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Steven sighed happily as he sat on his couch with his cup of hot chocolate. After working nonstop for a whole week he finally had time for himself. Shane and Ryan weren’t here to bother him since they went off on their ghost adventure, Ryan messaged him if he wanted to go with them; he responded with, Hell no. Tonight was Steven's night. He loved the guys but he needed time for himself every now and then. Tonight was perfect, his apartment was basked in the warm light of his table lamp which made the apartment feel cozy. He had his blanket on his lap and felt so damn comfy. Steven proudly raised his cup up high, A toast to me and a relaxing eve -BANG BANG BANG!
“Holy shit!”
Steven whipped his head behind him to the door, he sighed dejectedly at the drops of hot chocolate that spilled but made his way to the door quickly. He was greeted with Ryan’s wide terrified eyes. He was shivering, but he still gave Steven a small smile.
“Mind if I come in?” Steven didn’t think twice and hurriedly guided him inside. He picked up the fallen blanket as Ryan made his way to the couch.
“There is some hot chocolate on the table man, drink up” He covered him with the blanket, and grabbed a random chair to sit across to Ryan. Steven gasped once he was face to face with him. The man looked terrible, the light illuminated the dried blood stains on his grey shirt and bruises on his body and face.
“What the fuck happened to you!” He saw them leave to do their investigations many times and they never came out bloodied and bruised. Ryan huffed a laugh.
“I don’t think you’ll believe me to be honest”
“Try me”
Ryan looked down at his cup, “You’re gonna think I’m crazy”
“Ryan please, I need to know who did this to you so I can call the poli-”
“You can’t!”
“Why?”
Ryan’s hands began to shake, “They won’t believe you”
“For god's sake, Ryan then tell me please”
“Shaneisademon”
“What?”
Ryan quickly raised his head, “Shane is a demon”
....…….……..
Trees loomed over them as they made their way through the forest, Ryan could barely see the sky as the pair walked forward. The crunching of dirt pounding Ryan’s skull everytime as he and Shane walked further into the forest. They would be surrounded by total darkness if it wasn’t for the flashlights he brought with them, Ryan was grateful he double-checked his inventory before leaving. He knew Shane would not have reminded him just so he could see him freak out like the dick he is, speaking of the skeptic he turned his head around to see him looking at his surroundings.
“Are you sure we are going the right way Ryan?”
He sighed, “Yes Shane, the map showed that there is a bridge that leads to the campsite”
“Once we find that we’re set”
He hummed in agreement but he was still not convinced. Shane looked around to find a squirrel at least to ease his boredom.
“So the campsite is supposed to be haunted by some child ghost amirite?”
“Yes, I read that she wanders the campsite to look for her family, campers have reported sightings of a little girl in a white dress walking around”
“They also have reported their tents moving and saw small handprints on them”
“That could just be the wind?”
Ryan gawked at Shane’s attempt to debunk it, “Then how did the handprints get on the tent”
The man shrugged, “Could be an animal”
“The hands literally had five fingers, it couldn’t be an animal”
“Many people perceive smudges based on what they want to see like the Rorschach test”
“What about the tents moving violently, it couldn’t be caused by an animal”
“It could be just the wind Ryan or bears”
Ryan groaned at his friend's skepticism, “Are there even bears here?”
Shane smirked, “Well if we do make it to the campsite-”
“We will”
“As I said ‘if’ we do make it do you think the ghost will join us for some smores?”
“We are not eating smores with a ghost”
Ryan’s heart skipped a beat when they both heard a twig snap. He instantly looked behind him to find the source of the noise.
“What was that?”
Shane rolled his eyes, “It's probably an animal”
“You’re right I think I am just paranoid”, the dirt path began to slowly get replaced by wood. Ryan was ecstatic.
“Shane we’re finally at the bridge, we’re almost there”
“Finally”
The pair continued to walk forward, the air felt tense, Ryan didn’t know why. The river looked void of color due to the darkness in the forest. His blood went cold when he saw several figures on the bridge, one of them wearing a cloak.
“Shane do you see-see what I see”
“Yeah it looks like we stumbled to party”
“I don’t like this”
“It’ll be fine, let's just ignore them”
Ryan just nodded and continued to walk forward, as they got closer he saw 4 people on the bridge, 3 men and one woman. They looked fairly normal except the blonde man wearing the cloak. He continued to walk forward until they moved in front of them. Shane raised his eyebrows at the man with the cloak.
“Excuse me sir but you’re in our way,” The blonde didn’t say anything but the raven-haired man on his right spoke up.
“You’re going to the campsite right?”
“Yup”
“I’m sorry but we can’t allow you to go onward, for your own sake I suggest you leave?”
Shane scoffed, “I didn’t hear the campsite was owned by you guys, we’re just here to find some demons or ghosts”
The group's eyes widened, the ashen blonde in the cloak just stared unblinkingly.
“Shane!”
“What?”
Ryan was confused, What the hell are these guys doing here?
He doesn’t like where this is going. Shane is stubborn, so he won’t back down so easily. He needs to end this nonsense. His thought was caught short when he heard the thumping from the wooden bridge. He quickly turned around and saw no one. I don’t like this. Ryan cleared his throat, beads of sweat falling down his forehead.
