AJ and his friends have known each other since they were young. However, since the friends got their own jobs and attend to their respected colleges and universities, he felt they were drifting apart. So, for a solution, AJ bought a ranch for him an...
"Who is more foolish? The fool or the fool who follows him?" -Obi-Wan Kenobi.
As the numbers of the creatures continued to grow, everyone was getting more and more stressed by the second. "Jesus! There's like, an army of those things out here!" Brody exclaimed while he fired his shotgun. "Damnit!" Liam said with a huff. "How many more of them have to come out?! Aren't they gonna stop?!" AJ kept his eye on the horde as he shot more of the creatures. The sounds of shots from the other men's weapons were all around him. The whole situation was insane. An apocalypse has begun, and it's happening right at their doorstep. AJ was starting to dread the possibility that they will get overrun, but he tried to keep the negative thoughts out of his mind for the time being. "Guys! Back in the house!" AJ ordered. At AJ's order, all of the guys began to head inside the house. One ghoul attempted to lunge at Brody, but he quickly withdraws his knife and slashes at the ghouls throat. But instead of blood, strange black liquid runs from the cut. Its decapitation would go on as its head would slowly peel back and fall off its body, revealing a disconnected hyoid bone, lightly spurting black liquid. Brody pushed it away as he and Liam got inside. "Man, they just keep coming." Brody exclaimed, shutting the door. "How many are there?!" Everyone gathered in the living room after locking all of the doors and windows to the house. AJ, Anthony, Brody, Grant and Liam were all exhausted and stressed, but for the time being they were safe. "That was a close one." Liam mutters with a sigh. "You can say that again." Brody responds. But to their dismay, their relief would be cut short as they heard a sudden crash. "Oh, shit, the windows!" Grant exclaims. All five of the men were taken aback from the sudden crash. "What the hell was that?!" AJ exclaims. Brody then says the obvious. "One of those bastards broke one of the windows!" "What the—!" Anthony said while turning around. They all froze in their place as they listened carefully for more crashes. Until— Another window in the back shattered with a loud crash. This was getting out of control. The ongoing shattering of windows would be followed up with banging on the front and back door. "They're at the front and the back now..." Brody said with wide eyes. The sounds of banging and scratches at the door and windows were getting increasingly louder. "What do we do?" Liam said frantically. "Quick! Barricade the windows and doors!" Grant shouts as the boys gathered as much objects to block the windows and doors as they could. "They're still trying to break in!" One ghoul smashed its head through a window near Antony. With quick reaction, the very second it opens its mouth to snap at him, instead of tasting his flesh, it tasted the barrel of his pistol. Pulling the trigger and watches as the back of its head erupted blood, bone, and brain matter. "Ugh, bastard." "We can't hold out like this!" Grant shouts, while holding the front door. As the guys continued to block the windows and doors, they could slowly hear them weakening from the monsters. Their banging and scratching continued to get louder as they could hear them snarl and growl almost as if they were animals. Their efforts to break in were getting stronger. Suddenly, Brody's memory from his mini-exploration earlier in the day before Grant found him. "Guys, wait!" They turned to Brody as he calls their attention. "Ngh! In the barn! There's some kinda crop collecting machine. If we could get to that, and draw the ghouls to it, the driver could mow them down!" The others look at him with slight hope. "Can that thing even handle that amount of ghouls though?" AJ questioned. Brody shrugs. "We can try it. We don't have much of a choice." "But how do we get to it and get them over there?" Anthony asks. "The roof." Liam shouts. "That's right! Brody, you and Tony go out through the balcony and climb onto the roof, get to the barn and the machine." AJ said as a ghoul bust a slit-shaped gash on the door AJ was guarding. "Aight! Let's go!" Antony said hastily as he and Brody begin to head to the balcony. Antony quickly opened the window and began to climb onto the balcony railing then onto the roof. Like squirrels, they scuttled across the roof tiles with added difficulty, it was still dark with the moon barely out, for it was partially covered by overcast. They had to be cautions and precise with their steps. Down below was the abnormally-large horde of ghouls and ghulahs, moaning and snarling as they ache to bust in the house to consume the guys' inside their living flesh and organs. "C'mon...this way—woah!" Brody instructed before loosing his footing and slips onto his back. He begins to slide on the tiles, down towards the ground, to his death. "No, no, no, no—!" He would've had