Insidious(49)

I shrieked as a burning pain suddenly seared my left forearm. Yanking up my sleeve, I saw that same upside-down Y symbol inked into my skin glowing red again.

What did this thing mean?

The last time it had acted up was just before that Hellhound attacked. My blood ran cold in realization.

I was in danger.

Everything had gone quiet. Even the low chorus of chirping insects died down. I dug into my pockets for my phone, only to realize I’d left it in my book bag beside my desk. Laughter broke the silence, whirling me around. By the echoes ricocheting off the vast woodlands, it must have come from a distance. Another bout followed, this time a much higher pitch. Definitely a woman. Only, she wasn’t laughing.

“Please!”

That invisible tether in me urged me forward.

“Please, stop!”

I was definitely going to regret this…

Keeping low amongst the thicket, I tiptoed towards the hysteria, still hearing healthy fits of laughter. And it was coming from multiple sources now.

“That’s not how you say it, idiot,” snorted a masculine voice.

“You think you’re so smart? You try reading it then,” gnashed a different voice. Another male.

The ground sloped up, and I peered over the top of the hill side, seeing a flat, open stretch of field. Seven eight people I counted in total, all men…with the exception of one. A blonde adorned in what looked like a white silk nightie. She wrestled against the guy holding her, his arm securing her around the neck. It was hard to tell from this distance, but they all appeared to be around my age, college students at the most. The blonde clawed her nails and beat her bound fists against the guy holding her, and he merely laughed, suddenly pinning a knife to the side of her face. She immediately stilled, silent tears still streaming down her face.

“Please, Will… You don’t have to do this! Please, just let me go,” whimpered the poor girl, looking to another member of the group.

The guy in question, Will, snickered and snatched a piece of yellow parchment from another one of his buddies. “Let’s see… Ah… ‘Purr san-gwin…nose offer…tye-bye et sacrifice-ee-umm’…ugh…”

“For God’s sake, give me that.” The guy holding the blonde lobbed her over to Will and took the paper from him. “Were you morons giving each other blowjobs when the Boss read this to you? It’s ‘Per sanguine nos offer tibi et sacrificium quod Magister.’”

They all began chanting the phrase, rather ineptly at first, but they eventually fell into sync with one another. The bits of debris littering the grass around them spontaneously burst into flames, ensnaring them in a ring of fire. The symbol on my arm singed my skin like a hot poker, and I couldn’t bottle the pain. It wasn’t more than a small squeal, but everyone’s heads shot in my direction.

Shit.

Two of the men walked right through the growing flames, their pant legs catching fire. Neither so much as blinked before charging right towards me. It was too dark for them to have seen me, but if I took off running, they’d have no problem spotting me. So I hunkered down, ducking beneath the dead log beside me that was pinned against a standing tree. Every inch of me froze, trying to blend into the foliage as barreling footsteps stopped at the brink of the drop-off.

They couldn’t see me…

They couldn’t see me…

Leaves rained down all around me, sliding down the hillside as the guy trampled their way down. I didn’t even dare taking a breath, feeling the log above me bowing as feet stood atop it.

“K-r-r-r-r-ick! K-r-r-r-r-ick!” Fluttering ignited overhead, and I strained to see the white and brown wings of a barn owl swooping toward a nearby tree.

The weight lifted off the log, and I could hear their footsteps trudging back up the hillside. “It’s nothing,” the voice directly above me called out.

I needed to do something, but what? It was seven against one. The symbol on my arm ignited again, forcing me to bury my cry into my balled up fist. I pinched my eyes shut, trying to hold back from all-out screaming.

“You guys done screwing around?” The voice was right in front of me.

I immediately flung my eyes open, only to find myself standing inside the blazing inferno, facing the backs of the men. I recoiled, but couldn’t leave. The fire ensnaring us inside this circle came up past my waist.

“Just kill her already, and let’s get this show on the road,” huffed Will lazily, looking more annoyed than concerned at the blonde captured in his arms. The group began chanting again when the girl throttled her head back, hammering Will right in the nose. His grip loosened just enough for her to break free. She took off running, leaping right over the soaring blaze. The blonde yelped as her bare feet tickled the top of the flames, and she crashed into the grass on the other side of the clearing. But it didn’t stop her. Hauling herself up with her bound hands, the blonde sprang up and continued running.