Cost of Witchcraft

Chapter Two: Why Am I Following A Skeleton Cat?

Have you ever felt sympathy for the characters that sit around, casually minding their own business, perhaps even just reading a book, when suddenly something out of the ordinary happens and forces them into an adventure they never agreed to going on? Yeah, you probably do.

Anyway, welcome to Kevin's life. Just your ordinary college freshman trying not to overdose on redbull and trying to make it so there was something other than caffeine, Ramen, and spite filling his very being. He never asked for the skeletal cat to jump on him while he was trying to get some fresh air with his roommate, but hey, stuff happens.

Kevin was just minding his own business, on that unseasonably warm October afternoon, his shaggy black hair providing shade for his eyes as he leaned over his textbook, carefully studying linguistics. The authors don't know much about linguistics, so that's about as much detail as you're going to get.

His roommate and best friend, Jason, was lying down on the grass, his dark blue eyes shut and his paint-spotted everything, from his short dark brown hair to his sneakers, stretched out leisurely as he soaked up the sunshine. Kevin resisted the urge to throw something at him. But the need to resist this urge didn't last long.

The skeleton cat that leaped elegantly across Kevin's lap just as he began to stretch out his spine caused him to scream loud enough to startle Jason right out of his peaceful dozing.

"What the heck was that for!" Jason yelled, glaring daggers at his friend. Kevin pushed his textbook off his lap and stood up before beginning to back away.

"Uh, dude, there's a skeleton cat," he stated, his dark eyes wide with terror as he looked at the creature. It seemed to be staring at him, its tail held aloft. The longer he stared, the more Kevin could see just the faintest shadow of a golden color superimposed over the cat's bones, and a piercing green hovering somewhere within its eye sockets. The cat meowed, flicking its tail slightly. Then, as if it had planned for the textbook to be on the ground, the cat neatly picked it up with surprising jaw strength and began carrying it away. But what was more shocking was the slightly moldy stuffed rabbit scampering by and taking Jason's sketchbook with it.

"HEY!" Both boys yelled simultaneously, Jason scrambling to his feet as fast as he could. The cat started running as soon as the bunny passed it, causing both boys to chase them. Now, you'd think that two college aged guys at the peak of their physical condition wouldn't have much trouble chasing down a skeleton cat and zombie bunny, right? Well, when one of them is groggy from a nap and the other hasn't slept in over 48 hours, then things start to get a bit tricky. Then add to the fact that they are running through wild woodlands, complete with rough ground and trees all over the place, then things get harder. They're also chasing rather quick, small animals going in the same direction. It's surprising they weren't as injured as they could have been, and the odd thing was that both animals seemed to make sure that they were following the two of them.

It was a bit of a surprise when the animals stopped suddenly in front of an enormous, gnarled tree. The cat gently placed the textbook on the dirt and meowed again, placing both of his front paws on the cover. It was just then that Kevin thought to question how a skeleton was making sounds like one of its living counterparts. The zombie bunny placed down its prize as well, standing atop it like it were a trophy of a sort.

The boys groaned. These undead forest dwellers wouldn't give up their prizes so easily. Jason then looked around.

"Hey, Kev, do you know where we are?" He asked uneasily. Kevin also looked around.

"Nope," he said, feeling the blood drain out of his face as he looked around in the darkening woods. His attention was drawn back from the woods to his friend, who was walking towards the tree. The bunny tensed, but seemed genuinely confused as the boy passed right by.