21 Century Haunting

|8|

Eventually, Madi and Grace come by, letting me finally get out of the cramped space.

Standing up, I swipe at the seat of my jeans and peer out of the room. "Where is Calum?" I ask.

"He's coming, just lagging a little behind," Madi says.

"How much longer?" I ask as Calum walks in, a panicked look on his face.

"An hour, max," Grace supplies.

"Ah, man, can I talk to you?" Calum asks. When the girls don't move, he adds. "Privately please."

They nod politely and move away from us, grouping at the other side of the room.

"Had Madi always had that limp?" I ask as I watch the girls walk away.

"That's what I need to talk to you about," he says, pulling me a bit further away.

"What? That Madi's got a limp?" I ask.

"No!" Calum exclaims. "Just listen. I know that they're helping us, but I don't trust them."

"Why?" I ask.

"Look at what I found," he replies. He throws a backward glance at the girls, and then opens his hand. In the palm of his hand is a tiny chain of three golden chains linked together. On the outside, are the three girls' names, one per ring. Then Calum flips it over and has me read the inscription on the inside.

Interficiemus te.

Since I had taken Latin freshman year, the translation worked out in my brain and tumbled past my lips.

"We will destroy you."

~*~*~*~

"This is so not good," I mutter as I pace back and forth.

"That's not it. I found two more rings, but with Luke and Ashton's names. They both say the same thing on the inside."

"Where did you get them?" I ask as I tug at my hair.

"Another thing I don't get. They were in peculiar spots. Luke's was in a doorway, Ashton's in a cold, abandoned room. The linked one I found a little ways away from where we got the knives," Calum explains. "I walked by and they fell on my head." Unintentionally, he rubs his head, mussing his hair.

"What do we do now?" I ask, starting to pace again.

"We have to drop the girls and get out."

"It's 5:38 now," I supply, glancing at my watch. "22 minutes left."

"And I doubt you'll make it."

We spin around, looking at Olivia who is positioned behind Calum. She has an arm on a cocked hip, and her eyes are squinted into a glare.

"What?" Calum asks.

"You can't get rid of us," she sings softly, as black slowly seeps into her eyes. Her cheeks puff out, deep red gashes becoming visible on her skin. The bruises on her neck, expand before blinking out, leaving black spots. The color spreads outward until the entirety of her body is inky black, except for her face, which flashes from the image of her previously pretty face to what it has become now.

"Interficiemus te," she booms as Madi and Grace transform behind her. She starts chanting it, her voice getting increasingly louder as Madi and Grace join in.

"Non prohiberent!" I shout, hoping my Latin skills were still sharp. "Placet, stop!"

The girls pay no attention to my plea, instead stepping forward and backing us up against a wall.

"Hoc est enim puerorum," she says, baring her razor sharp teeth an slowly leaning in.

Closer . . .

Closer . . .

And yet closer . . .

~~~~~~

a/n:

First off: A little Latin lesson, for those who care :)

Interficiemus te - we will destroy you

Non prohiberent - don't, stop

Placet, stop - please, stop

Hoc est enim puerorum - this is it for you, boys

and secondly, there is only one more chapter left, and maybe an epilogue after that!

please keep voting and commenting, i appreciate the support :)

lazaruseffect