To Whom Have Lived

Chapter 26 - Ruins

"Hey Jules, I think I found it." Liam says, pointing to the alter in front of them.

"It's a church." Amanda blurts, "Look. You can see where their pastor used to stand."

"Oh. My. Gosh." Jules says, looking around, "Th- they would sacrifice people in the church. In God's name. They weren't sacrificing to a demon. Tyler, he- he was in a cult. He knew just what he was doing when he dragged Emma here. There is no way he didn't know what would have happened to her."

"He needed a pure soul. A child, especially one shielded from here parents, wouldn't do anything bad. It would please a God for years. That's why the killings haven't started up again until now." Liam finishes.

"But where are they doing it. This old church looks like it hasn't been in use for decades. It must be somewhere in these woods right? Maybe deeper into the woods?" Jules asks, running their hands across the stone walls.

"Well, we'll have to look tomorrow. I don't think we want to stay in these woods after the sun sets."

...

"Guys?" Liam asks, turning around.

"Shh." Jules whispers, walking around in a circle, "Who knew about this? Tyler had a criminal record, does that mean the other members could have as well? Maybe, the thing they were making these sacrifices to said that they would be free? Like free from their crimes and people would forget about them?"

"Well they were right about one thing. I didn't know Tyler even existed until you two did some research. Maybe they succeeded?" Amanda asks, standing right behind where Jules is sitting.

"I'm not sure, but I think I have a little idea as to why they sacrificed children." Jules thinks, getting up and turning towards Amanda and Liam.

~~~~

"Wow, you guys are back late." Kyle points out.

"What were you guys doing?" Sam asks, looking at the trio.

"Looking into the past." Amanda says.

"Yep, and we found a lot as well." Jules adds, taking a seat next to Kyle.

"Why were you guys looking into the past?" Colby asks, sitting between Liam and Seth.

"We wanted to make sure we had all the facts as to what happened with Emma. So, we went to the woods and found some interesting stuff." Jules answers, nugging Kyle.

Kyle chuckles, "Y'all are so weird."

"I'm honestly have never met people who are so close to having just as a fucked up home life as I have." Amanda laughs sitting down next to Seth.

"I'm surprised that you had a good time with them out there." Seth adds, looking at Amanda then back to Jules.

"It was weird at first but I got used to it."

Jules laughs, "I hope Emma didn't give you guys a lot of trouble."

"Not at all. She didn't try to be a trickster thankfully." Sam says, finally adding into the conversation.

"She kind of did. I kept her in track for the most part." Kyle adds, hinting at something.

"Could you see her?" Jules asks, looking towards Kyle.

"No. But I could feel her presence. A few things that were said I could tell weren't from the ghosts there but instead from Emma."

"Where did you guys go?"

"Another insane asylum." Logan says, contributing to the conversation between the siblings.

"What is with you guys and asylums?" Jules asks.

"The energy." Logan said, the same time Colby said, "The stories."

After a brief pause, Colby goes "In all seriousness, I have to say it's cause of how fucked up everything was and it nice to be able to try and bring those horror stories to light so others know how fucked up they were." 

"That's true. It's also a good way to try and connect with the spirits and let them know that you are here for them. So they know that you want to help them." Logan adds. 

"Well, maybe we should head in for the night? I'm sure all of us are tired." Colby says, signalling something to Sam. 

"Yep. Goodnight guys." Sam says. 

"Night." Logan says, waving goodbye.

"Yeah we should get going, huh Seth." Amanda adds. 

"True, night guys." Seth says getting up, "I have so much to fucking tell you." He then whispers, only loud enough for Amanda but Jules hears it as well.

"Alright, goodnight my fellow friends." Jules says the minute that Seth and Amanda are gone. 

"Night, be careful tonight alright, we don't know what could happen." Liam says, getting up and hugging Jules.

"Before we actually go, we all need to be ten times more careful than before. Our dad is here and he's looking for us. Apparently he already has Jameson and Elizabeth. So be careful. From now on, anyone we are with, don't let them out of your site. Make sure you know where they are."

"Got it. Anything else we can do to keep them even more safe?" Logan asks. 

"As of right now, no. I don't think he will take them if they are alone, but when we were with Amanda, he was more than happy to take her with. Which is why we need to be careful when we are around our friends until we are certain that he is done trying to look for us." Jules answers.

"Or if that bastard's finally in prison for the pain that he has caused." Kyle adds. Bitterness lingers in his words that everyone picks up on. It's rare whenever Kyle's tone is bitter, but they have all heard it at least once in the time that everyone has known him. 

"Alright, that's all for tonight guys. Goodnight." Jules says, turning around and grabbing Kyle. 

...

"What the fuck even happened back there? I didn't want to mention anything when there were so many people around but y'all looked terrified. " Jules asks when they get back into their hotel room with Kyle.

"Yeah, you can say that." 

~ End of Chapter ~ 

A/N ~ Next chapter will be the flashback of what happened! Anything in flashback form will look like this. Anything in present time will look like this. This book is coming to a close soon and I can't wait for it. I already have everything for the second book done. Sorry that I don't have a publishing schedule and I probably won't in the near future :). Also sorry for the shorter chapters then I normally do but I think that chapter 27 is going to be a longer one! 

Word Count ~ 1080