December 14, 2020
Rebecca's body laid at the door steps of the manor. Her throat was slit from one ear to the other. She was so pretty, so magnificent to look at and, now, she was just a corpse bleeding down the stairway. Edward was still in shock. They killed her. The Faceless killed her and now they were going to kill him.
The Faceless man that stood in front of Edward cocked its head and pointed its blank face at Edward. It was almost like an animal, anticipating its prey's movement. It had already killed Rebecca, Robert, and Aaron. Surely, Edward was next.
Slowly stepping back, Edward watched it mimic his foot steps. It moved but remained still, almost like a statue that was floating. It was unnatural - wrong. Edward had to escape but found himself wondering if escape was even possible. This was their land and they were going to take it back.
"Stay away," Edward said. His arm was shaking as he reached for the door behind him. He felt like he could never get closer, like the Faceless was somehow pulling him back from ever touching the door. It was getting so close now - so close that he could feel the coldness of its aura enveloping him,
"Edward?" A voice from inside the manor said.
A bead of sweat ran began running down his forehead before freezing slightly before it touched his brow.
"Edward? Is that you out front?" The voice said once again.
The Faceless was so close now that it could almost reach out and grab Edward. It was now or never. Turning his back to the creature, Edward bolted through the front door and quickly slammed it behind him, locking it and hearing the shriek from the Faceless. The handle to the door quickly frosted over as the creature pounded on the large doors. He slowly inched his way away from the doors, feeling his heart pound against his chest.
"Edward?"
Edward flinched as a hand grabbed his shoulder. He quickly spun around, his fist in the air, only to see Jordan standing before him with a mug full of tea in his hand.
"Whoa there, Ed. What's got you all rustled up?" Jordan asked.
Edward looked to the door and shakily pointed his finger at it. "There... there here, Jordan. The Faceless... They... They"
"Hey, hey," Jordan said reassuringly. "You didn't go out and drink did you?"
Edward didn't reply as he watched the door with a stone cold stare.
"Edward? I need you to be honest with me. Did you go out and drink again?"
In truth, Edward could desperately use a beer. The thought of an ice cold beer going down his throat made him momentarily forget that a murderous monster was trying to force its way into the manor and kill him and his whole family. At least, whatever was left of it.
"No, Jordan, I didn't go out and drink," Edward said defensively. "The Faceless are here! We need to get Dana, Mabel, and my children and get the fuck out of here!"
Jordan looked at him curiously. "Edward? What the hell are you talking about? Faceless? What is that?"
"They're like people... but without faces. For fuck's sake Jordan! We saw them! We both saw them that night when I first moved to Waterworth Drive."
Jordan shook his head. "No, Edward. We didn't," He replied. "I told you already, there was nothing there."
Edward looked to the door and began feeling impatient. Every moment they argued was one less moment they had to get away. "Then why the hell did we stop? Hmmm? You just thought it would be a good moment to gaze at the trees, is that it?"
Jordan fell silent.
He did see something. That lying bastard.
"No, Edward, I..."
"You don't have to answer him, Jordan," A voice said, coming down from the stairs.
Edward turned and immediately felt his blood boil. Gabriel slowly walked down the stairs with a smug look on his face.
"Edward has a hard time with reality. Don't let his anger problems manipulate you into lying," Gabriel said.
"Anger problems?" Edward chuckled. "Can't say I'm the man that stalked and harassed an entire family because I was jealous that my crush wasn't interested in me."
Jordan looked from Gabriel to Edward, shooting Edward a confused look.
"Yes, well, I suppose you aren't. But I also suppose that I never killed someone because I couldn't handle my failing marriage."
Edward looked at his brother take a few steps back. "I never killed Ethan. What the fuck are you talking about?"
Gabriel's expression turned to one of detest. "It took awhile, Edward, but I figured it out. I hadn't heard from him for weeks and so I was concerned. He normally would at least text me once a week." Gabriel took one more step down the stairs and maintained his position over Edward. "I tried calling, texting, and getting in contact with his family. I didn't hear from him and they didn't. So, I decided to find his girlfriend. I met up with her, chatted with her, and she said she wasn't able to get in contact with him either."
Edward watched as he pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. Gabriel stuck his fingers into it and pulled out a small picture and stared down at it. "The police couldn't find him either and so he was declared a missing person. I remembered that he had a child and thought, maybe I should see if the mother to his kid might know anything. That's when I learned that she was married." Gabriel flicked the picture at Edward's feet. It was a picture of Edward, Sarah, Isaac, and Lillian.
"You sick fuck," Edward said, repulsed at the years old photo.
"Yes, Sarah Porter was married so then it made sense to me. I had to be sure of course, I couldn't condemn a man to killing my friend, my..." Gabriel trailed off. "So I watched. I watched every night to the point where my wife thought I was cheating on her and left me, never settling our divorce."
"A lunatic, like yourself, deserves it. You should have been taken away from your child as well." Edward said.
