Once night fell, Jenn’s room became dark. She was on the lower floor and the only window in the room was covered by a dark curtain. She couldn’t see a thing, which was okay… until she heard scratching coming from the wall in front of her.

She wondered if he had been right—if there really was something in the walls. When she thought about Deb’s phone, how else would it have gotten in there? And where did she go? And Shannon? 

She knew he had to have done something with them, maybe hid them in the basement. Had they even seen a basement? Even if there wasn’t one, there was an attic. 

“Yeah, they have to be in the attic,” she thought out loud to herself.

“Talking to yourself already?” Mr. Bache asked, blinding her by the light when he turned it on. Jenn ignored him as he walked over and stood beside her. “I wanted to let you know something, so you don’t freak out.”

“So I don’t freak out?” she asked sarcastically. “What, more than I already am?”

He squatted beside her. “I’m sorry about shooting your friend. I just… snap sometimes. I did warn you all,” he added, like the fact that he told them he would shoot them beforehand somehow made it acceptable.

“If you’re sorry, then let us go.”

“I can’t do that.”

“Why?” Jenn practically yelled. “Mr. Bache, we were invited here to help, or so we thought. We never meant to cause harm, invade your privacy, or anything else that's pissed you off.” Tears were once again running down her face. “They said the bank owned the house.”

“They were wrong. And call me Aaron.”

“Where are they? Where’s Shannon?” Jenn asked desperately.

He ignored her question. “I came to let you know that you’re safe, regardless of what you think about me. As long as you’re bound, they can’t hurt you.” He smiled. “I didn’t tell your friends upstairs that, though.”

“Who can’t hurt me?” Jenn asked.

“I already told you. You don’t believe me, now, but you will.” He sighed wearily. “There’s an ancient darkness that resides inside these walls. Not just here, but everywhere.” He chuckled. “People think the noises they hear is just their house settling or cooling at night, but I know better. It’s them.”

“Who?”

He stood up and walked around to face her. “My ancestors thought it would be a good idea to partake in certain rituals that would bring them power. Some of those rituals took place on these very grounds. They sacrificed people’s souls right here on this property!” He took a calming breath. “It left an imprint of evilness that has manifested into something horrific.”

A scratching noise from behind him caused him to spin around and point his shotgun at the hole.

“Please untie me,” Jenn begged.

“You’re more protected than me, right now. They never feed until the sacrifice is released. They’re not allowed. It interrupted the ritual. So, if I untie you, it won’t end well for you. Trust me.”

She didn’t trust him. Not at all.

“I have to go,” he said. “Just remember… they can’t harm you if you’re bound.”

A hair-raising scream came from above them, causing Aaron to run out.

“Chad!” Jenn yelled, her voice turning into sobs as she was once again alone.

While he continued to scream, she wondered if Aaron had lied. It sounded like Chad was being slaughtered.

Jenn was hysterical, thinking about her family—her kids—and how it looked like she’d never see them again. Would they be mad at her for being so careless? Would there even be a body for them to bury and mourn over?

Movement caught her eye. “No,” she whispered, unable to believe what she was seeing. “Aaron!” Something was inside the wall.

As terrified as she was, she strained her eyes to see into the darkness. She hadn’t believed him, thinking, at worst, the mansion was haunted, but her eyes didn’t lie. There was something in there, moving.

A set of disturbing eyes stared back at her, causing her breath to hitch. She wanted to scream, run, disappear, but she couldn’t. All she could do was sit there, unable to move, and stare at the horror that was in front of her.

She shut her eyes, the only thing she could do, not wanting to see. Maybe it wouldn’t be as bad if she didn’t fully see what was about to kill her.

Even when she heard some thuds and thumps, she still didn’t look, remembering those eyes. She didn't want to see what those eyes belonged to.

There was rustling to her right that made her cringe, since it seemed to be getting closer. The air turned stale, nauseating, causing her to hold her breath. When something touched her leg, she squeezed her eyes tighter.

Fingers pulled at her leg, gently at first, but then more aggressively. It yanked on her so hard it jerked her chair around, almost tipping her over. She clasped her lips closed as tightly as her eyes, holding in the scream that was fighting to get out.

Another rustling, followed by a grunt, came from behind her, letting her know there were now two, maybe more. She told herself repeatedly that she was safe, letting Aaron’s words play over again inside her head.

“I’m bound,” she heard herself say. “You can’t harm me.” She said it a couple more times, trying to convince herself it was true, then….

Silence.

