The Friendship Ring
-O-
Prologue
-O-
Hate. Hate hate hate. That's what this dense forest was filled with in the center. The stony prison of a core smack in the middle of the forest. The trees stopped about fifty yards away from the well, as if forming a boundary around it. The wind blew, but the trees remained still. No sense of life could be found anywhere in this place. The only movement noticeable was the occasional wave of static through the false world.
Smack
Smack
Smack
Smack
"Everyone will suffer…"
Mommy
I'm not your frigging mommy!
"She has to die…Mommy has to die…"
Splash…
Splash…
The sound of stone rubbing against stone filled the void of noiselessness. The lid on the tiny well began to move up and down, bouncing lightly on the edge of the cylinder. A set of decayed, childlike fingers appeared from under it and shoved it partially aside, a raspy grunt accompanying the task. Light burned her diamond rough eyes, fueling her yearning all the more. The crack wasn't big enough to fit through, however, and she was already quite exhausted as it was. She'd have to speed things along if she didn't want to lose balance and fall back down to the dark place she loathed so. Another hand appeared and grappled onto the huge lid, the cement crushing her delicate yet powerful hands. She bit her rotting lip, pain coursing through her bloodless veins. There existed a determination inside this girl that could rival no other right now. She was betrayed, by her mother no less. She wanted to be free. She wanted revenge. The sound of her hand bones cracking failed to elude her from her goal. With a final outburst of energy, the obstruction finally skidded over the stone and onto the ground. The hole was open fully now. A black mesh of hair slithered its way over the edge of the well, a pair of hands following. It wasn't long until she was able to heave her lower body over the edge as well, and soon enough, there she stood, in whatever sort of deranged sense of glory this creature might house in their corrupted mind.
He doesn't love me…He loves the horses…
"She doesn't love me…She loves her son..."
She rubbed her hands together gently, attempting to massage the mutilated flesh. Lifting the lid was no easy task, even for her. She chuckled spitefully, being quite proud of herself at the time. She had never before been able to remove the stone from the well even halfway before, let alone tossing it right over her head and onto the ground. Her head tilted over to where the lid lay, her mop of tangled black hair swaying with her slightly. She just stared at it, wishing she could outright destroy it for what it had done. But no, she was far too smart for that. Maybe once she was an arrogant child that didn't understand anything, but she'd been destroying the lives of many for almost thirty years now, and the only people that had a clue were too afraid to tell on her, for fear of being labeled a lunatic, not to mention the countless lives they could be charged with, her father's included.
But he doesn't know…
"But she doesn't know…"
She look a few steps forward, unconsciously limping as she walked. She had a lot of work to do. After all, Mommy had destroyed only the one tape she had found. There were still the tapes remaining from the countless 'Rings' formed around her tape. However, after being cooped up in that cursed dark place for so long, the curse had long worn off on the videos. They'd become no more than common recording tapes for many. She'd have to start from scratch if she wanted to get anywhere. She felt something, and as her world grew brighter, the world grew dimmer.
There was another group of rowdy teenagers in Cabin Twelve of Shelter Inn, and they were about to watch a movie.
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Chapter One: A Boy Named Mary Sue
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Love. Love is one of the few things in life we cannot do without. Without it, we have no reason to exist, therefore, no purpose. If we cannot be loved by somebody and loved back, then what's the point in living in the first place? If we cannot experience the warmth of a hug, the butterflies of a kiss, then we would be better off experiencing the cold embrace of death around our bodies, no longer to suffer the torment of being without someone to care for. Love.
A clapping sound brewed from the classroom as students absorbed the poem they had just heard, some enthusiastic, some bored.
"Very well written poem, Zachary" said the teacher, giving a small clap as he walked over next to the chalkboard. "Now next, we have…"
-O-
Zachary…I always hated being called that. I much preferred being called simply Zach. It just rolled off the tongue better. Yeah, I'm Zach. I'm your typical, high-school-going-teenager, going through your typical-teenager-life. Well, it was normal until I met…her…But now I'm just getting ahead of myself. As you can see, I like to think life is a bit more than just drugs and sex, as many a teenager nowadays tends to believe. I also tend to not dig following trends. Perhaps I'm a bit mature for my age, or perhaps I'm just an ignorant little brat that doesn't know what in the world he's talking about. But only time will tell, now won't it?
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"Hey, Zach! Wait up!"
