We pull out of Andy's driveway with Donovan in the backseat. The journal is resting on my lap. Andy and Sharon followed close behind in their own car. The car was quiet for several minutes until Donovan finally broke the silence.
"Don't be scared, and remember your steps from the journal. If anything happens, reach for Zeke first," he reminds me. I nodded as my fingers brushed against Zekes on the car seat. Before I can interlace our fingers, my phone starts to buzz. Zeke glances at it, noticing a familiar number.
"Is it Agent Williams?" He asks. I nodded and quickly answered, curious about why he was calling.
"Agent Williams?" I question, answering the call.
"Hello, Roxanne, what are you doing today? Are you all on your way back to the house?" his voice comes through tense and clipped.
"Yeah, we are about ten minutes out. Why? Is everything ok?" I asked, exchanging a look with Zeke.
"Good, I just got here. Another agent dropped me off. I'll wait outside till you get here. I need to pick up my car and briefcase, but after the other day... I'd rather not be alone," he says.
"Ok, we'll get there as fast as we can. Did something else happen?" I ask, frowning. A flood of possibilities runs through my mind. Did Elias attempt to attack him in the driveway, or was there something even worse in store for us?
"No, I'll explain when you get here," he says, then the line goes dead. I looked at the phone, surprised he had just hung up on me.
"That's not ominous at all," Zeke mutters under his breath.
"If he's rattled, something happened," Donovan says, leaning forward between the seats.
"Let's just get there," I say.
Agent Williams arrives a few minutes before we do. He steps out of the sedan, thanks his fellow agent for the ride, and then, after the car pulls away, adjusts his jacket, scanning the quiet street. The house appears still—almost eerily so. He walks to our porch, eyes narrowing. Suddenly, a door slams open loudly, causing Agent Williams to jerk back in surprise. A man burst out of our house, stumbling across the porch and down the steps. It was Ted, the creepy neighbor. His face contorted in terror, eyes wide with fear, and his shirt half untucked, as if he had been grabbed or dragged.
"Sir, are you alright?" Williams asked, raising a hand. Ted didn't even acknowledge him. He just sprinted across the driveway, tripping over himself.
"I'M SORRY I THOUGHT THEY WERE ALL DEAD," Ted screamed at the top of his lungs. Williams froze, realizing what Ted was saying, and tried to stop him.
"Stop right there! FBI!" Agent Williams shouts, but Ted keeps going. Terror is visible on his face. He doesn't stop; he runs across our driveway, over the road, and up his driveway, vanishing into his house as if fleeing a nightmare. "What the hell…?" William wonders aloud, stunned by what he just saw. He pauses, heart racing. As he turns back toward the house, he notices the front door is still open, but something inside feels very wrong.
We pull into the driveway just as Agent Williams steps away from the porch, visibly shaken. Before the car stopped, I jumped out and ran toward him.
"Agent Williams! What happened?" I yell
"I-I-I don't even know how to explain this," he says, still trying to process what he had seen. Zeke and the others hurry over, surrounding us.
"Try," Zeke says as he steps protectively by my side.
"Your neighbor, Ted. He came running out of your house like something was chasing him," he says, pointing toward our house.
"My house?" I ask.
"Yes, he was inside, and he came out screaming," Agent Williams answers.
"Screaming what?" Donovan asked, his voice tight.
"I'm sorry, I thought they were all dead, over and over again," Agent Williams explains. Everyone was shocked. Sharon's hand flew to her mouth, Andy's face hardened, Donovan's face tightened, and Zekes hand moved to my lower back for support.
"He was talking about my family," I state. "In my vision, when I was passed out, he saw the youngest siblings get hit by a car and then turned around heading back towards the house. He left Samuel and Betty for dead, never realizing they were still alive."
"I remember the document explaining it," agent Williams says, shaking his head, "but whatever he saw just now scared him senseless. He was terrified."
"Then we need to confront what's in the house, Elias," Donovan says, his voice grim as he steps towards the house.
"Let's go deal with this once and for all," I say. Everyone nods, and we walk together toward the house.
The moment our feet step over the threshold of the house, the air changes. It becomes cold, heavy, and electric, making my breath hitch. Zeke immediately moves closer to me, his hand brushes mine, grounding me without needing to be asked.
"He's here," Donovan says. We know who he means because we can all feel his presence. It is so thick within the house that it's almost suffocating. Sharon starts rubbing her arms, and Andy steps protectively in front of her. The house was deceiving because it's silent but not empty.
"He knows we're here," I whisper.
"Of course I do," Elias mocks. The shadows in the living room start to thicken, swirling like smoke. Elias steps out of them; tall, gaunt, eyes burning with a cold, unnatural light. Zeke instinctively pulls me behind him. "You brought the whole family, how touching. Even my own nephew. Hey kid, how are ya? Miss me?" Elias asks, looking at Andy and laughing evilly.
Andy looked at the ghost of his uncle with hatred. This man helped rip his only child and girlfriend from his life. How could he ever miss him?
"No, I'm not happy to see you," Andy yells angrily, "how could you do that to me, my child, and Amber?"
"It was for your own good," Elias says dismissively, bored with his nephew's rant. Then turns his attention back in my direction. "We meet again, great niece. Wish I could say this is a happy event, but we both know it's not," Elias tells me, hoping I panic and break down. Before I can retort, Uncle Donovan steps forward.
"You stay away from her," he tells him with fury in his voice.
