Coven

There was a well known man in these parts called Gerold, not well known as in famous or 'well to do' , instead he was known more for his 'oddness' i guess. Gerold was different than most, different in the way an orange cat is different amongst a litter of all white cats. 

   He was quiet most of the time, unless he was 'on something' as most would call it,then in which he would ramble. Now when I say ramble, I mean he would go on about odd things, and I don't mean odd as in different or his personality, I mean odd as in unknown and unbelievable.      

  Mostly written off as ghost stories or tall tales, many looked at gerold as a means of entertainment, sadly myself included, well at least until i realized maybe Gerold wasn't as 'odd' as I initially thought. 

  Out of all the years I've known him, Gerold's been this way. My parents even warned me a few times to keep away from him or at the very least, take his words with a grain of salt. I often wondered what made him this way, and where did  these insane stories come from. 

   I just turned 21 about a week ago. I was home on break from school and being 21 I figured I'd go to the local bar and actually sit and have a few drinks. I can't remember the entire night. However, the parts I do remember are the ones I wish I could forget. 

  I barely made it through the front entrance of the bar and could already hear Gerold going off on one of his "rambles". The music was loud and the place was packed, yet somehow I was still able to hear him over all the noise. 

  I made my way through the crowd up to the bar. I somehow managed to find an open stool to sit, and of course my famous "bad luck" not wanting to abandon me even for a single night made sure that the one open spot for me to sit would be directly next to good 'ol Gerold..

  Gerold's voice was impossible to ignore, it had a way of cutting through all other sounds and flow directly into the ears. Something about an incident at a coffee shop a few months back that our town was trying to deny and keep secret. 1I was trying my best to not listen so i didn't catch the whole story. 

  A couple of the locals who were familiar with Gerold in the same way I was, had gathered around us. Not to listen, but to provoke and poke fun at him in a childish attempt to embarrass him in front of the crowd of listeners that was seemingly growing. 

  I felt a light tap on my shoulder, as I turned to see who it was, I accidently spilled my drink, which drew the attention of the audience the Gerold had brought to our already over crowded area. 'You ok there buddy'? Gerold asked. "Yeah, I'm good, just got startled" I replied as I started to wipe my freshly stained pants with a napkin. 

  I was hesitant to get up and go clean up in the bathroom, i was lucky enough to find an open seat as it was, even with it being next to gerold it was too good a spot to give up. Another tap on my shoulder… this time i made a clean turn around with no spills or any other unwanted attention grabbing events. 

  She stood there with a half smile half- "sorry i made you spill your drink all over yourself" look. I instantly recognized her… it's been a few years but still i knew that smile, her name was sophy, we had gone to school together , kindergarten all the way through highschool. 

  I was shocked to see her still living in town, we were never like best friends, but we did hang out a little during highschool mostly through mutual friends. 'Hey sophy, how have you been'? I asked. She leaned in and whispered "good" as she hugged me. A man sitting on my right side opposite of gerold got up and walked away, sophy took his seat and ordered a drink, i guess she was wanting to catch up a little, i was just wanting to have a few drinks and relax alone, well as alone as the huge crowd drawn to gerold would allow. 

  Sophy's drink came and she scooted closer, 'so what's new? Where have you been'? She asked. The look in her eye was...i don't know, blank i guess, almost as if she was just asking because that's what people would normally ask while going through the motions of being...human. 

  I ignored the likely meaningless observation and continued my "in a nutshell" reply to her question. I had barely gotten it out when i suddenly realized i was getting a little tipsy, i haven't drank in awhile so i wasn't surprised, although i didn't remember ordering nor drinking the 5 shot glasses i blurredly noticed on the bar in front of me and noticed also sophy matched my five to an exact amount.

  'Any plans for halloween'? Sophy asked, which suddenly made me realize it's been so long since i celebrated halloween that i completely forgot it was tomorrow, or i guess technically today being that it was after midnight which means it's officially oct. 31st. 

  It was around 130 am now, time had passed faster than I was prepared for, so Sophy was still sitting with me as well as gerold. At some point the two of them struck a conversation talking back and forth with me right in the middle. More about the coffee shop incident but again i only caught bits and pieces. 

