THE UNKNOWN, ISSUE 4: NECROMANCER.

Part 5.

#THE_UNKNOWN (A series of short horrifying tales)
   
Author: Sam Freddy
   
Issue 4: NECROMANCER.
   
Part 5
   
    I’d never been so close to death like I was tonight. If Sewa hadn’t rescued me, I wondered what would’ve happened. I’d probably be sprawling on my room’s tiled floor in a deep pool of blood. But, thankfully, Sewa rewrote the plot, and now we were heading to Dorothy’s. Our best bet would’ve been the necromancer’s abode, but she’d warned us not to come back tonight after the rituals, hence our insistence on Dorothy’s place.
   
    On opening the door for us, Dorothy’s eyebrows shot up. “Wow. What a big surprise,” she said, monotonously. “I know I said you both could swing by this weekend, but I never really expected it to be this late, though, at midnight.”
   
    “Dorothy, can we come in?” Adesewa blurted out, looking around frantically. “It’s urgent!”
   
    Dorothy observed her friend’s horrified features, and then mine, as she said, “Hold on, what’s wrong with you two?” She then looked past us, into the pitch-black night, adding, “Are you being followed?”
   
    “Yes! No! I mean, it’s complicated!” I intervened, looking behind me on impulse. “We need your help, Dorothy. Please!”
   
    “Jeez!” Dorothy gasped, her eyes roaming behind us again. “In that case, come on in!”
   
    Sighs of relief escaped both our lungs when we found shelter. Dorothy locked the door and ran to her home phone immediately.
   
    “What are you doing?”
   
    Dorothy’s ocean eyes dropped on Adesewa’s curious face. “I’m gonna call 911.”
   
    “Forget it. It’s of no use.”
   
    “And why’s that?”
   
    “Because whatever is out there can’t be stopped with guns and handcuffs.” Adesewa closed the windows beside the door and started pulling the curtains down. “Come on, Sam, give me a hand. Turn all the lights on and shut the windows.”
   
    “Can anybody tell me what the hell’s going on here?” Dorothy asked, dropping the telephone’s receiver. “Seriously, what’s the matter with you two? You’re both freaking me out!”
   
    “Just chill and help us out,” Adesewa flicked the light switch on, on her way to the next window inside Dorothy’s dining room. “I’ll explain everything when we are done.”
   
    On closing the last window in the living room, Dorothy reappeared from her bedroom with her eyes on me, and said, “All right, I’m done. Someone better start talking.”
   
    “Are the lights in your room on?”
   
    “Yes,” she said to Sewa. “All on.”
   
    “And the windows?”
   
    “All closed.”
   
    “What about the bathrooms?”
   
    “Including them.” Dorothy answered with frustration. “Can we just get this over with?”
   
    “All right, sit down, everyone.” Sewa grabbed two bottles of water from the fridge and tossed one to me. Dorothy and I sat down, and Sewa joined us shortly.
   
    “Okay, so what I’m about to say would sound stupid to you, Dorothy, but I’m hoping you’d believe me because it’s the truth.”
   
    Dorothy rubbed the fabric of her nightgown against her thighs, anxiously. “Okay? I’m listening.”
   
    “Look, Dorothy, there’s something out there haunting us. Not one, not two—heck, I don’t even know how many they are, but one thing’s for sure: they’ll go any length just to kill us.”
   
    Dorothy’s face was blank for a second, as though she was digesting all she’d heard. “What is this ‘something’ in question? People? Thieves? Wild animals?”
   
    “No, none of that. Far from it. Demons!” Sewa’s very own voice trembled at the dramatic mention of the last word, so much so that she had to drink some water to clear her suddenly tight throat.
   
    Dorothy wasn’t left out of the shock fest. Her wide-open eyes glistened with horror and she swallowed hard, saying, “Demons?”
   
    “Yes,” replied Sewa. “Violent ghosts that’ll do just about anything to end our lives.”
   
    “But… but this is America.” Dorothy mumbled. “Things like that don’t exist here,” she looked at me, “right?”
   
    “I thought so, too, until today.” I said, recoiling into the sofa, feeling uneasy. “The things I’ve seen and heard today are enough to seize one’s faith, no matter how much of a staunch atheist they are.”
   
    Dorothy didn’t speak again. I assumed she needed a moment to discern all we’d said, so I paused too. Adesewa, however, turned to me, and asked, “Sam, how’re you holding up?”
   
    I sipped some water and said, “Fine,” whilst nodding. “If you hadn’t shown up…”
   
    “Wait,” Dorothy cut in, shaking her head, “let me get this straight. So, there’s a demon, or demons on the loose, haunting you for something I don’t know, and you came straight to MY house, exposing me to the same danger you’re in?”
   
    “Chill. It’s not like that,” Sewa said.
   
    “No, no, let me finish.” Dorothy raised a finger, hardheadedly. “You both offended some deity or something and thought that it’d be cool to just drag me into it, and make me suffer for something I’m not concerned with? Isn’t it?”
   
