Why Did It Have To Be Us?

Why Did It Have To Be Us?
“You wanna know what I think about who did it?” Alex spoke up out of nowhere. Sam looked over and Alex was sitting upside-down in one of the armchairs still reading through one of the notebooks. It was the fifth time he'd gone through it today.

“You're gonna fall,” Sam cautioned, advancing towards Alex. He worried that Alex was working too hard for nothing.

“I think Robert and James teamed up, killed Vivian, and got away with it. They both lived rich lives once she was dead. James even received half of the company because Vivian redid her will before she died,” Alex got up and paced over to Tracy who had the other notebooks. His cheek still stung a little but it was nothing he couldn't handle. And he was careful of the bruises, few as the were.

“Honestly that explains the weapon but if that were true then why was the dagger in Beatrice's room?” Luke questioned . They'd all stayed together lately scared that Vivian would try to hurt them again.

“Besides, she won't believe us no matter what we tell her. Even with proof or motive,” Courtney stated. She was probably right. Vivian had gotten worse in the past few days.

Alex sighed as he flopped down next to Tracy. That meant that they wouldn't be going home. That meant they'd be stuck here. They needed to find some way to get through to Vivian.

“What if they were trying to frame Beatrice?” Sam had actually followed Alex's thought process this time. Alex had told him about all of his theories about Vivian's death. It ranged from a hitman hired by James all the way to Robert and James’ conspiratory murder which included Beatrice being framed.

Pov Change

Vivian stood in the wreckage of the attic. She had done this. She couldn't believe it but she had. Her form flickered as she struggled to get her thoughts in order. Anger flooded through her in endless waves and she just couldn't withstand the current. Her form flickered again back to normal. The form she'd shown to Alex. The calm within the storm.

She ran a hand through her hair as her transparent form floated across the floor. She needed to make this right. Maybe they would listen. Maybe they'd still help her even when she'd hurt them before. Even though she was dead that didn't mean she was as cruel as she had been in the days prior. She shook her head pausing in the hall as her form flickered rapidly.

Pov Change

They were lost. How could she let this happen? Those kids still needed help and she was going to fail all because she'd lost the map and gotten lost in the woods. Julia seemed oddly calm and it pissed her off. There were lives at stake and she barely seemed to care.

She retraced their steps back to the waterfall they found. The trail ended miles back and she'd been clueless ever since. It wasn't like there were signs that said ‘Haunted Mansion This Way’ but she wished it were that easy. She headed off towards the sun although she wasn't entirely sure she was going the right way. She couldn't just sit back and let it happen, not like Julia could.

“Let's go,” she called back sternly. Julia squeaked, rushing to follow her.

Eliza raised an eyebrow. Julia only got nervous whenever they were headed towards the house; it was like she was scared of it. Scared of Vivian. She knew Julia knew the way to the house even though she was old she definitely still remembered. As long as Julia remained skittish and timid then they had to be headed in the right direction. It was when Julia was calm that she'd have to redirect them back on track.

Pov Change

Vivian had appeared out of nowhere. Alex hadn't been paying attention. In fact he'd been staring out the window looking out at the clouds. Tracy was on the ground outside in the hall. Vivian hadn't even touched her and she'd gone flying out of the room. Luke ran over and knelt down next to her making sure she was okay. Sam was trying to regain his balance. He'd slid back into a wall simply because Vivian had flicked her wrist Courtney was scared he might be hurt. Alex had rushed to check on him instead he'd wound up flung across the room. The wind had been knocked out of him but otherwise he seemed okay.

Courtney stood frozen. The color had drained from her face. This couldn't be happening right. Vivian was in the middle of the room flickering in and out of focus. One moment she could see her and the next it was like she'd never been there. It was odd because it was like she was torn. Her form kept changing and Courtney had no idea what to do.

Alex took the moment of confusion as an opening to run. He grabbed Sam's hand and pulled him along. Courtney hesitated a moment and then followed. They needed to find a way out before things got worse. She heard Luke and Tracy's footsteps behind her as they all ran.