The sound of the door banging against the side of the house startled the woman. She peered around the corner and managed to glimpse a figure retreating into the darkness of the night. A sense of dread overcame her as she spotted a red liquid seep out onto the pavement. Oh, please don’t let it be that, she thought. She crept toward the entrance and took a huge gulp of air. She glanced inside and gasped at the scene.
The scene was a lot worse than she expected. She shuddered as the thought of the perpetrator who did this. It was even worse that her medical assistant was the target. She felt another wave of terror overcome her, but she forced it down. After all, she had a job to do…
Adam woke up with a searing pain in his side. He winced as he sat up against the bed. What happened? he thought as he felt a headache form. Why does ev-wait a minute, wasn’t there a crazy lady in my house?
“Hey, Adam, how are you doing?” he heard Katy ask as she appeared from around the corner.
“What do you think?” Adam groaned.
Katy chuckled. “Well, it’s better than the other…option.”
Huh, she still doesn’t like mentioning ‘death’ still, Adam noted as Katy opened her mouth again to say something.
“Anyway, you might want to look a little more, well, lively. Apparently, an old friend of yours has come to visit,” she informed Adam.
She stepped away and another person walked in. Adam recognized her blue eyes and blonde hair as he smiled.
“Hello, Elizabeth,” he said.
She frowned as him as she squinted. “Are you okay?” she inquired as a look of concern covered her face.
“I’m fine,” Adam attempted to assure her.
“You don’t look fine!” she stated. “You are pale! I can see some scratches and blood stains as well! And, well, I, I can just tell that you’re not okay!” She turned toward the sheriff. “Are you sure it was just a minor injury?”
“Well, no, but trust me!” Katy told her as Elizabeth was about to say something else. “I know the doctor. She is the best one in town, and she can heal almost anything!”
Elizabeth sighed. “All right then,” she said. “She turned to Adam. “Make sure not to do anything rash, now. I haven’t seen you for quite some time, and I hate seeing you like this.”
“Come along now, I’ll have to introduce you to the rest of the town,” Katy said. She led Elizabeth out the door as Adam leaned back into his bed.
Now I just got to hope that nothing else happens at all…he thought as the realm of rest claimed him once again.
John silently walked up to Adam’s house as the pacifying sound of crickets filled the air. He glanced around quickly and knocked on the door. Receiving no response, he knocked again. He shrugged and entered the dwelling.
The floor creaked as he stepped inside the house and shut the door. He then turned around and saw Adam sitting in a chair. John walked over to him and raised his eyebrows. On a table that Adam was seated next to was a gleaming, crystal ball.
John chortled as he said: “Adam, you can’t fool me. Magic isn’t real, and there is no way you have any.”
Silence filled the air as John stared at Adam.
“Okay, seriously, I have something to tell you,” John stated.
Adam still didn’t respond at all, not even twitching. John narrowed his eyes and was about to shake Adam when suddenly, the gleaming ball quickly grew dim. Adam jolted out of his seat, an expression of fear on his face.
“It can’t be!” Adam exclaimed. “Oh, I have to tell someone!”
“WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!” John roared.
Adam jumped and whirled around, meeting John’s piercing glare with a startled look. “Oh, uh, you saw…”
John sighed. “Just explain everything to me. I knew you were different, but I couldn’t pinpoint it. So tell every little secret you’ve been hiding.”
Adam gestured to another chair. “Then sit down, for this is a long tale.”
As you know, I was born 21 years ago in the city of Allentown, Pennsylvania. I was like the average baby, but when I reached the age of 5, I discovered my talent. At that time, I had no clue what powers I had, but now I know: I can see the dead. Yes, you heard me John, see the dead. I naturally hear the spirits of those who have passed and can talk with them at will. Of course, I can only talk to the ones that still reside on the mortal plane, Earth. Now that I think about it, that’s most of the ghosts that exist.