Zach glanced behind him to see his best friend, Theodore, chasing after him in the school hallway. A smile weaved itself across his face. "Hey 'Dore!" Zach turned around and waved back.
Theodore folded his arms. "Are you gunna keep calling me that forever, man?"
"Well, how am I supposed to know? I can't plan that far ahead!"
Both of them shared a quick laugh. They both traded blows back and forth like this often, though every single one of them ended in their enjoyment.
"Hey Zach, I've got some stuff for you to pick up at my house after school…" he grinned widely at his friend.
Zach just folded his arms and looked at Theodore with a playful curiosity on his face. "What kind of stuff?"
"Eh, just some old movies and junk I don't need anymore. We're finally ditching our old VCR. I figured since you still use VHS you could use some of 'em"
Zach laughed. "Alright, I'll drop by your house and collect your garbage for you, master" he said playfully. They both shared a quick laugh before the bell rang.
"Well, there's the bell. See 'ya after school, Zach" and with a smile, he turned and started walking the opposite direction.
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The sun was shining brightly now, not a cloud in the sky. It was about 4:00 P.M. now, and there were hardly any cars on the road. Zach could be seen riding his bike down the hill to Theodore's house. Zach skidded to a quick halt in front of Theodore's house and kicked the brake down before he could topple over. Zach hopped off his bike and walked up the paved walkway to Theodore's wooden porch. He climbed up the small flight of stairs and knocked on the door. The door opened and Theodore appeared in its place.
"Hey, Zach! I've got the tapes right here" Theodore reached over to the side of the doorway and dragged out a large box containing a wide array of videos, ranging from Disney classics to movies he probably wanted to get rid of before his mom found them.
Zach picked up one of said movies and then looked back up at Theodore, raising an eyebrow. Theodore just smiled a nervous smile, sweating a bit in the process. "Hey man, better you than me"
Zach scoffed. "Gee, thanks" he spat as he picked up the heavy box.
Theodore smirked. "You're welcome. Hey, you need any help carrying these back home? There's an awfully lot of movies there, and VHS tapes aren't exactly as light as DVDs, 'ya know?"
"Nah, I'm fine. Thanks 'Dore"
"No prob', man. Just be glad tomorrow's Saturday. Maybe we can get together and watch some of the more…naughty of the tapes tomorrow, eh?"
Zach would of smacked him had he not been holding about fifteen pounds worth of movies in his arms. Seeing as his arms were currently out of commission, he settled for an angry smirk. The two said their goodbyes and Zach was on his way.
'I just better be glad I live right across the street from 'Dore…'
-O-
The front door swung open, and Zach picked up the box of videos again and walked in. He walked over to his television and placed the box of movies down next to it. He bent down and began rummaging through the tapes, digging through the convoluted assortment of cartoons and naughty people. Just as his interests began to wander elsewhere, his eyes landed on something strange. A blank, unmarked, coverless tape, sitting at the bottom of the box all on its lonesome. He picked the tape up and examined it. As he looked at it, he could of sworn he heard a whisper in his ear.
Everyone will suffer…
A blast of thunder jogged his senses before he could pay heed to the message. He looked outside and saw sunshine.
"Weird…" Zach walked over to his VCR and stuck the tape in. He walked back and plummeted down onto his couch lazily. He turned the TV on and hit 'Play'. At first, there was just static. Zach sighed. "Just like 'Dore to give me busted goods…" as he reached for the remote, a low howl sounded as a lighted ring appeared on the screen. After a few seconds of the ring blaring on the screen, a wide array of black and white scenes appeared onscreen.
A ring of light accompanied by an eerie, hollow sound.
A woman brushing her hair in a mirror.
Maggots covering the screen.
A box of wriggling fingers.
A man in a window.
A dead horse on the beach.
A woman standing on a cliff, facing away from the screen.
A nail being forced through a finger.
A three legged lamb.
The woman from before spreading her arms out like a bird and freefalling off the cliff.
A burning tree after a harsh storm.
A final image of a well in a solitary field with a forest surrounding it ended the tape, and it returned to static.
"What kind of crap was that supposed to be?"
Riiing. Riiing.
The ringing of Zach's phone shook him from his stupor. Zach reached across his couch and picked up the phone. "Hello?"
"Seven days…"
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Corner of Pranktitude
Yeah, chapter one is up. Reviews are accepted, flames are put out with mud.