“I am sorry for my friend, we’ll be leav-”
“No No Ryan I don’t think so,” Shane smiled innocently,
“Listen guys, we’ll just go on our merry way and you guys will continue fucking around like the edgelords you are” He looked at each and every one of them.
“Ok? And we will pretend this never happened c’mon Ryan”
Shane’s efforts to go on were thwarted when the men beside the blonde quickly grabbed his arms, his face met the hard wooden floor.
“Shane!”
He tried to move but he felt piercing heat from the men holding him as if they were burning his arms.
“It’s fine Ryan, run”
Ryan’s heart was beating out of his chest, he tried to move but he couldn’t. His throat was dry, and all he heard were his rapid breathes. He needed to run and get help. The man took off his hood showing his long messy hair and was met with a mocking smile. He gulped.
“We tried to warn you..”
He finally felt movement in his legs, adrenaline was kicking in and was ready to get the fuck outta here but the footsteps behind him began to rapidly move toward him. Before he could react he felt a large weight make contact with his head. His vision grew fuzzy and the world was spinning, he was losing balance, he was deaf to hear his friend yells or the orders the cloaked man was saying as he fell forward. The world around him went dark before he could say anything.
....…..……
Well this is unfortunate
Shane didn’t think those guys would be able to put up a fight but they proved him wrong. They kicked his ass, and now he is on the ground of some sort of jail cell. He tried to move but he realized his legs were chained together, his hands were handcuffed as well.
Lovely.
He moved his head to look at his surroundings. He saw the dark brown walls outside of the cell, and a black desk with a gold star on top of it. Shane concludes that he is in a sheriffs’ office with a jail cell, how did they even get here? He looked around to see if Ryan was somewhere around here, but he wasn’t here. Anxiousness began to fill his heart at the thought that something might have happened to him, they might argue on the paranormal every now and then but he is a good friend. He will miss the short man greatly if he dies, but he won’t let that happen. Shane’s pant pocket felt heavy at the thought of his trump card if he does this everything will-
“You’re awake”
He turned around to see the raven-haired man from the bridge. This time he was wearing a cloak. He must think he looks so cool. Shane couldn’t help but sit up and smile.
“Weeell helloooo bridge buddy what brings you into my domain?” The man sighed at his amazing british accent, he should feel honored, he doesn’t do this to everyone.
“Do you ever stop?”
Shane smirked “Nope, and I don’t think I owe you an apology since I’m stuck like this”
The edgelord didn’t respond, the man he must be great at parties. “So buddy, do you mind enlightening me on where am I? And why am I here?”
“Have you heard of cults?”
Shane’s eyebrow rose at the sudden question.
“Of course, pretty interesting stuff to be honest. I always found it interesting how devoted cultists are to their beliefs. To each their own.”
Now that he looked at the man, Shane realized he looks pretty young, probably 21 years old and is extremely pale. Gives vampires a run for their money.
“Well by your getup I can presume you and your buddies are part of this cult yourself”
The man chuckled, “Yes, and to answer your question we’re in an abandoned sheriffs’ office”
“How did you guys even find this place?”
“Beyond the campsite if you walk even deeper in the forest there lies a destroyed town, that is where we conduct our activities”
Shane’s eyes grew wide at this revelation
“What seriously?!”
“So that's why you wouldn’t let us go by, you didn’t want us to ruin your little gathering”
“I saw you two as a nuisance and that we should kill you two but our leader told us that there was an opportunity was presented”
“Oh, you mean the blond guy?”
“Yes and I have to thank you because we don’t have to sacrifice one of our own”
Shane’s stomach twists at the word, “sacrifice”
This is bad
The raven-haired man laughed mockingly at Shane’s silence,
“Wow if I had known this would shut you up I should I have said it from the beginning”
“This is a load of crap, your sacrifice won’t work all you’re doing is wasting time”
“I disagree it is the perfect time for us to open hell’s gate and release Sonneillon into the realm?”
Shane’s heart began to race, but he couldn’t stop his giggles from coming out in response to this guy’s audacity to gloat about summoning a demon.
“What’s so funny?”
“Sorry it’s just so stupid, you guys are going to regret doing that”
“I thought you were a skeptic”
“Yeah I am but I know a stupid idea when I here one”
“If the sacrifice doesn’t work, you will be next”
“That is a mistake buddy, I don’t taste great”
“It is a shame though, I really wanted to see the sacrifice of your friend”
Shane glared at the cultist
“But I will be glad to see your sacrifice if you truly believe the ritual won’t work”
“Prepare to be disappointed”
Shane heard the loud knocks on the door and the edgelord went to go see who was there. He quickly returned.
“Sorry to cut this conversation short but I am needed to go on patrol, it was a displeasure to talk to you ummm”
“Shane”
“Right, but I won’t be far so if you do escape you won’t go far”
The edgy cultist made his way to the door, but Shane couldn’t bear it anymore. His stupid curiosity is getting the better of him.
“Ok, but can you answer me one thing?”
“What?”
“You never told me your name”
“Why should I?”