Gabriel chuckled. "Oh yes... Claire. My pride and joy. My sunshine on a cloudy day." Gabriel focused on Edward. "A lie. Claire is the name of the child I imagined me and my wife having. Only, it never made it that far."
Edward noticed Jordan's look of repulsion. His brother didn't know whose side to choose. Of course, Gabriel was the psychotic one.
"She left me and that left me with even more time to watch. I saw your decline to alcoholism, your neglect to your wife and Lillian, and the brief moments you would cry to yourself in the car before going back in. Shit, I almost felt bad for you. How terrible life must have been for you after your wife told you the truth." Gabriel smiled.
This man is fucking insane.
"So after watching for a while, I decided to visit your house. Your son never locked the window in his room after playing his guitar in front of it, giving me an easy in. I shut it, walked downstairs to your garage, took the keys, and searched your car." Gabriel licked his lips and gave Edward a malicious smile. "I popped open the trunk and found all sorts of interesting things. It smelled like piss and booze for starters, nothing out of the ordinary from a gentleman like yourself. But as I looked around, I found locks of hair. Not blonde hair like Sarah or Lillian's but like Ethan's. Maybe it was a coincidence until I saw something else... a piece of skin with hair still on it. At that moment, I knew. I didn't need the DNA to know that you killed him. You kidnapped him and you killed him. I don't know if you buried him, burned him, or dumped him in a swamp. But, Edward Porter, I know you killed him."
Edward took several steps back, thinking back to the last time he saw Ethan. He knocked on Ethan's door and was greeted by the man who fucked his wife. He had deep blue eyes and silky blonde hair.
"Can I help you?" Ethan asked.
"Is your name Ethan?" Edward asked.
Ethan looked him up and down with a look of confusion. "Yes... Who are you?"
"Edward."
"Okay, Edward. Can I help you?"
Edward smiled at him. "Sorry, I meant to say, Edward Porter."
Ethan's mouth dropped and his confident look quickly shifted to one of guilt and embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Edward. I think you have the wrong house."
He quickly tried closing the door on Edward but found that his strength didn't match Edward's. He pushed back against Ethan and flung the door open, walking inside.
"You're trespassing. You need to leave or I'll call the police," Ethan said.
Edward delivered a swift hook to Ethan's jaw, knocking him to the floor. It felt so good.
"I'm sorry, Ethan. I heard that my wife was allowed to spend a few nights here." He slammed the door shut behind him. "I was wondering if maybe I could take a shower here. Maybe I could sleep in your bed. Hell, I'll make you breakfast in bed to repay you."
Ethan scooted away, holding his hand up to keep Edward away. "I don't know what you're talking about. You need to leave."
Edward wasn't going to leave. He wasn't going to leave until the message was clear. He pulled Ethan up by the collar of his shirt and punched him three more times.
"Edward, please stop. I'm so sorry for everything. I promise you, I didn't know Sarah was married."
"Oh? I thought you didn't know who I was talking about. I never mentioned a Sarah."
"Edward, please. I'm sorry. Please."
Ethan held up him hand, pleading with Edward. He got the message and Edward got a little satisfaction out of their visit. Maybe he could expect a visit from the police tonight but at least he did what he felt was right. The authority might not be so forgiving but God would understand. God wanted those that sinned to be punished and Edward made himself the enforcer.
"Don't call her. Don't text her. Don't even think about her," Edward said. "Or I'll be back."
Ethan nodded his head viciously and Edward smiled.
"Good. Have a pleasant evening Ethan."
Edward's eyes refocused and suddenly he was back to the present. "Sure, Gabriel, I visited Ethan. We exchanged some words, I may have broke his nose, and we parted on an understanding. But I never kidnapped him and, for that matter, killed him." Edward laughed at Gabriel. "You destroyed your life, your father's legacy, all because your little boy toy wouldn't text you back. All this effort and now look at you. You're standing in your father's crumbling house with the very family you devoted the last several years to destroying. Pitiful."
Gabriel clenched his teeth, prepared to lunge forward at Edward when a piercing cold flooded the entrance hall. There time was up. The lights began flickering, the floors shook, and the windows shattered in an ear piercing fashion. The three men all looked to front entrance and watched as the lock snapped.
"Who's there?" Gabriel shouted, unaware to the hellish beast that stood at the doorway.
"Gabriel, it's me, Rebecca. Open up!"
Edward looked to Jordan, whose face was one of horror. He didn't know what to think.
"Gabriel. Don't open that door," Edward said.
Gabriel spun around to Edward. "Whatever trick you think you're pulling Edward, it's not going to work."
Before Gabriel could reach the handle, the door swung open and the corpse of Rebecca laid in front of it. Gabriel looked down in horror and was paralyzed with fear. A wail filled the building and Edward and Jordan fell to their knees, as they held their hands over their ears.
Gabriel snapped out of it and dashed to the hallway behind the main staircases.
"Jordan, let's go!" Edward yelled.
Jordan followed after Edward and they sprinted to the hallway leading to the backdoor. Edward briefly stopped and looked at the front entrance. A faceless man remained stationary under the door frame and watched Edward. There was nowhere to hide.
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