CHAPTER VIII
She’s Real
Kevin opened his eyes to darkness. He was lying on a hard wood floor, but he wasn’t sure where. He sat up in a quick panic.
“Hello?” he called out into the dark room. He could hear a low, sickly breathing coming from somewhere nearby. He stayed quiet and listened. Someone was in the room with him. He shifted his eyes back and forth trying to make out anything, but it was just too dark.
“Holly?” Kevin whispered.
“Holly’s not here…” the sickly old voice cackled.
Kevin waited a moment to respond and then thought he knew who he was in the room with. “Ms. Watkins?”
“Yes…” she whispered.
“Where am I?”
Elizabeth didn’t respond. Her breathing became phlegmy. Kevin didn’t know what to do or say. He wasn’t sure what was going on.
Elizabeth finally broke the uncomfortable silence and quietly spoke softly to Kevin: “You know, there was a mass murder at a house on Roberts Road – the guy killed his family with an axe and then hung himself with a chain at the bottom of their main staircase.
“The auditorium at Davidson High School is supposedly haunted too,” she continued, “but for some reason, for the past thirty years, the city of Hilliard has mistaken me for the Devil. The murders on my property, the fires in the fields – I’ve been accused of all of this. I’ve been called a witch – a woman named Raven who used to live on this land; this very lot of property.”
Kevin spoke up. “How do you explain all of this stuff then? Five people died of heart attacks in your house – one of which was my little sister – and a girl hung herself. Tell me, Ms. Watkins, how does this happen?” Kevin’s voice trembled as he held back tears.
“I’ve already told the police that I know nothing. I did not kill anyone, nor did my husband. I am not a witch…Raven, she…she…”
Elizabeth quieted down. Kevin couldn’t even hear her breathing anymore.
“Ms. Watkins?” he whispered loudly.
Elizabeth cleared her throat and then whispered very quietly: “…she’s real.”
“What do you mean, she’s real?”
“Raven is real; she’s not a legend or a myth. She’s not just some piece of local folklore. She’s a living, breathing, hellish creature who haunts Hilliard. And she terrifies me…”
Elizabeth’s speech was starting to send chills down Kevin’s spine. He adjusted uncomfortably in the darkness and stood to his feet. His heart was now beating faster and the room grew colder. Elizabeth continued:
“She used to look through the living room windows at me. She’d put her hand on the glass and smile the vilest smile you could imagine. She had no eyes – only hollowed out craters in her face. Her teeth were jagged and rotten. She’s very protective of her property…”
“We have to get out of here,” Kevin spoke loudly. “Where’s Holly?”
“It wouldn’t do any good to run, young man. She’ll find you.”
“Where’s Holly!” Kevin shouted.
Elizabeth laughed. “We’re all going to die tonight and Raven will win. She always wins.”
“Ms. Watkins…where’s your caretaker. Where’s Valerie?”
A cold hand reached out and grabbed Kevin’s arm. He screamed and stumbled backwards in the dark room. “Who’s there? Who is that?!” he cried.
“She’s here,” another woman’s voice whispered right into Kevin’s ear. The lights in the room flipped on and Kevin was face to face with Valerie – her neck was bleeding from deep burn wounds. “She’s here…” Valerie repeated as she gurgled up blood. She then fell towards Kevin. He caught her and laid her down on the floor gently.
Kevin looked up and saw two more of the dead corpses slowly shuffling towards him. “Jesus!” Kevin jumped to his feet and saw Elizabeth sitting in her wheelchair, blocking the door – the only way out of the room.
Kevin made a split decision and raced towards the corpses and threw all of his weight into them. They both hit the back wall and squished up against it. Both bodies fell to the ground, spilling muddy water out of their mouths. Kevin kicked one of them in the head, and the head exploded in a gushing fountain of blood. He gagged and turned towards the door and saw Elizabeth sitting in her wheelchair – as white as a ghost.
“Ms. Watkins!” Kevin rushed up to her and tapped her gently on the shoulder. Elizabeth’s eyes were plastered wide open, forever caught in a frozen state of fear. She was dead, and she appeared to have been dead for hours.
A slimy hand grabbed Kevin’s ankle and he turned around fast. The other corpse had crawled up to him and was trying to stand. Kevin held his breath and stepped down on its head, smashing it into another gooey, gory mess.
The lights shut off and left the room in darkness once again. Kevin fumbled with the wheelchair and moved it out of the way before opening the door and feeling his way back out into the upstairs hallway.