Dreader's Escape

Seventeen

All of us screamed the minute the lights went out and I could feel Asher and Patience squeeze each of my hands tight, all of us frantically looking around and desperately trying to adjust our eyes to the darkness. "Leo!? LEO! Where's Leo!?" Mason yelled. "He let go! He let go of my hand!" Charlie exclaimed. Suddenly, a bright light came on and we turned to see where it was coming from, noticing Rikki now holding a flashlight that shone on us brightly. "It's okay, everyone! It's okay!" She tried to reassure us, crouching down at the coffee table and beginning to light up each candle once again. "It's not! Where the fuck is Leo!?" Mason shouted, standing up and looking around. I always heard that during stuff like this, you must never break the circle... But the circle was already broken now that Leo had disappeared somewhere. So each of us jumped up immediately, grabbing one of the candles and holding it out in front of us.

"Leo! Leo, baby, where are you!?" Mason screamed, shining his candle in every direction. "Rikki, what the fuck is going on?" Asher exclaimed. Before Rikki could even answer, we heard someone sobbing, making all of us shine our lights around to try and find the source. Rikki's light suddenly landed on Leo, who was standing right in between the doors under the stairs that lead into the basement and first floor bathroom. "I-I feel sick... M-Mason, I feel sick," Leo cried, head down as he hugged himself tightly. "Leo!" Mason called out, getting ready to approach him, only to have Rikki put her hand out in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. "W-Wait! Something's not right!" She warned. "What are you talking about!? That's my boyfriend!" Mason snapped at her. He was about to shove Rikki's arm out of the way until suddenly the fireplace reignited, the fire practically exploding and causing us all to jump and yelp in surprise. The fireplace only lit up part of the room, but it still made it a bit easier to see now.

"I-I feel sick... M-Mason, I feel sick," we heard Leo repeat, all of us turning our attention towards where Leo was originally standing, now noticing that he was now no longer in that spot. "Leo! Leo, baby, I'm here! Where are you!?" Mason called out. "Rikki, what the fuck is happening!? Where's Leo!?" Taylor snapped. Rikki shook her head, shining her flashlight all around the room. "Th-That's not Leo... Something is wrong--"

"You said you were going to help us! You said you were going to get rid of these things here, so what the fuck is going on!?" Taylor interjected. Rikki took a deep and shaky breath, looking around the room. "They share the same interest," she whispered quietly. "Wh-What interest do you share!? Interest or not, Albert was just as bad, if not worse than the doctors at the hospital! You don't have to stoop to his level just to protect this land! We are willing to cooperate with you, no one else has to die! You were victims! And it was horrible how you were treated, but inflicting that same pain on others who were not involved will not erase what you went through! It will not ease your own suffering-- E-Even if you kill everyone to prevent your land from being destroyed, you're still going to forever relive those painful memories! But... If you let me help you, you can move on! You can find peace and you'll no longer be suffering!" She spoke loudly.

There was silence for a moment, before another distorted voice spoke, "we do not wish to move on... That would make daddy sad! Our interests are one in the same! This is his land now, too! He protects us!"

It sounded like the voice that was speaking had multiple ones overlapping it. What did they mean Albert protects them? He was one of the ones that hurt the patients-- how are his interests the same as theirs?

"Albert does not want to protect you, he is--"

Suddenly, the candles and fireplace went out again, as well as Rikki's flashlight, which had Patience screaming and clinging to me tightly. It was like a large gust of wind had blown all through us and it had me feeling cold, my whole body shivering. "What's going on!?" Charlie screamed while we all heard the sound of Rikki smacking her flashlight, trying to get it to turn back on. She gave it one last good smack which had the light switching back on, only the sight we saw standing in front of Rikki had us all screaming again. Rikki gasped and tensed up at the sight of Leo just standing in front of her, a blank look on his face. "L-Leo," Mason said softly. I could spot Leo's face faltering a bit, almost like he wasn't in control of himself and was desperately fighting to get that control back. Next thing we know, Leo's mouth opens up wide, almost inhuman like as he let out a blood curdling scream, shooting his hand out and grabbing ahold of Rikki's neck, lifting her off the ground which caused us all to scream out. "What do you know, you stupid cunt!?" He seethed, throwing her across the room, making the light fall out of her hand and turn off once it hit the ground.