Chapter 14- Wicked Forest

The next day, Crystal was late. She had spent time in the forest before school tormenting the faceless shadow. When she arrived at school, she was sent to the head teacher’s office, who immediately rang her mother. Crystal shrugged her shoulders the entire time the principle droned on about the importance of punctuality. She didn’t care about school. What good would an education be, once married in the upcoming months?
Inside she was screaming, on the outside she wore a mask, one that painted a different picture.
In class she acted up, called out and made herself into the class clown. The students would laugh and egg her on. It only encouraged her more. Her screams for help went unnoticed. Yet Crystal knew no one would or could help her. Instead, she stopped holding back.
After school she didn’t return home, rather she went to the game and cheered on Drake. He was the best player on the football team, and captain. He looked hot on the field and when his gaze met hers in the stand, her heart melted. When the game was over, and Salem Academy had won they went out to celebrate.
Drake put his arm around Crystal and leaned in. “So, does the winner get a prize?” he asked raising his eyebrows. Crystal smiled and pressed her lips to his. Her stomach fluttered and heat rose on her cheeks. Pulling back, she gave him a little smile. She touched her lips where the feel of his kiss still lingered.
The others who made up the team and cheerleaders whistled and clapped as they kissed. A few days ago, it would have made Crystal want to run and hide. But this updated version that didn’t care was fine with the attention. She lapped it up, it gave her a sense of belonging.
So, she basked in the feeling, and carried on with her outrageous behaviour. Inside she hated the person she had become. Yet she loved the feeling of being spontaneous and outgoing. She felt alive.
She openly flirted, running her hands down Drake’s chest and feeling his toned muscles under his shirt. All her worries she had let go. By the time she got home it was late. Her house was shrouded in darkness. Not one light was on. Crystal glanced around at the nearby houses. All of them were the same. Where was everyone? Fear trickled its way into Crystal as she made her way to the meeting hall. That too was empty. The streets between the small community were void of life.
***
Ruby stood frozen as she held the phone. Her mother’s voice seemed louder than usual.
“We must protect Crystal from the darkness,” Ruby breathed a sigh of relief. She was sure that Pearl by now would have ratted her out. She felt her muscles relax.
One day soon, her time would come, and her secret would be exposed. Today, she was thankful, wasn’t it?
She changed into her white dress that each of the women in the coven possessed. A dress that never brought good things. She felt her spine turn to ice. She knew what was about to happen, there was nothing she could do to stop it.
She took her coat from the peg and securely fastened the zip before stepping out into the cold. The only way to deal with what was coming was by turning herself off and casting her mind elsewhere. She wondered who the poor soul would be, and then she cast that thought aside. It would only make the guilt worse.
***
With only one place left to look, Crystal pulled her cardigan closer around herself as she headed to the clearing.
All the females wore white dresses. All the men wore white pants and t-shirts. She crouched down, wondering what was going on, she had never seen anything like it before. Yet she had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.
“Tonight, we are gathered here to help our daughter find her way through the darkness. To do so we must make a sacrifice to our ancestors. With the sacrifice, it will open a doorway,” Jeanette looked around at her people with an expression that held no emotion. The entire coven was silent. Not even the small children who were up late and over tired made a sound.
“Not a doorway, in which we are able to cross, but a doorway in which they can guide us, help us in our time of need. Tonight, we will connect with our ancestors.”
Everyone cheered.
“Chosen one’s step forward,” Jeannette ordered.
Three girls walked into the centre and knelt facing the crowd. Jeannette began to chant, the coven chanted along with her. Their voice’s rose in union, each syllable spoken became one.
Crystal felt sweat drench her skin. It’s cold and clammy hands squeezed her chest restricting her breathing. The shrieking screams rang loudly in her ears, while her heart pounded against her painful chest. Crystal’s fingers clenched into fists and her nails dug painfully into the palms of her hands.
She couldn’t hear her rapid breathing through the ringing in her eyes, but she could feel the lack of oxygen entering her body.
Hesitantly she looked at the dead corpses, the teenagers her mother had just drove a dagger through.
Straight into their hearts. They didn’t stand a chance. Fear tortured her guts, churning her stomach in painful cramps. She wanted to scream, she wanted to attack the people who had stood by and done nothing. Yet her body was frozen with terror. The fear she felt overwhelmed her body, the lack of oxygen, became too much. Crystal could feel her mind slipping away as she gasped for breath. She slipped into unconsciousness.