“Well if this will be the last time I see you and your cult buddies I might as well know your name”
Shane laid down, he is pretty sure he lost feeling in his legs,
“You were too busy monologuing”
“It is Oliver”
“Well Oliver let me promise you something if this demon does rise from the depths and attacks Ryan”
Shane clicks his tongue, “You will not come out of this alive, I will make sure of that”
“Ha! Like you are capable of doing that.”
“You’ll be surprised, that's about it, go out and waste your night like the other lunatics here”
“Hmph”
Shane didn’t see him leave but the door slam was evident enough.
This is such a pain.
He was ready to make fun of Ryan, scare him and then go home and sleep but this threw everything off. He needs to stop these cultists fast but his hands are tied...or handcuffed? Shane huffed out a laugh at his own joke.
This leaves me no choice
Shane moved his hands toward his right pants pocket and felt a round stone there. Thank god he wasn’t hallucinating. Those guys are fools for not emptying out his pockets. Sweat began to fall and his hands began to shake. He lightly held the stone in his hands and breathed slowly.
How long has it been since I have really let myself go
If he does this Ryan will never let him live this down, but he has to if not things will go down south fast. Shane hopes he can control himself this time.
The moon’s rays enter the cell making the stone on his hands shine brightly. His grip on the stone tightens.
“I hope Ryan doesn’t have a heart attack because of this”
All Shane feels now are the stone pieces piercing his hands as it shatters
…….…….
Ryan would be lying if he said he wasn’t scared shitless at these cultists chanting some sort of incantation as he was tied at the stake. He tried to move again to see if the gods of fortune smiled upon him but it was futile. He is worried about Shane and hopes he found a way to escape.
He turned to the cultist on his right
“You don’t have to do this, just let me go please”
The cultist didn’t respond, their chants began to grow louder and felt his heartbeat beating out of his chest.
This is where I die
He looks at the circle they made, he would be impressed by how intricate it was if his life wasn’t on the line. The trees were enveloped by the bright red glow of the circle as the incantation continued, he felt the ground shake side to side violently. Until he saw the red light shoot towards the sky, the cultist chants pounding his skull. He wanted to scream for help but it wouldn’t do anything.
Ryan’s breath began to quicken as he saw claws come out of the circle they made.
The supernatural exists!
He would gloat but he was distracted by impending doom rising from the depths of hell. The demon lifted himself out, his large stature looking down at them. Its upper body looked sorta human other than the gem on its forehead but it looked like a spider from the bottom.
The ashen blond cultist let down his hood and yelled at the demon,
“Demon of Hatred we offer you this human as a gift from us to you, may we work together to bring the world into chaos”
It lifted his head to stare directly at Ryan, its black eyes staring into his soul. Ryan gulped, and began to move violently, he doesn’t care if it's useless he needs to feel like he is doing something. The monster smelled its fear and began to charge toward Ryan.
Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck oh-
The monster’s screech made Ryan open his eyes and saw it lay on the ground unconscious. He couldn’t see who knocked it down but he noticed that it had horns.
Another demon
The figure disappeared and the cultists began to run away.
It's so fast
One by one the cultists began to fall.
Holy shit!
Their limbs were severed and left on the ground. The demon that saved him showed no mercy as he ripped apart the cultists. He saw the ashen blond leader take out his knife and run towards the demon, next thing Ryan knew the man stopped and blood began spewing out of his mouth as he looked at the claws that pierced him.
Ryan felt nauseous as he saw blood spraying everywhere from the figures attacks to the others.
More cultists began to attack him and Ryan looked in horror as it let the body fall and manifested fire from his palms.
It waited until it released a huge blast of fire toward its attackers.
Ryan turned his head away from the scene but he was haunted by their terrifying screams. He felt the warm spray of blood hit him as he saw one of the cultists die in front of him, his thoughts were scattered about who this guy was and where he came from. Ryan felt the ropes loosen as he shook them off.
It might have been because of the attack
He can see the large spider demon rise in his peripheral and charge toward the horned smaller demon.
Watch out! Ryan tried to warn him but no sound came out.
It seemed the horned figure noticed the attack and leaped into the sky.
Are those wings?
The horned figure managed to land at its head. Fire burst from his palms towards its head jewel and heard the monster's loud roar.
The monster swung its arm around to try to hit it but the figure was too agile. It landed on the ground and used its claws to tear the demon’s legs from its body. The monster lost its balance but managed to land the blow on the figure, launching it towards the trees.
Ryan’s body was shaking violently as he saw the demon slowly approach him.
It's hurt I can outrun it
But he couldn’t move.
Ryan heard a growl as he looked towards the forest.
The horned figure ran towards the demon and slashed another leg off.
The monster kneeled and the figure slowly approached it to deal with the final blow. The monster was engulfed by the figures' flames. The force of his attack knocked Ryan off his feet.
Ryan felt the heat of the flames around him and tried to approach the demon that saved him.
I must be crazy
The demon was staring at the body of the monster he tore apart, Ryan could see it’s dark wings between the flames that divided them. The demon turned around, and he saw the blood that was splattered on him during this whole massacre. His heart stopped when he got a good look at their face.
“SHANE?!”