fallen and had his insides torn out right before his eyes, had it been for Antony as he dove towards Brody and catches his hand and uses his free hand to grip the roof. "You ain't dyin' yet. C'mon!" Antony says as he and Brody worked together to pull him up. Once Brody was back on the roof, they continue to travel across the roof until they reached the edge of it. Scanning the ranch, Brody spotted the barn a few yards away with the machine of their salvation. "There. We need to get there." "How are we gonna get down?" Antony looks around for an area that would potentially soften their landing. "We jump. And we aim there." Antony says as he points to the pigs mud pen. "Seriously?" Brody groaned. With a running start, Antony leaps off the roof and with a moment of uncertainty turns to relief as he made it, though, slightly disgusted as mud spread over his pants and shirt. With some hesitation, Brody would eventually do the same and ended up in the same pit with Antony. After they climbed over the mud pin fence, Brody follows behind Antony and they run towards the barn. The remaining three guys stay on guard as Brody and Anthony made their way to the barn. The banging and scratching at the doors were getting stronger as the ghouls were trying harder to break in. The others could only hope that the other two would get that thing started before the ghouls break inside. As they reach the barn door, they quickly barge inside as they shut the door. Making sure to lock it behind them, the two started to look around for the crop machine Brody mentioned earlier. The first thing they notice in the barn was the familiar smell of hay and other farming equipment. The two of them look for the machine as fast as they could. Luckily, they had moonlight coming through the barn window to illuminate the area. They continued to search until they finally spotted it: a large, metal crop machine attached to the front of it was a horizontal cylinder-shaped tool with many steel blades attached. "Do you think it'll still run?" Antony asks. Brody hops onto the machine and luckily the keys were already in the ignition. Brody turns the key to the right and at the first go, the engine sputters. "C'mon..." He mutters as he tries to start the machine. He turns the keys slightly and the engine sputters for a second, but with a few more tries the engine comes to life. "Yes!" Brody cheers with a fist in the air as the engine of the machine now revs. All they needed to do now was to lure the ghouls to the machine to mow them down. Antony opens the door and aimed his scoped rifle at the ghouls and shot one dead. His idea worked as he shot more of them, the horde would draw their attention to Antony. "That's it, you sons of bitches..." He said with grit as he fired more shots. Then from behind him, Brody driving the harvesting machine begun mowing down the marching ghoulish-creatures. Once the boys saw that he had the ghouls occupied, Brody was mowing them down. Sounds flesh being ripped apart and crushed filled Brody's ears. The compartment where crops would be collected was replaced with pieces of meat. Eyeballs, fingers, you name it, it's there. The ghouls were trying to rush to him and get to him, but Brody drove the machine to make sure he had space and ran over any that attempted to attack him. "It's working!" The others joined him as they gunned down any remaining ghouls Brody may have missed or couldn't reach with the harvester. Eventually, as they gun down more of the ghouls, the area around them begins to clear up. It seems like they were the last of them. "Is...is that all of them?" AJ says while panting heavily. "Appears so." Grant replied. "That was too close." AJ nods in agreement. "Too damn close." He says before he starts breathing deeply to compose himself. They scanned their ranch, the grasses stained with the ghouls and ghulahs black blood and their body parts scattered across their land. "Damn..." Brody muttered quietly as he stepped off of the machine. "That was a hell of a fight." AJ scanned the thicket and don't see anymore wandering bodies. "Anyone got the time?" AJ asks the group. Liam whips out his phone. "It's 1:59." AJ heavily sighs as he motioned the guys to follow him back to the house. They all follow AJ as they head back to the house. They all start to head back to the house, hoping that they'll be able to get some semblance of sleep after that encounter with the ghouls. "Ok, I think just for tonight, we all sleep down here." AJ suggested as he sat down on the couch and sets his rifle next to him. "But what if another wave comes?" Grant questioned. "I'll keep watch." Antony volunteered as he marched up to the balcony. Brody yawns and stretches his arms. "I don't mind sleeping down here. It'd be a lot more comfortable here than upstairs. Least for tonight that is." The others agree and begin to gather things to make makeshift beds. They gathered up some pillows and various blankets as they began to claim spots on the couches. After ten minutes they're all settled in their spots and they try to make