Anyway, many adults dismissed my magic powers as imagination. But as the years went on, and my powers only grew, my parents grew worried. My mom simply hoped that I was still in a phase of imagination and that I will outgrow it. On the other hand, my father tried to force me to stop. He hired psychiatrists, which didn’t work. My will was too strong for them to attempt to bend my mind. He tried inviting other children over, but of course, I just scared most of them away. He even tried threatening me by saying that he would never love me or that I will never get what I want. Of course, the spirits told me it was a bluff. Finally, he did something that neither the spirits or I predicted: he turned to the supernatural.
He encountered a wandering priest and begged, yes, begged him to do something about me. I barely knew what was going on before I was swooped away. Fortunately, the kind souls guided me. They informed me that the priest was actually a demon in disguise, and was hoping for an innocent creature to feast upon. So as soon as the ‘priest’ turned his back, I ran.
However, this only made the demon angry. Furious at my disappearance, he, he…”
John glanced at Adam, noticing the tears streaming down his face.
“You don’t have to continue,” John gently told him.
“No, I need to get this out. Tell people the truth. I need to face it, not hide from it,” Adam firmly stated as he wiped away the tears.
John nodded as Adam continued.
The demon, he rampaged through my house before I got home. Killed every single person I loved. My dad, mom, even my 6 month-old baby sister. I arrived at the site just minutes after the demon left. The scene was swarmed with the police. The specters immediately told me what happened, and I relayed this back to the officials. Of course, I was dismissed as a distraught child. The state government tried to find my relatives, but they all somehow died too. Not even the wise spirits could explain that. Now I was alone, the only person I had a connection to was my friend Elizabeth. Then came something extraordinary.
A mysterious man came over one day to the orphanage and requested to adopt me. A strange request, considering that I just lost my family only 2 days ago. After a few questions and some paperwork, that man was deemed a good guardian and they let him take me in. And that’s when I learnt something: I was not alone. This man apparently had the same powers as I, only even stronger. I noticed this as I arrived at his home. He explained everything to me, even believing my demon story. Apparently, my magic is called mediumship, a type of magic that is almost nonexistent. He located me through the guiding of other spirits, but he told me he didn’t arrive in time to help my family.
He took me to his home in Pikeville, Kentucky. The next day, he introduced me to a woman, whom he dubbed as one of the few ‘Retributionists.’ And that’s when I realized my only friend Elizabeth, knew my secret as well. For Elizabeth was the daughter of this woman, and she inherited her magic powers. The man and Elizabeth’s mom explained things to me. I was to come to this town and try to save it. For, according to them: “Many things plague Salem. It is not only the mafia, a serial killer, and an arsonist rampaging through the town. There was a coven of witches, a werewolf, and even a vampire. If I came here, I could show the town the sources of magic before it gets taken over. For once the town with the history of magic goes down, the rest of the world will fall. If I had to, I would invite Elizabeth over here to use her mystical powers. For the power of a Retributionist goes beyond anything this world has ever seen, or will see. For a Retributionist could resurrect one person, one human being, and bring them back into the mortal plane.” That is why Elizabeth and I are here.
Adam glanced at John, who appeared to be stunned at this revelation. “You okay?” Adam inquired.
“Yeah, it’s just, well, so strange. For the 10 years that I lived here, there was no incident of magic,” muttered John. “Wait, how did your guardian know? And more importantly, what was his name?”
“His name, well, he actually never told me,” Adam told John. “He only told me to call him Mr. M. Also, I think he actually lived here before.”
“Wait, he lived here before?!” John exclaimed. “But I was here for a decade already! Unless…”
Adam gave a quizzical look. “Unless what?” he asked.
“Unless he was here before this town was burnt down,” John explained. “See, just before I arrived in this village, apparently most of the houses were burnt down. Very few people remained, and I think only 1 or 2 still live here.”
“That does make sense,” Adam said. “That kind of explains his solemn look.”
John sighed. “Well, now that you told me of your history, I have to tell you something that I’m afraid you won’t like.” John took a deep breath. “I managed to uncover that old man’s history, you know, the one you asked me to investigate?”
Adam nodded as John’s eyes started to dart around.
“His name is James. Well, you see, apparently the man was originally a partner in a really old business that originally belonged to your family. James told his son to take money out of the bank account that your family shared with his. The son got caught and your father was furious. James was soon fired and he couldn’t get any other job. Things went downhill for his family. His wife left him and his son resorted to stealing, which got him sentenced to time in jail,” John informed Adam.
