The Tale of the Silver Sight
PART I: PROLOGUE
It's the middle of the night, and the sound of crickets chirping echo in the air. The only light guiding the blonde through the familiar brush and wooded surroundings are the soft beams cast down by the moon. Aubrey's boot steps on a branch emitting a loud crunch as she rounds the corner to the cleared campsite.
She smiles widely, pausing her movements to take a moment and reflect on the many nights she spent here with her friends growing up, sneaking out to tell each other ghost stories and creepy tales.
Aubrey exhales a deep breath before cocking her head to the side in curiosity. Catching her attention not thirty feet in front of her is a small figure with their back turned, stoking the flames of the lit fire in the center of the circle with a long branch. She clears her throat quietly before speaking out.
"Hey, how about letting an old timer sit in tonight?" She asks.
The figure in front of her doesn't appear to have heard her due to their lack of response, instead, smacking the stick against the circular rock structure.
"It's okay, I'm Amy's cousin, Aubrey. I used to run these meetings." She says a little more loudly as she approaches the site, the flames from the fire lighting up her face.
Still no response from the figure.
Aubrey glances around cautiously at the campsite, noting the additional furniture that has since been added to the circle, no doubt a collaboration on Fat Amy and Beca's part. Comfort was always their priority back her high school days.
"Well it looks like you've changed things up a little bit," she comments with a slight judgmental tone to her voice. Immediately recognizing that comment as potentially rude to an unknown member, she quickly lets out a small laughs and follows up her remark.
"I mean it looks great. Far more… leisurely than how we had it set up back in my day. We just had a bunch of rocks and stumps. Not ideal for maintaining good posture." She starts to trail off, getting more annoyed every passing second by the figure who continues to ignore her.
She approaches closer to the kid, who she now discerns to be a young boy with messy, medium length dark brown hair. Brown hair and rudeness… I wonder if this is a relative of Beca's? Aubrey thinks to herself with a smirk.
A few more footsteps and the blonde is close enough to touch the boy, who is still stoking the fire. She raises her hand as to grab his shoulder and gain his attention.
"You know, when I was here, we…"
Aubrey is suddenly cut off by the figure whipping around in front of her. She lets out a high pitched shriek once she sees the deformed and demonic looking face of the child. The creature growls at her before starting to lurch forward in an attempt to grab her.
Aubrey stumbles backwards before regaining her footing and bolting back the the way she came through the forest. She's just rounding the corner of bushes at full speed when a larger figure steps out in front of her, catching Aubrey off-guard and knocking her back on her butt.
"Aubrey!" The figure exclaims in a frightened, deep male voice.
"Grandpa?" She asks in confusion, recognizing the man standing above her. Picking herself off the ground, Aubrey quickly looks back over her shoulder to see if she was being chased.
"I need your help!" The older male cries out in fear.
"Gramps, what are you doing here? Are you okay? Does Grams know you're here?" Aubrey asks in rapid fire succession.
"Aubrey, I need your help!" He says, reaching his arm out toward her face.
RIIIIIINNNNGGGGGG
The loud piercing sound of a telephone bolts Aubrey upward in bed. Slightly disoriented and disheveled, she blindly reaches around her side table for her cellphone.
"Hello?" She asks the midnight caller, slightly out of breath, still shaken from her dream.
"Oh hi, Grandma Aggie. No, it's fine, I was already awake, sort of." She comforts her grandmother on the other end. "Is everything okay?"
Aubrey listens to the other side of the conversation, her face instantly dropping in sadness and grief.
"Oh my gosh." She raises a hand to her mouth to contain the soft whimper threatening to spill out.
Suddenly a light pops on from the opposite side of the dorm room, a red-headed figure sitting up in her own bed, looking concerned.
"Bree, is everything okay?" Chloe asks in a hushed voice, beginning to climb out of bed and walk over to her roommate and best friend.
Aubrey shakes her head in the negative and she continues listening on the other line, Chloe approaching to sit next to her on the double bed.
