Chapter Twenty-One: The Holloway Investigation

(The Flayed, Pt. 3)

***

The Holloway house looked normal.

Nothing about it made it look like an inter-dimensional smoke-monster was possessing an entire family, but Alistair supposed that was what the Mind Flayer wanted—to not have anyone suspicious of the people it Flayed, and keep hiding until it fulfilled whatever plans it wanted to do that involved the people it took over.

And probably involve killing us all, Alistair thought dryly as they got out of the car and walked up to the door. Hugin stayed on his shoulder—the street was empty, and there was no way Alistair wanted him to stay behind in the car. Not when, considering how terrified the ghosts were of being Flayed, he didn't know if his raven could get Flayed, too.

Hugin gave a comforting caw, sensing Alistair's anxiety. Hugin be fine. Should be worried about this flock.

Alistair gave a tiny nod, stroking Hugin's beak. Hugin was right. They needed to worry more about the Holloways right now.

Crowding together on the porch, Nancy rang the doorbell. When no one answered, she rang it again. And when the door didn't open, she and Jonathan turned to El. El looked at the door, and with a jerk of her head, the lock opened.

The door creaked inward, horror-movie-like, and they crept inside, Nancy calling out, "Tom? Heather?"

As they headed deeper inside, Max muttered, "Jesus, it's freezing," holding herself and rubbing her arms.

Alistair gulped, as he too felt the icy air inside the Holloway house, as Hugin—who would have been thrilled—only ruffled his feathers and croaked uneasily, eye darting around, saying, Don't like this.

Neither do I, buddy, Alistair responded as he looked at his friends. There was only one reason why the air conditioner would be cranked up to Arctic-levels. And it wasn't just because of the heat.

As they headed deeper into the freezing, and so far empty, house, Alistair registered a sharp, sterile smell, almost overwhelmingly powerful. Cami coughed on it, as Nancy asked, "Do you guys smell that?"

Nobody responded, but it was clear they all did as they followed the smell, and came to a disturbing sight.

"Oh. Oh God," Nancy muttered as she held a hand to her mouth—as they all did, looking at the kitchen.

Bottles of cleaning products and chemicals were opened all over the place, their contents dripping out. A part of the kitchen counter had been corroded away, a piece of the cabinet peeling away, as chemicals dripped toxic aqua down the sides, the smell of all the different chemicals so strong it made Alistair's head swim.

"More chemicals," Nancy observed as they walked up to it. Alistair eyed it with dread as he stuck his hands in his pockets, Hugin croaking as unease radiated from the undead corvid.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Cami muttered, looking at the chemicals more uneasily than even Hugin.

Jonathan picked up a bottle as he asked, "You think they're guzzling this shit?"

"Yeah, either that or they just went on a hell of a cleaning spree," Nancy responded, eyeing the mess of chemicals.

"But last year, Will didn't eat chemicals," Max noted. She looked at Will and asked, "Did you?"

Will shook his head. "No. This is something new."

"Mr. Clarke, fifth grade. Posit. What happens when you mix chemicals together?" Mike questioned.

"You create a new substance," Alistair, Will and Lucas answered in unison.

"What if they're making something?" Mike theorised.

"In themselves?" Max questioned incredulously.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Cami said, shrugging.

"Yeah, but I mean, come on. If you drink this crap, it'll kill you," Max pointed out, gesturing to the chemicals again.

"Yeah, if you're human," Lucas commented.

No one spoke. No one liked the idea of what Lucas' comment implied about the Flayed—especially when Alistair still remembered Billy bleeding black blood instead of red from the scratches Hugin had left last night. 

The same blood as a Demogorgon, a monster of the Upside Down.

Alistair looked at Will, saw the look in his face—the fear that the Mind Flayer could have made him do this when he was possessed. He reached to lock one of his fingers around Will's when Nancy noticed something.

She walked out of the kitchen and into the dining room, where they saw the dining table, the remnants of a dinner laying on the table rotting away, wine staining a part of the white cloth. Nancy moved into the living room, staring at the carpet. And as they congregated behind her, Alistair could see why.

There was blood on the carpet. And it still looked fresh.

"Blood," Nancy murmured, fingers touching it before she looked up at them, realisation on her face. "Yesterday, Tom had a bandage on his forehead."

That was when she noticed the wine bottle.

Grabbing it, she stood up and showed it to the rest of them, revealing the bloodstain on it as she realised, "He was attacked."

She put the bottle down and walked forward, following her journalist's instinct as they followed behind her, seeing the things she saw first—the ruffled carpet, like someone had been dragged across it, the smeared blood leading to the garage. Opening it revealed rope that Jonathan picked up as he said, "They must have tied them. They must have taken them somewhere."

Shivers like spiders skittered down Alistair's spine, multiplying as more of the ghosts' cryptic warnings and even what Rick said about "showing him" clicked into place.

"Mrs. Driscoll," Nancy said, everyone turning to her as she again had the look of realisation as she went on, "She kept saying, 'I have to go back'. What if the Flaying... it's taking place somewhere else? There must be a place where all this started, right? A source."

"Somewhere he didn't want me to see," El said.

"And someplace the ghosts wanted to show me," Alistair pitched in. Unconsciously, his hand lifted for his throat, but he lowered it. Only Will caught it, and he looked at him in concern, to which Alistair sent him a "I'm fine" look.

"If we can find the source," Nancy said, continuing on, "then maybe we can stop him. Or at least stop it from spreading or doing whatever the hell he's doing with those chemicals."

"How do we find it?" El asked, saying what they were all thinking.

"I don't think the phone book will help us with this," Cami noted dryly.

"I could look for the source using my soul-power," Alistair offered. "It will take me a while, but if I can also bully the ghosts into helping me, I could find it."

"No, that's too risky. What if the Mind Flayer or the Flayed gets you?" Mike shot down before anyone else could, looking at him in concern.

"You have any other ideas?" Alistair retorted, even though he appreciated the concern. Especially when Hugin gave him a look and said, Even ghosts are scared, Alistair.

"Mrs. Driscoll."

As one, they all looked at Will as he suggested, "If she wants to go back so badly, why don't we let her?"

Everything was quiet before Cami said, "That's a brilliant idea."

She looked at Alistair and added, "Yours was great, too. It's just..."

"I know," Alistair said, He understood. 

So, that was the new plan. They once more headed back outside and piled into Nancy's car, driving away in the fading afternoon light.

Except this time, they're heading for the hospital—and to Mrs. Driscoll.

***

Okay, it's only slightly longer than the last. But I promise the next one will be longer

The whole Holloway house scene was kinda creepy, ngl. Nothing happened, but I guess it was just the mood? idk. But I LOVED my girl Nancy figuring out how the Flayed are getting Flayed

And yep, we're at the hospital! Some things will be happening... >:)

Please read, comment and vote!

GhostWriterGirl out!