Hatchetfield and Friends

5 - Come Home

(Trigger Warning)

Emma felt empty. Alone. Why did PEIP spare here? Why couldn't they have just let her bleed out. Everyone she knew from this town is now dead. The town was already dying.

The hate in the town sometimes was startling. Everyone expects a small town to know each other, to love one another. Hatchetfield seemed to thrive on drama, drugs, and hate. Rumors spread constantly, lower-class citizens got laughed at as they struggled through life, people of higher-class just moved on with their lives, greedy for more. The poor got poor, the rich got rich.

Before Emma even knew it, she grew attached to Paul. He somehow managed to make her laugh, despite everything that had gone on, and every time he came in Beanie's he always gave a large tip, just for her. Bonus, he didn't make her sing. He hated musicals. Oh, how she wondered what would've happened if they had gone to the same school, met, talked.

Probably nothing. Paul seemed shy and anxious, and Emma hated everyone. To be fair, she hated herself.  She hated the way people looked at her, like she was trash, like she was nothing. They walked passed her in the halls and laughed at her, mostly when they thought she could hear them. When she couldn't she wondered what else they said, whether it was worse or just the same old shit.

Had Paul talked to her, she would've turned her back and walked away, not giving him a second glance because it would've been a cruel prank, a joke. She wasn't worth anything and everyone in her life made sure she knew it. Jane didn't contribute to the constant hate, but she didn't help either. Just turned a blind eye and kept smiling.

Now Emma just had to keep smiling, pretending like she didn't go through an insanely traumatic event. She kept her mouth shut about Hatchetfield. She moved to Colorado, got started on a pot farm, only went out if she needed food or other necessities.

She pretended her life was normal, that she didn't have dreams that kept her screaming and crying throughout the night. She did have some comfort, though.

On the really bad days, when she drank and drank and drank, when she stayed up all night blasting music even though her head felt it was about to burst, when she spent hours in the bathroom vomiting all the toxic liquid and anything else in her stomach, she felt him. Beside her. Holding her hair back, hugging her, the silent whispers in her hear as she sobbed. He was there.

Emma sat on the couch Friday night, waiting for something, anything, afraid maybe Paul had finally crossed over. Her leg bounced and her heart was beating out of her chest, she could feel every painful pulse. She wished Paul was here, to help her out of this...swamp of lies and absolute darkness. She was caught in a web, a sticky, endless web, that was slowly poisoning her.

Paul was not here to whisper soft lullabies into her ear, or sing her to sleep when she felt her emotions overflow. He wasn't there to laugh, a sweet, perfect note of musical sound. No, he wasn't here, he must've finally moved on. How selfish of her to keep him there with her on this Earth. Paul was gone and so were his whispers, but Emma had her own little voices, ones she tried to press deep down inside her, ones that almost took over her years ago. Usually they were quiet, not quite understandable, but Emma knew they were words of venom. Tonight, she heard them loud and clear. They were screaming.

Emma stood up, breathing heavily. She paced across the living room, back and forth and back and forth. She tried breathing steadily, but the air was too precious and she felt it leave her.

Once again, she felt the breakdown coming, but there was no way of stopping it, not anymore. It was hopeless. She was hopeless.

"I can't do this anymore, I can't," Emma cried. "I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't."

She crumpled to the floor, tears streaming down her face like pouring rain. She used to love storms, but now she was the storm. She was a mess of pain and tears and alcohol.

"Emma," a calm voice murmured. "Shh, it'll be okay."

Emma raised her head and stared straight into Paul's eyes. "Paul?"

His eyes were a glowing blue, and they seemed brighter, although his skin was a pasty, translucent white. Like he was still infected, yet incredibly dead. But it wasn't even possible that he was infected. His soul was free and the alien...who the fuck cares. It's gone and Paul is here.

"Emma, I can help you," Paul smiles. "I can make the pain go away. You can come with me, come home."

Emma, tears still falling, stared at him, into his glowing blue eyes. "How? Where's home?"

"You'll see, Emma. There's so much more to see, but right now you can't. You have to open your eyes, wake up," he replies. "You just have to let me help you."

"Okay," she whispers.

He holds out his hand to her, and she takes it. It feels like she's dreaming, like she's underwater. Emma stands on a chair. Paul's hand slips from hers. She finally feels an ounce of fear as her hands move to tie a knot in the rope. She doesn't remember having it the house.

Emma puts the loop around her head and inches towards the edge of the chair. She pushes her fear away.

"Come join us, Emma, come with me. Escape this nightmare you've been living. It's time to wake up. It's time to come home."

She takes a deep breath.

"Come home."

She steps off the chair.

______________

This was based off of The Haunting Of Hill House because the show still just brings out so much emotion in me and I'm absolutely in love with it. I watched it around when it came out and rewatched it recently for the millionth time. I have absolutely no words to describe the way the show makes me feel. It's one of the best horror films I've seen and it for sure is one of my top three favorites.

If you haven't watched it and you like horror, or even if you just don't know what to watch, what are you doing here? Go watch it!!!

In this chapter, I tried to hint at the fact that even after death, the aliens had still been inhabiting their bodies, like they were latched onto their soul, or even consumed it so all that was left was the the body, the shell. Home was supposed to represent somewhat of the hive. I dunno.

Okay this is way too long byeeee go watch the shoooweeee