52

Dennis was able to comprehend what it was that she was attempting to convey. It was not only too dark, but it was also too frightening to run about the house while it was dark out. This made it too risky to do so. Her thoughts were racing with an age-old horror that was shaking her to the very core of her being. She needs some kind of illumination in order to see properly.

She was unable to continue fumbling about in the dark while being exposed on all sides; therefore, it was impossible for her to do so. It was out of her league to attempt it.

Despite this, she was able to extricate herself from the chair and take a shaky initial step away from it.

Merit followed her into the darkness step by step as they progressed farther, despite the fact that she spat at her and said, "Come on."

Dennis kept waiting for the hand that was holding her to reach out and grab her once again. The hand was sweaty, and he could feel it. In eager anticipation of its touch, each and every one of her body's components, even the hand that she had extended in order to obtain a better sense of what was going on around her, started to tremble.

Her mistake was exacerbated when she started talking about the dream she had the night before.

She was overtaken almost instantly by the sickeningly sweet stench of garbage, and she couldn't breathe. She saw something scuttling out of the ground and then thought back to Elizabeth's face, which she remembered as being ashy and hairless, with her lips having shrunk back from smiling.

If that monstrous being had been successful in capturing her, then...

She reasoned to herself, "I can't go any more; I can't, I can't," but ultimately she was unsuccessful. I really apologize to Vee for being a bother to her, but I just am unable to proceed. Please, just let me stop here.


She was clinging to Merit for dear life and came dangerously close to shedding a tear as she did so. Then, emanating from the upper level of the building, she became aware of the most horrific noise she had ever experienced.
In fact, there was a whole series of sounds, but since they were all so close to one another, they melted together to form a single enormous wave of noise. First, there was a commotion, and then Sue's voice could be heard saying, "Vee! Vee! No!" Then there was a deafening boom, followed by the sound of glass shattering. It sounded as if a hundred windows were shattering at the same time. And on top of that, a never-ending scream that culminated in a tone of pure, unmitigated fear.

After then, there was not a single sound.

"What was it, and what exactly happened, Merit?"

When she added, "Something dreadful," Merit's voice was tense and she was straining to get out the words. Something that is unimaginably awful Don't stress about it, Dennis; I've got your back. I'm going to look at it more.

Indignantly addressing the other individual, Dennis said, "You're not alone."

They were successful in locating the staircase, and once they did, they began climbing it. When they arrived at the landing, Dennis was able to hear a unique sound that he characterized as being "curiously terrible." This sound was the tinkling of glass shards falling to the ground below.

After then, the lights started to come on one by one.

Dennis shouted without even making an attempt to keep himself under control since the situation developed so rapidly. She turned to face Merit, and as she did so, she was on the verge of letting out another scream.

Merit's jet-black hair was knotted, and her cheekbones looked to be too sharp; her face was pale, and it appeared to be hollow with dread.
Tinkle, tinkle.

As soon as the lights were turned on, the situation became much more dire. Merit was advancing down the corridor toward the last door on the left, which was the direction in which the noise was coming from. Dennis started walking behind her, but in an instant, she had the sudden and overwhelming realization that she did not want to view the room's inside. This was a decision that she made with every fiber of her body.

Merit's tug on the handle was what unlocked the door. She paused for a short period of time on the threshold of the room before beginning her dash into the space beyond.

Dennis proceeded toward the exit of the building.

"Oh, for the love of God, please don't get any closer!"
Dennis didn't even pause. She broke into a run for the front door but managed to halt herself in the nick of time. Upon first glance, it seemed as if a significant portion of the house's side had been taken away entirely. As shown by the splintered wood and shattered glass, the French windows that went out onto the balcony from the master bedroom seemed to have been damaged in an explosion.

In many different spots, there were dangerous shards of glass dangling from the pieces of the wood frame that had been broken.

As they moved downward, a tinkling sound could be heard from them.

The gaping hole in the residence was concealed with ethereal white curtains that billowed in and out of the area like a breeze. In the distance, Dennis could make out Vee, but she was just a silhouette. She was as still as a rock, her arms hanging loosely at her sides as she stood with the palms of her hands facing outward.

The question "Vee, are you okay?" caused discomfort for Dennis. due to the fact that he was overjoyed to learn that she was still alive. "Vee?"

Vee didn't turn and didn't answer. Dennis cautiously approached her, peering intently into her eyes as they made eye contact. The pupils in Vee's eyes were concentrated, and her eyes were focused directly in front of her. Her chest was heaving, and she was taking in only little breaths, almost as if she were whistling as she did so.

She said something like, "I'm next." It stated that my turn is next, "repeating herself again and over," but it did not seem as if she was trying to communicate with Dennis.

It seemed as if she was completely unaware of Dennis' presence.

Fear gripped Dennis, and he staggered away from the scene. Merit was now standing on the balcony after gaining access to it. She turned around as Dennis neared the draperies and tried to stop her route through the room.

She advised me not to glance in that direction and cautioned me not to gaze in that direction.

Where do we go from here? Dennis suddenly realized.She made an effort to go behind Merit, but he grabbed her arm and kept her from going over the precarious edge of the drop. Because the balcony railing had been blasted off in the same way as the French windows, Dennis had an unobstructed view of the lit yard below. This was made possible by the fact that the French windows had also been destroyed. There was a twisted figure on the ground that resembled a broken doll. The figure lay on its side. Its limbs were distorted, its neck was twisted at an odd angle, and its golden hair was spreading out across the dark soil of the garden. It looked like something out of a nightmare. That particular statement was made by Sue Carson.

Throughout all the upheaval that followed, Dennis's thoughts never stopped switching between two opposing ideas, even though they were in direct opposition to one another. The first was when Caroline understood that she would never again be able to spend time with her family. The second was that it was inappropriate for this to happen on Merit's birthday. It just didn't seem fair. It was not in any way fair. It was very evident that this was not fair.