both at John's office. After the soldiers found Molly's body under the bridge, they thought the murderer was back. They already searched for that psycho for months, but they just can't see any left clues.
''Okay, so our guy is smart, quick and quiet... Quiet enough to do his job without dragging those troopers' attention'' John explained.
''Ugh, I want to punch the sh*t out of this idiot! After Hikari found out about what happened to Molly, she had a panic attack from worriness!''
''Calm down, Kaito, this bastard will get what he deserves. Man, what are we missing? Three people are missing, a kid is now in a coma and who knows when the killer will strike again! It feels like he is not human! No tracks, the wounds from the bodies aren't from any weapon... It feels like some cannibal kills them with his own hands. It does explain the fact some organs of the bodies are missing...'' John explained.
''If that's the case, that ''cannibal'' must hide somewhere in town. Somewhere no one will expect, like in an abandoned building or something''
''Well... We can check that out. There are like few here. Dahmer's office, the old kindergarten... Actually, that's it''
''Let's start with Dahmer's office, it's closer''
It was clear whoever that psycho is, he hides somewhere in Brighton. Searching around the town should at least give them one hint who this might be... Both of them had no idea that skinwalkers actually kill people...
...
Molly was running around town, but her legs were getting tired. The cat continued to chase her, her eyes glowing more and more red.
''I'M NOT LOSING THAT CHASE, MCGEE!''
Molly knew the cat would jump at her, so she ran to Libby's bookshop. In her dream, the bookshop was perfectly fine, so she ran there... But the moment she got inside, she was in a school bathroom.
She didn't know why she is here. The bathroom was small and mirror was broken. Molly saw on the floor a little note and picked it up.
In every boring class, I think of you. In all my dreams, I see us together. Love is so strange, isn't it? You know you have feelings for someone, yet you are so scared to to tell that person how much you love them. Well... I'm not scared anymore... I'll be honest... I love you
Molly was confused by that. Yeah, it was a pretty sweet letter, but who wrote it? She noticed that was her own signature... Did she write that? If she did, for who?
A bang on the door was heard behind her. Molly turned around... And saw a blonde girl and a tall boy with a tattoo.
''I FOUND YOU, BISEXUAL FREAK!''
The boy pushed Molly to the wall and kept her there. Molly was so scared and confused, she had no idea who that is or why they were hurting her.
''Wh-What?! Who are you, why-
''HIKARI ISN'T HERE TO SAVE YOU, EH? OH, THIS TIME I'LL MAKE SURE YOU EAT YOUR KNUCKLE SANDWICH!''
The boy punched Molly as hard as she can in the mouth, causing a tooth to fall out from her mouth... And then blood came out.
''NO, PLEASE, I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG-
The boy punched her again, causing Molly to fall to the ground. The girl continued to laugh and yell, while the boy was kicking Molly.
''HAHAHAHA! THAT'S WHAT YOU DESERVE! KILL HER, MAKE HER SUFFER!''
The boy continued to kick and punch Molly. She was so scared and confused. Who were those people? Why were they hurting her? Molly was crying and spilling out blood... When everything just stopped.
She wasn't in that bathroom anymore and didn't have blood in her mouth. Molly looked around and saw she was close to a river. Above her, there was a bridge.
Now, what is this supposed to mean? There were soft cries coming in front of Molly. She started to walk... And when she got closer, Molly saw a little girl on the grass, crying and almost drowned.
''Oh my gosh!''
Molly ran to the girl and tried to help her... But the girl screamed from fear and started to move away.
''N-No... Please, you already hurt me... PLEASE!'' The girl screamed.
''What?! No, I didn't hurt you, I wanna help! What happened-
''HELP! S-SOMEBODY, PLEASE HELP!''
Molly was so confused. What happened to the poor girl? Why was she so afraid of Molly? Did she do something wrong to her?
''The thing about her is that... She's sensitive. I had to always keep my eyes on her because of how naive and easily manipulated she can be. At one point, she actually became a bully and I had to snap her out!''
She remembered what Hikari said on their ghost date. Molly... Was a bully? She also explained how Molly pushed a girl off a bridge... This can't be true, right? Molly would never do something like that! She always loved and cared about everyone...
''H-Hey, calm down, I wanna help-
''PLEASE! YOU ALREADY MADE ME SUFFER ENOUGH!''
