Creepy Pasta

Part II

Part II



I awoke in a small, sparsely furnished room with white walls and dark brown hardwood floor. Based on what I saw around me I was able to estimate that the building was built in the late 19th century. I attempted to pull my head from the pillow but was met with a crippling pain in my forehead where the knife handle had struck me at the ceremony in the woods. My legs were sore and felt as though they were filled with cement. It made me shiver that I could not figure out what prevented me from standing at the ceremony. Muffled speech resonated from outside my room as the door opened. A goat-headed Lombard strolled into the room and closed the door behind him.

"Good morning my guest!" He bellowed. "I assume you enjoyed your nap."

"Yeah, I did..." I answered "...Right after that friend of yours almost broke my nose!"

"You needn't worry about him, my friend. His foolish actions have cost him his place in the order," he said with a reassuring tone.

Lombard sat down on the bed next to me, and I instinctively wrenched my legs backward.

"Calm thyself, friend. I am indeed human and this is just a mask... nothing more."

"What about everything else!? The mumbo jumbo you guys were talking about, the goat head, the 'Black Circle'!? I want answers. Now."

"Ah, you have a right to be frightened. All will be explained to you. Let me start from the beginning..." He readjusted himself on the bed to face me. "In the late 1800s two cousins founded a town not far from here. It was a small farming community, very prosperous, a thriving community until the fever hit. Many died, including the mayor's daughter. In a last ditch effort the community banded together and stood united against the disease. They burned the village to the ground and moved into the mayor's farmhouse, the house you are sitting in right now. The plan was a success. With all the medical personnel gathered in one area, it was much easier to treat the sick, and soon the fever was eradicated. Out of habit, the community stayed in this house as a single family to this day, of which I am the patriarch.

The goat headdress symbolizes the single species of beast that provided us with food and drink during the dark times and for your information it is permanently adhered to my head. We dubbed ourselves the Black Circle in name of the black table in the dining hall we would gather around to tell stories of hope to inspire one another. The event you were the center of was known as a Neophytes Sacrament; we give the newcomer a small dose of a hallucinogenic and provoke you to reveal your true feelings to us in order to tell if we can trust you. I was strongly opposed to the Sacrament but I was pressured by the others and had no choice. The words we used were simply to disguise our discussion due to the Circle's lack of trust. As for the actions of Alabaster... I sincerely apologize." Lombard pulled up his massive form and spoke directly to me "Here I am, Valentine Ambrose Lombard the 2nd, with nothing to hide, at your service."

Needless to say I was awestruck at the volume of information that was imparted onto me.

Before I could respond Lombard asked "Any questions?"

I shook my head just as a woman wearing simple brown robes came into the room, dropped to one knee, and said flatly "You are needed in the infirmary, my lord."

Lombard turned to her and stated "I will be there as soon as I can Alice, did Stephan have a run in with the thresher again?"

"No," she laughed with a smile, eyes still trained on the floor, "Pier was picking on Silvia again; she snapped and let him have it with her little fists! I have them both down there waiting for you."

The leader gave a hardy laugh. "That Pier! Almost as mischievous as I was when I was a little boy!" He turned to me "I will be back to speak with you later, friend, but now I must deal with this matter first. Get some rest."

Both the leader and the woman walked out of the room and shut the door on their way out, leaving only silence in their wake. My head felt heavy and I decided to take my new friend's advice and rest my eyes.

I awoke in what looked like early morning to see Lombard sitting at the desk at the edge of my room.

"Morning friend!" he said joyfully. "Come! Sit! Have something to eat!" He stood up from the chair to reveal a platter of sausage and bread with a glass of juice next to it. I was able to pull myself up from the bed. My legs were sore and my knees locked up but I hobbled my way to the desk and sat down. I began to sample the meal.

"Gather your strength... you will need it for later. I have gotten it approved with The Circle... I shall give you a tour of the house and the grounds around three today. So try and get those legs working by then."

