Shanna stopped at the basement door, staring in horror. Water was still knee deep. SHe gripped the handles of the dolly so hard that water dripped from her fingers.<br/><br/>"Greg, I can't..." she cried out, throwing up one arm to shield her face, almost as if her polluted mind was reliving the accident.<br/><br/>Greg was having trouble with Jacob who was writhing in the chair, making it difficult to control its forward motion.<br/><br/>"Oh for fuck's sake, do I have to do everything?" he snapped. "You are a worthless cunt and I would not suffer having you around were it not for the heart of this mortal that I possess. Wait there but stop your racket."<br/><br/>Shanna had started keening as if she were mourning her own death. Short bubbling hiccups rattled her as she tried to squelch the wailing.<br/><br/>When the ropes had tightened on Tori's wrists and ankles, she was transported to a bad place. Not just physically but to a place in her mind that was locked shut. Now for the first time since she was small, Tori was living the torment that she had endured again. Her mind refused to register Greg's casual and sardonic words of impregnation. She didn't plan to suffer at his poking and prodding again but she felt as if walls were closing in on her. Breathing became a chore. If only her lungs would allow her to suck in sweet air. The duct tape over her mouth was suffocating her, at least that is what that dark place in her mind was screaming.<br/><br/>Pulling against the restraints, Tori's finger was pinched by her ring. Suddenly she relaxed. She closed her eyes and began to center herself, stilling the voices, concentrating on the skulls. Although it was a bit weaker than she wished, her golden aura began to grow. By holding perfectly still, she could maintain the calm but if she moved even a fraction of an inch, the ropes reminded her of the past and her hidden trauma.<br/><br/>Greg came for her, shoving Shanna out of the way. The poor water logged woman fell to the floor and her pinkie finger sloughed off. She began to weep again, cradling her hand.<br/><br/>"Shut up. I told you that you would be falling apart soon." he said, nonchalantly, "I guess it was sooner than we expected."<br/><br/>He backed the dolly down the stairs, jarring Tori's teeth with every riser. Finally, he rested her on the ledge, just outside the water filled basement. He shoved Jacob's chair backwards down the stairs. Luckily, the hallway was narrow so the chair slid, head first but smoothly down. Jacob landed, looking up at Tori.<br/><br/>Tori fervently wished she could talk, use her voice. She had an idea, not much of one but one all the same. Two in agreement were more powerful than one alone. She and Jacob had tried to resist using the charms that they possessed, but singly. Maybe if they could combine his charm and her aura produced from the skulls, they could be potent enemies. But how the hell was she supposed to tell him that?<br/><br/>Shanna came down the stair, creeping along with Greg prodding her in the back.<br/>"Bitch, if I tell you to go into the water,  you will go into that water. I need you for what needs to be done and you are fucking going to do it." he said.<br/><br/><br/>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br/>Out in the woods, beyond the cemetery, Albert Fish woke up. He put his hand to his aching head only to pull it back filled with sticky blood. His eyes refused to focus and he didn't know where he was. He remembered.....nothing. something. Wild dreams. He shook his head and immediately regretted it. To his dismay, a thin, pale man in tattered clothing sat on a stump not far from him.<br/><br/>The man's hair was dark and shoulder length, but grown out in such a way as to indicate he hadn't had a proper hair cut for a while. His nails were filthy, long and ragged. When he turned to look at Fish, he held one grubby finger to his lips as if to silence the scream that might be emitted on seeing his face. The man had deep, black circles under his eyes and no eye balls in the sockets. He pointed toward the house and spoke,<br/><br/>"Evil reigns."