It was now obvious... Molly did this. Molly probably really pushed her off the bridge. This made her feel sick. How could Molly hurt someone like that? She tried to remember what made her do it... But she couldn't. The cat was staring at Molly from the bridge...
''Wow, Molly, you really are a monster''
''WHAT?! NO, I'M NOT! I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED!'' Molly yelled, shocked and scared.
''Such a baaaaad girl... You can't deny it''
''NO! I'M NOT A BAD PERSON, LEAVE ME ALONE!''
Her veins started to glow... And Molly shot a lightning towards the cat. She just wanted that demon to be finally killed... But the moment the lightning was shot to the bridge, it backfired to her and shot Molly, causing her to fall.
Now Molly was in a weird hallway with modern electrical cells. On every cell, there was a number. She had no idea where she is, but Molly sure was scared.
It was long... And at the end of it, there were only three letters... O.A.S. That means she may be in their weird base. But why? Why is it so dark? It feels like no one was here... Or was it? Molly could feel someone his behind her. She turned around... And saw a strange version of her.
It was her... But at the same time, it wasn't. She had those weird hospital clothes and the purple bandages Molly ordered. The hair was let down, as the purple strand was showing. The most terrifying part was a strange mask that was covering her mouth...
''Who... Who are you?''
''Your future...''
Molly realized she needed to get out... Or at least fight back. The energy inside of her was becoming more and more powerful, causing Molly to turn into her ghost form.
''Stay back! Don't get any closer to me!''
''No need to run... That's what it's meant to be...''
Molly had enough, so she shot lightning arcs at her evil clone... But they did nothing... It even looked like the arcs were actually going inside her body.
''You can try to fight... BUT YOU WON'T STOP ME!''
The evil Molly's eyes were purple glowing. Her veins were also glowing in red and she was getting ready to fly towards Molly. Before she could try to defend herself... The evil Molly shot red lightning arcs... Causing to hurt Molly so badly, she fell to the ground and was back in her human form.
''N-No! Please!''
''You can't change your future... It's coming...''
The clone was getting closer and closer. The palm of her hand was full with lightning arcs. She was ready to kill Molly. The moment she got closer... She made Molly feel the most agonizing pain, causing her to scream at the top of her lungs...
...
Libby was back home. She was ready to finally check out those files. After a lot of messing around with the WIFI settings, she was sure the internet connection would be enough to open the files.
After she was sure the computer was connected to the desktop, she pressed the button on it. It was loading very slowly, but it eventually turned on. There were just three folders.
She clicked the first one. It was full with many links and files. Libby clicked on the first one... A photo with assault rifles showed up. The strange part was... Those weren't normal.
They had weird blue lights and a red button. That was... Pretty weird. Libby closed the photo and opened another file. This time, she read what the files were.
She clicked on the file... A photo with bullets and text showed up.
The amo of the next generation is made out of a strong metal, full of ectoplasm substance. Enough to stun or eliminate any demonic or paranormal creature
Libby felt how her blood froze. Bullets with ectoplasm? From where the hell would these guys have ectoplasm? They sure were ghost hunters, but... They used ghost's ectoplasm to create their bullets? That was evil...
She closed the photo and looked at the other files. There were photos of demons, ghosts... More of their weird weapons. From all the files she has seen so far, Libby realized... They use ectoplasm not just for bullets, but for many of their weapons in general.
That was all from the first folder. She opened the second one, which was once again full of files. The first one grabbed her attention.
Libby clicked it... A photo of a HUGE tank showed up. That thing was so big, it was like a house on wheels. Of course, it had those weird lights... Probably because it operates on ectoplasm too...
''What the hell is the matter with those weirdoes?''
She scrolled down to check out the other files. Some once again full of weapons... While the last ones were a little strange.
Libby clicked on the file. This time a video showed up with a date 14/07/2004. It looked like somewhere in the center of a small village. In the video, a boy was surrounded by all the people and was screaming and levitating... And at the end, he jumped at the camera, scaring Libby.
The video stopped. That sure was intense... It looked like the O.A.S really are tracking down every single supernatural creature. Libby clicked on another weird file.
Libby clicked it. Another video with a date 30/09/2017... This time of a little shop. There were only the cashier, a man and a weird lady that was... Twitching. The man got close to her, because he looked worried that something may be wrong with the woman... And she just screamed so loud, the sound pushed the man through the shop's windows...
