Duskwood

18.

"Coffee?" The man's voice stirred Gabi from her thoughts.

Cold metal beneath her fingers and an uncomfortable metal chair to sit in felt nearly welcoming compared to everything else that had just happened over the course of the last few days...weeks...months, she couldn't even remember what day it was anymore.

"No...no thanks." Mistrust perhaps, the man took no offense.

He simply nodded his head as he pushed the other cup off to the side of the table and sat himself down in the chair across from her at the table.

"I know this is...probably a lot to take in, Ms. Davis." He began, he reached out and brought a yellow file into view. "But this is what we do know."

Gabi folded her arms close to her body, eyes flicking down to the contents of the file as he removed each picture of evidence they had been gathering for what appeared to be years. It peaked her interest, perhaps more than she had liked to have admit, and she leaned over the table, glancing over the many crime scene photos.

"Mr. Campbell was a part of a cult, they called themselves disciples of this Lady of the North Sun figure, some kind of Goddess who would tell them what to do and guide them...others say it was a mock, a façade when really they were actually...Devil worshippers."

"A cult..." Gabi repeated the word in a hush tone, reaching for a picture that struck a core memory in her. A man laying in a tub of blood with roses in his eyes. "What...what is the significance of this?" She asked the man.

"The roses?" He asked.

She nodded her head.

"They claimed the Goddess loved roses because not only are they beautiful but can also be deadly, they believed placing the roses in the eyes of the deceased would grant them eternal life with the Goddess because it would purify their eyes."

Eternal life...what a sham.

"We've been following their group for quite some time, for many years trying to keep track of where they may pop up. Duskwood was this town that uh...didn't really land on any map so they made it their home." Her mind might have exploded with information and maybe it was nearing it. "But we raided it years ago, shot the leader dead...his name was Callum. We uh...did a little more research and found out that some members got out after someone set fire to the town to try and cover up evidence."

Her eyes lifted as she listened, glancing to the man and back down to examine each photo presented before her, bodies and bodies. One she recognized...Harlan.

"Him." She pointed to the picture of Harlan's mangled body.

"Harlan Walker, he and some friends went--"

"Went out camping..." Gabi finished his sentence and the man sat back in confusion.

He tilted his head, "How did you know that?" He asked her.

"Because...I watched him die." Again with tears, she was so fucking sick of crying.

The man cleared his throat as he leaned forward a bit, "Well that's...that's impossible Ms. Davis. Harlan Walker has been dead for twenty years."

Twenty years...

Gabi brought a hand up to her face, brushing fingers across the bridge of her nose as she attempted to wrap her head around it all, nothing was making sense to her, nothing at all.

"I don't...I don't understand..." She admitted.

"It might take some time to get back to normal, Mr. Campbell was...essentially keeping you doped up with medications, hallucinogens more specifically."

He had been drugging her, suddenly moments made sense, she didn't know exactly how much sense but enough for her to want to disappear in on herself. It was crazy, moments coming back, memories flooding back in to moments where he gave her medication to make her "feel better" and she knew or cared nothing else of it. Didn't know any better.

"We want you to get seen by a doctor after we are done here, Ms. Davis...just to make sure everything is okay." He continued on then, bringing up an old photo of a large group of individuals, he motioned towards a woman holding a child.

Gabi looked at it, glancing over the many unknown faces.

"Mr. Campbell was...the son of the leader." The words froze her spine. "We have reason to believe he had been involved in numerous murders including the murder of multiple women, all stabbed in their homes surrounded by candles and religious images."

"Oh...my god." Gabi choked on the words, "He told me they were...that we were sacrifices to Our Lady, that I was the final sacrifice."

"Yes, they called themselves Disciples of this...Goddess. From what we learned, they believed that sacrificing over a period of time would result in gifts given by the Goddess herself including eternal life or immortality."

Gabi ran shaking fingers through her hair, pushing it back a bit. "Is he dead?" She asked on trembled lips.

The man nodded. "Yes, he is."

"Good." The word was simple but it meant much, she sniffled back tears and cleared her throat, "How long was I there for?" She wanted to know.

The man shifted in his chair. "Three weeks, your parents called the local authorities and said they believed that you had been kidnapped by Mr. Campbell. They stated the last voicemail they received from you was something about coming to visit for the holidays which was unusual because you hadn't been home for the holidays in at couple of years."

It wasn't a lie, she and her family had a sort of rocky relationship.

"Mr. Campbell's name ran across our desk and we took over the search which led us back to...Duskwood. The cult believes the blood of those they have sacrificed blessed the lands...others say they cursed it, either way, with their beliefs we knew he must have taken you back to complete whatever fucked up ritual his father had started years ago before his death." The man reached out, gathered up the pictures. "I'm going to let your parents know they are welcome to come in and see you now, Ms. Davis...give you some time to process everything and I'll set you up to be transported to the nearest medical facility, does that sound alright?" He asked.

Gabi nodded her head, "Yeah, it sounds good." She said.

"Alright, we can talk more later on if you'd like." He stood up, putting the pictures and paperwork back into the folder. He pulled it back to his form as he watched her with concerned expression.

She nodded again, no words this time as the male tapped the edge of the table with the folder. He headed for the door, it creaked upon him opening it and closed with a thundering thud behind him, the thick metal of it rang for moments after before silence came to be besides the clock on the wall nearby.

Her eyes trailed over to it.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

It echoed, formed in the corner of her eye and the room grew cold and her spine shivered. Breath hitching in the back of her throat as she saw the sharp claw tapping echoes against the metal table top, wetness seeping from her eyes as it sat in the chair across from her. Horns, blackness abound and it's eyes, she would never forget those deep red eyes and sharp teeth inside it's mouth as it's nail collided with the table in unison to the ticking clock on the wall.

"There you are...I finally found you." A sinister voice hissed.