themselves comfortable. Meanwhile, Antony was standing guard on the balcony for the night. However, what Antony fails to see from within the thicket, hidden and observing the house from behind two trees were not ghouls or any other feral creatures, rather, was two hooded strangers in black and grey garbs. Their style looks almost based of Salem. Their hands on the bark of the trees, their fingers blackened as contrast to their light skin tone, as if each and every one of their fingers were smashed and bruised by a hammer. One of them lets out a raspy breath. "We must repot to the High Priestess." She whispers and concurs as their bodies turns into a black mist and retreats back within the darkness of the forest. About five hours later, the sun rose, breathing light to a brand new day. Light rays of sunlight filtered through the windows. AJ was the first to awaken. He yawned groggily as he slowly opened his eyes. He sat up on the couch and glanced around to the other men who were slowly starting to wake up. As AJ sat up, he should feel relieved. He and his friends had just survived the worst...again. As he stretched his limbs, he glanced over at the boys as they were slowly waking up. AJ could finally appreciate the daylight after that terrible experience. But there was still that lingering sense of dread from the night before. Returning with the hooded stalkers, they would reach their destination as they returned to their normal form. Their destination, not another ranch, but rather it was a camp of some sort. They would remove their hoods, one revealing a woman with pale skin and a buzzcut. Hazel-colored eyes with a hooked nose ring. Next to her was another woman, with longer blonde hair with a patch of the side of her head shaved off. Blue colored eyes, both of them standing at 5'6. "Come, sister." The blonde one says as the partially bald one concurred. They stroll across their camp, it housing five to seven black tents, each of them having their own varied decor. Some having skulls, plastic baby dolls heads on wooden pikes, shrunken heads, etc. it was as if Halloween itself puked and this camp was the result of its fluids. But in the center of their camp was a massive tree stump. But what was different about this tree stump...the bottom half of it was white. Behind the stump was an eighth and bigger tent. The women enters the tent and immediately upon entering, they got on both their knees and bowed before another hooded figure sitting in a modified witches' chair. "High Priestess." They both greeted, still bowing. The priestess was a woman, an older woman donning a long cloak that hid her physical features. "Rise, sisters." The priestistess commands, her voice low and ominous. The women rise from their positions and stand directly in front of her. She was wearing black robes with gold lining, she had porcelain pale skin almost as white as paper, long grey hair covered by the hood. However her eyes were pitch black, with no other colors to be seen. The high priestess was a mysterious presence and carried herself with an air of respect and dread. "What is the news that you bring me?" One of the women, presumably the blonde one speaks. "We have spotted them, High Priestess. We found the house that we were told by your visions." She says while keeping her head low, her voice shaking slightly. "The ones we were tasked to watch have survived the ghoul attack." The partially bald one answered, her voice low and raspy. The high priestess looks up with a blank expression, "So they somehow managed to survive the assault of my children?" She says casually, as if she had no care. She then chuckles. "I wasn't expecting anything less..." The High Priestess says with a slightly curious and amused tone. She sits in her chair as she crossed her legs. Her demeanor slightly sarcastic but also satisfied at the same time. "And these...men, what are they like?" Both of the women exchange glances at one another, before the blonde one speaks up. "There's five of them. They seem to be strong and young, and appear to be in their mid or early 20's ." "One of them seems to be the "leader" of the group." The raspy voice adds. The high priestess nods with a satisfied hum. "How fascinating. Do any of them possess any magic abilities, or are they just ordinary mortal men?" She asked, while tapping her long fingers on her arm. "They are all mortal men, as far as we can tell. They were just firing firearms at them and defending the house from the ghouls." The blonde woman reports, keeping her head low and her tone flat. This response seemed to have amused the High Priestess, as she cracks a smile and begins to chuckle to herself. "But they remain blissfully unaware of our presence." The high priestess pauses for a moment. Contemplating before ordering: "Return to your tents. I shall summon you if needed." The two women bowed before leaving the large hut and returning to their shared one. They were silent for a good long minute. It was as if one of them was waiting for another to say something. "Sister..." the blonde one