    “Dorothy, chill.” Sewa sighed, pulling her rosary out of her coat, where it’d stayed, hanging from her neck. “You see this? This cross?”
   
    “Yeah, what about it?”
   
    “Well, this is an anointed item, personally blessed by the best pope I know,” said Sewa. “And I know so because it delivered us from the spirits over at Sam’s house. It’s not just the cross, but the power it holds, and the authority from above that it commands.”
   
    “Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah!” Dorothy groaned, vexed. “If it’s such a lifesaver, why’re you here? Why didn’t you just stay there? After all, you’ve got the heavens to support.”
   
    “It doesn’t work that way, Dorothy,” I spoke, eyes down. “It just bought us time, enough time to flee the house. We can’t fight them all, and it’s my fault. If I had just accepted fate and not tried to communicate with my deceased family, none of this would’ve happened.”
   
    “Wait, hold on,” Dorothy’s voice took a low drift now. “What’re you talking about?”
   
    “It’s nothing, forget it.”
   
    “What is he talking about?” I figured she had her eyes on Sewa now, confused beyond measure. “Tell me.”
   
    “That’s what we’ve been trying to do since we got here,” Sewa complained, her voice calm. She sighed again. “Look, Dorothy, I think the less you know, the better. One night is all we ask. One night and we’ll be out first thing in the morning, agreed?”
   
    “No, no, don’t get all rusty with me, babe.” Dorothy sounded remorseful. “See, the pressure got to me quick and that’s why I freaked out. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be harsh. I just, you know… felt threatened, is all.”
   
    “And that’s why we’ll be gone at the crack of dawn,” Sewa insisted, rising. “Come on, Sam, let me show you to the guest room.”
   
    “Um, now?”
   
    “Yeah? Got a problem with that?”
   
    “Nothing. I just need to, you know, drag one quick.” I said, nervously.
   
    “Ah, God, not again.” Sewa facepalmed. “This whole maddening tension and all you care about is a cigarette?”
   
    I shrugged. “It helps me cool off. I’m sorry.”
   
    “Well, go ahead, do whatever you want. It’s your lungs, anyway.” Sewa scoffed and left the living room, pissed.
   
    “Well, that went well.” Dorothy remarked awkwardly, getting up slowly. “Uh, look, I don’t wanna be the overly conscious prick or anything, just because it’s my house, but there’s no smoking allowed here. I have a pet dog inside, and she doesn’t do well with nicotine; makes her nauseous. I’ll suggest you go out back, just right ahead from the passageway.”
   
    “Thank you.” I said, as Dorothy went off too. I couldn’t believe she just asked me to go outside, in the dark, to smoke. It was like escaping a fire outbreak just to land in hell itself. Yes, she had bright bulbs lighting her compound, but that didn’t change the fact that it was plain suicide to step out there again, after all we’d done to get here, but my hands were shaking a lot—a habit of mine which only happens when I’m too tense—and I needed to smoke badly to feel normal, so I stepped out, into the quiet shade of the moonlight.
   
    Drawing a lighter from my pocket, I torched the cigar between my lips and dragged long and deep. Relief hit me at once, as I puffed the smoke into the air, gazing around. As far as I knew, this part of America was always peaceful at night, but tonight was extra special. I couldn’t even see or hear a thing, not even the chirpings of insects, nor the occasional squeakings of rats in trash cans. Everything was just too quiet, too silent for my liking.
   
    I’d best get this over with, I thought, dragging deeper, but the thought of my encounter with those shadows set in, ruining my relief.
   
    “To tell you the truth? You’re a stain on my legacy, and I regret having you as a son.”
   
    That hit me hard, before the second:
   
    “You’re the worst son ever, and I should’ve just aborted you when I had the chance.”
   
    That one, that particular heart-wrenching remark, marked the end of my relief. I’d come out here to free my mind, but that clearly wasn’t working, so I trashed the cigar and threw a mint in my mouth, which I chewed up for a while before heading back in.
   
    “Hey, baby, you’re back.” Dorothy cheered, and for a moment I thought she said that to me, until her white fluffy dog showed up from her room, wagging its tail. “You’re awake. Yay!”
   
    She bent on one knee and stroked the dog’s fluffy head, smiling. “Guess you just woke up, honey. Wanna say hi to Mr. Sam?”
   
    Once it saw me, the dog started barking and squealing in-between. I’d thought that it’d welcome me with the same gesture it offered Dorothy, but . . .
   
    “Wow, that’s weird.” Dorothy voiced, grimacing at me. “Normally, she’d wag her tail and tongue at strangers or bark occasionally, but not like this. She’s never squealed this way before. She’s always sweet,” she paused, looking back at the dog, and then back at me. “It’s almost like she sees something around you that I don’t.”
   
    The dog’s barking intensified, causing disturbance to the neighborhood, so Dorothy took it up and said, “Okay, Mel, that’s enough. Let’s go get you fed and leashed. How about that?”
   