"Yeah, yes. I'll be over in the morning, grandma. I'm so sorry. Try and get some sleep, I'll see you soon." Aubrey finishes the call with little emotion in her voice. She hangs up the call and lets her phone drop to her lap with a thump. The blonde simply looks over towards her best friend with watery eyes before she's wrapped up in a tight hug.
It's a brisk fall morning, as Aubrey walks solemnly down the sidewalk towards her grandmother's home, tugging the lapel of her coat a little tighter to her neck. Red, orange and yellow leaves shuffle about on the ground from the light breeze. It feels a little chillier than usual for September in New England, but it seems almost fitting for her mood. She approaches a red brick Romanesque home situated in the middle of the long street, spotting an older woman sitting outside on the front porch, aimlessly rocking back and forth in a wicker rocking chair. Aubrey ascends the wooden porch steps to see her grandmother dabbing at her eyes with a soggy tissue.
"Hi," Aubrey greets quietly, a thin smile gracing her lips. Her grandmother glances up, meeting Aubrey's gaze with sad, teary eyes.
"We were sitting here just yesterday, watching the kids play ball in the street." Aggie says with a sad smile. "Gene got such a kick out of that."
Aubrey approaches her grandmother and sits down in the rocking chair next to her, reaching over to softly take her hand.
"It's amazing how quickly things can change." Aggie cries, dabbing at her eyes again.
"Gramps wasn't even sick. What happened?" Aubrey questioned.
"He came home upset about something. I've never seen him in such a state." She said with a tremble. "He was angry and frightened. I tried to calm him down, but he was all wound up and…" Aggie begins to cry, struggling to get the words out. "His heart─ wasn't strong enough to take it."
"What was he so upset about," Aubrey asks, uncertain of what could have possibly upset her normally mild-mannered grandfather.
"I don't know." Aggie said, gazing out towards the empty street before turning her head slowly back towards the younger blonde. "But… he said, it had something to do with you." Aubrey's eyes grow wide, confused and alarmed by this piece of information.
"What do you mean, 'It had something to do with me?'"
"Come inside dear, I have something you might want to see." Aggie gathers the thin blanket from her lap and stands to head inside the house, while her granddaughter abruptly stands to follow her.
As Aubrey crosses the threshold of the doorway, she is hit with an overwhelming amount of emotion. Knowing that she'll never see her grandpa descending the stairs again with a giant smile on his face, or walk into the hall from the kitchen with a mug of cocoa for her… the memories racing through her mind and the thoughts of now forever lost moments flood her senses, causing her eyes to well up and her body to slump into the bannister. She takes a moment to collect herself before continuing her path deeper into the cozy residence. Uncertain of where her grandmother walked off to, she decides to pass the time looking at old photographs on the shelf in the living room.
Most of the photos displayed on the corner unit are black and white, her grandparents being in their 70s now. Several images show versions of her grandparents in their youth, a few professional photos, many candids. There were a few group photos of old friends and family members. As Aubrey grazed her hand across each frame, she came across a more recent picture. Lifting up the golden frame from its place on the shelf, Aubrey analyzes the image. Staring back at her are two smiling, happy faces as her grandparents stand in an embrace. As she looks at the photo, Aubrey just can't believe that her grandfather has passed away. It was not something she was prepared for, and she is trying her hardest to hold it together for the sake of her grandmother.
Aggie reappears from the study holding a thick brown leather portfolio as Aubrey places the framed photo back in its spot.
"He was desperate to tell you something," her grandmother says as she sits down on the antique couch in the living room. Aubrey takes a seat in an oversized chair across from her. "Your grandfather, Gene, was a wonderful man. He loved to tell stories. Laugh at silly things. He wasn't often serious, but when he was, I always listened. And he was very serious about making sure that you got this." She opens up the portfolio and pulls out a smaller, thin white squared object and hands it over to the blonde.
Aubrey takes the item from her, opening up the folded paper to reveal an object inside.
"What is this, a piece of an old record?" She turns over the small triangular piece of vinyl record in her hands, revealing a message on the inner label. "Listen to the music. What does that mean?"