spoke meekly. "We're not discussing this again." The partially bald one tried to dismissed, but she wouldn't let up. "Lia." The blonde one spoke the dismissive witchling's name. The bald one heavily sighs. "Alani..." Lia groans. The last thing she wanted was to have this conversation again. "You know it's a matter of time, right?" Lia tries to distract herself and hopefully Alani to steer the subject. But she didn't waiver. "How long are we gonna keep this up? Another year? Another century?" Alani begun to rant. "Keep your voice down—" Lia tries to silence but Alani wasn't having any of it. "There's only thirteen of us left. Thirteen, Lia!" Alani whined. As if she was almost on the brink of tears. "How...How many more of us...has to die before the High Priestess lust for vengeance is satisfied?" Before Alani could go on any more, Lia threw her hand over her mouth. "Shhh!" Lia tried to quiet Alani, but she smacks her hand away. "Ali. We can't just abandon or turn our backs on the High Priestess, this Coven is the only safe space we have right now." Lia says sternly. Her witch sister's ranting was beginning to annoy her, why was she making the same debate AGAIN? Alani's rant continued. "This feud has been ongoing for centuries, Lia! Centuries! And yet we're still suffering for something we had no part of!" She exclaimed with grief. "All because a tree got cut down during this so called war that ended hundreds of years ago!" "That tree is the foundation of this coven." Lia argued. "That tree and her never-ending vendetta against the men that cut it down will be our extinction. I'm starting to think these so called prophecies and visions-" "You cannot speak to the high priestess that way!" Lia snapped in a whisper. "This is our home!" Lia tries to reason, before being cut off by Alani. "Yes, this is "our" home. But for how long is it going to be 'ours?' We're all dying, Lia!" She snaps. "And for what?! Because of one damn tree?!" "Ok!" Lia finally says, quieting and slightly calming her panicking witch sister. Lia took a breath, she was frustrated with Alani's ranting and she needed to calm her down. She sits on her makeshift bed and gives her a tired look. "Listen, I'm not happy about this either. I wish there was a way to talk some sense into the High-" "You can't reason with crazy." Alani interrupts, which makes Lia even more annoyed. In her eyes, Alani was just being fearful, emotional, and or irrational and it was making this all worse. "Ok..." Alani crosses her arms, her breathing heavy and frustrated. Lia sighs. "Listen, I understand your frustration. I really do. But we're not leaving, that's just not an option." Lia says calmly. The worrisome witch shakes her head and sits down on the floor. "I don't understand why we can't just up and leave? Why stick with that..."Priestess" and have her drag us to our deaths all over... some stupid tree. We're marching to our deaths." She mutters to herself, sounding just so tired. "And what else do we do? We leave, and where do we go? With those mortals?" Lia replies sternly as she crosses her arms, glaring at her witch sister. "Look." Lia sighs as she stood up and place both her hands on her shoulders. "We're gonna figure this out. I promise." Alani rubs her face with her hand and looks up at her. She didn't seem to fully believe her, but she slightly sighed and nods. "Alright.." She mutters. "And...you promise we'll figure something out?" She repeats with a slightly hopeful tone. "We'll think of something after tonight's ritual. Oh, and we should let Minerva know too." With a final nod, both Lia and Alani exited their tent and began to practice their magic. Back on the ranch, AJ and the boys kept busy with their own respective ranch chore. Antony was in the forge making more knives fit for combat at close range. Nothing too big or too small. A good size-able Bowie knife will due for them. Brody and Liam were managing the stables. Brody was managing the chickens. Feeding them and collecting their eggs. Grant was managing the other livestock while AJ was isolated in the barn moving and storing hay for the cows and horses. Even carrying a few stacks to the horse stables. In short, everyone was doing their part. They and the coven would work the day away until the sun set the moon rose. AJ and the boys regrouped at the house, equip their rifles and guns and stood guard and waited to see what other kind of unknown horrors or unworldly monsters the forest will throw at them tonight. At the camp, the coven of witches gathered at the white tree stump. Like every Sunday, Christians congregate at a church to worship, the witches all kneed at the stump and slowly rocked and waved their bodies. All the while mumbling something in Latin. Others were carving letters in the theban alphabet. As the humming continues, the High priestess shows herself as well as the coven's old hag. Her skin and hair pale as ash and wrinkly as an old prune. "Dear sisters!" The High Priestess called to their attention. All the women stopped what they were doing and looked up at the High