    She left the living room, petting the dog, just when Sewa walked out from the same passage, holding a tray, which she set on the dining table. “You can join me if you want, or just stand there and watch. Your call.”
   
    “How come the dog didn’t bark at you?”
   
    “Oh, Mel?” Sewa bit her lip. “Well, it’s not my first time here, obviously. She’s used to me, I guess. Just give her time, she’ll come around.”
   
    I exhaled and joined Sewa at the table, sitting before a bowl of cereal and a glass of milk. “Thank you.”
   
    “Yeah.” She nodded, spooning from hers, with her eyes off me. “Let’s just crash here for the night and meet the old lady at daytime. Hopefully, she’ll find a solution to this mess. Maybe come over to cleanse your house or something.”
   
    “You really think she’d do that?”
   
    “I doubt it,” she swallowed, picking her glass of milk. “But you can’t return there unless it’s safe.”
   
    “I see.” I grabbed my spoon and started stirring the cereal, my thoughts wandering off to the ghostly incident again.
   
    “Sam,” Adesewa called shortly, raising her head. “Do you mind elaborating what happened back home?”
   
    I choked on my food straight up, coughing at the memory of the bizarre sight I’d seen.
   
    “Whoa, whoa, easy, easy,” Sewa cautioned, pouring me a glass of water. “Here, drink some,” she handed it over. “Easy.”
   
    I dropped the glass once I’d had enough, catching my breath. “Thanks.”
   
    “You’re welcome,” she said. “Look, if you don’t wanna talk about it, it’s fine, I get it. You’ve had a rough day, and it’s unfair of me to add to it, so don’t bother. We can talk some other time, if you want to.”
   
    “No, it’s fine. I’m fine.” I said. “Thing is, I just can’t believe all I’ve seen so far, you know. Starting from the visit we paid the necromancer, to the mysterious scene in her chamber, to what happened tonight. I’d think I was hallucinating if I didn’t know better.”
   
    “I understand. I’ve been there before. You don’t have to beat yourself up about it.”
   
    “As a matter of fact, I do.” I disagreed, on the verge of losing my appetite. “I mean, if you were there, right there in that room with me, and you witnessed what I did, you’d know what I mean. I know the necromancer said that my family’s angry with me, but I never thought that they’d all hate me to the point of disowning me, for something I didn’t do on purpose.”
   
    “What’d they tell you?”
   
    It took more than strong will for me to spill these next words, “Well, basically, I’m a mammoth size disappointment to them, and they think I’d be better off dead, and frankly? I agree with them on everything, in all sincerity.”
   
    “Hey, hey, look at me,” Sewa’s hand covered mine on the table. “You don’t have to do that. You don’t have to carry that weight, that cross, all alone. I know it’s hard—God, it’s been so hard, way more than you deserve—but there’s always light at the end of the tunnel, alright? You’re not alone in this. I’m here for you, always have been, but you just have to trust me. Believe in me, Samuel, please. I can’t do this without you. I can’t.”
   
    I nodded, letting Sewa’s words sink in. She was right; I couldn’t keep doing this to myself, accepting defeat all the time, at the slightest form of oppression. It was high time I manned up and faced my fears. A broken mind could lose easily, but a hopeful one that fights and stands against all odds? That’s everything.
   
    Everything.
   
    “Thank you,” a weak smile swept across my face, as I wiped off the fresh tear that’d blotted my eyelid. “I wonder what I’ll do without you. Your sage counsel has always been my guide, at all times.”
   
    “I wouldn’t say that if I were you,” Sewa chuckled, looking flushed. “We’d probably be at the comfort of our beds now if you hadn’t taken my advice to seek the necromancer’s help. I’m part of this mess, too, remember?”
   
    I laughed. “Maybe,” it felt good seeing her smile again, since this whole chaos began. “So, with all said and done, are we gonna eat or what?”
   
    “Sure, as soon as you give up drinking and smoking,” she grinned, making me roll my eyes. “Yeah, I didn’t think so. Well, I’m the one offering motivation tonight, so I guess I’ll just have faith that you’ll change soon. I’m certain you’ll come around, somehow.”
   
    “Don’t hold your breath.”
   
    “Sue me,” she joked. “Come on, let’s eat. It’s way past your bedtime.”
   
    “Yes, mummy.”
   
    The universe clearly didn’t agree with us having a peaceful night henceforth, judging from the sudden screaming we heard from Dorothy’s room. Sewa and I bounced to our feet, alarmed, and sprang straight to Dorothy’s room, just to see her dog half-dead on the floor, in an overflowing pool of blood, screaming lower and lower as life seeped out of it, with Dorothy backing us, both her hands stained with blood, and with a blood-tainted knife tightly clutched in her left hand.
   
    “Oh, my God! Mel!” Sewa screamed, flabbergasted. “Dorothy, what have you done?”
   
    “Just what I’m about to do to you,” a distorted voice echoed, none that sounded like Dorothy’s. She turned around and gave us the shock of our lives. “Tonight, you both die!”