The Wheel in the Sky

“ Ok, Samson! You ready to get a one-way ticket to that hamster wheel in the sky?” Matthew asked, flashing a sinister grin. His friend and neighbor, Dale looked over at him and smiled nervously.

             “Relax, Dale. I have seen my dad and his girlfriend do this at least a hundred times,” Matthew said confidently. He turned around and reached into his backpack. Dale nodded his head and gulped as he listened to his friend.

             “ No offense, but your dad’s girlfriend is really creepy,” Dale said in a hesitant tone.

             Matthew looked up from his backpack and nodded. “ I would have to agree with you there. Ever since she moved in, things have gotten really weird.”

             “ Really? How?” Dale asked, unable to contain his curiosity.

             Matthew placed the items that he retrieved from his backpack on to the stump that doubled as a coffee table in his treehouse. He slowly let out a long groan and turned his head towards Dale. “ Don’t get me wrong, things were already weird before she moved in.”

             “ They were. You’re right,” Dale agreed.

             “ Good. At least I’m not the only one that has noticed,” Matthew said with an exasperated sigh of relief.

             “ Tell me some things that are weirder,” Dale asked.

             “ Let me see,” Matthew stared at the makeshift roof of his treehouse and closed his eyes. In his mind, he quickly ran through some of the things that have gotten weirder since Alonis moved in with them. All of a sudden, he opened his eyes and turned to look at Dale.

             “ She replaced many of the lightbulbs with black lights and everyday she makes sure that all the curtains are shut tight and nobody can see in or out,” Matthew said.

             “ That isn’t anything really new. Your dad always had the curtains closed in your house for as long as I have been coming over,” Dale said with a look of disappointment.

             “ Ok. Let me think. You want to see something really weird?” Matthew asked in a sinister tone.

             “ Of course!” Dale responded eagerly.

             “ You have to promise that you won’t say a word to anyone about what you see here,” Matthew explained.

             “ You know you can trust me!” Dale replied.

             “ Ok, get your jacket and follow me,” Matthew said as he rose to his feet.

             “ What about the ceremony for Samson?” Dale asked as he turned and sadly glared at the dead hamster.

             “ He’ll be ok. He’s not going anywhere. We can finish the ceremony when we get back,” Matthew explained as he slung his backpack over his shoulder.

             “ Why are you bringing your backpack?” Dale asked.

             “ You ask a lot of questions. I don’t know. I guess I feel safer when I take it with me,” Matthew said as he shrugged his shoulders.

             “ Ok,” Dale answered as he followed his friend out of the treehouse.

             Matthew told his friend to be as quiet as possible. Dale nodded in agreement. Matthew led him around the house to the back yard. Continuing into the thicket, Matthew led his friend towards a clearing. Wiping the sweat from his brow, Matthew reached around into the outside pocket of his backpack and produced a bottle of Gatorade. Unscrewing the lid, he took a big sip. He held the bottle to Dale as he wiped the corner of his mouth. Dale happily accepted as he began to feel slightly dehydrated all of a sudden.

             After Dale handed the bottle back to Matthew, they were back on the move. Ducking down to avoid several low hanging branches, Dale began to feel a little nervous. “ Is it far from here?” he asked.

             “ We are almost there,” Matthew whispered over his shoulder.

             “ Thank god,” Dale mumbled under his breath.

             After a few more minutes of traveling through the thick brush, they had arrived. Matthew indicated to Dale to crouch as close as he could to the ground. With one eye on Matthew, Dale followed his directions and tried to remain as low as possible.

             Matthew reached into his backpack and pulled out two pairs of binoculars. He handed one to Dale and motioned for him to follow his lead. Soon, they had their binoculars pointed ahead.

             A large area that looked as if it had recently been cleared out could be seen below. Piles of dirt were scattered throughout the clearing. A large pentagram, lined with candles that flickered in the wind, was front and center. Several stumps were arranged around the circle, facing the pentagram. A stone urn that was tainted with looked like red paint or possibly blood was placed in the center. They both gulped as they witnessed two people dressed in white robes appear out of the woods carrying large candles.

             A third person emerged behind the first two. He was carrying what looked like a dead cat. Matthew leaned closer and adjusted his binoculars to get a closer view. Dale leaned closer as well, trying to get a better look as well.

             “ Isn’t that your cat?” Dale asked.

             “ You know,” Matthew started to say as he stared through the binoculars a few moments longer. “ I think it is,” he said after further examination.

             “ What are they doing?” Dale mumbled, trying to be as quiet as possible.

             “ I think they are going to resurrect Muffins but I’m not positive,” Matthew replied under his breath. Dale stared even harder through his binoculars. They both were silent as they awaited what would happen next.

             “ I guess you didn’t know about your cat. I’m sorry. First your hamster, now this. You aren’t having a good week, Matt,” Dale whispered.

             “ Thanks for reminding me,” he answered in a slightly sarcastic tone. Dale smiled and looked away. Suddenly they heard chanting coming from down below. Within seconds they had their binoculars focused on the clearing.

             All three of the figures dressed in white robes lowered their hoods. Both boys gasped as they saw who they really were. Matthew’s father, David, his girlfriend, Alonis and a woman that Matthew had never seen before revealed their true identities. David was holding the cat which he gently placed inside of the urn. Alonis and the other woman began to chant softly as other figures dressed in white robes filed in to sit at their designated stumps.

             Dale suddenly dropped his binoculars which made enough noise to distract everyone. The chanting stopped and all eyes were now focused on Matthew and Dale who were both visible to everyone down below.

             “ Let’s get out of here!” Matthew hissed as he secured his backpack and led his friend quickly from the area. When they were sure that they were in the clear for the moment, Matthew grabbed his friend by his shoulders and stared into his eyes.

             “ Dale! Run home and don’t look back!” Matthew ordered as he positioned his friend in the direction of his house.

             “ Should I be scared?” Dale asked, turning around while he began to run home.

             “ I am!” Matthew shouted towards his friend who was now sprinting away.

             Matthew grasped the straps of his backpack and made his way back to his treehouse. As he climbed into it, he began to think about the ceremony he had planned for Samson until he got sidetracked by his neighbor. Shaking his head, he placed his backpack on the ground and started to prepare to send Samson home.