"These aren't normal marks."
With one look, Damian understood.
"Now I know. Then I didn't. None of us did."
Annabeth walked away, and Damian followed.
They walked down the corridor, which had sunlight coming in from the outside. But the rays began to weaken, and within the blink of an eye, the night came. The sisters turned off the incandescent light bulbs, and soon, the corridor got dark.
Annabeth opened a door into the room where most of the girls slept. The room had 20 bunk beds, 10 on each side. 40 of the girls slept in this room.
Rin had the bottom bunk. She was shivering and drenched in sweat. The Sisters came into the room to turn off the lights and walked out like nothing was happening.
When the door shut, the girls got up from their beds and lit a candle.
"Why are the Sisters acting like nothing is happening?"
One of the girls asked in fear and tears. She wasn't the only one crying; the rest were equally scared as she was.
Annabeth was the only one who was less afraid; she was the bravest amongst the girls and took it upon herself to be the bigger person.
Annabeth unzipped Rin's nightgown and revealed her back. The markings had spread and were now leaking blood.
The girls gasped in fear. Annabeth shushed them.
A sound from outside the room caused all of them to run back to their beds. Annabeth zipped up Rin's gown and kissed her head.
"Everything will be all right. I promise."
She said, before she ran back to her bed.
The Annabeth who stood before Damian put her head down in sadness.
"The Sisters would always say, 'don't tell a lie'… That was the first lie I ever told."
Annabeth and Damian watched as the door creaked open. A sister walked in and headed straight to Rin.
"You poor girl."
To the girls, those words sounded like those of care and comfort. But Damian and Annabeth knew better now.
The Sister took Rin out of the bed and slammed the door on their way out.
"That was the last we heard from Rin."
Morning came within seconds, and they were both in the courtyard once again.
"The sisters told us that Rin was very ill and that they took her to a hospital." "Most of the girls believed… But not I and my friends."
Annabeth and the other girls had gathered in the courtyard, whispering to each other.
"They said Rin was very, very ill, and they took her to a hospital."
One of the girls said.
"Lies!" "They did no such thing."
Annabeth was sure.
"The sisters are up to something. We have to find out and report them to Father Partridge."
They all agreed and dispersed.
Annabeth sighed next to Damian and shook her head.
"We all thought we were smart and that we knew what we were doing. But our traps were already set a long time ago, and we were just rats waiting to be caught."
.....
Noises of a girl echoed in the washroom; it was the same thing with Rin happening all over again. The vomiting, the pain, and the marks on the back.
The girls all watched in fear, just like before; they were helpless.
Damian and Annabeth stood by the door and watched.
"The second time it happened, we knew… This was no ordinary illness."
"What happened?"
One of the girls asked.
The wailing girl murmured in pain. She forced herself to speak, but no words came out of her mouth.
"A silencing curse."
Damian knew.
"Yes."
.....
At night in the girls' room, the sisters came to carry her away.
.....
Damian and Annabeth were back in the courtyard. The atmosphere wasn't as pleasant as it was before. The girls were sad and scared. The Sisters were nowhere to be found in the courtyard.
"2 other girls fell ill like Rin and were taken away. 6 fell ill and died. In the coming days, all the other girls will die at exactly 12 am, all at once. 12 of us, which would include me, would go missing. But the truth is… We were never missing in the first place."
"You're here because you're looking for the missing 9th element… I'm about to show you."
"Father Partridge only hosted 1 sermon, and we never saw him again. We were told his quarters were off-limits. It would be difficult to reach him and lay our report." "But that didn't stop us."
.....
At night, 12 of the girls snuck their way to the priest's quarters.
"We had to do something, or else one of us would be next."
The priest's quarter was like an old monastery. Annabeth led the way; she opened the door, and the other girls entered after her.
They were in a corridor, with another closed door before them. The girls were afraid and confused.
A voice spoke from behind the closed door.
"Enter."
The voice was deep and raspy; it didn't sound like Father Partridge at all.
The girls looked at each other. Some of them wanted to go back, but Annabeth gave them a look; she didn't want them to be scared. They had to do this.
The girls all proceeded towards the door.
"Only one… Only one of you."
The girls looked to Annabeth. She was the bravest amongst them all, but they didn't want her to go. They held her back.
"I have to."
She said, taking all the responsibility. The other girls cried, which made her cry too. Within that tough little skin of hers, there was a scared little girl.
