6
407 Words
Chapter 6: The Seventh Sacrifice
The moment Jackie's fingertip touched the molar, the tooth dissolved.
Thick liquid spread across her palm, etching a tiny seven-pointed star into her skin. The basement's flooded floor began boiling as pale arms erupted from the water, their skeletal fingers scraping against concrete with a sound like nails on a chalkboard.
William's reflection grinned. Its mouth stretched ear-to-ear, revealing rows of sharklike teeth.
"At last, complete." The doppelgänger's voice became a grotesque chorus. "Seven sinners. Seven offerings."
Mold patches on the ceiling writhed together, forming a monstrous face. Rotten lips parted, exhaling a corpse's whisper:
Where is the last one?
Flashback: 5:17 AM
The blonde doll's ceramic head exploded. Among the shards, a waterlogged tape cassette fell with a splash. William snatched it up before it could sink. Faded numbers on the casing read: 10.31.1923.
"Halloween night," Jackie said hoarsely. "When the murders happened."
The basement lights flickered. With every plunge into darkness, the arms crawled closer. The reflection stepped near enough for William to smell its decaying flesh.
"Guess why your scar reacts here?" it breathed.
With a jerk, it ripped open its shirt—revealing an identical scar over its heart.
Truth Emerges: 5:33 AM
The tape hissed ominously in Jackie's trembling hands. When she pressed play, every window in the house rattled. A man's voice, distorted by time and static:
"Emma must be purified... The seventh altar requires fresh blood..."
A child's sob escalated into a scream.
William's scar split wider. Blood dripped from his chin into the water, transforming into crimson minnows that devoured the grasping arms.
The reflection howled as its skin sloughed away, exposing scars that mirrored William's entire history of wounds.
"So that's it." Jackie snatched William's knife. "You're not Emma."
She plunged the blade into the water's surface.
Aftermath: 5:59 AM
Dawn light filtered through stained glass as they regained consciousness in the foyer. William's eyes had returned to their normal blue, though flecks of gold still swirled in his irises. When Jackie touched his scar, she found it no longer bled—but now bore a faint seven-pointed brand.
An engine roared outside. Lucas's SUV crashed through the gates, its roof-mounted EMF detector spinning wildly before locking onto William.
"Christ!" Mia leaned out the window. "What the hell did you wake up?"
William looked up. Behind broken second-floor glass stood a golden-haired girl in a Victorian nightgown, silently holding up seven fingers.
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