"I don't know," her grandmother responds. "But he wrote this to go along with it." She hands over a few pages of parchment. Aubrey starts to look through the pages when a voice from the hallway disturbs them.
"Grams?" A larger blonde woman walks into the living room from the foyer. "I came as soon as I heard."
"Oh, Amy." Aggie gets up from her seat on the couch to greet her other granddaughter, giving her a consoling hug. "I'm glad you did, sweetie, thank you."
Aubrey and Amy are three years apart in age, both of their mothers wanting to have children close in age so they could grow up together like they did. It didn't quite work out as they planned when Amy's family relocated back to Australia, her father's home country, for several years. It wasn't until after the divorce when Amy was six and Aubrey was nine, that they moved back home to Massachusetts. Though very different in personalities, Aubrey and Amy managed to develop a close relationship and always had each other's backs, even as they got older, when kids typically begin to grow apart. Their families remained very close, however, often finding themselves gathering at their grandparents' house most weekends. As both girls aged, Amy became very close with her grandmother, while Aubrey seemed to develop a deep relationship with her grandfather. They often bonded over storytelling, her gramps sharing many old tales with her and being the one to introduce her to the Midnight Society.
"I don't know what to say. I'd make a joke about a Tanzanian and a wallaby, but it feels a little inappropriate." Fat Amy cringes a bit.
"Good call, Ames." Aubrey says distractedly from her chair as she reads through the papers.
"It's alright, I know how you feel." Aggie places a comforting hand on her granddaughter's cheek.
"But honestly, if yeh need anything Grams, I'm here. Just name it. Mum's outta the country, tryin'a get back in for the funeral, but she's got a pretty large wine collection in the meantime." The australian says, trying her best to comfort her grandmother.
"That's alright dear, but thank you for the offer."
"Oh my gosh," Aubrey exclaims from behind the two figures. "This is my dream!"
"What dream?" Fat Amy says, confused. Aubrey stands up abruptly.
"Grandma, I need some time to figure this out, may I take this?" She asks, holding the record up.
"Yes, of course." Aggie responds.
"Thank you, I'll be back later, okay?" Aubrey kisses her grandmother's cheek then turns to her cousin. "Come on Ames." Aubrey walks past the two and out the front door at a determined pace.
"You sure you don't need anything?" Amy asks.
"No, dear. But call me later?" Aggie says with a smile.
"You got it." Amy sprints back out the front door to catch up with her cousin, who is decidedly a lot further down the street than she thought possible in such a short period of time.
"Aubrey. Aubrey! Wait up!" The younger girl huffs, trying to catch her breath. "Wooh, cardio. Not something I do often enough. Gimme a second." She places her right hand on her older cousin's shoulder, and the left firmly on her knee as she bends over to gain air back into her lungs.
"Okay, we're good."
"We're good?" Aubrey echos comically.
"Yeh. Good. Good." Amy resumes her upward position and the two women continue walking away from their grandmother's home at a more leisurely pace. "So what's with the note?"
"Do you have a meeting tonight?"
"Yeh, but I'll cancel it-"
"Don't." Aubrey interrupts.
"Why not?"
"Cause I need to be there."
"Why?"
"It has to do with this," Aubrey pulls the piece of record from her jacket pocket to show to Amy. "It might tell us why grandpa Gene died." She says with a firm expression, handing the piece to her cousin as she continues to walk ahead. Amy lifts the chipped record up to read it.
"Listen to the music?" She says, extremely confused, before quickening her pace to catch up to Aubrey.
The two cousins separate for the remainder of the day, Amy going back home to distract herself from the emotions she was feeling over the passing of her grandpa, and Aubrey heading back towards her campus dormitory to do some thinking before the meeting tonight.
When she arrives back at her room, Aubrey finds her best and oldest friend laying spread out on her bed with her eyes closed, listening to music and humming along. Aubrey moves around the room, taking off her coat and placing the record piece and sheets of papers from her gramps down on her desk. She collapse on her bed and stares up at the ceiling, reflecting on the information that she's learned today.
