Chapter 211: Interlude: Scarlet - A Father’s Last Shot

Unable to stop her bloody tears from falling down her cheeks to be reabsorbed into her skin as her father’s face came on the screen, Scarlet nodded, fangs ravaging her clamped-down lips.

Rachel pressed the play button.

The video began to play, seemingly recorded on his smartphone as he set it on the front-room coffee table and sat back; he wore his fancy blue business suit and looked so... normal as he ran his fingers through his somewhat messy black hair, a nervous laugh making his chest shake.

"Wooh. Huh. This is, uh... haaa. Yeah, isn’t this kind of crazy? I’m recording this with you upstairs, brooding on your computer after your mom tried to get you to go shopping with her... I bet you’re feeling lonely right now. What a mess..."

Ice crept up Scarlet’s insides as her father’s bottom lip tucked under and he glanced away from the camera; shame and regret were in her dad’s slick eyes as his nose turned red and he fought back tears.

"You should be out making us worry, going on dates, and hanging out with friends... but all of your friends just... vanish out of your life." He ran his hands over his face, shoulders falling as if weighted down by a lifetime of baggage. "I hate this life we’ve forced on you... This is not how I wanted things to go. If you’re seeing this, Scarlet, then... I’m too late. I failed you. I’ll shoulder that blame."

Scarlet’s arms began to quiver, and it was hard to find air as needles dug into her chest. Her dad suddenly looked so old and tired, remorse of a thousand lives etched across his face with nightmares hidden behind his sunken eyes.

"Wow, this is, umm, hmm... If I died—if I left you alone after... after what Revilla has planned for you, then we were wrong... Your mother was wrong. All I ever wanted was for you to be happy—and I’ve played my part in ruining that dream."

He scratched his nose and cleared his throat, attempting to find the strength to continue when it had been long spent. "I started to see things weren’t happening precisely like Revilla said they would these... these last several years—little things... but your mother refused to believe my concerns and brushed them aside... She’s scared."

Rachel paused the video as Scarlet curled in, letting go of their hands to hug her knees. "Scarlet..."

"Why didn’t he stop her then? Why didn’t he warn me?"

Sniffing back her emotion, Scarlet reached over to take the remote and continued the video as Rachel moved to join her in the seat; the hare’s warm, soft arms held her tight as Nia tried to find room to do the same, sniffling back tears. Her blurry vision was on her father, though, as he confessed to her his faults.

"...I was scared, too... The things Revilla showed us were... terrifying. Your mother wet the bed multiple times when she was a teenager. Your grandparents even had her stay at an institution for study at one point to try and figure out what was wrong, but we both had the same nightmares... dozens of people did, which is where we all came together as friends."

He paused, rubbing his eyes and puffing out his cheeks. "It’s... a cruel thing, looking back. Revilla sent us all these visions to draw us closer together for support... to serve her ends. I don’t know what is real or not anymore, but... I know I don’t want to hurt my little girl—and all the trouble you had in school—friends and feeling ugly because boys didn’t approach you... or when they did, suddenly they stopped showing interest... No, I don’t deserve to be called your father."

A short time passed as he leaned forward to rub his face and shake his head. "Your mother’s gone out to get everything needed for the ceremony... It happens tomorrow night, and I already finished everything required. They’ll call it The Oscillation... Powerful gods and goddesses are fighting for space on their little board as I record this— All of it is pointless."

He rubbed his eyes and looked up at her, red face now serious. "I’ve tweaked the ritual a tiny bit for Veronica’s part since it is the only one I could change at the last minute. I need someone who will have your best interests in mind. I can’t be sure how things will turn out, but most of the groups in the background will be focused on the gods and goddesses—the conflicts around the world—distracting them from the real threat brewing in the UK."

Her dad reached over to a folder on the table to extract a picture he’d drawn that was a perfect representation of the UK World Tree.

"I’ve sent these files to someone to give you if you go to the United Kingdom... He’ll know and find you. Revilla needs the power that this can channel to resurrect herself. She says it is for you, but... I’m beginning to think she isn’t an Apostle of Scarlet and that her true goal is to create a net to trap Scarlet inside you. From everything I’ve seen in the visions and read in the bible that she gave us— Hah, that’s what I call it, anyway...

"I think she’s masking herself as this blood savior when she’s actually a hellish abomination... but not the Hell kind. Ugh..." He scratched his scalp and tossed the page back onto the file. "I know this must be... impossible for you, but I want to give you what answers I can... while I can... because your mother can’t handle the truth... She can’t handle the guilt of everything we’ve done if we are wrong."

Scarlet felt numb; out of everything she’d expected to hear, this broken apology and attempt to do at least something to help her was not it. "What am I supposed to do then, Dad?" she cried, unsure what he wanted her to take away from this. "What are you asking me to do?! Are you... Are you asking me to save Mom from herself? How?! If you couldn’t, then how am I supposed to?! Would she even want me to..."

Her father didn’t give her any answers in that regard as he sank back into his chair, clearly distressed, judging by his fidgets, while processing what to say next.

"I know you must feel so lost... alone. I can only hope that you find someone who will be there for you— I have to hope Scarlet is the one causing these weird anomalies in our plans and that she’ll keep you safe... if anything, to preserve herself. Hah-aaah. If I’m right at all!"

Rachel’s fingers tightened around her shoulders, but Scarlet couldn’t think about anything as she stared at her heartbroken father’s last words to her.

"...Okay, listen... Haaa. I’ve given this a lot of thought," he mumbled, bridged fingers rubbing his forehead. "Revilla is stronger than the creation gods and goddesses. There are so many other creatures and entities above them, be they stronger gods beyond the barriers or something else, I don’t know... but whoever is pulling Revilla’s strings is doing it for a reason because she couldn’t act without their influence since she’s, well, dead, and I’m sure now..."

He looked up at her with deep seriousness. "Revilla wants Scarlet gone... She wants you gone, honey, and this is all I can do to protect you... to warn you. I don’t even know if this will ever reach you. I’ve changed the will so that you get everything—our entire fortune, assets, everything— I’ve stripped your mother from the accounts. She’ll probably realize it shortly after The Oscillation. I should have pushed an end to this sooner...

"I don’t know what will happen to my spirit when I die—if some god working for Revilla will be able to snatch me up— It doesn’t matter, but while I have the chance to do something to help you... I knew I had to take my shot... This is my last shot.

"I love you more than you’ll ever know. Your mother loves you more than you’ll ever know... She was just... blinded by horrors and shadows. Put the blame on me if it helps. I am to blame. I should have done something sooner. I should have protected you both. And for that, I’m sorry."

His voice cracked as Scarlet’s heart broke, and she shifted to cling onto Rachel as her father ended his last will and testament. "Please, Scarlet... don’t give up hope to live. Find people you can trust because I know you are so hurt right now... lost and afraid. I want you to find a family that can support you better than we could. I love you, and that will never change."

The recording ended, and the dam holding back her suppressed emotions fractured. She had found people who supported her, a family that gave her nothing but love. Despite that, the hole in her heart still burned like a sea of lava, filled with betrayal and loss, yet her father’s message did bring in soothing waters to help temper the flames.

It was time to put her past behind her and move forward with her new family. And maybe, just maybe, she would be able to save her mother. She had to have hope that it was possible. Her parents had been fooled by Revilla, some ungodly entity trying to resurrect herself with some faceless entities behind the creature. Revilla was also the key to learning why the other aspect of Scarlet was locked within her core. She just needed to be brave enough to enter the storm.