Within The Pages

Round 4.3 The Psychic Siblings

A story written for "Gloves Up| A Multi-Genre Smackdown Contest", Round 4.3 (December 2022). Genre: Open Genre

Story Word Count: 3997

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"Are you sure this is that place?" Neith asked meekly, her voice fading in the darkness of the magnificent fort.

"Looks the same to me." Melinoë replied, walking ahead as I and Janus followed her.

"Why do you have damn visions!? Bro, we came here for vacations! UGH! But no, your super-abnormal powers have to kick in!" Neith whined, making us roll our eyes.

"You want me to remind you that you, too, are not normal."

"Yeah, but I don't have stupid visions! And even if I did, I wouldn't follow it! Why can't we just leave!? I was about to hit it off with that cute guy! Argh!"

I smiled at her childishness, only for my body to freeze as I eyed the majestic fort. The Fort of Fortune was all about paranormal activities. Macabre. Creepy. Mind boggling. Gut wrenching. All of those. And much worse.

The wonderfully white—now slightly grayish—carved-out walls gave off an extremely ominous vibe. Everything in its vicinity was menacing. The lethal structure atop the iron pedestal was beginning to fade and had several cracks.

With each step we took, it felt like the ear-shattering silence would soon swallow us. Swallow us without a flicker of mercy. It was that spooky.

Goosebumps arose on my skin. A trail of sweat trickled down my neck. No matter how hard I tried to be strong and brave, there was something terribly bizarre about the place that puzzled me. 

I shushed Neith, "Can you feel that? The buzz? That spark? Something like... flesh? Presence of a body? A dead body, yes, a dead body!"

They followed my gaze, walking deeper into the fort. My eyes frantically pinpointing the danger zone. Trying to figure out this bizarre feeling.

"Are you sure, you sensed a body? It might be animals." Janus reasoned out.

"Yeah, of course, a dead cat for you, Janus. Hallelujah, enjoy your dinner!" Melinoë dryly said.

"Have you asked the locals about the fort?"

"Yeah, but none really opened up. There weren't many articles on the Internet. Hope so we get here something." I searched through the drawers, only to find them empty. Nothing.

"The place is empty, like my notebooks."

"Let's go upstairs." Melinoë—in her all-gothic avatar—walked up the spiral stairs. The girl sometimes really scared the daylights out of me. With her big, black eyes, braided hair, and all-black costume, she spooked everyone she could. And boy, did she enjoy it!

While she was a dark praiser, Neith was the complete opposite. And perhaps, somewhere, it had to do with their paranormal powers. Whereas gothic Melinoë was endowed with visions of doom, Neith was a vessel. She was prey for the spirits, the destructive negative energies. Sometimes she reminded me of Annabella, minus the spooky part. Because she hated the fact she was a vessel.

I sometimes wonder how we were even siblings!?

"We're going in this one, you take the opposite one." I said, entering the dark, spiderweb-filled room along with Melinoë.

"What were those visions again, Mel?"

"It was strange. Like, normally, it'd have ghosts or chained spirits, but this time, it looked brutal. The pain it radiated pierced my bones." She spoke in her robotic voice.