“Uh-huh,” was the reply. John noted the uneasiness in Adam’s face as he continued.
“I managed find some information of a check of $5000 to an unknown man. I also asked a friend of mine who lives in Allentown to bring up some information. Apparently, there was a piece of paper found at the scene where your parents were killed. They dismissed it as a joke or something, but it read: ‘I will fulfill James’ request of killing Joseph Lee, Emma Lee, Sophia Lee, and Adam Lee in exchange for the blood of innocents and money. After that was a bunch of symbols and stuff that no one knew anything about. I’m sorry to tell you, but your family wasn’t just murdered by an angry demon. They were murdered out of vengeance.”
As John finished talking, he noted that Adam started to shake as tears came down his face.
“Don’t worry, I’ll have him taken care of,” John assured Adam.
“No, don’t do anything to him,” Adam whispered. “I’m not willing to act like him, okay?”
John nodded as he stood up. “I guess it’s time for me to go,” he announced. “Now take it easy, Adam. You don’t need to work your magic for now, so get some rest.”
John walked out of the house and quietly shut the door. Now everything just became even more confusing John thought as he walked back to his abode.
Slowly, the woman opened her eyes. She groaned as she tried lifted her hand only to be surprised as she felt something prevent her from moving her hand. She looked down and saw that a handcuff was restraining her arms and her legs. The woman looked around the room. The entire room was made out of concrete. To her right there was a small sink and in front of her was some iron bars in the wall
“Well, it’s good to see you, Amanda,” an obscure voice stated. A slight shadow appears from behind the bars. “I decided to interrogate you tonight, if you don’t mind.”
Amanda nodded her head in agreement, but a look of horror appeared on her face as the end of a pistol slide out between the bars.
“Wha-WHAT?” Amanda screamed.
“Don’t play innocent,” the voice told her. “I know that you visited Adam last night and assaulted him. I know that you killed many people. There is nothing to ask you, for I already know the truth.”
Amanda strained against the handcuffs, but was only successful in shaking the chair.
“Don’t bother. It’s futile. After all, the lookout spotted you, so I took extra precautions. Good night, and may you be able to seek forgiveness from those you harmed.”
The last things Amanda heard was the loud bang of the gun and the world turned dark.
The woman quickly glanced over the items on her table. One piece of chalk, some string, two wooden dolls, a mortar, and some mysticum powder, she counted. Nodding in satisfaction, she put the chalk into the mortar and slowly crushed it. She took the mortar and poured the crushed chalk over the table. Then she spread the powder on the border of the table. Soon, the chalk and the powder started to glow a sickly green. She weaved the string in each doll and held one piece of string to her left hand. She then grabbed the other string in her right hand. Grinning, she started to chant.
“In tuo animo curvabitur meam. Omnes cogitationes et affectus et impertinens. Est autem servus tuus, vade, et tua fata docebo!” She felt the words flow out of her mouth as the air started to turn hazy.
“In tuo animo curvabitur meam. Omnes cogitationes et affectus et impertinens. Est autem servus tuus, vade, et tua fata docebo!” she repeated.
Tendrils of green mist started to flow out of her hands and into the dolls.
“In tuo animo curvabitur meam. Omnes cogitationes et affectus et impertinens. Est autem servus tuus, vade, et tua fata docebo!” she screamed as she quickly twirled the string, causing the doll attached to the strings in her left hand to twitch.
The man’s eyes opened in bewilderment as his legs started moving of their own accord. What’s going on?! he thought as he slowly turned away from the house he was facing. A shock passed through his body as he started to move toward another home. He couldn’t see who’s house it was as he attempted to control his movements. However, he didn’t stop moving. A sense of fear came over him as his arms started to move. He attempted to scream for help, but, to his surprise, he couldn’t even open his mouth. I need to think of something he thought. He tried to think about what was happening but suddenly, his mind became clouded. He couldn’t think or remember anything. All he could do is watch as his body opened the door, took out his gun, and shot the mysterious owner of the house.
The Swerve 
Interesting, great imagination
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