Priestess. The High Priestess walks up to the stump and stands in front of it, looking at her coven with a smile, while the old woman stood back and watched from the side. "Tonight, my sisters..." The High Priestess starts, with a sinister tone. "Is the night we will finally have the justice we have been yearning for." The High Priestess begins to grin, her black eyes narrowing. "We will make those foolish mortals pay for their crimes." The High Priestess shot her hands in the air. "Hail the Evertree!" She praises. "Praise the Evertree!" The witches chanted along with her. The humming continues as the stump began to glow from its roots. The humming continued as the glow began to slowly travel up the roots to the inner stump. The leaves began to slowly sway, even though there was not a single breeze. The witches continued to sway and hum alongside the stump, as the entire glow from the stump grew brighter. The stump continues to glow and pulsate in a strange and almost pulsing white-silver aura, and strange whispering voices could be heard. Almost as if the spirits of this land were speaking through the High Priestess. The High Priestess closes her eyes, and the voices seemed to begin to get louder and resonate through the forest. The sound was starting to make the leaves rustle, a strange wind blowing through the trees. And then...silence. The High Priestess reopens her eyes, her pupils rolling back in their normal position from the back or her head. But her demeanor was different. It was lessen of joy and worship and more of suspicion. Lia and Alani try to remain clam and keep their composure alike the other worshipping witches, but, something felt off. Suddenly, in an instant, without warning or any indication, as the High Priestess curls her hand to a fist and with the wave of it...SHHHHK! A sharp spike shot from the ground and before she could react, Alani was impaled as she felt the force of a diving paragrine falcon piercing through her head. Blood drips from the tip of the ground spike as brain matter ran across the impalement spear. "AHHHH—!" SHHHHK! Lia and a few others shrieked in horror at the sudden scene. The High Priestess had just sent a spike through Alani as if it had come from another dimension, killing her instantly. Blood splattered across the other witches, leaving them stunned and speechless. The High priestess had a completely blank and blank expression, completely emotionless and cold. Before anyone could ask her, the High Priestess spoke in a low and calm tone. "Traitors." With a wave of her other fist, another spike appeared from the ground and impaled Lia through her heart. Both witches, dead on their knees impaled through heart and mind. "Lia no!" One of the witches cried. But it was too late as Lia was instantly killed as well. The High Priestess then turns to the others, all of them were in complete shock, but they tried to keep their composure as to not anger the High Priestess further. Minerva in the very back watched in horror as the death of her friends happened right in front of her. Minerva was mortified. Seeing her friends just murdered in cold blood. She could feel her own heart racing with panic. She tried to hold back tears as to not draw attention to herself, not wanting the High Priestess to notice her. "Feel no sorrow for the treacherous." The High Priestess began. The High Priestess began to gesture as she continued to address her coven. "Those two have been plotting to turn their back on us for quite some time." She said in a tone that suggested disappointment. "But they were always so cunning, pretending that they were loyal to the coven. That they were loyal to me." The High Priestess spat the words. She slowly walks around the stump, her eyes scanning her coven, her gaze felt empty and soulless, but with a hint of danger and malice. She spoke with such confidence but with a slight hint of anger, as she continues to pace around them. "They've been conspiring with mortals. Conspiring against the Evertree's wishes." She says coldly. Everyone, out of high devotion or maybe out of fear believed her. Except for Minerva. But all of a sudden, as if a rock but not as a solid rock hit her in the head. Upon impact she heard Lia and Alani's voices. "Minerva." The voices of Lia and Alani called out to her in her head. This caught her off guard. Her friends' voices were in her head, but why now of all times? "What in the..." Minerva muttered to herself in confusion. She was hearing her friend's voices in her head, just as they had died. How could this be happening? Was she losing her mind? "Minerva!" The voices called out to her again, even loudly than before. She could feel their voices in her head like they were yelling directly into her ear. She placed her hands on both sides of her head as the voices were getting even louder and more frequent. "You need to run!" Lia shouted internally. "Just run!" Alani yelled to her. Minerva could feel the panic within her growing. The High Priestess was still pacing around her coven, but for some reason had yet to take