THE RITUAL OF EIGHT
Peer pressure is like gravity. It pulled seven of us into a graveyard on Halloween night, unable to resist the eighth, with his black hole of an ego. But the real reason we followed Marcus? Because we were bored, stupid kids on Halloween, that’s why.
We should’ve left when Marcus made us wear robes and chant nonsense. I never imagined he’d actually go through with his half-baked ritual to extend our own lives by taking another. But then he did it. While we chanted what he told us was Latin for “out of one, into eight,” Marcus used a dagger to make a ritualistic sacrifice. He killed.
I felt sick for weeks. I couldn’t look in the mirror, and I avoided my “friends.” We all had blood on our hands.
Then the accidents started happening. Lee tripped off the bleachers and snapped her neck. David’s bedroom burned from an overturned candle. Marjorie swerved in front of a bus. Carlos got locked in his basement during a deadly allergic reaction. One by one they died, until only two of us were left.
At last I cornered Marcus outside gym class.
“Fix this, you asshole!”
“Fix what? What’re you talking about?”
I almost punched his smug face. “Have you heard what all these accidents had in common?”
“No. What?”
“Us, for one thing! And cats. A bunch of black cats were seen near each accident, and it’s likely they caused them.”
He shrugged, but his smugness vanished. “So?”
“One sacrificial black cat. Eight of us. I know you’re failing Math, but how many lives does that add up to?”
Finally, I saw fear in his eyes.
Credits to: TerrifiedByTwilight
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JUST LIKE IN THE MOVIES
I’ll admit, I was a little nervous. Walking down the street last night, it was exactly like what you’d see in so many cheesy horror movies. Well past midnight on Halloween, a full moon was the only light in the darkness as the wind howled through the trees and sent long-dead leaves flying in its wake. As they fell, they’d create a soft rustle that made you wonder if someone was hiding in the shadows just out of sight. If it were a horror movie, it would have been the exact moment the girl would turn around and let out a blood-curdling shriek when she saw the monster that was creeping up behind her.
Luckily, real life isn’t like the movies. She never saw me coming.
Credits to: ACTUAL_TIME_TRAVELER
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