"Amongst Friends" [7 ♠️]

 Hi, I'm D.L. Dare. Recently, I came up with a writing challenge for myself. With 52 weeks in a year, there are 52 cards in a deck, aside from Jokers. I made a list where whatever card I draw, there's a random prompt for it. And I have a week to put a story together. The prompt list can be found in my pinned posts.

This week, I randomly drew a 7 for Fake/All A Dream, and a Spade for Monster! I present to you, the bone-chilling tale of 'Amongst Friends!'

I got out of my car, the dead leaves of fall crunching beneath my feet. The forest surrounding me looked beautiful. It's no wonder my friend, Rebecca, had decided to rent a cabin out here for the weekend. And looking in the distance, I could just make out the cabin. I could see smoke rising from the chimney. It looks like she's already there, I thought.

I walked down the narrow clearing and found myself at the cabin's front door rather quickly. It was small, and the dark wood it was built from was a nice contrast to all of the surrounding trees, which appeared to be a few shades brighter. I gave the door a knock.

It didn't take long before I heard a muffled voice from behind the door. Shortly after, the door flung open. Standing behind it was Rebecca, greeting me with a smile.

"Jess!" she exclaimed, her arms outstretched for a hug. "It's so good to see you again!"

I hugged her back. It had been so long since the last time I had seen her. It must have been close to ten years.

After the hug ended, she invited me inside. As soon as I stepped inside, my nose was greeted with an aroma of something savory. Was she cooking? It appeared so, as the kitchen had a few bowls and pans strewn about.

"I hope you're hungry," she said, making her way into the kitchen. She hovered over what appeared to be an old-fashioned oven. "I'm making meatloaf. My grandma's recipe."

"That sounds amazing," I said. "I skipped out on lunch to get here a little early."

I made my way to the couch that sat not too far from the door and took a seat, letting out a sigh of relief. It felt good to relax my back after the long drive. As I sat, I closed my eyes and threw my head back. The couch was soft enough that I could almost fall asleep at this moment, however, my hunger and the delicious smells kept me from drifting.

"So, what have you been up to all these years?" she asked.

"Not much really," I replied. "I've mainly been doing freelance animation."

"So, you're still into art, huh?" she asked. "I remember how talented you were in high school."

"Yeah," I said. "I went to art school for a few years and they taught me some animation techniques. It's very time-consuming, but the end results always seem worth it."

"You'll have to show me what you've made some time," she said. I heard a timer ringing. "Oh, the meatloaf must be done!"

As soon as she opened the oven door, the smell that had left my stomach growling grew to be something that I was almost salivating over. I could almost taste it in the air.

She grabbed us some plates and plopped a decent-sized cut of meatloaf, as well as a few carrots and potatoes on them. She brought them to the table in front of the couch and we dug in.

***

By the time I was done eating, I could feel my stomach bulging from under my shirt. I was never much of a heavy eater, so eating this much was a rarity.

Setting my plate down on the table and leaning back, I held back a belch with little success. She and I laughed about it.

Looking around the cabin, I couldn't help but notice a few books lying around. a few of them have 'Ghost' or 'Paranormal' in the title. This made me a little suspicious about her intentions here.

"Out of curiosity, why did you choose these woods to stay at?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" she asked, taken aback.

"I mean, this forest is beautiful, don't get me wrong," I explained. "But you know what happened here, right?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she said, a half-hearted laugh escaping her lips. "Are the woods haunted or something?"

"Well, the other day after we made plans to meet here, I looked up where this place was and there were some news articles that came up with it," I explained. "Apparently a few years ago some kids were camping out here and then accidentally started a forest fire. None of them could escape and they all died."

She looked shocked by what I had told her. "I had no idea."

"Yeah," I said. "I thought you knew, with all of these ghost books you have lying around."

"Oh, you noticed them?" she seemed a little embarrassed, standing up and grabbing a couple. "I've been watching scary movies lately and got a little curious."

"I'm sorry," I said, feeling bad for pointing out the books.

"It's no big deal," she said, putting them in a black bag that she had with her in the kitchen. "Everybody has their hobbies."

***

The sun fell beneath the horizon, making way for the other stars to shine in the night sky. And much like the sun, Rebecca and I were also striving for a rest. There wasn't much room in the cabin for any beds, so we had to sleep on the couch and recliner respectively. She opted to sleep on the recliner. I insisted that she sleep on the couch because I felt bad, but she wouldn't budge on her decision.

We gathered our blankets and pillows from our bags and turned out the lights. The only light that was shown now was from the moon outside.

