Pushing in behind him, Todd let out a loud gasp, and then took a step back. “No.”
What little furniture there was had been piled into the corners. Complex symbols and shapes drawn in black covered the walls and the ceiling. Rendered on the old wood floor were more symbols and shapes in what looked like white chalk.
“I’ve seen these before,” Todd whispered, gesturing to the cryptic graffiti covering every surface.
“And?” Shaney asked, waiting for the punch line.
“And, fuck, this is bad.”
Chapter Eight
“Define ‘bad,’” Shaney croaked.
“Like oh-shit-you-don’t-mess-with-anything-this-powerful bad.” Todd sounded a bit awestruck.
Shaney continued to run the beam of the flashlight over the symbols, which looked like a cross between something occult, Egyptian, and tenth-grade geometry class. The symbols ranged from small, about a foot wide, to massive, like the one on the floor that spanned at least eight feet. Taken as a whole, each symbol was a dizzying array of angles, circles, and intersecting lines. But looking closely, Shaney could discern repeating patterns such as triangles, squares, and circles. Other odd shapes and numbers rounded out the symbols. It was as if he’d jumped straight into an episode of Supernatural. Maybe last year’s attempted exorcism of Shaney’s alleged demon hadn’t been so far-fetched.
“How fucking long would it take draw something like this?” The angles were too precise, the lines too straight. Someone had taken painstaking care in executing these images.
“So not the part to be focusing on,” Todd said dryly.
“So what’s all of this for? Some kind of magic spell? Some occult shit? Exorcism? Voodoo?” Shaney tried for sarcasm, but with the hair standing up on his neck and tremors rippling his skin, he couldn’t pull it off. He stared at the massive circular symbol that consumed the floor and swore the lines vibrated. He opened and closed his eyes to try and stop the visual disturbance.
“Yes and no to all of the above,” Todd stated matter-of-factly while pulling out his phone.
“What’re you doing?”
“Taking pictures.” The blinding white flash lit the room as Todd methodically documented the symbols without moving closer into the room.
“Change places with me.” Todd scooted past Shaney to capture the symbols on the wall behind him. “Whatever you do, don’t step on any symbols,” Todd said just as Shaney was about to lay his shoe on one.
Shaney twisted mid-step to avoid the small S-shaped symbol beneath his foot, but his center of balance shifted when he knocked his shoulder against the open door. The momentum slammed the door shut and Shaney stumbled back into the room. Flailing his arms, he managed to remain upright.
Todd turned to Shaney. His face paled in the illumination from their flashlights. His eyes widened in what Shaney could only describe as unadulterated horror.
Shaney chuckled nervously. “Umm, Todd, I stepped on a symbol,” Shaney said, standing almost dead center of the largest one on the floor. No answer. When Shaney tried to move, his lower body wouldn’t respond. Oh, shit. “Todd, I stepped on a fucking symbol and I can’t move!” Panic flooded his system with adrenaline as he repeatedly tried, unsuccessfully, to move. That seemed to snap Todd out of his trance.
Todd glanced around the room, and Shaney hoped he was looking for a solution to his dilemma. Todd’s eyes stopped on the closed door. A partial symbol covering the door lined up with a symbol that was its mirror image on the wall adjacent to it. Closing the door had made the two halves a whole.
“Damn it!” Todd sprinted to the door, leaping over symbols on the floor. He grabbed the handle and yanked hard on the door, but it didn’t budge.
A low vibration beneath Shaney’s feet pulled his attention away from Todd’s struggle. He frowned. The vibrations reminded him of an approaching train on the railroad tracks—and his foot was caught in the proverbial rails.
“Todd?” Shaney swallowed hard as the vibrating intensified and filled his legs.
Todd stilled his attempts to open the door and turned back to Shaney.
“Todd, something’s happening. Get me off of here!” Shaney pleaded as all of the hairs on his body stood on end. A shot of tingling energy pulsed up through the soles of his cross trainers, and flashed through his entire body. A chest-vibrating monotone hum filled the air, much like the buzz that emanated from the power station near Shaney’s childhood home.
Todd lunged forward in an attempt to grab Shaney’s wrist, but a blue spark zapped Todd’s hand. He pulled back with a painful scowl.
“T-Todd d-do some…thing!” Shaney managed as his chest heaved and bright stars crowded his vision. The unrelenting stream of energy coursing through his body sparked stings of agony along his overworked nerves. Beyond the bone-jarring hum, an incessant pounding grew louder, more demanding.