That dream she had last night felt so real, and it couldn't just be a coincidence that her grandfather happened to show up in it, then his death happening. But if it wasn't a coincidence, then what was it? Stuff like this wasn't real. All the stories they ever told or had been told were always made-up, pretend. But this… this was something entirely else.
"Hey." Aubrey hears a quiet voice from across the room, gazing up to see Chloe taking off her headphones. "When did you get back?"
"Just a few minutes ago." Aubrey responds.
"You and Amy okay? How's your grams doing?"
"Amy didn't have as close a relationship with Gramps, but it's still tough on her. I think she's doing okay though. And Grams is as to be expected. Better, actually? I don't know. She was a wreck, but if it had been my husband who died just yesterday out of the blue, I'd be an immovable mess. So she's holding up incredibly strong, considering."
"Yeah." The redhead responds, not really knowing what to say. "So... whatcha got there?" She asks, pointing to the items on Aubrey's desk.
"So this is really weird, but my gramps left this for me," the blonde says, picking up the record and handing it over to Chloe to examine it.
"What does it mean?" The college junior asks after taking a moment to read the writing.
"I have no clue. But he also left me a letter and I think it might explain why he died. Not explicitly… at least I don't think so. I couldn't really make much of a few things. Also, some of it just seemed too farfetched to be real."
"Can I see? I mean, is that okay?" Chloe asks, trying to be considerate, but her curiosity getting the best of her.
"Yeah, go ahead," Aubrey motions for her to pick up the papers. Chloe does so, and begins reading through them, her brow furrowing with each passing paragraph.
"Is this for real?"
"I don't know. I want to believe…"
"Well, when you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth. Right?"
"Alright there, Sherlock. That comp lit class is really paying off for you, huh?" Aubrey grins wryly.
"It is. But that's not the point. I mean, what if this is real? I don't think you should discount the information until you really look into it." Chloe argues.
"Yeah, I know. Plus I think I owe it to Grandpa Gene. So… how do you feel about attending a Midnight Society meeting tonight?" Chloe face lights up instantly.
Earlier in the evening, Fat Amy sent out a group chat to everyone, indicating they all meet in the usual spot before heading into the woods, and that Aubrey would be joining tonight to talk about something.
As midnight rolls closer, each current member arrives at the large oak tree near the edge of the cemetery and forest. Fat Amy and Beca, two of the oldest current members, were the first to arrive. Beca had spent the majority of the evening with Amy, doing her best to take her best friend's mind off her grandfather's recent death. Amy had spent some time catching Beca up on the events of the morning, bringing up the record, but neither of them could figure out what it might have meant. So they killed time playing video games and eating junk food, as two high school seniors would do on a long holiday weekend.
Stacie is the next to arrive. The tall and leggy brunette had joined around the same time as Beca and Amy when they were all in middle school, back when Aubrey was first re-instigating the group as a high school freshman. Aubrey initially had a hard time convincing most of her friends that sneaking out to an empty spot in the woods in the middle of the night, and rather than drink alcohol, tell ghost stories, was a great idea. So after brainstorming with her first approved member and best friend, Chloe Beale, she opened up the invitation to her younger cousin Amy and some of her friends. At the time, twelve-year old Amy was only too excited at the prospect of sneaking out late to tell ghost stories, and she immediately recruited her two best friends, Beca Mitchell and Jesse Swanson. A few weeks after the small group formed, Stacie Conrad, a pretty and popular cheerleader at their middle school, had overheard the three of them talking about it one day and cornered them about joining. They initiated her that very next meeting, blindfolding her and taking her out to the woods, where she delivered one of the more scary stories in recent memory for the group and was unanimously voted in, but not before Aubrey severely reprimanded all of them for talking about the group so openly. It was a secret society, she reiterated multiple times, then threatened that if anyone spoke of the group again and invited a new person without the consent of everyone, they'd have their vocal cords ripped out by wolves. Suffice it to say, the Midnight Society remained a heavily guarded secret, only allowing a few more members to join over the next couple years: two inseparable girls, Jessica Smith and Ashley Jones, and a quirky, shy boy named Benjamin Applebaum.