Lombard gave a quick wave of his hand as he left the room like wind blowing through the woods. I had finished my odd tasting dish after a few minutes. I sat for the remainder of the time stretching out my tired legs while looking out of the window. The full day of bed rest and the struggle against whatever held me to the ground had left them aching and weakened. An expanse of farmland spread out in front of me ending at a dense forest with a dirt road lined with torches leading up to the house. I assumed that somewhere in the woods there was the picnic table and the altar and beyond that the cornfield I had met my guide in and beyond somewhere beyond that was Elizabeth. Home. I sighed.

"Ready?"

I jumped with surprise as Lombard broke the silence in the room. Time had passed faster than I had expected.

"Come... follow me, friend."

I made uneasy strides out into a foyer with a painting of another goat headed man and a massive chandelier lighting the room bellow and the rows of rooms lining the walls.

"Here is the second floor, used for boarding for our members; the room you are staying in is the guest room. It is not used very often. It overlooks the entrance room, which we will visit later."

"Is that you in the painting?" I asked.

"Ha! No, that is the founder of The Circle, my great grandfather, Ambrose Garrett Lombard. What a great man! I wish I could have known him in person."

"So he started the whole goat head thing?" I laughed rhetorically

We made our way downstairs and wandered through the entrance room and the living room and the sitting room. Listening to Lombard's tales of him reading stories to the children by the fireside in the winter and of the old man who was a master of the old grand piano sitting in the living room. I asked him about the double doors at the end of the entrance room only to receive a response that I should not go in there as I do not have high enough clearance to enter yet. We walked outside and we explored the grounds.

From the outside the house was massive. It was clearly some kind of old farmhouse. We made a left turn around the house to find three buildings off in the distance. I asked Lombard what they were for. He said one of them was the chapel, now dilapidated and unused, a small building used for a school, and a smaller concrete building used for storage. I shrugged plainly and we moved on.

I took that moment to ask "Well sir, what exactly is your job here?" Lombard stopped mid walk to contemplate my question. "I am the headmaster of the order, friend. I am many things... judge, principal, father, doctor. Lots of things, friend."

We walked back up to my room and Lombard instructed me that now that I know where I am I can move about the property at will but only during the day, at night I was confined to my room. Seeing as the sun was descending bellow the horizon I went off to bed.

I spent the next few days wandering the grounds while getting my bearings with the area and get a sense of location. After speaking with some of the other followers of Lombard I noticed a constant theme. They never broke eye contact and they spoke in a very calm manner. Regardless of age they would find a clever way to avoid any of my questions, specifically ones involving Lombard, the concrete building, or what happens in the grand hall. Seeing that I would never find anything out from the members I decided to go answer hunting myself. Making my way out to the structure, which was about a football field's length from the house I decided to carefully inspect it. The building had no windows and a single iron door with a large pad lock on the front. I was going to investigate it further but before I could find a way to open the lock the sun began to set and I reluctantly returned to the house.

A couple of weeks of fruitless investigation passed until I was finally returned to my full healthy state. Feeling my strength returning I began my morning with a quick workout. Lombard entered mid push-up.

"So... I see you are back on your feet again..." he said dryly.

"Yep, feelin' pretty good," I returned.

Lombard paced back and forth, "I imagine you will want to go home soon..." he sighed.

I stood up and looked at the treelike figure, "Yeah, I suppose... I miss Elizabeth quite a bit, and I want to make amends."

"Good... good..." Lombard paused "Robert... If you could stay just one more week... We feel like you have become a member of the family around here and... and... we wish to perform a departure ritual this Sunday... just to say goodbye... You have been one of the kindest outsiders we have encountered in a long time."

I walked up to the goat headed giant, looked him in the eye like he had done to me so many times before, smiled and said "I would be honored, friend."

That night, just before sundown, Lombard drifted once more in my room. He spoke in a much more serious tone than before, and his posture created an imposing aura about him. "Robert, we are having a ritual in preparation for your departure. I require that you. Do. Not. Disrupt it. Please stay in this room until my return. It is just a kind of rehearsal; I don't want to ruin any surprises." I quickly nodded in agreement trying to ignore the sudden change in the headmaster's attitude as he sped out of the room.

