Shadow of the Beast

Books Books Books

William's heart rate monitor started to beep, and a nurse rushed over to check on him

'you're upsetting him' she scowled. 

'No no!' he argued. 'I just sat uncomfortably. I'm fine, really. I just need to talk to my...' he paused. 

'Granddaughter' I interjected. The nurse gave me a dirty look and walked away.

'This isn't really the right place to talk.' he said. 'I'm perfectly fine, I shouldn't have come here in the first place... But I panicked and radioed over to the sheriff's office and they sent an ambulance straight over. It was stupid of me, I knew I'd heal immediately.' 

I was puzzled. What was this 'healing' that I kept hearing mentioned? William must've noted the look on my face too. 

'You already know about it. You have it too. You knew that you were bleeding in the woods that day, but I cleaned it all off you, I didn't want you to be freaked out by the amount of blood there was on you when you wouldn't be able to find an open wound.'

I nodded. This was something I'd suspected all along, but thought I was going crazy, so pushed it out of my mind. 

'This is not the place to discuss it though.' he said in a hushed tone. 'it seemed like you've pieced a lot together after reading Violet's journal, so perhaps if you do some more reading it will get you prepared for my side of the story, once I'm out?' 

I was annoyed. It seemed that every time I looked for answers, there was a brick wall preventing me from getting them. It was never a clear cut answer... No one was going to spoonfeed me, I needed to work for it. He definitely recognized my frustration.

'I'm sorry, dear. I know it's frustrating, but if I speak to you where people can hear, they'll probably sent me away. Violet... She was misguided and confused. It was too much for her to take in. But... She was right about a lot. She thought that she understood it, but she focused on the dark part of it. She learnt about it too young. You are stronger, I can sense it, but you need to be prepared to have an open mind. '

'Okay' I said, feeling like I was already partway down the rabbit hole, and now was as good a time as any to take the leap down to the bottom and discover whatever else was going on. 'where do I look?' 

He'd told me where to find the book in the cabin. He hadn't said much about it, except that it was large, with a worn, brown leather cover, and tied closed with a string. He explained that it was hidden behind a panel in the cabin, and told me to read it before the next full moon. That was in one week... So I had a giant book to read, along with my school work and budding social life, in one week. Sigh. He'd asked the nurse to give me access to his personal effects, so that I could get his key. 

I'd wished him well, and promised to visit again the next day. He had smiled and his eyes lit up, happy that he finally had family to care about him again. 

I told Barbara that William had requested me to get him a few items from home to make his hospital stay a little easier. It was a great excuse to get a ride to the cabin, and it made perfect sense. I went in, grabbed a pair of his pajamas and some underwear and toiletries. Eryn had come in with me, and I didn't really want to have to explain to her why I was rummaging through hidden panels on the wall for a mysterious book. I asked her if she had a bag to put his things into, and while she went out to the car, I quickly pressed against each of the panels in the area that William had specified, and finally, one popper open. There it was, a massive book, tied with string, just as he'd said. 

I shoved the book inside my hoodie and folded my arms around it to make it look less obvious, just as Eryn walked in with a shopping bag from the car to put Williams clothes into. She raised her eyebrows at me, noticing that I was clearly up to something. 

We drove back to the hospital, me still keeping the book hidden uncomfortably under my shirt. Visiting hours were over, so I'd just handed the bag to a nurse out front, and she'd smiled and thanked me for helping William feel more at home. 

We got back to the house, and I ran in, and quickly hid the book in my school bag, to start reading later whe. Everyone was asleep. 

The day went on as normal, and I helped Barbara and Eryn to prepare the food for Eryn's brother's visit later. The doorbell rang. 

'Olivia, honey, won't you get that?' asked Barbara. She was taking a roast out of the oven and Eryn was knee deep in flour, making a dessert for us to enjoy later. 'it's probably him!' 

'Sure!' I said, skipping to the door. As I put my hand on the door handle, I felt a tingle on the back of my neck. I opened the door, and saw a man in front of me, holding a bunch of flowers to hand to his mother. 

Not just any man. He looked up. It was him. 

'Hello Conall' I said.