  I finished my last drink and I was comfortably buzzed, I got up and told Sophy I was heading home, before I could go through the goodbye, nice seeing you again speil I was cut off by gerold. ' you don't believe me do you? neither of you do'. He said. 'I'm sorry ,  gerold it's just too hard to believe without seeing' Sophia replied. ‘ too bad the police and town elders have it all blocked off’ gerold replied. 

  I tried again to announce my leaving the bar and headed home. And again I was cut off… ‘ you know what, its halloween i say we go check it out’ sophy suggested. There was a slight moment of awkward silence between the 3 of us, their faces had a look of temptation and curiosity, im sure mine reflected the same. 

  I was ready to go home and relax, but I'll admit I was a little curious as well. Gerold picked up his beer and mumbled something before putting it to his lips and drinking it  from halfway to nothing, sophy followed his lead and finished her drink, they both stood at the same time, sophy grabbed my hand and began leading me towards the door and then out into the night.

  I wondered to myself if i hadn't drank so much would i still be so willing and curious to go check out this coffee shop that has the town buzzing after some strange incident? The answer to that will remain a mystery as for the fact that i am kinda drunk and i am walking down the street with a man the town considers insane. And a woman I haven't seen or spoken to in years, and I was going willingly. 

  Down the street about 5 blocks from the bar was an old building, looked like something out of the 1800's. There was police tape and no trespassing signs stuck to the windows, or at least what was left of them. 

  The front entrance was boarded up, it looked demolished, like a bomb or something went off. ' dam there's no way in' i pointed out. 'Look, over there' Gerold said as he pointed to a tree across the street. There was an old tree, almost as old looking as the shop itself, it was stained black, charred like it had been burned. 

  'What happened to it'? I asked. Although the tree had clearly been set ablaze it stood strong, covered in ash and soot yes, yet not a single branch nor the bark itself was damaged, it was really kinda shocking how it was able to survive so completely. 

  'This tree and its leaves were on fire for 3 days straight, whatever lit it was involved in the coffee shop incident' gerold stated. 

  I was so intrigued and focused on the tree and gerolds story, I didn't notice sophy had wandered off. ' over here gentleman' sophy called out from behind the coffee shop. She had made her way around back to a small opening leading into the basement. I was a little nervous at this point and began to sober up quickly. 

  We reluctantly made our way around back to meet up with sophy, she was already inside and waving us in. I looked at Gerold and his expression furthered my worry, he stared at the opening with extreme focus and what I concluded as… dread. 

  Sophy stared up at us with a sort of anxious restless feel. She wasn't even slightly nervous or concerned that not only were we breaking in, but there was clearly a negative or ominous feel to the place. She seemed different than the shy hesitant girl I remembered. It adds to the confusing and unsettling feeling I had, and I was pretty sure Gerold had as well. 

  ' come on guys, it's perfectly safe, i promise'. She said. Gerold reluctantly climbed down through the small opening and into the basement, and against my better judgement… I followed.

  The basement was dark and muggy, it felt like no one had been down here for years, even though it was fully functioning just a month ago. None of us thought to bring a flashlight due to the spur of the moment decision. ‘ should i use the flashlight on my cell phone’ i asked.

   A light flickered in the distance, it seemed to be over by where the stairs that lead up into the shop. Could there still be electricity here? I thought to myself. But I instantly abandoned that thought, it didn't make sense, the building both outside and in looked like someone had dropped a missile and intended to wipe out the shops completely, however it withstood the attack, damaged yed, but still standing, it was very odd. 

  'What's that light over there'? I asked out loud. ' why don't we go find out' sophy replied. Gerold was already heading in the direction of the light , but then stopped suddenly. I felt my way around in the darkness, there was a slight mist, or rather more like fog floating inside the basement. I found it odd being that outside the night was clear and calm. 

  Gerold started to back up slowly. 'What's wrong gerold'? Sophy asked with a slight half-grin. She was calm, almost too calm, which made me uneasy.

   there was a big unexplained incident here, the building was trashed and battered, it was almost pitch black where we were standing and yet she was calm, as calm as she would be walking the streets or shopping for groceries, and it wasn't normal to me, my heart was racing my palms sweaty, and gerold was clearly nervous as well. 