We wished each other a good night. She seemed to be the first one to fall asleep, as I could hear soft breathing coming from her. And listening to the crickets chirp outside, I fell asleep shortly after.

***

I awoke to the sound of yelling in the distance. At least that's what I believed it was. It was hard to tell because after waking, I didn't hear anything.

I looked around the cabin, just to ensure that everything was as it should be. That's when I spotted the empty recliner. Where had Rebecca gone? I hesitated to leave the bed and look for her but then came the smell of smoke. Was there a fire nearby?

I threw the blanket off of me and climbed off of the couch. I called for her but got no response. That's when the panic started to set in. I slipped on my shoes and stepped outside, calling for her once again. There was, once again, no response. And the smell of smoke grew.

It was hard to see, guided by the moonlight, but I managed to make my way down a path. I followed the smell until I saw an orange light in the distance. A flame.

I treaded through dirt and leaves, twigs snapping under my feet as I went.

As I walked, felt the wind picking up. Through the whistles in the wind, I could swear that I heard disembodied voices whispering around me. It was hard to make out anything they were saying if they were saying anything at all.

As I got closer to the fire, the voices only grew louder. They were definitely voices.

Through the light of the fire, I could make out what looked to be the silhouette of Rebecca. She had her back turned to me, and she seemed to be holding a book as if reading from it. Was she performing some kind of ritual?

I called out to her and she instantly lowered her book and turned to me. It looked like she was trying to hide away.

I began to run after her. I had to know what she was up to. But as I ran, I felt my foot snag on the root of a tree. I didn't have time to react and catch myself, so I fell hard against the dirt and everything faded to black.

***

My eyes gently opened as the smell of bacon filled the air. Was Rebecca making breakfast? I sat up and looked to the kitchen to see her standing over a skillet, mixing the contents with a spatula. The sizzling alone made my stomach growl.

Though I was eager for some food, I couldn't help but remember what I had dreamed about, seeing her in the woods, performing some kind of ritual. I mean, it had to have been a dream, right?

As I got to my feet, I felt like something was missing. I felt for my neck and immediately knew. My necklace was gone. I looked around the couch for it, turning over the blanket and digging my hands under the cushions, but no luck.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," said Rebecca as she began to plate some eggs and bacon. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just lost my necklace," I said, a hint of grogginess in my voice. She looked more shocked about what I had said rather than concerned, which confused me.

"It'll turn up," she said. She sat her skillet down, grabbed the plates, and sat one down in front of me. "Eat up, we're going on a hike through the woods afterward.

***

A cool breeze blew past me, dancing on my skin as we stepped out into the wooded landscape surrounding us. Rebecca took a deep breath, taking in nature. I wanted to do the same, but it felt weird to try.

I saw her taking off down a familiar path. She then turned to me and waved her hand for me to follow her. Something about these woods felt off in a way I couldn't quite put my finger on, but after a short hesitation, I followed her.

"So, what have you been up to all these years?" I asked. She and I were friends way back in high school, but after she moved, I hadn't heard from her. Not until I found her online about a week ago.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she replied.

"Try me," I laughed. Why was she being so vague?

"Well," she hesitated for a moment before continuing. "I've been traveling and doing research on the paranormal. Not a lot of research, just trying to satisfy a morbid curiosity."

"I completely understand," I said. "I was the same way about bugs for the longest time. It's why I started animating, I love the way their appendages move when they crawl around."

As we talked, we came across a clearing that looked familiar. Why did it look so familiar? Then, my eyes were drawn to something on the ground, darker than the surrounding grass. My necklace.

I ran over to it and snatched it up off the ground. I rolled it over in my hands, trying to wrap my head around what this meant. If my necklace was out here, could that mean that the dream I had wasn't actually a dream? Was Rebecca actually out here last night, performing a ritual of some kind.

"What is it?" Rebecca asked, drawing me back from my thoughts.

"I found my necklace," I replied, raising it to where she could see it.

"What's it doing out here?" she asked, her voice slightly shifting tone.

"Why don't you tell me?" I said, walking back to her. "What were you doing out here last night?"

"I wasn't out here," she insisted nervously. "You must have dreamed it."

"I literally have proof that I saw you last night," I said, raising my necklace. "How else would this have gotten out here? It must have fallen off when I fell."

"But nothing happened out here last night," she said.

"Okay, if you're going to keep lying to me, I'm just going to leave," I said, beginning to walk away.

There was a brief pause, but Rebecca broke the silence, "Jess, wait!"

I turned around to face her. "What?" I said sternly.