Cynthia-Rose shows up a few minutes after Stacie, flipping her bright pink hair out of her face as she approached the three girls. CR was admitted to the group a couple years ago as a sophomore. Five minutes later, Flo and Emily, the youngest members of the group, are the last to arrive. After Aubrey and Chloe graduated three years ago, the group that remained decided to fill their empty slots in the group gradually over the following years.
"I thought you said your cousin was going to be here?" Flo asks, looking around for an unfamiliar face.
"Yeah Ames, what's up with that? It's 12:01. I thought Posen was always punctual." Beca says, clicking open the screen on her cellphone to check the time. "Guess she's not so perfect, huh?" Beca laughs.
"Wrong as usual, Mitchell," Aubrey scoffs haughtily as she and Chloe appear from behind them, emerging from the woods.
"Wha- where did you guys come from?" Beca asks, surprised.
"Come on, Beca. Did you really think I wouldn't get here an hour early to make sure the campsite was set up and get the fire going? Who knows how long it still takes you both to do it." Aubrey says with raised eyebrows, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Not long!" Beca lamely defends herself.
"Yeh, Becs has it down to four minutes. And it only took her five years to get there." Amy says jokingly at Beca's expense.
"Shut up Amy."
"Oh come on Amy, don't be mean. Besides, how often does one really need to know how to start a fire from scratch? I'm sure Becs has many other amazing skills." Chloe defends, smiling brightly towards the smaller brunette.
"I can start it in 45 seconds!" Emily pipes up.
"No one asked you Em!" Beca yells. Amy and Aubrey laugh loudly at her reaction.
"Come on guys, let's head out to the clearing." Aubrey instructs, and the group of eight start off into the dark woods.
"Man, with Aubrey and Chloe being back, it feels like old times, doesn't it." Stacie, one of the senior members of the group says to her fellow friends, Amy and Beca as the flank her walking through the trees.
"Yeh, try not to get your panties in a twist Shortstack, now that Chloe's back." Amy laughs.
"Would you keep it down!" Beca says sharply, smacking Amy in the arm. "Besides, I don't even know what you're talking about." The petite brunette deflects, looking over her shoulder to make sure the redhead in question can't overhear their conversation.
"Sure you don't. The deep forming bruise on my arm is just for fun, cause we like abusing our best friends." Amy mocks, rubbing at her arm overdramatically as they continue making their way through the large trees. "So where's Swanson been at? I feel like I haven't seen him around at school lately."
"Amy, you know he spends the first semesters with his dad back in Washington. He left 3 weeks ago just before school started up." Beca exclaims.
"Hey. I've got a lot going on Beca, show some respect for the deceased."
"Again, I'm sorry your gramps died dude, that sucks, but that was a day ago. Jesse's been absent for weeks."
"Between my grandpa dying and being my super awesome self, I haven't really had time to think about Jessie's whereabouts." Amy sighs excessively.
"Whatever." Beca rolls her eyes.
"What about Benji?" Stacie asks.
"Sick."
"Jessley."
"Out of town dance recital. Guys, how did I become the mom of this group. I literally do not care where you all are outside of this particular commitment." Beca gripes.
"But don't their absences have to do with this particular commitment." Stacie counters.
"Check and mate." Amy laughs.
"I hate you both." Beca says as the group finally manages to reach the edge of the campsite clearing, pushing their way past the final few barriers of bushes.
"So, your grandfather started the Midnight Society?" Emily, the youngest member of the group asks Aubrey as the pack of eight each emerge into the campsite, deep within the woods.
"1947. He and four friends cleared these woods, made the fire ring, and built the storyteller's chair," The eldest member of the crew explains as they enter the circle, looking down fondly at the chair shaped from rock.
"And there's been a Midnight Society coming out here ever since," Fat Amy comes up from behind the taller blonde, tacking on the end of her cousin's explanation.
"Wow, that's a lot of stories," Stacie comments, as she pulls a nail file from her pocket and takes a seat on the beat up couch next to Cynthia-Rose.
"I bet your Gramps told great stories," Chloe tells her best friend with a comforting smile.
