We pull out of Andy's driveway with Donovan in the backseat. The journal is resting on my lap. Andy and Sharon follow close behind in their own car. Our car is quiet for several minutes until Uncle Donovan finally breaks the silence.
"Don't be scared and remember your steps from the journal. If anything happens, reach for Zeke first," he reminds me. I nod as my fingers brush against Zeke's on the car seat. Before I can interlace our fingers, my phone starts to buzz. Zeke glances at it, noticing a familiar number.
"Is it Agent Williams?" he asks. I nod and quickly answer, curious about why he is calling.
"Agent Williams?" I question, answering the call.
"Hello, Roxanne. What are you doing today? Are you all on your way back to the house?" His voice comes through tense and clipped.
"Yeah, we are about ten minutes out. Why? Is everything okay?" I ask, exchanging a look with Zeke.
"Good. I just got here. Another agent dropped me off. I'll wait outside until you get here. I need to pick up my car and briefcase, but after the other day... I'd rather not be alone," he says.
"Okay, we'll get there as fast as we can. Did something else happen?" I ask, frowning. A flood of possibilities runs through my mind. Did Elias attempt to attack him in the driveway, or was there something even worse in store for us?
"No. I'll explain when you get here," he says, then the line goes dead. I look at the phone, surprised he has just hung up on me.
"That's not ominous at all," Zeke mutters under his breath.
"If he's rattled, something happened," Uncle Donovan says, leaning forward between the seats.
"Let's just get there," I say.
Agent Williams arrived twenty minutes before we did. He steps out of the sedan, thanks his fellow agent for the ride, and then, after the car pulls away, adjusts his jacket, scanning the quiet street. The house appears still—almost eerily so. He walks to our porch, eyes narrowing. Suddenly, a door slams open loudly, causing Agent Williams to jerk back in surprise. A man bursts out of our house, stumbling across the porch and down the steps. It's Ted, the creepy neighbor. His face is contorted in terror, eyes wide with fear, and his shirt is half untucked, as if he had been grabbed or dragged.
"What are you doing in their house?" Agent Williams asks, raising a hand. Ted doesn't even acknowledge him. He just sprints across the driveway, tripping over himself.
"I'M SORRY! I THOUGHT THEY WERE ALL DEAD!" Ted screams at the top of his lungs. Williams freezes, realizing what Ted is saying, and tries to stop him.
"Stop right there! FBI!" Agent Williams shouts, but Ted keeps going. Terror is visible on his face. He doesn't stop; he runs across our driveway, over the road, and up his driveway, vanishing into his house as if fleeing a nightmare. "What the hell…?" Agent Williams wonders aloud, stunned by what he just saw. He pauses, heart racing. As he turns back toward the house, he notices the front door is still open, but something inside feels very wrong.
We pull into the driveway just as Agent Williams steps away from the porch, visibly shaken. Before the car stops, I jump out and run toward him.
"Agent Williams! What happened?" I yell.
"I-I-I don't even know how to explain this," he says, still trying to process what he has seen. Zeke and the others hurry over, surrounding us.
"Try," Zeke says as he steps protectively by my side.
"Your neighbor, Ted. He came running out of your house like something was chasing him," he says, pointing toward our house.
"My house?" I ask.
"Yes, he was inside, and he came out screaming," Agent Williams answers.
"Screaming what?" Uncle Donovan asks, his voice tight.
"I'm sorry. I thought they were all dead," Agent Williams explains. Everyone is shocked. Sharon's hand flies to her mouth, Andy's face hardens, Uncle Donovan's face tightens, and Zeke's hand moves to my lower back for support.
"He is talking about my family," I state. "In my vision, when I am passed out, he sees the youngest siblings get hit by a car and then turns around, heading back toward the house. He leaves Samuel and Betty for dead, never realizing they are still alive."
"I remember the document explaining it," Agent Williams says, shaking his head, "but whatever he sees just now scares him senseless. He is terrified."
"Then we need to confront what's in the house—Elias," Uncle Donovan says, his voice grim as he steps toward the house. "All right," he says, drawing in a breath. "Everybody breathe. Nobody die. Simple plan. Love those."
"Let's go deal with this once and for all," I say. Everyone nods, and we walk together toward the house.
The moment our feet step over the threshold of the house, the air changes. It becomes cold, heavy, and electric, making my breath hitch. Zeke immediately moves closer to me, and his hand brushes mine, grounding me without needing to be asked.
"He's here," Uncle Donovan says. We know who he means because we can all feel his presence. It is so thick within the house that it's almost suffocating. Sharon starts rubbing her arms, and Andy steps protectively in front of her. The house is deceiving because it's silent but not empty.
"He knows we're here," I whisper.
"Of course I do," Elias mocks. The shadows in the living room start to thicken, swirling like smoke. Elias steps out of them, tall and gaunt, his eyes burning with a cold, unnatural light. Zeke instinctively pulls me behind him. "You brought the whole family. How touching. Even my own nephew. Hey, kid, how are you? Miss me?" Elias asks, looking at Andy and laughing evilly.
"Great," Uncle Donovan mutters. "The family reunion nobody asked for."
Andy looks at the ghost of his uncle with hatred. This man helped rip his only child and girlfriend from his life. How could he ever miss him?
"No, I'm not happy to see you," Andy yells angrily. "How could you do that to me, my child, and Amber?"
"It was for your own good," Elias says dismissively, bored with his nephew's rant. Then he turns his attention back in my direction. "We meet again, great-niece. Wish I could say this is a happy event, but we both know it's not," Elias tells me, hoping I panic and break down. Before I can retort, Uncle Donovan steps forward.
"You stay away from her," he tells him with fury in his voice.
"I already tried that, but now I don't want to," Elias says, tilting his head.