"You're right, okay?" she said. "I was out here last night because I was trying to get my friends' attention."

"Well you certainly got mine," I said, rolling my eyes. "What, were you trying to get the attention of a park ranger or something, with that massive fire?! You could have died!"

"I already have died," she said.

I felt my stomach sink as she said those words. She died? What does that even mean?

"Okay, what the hell are you talking about?" I demanded. "You're right in front of me. You made me breakfast for crying out loud! How the hell are you dead?"

"A better question is 'how the hell am I alive again?'" she said. There was a pause as she and I looked at each other, not understanding the situation at all.

What was she saying? Did she really think that she was dead? What, does she think she's a ghost or zombie or something?

"Look, you know those kids that died here all those years ago in that fire?" she asked. I nodded. "I was one of those kids. I died! For all those years, there was nothing. Just me, floating in a void of non-existence. My mind was alive but nothing else existed. An endless slumber.

"But then one day, I was alive again. I just woke up in the middle of these woods, my body intact and all. I was alive and have no idea how it happened."

"How do you expect me to believe you?" I said, shaking my head in disbelief. "You disappeared for years. You moved somewhere else and I never heard from you for so long. Now you expect me to believe you were dead the whole time? How much sense does that make?"

"I can prove it," she said. "Get on your phone and look up my name. There's an obituary."

"Yeah right," I rolled my eyes. "Even if I wanted to, there's no phone service out here."

"I forgot about that," she said to herself.

"Look, I'm gonna get out of here," I said. "If your ritual, or whatever you were doing out here, summons something I don't want to be here for it."

"But I need you here!" she shouted.

I turned to face her, disturbed by her words. "I'm sorry, what?"

"That came out wrong," she said. "Look, just stay one last night and you can leave in the morning. I promise, no more rituals, no more ghost talk. Just you and me and the cabin."

I looked her over, debating whether or not to trust her. I didn't really feel like leaving yet. I took off work for this trip. I don't have anything to do at home.

"Okay, fine," I shrugged. "But I'm leaving first thing tomorrow morning."

***

As night fell and I rested my eyes before the long trip back home the next day, I couldn't help but feel that something was a little off. Sleep did not come to me as easily as it once had. But eventually, it did arrive.

I managed to rest for what I could guess was possibly two hours before I was abruptly awakened by a voice. Was that Rebecca?

I opened my eyes to find her standing over me, her hand on my chest, weighing me down almost painfully. I tried getting up to push her away, but I found that I couldn't move. Had she tied me to the couch somehow?

I struggled against my restraints, grunting. That seemed to get her attention. Her face was obscured by a book, but it was too dark to make out the words on the cover.

She dug her fingers even deeper into my chest and some foreign words escaped her mouth. The way she spoke almost didn't sound human. Suddenly, there was a swirling wind that seemed to pick up from the middle of the room, creating an invisible vortex. In the wind, I could hear the sound of voices whispering.

As she chanted, there were some words that I could make out, "Take this living body as a sacrifice!"

She then said more foreign words. I'm sorry, she was sacrificing me?! Was this the only reason she dragged me out here, to use me for her ritual?

I fought hard against my restraints, eventually pulling one of my arms free from the tight wrapping of a blanket. I used that free hand to push against her, to get her hand off of me.

Her strength far surpassed mine. I could feel her burrow her hand even deeper into my chest. It was getting hard to breathe.

I used my free hand to try and pull away the restraints from the rest of my body, and eventually, I was successful. I shifted all of my body weight against her arm and it gave way. She toppled to the floor before quickly springing back to her feet.

"What have you done?!" she cried, her voice shifting tones as if possessed. "The spell! You interrupted the spell!"

I climbed to my feet and dodged out of the way just in time for her to lunge forward onto the couch.

I sprinted for the door as the vortex in the middle of the cabin grew more powerful. It almost looked like it was ripping apart the cabin from the inside, but I didn't dare turn around to find out.

I made it to my car and quickly locked the doors. I could see her silhouette in the doorway of the cabin. She wasn't running toward me, but instead, I could see her chest heaving.

The car roared to life and I drove out of there as fast as I could.

***

It had been a few weeks since the incident at the cabin. I hadn't heard anything from Rebecca. I tried calling and texting her, trying to find out how she was after that fiasco. Sure, she may have tried to kill me, but I wanted to make sure she was okay.

But while I patiently waited for a response, I did do a little bit of research on what she had told me about having died. According to the news around the time of the fire that killed all of those kids, a picture of one of the kids caught my eye. There was no name with the picture, but I could swear I saw a picture of someone who looked exactly like her...