"Thanks Chlo." Aubrey watches as the remaining members all take a seat.
"Just before he died, Gramps wrote down a story." Aubrey states, still standing next to the storyteller's chair; the group responds with various sounds of excitement.
"Cool," Beca says, while Cynthia-Rose says for her to go on.
"His last." Aubrey says sadly, pulling the pages of folded up paper from her jacket pocket and revealing them to the group. "And it's the most amazing story the Midnight Society is ever going to hear."
Beca and Chloe make eye contact across the flames, Stacie puts down her nail file and gives her full attention, while Emily crosses her hands in front of her mouth, gazing up with wide eyes.
"He began it over 60 years ago," Aubrey says, beginning to pace around the outer edge of the circle, passing behind Emily and Amy on the first small couch. "And it's still not finished."
"Not finished?" Emily asks.
"He wants us to finish it," Fat Amy says.
"It's about five best friends who got this charm from a magic shop." Aubrey starts to explain.
"Like the Magic Mansion," Flo adds from her chair.
"Sort of. They thought it was a good luck piece. But they soon found out the only luck this charm had… was bad luck." The blonde says.
"Good start. Keep going," Beca prompts from the cushioned stool she's sitting on as Aubrey passes behind her.
"The charm was called the Silver Sight, and it held a powerful black magick." Aubrey continues as she circles behind Stacie, CR and Chloe before ending back in her original starting position, next to the storyteller's chair.
"When the friends found out, they tried to get rid of it, but they didn't know how. And then, horrible things started happening to each of them... All because one of the friends, someone they thought they could trust, was using the evil magick of the charm."
"A traitor in the group? That's awful." Emily states, shocked. Aubrey re-initiates walking around the camp circle, continuing to hold the rapt attention of every group member.
"So one of the friends took the charm, and hid it. He gave each of the members one clue that told them where it was hidden. He figured they'd have to put their clues together to find it, because working together was the only way they could destroy it." Aubrey states, continuing to pace.
"Cool, like a treasure hunt. What were the clues?" Stacie asks, now completely enthralled with the story.
"Well the guy that took the charm made a voice recording. They didn't have cassettes or CDs or anything like that to record on back then, so he made a record, and he broke it into five pieces." Aubrey says, taking a seat in the storyteller's chair.
"On each piece, he wrote down one clue, then gave a piece to each of his friends, and kept one himself."
"So to find out where the silver sight was, they had to put the record back together, get all the clues and listen to it." Chloe sums up for the group.
"Exactly." Aubrey confirms, looking over at her best friend.
"That's cool. So then what happens." Emily asks with curiosity. A beat of silence passes over the group, as Aubrey pauses with her story to stare into the fire.
"What happens is... this isn't a story, is it?" Stacie says, causing Aubrey to look up slowly, directly into her eyes.
"What?" Emily and Flo say at the same time. Beca glances over at Fat Amy with a furrowed brow, and the blonde gives her a small nod in the affirmation before standing up.
"Yeh, this is a story alright… a true story." Amy hands Stacie the triangular piece of record to look at.
"No way." Beca says, disbelievingly.
"Aubrey, this really happened?" Emily asks, a trace of fear in her voice.
"Unfortunately, yes." Chloe places a comforting hand on Aubrey's wrist.
"Why don't you tell us everything." Stacie encourages, handing the record piece back to the blonde.
"Alright, here it is. The five friends were the first original members of the Midnight Society. They never got back together once they disbanded, so the silver sight has remained hidden all these years." Aubrey explains.
"Good! Let it stay hidden." CR says loudly. Flo nods in agreement.
"But yesterday, something scared grandpa Gene so badly, he had a heart attack. It had to do with the silver sight."
"You mean like, it's come back?" Emily asks fearfully, wrapping her head around all the information the former leader is telling them.
"I don't know. This note is a plea for help, and our gramps gave it to me, because he didn't think anyone else would believe him." Aubrey says, looking over at Amy before handing the record piece to the youngest member.
"What kind of help are you talking about, Posen?" Beca asks.
