A
"That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even death may die."
In the town of Royal Woods, there came a phenomenon the likes of which the town never has seen before. It would transpire within the residence of the Loud family. It began on a Thursday afternoon. Lana was playing with the family dog Charles per usual. They had been rummaging through the garbage cans for pitched scraps of food.
"What's that, boy?" Lana asked. Charles was sniffing the air with the utmost enthusiasm. He darted towards the direction of the smell with Lana barely being able to keep up. They arrived to see that perfectly good hotdogs were tossed into the dumpster behind a restaurant.
"The nerve of some people," Lana scoffed, "throwing away perfectly good food."
She wasted no time and did a cannonball into the open dumpster. "Come on, Charles, you're missing out!"
Charles panted and went to jump in only to stop suddenly. There came a soft voice that infiltrated the dog's mind almost like a disease. It was a distinctly feminine sounding voice that oozed of allure. "Charles," it said.
Charles' eyes transformed into a dark shade of red as he aimlessly followed the sound of the voice. The dog trudged forward completely ignoring Lana's panicked calling for him to return. She leaped out of the dumpster nearly falling over herself due to her clothes being drenched with the wetness and stickiness from the dumpster.
"Charles!"
A blue minivan was driving down the street. As typical with some drivers, the driver was too preoccupied with his cell phone. "Don't worry, dear, I'll be there in no time." He was busily messaging his significant other not noticing that Charles was walking into the road until he heard Lana's yells. "What the!?"
He slammed on his brakes whilst dropping his phone on the floor. Charles stopped his mindless trudge to stare at the man in the minivan. There came a low crunch climaxing in the man accidentally totaling his vehicle. Lana screamed in defeat.
The funeral for Charles was arranged by Lucy. The family was all gathered, wearing black alongside the McBrides and the Casagrandes. Lucy started the occasion. "We're gathered here today to bid a sorrowful farewell to our dog, Charles." She motioned for one of her siblings to pick up after her. Lola decided to go first. She was clearly distraught over the incident.
"Charles was in our family for years," she began, "but what I'll never be able to do is forgive Lana."
Lana's eyes widened in fury. "How is this my fault?"
Lola looked at her with a scornful expression. "You always go through garbage cans. You were too busy eating hotdogs to notice that our actual dog was about to get hit." She crossed her arms defiantly. "If you didn't do that, Charles would still be alive."
"Why I oughta!" Lola said, snapping her knuckles in her fisted hand. Lola was standing on a podium at the time, forcing her to take on feline attributes and pounce on her. They were fighting each other per the usual, but this time, it felt more forceful and unprovoked. Lincoln and a few of his sisters ran onto the stand as an attempt at prying the two from each other. They were practically tangled together in their burst of blind fury. Rita scolded the two while also crossing her arms. "Lola, I know that you're upset, but you should take what you said about Charles back."
Lola shook her head. "It is true, though."
This act renewed Lana's anger. Her legs kicked around fervently in Lynn's grip; she tried to squirm her way out of Lynn's hold, but this action only indicated to her older sister that she needed to apply more pressure to restrain her. Lola was locked in Lincoln's hold but due to him being weaker than Lynn, she had little difficulty escaping, primarily by biting Lincoln's arm. He winced in pain in his feeble attempts at recapturing his sister. Lola ran towards her twin sister with all her might. Unfortunately, her long black funerary dress caused her to slip; she fell into an open hole and onto a box. Whatever they had managed to salvage of their deceased dog was in the box. The fighting quickly ceased as fast as it began.
"Lola..." Lana kicked Lynn in the shin forcing her to finally release her. Lynn yelled after her, but instead of jumping into the hole to further beat her twin sister up, she instead ran a straight line into the front yard. "Lana, come back, I'm sorry!" Lola screamed. Lana kept running not once stopping and or looking back. She gave it her all until she arrived at the dumpster at the back of the restaurant. The same one that cost her the death of her beloved pet. Breathing heavily, Lana collapsed in front of the dumpster in despair. Ugly, thick tears streamed down her face. "I'm so sorry, Charles. If there was only a way, I could bring you back."
"That could be arranged, my dear."
Lana jumped at the sudden voice. "Who said that!?" She looked around sporadically trying to find the source of the voice. It was then she met a peculiar girl. The girl had short black hair alongside a pink top and white skirt. A purple, fluffy neck wrap was wrapped around her. Her final noticeable attribute was a brunette snow hat. Her green eyes illuminated ominously. At the same time, she seemed affable enough. Friendly, even.
"Who are you?" Lana asked. Something about this girl was unnerving. She was most assuredly trying to pass herself off as human but was doing a horrible job at doing it. But most bizarre, she claimed that she could help her with her plight over her dead pet. Lana felt the strange girl was eavesdropping on her private thoughts. "My name is Maya Lottie," she said. She smiled slightly. "And yes, I do know how I can bring back your Charles." Lana's eyes widened. "Really? How?"
Maya tilted her head. "Why with this book, of course."
A book suddenly manifested in her hand. It was laced with a brown, ancient covering. Lana was perplexed. Malice was emitting through the covers; whatever this book was, it would only be problematic down the line. Yet, Maya insisted that it would be helpful in her pursuit of resurrecting Charles.
"The name of the book is the Necronomicon," Maya explained, "in it are passages on how to bring a loved one back from the dead." Maya took the book and flipped through the pages. "A certain ritual has to be done, but I assure you it is worth it."
Lana didn't know what to say. This mysterious girl just came up and entrusted a book in her care despite just meeting her. "Thanks, Maya," Lana said, "but why are you helping me?"
Maya's smile left her face. "I was in a similar position as you, Lana."
"You were?"
Maya nodded her head. "Yes. I lost my father a few years ago, and like with Charles, I wanted him back. Desperately. I traveled here and there to reverse his death, and in my journey, I was given a tip by a shaman saying that the Necronomicon could revive him."
Maya took Lana's hand. "I promise you, that Charles will be back if you just trust me." Lana stared at the book then back at Maya. It was still something she was uncertain of. This book was something that Lucy would love to have in her possession. A sense of dread filled her stomach. But if this was really the only way, she could ever see Charles again, why not.
"It's a deal."
The two girls shook on it. Lana went to say something else, but she heard the familiar blaring of the family Vanzilla. She quickly bid Maya ado and ran with the book between her arms. Maya smiled at her. When she was completely gone, Maya's smile grew wider, wrapping around her face. Her eyes glowed deeper and her chuckling grew darker and more demonic.
