Deep in The Forest

Bremin History

Tyler and I went to my house. No doubt if he went to his house there'd be a lot of shouting between Ty and his Mum. My parents were asleep so, if we went to the basement, they wouldn't hear us talking.

"Thought you didn't like basements?" Tyler whispered, closing the door behind him, careful to not bang it or make it creak loud enough to wake anyone up.

"Only in creepy houses owned by even creepier people." I said, leading Tyler to the basement. He still had that box and it creeped me out.

Why would we need a box full of old papers and pictures of Violet Lacy? She disappeared before we were born. Pretty sure she's dead and has nothing to do with this and, even though I'm believing in all this cult ritual stuff, I draw the line at ghosts. I don't believe in them, I don't want to believe in them and if I did believe in them I'd probably be paranoid of a ghost sneaking up when I'm in the shower. Not a fan of that.

Tyler set the box down on the table and opened it. He took out the book and put in next to the box, he continued to empty things out of the box: newspapers, letters, diary entries and pictures.

"You sure we can be here? What if your parents wake up? They don't exactly like me too much." He wasn't wrong, Tyler's always been a bit of a rebel, even before his Dad...well you know what happened. He just left. My parents were ok with Tyler when we were kids but as we got older they started thinking I would pick up his bad behaviour and decided to ban him from our house. A few weeks after that, his Dad left. My parents gave him the benefit of the doubt for a day or two but then he started skipping school and I skipped once or twice with his two. My Dad said he never wanted to see, hear or think about Tyler again because he was a 'bad influence'.

I kind of see what they mean. I mean, I just broke curfew and followed him through the woods to an old ladies house, and old lady who's being suspected of the murder and teenagers. AND we'd stolen a box of creepy pictures and newspapers. Let's not forget the creepy book about freaking witchcraft.

"Yeah, they can't hear us. If anyone wakes up, it'll be Faye and she's ok with me hanging around you."

"Why is that, actually?"

"What?"

"Why does your Aunt Faye like me?" Tyler finished emptying the box, placed it on the floor and looked me dead in the eye.

"She doesn't think you're a bad kid. I mean, you were the first person I came out to that accepted me instantly, she used that to convince my Dad to let me hang out with you sometimes."

"Of course I was going to accept you. You're me best friend. I always kind of thought you were a boy anyway, even when we were little, little kids." Tyler handed me a messy pile of newspapers and letters. "Here, scan through them see if there's anything interesting."

"It's all about Violet Lacy though. How's that going to help us?"

"Her family was into witchcraft and stuff like that, right? Maybe there's something in there that can explain something."

I picked up the first paper and started reading it.

===

Half a pile later, nothing. Just stuff about her disappearance. Not even a reason why.

"Well, I've got nothing, and I doubt you have either." Tyler looked up at me and smiled. "What?"

"Well, it might be nothing but I found some numbers. Maybe they're page numbers for the book?"

"Let's see." I moved around the table to look at a piece of paper Tyler had written on. "Twenty-five, thirty-four and fifty-seven." I grabbed the book and flipped to page twenty-five.

"What's there?" Tyler looked over my shoulder and I held the book so he could see it.

"'Sacrifices and Rituals'. That sounds lovely." I joked, ripping some paper from the pad of it Tyler had and bookmarking the page.

The other pages talked about markings and symbols. They all did different things and were used in different ways. Some took strength, others made the person they were drawn upon an offering to some higher power the old Bremin Witches believed in. Some caused unbearable pain, lovely, and others caused the user or person who had them on their body to be possessed. I didn't believe that one, anything ghosts can get the heck out now!

"What time is it?" Tyler looked around for a clock.

"Oh it's--" I checked the time on my phone, "4:57am."

"I should probably go home." Tyler started packing the stuff back in the box.

"You could stay here."

"Seth, your Dad--"

"Screw my Dad, not literally. You can stay here, I'll make up an excuse or something." Tyler looked at me as if to say 'Are you sure?'.

"Fine. But if your Dad says I have to get out, I'm getting out."

"Deal."

Tyler and I packed away everything but kept the book out and put the box in the corner of the basement, out of sight. We walked up the basement stairs and into the living room. Then up to my room. Tyler said he's sleep on the floor and said he wasn't going to argue about it. I grabbed him some blankets and pillows and he built himself a bed on the floor at the bottom of my bed.

"Night, Seth."

"Night, Ty Guy."

"Don't call me that."

A/N

Things are unfolding! I'm getting really excited about the ending even though I've had so much fun writing this and I don't want it to end, but I kind of do want it to end if that makes sense.

I've been writing prequels to this. Stuff like Seth and Tyler as kids and growing up together, Tyler's Dad and why he left, Lily before her Mum died and she moved to Bremin and Margret Lacy's past. I'll post them after this stories finished and try to put them in a good order.

Hoped you liked this part.

C'ya! xx