"Well, Mitchell… My gramps wants me to track down the old Midnight Society, get their clues from them, then find the silver sight and destroy it, once and for all. Like they should've done years ago."
"So why are you telling us?" Flo asks.
"Because we gotta move fast." Fat Amy interjects. "Gramps was afraid somebody else might find it first."
"There was nobody else we could go to that would believe us… except you guys." Aubrey says sincerely, looking at each of the younger members in the eyes.
"So what do you want us to do?" Beca asks, still confused as to where Aubrey is going with whatever request she's not quite saying.
"Well I've got four names, the rest of the original Midnight Society. I was hoping we could all split up, each take a name, find them, and get their piece of the record. That's it. Ames and I will take it from there." Aubrey concludes.
"What if we find the traitor?" Chloe asks, concerned.
"I don't know." Aubrey shakes her head. "Look, I don't blame you guys if you don't want to help. What Amy and I are asking you for, it's a lot, and if I were any of you, I don't know if I'd believe a word that came out of my mouth as true. But we need your help." Aubrey implores.
There's a quiet that fills the space as each of the group members take a moment to process everything they just heard. The crackling of the fire and chirping of crickets are the only sounds that separate them from complete and overwhelming silence. Several of the girls glance back and forth at one another, silently trying to figure out what the others are thinking, hoping it would give them an answer of their own.
"Aubrey, we tell stories here. Made up stories? This one is like… real." Emily says standing up, overwhelmed and a little frightened at the prospect of going up against a potentially real-life evil spirit.
"Exactly stringbean, that's why we have to do something. Because it's real." Fat Amy declares, standing up quickly as well. A beat of silence and guilt forces Emily to take her seat again.
"Tell us about the silver sight thing again," Stacie inquires.
"Well it's a charm, probably a small thing," Aubrey begins to describe, staring the leggy brunette directly in the eye. "But it has some kind of power that can really hurt people."
"Aw man, I'm not liking this." CR exclaims from her position next to Stacie.
"Your gramps was a good guy, right?" Stacie questions.
"The best." Aubrey confirms with a sincere nod. "I need to find out the real reason why he died."
"Okay. Give me a name, quick." Stacie exhales deeply, standing up and stepping directly in front of Aubrey. "Come on, before I change my mind."
Aubrey is a little thrown back, and stands to meet Stacie's height and hand her a slip of paper with a name on it. Emily, Flo and Beca all exchange looks of uncertainty, unable to believe Stacie was so willing to jump into this craziness.
"Why don't we just find the guy that hid this thing in the first place," Cynthia-Rose asks, trying to use some semblance of logic.
"Because he died the day after he hid it." Fat Amy adds.
"Oh great, this just keeps getting better." CR says, shifting uncomfortably before leaning back against the couch.
"Well you know I'll help." Chloe stands up in support of her best friend. Beca gazes over at the redhead before resigning herself to the situation.
"I'll help too." The petite brunette says.
"Oh you will, huh shawshank?" Fat Amy eyes the redhead next to her coyly and looks back to Beca.
"Yes, Patricia, I will. So shut up unless you don't want my help." Beca bites back, annoyed by the very indiscrete facial expression the Australian was making.
"Thanks Beca. Any help is appreciated." Aubrey says.
"Sure. But uh, I kind of don't want to take a name by myself." Beca looks around the campfire, hoping she's not coming off as big of a wuss as she feels saying that out loud.
"No problem, how about you and Chloe pair up and take a name together?" Aubrey suggests, raising her eyebrows discretely towards her best friend. Aubrey knows that Chloe has harbored a minor crush on the surly brunette for a few years now, and pairing them together, even if for a potentially dangerous task, would be the work of a good wing-woman and best friend.
Aubrey hands a slip of paper over to Chloe containing the name assignment for her and Beca to take.
"Don't you think that all this is just a little out of bounds," Emily pipes up from her position next to Amy on the couch, still extremely nervous about the whole thing.
