The Curse of Salem: Chapter 1 Part 1/2

***I DIDN'T WRITE ANY OF THESE VERSES, THEY'RE EITHER FROM THE INTERNET OR FROM A BOOK. I HAVE ALTERED A FEW OF THEM TO BETTER GO WITH THE SITUATIONS IN THE STORY***


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3 months later...



"By the bright moonlight on this August night, I call to thee to give me your might, by the power of three I conjure thee, to protect all that surrounds me. By the bright moonlight..." I chant as I walk in a wide circle around my campsite, sprinkling the freshly brewed elixir onto the ground as I go. The oily mixture trickles between my fingers as it falls to the earth, filling me with a sense of warmth and safety. I reach into my pocket and pull out my blessed stone as I complete the circle, whispering a small blessing in Latin. I feel a zap of energy pulse through my body as the invisible circle sizzles, glows faintly, and then fades, leaving a charcoal black ring in it's place. An overwhelming sense of relief falls over me.  

Along with the relief comes exhaustion. I barely manage to stay standing as I stagger to the center of my circle and place the stone down gently. 

Finally, I can relax.

I sit down heavily beside the stone, and examine my surroundings. I'm in a thinly wooded forest, somewhere in rural Idaho. The trees stretch high above my head, spiraling up towards the sky, their leaves glinting in the moonlight. The forest floor, heaving upwards and dipping down to create a bumpy terrain, is littered with dead leaves and broken tree branches. I can hear the rushing water of a river somewhere to the east, and I can barely see the glinting of a pond to my right. I look up at the sky where the moon hangs in the center, framed by a delicate network of stars. I smile as I let my skin soak up the moonlight, making me feel more alert, and filling me with a tingling sensation that can only be power and energy. I think of all the times I've done this before, by myself, or with them. My friends, my Sisters, the only ones who share my secret, the only ones who ever will. I wish I could be what they want me to be, but I- NO, I can never wish to be one of them. They're twisted, sick murderers. I wish they could see what I see; the delicate beauty of a bird in flight, the intricacy of the veins in a leaf, the peculiar way the tides come and go, the gentleness of a hand at work- but I know they can't. They don't want to, and they never will.

I feel the aching sadness start to creep into my chest, so I stand up and busy myself with preparing my tent. I've brought only the bare minimum: tent, small stove & fuel, swiss army knife, mess kit, blanket, a little food, a change of clothes, and some spell ingredients. Once I've settled for a while, I'll stock up on more, but for right now I just have to deal.

The sky begins to darken, and I can sense rain is coming. I hurriedly finish my tent and crawl inside with my pack just as the first drops start to fall. It's just a drizzle, nothing heavy, but I still count my lucky stars as I pull my cup from my pack, and unzip the tent to place it outside. Once I've zipped it closed again, I sit patiently for several minutes, running my fingers through my hair. My mother used to do that whenever she was anxious, so I guess I picked it up from her. 

My anxiety worsens. It should have happened by now. I should have had a new vision of them, where they are, what they're doing. It's worked so well, I don't want to believe it's worn off, or worse- that they've found out what I'm doing. I sigh, and turn to my pack to prepare for sleep. Oh well, what's one night? If I don't see them tomorrow, then I'll know somethings wrong, but maybe they just haven't moved today. Maybe they're just looking even more thoroughly wherever they are. Looking for me. 

God! I need to relax. The protection charm I cast on myself should work for at least another month, and the Circle will be activated until I leave. I have nothing to worry about. Nothing at all.

With that thought, I pull out my blanket, curl it around myself, and using my pack as a pillow, I lay myself down to sleep.
-

I'm in a meadow. It's filled with flowers, and tall soft grass. There's a little cottage at the northern edge, I can see a couple having breakfast inside.

I don't understand why, but I'm furious. Livid with anger.

"She's not here!" a girls voice calls from the western side of the meadow. Though I didn't think it could grow anymore, my anger rises.

"She's left us a false trail! Curse her!" I scream at the sky. I can sense the family in the cottage looking my way.

"We must find the real one before she erases it. It may already be too late, but we can try." another girl emerges from the eastern woods, she has dark brown hair curling down her back. 

I try to calm myself. It's hard, but I manage. "Come Sisters, it's time for us to leave." I snap my fingers, and they hurry to my side. I pull from my cloak a vial full of a mustard colored liquid, churning around and around as if it is alive. "Ready yourselves".

They each place a hand on my shoulder as I open the vial with a pop. Very carefully, I tip the vial over the ground in front of me, letting a drop fall from it. As I put the cork back in the vial, the ground begins to sizzle, as if the dirt were a hot skillet and the drop of potion was butter. Suddenly, the ground cracks open, revealing endless darkness beneath. 

I look up at the cottage. The couple doesn't know what's happened, but they can see the hole in the ground. They're staring out the window, gawking. The woman has a phone in her hand, and she's pressing numbers frantically. I smile and wave my hand toward the cottage.

As the house explodes into oblivion, I step up to the edge of the crevice and prepare to step into the blackness.

"We'll see you soon, Abigail. I can't wait."

I smile, and then I'm falling...
-

I wake up with a jolt, my whole body is trembling, a sheen of sweat covers my face. The feeling of falling was so real, so terrifying. *What the hell?* I think, wiping the dampness from my face. 

"Jon! What happened?" Mike hops out of his bed, and hurries over to me, placing a hand on my shoulder. I shrug it off, remembering that someone did that in my dream. My nightmare.

"Jonathan, what was it? A nightmare?" Mike hovers over me, obviously concerned by the look on my face.

I'm still for a moment, then I pull the covers back, and step out of bed. As I pick up the phone and start dialing, I see the time, 4:32am. 

They pick up on the second ring. "I have a big history presentation tomorrow, so this better be pretty good." Dan says, grogginess and irritation in his voice. I turn towards Mike as I speak, watching the shock cross his face at my words.

"I had a nightmare about the Sisters of Salem. They're looking for someone, a girl named Abigail. And I have a really bad feeling that we're going to see her soon."

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Comments/critique wanted!!!