Annabeth pulled away from the other girls, pushed the door open and made her way inside. The door shut behind her.
Annabeth stood there, frozen. Before her was a large table in front of a towering chair fit for a king. A king of the underworld. The chair had skulls on top of it. The room was strewn with books all over the floor and the table.
She felt an eerie presence. Safety and help were what she thought she'd find coming here.
Upon coming here, she had recited the words to say, but now, fear alone couldn't let her utter those words.
The room was dimly lit. Annabeth could not see whoever sat on that monstrosity of a chair.
"Speak… girl."
"F—Father Partridge… There's something going on."
Annabeth trembled as she spoke.
Father Partridge got up from his chair. He was completely covered in a thick cloak, and his face was concealed. He made his way towards Annabeth. She fearfully moved back and leaned on the door.
Father Partridge got down on his knees and looked at her with his old, wrinkly and decaying face.
"You shouldn't have come here… It would have been much easier for all of you if you hadn't."
Annabeth pushed the door open and ran out. She didn't meet any of her friends outside.
A sudden storm appeared, and the wind blew angrily. Annabeth was caught in the middle. She called out to her friends, but none of them answered.
Annabeth ran deeper into the storm in search of them.
Damian turned to her, who stood before him.
"What happened?"
He asked.
Annabeth was sad; witnessing all of this again broke her.
"I searched everywhere for them. I couldn't find any."
Annabeth ran back to the orphanage. She didn't meet any of the other girls or the sisters.
"The minute you all walked in that door. You went right into a domain."
Damian figured.
"Yes."
Annabeth looked around for her friends, but she found none. A figure lurked in the shadows, waiting for her to make a wrong turn, and it jumped her.
Damian and Annabeth appeared in a cellar.
The bodies of the girls were laid on the floor, forming a circle around a carving on the floor of the figure with 3 faces and 6 horns.
Father Partridge conducted a ritual.
"He used us to summon a beast. The first 3 girls."
"3 faces".
Damian replied and followed with her analysis.
"The other six."
"Six horns."
"And…"
Annabeth cried.
"Nine of my friends… He used to build himself a new heart."
Nine of the girls on the floor were missing their hearts.
Father Partridge used a dagger and cut open his chest. He took out his old, weak heart.
"That means?"
"Yes, 3 of us are still alive."
"Show me where?"
Annabeth pointed to her stomach and broke down in tears. Damian held her.
"I'm coming to get you."
Annabeth grabbed Damian by the hand.
"Be careful… All the other girls. He turned into something evil."
Father Partridge lifted a bigger heart, his new one, and placed it into his chest. He let out a huge sigh of relief, and his body started to become young again.
He laughed sinisterly.
"You fool…"
He was talking to Damian.
"You left her there all alone."
Annabeth looked at Damian.
"Go!"
Damian ran outside.
"Elise!"
He yelled at the top of his voice. Hoping that she hears him.
.....
Elise held a stopwatch; there were only 5 minutes left. She paced from one end to another with the syringe. Something made a noise; she stopped and looked.
A figure appeared in the dark.
"Who's there?"
Elise fearfully asked.
She moved closer, also while maintaining a distance. She got a better look. It was a girl in a white garment. Her face was down to the floor.
"Hello. Are you okay?"
The girl raised her head and revealed her face. It was monstrous, with knives for teeth and eyes of a demon.
Elise moved back, and more appeared out of nowhere and walked like zombies towards Elise.
Elise trembled as she administered the injection into Damian's chest.
"Come on. Come on."
The zombified girls were almost close to her. She took out a Springfield rifle and fired at them. The bullets penetrated, but had no effect.
"What the fuck."
Elise continued shooting until they were so close to her, touching her shoes. Damian awoke and picked up the torch. He smashed it on the floor, which caused fire to spread around them, burning all the zombified girls. The fire formed a ring around the tombstones, protecting Elise.
"Stay here."
Damian instructed her.
He walked into the fire like it was nothing. Although parts of his jacket burnt, he made his way into a hall with several pillars.
The hall was quiet, and his footsteps echoed.
"Reveal yourself… Architect of this Domain… ."
A giant head with 3 faces and 6 horns appeared between the pillars.
"Release the girls."
Damian demanded.
"You shouldn't be here."
The figure spoke.
Damian took off his ring.
"I will not repeat myself."