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The Haunting of Harbor Hill Marie Wilkens Full Chapter
The Haunting of Harbor Hill Marie Wilkens Full Chapter
Wilkens
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THE HAUNTING OF HARBOR
HILL
MARIE WILKENS
CONTENTS
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Epilogue
A very sat on the cold floor, the pebble in her hand so small it
was nearly invisible. It had become her saving grace in the
hours she’d spent locked in the damp basement. She
whimpered, her eyes no longer holding the moisture it took for tears
to fall. Why had she done such a terrible thing? Why couldn’t she be
a good girl like the others? She went back to scratching the image
into the cobblestone.
She had tried so hard at first to keep the devil out of her heart.
Yet, in the end, she knew she was weak. The fear told her as much.
Her family had deserved someone stronger, someone better than
she. Hopefully, her lust for blood, as the pastor had called it,
wouldn't destroy them all. How could she be so foolish as to listen to
the voices? It had been the devil himself.
“Why couldn't I just be a good girl?” she asked herself. “I know I
was bad, so very bad.”
The voice that replied was sweet, musical. Whenever Avery
heard it, it made her jump. Her heart pounded. It was the devil! It
was always the devil trying to work his way in. Avery started to hum
to herself, desperately trying to drown out the voices pleading with
her to do evil once more.
Don’t listen to them. You have to keep fighting. You haven't done
anything wrong!
Avery shook her head. “No, that just gets me in trouble. I just
wanted to be with my friends. I wanted to have fun down by the
river with the others, that was all.”
No, Avery, you have to listen to me. Time is running out. You
have to get away. They are going to hurt you. They’re all after you!
You have to run!
Avery clasped her hands over her ears as she shook her head.
She didn’t want to hear the voices anymore; she didn’t want to see
the others. They were lying to her. That was what her mama said.
Mama had always told her she was special. She knew that someday
everyone would need her, but it hadn’t stopped her from lashing out.
All she had to do was be a good girl, a nice girl. Her mind flashed
back to that day in the forest.
She could hear her brother's voice behind her as they chased
each other. Hide-and-seek was their favorite game. Paul had been
her protector, her best friend. Despite the vast age difference, he’d
never let her out of his sight. She was nine years to his eighteen.
He’d already taken a wife. Yet the evil inside her had destroyed him,
the one person she’d loved more than Papa or even Mama. He was
dead, and it was her fault. Her and the voices.
Avery…
“Go away!” she screamed.
Huddling her bruised knees to her body, she dug the pebble into
the palm of her hand and winced at the pain. When she hurt, the
voices stopped. Above her, the floor groaned under someone’s
weight as footsteps approached the basement door. Avery knew her
father’s movements well. Her mother’s step was delicate, though she
hadn’t come to see Avery since she’d been banished.
Had the afternoon already gone by? Was it time for supper?
Avery swallowed. Her throat was dry. The hunger had set in days
ago. Her only ration had been a meager chunk of bread and putrid
water. The hunger would help to purify her, though. Her loving father
had explained it all that morning. Above her, the basement door
creaked open.
“It is the way,” Avery whispered.
Her eyes darted to the steps as the hulking man came into view.
Despite his muscular size, Avery’s father hadn’t spent a day in the
fields like the other men in the area. Mama always said their wealth
and stature in the town protected them. Now it was her turn to keep
them safe from a real monster, herself. She straightened her back,
her blue eyes leveling on her father.
“Are you ready?” her father asked.
Her heart raced. “Ready?”
He nodded. “It’s your time, my blessed child. This is a great
honor that you’ve been given.”
“I don’t understand,” she whimpered.
“Sweet girl, you are going to save us, all of us, from the sins
you’ve committed. The devil inside of you needs to be purged,
cleansed.”
“I don’t want to be bad anymore,” Avery said. “I’m sorry about
Paul. I didn’t mean for him to get hurt….”
“Come, child, they are all waiting.” He extended his hand.
She was ready to cleanse herself of the evil and repent for her
brother’s death. If only she’d listened to her family and not the
voices. They’d told her to run, and she had. She’d turned her back
on her family and ran from Paul. Avery winced as her mind replayed
the sickening sound of his neck breaking. He’d nearly reached her
when a log had snagged him.
Avery had never seen the town so quiet, so still.
“Where are we going?”
“To the church, of course. Where else do we cleanse our souls?”
Her body trembled as they approached the small brick chapel. A
gathering of people stood in a circle around the old well. They were
all dressed the same, but she couldn’t make out their faces in the
darkness. Her father squeezed her hand, slowing her to a halt in
front of the well. Paralyzed with fear, Avery stood in a daze as he
wrapped a heavy rope around her wrists. He lifted her from the
ground, setting her on the edge of the well. She grabbed the pully to
keep from falling.
“But Papa, I can’t swim,” Avery cried.
She turned back to her father, but he’d disappeared into the
circle of now masked figures. Her body trembled; her wrists hurt as
she struggled to keep her footing on the narrow stones. They were
covered with moss, but it was the smell that had nearly sent her
tumbling forward. It reminded her of the dead horse Paul had found
the summer before. Its bloated body could be smelled for miles.
“Please,” Avery pleaded with the voices. “Help me.”
There was no reply. Panic gripped her. Someone shoved her from
behind. She stumbled off the ledge into the darkness. Her screams
echoed for only a second before the water claimed her. If only she’d
kept running.
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