  The flicker of light began to illuminate the room, Gerold backed up and stopped by my side. ' somthings not right here my friend, this just feels… ugly,'' Gerold whispered to me. I wasn't sure what to think, gerolds reputation told me to not put too much stock in what he was saying, and yet part of me shared his observation. 

  I walked forward a little, I felt gerolds hand grasp my arm, as if to say… "wait" or "don't move any closer".  At that moment I heard what sounded like a door opening, it creaked the entire way open and it was so quiet in here the creek seemed to amplify and echo off every wall.

  Sophy clapped her hands in excitement, like a child when someone brings in their birthday cake for her to blow out the candles. The feeling that washed over me is hard to explain, I could compare it to the moment when you were a child and your parents just caught you in an act of something you've been warned not to do. 

  Gerold pulled me back a little, 'we need to go...now'! He warned. My heart was thumping out of my chest now, I was positive it could be heard throughout the entire basement. 

  Gerold turned and started running back towards the opening we came through, 'wh-what is this'! He yelled. I turned towards him to see what was happening, I could barely see between the dark and the fog, all I could make out was the silhouette of a gerold frantically feeling around on the wall, his hands frailing and smacking the old charged and soot covered wall.

  I didn't realize at first why he was panicking as he was, until I walked closer, 'what's wrong gerold, I thought you were leaving'? I asked him, I could hear my voice cracking and a bit shaky, I guess I hadn't noticed how nervous and confused I really was. 

  ' well id be happy to leave and never come back. However… the opening we came through no longer exists' he replied, his voice shaky as my own. 

  An ugly almost sick feeling washed over me, was he pulling a halloween prank on me, is he just trying to scare me, and if that's the case is sophy in it as well? My mind refused to think anything different, what else could it be, i mean the opening can't  just vanish… can it?.

  I took a single step forward towards gerold and the opening, well at least where it should have been. ' Now,now gentlemen , you can't leave before the summoning is complete,' sophy explained with a grin on her face. It was pitch black other than the small flickering light. 

  Despite the fog and darkness, sophy's face was lit up, almost as if the flickering light was somehow resonating from her. 

  The realization that this was not a prank hit me like a hammer to the chest, i could hear gerold behind me still searching the wall where the opening was, the panic in his movement was loud and clear and to be honest, it was terrifying. 

  I thought i heard gerold yell "watch out" but i can't be sure, everything went dark and when i snapped back to reality i was tied up on the floor on top of some kind of symbol or… i'm not really sure, i tried a few times to stand up but my binds were to tight, my vision was blurry and my head felt fuzzy, almost like a head cold at its worse.

  I could hear voices but couldn't make out exactly what they were saying. With my blurry vision I tried to scan the room. That's when i saw them… sophy was standing next to more people, they were standing in a circle around me, it was her but also it wasn't, i know that dont make sense but it's what i saw, i was tied down, trapped, with what looked like 6 "people'' i wasn't even sure of that though my head was too cloudy to fully grasp who or what was surrounding me. 

  A voice rang out clear as day, it was sophy's i was sure of it, and yet it wasn't, it was deeper and had a tone that sent shivers down my spine. I couldn't fully grasp the situation I was in, "where was Gerold, was he ok"? I thought to myself… At least I thought I did… 'do not worry about that crazy old man, he was not what we needed after all'! The voice was clearly one of the "things" standing around me. 

  My vision cleared just enough to see...i wish i hadn't thought. There were six cloaked figures standing in a circle around me, it was still dark but Sophy's face was still lit up, she stared into my eyes. I can't say for certain if the sofa I knew was the same standing in front of me. 

  She leaned in and to my suprise… kissed me. The other figures around me cheered and clapped, I was beyond confused, it didn't matter at this point though, my mind went hazy, my vision blurred completely as if I was blind. 

  I could no longer fight it, as i layed tied up my mind began to go empty, I was passing out, my head hit the ground beneath me and right before I fade out completely I heard one word and it was the last word I would ever hear,… COVEN!.