As they sprinted through the fog-choked graveyard, Mia's breathing grew ragged, tears streaming down her face. "Why—why is this happening to us?" she cried, her voice breaking with panic. "This can't be real. This can't be happening!"
"Stay with me!" Olivia urged, her voice firm despite her own fear. "We'll survive this. We have to."
Reaching the cabin, dread knotted in Olivia's stomach when she found the door locked. Panic surged as they frantically searched for another way in.
"It's locked!" Mia cried, pounding on the door with shaking fists.
"We don't have time!" Olivia said, her gaze darting around for an alternative. She spotted a window on the side of the office. "Over there!"
With no other options, they hurried to the window and used a nearby rock to shatter the glass. The sound echoed ominously through the still night. Without hesitation, Mia squeezed through the narrow opening.
Just as Olivia was about to follow, a bone-chilling scream pierced the air behind them. Slowly, they turned, hearts pounding.
A translucent woman floated toward them, her form flickering like a fading memory. Her skeletal face bore hollow eyes and jagged teeth, skin stretched tightly over bones. Long, sharp claws glinted in the moonlight, extending toward them like an invitation to despair.
Mia let out a scream of pure terror. "A banshee!" she cried, voice shaking with horror.
"GO!" Olivia shouted, pushing Mia the rest of the way inside. She scrambled through the window just as the banshee let out another chilling wail, pressing her back against the door, panting in the darkness.
For a fleeting moment, they allowed themselves a sliver of relief, thinking they were safe.
"We just survived a horror movie scene," Mia panted, her voice wavering, yet tinged with shaky laughter.
Olivia chuckled weakly, wiping the sweat from her brow. But as her eyes adjusted to the dim light, they widened in horror.
"Oh fuck..." Olivia whispered.
Mia followed her gaze, gasping as the banshee passed through the walls of the office, phasing through the solid structure as if it were air. Its hollow eyes fixated on them, claws reaching out hungrily.
"Oh great, this thing can pass through walls," Olivia muttered, panic surging within her.
Without wasting another moment, they sprinted down the narrow hallway toward the office where Cain had said Evelyn kept the holy water and weapons.
"Please, please let something be here," Olivia whispered as they approached the door.
As the banshee's eerie wail echoed closer, they knew they had mere seconds to find a way to defend themselves before the creature closed in.
"Do you even know where this stuff is?" Mia asked, her voice trembling as they skidded to a halt in front of the door.
Olivia shook her head, her hands trembling as she fumbled with the doorknob. "No idea. I don't know if Evelyn ever mentioned it. Cain just said it would be here."
"Well, even if we find them, how are we supposed to fight... that?" Mia's voice cracked, glancing back down the hall, where the banshee's terrifying wail grew louder. "I've never fought anything before—especially not a ghost!"
The rising panic mirrored in Olivia's chest. The thought of actually having to confront one of these supernatural creatures felt surreal. They hadn't trained for this; their knowledge of the paranormal was limited to movies and series.
They exchanged a brief, terrified glance. There was no way out except forward. They had to fight—whether they knew how or not.
"Come on," Olivia muttered, forcing the door open with a shove. "We'll figure it out. We have to."
As they stumbled into the dimly lit office, the musty smell of old books and incense wrapped around them. Cabinets lined the walls, some filled with ancient tomes, others locked with no visible key. Shelves sagged under the weight of jars and dusty artifacts, but none looked like the weapons or holy water Cain had mentioned.
"Where is it?" Mia whispered, her voice barely above a breath. She began yanking open drawers, knocking aside papers and odd trinkets in a frantic search. "We're running out of time!"
Olivia's heart pounded in her ears as she rifled through the clutter on Evelyn's desk—scrolls, charms, more trinkets—but nothing remotely useful to fend off the looming banshee.
Just as frustration threatened to boil over, a cold gust of wind swept through the room, and the banshee's piercing wail echoed closer, sending chills racing down their spines.
"It's here!" Mia screamed, her hands shaking uncontrollably.
The banshee's distorted figure phased through the wall, clawed hands outstretched as it floated toward them, its twisted face locked in a grotesque snarl. The translucent figure shimmered with a sickly light, the air around them seemed to freeze.
Olivia's eyes darted to what Mia was pointing at. Through the banshee, she saw a faint glimmer of silver vials inside a glass container.
"Holy water," she breathed. "That has to be it!"
Amid the banshee's relentless assault, Olivia instructed Mia to grab the glass container while she distracted the creature.
Mia nodded, her expression resolute, and Olivia immediately grabbed a nearby chair, swinging it at the banshee. But her attack passed through the ethereal body of the banshee without effect. The creature seized the moment, lunging for Olivia with its claws outstretched.
Fortune favored Olivia; her reaction was swift, and she dodged just in time. But even as she avoided the blow, she felt the scrape of the banshee's claws along her arm.
"Damn it!" Olivia cursed, her heart racing as she continued to draw the banshee's attention.
Meanwhile, Mia was already at the cabinet, gripping the glass container. "It's locked! We can't open it!" she cried, desperation in her voice.
"There's no time! Just smash it!" Olivia shouted, grabbing a nearby book and throwing it at the banshee to distract it.
With a surge of determination, Mia smashed the container to the ground, the sound of shattering glass filling the room as shards exploded around them. She reached inside, her hand closing around two vials of the shimmering liquid.