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In the heat of such a colossal mess that has been hit on the Livinggood mansion like a tempest; they momentarily forgot about Katie vanishing into the night; giving full focus on Patrick who was showing signs of insanity, scaring the household. The briefly forgot about Katie because they knew how brilliant a girl Katie was and she wouldn't do something rash. Thus, they put their focus on poor Patrick. 

Should they bring in the family doctor? Or take him to a psychiatrist? What will people say if they come to know about it?

People were such beautiful storytellers that Conard had always warned them to be careful not to mess around the wrong folk. Apparently, the kinfolk neighboring Livinggood mansion claimed the mansion to be haunted which was just a pile of hogwash gossip, a very drunk rival merchant scattered on the eve of Fall Ball at Conrad's resident back when he was healthy and happy feet with his wife.

Now, that Patrick was in a state where they couldn't deny him being mentally conflicted with the wild-eyed screams and incoherent sentences, Julian and Peter drowned their sorrows in a bottle of good old scotch.

Julian downed another amber colored liquid-pill down his throat, loving the instant buzz and warmth coiling through his body. But as the momentary warmth fizzed to normalcy, Julian was once again agitated. Peter stared into space without touching his drink that had a fine sheen of perspiration on the glass, melting down into a weird circle on the table.

"What do we do?" Julian asked Peter who was lost in his own world. "Peter..."

"Huh..." Peter jumped from his seat, striking the glass with the back of his hands from the table. It dropped with a thud, staining the cream colored carpet. Both of them looked at the stain for so long. At long last, Julian manned up to speak his mind.

"I fear if the history is repeating, Oh Peter..." Julian said looking at the stain in the orangish glow of the chandelier.

"Speak no more; nothing of that sort will happen. That was Nana's folktale in making us fill our tummy pouch. Eh! That was all made up fiction." Peter being the comedian of the house, never missed the chance to strike a joke; but right now, it fell dryly.

"Peter, be serious. I do fear..."

"Oh my God!" Peter howled and got up at once from the armchair in the main study. "I have forgotten about Katie." That brought Julian from his delusions and set out at once to find Emily and Lucy.

The girls were obediently waiting by the bed of Patrick for him to wake up since Lucy had a clear doubt in her mind that Patrick did say something familiar to them but didn't quite catch what it exactly suggested.

"Lucy, Emily... um, what about Katie..." Julian mumbled in fear, looking at the sleeping Patrick.

"We did take around to where she must have taken Sally but Rocky was off the sent soon, and we rode in circles behind him. We don't know where Katie wandered to." Lucy said in a very tiny voice that Peter had to strain what Lucy said.

"But, Rocky never misses a scent. That's impossible. Why... he is a very intelligent fellow. Besides, why did she take Sally, she is an old horse." Julian mumbled more to himself as he walked in circles in front of Patrick's bed.

Suddenly Patrick woke up with a start. He sat on his bed, shivering badly, sporting high fever and looked at every anxious face in the room. Lydia could take no more and she wept once again, lying on the side of the bed.

He said, "It has begun. The sleeping curse has been awoken. Nana was right. Go fetch Katie before it's too late." As quickly as he woke up, he fell down in convulsions. Julian, cursed under his breath as he ran towards Patrick who started to choke on his own tongue, spitting out a white colored grainy substance.

Upon hearing his words, Lucy and Emily shared a look. A look that they knew something was amiss and all the while, it was not pansion he was saying, he meant mansion and Bri gorest, was in fact, Bridget forest, adjacent to the forlorn Bridge mansion.

Discreetly, they left the room, leaving behind Patrick with their fathers and ran down to the stable. Picking walnut and black, they both raced through the thick fog that somehow blanketed them, binding their way ahead. However, they sliced through the darkness and reached the clearing just before the mansion path. Walnut and black, refused to move forth. Both girls climbed down and ran to the mansion.

What they saw in front of the mansion gate was distressing and tumultuous.

Because Sally was neighing in pain, writhing on the ground as if she was trying to fight with some unseen attacker. Lucy was standing with half a scream stuck down her throat while Emily stood shocked and hurt to see one of their best horses, despite its age, being attacked horrendously.

Once again, the horse neighed loudly and shook like a leaf in front of them. Emily wanted to run to its aid but knew it would be futile. Lucy had started sobbing watching the beautiful animal writhing in pain, unable to get on its leg. As they were watching, welts appeared on its body; even if they couldn't see it, they could hear the wet slash of skin, as if being ripped off, and Lucy screamed into the air. The horse looked at them pithily with wild eyes, trying to get up.

Emily ran to the horse, unable to watch the poor creatures being tortured anymore. Em didn't understand what was happening to the horse. She has seen other horses in her barn die, but this wasn't anything like she has seen before.

"Oh Sally, what is wrong with you?" Em said and dared to hug the horse which made everything peaceful for a while. The horse was breathing hard and heavily looking at her in the eyes as if a silent thank you note. Em raised her head from the horse to look at it; just then, suddenly the horse's head was turned a complete three-sixty degree. Em heard the bones crunching underneath her and the horse's tongue came out along with blood.

Horrified, Em scampered back on all four, heaving heavily as if she was preparing to scream aloud. With the back of her hand, she held tight to her mouth and stifled in a scream with a sob unable to look at their dear animal, in a twisted mess.

