A New Strategy

A New Strategy
Courtney wasn't entirely keen on the idea of taking the lengthy path. Luke however had insisted. Courtney didn't quite know why she was still sticking with them. Of course there was the fact that they'd all been brought here by the same spectere. And for some reason they could get along kind of well. That didn't make it easy though. She felt trapped, cornered. And she wasn't used to being in a situation she couldn't figure out.

Was it wrong to be snapping at the few people she had access to here? Definitely. But she didn't want to have to explain herself. Hell she wouldn't even know where to start. Which was why she kept silent as they walked, the creaking of the floorboards and the whistle of the wind were the only sounds that followed them as they walked.

Pov Change

Sam was begining to regret leaving Beatrice's room. It was too quiet. Especially after how noisy it had been the past few days. It was disarming in a way. If it weren't for Tracy humming quietly behind him he would've worried he'd lost track of her.

He was hoping they'd managed to follow Alex's tracks. He wasn't entirely sure though. It's not like they'd seen the exact path he took earlier. And their guess work was probably way off. What if Alex had circled back? Wouldn't it have been wiser to stay put so that everyone would know just where to find them?

Tracy had a hunch that Sam regretted leaving the room. After all they had no clue which way Alex might have went once he left. And even if he was headed back there wasn't a guarantee that they'd run into each other. This mansion was a maze. And she had a feeling they'd get lost before they found Alex. Maybe they should just turn back now before it was too late.

Pov Change

"They probably left to go after me," Alex sat down on the bed in the middle of the room.

He had a feeling Tracy might have pushed for them to follow him. And he knew it came from a good place. But he couldn't help but be frustrated by the fact that they'd disregarded his order to stay. He knew he wasn't much of a leader and his orders held no merit. But he'd asked them to stay so he'd know they were safe. Now he was worried they'd be easy targets for Vivian because they couldn't see her.

"Do you think they'd circle back?" Eliza knew she was asking a lot of this kid. She was surprised he'd even trusted her. But they didn't have a lot of time. And there were 4 other kids who were out there roaming around.

Eliza wasn't even sure that Julia was as harmless as she seemed. And she wasn't sure it was safe to be out there with one very real threat and a potential second threat. Even if Julia looked harmless Eliza knew deep down she wasn't. It had just taken her years to figure it out.

"They might. It's not like they'd know where to go. And they're pretty smart so they wouldn't risk being in the open for long," Alex hoped he was right. Sam and Tracy were smart. Or at least they'd be smart enough to not so something stupid or drastic. So he had faith that they'd wiser up and come back this way. Then he'd only have to worry about Luke and Courtney.

Pov Change

Julia wasn't going to lie. She was terrified. Her mother had only grown more unstable the longer she was stuck here the way she was, unable to leave or do anything but stew on her downfall. And that meant she couldn't be entirely trusted. Her sanity was fragile... or at least what was left of it was. And the fact that she'd made a deal with her, let alone one with such a high price, was one she was beginning to regret immensely. Unfortunately she was stuck. And at the time it had only prolonged the inevitable.

She doubted she'd live long even if she got out of here. She was old and frail as it was. Soon she'd be too old to even come out this way. Which meant her mother would just have to find someone else willing to feed her delusion. Not that she'd voice that aloud. The second she called Vivian delusional Vivian would probably kill her without a second though. And she'd probably deserve it after everything she'd done. Everyone she'd hurt or used.

Vivian was pacing along the other side of the attic. It was a small comfort that her daughter was here. Even if the circumstances were unpleasant. She'd loved all her children so much in her days amongst the living. And she'd love to have her here longer since she was the only child she had left who knew of her condition. She doubted Julia would willingly take to that thought though. She'd just have to make the best of this then she supposed.

Which meant reining in those little brats. As much as she'd hate to be that way they weren't giving her much choice. They had found something. But they hadn't told her anything of it. Which was annoying. Especially after they'd invaded her privacy. Had she handled that well? Probably not. Actually she hadn't handled anything well in a while. Like kidnapping kids, forcing them to help her. Oh well, it was too late to stop now.