notice of the little startled witch with voices of the recently made corpses in her dead. Minerva knew she had to run. But to where? She knew she's not strong enough to take on the High Priestess herself. But wait! It hit her. She knew where to run to. She wait for the High Priestess to complete her circling and return to her stump. The High Priestess continued to circle the stump, but she appeared to be taking her time. After what seemed like a little while, the High Priestess finally returned to the stump. Her back was turned temporarily, with her being focused on the other witches. This was Minerva's chance. The other were still terrified in place, praying and hoping that the High Priestess wouldn't notice them. But Minerva, was planning something else. She slowly began to back up, while keeping her gaze on the High Priestess. She continued to slowly back away, carefully and quietly as to not alert anyone's attention. Her heart was racing, her blood pumping with adrenaline and fear. Her eyes darted left then right, scanning her surroundings while trying to remain calm. She was about to hit feet but to her dread, the High Priestess turned to her. As if she timed it perfect. "And where do you think you're going, my little pet?" The High Priestess sneered, her black eyes locked onto Minerva. Minerva didn't answer as she just ran away. She conjured blue magic in her hands to create a smokescreen to mask her trail. A confused commotion erupted from the other witches and was about to give chase but the High Priestess stopped them. "No." The High Priestess ordered coldly, stopping the other witch's chase. "Let her run. I know where's she's going..." She says in a cold tone with a sinister smirk. Some of the other witches were confused but obeyed their High Priestess's order. In the darkness of the forest thicket, Minerva gave her legs all she could. She ran and ran through the cold night. The scattered dead leaves and twigs on the ground crinkled and snapped beneath her. However, by some struck of luck, she sees the edge of the thicket and beyond was the ranch house. Back at the coven camp, one upper witch approached the High Priestess. The upper witch, named Mardella, approached the High Priestess and spoke with a cautious tone. "High Priestess...Should we go after her?" She asked, looking at the direction that Minerva had run from. "No need. I have a much more...malignant idea." Her eyes wander to the two witch corpses that kneel before her. "They betray me before...Perhaps they deserve a second chance." At the edge of the thicket, Minerva stood nervously. The last time she stepped foot on this ranch was to give AJ and the boys a "gift". Her heart was still thumping in her chest like mad, but the fact that she managed to successfully escape from the High Priestess gave her a small sense of relief. She looked up ahead at the ranch in the distance. She hadn't visited it for quite some time, and the thought of how the boys would react to seeing her again made her anxious. Regardless, her friends are dead, there's no going back to the coven, she needed to do this. She removed her cloak by casting a clothing transition spell. Turning her witch-like attire to the same outfit she had on when first coming to the ranch. Minerva took a deep breath and then exhaled, trying to calm her racing heart. She started walking towards the direction of the house, her footsteps light and quiet as she tried to keep herself hidden in the night. Walking towards the porch, she spotted two men. One standing and the other sitting. She didn't know who they were. She recognize Liam, but the other one wasn't AJ. She quickly made haste to the front porch, Brody and Liam took notice of the approaching woman. Brody and Liam, who were standing guard, both noticed the approaching woman. Brody's eyes widened in surprise at the unfamiliar figure walking up to the porch. Brody, with his rifle ready, called out "Whoa whoa whoa, who are you?" He said in a slightly nervous tone. "Oh, hey. Minerva, right?" Liam greeted as he motioned Brody to lower his gun. Brody looked a bit surprised that Liam knew the figure, but lowered his gun reluctantly. "How do you know her?" He asks, still a bit suspicious. Minerva stops a few feet from the porch, taking a slight breath before nodding. "Yes, it's me." She says with a shaky voice, her heart was still racing. Brody and Liam both exchanged glances, both seemed a bit confused but still wary at the sight of her appearing here at such a late hour. Brody was the one to speak up first. "What are you doin' here in the middle of the night?" He questions, his tone still cautious. "I'm...sorry to arrive at an ungodly hour but, is AJ home?" AJ was in the basement looking for the key to the locked notebook. "Where the fuck is it...?" "AJ." Grant called from upstairs. "Minerva's here." AJ stops what he's doing he freezes and listens in. Did he just hear Grants words right? "Minerva's here?" AJ mutters to himself in disbelief before rushing up the basement steps. He runs up the steps to the top, leaving the locked