CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

[ xvi. frozen within time ]

     LAYLA STEPPED UP the last step and landed onto the second floor flooring. Harriet continued to shine her flashlight to guide the way. The second floor smelled like a rotted animal. A smell that reminded Harriet of the time when her brother brought in a deceased squirrel nonchalantly, saying how the squirrel "needed surgery". The God awful smell was in the house for days.

Harriet's father had to explain to him about the squirrel already passing. Her youngest sibling cried himself to sleep. Blaming himself for killing the squirrel but in reality, it was horrifically ran over. It was just the circle of life.

     You get brought into this world and end up dying at the end of it all. Harriet's father never liked the idea of death, finding it a bit nerve racking. He always talked to Harriet about the possibility of him dying and if it ever had to come to it, she and her brother would have to be put into foster care. She hated the idea and suggested living with her grandparents, but the grandparents on her mother's side lived in a different country. The grandparents on her father's side were too ill to take care of children.

     Dying gave Harriet chills. Although, she found it remarkable how many ways you could die. How easily it was to die. Even if it sounded crazy, Harriet wondered what happened when you died. Would you see the light everyone theorizes is real? Would you greet the supposed God that made Earth and everything living in it? Would you wake up into another body, living a new life as that said body? Or was it all a simulation? A cruel, sadistic simulation?

     The dark-skinned girl tried to push the thoughts away. She was more focused on finding the missing girl. Layla looked back at Harriet, holding her nose. "Where did the scream come from?" Layla whispered as she squeezed her nose. Harriet didn't answer, but instead, felt for her recorder. She thought about documenting more about her time at the house, thinking of how detrimental the information would be in her findings.

     But she also didn't want to have something to remind her of the insane events that had happened right in front of her eyes. "I'm not sure," Harriet whispered back fearfully. She dropped her hand off the recorder, feeling that it was most likely best if she didn't record anything.

"Delancy?" Layla whispered loudly, pinching her nose tighter. Layla looked down at the ground. The wood turned to black due to the dirt and termites. She kicked a loose wood panel out of the way. When she did, she saw something that made her freeze.

The skeletal remains of a hand. A small hand, child size. Bugs were crawling all over the bones, eating the marrow since the flesh was all gone. The light from the flashlight shined down on the remains. The coloration of the bone was brown, releasing a potent smell of rotten milk.

Layla's eyes were stuck on the disgusting object, but her mind was telling her to look away. She tried to scream as she kept hitting Harriet's arm rapidly. The Orman girl definitely saw it, resulting in covering her mouth in horror. She grabbed onto Layla and moved her away from the hand, but accidentally dropped her own flashlight as she did.

"Shit," Harriet muttered as she let go of Layla's shoulders. Layla started to tremble, mumbling reassuring words to herself. The pale girl watched in fear as Harriet walked over to where her flashlight was laying. She picked it up and unexpectedly shined her flashlight on the other end of the hallway. When Harriet did, the two were come face to face with someone (or something).

A pale woman wearing a floral dress. A flowy dress, in fact. Her hair pinned up in a low bun, or at least, that was what it looked like originally. Small, white heels that gave her only a tad bit of height. She was beautiful, at least before what the Carmichael house did to her.

One of the woman's dress sleeves were torn off of her, exposing her bloody shoulder blade. If the two young girls looked correctly, they swore they saw her shoulder blade poking from the skin. Blood covered the front of her once beautiful dress. Bruises around her neck looking as if she tried to put up a fight. Her wrists were slashed. Both of them bloodied, looking like she was tied up and tried to get out (or managed to).

Her eyes were sunken in, bringing out the cut on her lip and the purple bruises on her face. Her hair was tangled, hanging down in front of her face messily. She didn't look scary, but she looked horrific. She was missing one of her heels. Her toes were obviously broken. Bone after bone was exposed into the air.

The poor woman's neck was slashed. As if someone tried to decapitate her head, but ultimately failed. Harriet could tell from her injuries she put up a fight, and a good one at that. But new Benjamin left nobody alive.

Harriet managed to cover Layla's mouth before she could scream. The Orman girl was afraid the woman would get startled and do something drastic. Harriet felt Layla's body go wild, panicking. Harriet held Layla's body close, trying her best to calm her down. "I'm looking for my daughter," the woman breathed out. The voice sounded broken, full of sorrow and pain. "Help me find her."

     "We need to back away . . . slowly," Harriet whispered in Layla's ear. Afraid the woman may become irrational and dangerous. Layla nodded even though she was in girl's grip.

     "My daughter . . ." The woman trailed off meticulously. Her arm slowly started to raise, her mangled (broken) index finger pointing directly at Layla. Layla's eyes widened in horror and let out a muffled scream. Harriet realized the woman was mistaking Layla as her daughter. The mixed girl needed to think fast.

     Her eyes darted to the stairs, but they were too close to the woman to go near. Harriet turned and saw closed doors connected down the dark hallway. In conclusion, they had nowhere to go. Harriet wasn't taking another chance locking themselves in a room after the Caroline incident. Harriet's eyes filled with tears as she faced the determined woman.

     "She isn't your daughter," the brown-eyed girl stated as she gulped down her nervousness. Layla took Harriet's hand off of her mouth, her chest rising and falling heavily.

     "Go away!" Layla yelled out of pure fear. The woman didn't flinch, but stood there still. Even if the woman didn't do anything, it still worried them.

     "I need you," the woman cried sincerely. Layla shook her head as tears started to fall from her face. Her eyes went to the staircase, thinking to make a run for it. Harriet watched as Layla's head turned to the direction of the staircase. She shook her head.

     "You can't," Harriet informed, "it's too risky." The Clifford girl didn't respond. Instead, she pushed Harriet's hands from off her body and ran. She ran as quick as she could as if her life depended on it. "No!"

