Something Wicked

Welcome to the 80's

July, 1987 Santa Carla

Between one step and the next, October found herself standing in the smouldering ruins of a house. She slapped a hand over her mouth to stifle a gasp as she stood frozen in abject horror.

What the actual fuck!

Debris and gore surrounded her and most of it was on fire. It looked like the house was caught in the tail end of a disaster flick. Hell, there was an entire car parked through a gaping hole through the front of house!

Something really, really bad had gone down there. And recently too, she could tell because the air was still thick with smoke from the hungry flames.

Fuck I gotta get outta here!

She took a step back and in the dark with clumsy steps, stumbled over splintered wood. She could hardly see through the hazy air where an exit might be. As she took in the house's layout, she caught sight of the red light drenching the next room in an eerie glow. Drawn to the light, she took a step towards it... and that's when she saw the impaled body.

"Holy FUCK!" she gasped, trying not to gag at the awful sight.

She blinked back tears as the putrid air began to sting her eyes, at least, that's what she told herself at the time.

"What is happening right now?" she whimpered as she backed away.

Meow!

She spun around, her heart lodged in her throat.

Before her, a black cat sat staring up at her with acid green eyes. Somehow this was the least strange part about that night.
And then, she didn't so much as hear that she so much as felt where she had to go and what she had to do. Though she was still a little bit frightened, she was filled with a new purpose as she stared into those bright green eyes.

The black cat blinked and turned away from her, padding towards the stairs. The girl followed in a daze. Up the stairs and into the wrecked bathroom, the black cat stopped.

Meow!

The cat pawed the ground, pointing in a certain direction expectantly. She hesitantly followed where it was looking with her. There, resting in a bathtub of foul colored water, was a human skeleton with bits of flesh clinging stubbornly here and there.

She looked back to her furry guide questioningly, her stomach turning at the thought of how those flesh peeled off their bones. The cat offered no advice. Merely stared at her in what she could only call anticipation.

"Oh man this is so messed up," she whined, turning to face the bathtub. "Am I in The Shining right now?"

You know what you have to do, a voice whispered in her head. So do it. And then we can leave this horror show behind.

She jerked her gaze towards the cat in shock. The cat merely winked at her, its tail flickering lazily across the wet floor in amusement.

"I am definitely going to need to get my head checked after this," she muttered to herself, shaking her head.

She lifted a hand and stared at it. This felt right. The voice said that she knew what to do and she realized it was true. She flipped her hand palm up and concentrated. To me, she commanded, staring at the half submerged skeleton. The air became heavy and the puddles of water on the floor rippled with vibrations. She curled her fingers into a fist. Just as she knew would happen, the skeleton rose from the murky water and hovered in the air.

The cat purred, pleased, before darting out of the room and down the stairs again. She followed close behind, the floating skeleton bringing up the rear. Debris was shoved aside and flames smothered by an unseen force as she approached the house's den. Already waiting for her, the cat was seated near the remains of a busted stereo.