"Alright fellas, move, move, move!"
The sound of boots hitting the wooden floor were like thunderous roars; booming,then quieting as they reached carpet, then booming again.
"Hey, there's something in here."
A door was flown open, the door to the cellar as I recall, and I knew what would happen before they did.
"Oh..." Someone groaned as they race back up the steps and out the door.
"God help us." Another cop's voice echoed against the pipes.
I squeezed my eyes shut and clutched the Cross around my neck.
"Wait, there's an open door over here!"
Ah, someone had found me, but did I want to be found? An image of my dad smiling face, my older sister Meg's laugh, and my cousin Jeff's snort filled my head and I realized I needed to be found, to tell the story of what happened that week. I needed to tell our story, because they could not.

Festival Hospital
10:00am

"This is detective Jones at Festival Hospital, I am proceeding to go in and talk to the victim."
Placing the recorder in the bag next to me I let out a sigh and leaned my head against the seat. The Chief was right, there was nobody better than me to handle this case, but that didn't mean I wanted that to be true.
Reports stated that three had been found dead in the house, and one outside. From what I heard,they were all ghastly deaths, but the one outside was the most brutal. The M.E. said that on the record the figure was unidentifiable, and I grimaced at the thought of those crime scene photos.
Local bear reports had surfaced a few weeks before, but that didn't seem to tie everything up. There was no forced entry, but there were very obvious signs of a struggle.
Clicking my seat belt off I opened the door, grabbed my bag and coat, and headed inside underneath the grey sky.
I was quickly led to a door that was guarded by two officers. The nurse whispered that the patient was having extreme nightmares.
"I bet." I said.
When I stepped inside I was hit with a true surprise. There were no flowers, stuffed animals, cards or balloons. The only thing that decorated the room was a small purple flower with a tiny card that said "Get well", sent by the hospital.
The girl in the bed was young, maybe in her late teens early twenties. Her dark hair was pulled onto of her head, her eyes almost black as they watched me.
I walked to the bed and smiled, "Hello miss Chelsea, may I call you Chelsea?" She nodded and gave a small smile, I continued, "My name is David Jones and I'm here to talk to you about what happened in your family's cabin."
"I know." She nodded and gestured to the seat beside me.
I sat and she smiled again, "Detective Jones, what the police saw is only half the story, the rest is long, and may be hard to listen to. At least it was hard for me to experience."
"I can only imagine." I nodded.
She smiled, "You see, it all started the week before I graduated high school. That was the week my dad made a big announcement, something that changed everything."
"What was that big announcement Chelsea?" I asked, feeling my voice break as I spoke.
She looked ahead, a glint in her eyes as she stared, "That he was going to get married, to a woman named Victoria. She had red hair and yellow nails. My sister had come back from college and my cousin Jeff was visiting for a possible job offer. Meg didn't like Victoria the moment she saw her, and I suppose we all thought it was because she still missed mom a lot."
She stopped and I sat at the edge of my seat, I just had to know the rest, "What happened then?"
She turned to me with tears in her eyes, "Would you like to know something detective Jones?"
I nodded vigorously, my curiosity bursting. She turned back to the wall and I followed her gaze. It was a small family portrait, one I was surprised she could see from this distance.
Chelsea stood in the middle, smiling away. A tall older girl with longer hair was beside her, and a young man stood on the other side with his tongue sticking out. A man stood behind Chelsea, he looked exactly like her, and he had his chin on her head and a sparkle in his eyes.
She was looking at her father. Clearing her throat she turned back to me, "They found four bodies right?"
I nodded, "Yes."
She smiled just a little bit, "There's another."
I gasped, "Did you tell the other
policemen?"
Urgency took over as she shook her head and grabbed my arm, "No, not until I tell the story."
"The story?"
"Yes, it won't make sense unless I do."
I settled in my chair, I may as well, "Alright Chelsea, tell the story."
She smiled and leaned her head against her pillow, "It started when my dad made the announcement. Meg and I were shocked as we sat on the couch. But when dad cleared his throat and looked behind us, I felt a chill run down my spine.
Victoria walked in, the toes of her yellow heels coming around the corner first. It's funny, but when I think back on that moment I know I should have seen it. Yellow wasn't her color, it was too happy, and those green eyes of her flashed like a cat's, a cat who just caught a mouse. But you know cats, one mouse isn't enough, sooner or later their bellies are grumbling again,and I didn't know it then, but Victoria's belly was not full, not even close." She shook her head and chuckled, "You see, it was only a matter of time until she was hungry for more than my father's hand or money. But we had no idea what filled this cat's stomach,no idea at all."