She sat motionless for a few more seconds before reluctantly opening her eyes to an empty room. “Aaron!” She couldn’t believe she was yelling for the very one who was holding her prisoner in his home.

“Jenn!” her name was shrieked from upstairs.

“Chad?” He wasn’t dead. “Chad!” Her fear was overshadowed by relief. “Chad, where’s James?” she yelled, since she hadn’t heard him at all.

“I had to untie him,” Aaron replied for Chad as he entered the room.

“What do you mean? You untied him? But you said—”

“They had to feed,” he interrupted. “Would you rather me have untied you instead?” he asked, but this time it was her who ignored him. “I’m sorry about your friends, but you have all brought this upon yourselves.”

“We didn’t ask for this.”

“And neither did I,” he retorted. “I was born into it, having to see person after person handed over to them so we could remain safe. The screams, the fear, it was a natural occurrence. Can you imagine having to live like that as a five-year-old boy? Ten-year-old? A teenager? No friends or anything else that resembles a normal life. Then you come in here—into my house and my life—and think you’re immediately entitled.” He laughed. “Well, welcome to the privileged life,” he chided. “You’ll quickly learn that privilege comes with a very high price.”

Jenn began to cry. “Shannon had kids. I have kids. That has no price.” Her fear turned to anger and she mentally made a promise to herself to kill him the first chance she got.

“Anyway,” he said, blowing off her pain. “I’m going to untie you, now. When I do, do as I say. If you don’t, your soul will be lost within minutes. Is that understood?”

Jenn nodded. “I just want to go home.”

“Good luck with that.”

He untied her and led her upstairs to Chad, who was lying on his back, still tied to his chair. “Jenn!” He was beyond relieved to see her. “He was right. There are things in the walls. Like… like… corpses! They looked like slimy, unwrapped mummies, or some kind of dead something, and they tried to kill me.”

“They didn’t try to kill you,” Aaron corrected. “They don’t kill. You’ll wish they did by the time they get through with you, though.”

“Does that mean Shannon and James are alive? Deb and Traci? Are they alive?” Jenn quizzed, ready to go look for them.

“Alive? Yes, if one is truly alive without a soul,” Aaron replied.

A noise came from downstairs, causing Aaron to walk over and untie Chad, giving him the same warning he’d given Jenn. “Is that them?” Jenn asked, concerned, since she was no longer bound to her chair.

“It’s always them. They can be pacified but usually not for long.”

Jenn eyed the shotgun, which he had laid across his legs as he untied Chad. Between the two of them, she thought they just might have a chance to overtake him. He was a large man, but Chad wasn’t much smaller.

“What are you going to do with us?” Jenn asked.

“We’re going to the greenhouse. Now that you’ve seen them, I need to show you something,” Aaron replied.

“There’s nothing in there,” Chad said, rubbing his rope-burned wrists.

“You’ve been in the greenhouse?” Aaron asked angrily.

Chad slowly got up, still shaken. “Yeah, that’s the only place we really got any readings.”

Aaron steadied his gun, aiming it at both of them once again. “Of course it is.”

“Why? What’s so special about the greenhouse?” Jenn asked, stalling.

“That’s where the rituals were done,” Aaron began to explain indifferently. “The leaders would all adorn themselves in their black robes, invite over an unsuspecting victim, drug them, offer them up as a sacrifice, and benefit from the power they were given in return.” He motioned toward the door. “Let’s go.”

“Are we the next sacrifice?” Jenn asked.

“Damn, you have a lot of questions,” Aaron fussed. “And no, you’re not. There’s not been a sacrifice in decades, since my father died. Even so, they still need to feed. They’re always feeding. What they truly desire, though, are the ones born into the legacy; descendants, like myself.”

Jenn processed that. “What happens if they get what they want?” she asked as they reached the staircase.

“That’s enough questions,” was his reply.

She wanted to ask him what the strings were for but didn’t want to push it. At this point, it really didn’t matter. They were being held hostage by a crazy man with a gun in a mansion that had monsters in the walls; strings hanging from the staircase were nothing.

As she slowly followed behind Chad, she knew this would be one of the best opportunities they’d have to overtake Aaron. She had no idea how to let Chad know her plan, or even what that plan was, but thinking of her kid, she knew she had to come up with one.

She grabbed the rail as she stopped and leaned over the edge, tilting her head to the side. “Did you hear that?” She hoped this would at least stop Chad so she could gesture her intentions.

“What?” Chad not only stopped, but took a few steps back so he was practically against her.

