Chapter Two

But it seemed like there was no escape from the doom that awaited all of them.

Ophelia detangled herself from her father, and stared into his sunken eyes. He stared back at her, and she saw the grief and pain that they both shared.

“What do we do now?” David asked his daughter helplessly, his voice shaky, like he was on the verge of crying.

“Now, we move. We do what we did when they took mom. We keep Will and Sam safe.” She said, taking his hands in her own and rubbing some warmth into them.

She had always been the strong one in the family; the one who kept them going when the times got tough, and made sure they did the right thing, and did it fast. Her father was at his wit’s end and she knew she wouldn’t be able to keep going if anything happened to him.

He nodded meekly, and slowly got on his feet.

Ophelia wanted to ask if both her younger brothers knew that Grace was gone, but she didn’t have the energy and couldn’t bring herself to ask her father if he told them.

After David Clemonte left Ophelia’s room, she locked herself in the bathroom and cried until she felt dizzy and numb. Almost an hour later when she became sure she wouldn’t breakdown in front of her brothers, the bathroom door came unlocked and Ophelia wobbled out.

William Clemonte sat at the edge of his sister’s bed, hugging a pillow to his chest. Behind his turtle-shell glasses, his eyes were red and mournful, with fresh tears brimming around the edges. Both his feet stuck together like glue and he sat still as a mannequin, looking down on the lush red carpet.

“Are you okay?” Ophelia asked, quickly making her way to him and hugging his little gloomy and wretched form.

“No…” he murmured, and feeling the warmth from his sister’s embrace, began to weep.

Ophelia caressed his fuzzy brown hair, rocking them both back and forth to soothe him. For a sickening moment, she theorized that he might have heard her crying in the bathroom if he was sitting there long enough.

Will continued weeping, holding on to his sister, and praying to God she wouldn’t disappear too. When he was certain that she wasn’t going to vanish into thin air, he reluctantly let go, but clamped his hands in hers.

“It’s going to be okay big guy. We’re going to get through this. I promise.”

Will nodded.

“Now, I want you to be brave. We’ll have to go somewhere safe, so you’ll have to pack your clothes. Can you do that for me?” Ophelia asked, patting his head and forcing a smile on her face.

Will gave another nod.

He got on his feet and shuffled out of the room.

Ophelia released the breath she didn’t even realize she was holding and sniffed back her own tears.

She felt so many emotions at once, but sadness and anger were the more prominent ones. What did Grace do to deserve this? What did any of them do to deserve this? Why couldn’t Will have a stable and normal childhood? Why couldn’t any of them have a normal life?

She cursed her grandfather, and damned him to the pits of hell for signing a deal with a force so sinister –a force so evil.

“What‘s the use of the wealth and riches now, when your whole bloodline is being hunted and annihilated…” she hissed. With a desolate sigh, she got off the bed and made her way out of the room, to look for Sam who was probably still in his own room.

Ophelia’s feet clambered down the corridor and descended the spiraling staircase. The Clemonte mansion was huge, with six empty bedrooms, a theater room, a music room, a ginormous dining area, two sitting rooms and a basement and attic. There was an indoor swimming pool, and two garages which were both full of different automobiles. It was a modern two story building, and Sam’s room was located in the left wing of the first floor.

Ophelia stood at the door for a moment, listening for any sound. When the silence greeted her, she knocked twice and pushed open the door.

The room was completely dark, save for a humidifier that changed colors in a rainbow pattern. Samuel Clemonte lay bundled up in the bed, covered with a thick blanket but still slightly shivering.

Ophelia climbed on to the bed and slid next to him in the blanket. She hugged his shivering form and smoothing down his hair, started humming the tune to the lullaby Amazing Grace. They stayed like that for a notably long time, until Sam turned over and faced his sister.

The look of fear and sadness in his eyes broke Ophelia’s heart, but she forced the edges of her lips upwards and gave him a small smile.

“When –when Dad told me… I –I wanted to kill myself.” He stammered out, keeping eye contact to see if his sister would look horrified.

She forced the smile to stay on her face and carefully placed her palm on his cheek. “I’m proud of you for not doing it.” Ophelia assured. Her own voice sounded hollow and strangled to her, and she hoped Sam didn’t hear the slight tremble in it.

“I –I figured… It –it didn’t matter because… they –they’re gonna take me too. And you, and Dad, and oh God! They’ll –they’ll take Willy too…” he whimpered, holding on to Ophelia’s arms.

“Sam, Sam! I’m right here. Breathe… they’re not taking you or Willy or dad away, okay? I won’t let them, I promise. Now please, breathe…”

Sam wheezed and continued shivering. However, the gradual crooning and pacifying talk of his sister soon cajoled him into calmness, and he fell asleep exhausted.

Ophelia quietly got off the bed, and watched the form of her seventeen year old brother slowly breathing in and out. The light from the humidifier cast shadowy colors on his face, making his jaw seem sharper than they already were, and his nose thinner. His cheeks were already as hollow as they used to be and his exceptionally tall form was crumpled into a ball.

She heaved a long shaky sigh, and started packing the clothes he had in his wardrobe into a suitcase. After filling the suitcase to the brim, she grabbed the nearest large backpack and started sorting through the medications in his drawers, taking note of ones that needed to be purchased, and empty pill bottles. Ophelia packed her brother’s favorite books, his journals, his electronics, and things she thought he might not want to leave behind.

When she finally finished packing, he was still asleep and it was already two in the afternoon. She felt hungry and drained, but knew she had to help Will with his own packing, and also needed to do hers.

Ophelia grabbed a notebook from her room, and made a list of all the things she needed to do, placing the dreaded packing of Grace’s items last.