The Horror of Our Love
Chapter 1
The night graced the Appalachian Trail, cloaking the woods in total darkness. The air, crisp and cool, betrayed the summer days as the night grew cooler and clear. However, these woods would no longer be the haven they were to this group of college students in the winding trails. As the twilight finally gave way to the pitch black, a female voice said with an outraged tone,
"No way, Carlos! You know I hate those things!"
The party in the woods was almost a good night of drinking, grousing and singing. The bonfire provided warmth for all four of the college students at this makeshift keg party. It was fun, up until the Ouija Board came out of the boy Carlos' backpack. The girl in question had curly, auburn hair, almost lilac colored eyes, tan in skin, and was curvaceous in build despite her 6'2" height. Her eyes were narrowed; she knew those things were Satan! Her abuelita used to tell her all things bad could happen with those things around! So, after finishing her scotch nip (working at the package store had its benefits), she growled out at Carlos,
"Put it away, or I'm gone!"
"Awww c'mon Dina! They're harmless!" the other girl said in defense.
The girl called Dina scowled at the other, and the girl's brother was also defending their right to investigate the great unknown with this board. Dina, finally flustered and angry, snapped out as she grabbed her bookbag,
"Fine, y'all can do that on your own! I'm outta here, Silvi!"
"Aww c'mon Dina, quit being a-" the girl Silvi started, but Dina had started hiking back to her Jeep.
They all snickered anyway as they debated who they were going to call. They decided to try to contact a spirit from the Depression Age (Carlos suggested due to his paper being on the Great Depression). They opened the board, not knowing what to expect. But suddenly as they asked if anyone was out there, the board's planchette violently dragged their hands to Yes. Surprised, yet intrigued, they asked for a name. The planchette grew hot, and as they released it to avoid burning their fingers, the planchette ran across the board, spelling out Alastor. Now fully intrigued, Carlos put his hand to the planchette, but the heart shaped wood was strangely hot. He finally felt nerves creep in, and the other two were flat-out nervous. The girl asked without thinking,
"Are you a demon or something!?"
The planchette almost burned the wood as it skid stopped at Yes. The woods went eerily quiet. Even the fire was silent. Was this a joke? Or were they all too drunk to see this wasn't real? Carlos, finally nervous and intrigued, asked the board with a hesitant, and foolish question,
"What do you want!?"
The board suddenly combusted, and the smell of burning wood and blood filled the area. Carlos froze as the burning planchette moved to spell out the phrase A meal. A hellborne scream erupted around them, as well as maniacal laughter. Carlos and the others took off into the woods, desperate to get out. As he ran, Carlos heard the girl in their group suddenly shriek, and her scream of fear was silenced by an unseen force. The other boy's screams could be heard for minutes, and they sounded like he was being shredded to pieces. He too went silent, and Carlos realized he wasn't getting out of this alive. Numbly, he listened as a slight sound of footsteps sounded nearby. He heard whatever it was chuckle. It sounded like the radio hosts from the old days, and he planned to run. However, he was suddenly grabbed, and he asked with fear,
"Oh fuck, what did we-?" The demon laughed cordially, and said with a bladed grin that Carlos could clearly see in the dark, "A demon…Now, where is my meal?"
Carlos stuttered and Alastor drew a long red claw across his neck, watching Carlos' life spill from his throat. He smirked, only to hear a car in the distance strain to ignite. Another human….excellent. he thought with a pleased smirk. He dropped Carlos' dead body to the ground and ran to the source.
Dina growled angrily as she kept trying to get the Jeep to start. It refused. Dina groaned out in aggravation; what a night for the battery to shit the bed! She heard the screams back from the path she had just left but ignored it. Knowing them, they were going to come to class tomorrow, and they were going to be hung over. She groaned as she couldn't get the car to start,
"Fuck my life! Could this not get any-!?"
She heard the woods go deathly silent. She froze, and her breath registered into the air. What the fuck?! It's August! She thought in fear. Something told her to get back into the Jeep immediately, and she opened the door to her car. She heard footsteps, and as she climbed in, her engine suddenly revved to life as the headlights also came online. She sighed; now she could go home!