Aaron, too, leaned slightly over the rail, looking to the floor below. “I didn’t hear anything.”

This was it. He wasn’t standing straight and was totally not expecting anything.

Jenn spun around, diving low, and grabbed his legs, pulling him down. “Get the gun!” she ordered Chad, hoping he could get to it. If not, this plan would probably conclude with both of them being dead.

As Jenn, too, lost her balance and started to fall, she listened to Chad and Aaron fight for control of the gun, wondering who was winning. She’d not only caught Aaron off guard, she’d caught Chad off guard, too.

Catching herself on one of the spindles, she jerked herself upright and accessed the situation. Chad was on top of Aaron, wrestling with him to keep him from getting up. Aaron then flipped his legs up, causing Chad to fly over him and sail down the stairs, landing hard on the tile floor. That’s when she noticed the gun, which must’ve gotten dropped or thrown during all the chaos.

“The gun!” Jenn yelled, which Aaron reacted to more than Chad.

“You all can’t do this!” he demanded, pulling himself up and heading down the stairs.

Since Chad still wasn’t moving, and Jenn had no other option, she jumped on Aaron’s back, which sent them both airborne, barely missing Chad when they hit the floor. Aaron’s head hit hard and she thought it had cracked his skull, but then he shoved her off his back.

Not knowing if Chad was okay, she pushed herself up so she could sprint toward the gun, which laid just a few feet away.

Aaron grabbed her ankle, tripping her. “You have no idea what you’re doing!”

“Chad, get up,” Jenn begged, trying to drag herself out of his grasp.

He moved, but only slightly, so she knew it was all on her. Thinking of her kids, she let her anger build. 

Raising up her free leg, she planted her foot solidly into his head, not once or twice, but several times. Once he let go, grabbing his face, she lunged for the gun, quickly turning it on him. She didn’t know how to use it, but he didn’t know that.

“Don’t move!” She demanded.

Aaron writhed around in pain, so she took his incapacitated state to try check on Chad. “Chad, you’ve got to get up. We’ve got to get out of here.”

Chad finally started to come around. “What happened?” He looked around and saw Aaron. Then he saw her with the gun. “How the hell…?”

“It was luck,” she admitted. “Go get the rope from upstairs and we’ll—” Then a thought occurred to her. “No, I’ve got a better idea.” She handed the gun to Chad. “Shoot both his knees out.”

Chad looked at her like he didn’t hear her right. “You sure?”

With her kids on her mind, she nodded. “Yes, I’m sure.”

“You can’t do this,” Aaron mumbled. “They’ll—”

A single gunshot drowned his pleas. As he screamed out in pain, Chad quickly shot the other one.

He immediately felt bad. “I’ve never shot anyone before,” he admitted. “Not even with a bb gun.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ve never been held hostage and attacked by whatever those things are,” she reminded him.

“True.”

“Okay, let’s go get help.”

She ran toward the back door with Chad right behind her. It wasn’t until they got to the James’s van when they realized they didn’t have the key.

“Shit!” Chad slammed his fist down on the top of James’s van. “What the hell are we supposed to do now?” He looked around at the vast darkness that surrounded them. “We’re out in the middle of nowhere.”

“Wait, Aaron has to have a car.” They both looked around but didn’t see one. “We’ll have to go make him give us his keys, or at least our phones.”

Once again, they both took off, running into the mansion. Aaron was still where they’d left him. Chad aimed the gun at him while Jenn patted him down, since he didn’t seem to be conscience.

“There’s nothing in his pockets.”

A noise behind Jenn caused them both to jump, Chad lifting his gun toward the hole in the wall across the hall. A set of pale eyes stared back at them, and for the first time, Jenn saw it clearly.

She muffled a scream as she backed up toward Chad, thankful she hadn’t looked earlier. The eyes, alone, were enough to make her not want to see anymore.

“We need to get out of here,” she whispered to Chad, but it was too late.

Without warning, they were surrounded. Jenn scrambled back, falling against the wall, unable to believe what she was seeing.

Chad’s description didn’t begin to describe the grotesqueness of these things, which reminded her of a zombie-looking mummy, small and weathered. They scampered and slithered across the floor toward Aaron. Once they reached him, his eyes shot open, like their touch had awakened a fierce terror inside him.

“Nooo!” he screamed, his voice distorted as he quickly turned and clambered toward Jenn and Chad, thinking they’d protect them, despite everything. “Please, I’ve got to get out of here!”

Jenn kicked his hand away as he grabbed at Chad’s foot and used his own words against him. “Good luck with that.”