"I already tried that, but now I don't want to," Elias says, tilting his head.
"What do you mean?" I ask, my stomach twisting. The question makes Elias' smile widen more.
"Your neighbor Ted told me everything," he answers smugly. I freeze. Did he know my other aunt and uncle are still alive?
"Ted, the douchebag across the street?" I ask
Elias nods while saying, " He thought all the children were dead because he is incompetent."
"What children?" I ask even though I know the answer. I need to hear him say it.
His eyes gleam when he looks at me, "Why, Amber, Donovan, Samuel, and little miss Betty, of course," he says arrogantly. Sharon gasps, Andy's face drains of color, and Donovan staggers back like he's been punched. Elias smiles like he's enjoying their reactions. "Ted said your mother was the last one. The last child of the bloodline, except our dear Roxanne, of course. He thought the others had died that night."
"But they didn't," I snap, my heart pounding.
"No, they didn't," Elias says, his smile fading into something darker. "I didn't know that until I ran into your mother at the hospital," he smirks. "Yes, sweet Roxanne, I saw your mother. She was still beautiful. Sickly but beautiful."
My breath catches. That's why she was so adamant that I not find my family. With her last breath, she begged me to promise never to find them. It was because she saw her boogeyman, from her worst nightmare, and was afraid he would come after me. I had to know if my assumption was correct.
"The night before she died, that's when you saw her?" I asked anxiously
Elias nods slowly, saying, "She recognized me immediately. Even though she was in pain. Even as she was slipping away. She knew what I was, and she knew I would come for you both because I failed before."
"Failed at what? Killing an innocent family?" Zeke's voice was low and dangerous.
"Ending a useless bloodline," Elias says matter-of-factly as his eyes lock on mine. Chills sweep through my entire body. Andy lunges forward, but Donovan stops him. "I started digging into her. Into the others. Once I found out her name had been changed, it became an obsession for me," Elias explains. "I needed to know if you were born. But before I could get any concrete proof and finish the job I started. A car hit me. Instant death. Very inconvenient."
"So you came back to kill me?" I say breathlessly.
"Yes, death doesn't stop our purpose," Elias explains, smiling. I step forward, pissed and scared at the same time. Zeke grabs my arm.
"Rock.." He starts to say, but I interrupt him.
"I'm not running anymore," I say, shaking my head.
I take a deep breath – slow and steady. Then I start to go through the steps. Grounding- I take Zekes' hand in mine. Breath – I inhale again to open the connection, slow and deep. Then push it out with intention, strength, and no fear—the air around me shimmers.
"W-w-w-what are you doing? Elias asks, his smile faltering as he starts to panic.
I breathe in again and exhale – a controlled, focused release of energy. A pulse of silver light rippled outward. Elias staggers back.
"Stop that," he screams. Sounding like a toddler throwing a tantrum.
I step closer, my voice steady, "You don't get to be here anymore, invading my space." I take another breath in and out. Then say, "You don't get to be here anymore." Then repeat the process: another breath, another pulse. The shadows recoiled.
"You don't have the power to banish me," Elias snarls.
"Watch me, asshole," I say, lifting my chin. Inhaling the air deeply, I feel it vibrating around me. Zeke squeezes my hand again, grounding me. I exhale with intention; strength, clarity, command. A wave of silver light exploded outward, slamming into Elias.
"NO!" He screams so loud that the wall shakes. The shadow peeled away from him like burning paper.
I step forward, "You are banished from this house," I say, my voice ringing with power. "From this property." The light intensifies. "From my family and me."
Elias's form shatters, like a broken mirror. Breaking apart into shards of shadow that dissolve into nothing. The house becomes silent. Then a soft, warm breeze sweeps through the house, clearing the cold, making the air feel lighter. I swayed, drained.
"I've got you," Zeke says, catching me instantly.
"Roxanne…. You did it." Donovan says, staring at me in awe.
"You saved us, sweetheart," Andy says, stepping forward, his voice thick with emotion.
"You saved yourself, honey," Sharon says, wiping tears from her eyes.
"He's gone, finally," I say, leaning more into Zeke, exhausted but steady.
"Because you made him go," Zeke says as he kisses my forehead. The house feels like ours again.
Agent Williams was still standing frozen in the doorway, one hand braced against the door frame. His eyes were wide as he stared at the spot where Elias had just been obliterated.
"How? What…What did you just do?" he asked, his voice hoarse.
I turned toward him, slowly stepping away from Zeke, but my knees buckled. Zeke lunged forward and caught me again before I hit the floor.
"Rocky, be careful, you just overexerted your body. You need time to rest," Zeke says. I grab his shirt as my body starts to shake violently, sobs wracking my body. Not due to overexertion, but the grief from the terror my mom must have felt. I hated that one of her last moments was reliving the worst night of her life.
"She was so scared," I sobbed.
"Roxanne," Zeke says, holding me tighter. I press my forehead onto his chest, crying harder.
"My mom knew he was coming for us. She knew she was dying and couldn't protect me. She was terrified I would be alone when he found me," my voice cracks. "And I felt it all of it, when he was talking."
"Sweetheart, I'm so sorry," Sharon says, kneeling beside me, rubbing my back gently. Andy's face twists with pain, guilt, helplessness, and rage. Donovan stood silently watching the scene unfold, jaw clenched, eyes shining with unshed tears.
"You are brave, Roxanne. You proved to your mom and us how strong you are. She would... no, I'm proud of you," Andy says.