7 – Fractured Bonds

Fractured Bonds

The fog pressed thick against Raven Hollow as the group trekked through the woods, the eclipse casting an eerie half-light over the trees. Liam led, bat slung over his shoulder, his mom's possession replaying in his mind—those glowing eyes, that knife. Behind him, Maya clutched her sketchbook, the journal tucked inside, her aunt's face a ghost in her thoughts. Sofia gripped her wrench, Luna's whimpers still echoing, her rosary beads lost to the chaos. Ethan carried his crowbar, drone wreckage in his backpack, the radio snippet—containment failing—gnawing at him. Noah brought up the rear, journal in hand, glasses fogged, his quiet courage stretched thin.

The air buzzed, electric and wrong, the lullaby threading through the rustling leaves. They'd left Liam's house an hour ago, armed and silent, the plan simple: hit Blackwood Manor before the eclipse peaked, find the cellar circle, break it—or die trying. The words scratched into Noah's garage—COME BACK—hung over them like a guillotine.

"Half a mile," Liam said, voice low, checking his phone's map. "Stay sharp."

Sofia nodded, her usual spark dimmed. "Luna's still hurt. I should've—"

"She's alive," Ethan cut in, gruff. "Focus on us now."

Maya glanced back, fog swallowing the path. "It's watching. I feel it."

Noah adjusted his glasses, journal open. "Elias says the Watcher's strongest at the eclipse. If it's tethered to the circle—"

"Then we untether it," Liam finished, gripping the bat tighter. "No more games."

A twig snapped—sharp, close. They froze, weapons up, as shadows shifted in the mist. A figure stepped out—tall, hooded, human. Not the Watcher. A flashlight beam hit them, blinding.

"Who's there?" Liam barked, squinting.

The figure lowered the light—a man, thirties, scarred face, wearing a dark jacket with a faint badge: E.P. He held a pistol, steady but not aimed. "You kids shouldn't be here," he said, voice rough. "Turn back."

"Like hell," Ethan snapped, crowbar raised. "Who are you?"

"Name's Carter. Eclipse Protocol." He tapped the badge. "Been tracking this thing longer than you've been alive."

Liam's stomach dropped. "My dad—1998. You know him?"

Carter's eyes flickered. "Maybe. Lot of good people got caught in this. You're Liam, right? Look like him."

The group tensed, weapons steady. Maya stepped forward, fierce. "What's Eclipse Protocol? Why's it after us?"

"Not after you," Carter said, holstering the gun. "After it. Containment's failing—has been since '98. You woke it up."

"So you're government?" Noah asked, journal trembling in his grip.

"Was. Freelance now. Protocol's a shell—cleaning up messes like this." Carter nodded at Blackwood's silhouette, barely visible. "That manor's a cage. You stirred the prisoner."

Sofia's voice shook. "It's in our heads. My abuela, his dad—"

"It feeds on guilt," Carter cut in. "Twists what you love. Eclipse tonight? It's breaking free unless you stop it."

"Then help us," Liam said, stepping closer. "Cellar circle—five stones. We're ending this."

Carter hesitated, then nodded. "Alright. But it's not just stones. Needs blood to undo blood."

A growl rumbled through the fog, cutting him off. The ground quaked, and claw marks slashed a tree beside them, bark splintering. Carter drew his pistol, spinning. "Move! It's here!"

They ran, fog swirling, as shapes peeled from the shadows—spider-like, human faces twisted in agony, legs skittering. Liam swung his bat, cracking a skull, black ichor spraying. Sofia's wrench smashed another, her scream raw. Ethan's crowbar thudded, Maya's knife slashed, Noah ducked, clutching the journal. Carter fired, bullets ripping through, but more came, a tide of nightmares.

"Manor!" Liam yelled, leading the charge. Branches clawed their skin, the lullaby roaring now, deafening. The creatures herded them, eyes glinting, until Blackwood loomed—doors wide, a maw waiting.

They stumbled inside, Carter slamming the doors shut. The foyer echoed with skittering outside, claws testing the wood. Dust swirled, the chandelier swaying, and the sigil pulsed on the floor, red and alive.

"Cellar's that way," Maya panted, pointing her sketch at a side hall. "Stairs down."

Carter reloaded, grim. "It's a trap. Wants us here."

"Then we spring it," Liam said, voice steel. "No choice."

The doors buckled, a claw piercing through. They bolted down the hall, footsteps pounding, and found the cellar stairs—crumbling, slick with damp. The air grew heavy, dripping with condensation, as they descended into dark. Carter's flashlight cut the gloom, revealing a cavernous chamber—five rune-covered stones in a spiral, glowing faintly, the air humming with power.

"It's the circle," Noah breathed, opening the journal. "Elias's ritual."

A laugh echoed—deep, cosmic, shaking the walls. Shadows pooled at the spiral's center, forming the Watcher—tall, eyeless, limbs shifting like liquid. "Welcome back," it rasped, voices layered, their own among them.

Sofia gripped her wrench, trembling. "You took my abuela!"

"And your father," it taunted Liam, head tilting. "He begged so sweetly."

Liam roared, charging, bat swinging. The Watcher caught it, twisting, and flung him into a wall. He hit hard, gasping, as Carter fired—bullets sinking into it, useless. Maya slashed with her knife, carving a rune into a stone. It flared, and the Watcher hissed, recoiling.

"Blood!" Carter shouted, tossing her his blade. "Cut yourself—now!"

She hesitated, then sliced her palm, smearing it on the stone. The glow pulsed, the Watcher shrieking, but the others surged—more creatures, clawing from the shadows. Ethan bashed one, Sofia crushed another, Noah ducked, reading frantically: "All five! All five need blood!"

Liam staggered up, blood trickling from his lip, and smeared it on a stone. It flared again, the Watcher writhing. Sofia cut her hand, Ethan his arm, Noah a finger—each stone glowed, the spiral cracking. The Watcher lunged, claws raking Carter's chest. He grunted, firing point-blank, and fell, blood pooling.

"Finish it!" he gasped, tossing Liam the pistol.

Liam caught it, firing into the Watcher as the eclipse's shadow darkened the cellar. The stones blazed, the spiral shattered, and the Watcher screamed—a sound that tore reality—before collapsing into shadow, gone. The creatures vanished, silence crashing in.

They stood, panting, blood-slicked. Carter coughed, clutching his chest. "Not over… just stalled. Protocol… they'll come."

Liam knelt, grim. "What about my dad?"

"Died fighting it," Carter rasped. "Proud… you're like him." His eyes dulled, breath stopping.

The group stared, shaken, the lullaby faint now, lingering. Maya clutched her sketchbook, hand bandaged with her sleeve. "We hurt it. But it's not dead."

"Then we're not done," Liam said, voice hard, picking up Carter's badge. "Tonight was just round one."....