notebook aside for the time being. He rushed outside and up the porch steps. He couldn't believe his own eyes as they laid upon the familiar face of Minerva, standing on his porch. AJ just stared at her, still in slight disbelief. "Ms. Grove?" "Hi! Sorry to drop by unexpectedly." She apologizes as she tries to remain calm, but fail due to her "witch senses" detecting a looming threat. "Listen, we don't have much time. When I first met you, all of you...I'm afraid I wasn't...completely honest of who I am..." "Meaning...?" Liam asks, raising an eyebrow. "I...I...I'm..." She stammers before just blurting it out. "I'mma witch." The men's eyes fluttered as the look amongst themselves. Except for AJ who never took his eyes off her after her revelation. "You're...a witch...", Brody repeats with raised eyebrows, looking surprised yet slightly wary. AJ was silently processing everything, staring at her almost in a trance. The other boys were still processing the sudden news. They all looked at Minerva as if she suddenly grew a second head. AJ began to connect the dots as his face began to twist with anger. His facial expression suddenly began to change as a wave of anger washes over him. He clenched his jaw and walked closer to Minerva, towering over her with a stern gaze. "You're a witch?" He repeated in a cold tone. Brody and the others tensed a little, sensing the atmosphere turning from surprise to potential hostility. Suddenly with warning, AJ withdraws his Walter and wrangles Minerva by her arm and drags her into the house. "Ahhh!" Minerva cried in shock and pain. She hadn't expected such a reaction from AJ and was now being dragged into the house against her will. The other boys were also surprised by AJ's sudden aggressive action. They followed after him as he yanked the witch into the house. In the living room, AJ harshly releases Minerva by tossing her on in the center of the room. Minerva lands hard on the floor with a loud thud. She winces in pain before looking up at AJ, his eyes locked on her with an intense gaze. Brody and the other boys quickly entered the room as they watched the scene unfold. Their expressions were a mix of surprise and uncertainty of the situation. She winced in pain as she slowly brought herself up onto her knees, looking up at AJ with a mixture of fear and defiance. "You mean to tell me..." AJ grips his pistol, his hatred boils over her deception. "...You were the one that sent that lycan...the ghouls?!" Minerva tried to defend herself but the fear and guilt in her expression betrayed her. "No! I didn't!" She said in a nervous tone. AJ clenched his pistol tighter, his emotions seemed to take over him, his anger was rising. He stepped closer to her until he was standing over her, the barrel of the pistol pointed at her head. "You lie..." He said dangerously. The other boys watched on from the side, uneasy about the intense situation. They had never seen AJ this livid before. Especially Grant. "No! It was the High Priestess, Henrietta." Minerva pleaded. AJ breaths steadily. "Who?" Grant finally spoke up, stepping near between AJ and the witch. AJ gave him a slight side eye. A look that says 'What are you doing?' "Henrietta. She's the leader of our coven." She began to explain. The other boys had been listening intently, curious but on guard. They looked surprised and cautious at the sudden reveal, but some of their defensive auras were slightly lowering. AJ still had the gun pointed at the witch, but he listened to her explanation. "Coven?..." He muttered, his eyes narrowing in suspicious. "Henrietta has been the leader for centuries. Since the old times of Salem. We would worship the Evertree, the heart of the coven." Grant took a deep breath. "AJ...lower your gun." AJ grits his teeth in frustration, not wanting to listen. He tightens his fingers around his gun, reluctant to let go. Grant speaks up again, "AJ, trust me. Please. Just lower the gun, killing her ain't going to help anything." Liam chimed in as well, "He's right, you know. Look, why not give her a chance to explain?" "Fuck that." Antony interjects as he enters the room. Having heard everything. "I say we kill the bitch and run up on her cult." Minerva's heart skipped a beat, but kept her composure. AJ glanced over his shoulder to see Antony as he walked in. AJ and Antony seemed to be ready to simply killing her and dealing with the cult seemed like the best option to them. It should be a logical and effective move. But Grant and Liam disagree. The boys are visually divided in decision. Minerva's heart began to pound with dread as she heard Antony's words. Even though she was a witch and had her own powers to defend herself, she was greatly outnumbered here. And attacking them would only escalate AJ and Antony's suspicion towards her. All the while poor Brody was stuck in the middle. With a heavy and reluctant sigh he lowers his gun and holsters it and nods at Antony to lower his rifle, which he did. "Sit" AJ commanded. Minerva slowly but competently picked herself up off the floor and sat herself on