Chapter 9 - Chapter 13: The Final Stand

The main house was a prison now, its doors sealed, its windows blacked out by the ooze. Gigi and Sheree were alone, the last survivors of Drennin's curse. The hum was a scream, the air thick with the house's hunger. They stood in the living room, backs to the wall, waiting for the end.Gigi clutched her knife, her mind racing. The heart beneath the house was awake, fed by Vin's betrayal, by the girls' destruction, by Shane and James's deaths. But Gigi wasn't ready to die. Not yet."We burn it," she said, her voice steady. "The house, the pit, all of it. Fire purifies."Sheree stared at her, eyes wide. "You'll kill us too.""Maybe," Gigi said. "But we take it with us."They gathered what they could—gasoline from the shed, matches, anything that would burn. The house fought back, its walls groaning, its floors buckling. Shadows coiled around them, whispering promises of mercy if they surrendered. Gigi ignored them, pouring gasoline across the living room, the kitchen, the stairs.Rene appeared at the top of the stairs, her eyes glowing, her hands dripping with blood. "You can't destroy the heart," she said. "It's older than you. Older than this house."Gigi lit a match, her hand steady. "Then it can burn for eternity."She dropped the match, and the flames roared to life. The house screamed, a sound that shook the earth. Rene lunged, but Gigi was ready, driving her knife into the girl's chest. Rene collapsed, her body dissolving into black ooze.The fire spread, consuming the walls, the floors, the heart beneath. Gigi and Sheree ran, the heat searing their skin. They stumbled into the yard, the pit still glowing, but weaker now. The house collapsed behind them, a pyre of flame and shadow.They didn't look back. They ran until the dawn broke, the hum fading into silence. The House of Drennin was gone, but its scars would never fade.