k a r r i s

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Ashton picked me up at precisely 7:30PM. I walked out of my front door to find the same black car sitting idle in the driveway. The sun was setting and the once blue skies were deepening in color by the second. I slipped into the passenger side seat, taking a quick glance at number 15 who was out of his athletic wear from earlier today and in an all-black outfit. 

"Are you ready to have your soul taken away by the evil cult of witches?" Ashton taunted, putting his phone into the cup holder. He smirked mischeviously, wiggling his eyebrows playfully.

I rolled my eyes in annoyance, strapping myself in, "are you ready to stop making such a mess in the locker room?" 

"Actually yea I am," Ashton reluctantly stated. I looked at him with a raise brow as he backed out of my driveway. 

"Admitting defeat already?" I teased, "that was easy." 

"I'm not that easy, nerd. I just realized that once your soul has been properly sacrificed to that devil cult, you won't be around anymore. Therefore, the team's hard work in making your life hell won't be needed," 

I didn't respond to his pretentious comment and instead I crossed my arms on my chest and slouched further down into the seat. Ashton turned up the music in his car, drumming his thumbs on the steering wheel and leaving me to my thoughts. 

One hour. That's how long I needed to survive in an open space. One hour alone in the dark and the hockey team would finally clean up after themselves instead of littering their disgusting athletic cups around the locker room. For me, it was less about proving to Ashton that the urban legend about Mission Hills was complete bull, and more about proving to him that I was not someone he could take advantage of. He might be team captain, but I was a junior coach-- and I had a say in benching him if I wanted to. 

After about 30 minutes on the road, Ashton slowed down his car and veered off to the side of the highway. The sun was set. The moon was full and was the only source of natural light I had. Ashton put his car in park and flicked on the light inside. He grabbed a black drawstring backpack from the back seat and opened it up. 

"Here, you're going to need this," Ashton handed me a flashlight. I looked down at it before looking at him. He had a smile on his face, a really dumb one as if he'd already won the bet. "You have one hour. I'll be right here. If you chicken out come back. If you're not back here by," Ashton paused and looked at the time on his clock, "9PM, I'm going to assume that the witches took your soul and I'm gonna go home. I got some pumpkin spice condoms I really wanna try out." 

I grimaced, shooting Ashton a disapproving glare. I opened the car door, "I'll be back here at precisely 9PM."

"Tell the cult leader I say hi," Ashton chuckled, giving me a wave. I sighed, stepping out of the car and into the chilly Halloween evening air. 

I stepped forward, noticing the light in Ashton's car turn off and I flicked on the flashlight in my hand. At that moment I was glad I wore a sweater because we were closer to the coast, and the oceanic wind felt more like icicle kisses.

I walked up the grassy hill and slipped through the broken part of the metal fence. My eyes scanned the area, taking in the sense of desolation. Sure, Ashton was only a few yards away from me, but in this moment, it was just me and the old, dilapidated Mission looming before me. The full moon casted an eerie glow around the edges of the sacred building and the shadow of the large cross was projected on the ground by my feet. 

"One hour Karris, just one hour," I whispered to myself. I was beginning to feel the repercussions of agreeing to Ashton's dumb bet because no lie, I was scared.

The breeze picked up slightly and I hugged myself to keep warm. The howling of the winds filtered into my ears which was very normal to me, but it was the sound that came after it that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. 

Laughter.

And it wasn't some cliche cackle that witches are known to do in Halloween movies. It was a laugh that held demonic notes in them. It wasn't loud, it was just soft enough to give me a slight tease of what was to come next. 

"Ashton? Was that you?" I called out, frantically turning my body, aiming the flashlight in all directions. There was no answer, and I don't know why I expected one either. 

Laughter.

It was louder and much closer this time. I shivered in fear, not wanting to stay in this spot. So I walked forward, noticing that my pace quickened with each step. 

Creak.

The Mission's door slowly opened and I felt my heart stop. The wind completely halted, the laughter could no longer be heard. It was creepily silent, that I swear I could hear the droplets of sweat on my forehead drop onto the dirt pathway beneath my feet. 

"Karris," 

My heart stopped pounding and for a moment I thought I was going to faint. I closed my eyes and bit my bottom lip in utter fear, shaking tremendously in my shoes. My own name rang in my ears and I knew for a fact that it wasn't Ashton playing some dumb joke. The voice sounded inhuman, grisly, and just plain evil. 

So I ran, up the dirt pathway and into the open door where I was met with old, disheveled pews. The door behind me slammed shut with a thud that reverberated off of the fragile walls. I clutched onto the flashlight tighter, shivering from the sudden icy current in the air. 

"Oh my gosh, I wanna go home," I whimpered. I swallowed and took a step forward, keeping the beam of light from the flashlight steady. In the distance, there were several flickering candles. I walked towards the set up, keeping the flashlight in front of me. 

Stay calm, stay calm, I thought, trying to convince myself that all of this was fake; that the Mission Hills urban legend was a bunch of crap. But as I continued on, I slowly started to believe that this wasn't a funny game anymore. 

Five candles were placed at each point of a pentagram that was drawn on the floor in red. Gasping, I jumped backwards, scanning the light across the chilling decor. The hand drawn pentagram was messily crafted, like fingers dipped in ink and painted with human appendages. But this wasn't ink, at least that's not what I thought. It was deep red and thick. I tried to steer my mind away from scary thoughts, but the more I looked at the pentagram, the more it looked like it was made with fresh blood. 

But I never got the chance to figure it out. 

Another chilly breeze grazed my skin, causing me to shiver. It got eerily quiet once again, but it was only the calm before the storm. A loud bang rattled in my ears and I let out a scream, leaping out of my skin in fear. Suddenly, there was a tight grasp on my ankle. I screamed once again, pointing the flashlight towards my foot but there was no hand clasped onto me like I expected. So I ran as fast I could, finding myself at the bottom of a staircase. Out of breath and really tired, I pushed myself harder to race up the stairs. 

I was beyond freaked out and I was ready to leave. This was more than just a bet, this was my sanity being messed with. Ashton won and I didn't care. All I wanted was to get out, go home, and be cleansed from any evil spirits harboring around me.

Singing. 

It was in a different language and the voices tingled my skin. I covered my ears with my hands, but it was useless. It seemed to be getting louder. As I stepped foot on the last landing of the staircase, I was met with a scene I could never forget. 

Ashton was sitting on a wooden chair, his head drooping down and mouth slightly agape. The space was filled with several candles, incense burned from ever corner, and creepy figurines decorated a table. Surrounding Ashton were several women dressed in black cloaks, chanting some demonic hymn. 

"Blood of the weak, sacrifice is what we seek. Our dark lord is whom we call, take this offering above us all. We will serve you for all eternal, take this soul on this night's nocturnal..."

I slowly stepped backwards, my eyes fixated on Ashton's limp body. His arms hung to the side and that's when I noticed it. Deep red liquid dribbled down his arms and I threw my hands to my mouth, dropping the flashlight onto the floor. The women's heads snapped to my direction, ceasing their chanting.  

I screamed, turning on my heel to run away, not even bothering to pick up the flashlight off of the floor. Only the moonlight snaking its way through the windows became the only source of luminosity to guide me up another set of stairs. I raced up the steps, only to be grabbed by an unexpected hand, and dragging me into another room. 

"Karris!"

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Chapter Word Count: 1610