Weeping Angel: Malvada (Book 1 of the Weeping Angel Series)

Chapter XXVI

The next ten minutes were anxious. I paced around my room, trying to think what Clarice meant when she said there was much more to the angel statue.

I plop down beside Gabby on my bed, tapping my foot impatiently on the ground, staring at my phone, then at the door, then back at my phone for any new messages from Clarice.

What the hell is taking her so damn long?

"I'm going to stand outside and wait for her to come," I tell Gabby nonchalantly, marching towards the door.

"Relax, will you? She texted only seven minutes ago, she'll be here," Gabby assures me, but I ignore her.

I swing my bedroom door open only to see Clarice standing there with a horrified expression, her dark eyes hooded as she stares at me.

I narrow my eyes at her. "Claire?"

"I went to the library. It was open," She says, her voice low and grim. "The statue is evil. It wants to kill you, Emma! It-" She stops talking and frantically looks around as if searching for something.

"What is it?" Gabby asks from beside me.

"Mom and dad. Where are they?" She breathes.

Just as I'm about to tell her they're downstairs, ignoring each other as always, Clarice tells us to stay in my room, and that she'll go find mom and dad and bring them upstairs to explain everything. She practically runs down the hall and stairs, calling out for mom and dad.

What the hell is going on?

"We should go downstairs," Gabby suggests, taking a few steps out the door, but I yank her back in my room.

"No, Gabby. Let's just stay here. We don't want to run around and confuse her."

Gabby sighs, turning to look at me. "If she went to the library, shouldn't she have brought some books if she found any?"

I shake my head at her, my eyes fixed on the staircase. "We don't have a library card for the local library here."

Suddenly, we both hear Clarice's trembling voice coming from downstairs. "What do you want from me? Let me tell them!" Clarice screams, and we hear some glass shattering followed by metal objects hitting the ground with a loud clang.

I whip my head to look at Gabby with wide eyes, and we rush out of my room and move towards the stairs. My heart was racing, the adrenaline flooding through my veins as I called out to Clarice, asking her if she was okay.

She responds with an ear-piercing scream followed by, "Leave me alone, you piece of shit! EMMA!" Gabby and I rush down the stairs, the fear rising in my chest as I shrug off the wild thoughts passing through my mind.

The sweat drenched my skin, and my head was throbbing; the sinking feeling in my stomach told me Clarice was in danger. I almost miss a step on the stairs, but Gabby grabs my arm, preventing me from falling as we enter the hallway, frantically searching for Clarice.

Ignoring the ringing screams vibrating through my ears, I call out, "Claire?!"

"Where are you?" Gabby adds, her voice shaking with fear. We scan the living and family room, but she wasn't there.

"Over he- AAHHH!" Gabby and I jump at the sound of a hard object hitting something, followed by a loud thud as if a body collided with the ground.

She was in the kitchen.

Fear overwhelms me, making me feel exhausted, but I shrug it off and move towards the kitchen. I ignored the thumping of my heart as it got louder and louder with each quivering step I took, my legs twitching. I found myself struggling to breathe the moment I stepped foot inside the kitchen as I observed the sight in front of me in horror.

The window to the further right shatters, and we see Clarice standing by the refrigerator, and the shard of glass fly towards a wide-eyed Clarice, followed by a knife that cuts through her stomach, and blood oozes out. The little pieces of glass cut the exposed skin on her arms, legs and her face. Her forehead was covered in a dark shade of red, the liquid trailing down her temple as she squinted her eyes at something in front of her; she looked like she would pass out any second.

No.

The paralyzing fear spreads through my body, my muscles freeze in place as Gabby and I gape at Clarice, whose gaze slowly darts down to her stomach before her horrified brown eyes meet my own green ones. I hold my breath, my legs glued to the ground below me, my body numb when I notice some strange fog that appears to be in the shape of a person entering Clarice's body.

"Oh my god," Gabby whispers in horror.

Clarice tilts her head, her eyes rolling all the way back to her eye sockets, and I swear I could see her feet lifting off from the ground for a split second before her body slowly collapses on the floor like a bag of onions.

No, no, no. I couldn't move a single muscle, not even to scream or shout. The terror completely paralyzed me. Not my sister. Please.

I couldn't believe my eyes; I didn't want to. This was worse than the nightmare I had, but at least I woke up from witnessing something so horrid. Now, I was doing nothing but staring in horror at something I won't ever be able to erase from my memory.

The numbness leaves my body, and I'm able to finally move. I rush towards Clarice, reaching her in time to catch her in my arms, my body sliding down on the marble floor.

"Claire, wake up!" I shake her body but get no response. My eyes get watery, the tears threatening to escape.

I shout her name once again. No response.

The tears trail down my face, and I let out a loud sob. I felt sick to my stomach when I saw the life draining out of her in red, her skin becoming paler than usual.

Gabby grabs Clarice's wrist and checks her pulse before looking at me with wide eyes, a twinkle of hope in her eyes. "She's still alive, we need to call the-"

"What the hell is going on?" Mom and dad enter the kitchen with a concerned expression on their faces, that is, until they notice a bloody Clarice lying unconscious in my arms.

Mom clasps her hand over her mouth, her eyes widening in realization and shock as she and dad rush over to us, sobbing.

"How did this happen?" Dad cries, placing his hand on Clarice's face.

Through tears and sobs, I say, "I don't know, dad. Claire wanted to tell me something but came down to find you guys, and then all I could hear was her screaming and things breaking."

Mom whips her head to glare at me, her green eyes swirling with anger. "And it didn't occur to you immediately to help your sister?"

I ball my hands into fists, my nails digging into my palms to distract myself from the pain burning in my heart at my mom's words. A few tears trail down my cheek, and my heart shatters as I realize that I could've saved Clarice.

I'm a horrible sister.

"Anna, for once, shut the hell up!" Dad scolds her, his voice trembling with fear.

Suddenly, I feel some eerie presence lurking in the kitchen that sends chills down my spine and makes the hair on the back of my neck rise. I rub my eyes with the back of my bloody hands and scan the room and notice something beside our large pantry.

The panic rises in my chest, and I slowly stand up, careful not to hurt Clarice and take gentle steps towards the pantry to see who or what it was, and that's when I see it. I gasp out loud, feeling the discomfort in my chest as I freeze in my spot. I felt like throwing up at the sight in front of me.

It was the angel statue in its signature pose, its face buried in its hands as if it did not just attack my sister.