"That's fine Em, you don't have to help." Fat Amy says to her, rather sincerely, patting the younger girl's shoulder. Emily finds it an odd and uncommon emotion for the Australian to emote towards her. Emily looks around at Stacie, Chloe and Beca, all looking at their respective names on the papers, slowly gaining a bit of confidence seeing the others stepping up. Emily takes a deep breath and stands up as confidently as she ever has before, stepping forward towards Aubrey with her shoulders squared and her chin raised up.
"You know I'll help. Because if this thing starts to get nasty, you're gonna need me." The freshman girl says, taking the third slip of paper from Aubrey.
"Okay Em, that's adorable, but it's like a puppy dog trying to be confident and intimidating." Fat Amy jokes, motioning for her to step to the side and sit back down.
"We appreciate the help, though." Aubrey adds with a small grin. "Cynthia-Rose, what about you?" The blonde asks the girl who has been quiet for the last several minutes.
"Oh absolutely not." The girl says, standing up. "If this evil spirit shit is actually real, I want no part of it. Have you ever SEEN a horror movie. The black character is always the first to go. Nope, nuh uh. You all have fun on your ghost hunt. Don't get killed." She says as she grabs her bag to head out from the campsite.
"I'm with her." Flo adds, also rising from her chair. "You guys are loco to look into this. I like my head attached to my body, thank you very much." The petite sophomore says as she follows the path Cynthia-Rose just took to exit.
"Well they can–" a figure pops back into view from around a pile of bushes, cutting Fat Amy off and causing a couple of the girls to scream in fright.
"In case you all die horrible deaths, can I become leader of the group?" Flo asks.
Aubrey sighs heavily, rubbing her temple with her fingers, conceding to the Guatemalan's request and waving her off again.
The remaining girls gather back around the campfire.
"Alright, Amy and I will take the fourth name. Now remember, it's the pieces of the record that we need, that's where the clues are. We'll meet first thing tomorrow afternoon in mine and Chloe's dorm room for a status report, okay?" Aubrey instructs.
"Alright, let's hit it bitches." Fat Amy exclaims with enthusiasm.
"Ladies, I uh… well… thanks for doing this." The blonde says genuinely, grateful for each of the girls helping her and Amy with this. Chloe and Stacie both give her reassuring smiles while Beca, who is standing directly to her left, gives her a supportive pat on the shoulder. The six women turn to start heading away from the campsite.
"Wait, Aubrey, you forgot something." Emily announces just before the reach the edge of the circle. Aubrey shifts her body back around towards the voice, an eyebrow raised. "You need to give the story a title."
Aubrey looks around at the other girls, each having turned back toward her out of interest. The blonde steps forward to pick up the leather pouch filled with sand from inside the hollowed out stump next to the storyteller's chair.
"I haven't done this in awhile," Aubrey chuckles, stepping closer to the fire, feeling the weight of the bag in her hands.
"Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society," she says, pausing to slip her right hand inside the bag to grab a full handful of the granular substance. "I call this story…"
She pulls out the sand and drops it onto the fire, immediately putting the flames out and throwing the whole clearing into darkness. The other girls gasp in surprise and confusion.
"Woah." Emily exclaims. "That's, kind of not normal."
An eerie feeling hovers in the air and Aubrey decides to place the bag back into its original spot within the tree stump. The society members back out of the clearing as a group, watching as the smoke from the once lit fire simmers away. They all collectively quicken their pace, walking a little tighter together than they did when they arrived earlier in the night, hoping to leave the woods as swiftly as possible.
Moments after the clearing empties, a small figure dressed in clothing from the turn of the century hops over to the fire ring and casually walks around it so their back is facing the storyteller's chair. The figure raises its hands upward and ignites the fire again. The blaze casts a glow on the figure, revealing the same boy from Aubrey's dream the night before. His face youthful, that of a 10-year old boy's, but his eyes dark and menacing, and his features taking on a look of delighted evil as he watches the bouncing flames light up the area. He begins to cackle as the flames grow higher, the echoes of laughter carrying throughout the nighttime air, stretching wide over the miles of woods. As the group of girls reach the edge of the forest to return home for the night, they can all feel a shift in the atmosphere. It's as if a warning is descending upon them.