"What do you mean?" I ask, my stomach twisting. The question makes Elias's smile widen.
"Your neighbor Ted told me everything," he answers smugly. I freeze. Does he know my other aunt and uncle are still alive?
"Ted, the douchebag across the street?" I ask.
Elias nods. "He thought all the children were dead because he is incompetent."
"What children?" I ask even though I know the answer. I need to hear him say it.
His eyes gleam when he looks at me. "Why, Amber, Donovan, Samuel, and little Miss Betty, of course," he says arrogantly. Sharon gasps, Andy's face drains of color, and Uncle Donovan staggers back like he's been punched. Elias smiles like he's enjoying their reactions. "Ted said your mother was the last one—the last child of the bloodline—except our dear Roxanne, of course. He thought the others died that night."
"But they didn't," I snap, my heart pounding.
"No, they didn't," Elias says, his smile fading into something darker. "I didn't know that until I ran into your mother at the hospital," he smirks. "Yes, sweet Roxanne, I saw your mother. She was still beautiful. Sickly but beautiful."
My breath catches. That's why she is so adamant that I not find my family. With her last breath, she begs me to promise never to find them. It is because she sees her boogeyman from her worst nightmare and is afraid he will come after me. I have to know if my assumption is correct.
"The night before she died—that's when you saw her?" I ask anxiously.
Elias nods slowly, saying, "She recognized me immediately. Even though she was in pain. Even as she was slipping away. She knew what I was, and she knew I would come for you both because I failed before."
"Failed at what? Killing an innocent family?" Zeke's voice is low and dangerous.
"Ending a useless bloodline," Elias says matter-of-factly as his eyes lock on mine. Chills sweep through my entire body. Andy lunges forward, but Uncle Donovan stops him. "I start digging into her. Into the others. Once I find out her name has been changed, it becomes an obsession for me," Elias explains. "I need to know if you were born. But before I could get any concrete proof and finish the job, a car hit me. Instant death. Very inconvenient."
Uncle Donovan lets out a humorless laugh. "Does evil come with a speech requirement, or is this just a personal hobby?"
"So you came back to kill me?" I say breathlessly.
"Yes, death doesn't stop our purpose," Elias explains, smiling. I step forward, pissed and scared at the same time. Zeke grabs my arm.
"Rock.." He starts to say, but I interrupt him.
"I'm not running anymore," I say, shaking my head.
I take a deep breath—slow and steady. Then I start to go through the steps. Grounding—I take Zeke's hand in mine. Breath—I inhale again to open the connection, slow and deep. Then I push it out with intention, strength, and no fear. The air around me shimmers.
"W-w-w-what are you doing?" Elias asks, his smile faltering as he starts to panic.
"I don't know what she's doing," Uncle Donovan says, his voice tight, "but I support it enthusiastically."
I breathe in again and exhale—a controlled, focused release of energy. A pulse of silver light ripples outward. Elias staggers back.
"Stop that!" he screams, sounding like a toddler throwing a tantrum.
I step closer, my voice steady. "You don't get to be here anymore, invading my space." I take another breath in and out. Then I say, "You don't get to be here anymore." I repeat the process: another breath, another pulse. The shadows recoil.
"You don't have the power to banish me," Elias snarls.
"Watch me, asshole," I say, lifting my chin. Inhaling deeply, I feel the air vibrating around me. Zeke squeezes my hand again, grounding me. I exhale with intention—strength, clarity, command. A wave of silver light explodes outward, slamming into Elias.
"NO!" he screams so loudly that the wall shakes. The shadow peels away from him like burning paper.
I step forward, "You are banished from this house," I say, my voice ringing with power. "From this property." The light intensifies. "From my family and me."
Elias's form shatters like a broken mirror, breaking apart into shards of shadow that dissolve into nothing. The house becomes silent. Then a soft, warm breeze sweeps through the house, clearing the cold and making the air feel lighter. I sway, drained.
"I've got you," Zeke says, catching me instantly.
"Roxanne… you did it," Uncle Donovan says, staring at me in awe. He exhales shakily, then adds, "You scared the hell out of a ghost. That is going on the family Christmas letter."
"You saved us, sweetheart," Andy says, stepping forward, his voice thick with emotion.
"You saved yourself, honey," Sharon says, wiping tears from her eyes.
"He's gone, finally," I say, leaning more into Zeke, exhausted but steady.
"Because you made him go," Zeke says as he kisses my forehead. The house feels like ours again.
Agent Williams is still standing frozen in the doorway, one hand braced against the doorframe. His eyes are wide as he stares at the spot where Elias has just been obliterated.
"How? What… what did you just do?" he asks, his voice hoarse.
I turn toward him, slowly stepping away from Zeke, but my knees buckle. Zeke lunges forward and catches me again before I hit the floor.
"Rocky, be careful. You just overexerted your body. You need time to rest," Zeke says. I grab his shirt as my body starts to shake violently, sobs wracking my body—not due to overexertion, but from the grief over the terror my mom must have felt. I hate that one of her last moments is reliving the worst night of her life.
"She was so scared," I sob.
"Roxanne," Zeke says, holding me tighter. I press my forehead onto his chest, crying harder.
"My mom knew he was coming for us. She knew she was dying and couldn't protect me. She was terrified I would be alone when he found me," I say, my voice cracking. "And I felt all of it when he was talking."
"Sweetheart, I'm so sorry," Sharon says, kneeling beside me and rubbing my back gently. Andy's face twists with pain, guilt, helplessness, and rage. Donovan stands silently, watching the scene unfold, his jaw clenched and his eyes shining with unshed tears.
"You are brave, Roxanne. You proved to your mom and us how strong you are. She would... no, I'm proud of you," Andy says.