Page 25 of Their Darkest Needs

He doesn't say anything for the rest of the trip, which bothers me more than it should. I guess I had hoped he’d open up more.

“Well, here we are,” I announce with more doubt in my voice than I should have. Maybe coming here wasn’t the greatest idea, but I feel like I’m out of options.

I glance once again at my phone screen, seeing if Taylor is still doing well. They are just sitting on the couch watching TV. Taylor is a bit more away from her than usual. I guess that’s a good sign, maybe she’s finally getting her senses back.

“How can you live near this shit and never question if something is wrong?” I turn my head and see Felix staring me down like I’m an idiot.

“I don’t believe in that shit, and I never had an issue before with this place.” I shrug. I feel like such an idiot. I thought the woods were darker here because of the air or something, not because it’s possessed by demons. I mean, we don’t all always look into the radical side of things first.

“Well, here’s where I guess she buried Mara,” Felix announces. I move away from the gravestone of a ‘Toby Higgins’. The date isn’t visible and it gives me this odd, familiar feeling I don’t like.

“How do you know?” I ask Felix before coming to his side. The earth seems like it was ripped open from the inside out, there are worms crawling through it, but they don’t seem like normal worms, the way they move is odd and disorganised, the name is carved onto the tombstone in big letters.

“Do I still have to tell you?” Felix raises one eyebrow at me while a coy smile plays his lips. I don’t answer him,—all I can do is just stare at it. Fear is trying to take over my mind and I think I’m shaking. I knew she did it, because well, it’s in my house and everything but actually seeing it is a whole different thing.

“Hey, Ry? You okay?” I crouch down over the open grave with my hands in my hair. Some part of me had hoped that the body would still lie there and that it was some kind of imposter. I know it sounds dumb, but none of this makes sense, and I think I’m officially losing it now.

My body shakes harder –wait, no, someoneis shaking me.

I turn my head, seeing Felix crouched down next to me.

“We’ll figure this out. Okay?” I know he’s trying to make me feel better about all of this, and I appreciate it, but I can’t seem to see a light at the ending of this tunnel.

“Do I have a choice?” I ask Felix instead. He shakes his head in a clear no, with his lips pulled tight.Great, this is just great.

One of the worst things about all of this is the lack of time I get to spend with Taylor. That thing keeps demanding all her attention, and the only time I can sit with her in peace is when it sleeps—if it’s actually capable of that. God knows what it does.

I grip the steering wheel a bit too tightly and my hands are turning white from it.

I woke up with a phone call from Felix, saying he had found something in the library, and that I had to come to see it. So that’s where I’m going to go to now, I guess, yet again leaving Taylor alone with that thing. I feel like I’m just becoming a bad husband.

I park the car and walk in, seeing Felix sitting before one of the computers. He’s completely focused on what is on thescreen. This better be good. I don’t like leaving her alone and especially if it’s for nothing.

“So, what did you find?” I ask him, taking the chair to his right.

“Ah, Ry, this cemetery, it’s some kind of old ritual ground,” he says, pointing his finger to the screen. He’s got some old newspapers in front of him too and a notebook with some scribbles I can barely read since he writes like a five- year-old.

Looking over at the screen, I read over all the information on it.

“So, this was some kind of burial ground from a cult that used to live in my neighbour's house?” I turn to Felix, who has his nose into the newspapers humming a yes at my questions.

“Maybe we should go to his place and ask about it?” I propose. Felix doesn’t seem convinced by my idea and places the papers down. The picture shows it’s still the same neighbour I have now, so he must know something.

“Well, I looked into that, and the owner of the property died like ten years ago.” Shock hits me and I look at him with my mouth open. That’s impossible. I see him taking a walk daily.

“Your paper is wrong. I see him every morning,” I state to him. Felix raises an eyebrow at me and moves one of the newspapers in front of me. I frown at it.

This article claims that there was a house fire and that he died in it, but the house always looked in good condition to me. Maybe it’s his brother.

“Well, I guess his brother lives there then or something.” Felix lets out a laugh while shaking his head.

“If that’s what you want to go for,” he mumbles under his breath.

What is that supposed to mean? Ignoring him, I continue to look for further information.

There have been claims from others having similar situations before, but none of them are still alive, which makes me even more anxious about how this will all play out. There are a few news articles talking about a grave being robbed and that a neighbour had claimed seeing the person who was buried walking to their old house while grunting, I haven’t heard from others that they found out about Mara not being in her coffin anymore, so I guess she filled the hole back in with dirt properly.

I sigh. I can’t believe Taylor did that, I should’ve seen the signs better, but I was too blind with my own pride that I decided to ignore the fact that she needed more help than I could give her.I guess she still does.

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