Lucy was paralyzed with fear, being forced to watch it all when she tried to turn around; she couldn't move. It was as if she was rooted to the spot with her eyes glued to the horse. Em, got up with all her might, twisting her legs to fall back down again but at last, she got up and ran towards Lucy who clicked out from her trance and started sobbing loudly, pointing at the horse.

"We... we don't have time, we... need to... come!" Em panted, in between breath, unable to talk properly. Her heart beat wildly in her chest, threatening to rip out. Lucy fell down on the horse and rubbed her bloodied neck.

"What happened to you, my dear? Oh, what happened to you?" Lucy sobbed sitting next to the horse.

"Get away from it Lucy. Are you insane? It could be some unknown infection causing her death like that. It's bleeding, get away from it. Come on, we need to find Katie."

Em grabbed onto Lucy's bloodied hands and wiped the tears with her other hand and ran inside the gates.

As soon as they reached inside, the gates closed, noiselessly; and the girls didn't seem to notice.

Em ran around the house wherever she could, without cutting herself from the thick roots but it was futile. It then dawned on Lucy, who was sitting on the staircase, that the door was open. Lucy called out to Em and both, very cautiously, got in through the house.

The spacious hallway with high ceiling, echoed as their shoes softly tapped. Bats screeched and flew out from unknown locations and something scrambled through the floor making Lucy yelp in fear.

However, neither of them had removed their hands from each other in fear of getting lost in the dark.

The moon helped them see their way in the shadowy night but slowly, a certain kind of darkness swelled into place, leaving the girls in obscurity. With hands spread out, and heart beating wildly enough to echo through the house, the girls walked forward without any sense of direction. Em braved up and yelled for Katie but no one answered back.

Apparently, it was too dark to see the sinister looking face of a young woman who was enjoying the sound of their beating hearts.

"This is pointless; we are getting nowhere, besides... Katie cannot be here. Let's go." Em said, ready to turn and leave.

However as Lucy insisted that they try once more, Lucy moved forward, only to tumble and fall over something. "Uff" Lucy groaned as her hands came in contact with something soft and moving.

She tried her hands over the thing and found it was a breathing body. She screamed and fell back on her butt, trembling badly, calling for Em.

"I am here, shh, what is it?" Em consoled a crying, frantic Lucy.

"A... a... Bo... body," Lucy panted.

"What?"

"A body, there..." although Em couldn't see where Lucy was sitting and to where she was pointing, Em knew where Lucy fell because it was in that position that Em had fallen since she knew what a crybaby Lucy can be and thus she would certainly loosen the hold if not held tight.

Accordingly, Em kneeled down and crawled in search of the body that Lucy felt and reached to the picture. Em's heartbeat and Lucy's sniffle was the only company she had when she braved herself to check upon the body.

Indeed, it was breathing. She shook the body but it didn't stir awake.

"You doofus come here and help me. It's Katie, I believe." Em said behind her shoulder and listened as Lucy came scuffling to her.

No matter, how hard they tried, they couldn't wake Katie up. So, Em did a startling surprise. She slapped Katie hard which jerked her awake, instantly. Upon sitting up, the fog cleared and Katie saw two girls with fear-struck eyes looking at her and she screamed. As Katie screamed, Lucy and Em screamed stridently.

When they reconciled, the three of them had a good laugh at their stupid antics.

"What happened?" Lucy asked.

"I don't know. It was certainly very weird." And then Katie explained the 'dream' what happened to her in a very brief form.

"Unbelievable..." Em chimed out, sounding shocked.

"What... what... umm, how is..."

"Katie, it's much unfortunate. Your father is in deep shock and has turned somewhat, unexplainable."

"What?" the guilt rose to an alarming rate in her heart making her body shiver from inside. Wasn't it because she hit her father? Did something happen to him? "What happened to him, tell me... oh, please tell me..." Katie cried, holding both of them fiercely.

"He... I don't know kitty, something happened to him. You ought to see him."

"Oh darn, I shall never forgive myself. I shouldn't have hit him. Oh dear..." Katie wailed like a small child which surprised Lucy and Katie equally. Never have they in their span of life, saw Katie sob or wail for anything. And now to see her break out hysterically, they were in deep shock, powerless to help their friend.

"I need to go immediately. Come, come..." Katie got up to her feet, in the darkness and looked around for Emily and Lucy.

"Yes... let's go... they are really worried," Lucy said, more to herself than Katie.

As they ran to the gates, Lucy and Em were astonished to the point of falling dead, to see Sally perfectly alright, standing under a sturdy rosewood tree with walnut and black keeping her company. Katie mounted onto Sally. It was then she saw the girls looking at her horse, stupefied. Rubbing her tears away from her cheeks, she asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" both of them replied at the same time and shared a look before mounting on their horses. Keeping a safe distance away from Sally, they rode through the night, wondering what they saw back then.

Katie reached first. She removed herself from Sally and ran to the house in search of her father. Eaten by guilt, the tears never stopped falling down from her feet. Em and Lucy were hot on her trail.

Before entering the house, Katie inhaled deeply; suddenly conquered in fear and perplexity upon hearing a full grown man screaming on top of his lungs.

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Sorry for the Gif :D I was scared, really. I shouldn't upload them at 1 in the night! :D

  💀  sweet dreams! :D 💀