But suddenly, a large and beautiful deer came out into the light. She hesitated as she took in the deer's lithe muscles and glorious antlers. She almost opened the door to get a picture, until a demonic snarl escaped from the left, and the being tackled the deer into the ground, voraciously devouring it and causing blood to fleck all over Dina's Jeep. She felt her throat freeze. She muttered in fear,
"Drive….Drive!" as Alastor stood up and looked at the Jeep, she threw it into reverse and screamed out in terror, "DRIVE, DAMN IT!"
The car revved and backed deeper into the woods. Alastor smirked as he calmly followed the car. He caught the scent of the woman driving, and the smirk developed a pleased edge. Her fear was sweet to the senses. It smelled like honey mixed with a little cinnamon, and as she went to spin the car to drive, she forgot the trees, and drove into one. The combination of speed and the force of hitting this thick oak tree destroyed the Jeep, and Dina barely climbed out of the totaled car. She was mildly injured, but she quickly vaulted up and went to take off. She barely got through to the path, when she tripped over a tree root. She would've ran, but the root suddenly raveled around her ankles. She gasped and yelled out in terror,
"NO! SHIT!"
She heard a cordial laugh in the distance, and she quickly pulled her knife out of her pocket. Whatever this was, she didn't want to be its next meal! She tried hacking at the root, praying that she was hallucinating all this due to the alcohol she had drank. It cinched down tighter on her ankles, almost spraining them for her. She cried out in pain. As the tall figure's shadow crossed her face, she caught his grin, and he purred out,
"Why, hello!" seeing the knife in her hands, he smirked, and added with mirth, "My dear, no need for the knife!"
He pulled it away from her, along with plucking the crucifix off her neck, and threw them into the woods. Dina was cornered without defense, and she felt afraid of this man. His red and black suit matched his hair and ears, his eyes a study of red. She saw the blood in his mouth, and she panicked as she saw his sharp teeth as well. She now knew her pursuer wasn't human. He radiated apex predator, as well as very confident in his movements. She felt the root tighten its grip as he knelt in front of her, straddling over her hips, and milking a fearful blush from her. He was close; very close to her. She could smell his cologne, consisting, of oud, sandalwood and white lavender, and she felt her fear intensify as a finger traced down her cheek and under her chin. He took in her lilac eyes, and a devious smirk filled his face. He asked with a heavy purr in his voice,
"What is your name, sweetheart?"
"W-W-Why?" She asked with fear.
"Because it's impolite not to introduce yourself to a demon, my dear…." Alastor responded coyly.
Dina froze in terror. Oh, God I knew it! She thought in a panic. She wanted to try to cross herself, but her body was frozen in fear. Alastor felt his patience wear a little thin, and Dina looked at her Jeep. The plates still illuminated her name from the tail lights. Alastor followed her gaze and smirked dangerously. He added with a pleased tone,
"So Dina…." Lightly petting her hair, he added with a slight rumble in his voice, "Have you ever been possessed before?"
Dina flushed, but hearing the question, she struggled anew. She was not going to have that happen! Hell would freeze first! NOPE! NOT TODAY! She panicked within. She managed to free one leg, and Alastor laughed with an evil grin. He pulled her down, and his hand furled into her hair. He took in its soft qualities and smiled evilly as she fearfully looked into his eyes. Her lilac eyes glowed in the dark of the woods. He had never seen such a color before. He leaned in, and whispered seductively,
"Let me in….my dear."
His mouth met hers, and she gasped out in horror as his essence began to furl into hers. She panicked and desperately tried to get away. With him distracted, the root released her leg, and Dina, in a fit of fear, managed to kick him, and run. Alastor laughed with mirth; how he loved a good chase! He pursued, and Dina was barely keeping ahead of him. He was fast; faster than she thought. She finally got to the main road and collapsed onto the street.
Alastor went to follow, until the summoning spell dragged him back. Dina ran away from the area, and slowly began to trackback to the college. Alastor was a little miffed, but he realized he was finally back on the surface of Earth. He tried to step the threshold of the woods onto the street again, and smirked as he realized he was bound here. The Radio Demon smirked and went back to the Jeep. He looked to the Jeep and carved a small message out to his new victim as he caused the Jeep's motor to explode. Hearing sirens, he melted back into the shadows of the woods.
Dina had finally got to her dorm, and quietly snuck in. She collapsed onto her bed, and cried lightly. Whatever the Hell happened, she didn't want to be real. She felt her ankles scream out in protest, so she knew she was waking up with bruises. She quietly got under her blankets and fearfully slipped into sleep.