I had not been truly honest with my host during my stay in the house. For every act of hospitality he offered there was an event or element that would cause a pang of distrust in my mind. One moment Lombard would provide me with food and I would see him teaching the children like a loving relative but the next I would notice the concrete shack or remember what had happened in the woods weeks ago. The loving kindness of the members juxtaposed with their unnervingly smooth speech and piercing stare. Every impulse in my mind told me to run but I knew I would never make it far before I was captured or worse. This mysterious decree had brought my curiosity to its breaking point. That night I made a decision. As soon as the house fell silent. I removed my heavy work boots, slid the door open, and slowly stepped into the dark abyss.

Since I had been climbing trees in my neighborhood park since childhood, the challenge of scaling the banquet hall's walls came easily to me. After making my way down the stairs, though the foyer and out of the door without so much as a sound I was impressed with my sneaking abilities. I ran around to the side of the hall and began my ascension. The climb was easy enough. Several chunks were missing from the old bricks creating excellent handholds. It wasn't long before I found myself on the roof. From the inside I could hear the same droning sound that I had heard my night in the woods. I desperately searched for a way inside when I came upon a small hatch that led to a ladder that dropped off in a kind of storage attic. Hunkering in next to some old boxes I was able to hear and see the events unfolding bellow me with startling clarity through large crack. A crooked grin grew across my face as I anticipated the truth.

The crowd of the hooded worshiper's drones hushed as the mammoth Lombard took the stage next to an eerily familiar altar. He raised his hands like the night we first met as he spoke with gusto.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the Black Circle! I gather you once again to bring praise to Sekra! And to celebrate the prescience of The Pale! Whose life shall meet its beautiful end the evening of this coming Sunday!" The crowd roared with approval. "My friends... I sincerely apologize for the..." Lombard growled under his breath "Interruption... a few weeks ago."

The audience erupted into a shower of boos and shouting. "Now now my children! I have planned a... rehearsal of sorts, to show you all how we shall deal with the wretched Pale and drive this scourge from our beautiful order. I present to you, the man who is to blame for the delay, brother Alabaster!" Each member howled with joy as they pulled a blindfolded man, naked say for a loincloth, with numerous strange tattoos adorning his chiseled torso, into the room and onto the altar. I felt my dinner rise in my throat.

Three men in red cloaks fastened the man's arms and legs to the altar as Lombard reached into a chest behind him. Alabaster was sobbing with fear and his pleads for help became incoherent screams as his limbs were restrained, until one of the men in red wrapped a piece of cloth over his mouth to silence him. Lombard spun around at lightning speed and raised a shimmering dagger above his head.

"Here and now! We give an offering to you! All mighty Sekra! An offering of flesh and blood!" Alabaster was writhing now, the altar glistening with sweat, and blood welling at the corners of his mouth as he struggled to cry out. The crowd lurched with anticipation, licking their lips with bloodlust in their eyes.

"Now! For the glory of the mother, he gives his life." Lombard pulled away the cloth and Alabaster let out a scream so loud I could have heard it from my room.

"Help m--!" The gag was pulled back and he was struck across the face. They pulled the cloth back again and he cried "For the glory of the mother I give my life!!!"

Without hesitation Lombard drove the blade into the man's abdomen as he resumed screaming with pain and fear. The headmaster made a long cut up the stomach. I could hear bones cracking and flesh ripping as the man moaned in agony. Liquid scarlet spattered the headmaster's hands as it spouted from the gaping wound. Lombard tossed the bloodied knife aside. He then plunged his hands into Alabaster's twitching body and wrenched his arms upward several times until what appeared to be a liver was ripped away. I nearly vomited. Lombard held the dripping organ above his head and shouted, "For the glory of Sekra!" He plunged the hunk of flesh into his mouth like a wild beast. The crowd cheered with jubilation at the unholy sight. The corpse was unbound and drug off into a side room. I stared unblinking as my past feelings of my seemingly kind friend shattered. Before I could process what was going on I heard Lombard address the members. "No one is to speak of this to our guest. And regarding the Pale, I'm going to see how our friend is doing," he said with a chuckle as the cloaked men and women overflowed with laughter.

I was back on the roof before Lombard could leave the stage.