The woman, surprisingly, was much faster than Layla. The dark-headed woman grabbed Layla just as she reached the top of the stairs. She grabbed the teenage girl's wrist forcefully. The hazel eyed girl flinched, trying to pull her arm from the woman's grip. "Layla!" Harriet yelled at the top of her lungs.

"Help me!" Layla begged as she held onto the unstable railing. Harriet didn't know what to do. Panic stuck her. She didn't know how she hadn't died of a heart-attack yet. Her mind kept telling her to hold onto Layla, to pull her away from the determined woman. But her body remained frozen in time. Watching everything play out in slow motion.

Layla had always wanted a mother. A mother who was still alive, that is. Ever since she was twelve, she and her younger sister Alexis lost her mother due to a drug addiction. The girl dreamt of living her life to the fullest and cautious, wanting to live a long life. She wanted to know the true meaning of love. Wanting to know why her father started dating again just after a year of his wife's passing.

     She wanted to know how it felt to bare children. How to interact with them and their feelings. How to treat them like the mother she didn't really have. She thought about her grandparents' reaction once they hear about their death. How her younger sister will have to live her life without a mother and an older sister.

     Even if Layla gave this long speech about killing herself, she didn't want to go. Not now, she wasn't ready. Not like this.

     "Harriet!" Layla cried out pleadingly. Her arm muscle started to cramp as she held on with all of her strength. She felt something liquid run down her wrist, realizing it was her own blood from the woman's nails digging into her skin.

     Harriet tried to say something, but nothing managed to escape. She desperately wanted to help, but her body refused to move. It was almost like a dream, a nightmare; sleep paralysis. From the neck down it felt like she was paralyzed. She watched as Layla fought and struggled to keep her grip on the railing.

     The woman had enough. Taking her frustration out, she bent Layla's wrist back. The poor girl felt and heard her wrist snap in half. A blood-curdling scream shrilled Harriet's ears. Layla let go of the railing out of a reflex. She started to sob because of the overwhelming pain of her bone snapping. The evil woman took the opportunity to pull her, take full control.

     In the dark-skinned girl's eyes, it seemed like it was all happening so fast. Layla was thrown to the ground in front of the woman. The dirty-blonde looked up. She saw the woman's face become distorted. Her eyes were fully black, her rotting teeth were exposed with a smile, it even looked like she was crying bloodied tears.

     The Clifford girl screamed as loud as she could. "Help me! Help me!" She repeated loudly. She prayed for Harriet to come rescue her, but didn't know if the girl was going to. Layla closed her eyes, wondering if the horrifying woman would be gone. When she opened her eyes, she was gone.

     Layla saw Harriet standing where she and her were standing. The hazel eyed girl didn't know what to do. She was relieved she was gone, but afraid she would come back. Before Layla could have a to get up, a force pushed her back to the ground.

     Her head bounced off the ground, causing shooting pains to throb her skull. Harriet watched in fear as Layla was pulled by nothing towards the door at the end of the hallway. "Layla!" Harriet sobbed as she tried to make her body run after.

     "Help me!" Layla was cut off by the sound of a door slamming shut. Just then, Harriet's body allowed for her to finally move. She pushed off and ran towards the door at the end of the hallway.

     "Layla!" Harriet called out. She pounded on the door frantically. As she tried to twist the door knob, she heard the pain ridden screams of Layla from inside. The curly-headed girl tried to twist the door knob, but it was locked. "Layla! Are you okay?!"

     More screams from the girl filled the air. Harriet listened like a nut on a log. She was unable to do anything to stop it, to save her. She looked around for something to open the door with, anything. She kicked the door as hard as she could, but it wouldn't budge. "I'm gonna get you out!" Harriet felt in her hair for a bobby-pin, but couldn't find the object.

     The screams and cries of the girl from the room started to slowly die down. It became quiet, an eerie silence. A guilty silence for Harriet. It was too quiet, quiet as if a job was done. She tried to twist the door opened again, and it was weirdly unlocked. She pushed the door opened and was mortified by the sight.

     Layla was pinned up against the wall. Her arms and legs spread out like a doll. Her stomach was open, like an open wound. The large hole revealed her organs hanging from her body. Dangling as a thread. Blood pulsed from her body, dripping into the floor off of the hanging organs.

     Wire was connected to the wall, which was securing the girl. Layla's eyes were rolled into the back of her head. Her relaxed mouth dripping blood from it.

     Harriet screamed and fell to the ground from the sight. She covered her eyes in horror and started to uncontrollably sob. She was rocking back and forth, trying to convince herself none of it was real. That she didn't cause another death.

     She heard footsteps run up the stairs, but disregarded them. She sobbed loudly to herself, covering her shut eyes. She brought her knees to her chest, hiding her head amongst them. "We heard screams are you guys' okay?" Scout asked out of breath from running up the stairs. He looked down at Harriet, who was shaking. He looked up and looked inside the room, where he saw the fate of Layla Clifford.

     He turned his head immediately and threw up next to the door. Ingrid and Liam ran over to the two. "I killed her, I killed her, I killed her," Harriet repeated psychotically as she rocked back and forth. Ingrid didn't want to look inside, but noticed Layla wasn't with Harriet. Tears formed in the dirty-blonde's eyes as she realized they lost someone else.

     She pulled Harriet away from the door and sat down beside her. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Harriet sobbed quietly as Ingrid pulled her into a hug. Ingrid and Liam looked at each other with worried eyes.

     Layla was right, how were they gonna live with these memories?

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HARRIET DESERVES THE WORLD RIGHT NOW IM SO SORRY. MY WRITING SUCKS OOF. THIS IS UNEDITED AND IM ABOUT TO CRY BECAUSE IM EVIL