the couch. AJ pulls up a chair and sits in front of her, his pistol at the side and ready. "Now...let's start from the beginning." Back at the coven camp, Henrietta conjures black aura around her hands and expels the black magic toward Lia and Alani's corpses. The black magic began to swirl around them, wrapping around them as if being bound. The corpses both remained motionless, but the black aura surrounding them seemed to give them some sort of unholy life. The reanimation magic seeps into their cold, pale skin. Their bones within their dead flesh's cracks and reconfigures into their original position. The whole scene was an ungodly sight. Lia and Alani's corpses, once limp and lifeless, suddenly began to stir to life. Their bones continue to crack and snapped into place with unnatural force as they became mobile again. It was a haunting sight to see, their eyes, now as dark as shadows, slowly opened. Henrietta, watching from her stump, smiled with satisfaction. Her reanimation spell had worked. She could tell by the blank yet lifeless expressions on Lia and Alani's faces that she now fully controlled them. "Dear sisters..." Henrietta beckoned to them. The half-dead witches groan and snarled as they turn their heads towards their resurrector. "...Your former sister Minerva has turned against our coven to join the mortals. And doing so has resulted in your unfortunate end." The zombified witches snarls and hisses as they were buying her lies. "Here is your redemption. Go." She exclaimed. "Fetch me their souls, and I promise eternal torment for her crimes against our benevolent coven and against the Evertree." Lia and Alani, now reduced to nothing but puppets, immediately obey Henrietta's command. They both leap up from their kneeling positions and start running out of the camp, following the path that Minerva had previously taken in their shadow wisps forms. Back at the ranch, Minerva was explaining the origin of the coven. "For as long as I can remember, we were called "Wives of the Evertree." With the wave of her hand, magic mist and sparkles manifests from her fingertips as they took shape to form a tree the coven worships.
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It looked that of a plain old oak tree. But by Minerva's description it was far by ordinary. The bark was white as snow. Along the branches to the leaves' veins was a light of pure silver, as if the angels of heaven flew down from their heavenly gates and planted their sapling from the promised land above. The boys, Liam, Brody, Grant, Antony and even AJ, all stared at the magical display. They were all in slight awe as the witch conjured the vision of the Evertree, a seemingly magical tree worshipped by the coven. The way Minerva described it, with its white bark and silver leaves, seemed almost divine. Even AJ for a moment, looked fascinated by the display. "Henrietta loved that tree more than anything. But she never told us why." Minerva admitted. "Well I can tell you why." AJ interjects. "It's clearly the source of her and y'all's power." Minerva nods at AJ's assumption. "You're correct. The Evertree is the source of our power. The bark and the leaves are infused with ancient magical properties, and it's only through the energy that the Evertree provides us that we can perform our magic. Henrietta, being the High Priestess, has the strongest connection to its mystical force." AJ shot up out of his chair and tries to rail up his crew. "Well alright then. I say we march up to that coven burn that damn tree to its ashes." As they began to whoop in agreement, Minerva raises an error in his plan. "Actually, the pilgrims from Salem beat you to it." "Huh?" Antony questioned. The boys stop their whooping to listen to what Minerva has to say. AJ also gives her a curious look. "Salem pilgrims?" He repeats. "What do you mean? They destroyed the Evertree?" "Well...Henrietta has had a long time hatred for mortals. Because they've already cut down the Evertree. And the rest is history. I don't know what happened to it afterwards." Liam spoke up. "What? You don't know? Can you use your witch powers to make you or grant you the knowledge?" Minerva shook her head. "No. Unless there was some material from those times." AJ thought for a moment before an idea pops in his head. "Make sure she waits here." He walks down to the basement and walks back out with the old journal with a lock on it. "Will this help? We looked everywhere, but we couldn't find a key." He presented her the book but when she went to reach for it, AJ jerked it away and quickly placed his hand on his holstered pistol. The atmosphere in the room suddenly became tense. Clearly he didn't fully trust her yet. "I believe it will," she said, trying to maintain her composure despite the hint of annoyance in her voice. "Now, can I have it, please?" AJ, still on guard, considered for a moment. He wasn't sure if he could fully trust her, but he could see that she genuinely believed the journal would be helpful. He sighed before reluctantly handing the old journal to her.
