Chapter 38: Last Resort
"I am sorry..." Sister Agnes sobbed in her hands. She was still sitting on the sofa. Her tea was sitting on the table, untouched. Around her, Sally and Kyle were slumped in their seats. Their cups were lying on the ground, their contents spilled on the red carpet.
She raised her head and stared ahead at Jinn, who was now leaning back in his chair, his head hanging on the armrest. Just like the others, he was breathing evenly, but Jinn too was unconscious.
"I am sorry..." She repeated herself, her red eyes burning with purpose and fear. "But I have to do this. There is no other way."
Her voice cracked, rising and falling as if she were caught between laughter and tears. She looked at the unconscious faces around her—Sally with her cheek pressed against the armrest, Kyle’s arm dangling off the chair, Jinn slumped like a rag doll—and a hollow smile crept onto her lips.
"I am not a bad person... I am not. I am not," she whispered to them, though none could hear. While repeating the last words over and over again, she stood from the couch and picked up Kyle in her arms, taking him towards the dark bedroom on the left.
***
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Officer Chen asked again, seeing the pale faces of the two investigators. Glancing at the open trapdoor and then back at their faces, he seemed to have guessed something. "Did you find something?"
"A clue?" Officer Chen rushed towards the gate and peeked inside. Seeing the stairs leading upwards, he turned around. Mr. Acosta led Miss Angelia to a chair, letting her rest on it.
"Yes, the killer used that secret passage to kill the boy and disappear from the attic, making it look like suicide." "Gasping for breath," Angelia uttered coldly. "The janitor happened to witness all of this..."
"So he was silenced." Officer Chen already knows what happened next.
"Yes." With a nod, Angelia leaned back in the chair. She wiped the blood from her face and looked at her partner. "We need to find her before she kills again."
"Wait..." Officer Chen suddenly interrupted, making them snap their heads towards him. Seeing two pairs of chilling gazes looking on him, he shivered and gulped inwardly. "This still does not explain why that third person was killed."
"The teacher?" The feminine voice came from Acosta. He looked at his partner, signaling her that the officer had a point.
Angelia thought for a second before shrugging. "It does not matter. The matron is the main suspect in the killings, and once we apprehend her, she will reveal everything we want to know herself."
"Where is she then? Mr. Acosta and I can catch her while you can recover from your... self-harming practices here." The moment he said those words, Officer Chen regretted it.
Angelia glared at him like she wanted to eat him alive, but the injuries made it impossible for her to even stand.
So she noted the offense in her mind so she could settle the scores later and she asked,
"You said you were looking for us everywhere; did you not see her in the building?"
Not realizing that his future was set in stone, officer Chen shook his head. "All the teachers were in the staff room, but I did not find Sister Agnes anywhere in the building."
"Tch, a nun like her is a disgrace to the church." Clicking her tongue, she turned her head towards the window, staring at the heavy downpour outside. "She might have already run away while we were looking for clues."
Rumble!
Thunder roared in the clouds as the whole room turned silent.
Officer Chen followed her gaze and looked out at the towering gates of the orphanage in the distance. Turning his head, he could see another tall building with various windows.
Every window on the ground floor was draped shut, which seemed to stand out for him.
"We should search through her living quarters if she is not there. We might be able to look for clues where she went."
Hearing his idea, the two investigators exchanged glances. Acosta’s eyes carried a meaningful gleam, which Angelia caught.
Her eyes dropped slightly as she said, "I need some time to recover. I have overused my energy reserves."
Suddenly Mr. Acosta reached out for something in her robes. Before Angelia could react, she felt a stabbing pain in her neck.
"Urggh!" Even though she groaned in pain, Angelia did not attack her partner. Her gaze drifted to the needle, which was stabbed into her neck and filled with white dew.
Officer Chen watched with wide eyes as the man administered the injection, doing so without even saying, "Surprise, motherfucker."
His mind stopped working when he heard the woman say, "Thank you." Instead of ripping her partner’s head off his neck.
"You said not to tell you." Acosta nodded blankly, storing the empty needle away. "Besides, they are resources given to us by the church; no need to thank me."
Within a matter of seconds, Anglia’s face showed signs of recovery. Her breath evened, and her cheeks grew rosy.
"What was that?" Finally unable to hold himself back, officer Chen asked in shock.
"After years of research and attempts, The church came up with the most stable concoction that can help the awakened recover their energy reserves in less time than they originally need." Angelia groaned while cracking her neck.
Slowly standing up from the chair, she added, "They call it The Miracle Potion."
"What a tacky name." Officer Chen chuckled. His eyes gleamed with interest as he watched Angelia go from looking like she was about to die to back to her healthy self.
"Enough talking; let’s catch that killer woman." Anglia silenced the young man with a glare.
***
When Jinn slowly came to himself, he felt like he was drowning. His eyes felt so heavy that he could barely open them. For a second he could only see blurry things.
’Did I get reborn again?’ groaning inwardly, he tried to rub his eyes with his hands, and it worked. Feeling the size of his body, he let out a sigh. ’Guess I am still alive.’
Slowly his vision cleared, and he was able to see once more. What he saw left him stunned.
Jinn blinked twice, his vision still swimming. The room was dark, lit only by the faint glow of candles placed in a rough circle around him. His ears rang faintly, though the sharp sound of something scratching against the wooden floor soon cut through the haze.
His heart sank when his gaze drifted forward.
Sister Agnes was kneeling on the cold hard floor, her robes sprawled around her like spilled ink. With her blood as ink, she dragged her trembling finger across the floor in harsh strokes.
Sister Agnes leaned forward, whispering into the still air, her voice a low, feverish chant:
"I must... I must... there is no other way..."
Soon the lines connected, forming crooked shapes that curved and bent until they revealed something that made Jinn’s blood run cold.
A pentagram.
Sister Agnes’s hands hovered above the circle, trembling, her voice rising into a half-crazed chant.
"There is no other way... there is no other way... forgive me..."