I sit alone in the dark attic, only ripping my eyes from the darkness to glance at the time. My clock finally hit 3am and I lit the white candles encircling me. I drew a circle of salt around me, prayer never failing to fall from my lips. Now, only my praying and the creaking could be heard. I only prayed louder once the creaking stop and the voices began. It had always been like this, ever since I came here.
All because I didn't want to look like a coward.
"Maya."
I snap my eyes shut as I continue praying. There was a shift in the wood ahead of me, and I panicked. I never stopped praying. I never opened my eyes.
"Maya, it's okay. You're safe now. The police are here."
I kept my eyes closed, none of it was real. It was her. She was trying to weaken me, to break my will to live. She's already taken so much, from me and the others.
"Janice and Aiko are here. Wouldn't you like to see them? You talk about them a lot."
I continue to speak in prayer, my eyes closed as the wood shifted in front of me. I could smell it, rotten meat and death. It was pungent and it made my stomach shift where I knelt. I forced back the urge to vomit as I continued to pray. She wasn't going to break me. Not me. She's already taken too much.
Silence.
It couldn't be trusted, but I opened my eyes to see if she left. There was only the orange flicker of the candles and the dark. I never stopped praying as I stood. I take a step forward and find myself almost shaking as I made my way to the attic door. Then I notice my salt circle was gone.
"Hey."
I sprinted out of the attic and down the stairs, forcing myself to continue to pray myself into safety. I bound around corners, her presence lingering behind me like the guilt for bringing her here. We never should've taken the dare, they would've lived if it hadn't been for that dare.
I scream when arms wrap around me. I try to fight against their grip, when I recognize where I am. The smell of disinfectant burned my nose, the sound of the paper uniform behind me made me finally relax.
"It's okay Maya. You're not in that house again. You're not 16 anymore. It's okay, you're safe." Orderly David had spoken in a soothing voice, not like hers.
He wasn't her. I'm safe now, I can finally relax. Orderly David takes me back to my room, where the windows are covered in newspaper. He leaves me, and I try to relax. I finally begin to fall asleep, when the flickering lights caught my eye. The room plunged into darkness, and that dreadful, terrifying croak sounded from beneath my bed.
She found me.