That was so surprising, Libby got jumpscared again. This was getting kinda creepy now... Maybe just a few more. She scrolled down... And one file she saw almost gave her a heart attack...
Project? Skinwalker?! Libby was scared of where this may go, but she had to see it. She clicked on the file... Another video with a date 28/03/2004. This time it was a video of a... Laboratory. There were 5 O.A.S soldiers and 2 scientists... And one weird machine in the center.
''Dr. Bates, it's too dangerous!''
''Shut up, we did enough tests!''
The first scientist was a blonde man with glasses, while the other had short black hair and was very thin. The soldiers prepared the machine... Put some weird bottles with dark liquid inside and were just waiting for someone to step in.
''We never did HUMAN tests! Just because the results are done, doesn't mean we should-
''I SAID QUIET!'' Dr. Bates said, as he took off his coat and shirt, and sat on the chair that was connected with the machine.
''Dr. Bates, it's too risky! We need more time!''
''I DON'T HAVE TIME! Only 4 months before the cancer eats me up! We are starting this machine NOW!''
The moment he said this, the agents stuck small tubes with needles in his arms... Then pressed a button on the wall, that looked like was connected to the machine.
The strange liquid from the bottles was making its way to the tubes, then in his veins. The soldiers were carefully watching, while the other scientist looked so worried and scared.
''Ugh... Agh... That's... A-Ahhhh...''
The muscles on his chest were growing... His arms were getting bigger... And his hair started to grow and turn grey...
''A-AGH, AGHHHHH, AHHHHHHHHHHH!''
''Dr. Bates?''
His eyes turned grey, while his teeth were becoming sharper... And he was getting more and more buffed...
''AHHHHHHHH, AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!''
''STOP THE REACTOR, STOP IT NOW!''
One of the soldiers ran to the machine... But it was too late, the man was so big, he jumped at him... And bit his head off...
''I! SAID! NO STOPPING!''
All the soldiers prepared their weapons, while the scientist ran away... That's when the video stopped, leaving Libby speechlessly staring at the screen.
What the hell did she just watch? Is this how skinwalkers started? Libby could feel her heart racing... She sure isn't sleeping tonight...
...
Molly woke up from this nightmare hell. Finally... It's over. No more cat, no more evil clones... Just peace. She saw the world surrounding her. A hospital room.
She saw her right arm was wrapped up in a cast... Then Molly realized, she couldn't feel her legs at all. Her head was also in a bandage. Molly remembered the fight she and Samantha had. So embarrassing... Getting beated up like that from a regular girl... A doctor came in and was shocked when he saw Molly woke up.
''Oh, you are awake!''
''Yyyyyy... Y-Yes...''
The doctor went to Molly's side. She could tell he was worried. It felt like he really wanted to check if she was alright.
''Do you remember what happened?'' The doctor asked, as he gently grabbed Molly's left arm.
''No, I-I-I was jjjjj- j-j-just... Walking w-w-when...''
Molly was confused. She tried to explain, but it felt like the words were refusing to come out. The doctor became even more worried, even though he was expecting that.
''When what?''
''Wh-Wh-When I just... I don't actually rrrrrr-r-r-rememer... F-F-F-For how long was I h-here?''
''A day. And you'll have to stay for a while...''
''Why c-c-c... c-c-can't I-
''Hey, hey, take it slowly! The Broca area of your brain is damaged, which can cause a speech disorder. But it's okay, it's good that you can actually speak'' The doctor explained.
Molly's world just collapsed in front of her. First, she can't feel her legs at all... Her arm was broken... But now she can't talk properly? No, no, no, this can't happen! She can't live like that, that would be pure torture!
''B-B-But is there aaaaaa-aa-any way th-that I can... I c-caaaaan...''
Molly froze. The sentence was just refusing to form. She would just stutter or the word would sound long and weird. How is she supposed to fix it? Is that how she would live now?!
''Take it easy, kid. Just rest, we'll think of something. I'll bring you something to eat, you really need it'' The doctor said, as he left the room.
Molly was actually on the verge of crying. No, this has to be a nightmare... She really prayed for this to be another nightmare trap by the cat.
''My n-n-n-name is... Mo-M-Molly... McG-G-G... My nnnnnn-nam-me... Is... Molly Mc-G...''
It felt like there was a blocker in her brain that stopping her from talking. This can't be cured... If it was from the brain, there is no way to cure it. Molly felt how her tears were falling...