The Peanut Butter and Jelly Corporation

7

People were screaming behind them but Emma couldn't hear a sound.
The man was talking. His hand pulling her by wrist as she tried to keep up with his pace. She kept her eyes on him. The forest was thick with trees densely packed together and tangled branches barring the way. Emma did not know where they were going. They certainly did not pass this way going to the lake. Battlement, however, seemed familiar with the ground and she followed him.
"What--? What was--?" She whispered
"A monster. They call it a god but it's nothing more than a creature created out of greed by my ancestors." Battlement slid into a small, rocky crevice and helped her get down. He stopped to catch his breath, leaning against the walls of the crevice. Emma panted and listened. The screams were fading now, but she could sense the soft rumble in the wind. Emma looked at her wrist and noticed blood dripping. Seamus broke her nose and blood was dripping everywhere.
"I have to get home"
Battlement pulled her head back to stop the bleeding and tore off his robe. He pressed it against her bleeding nostril.
"No. The creature is out. You must never return home."
"But my family --"
"My family started that tradition. Circumstances were dire then. They had no food, no land, no money, no nothing. Then they discovered an ancient ritual to call on a creature that would grant them power and wealth. All it needed was a sacrifice to sustain itself every five years. Initially, they asked for a volunteer. Someone willing to sacrifice for the good of the community. But then everyone started getting richer and richer and more popular, it became harder to sacrifice when life was good. So they turned to coercion. My family objected so they kicked us out of the club, so to speak."
Emma tried to follow what he was saying but the man was rambling. His face was ashen and shock kept him talking.
"Even if they force people, they must follow the rules. It requires a volunteer who will willingly jump into the lake and stir the fishes. Then it will wake and take the sacrfice. Hence, the fishing guise"
She did not understand and he really did not care. The monster was out. His brother was dead. Nothing seemed real anymore
He peered above the walls of the crevice. There was a foul stench in the air. Rotten, dank, metallic. The quiet was surreal, like a calm before the storm.
"Is it gone?" Emma asked.
The man shook his head. "It was a mistake. The monster will never accept a Battlement. He knew that." He climbed out of the crevice and reached for her hand to pull her up.
"I'm sorry about your brother"
Battlement was not listening. There was no time to grieve. "Come, we need to leave. Our bikes are just outside this forest"