Chapter 1: The Encounter
"Come on, Shiori!" I exclaim, "It's just a building."
"But part of the roof has fallen in and there might be snakes!"
"I shall keep you safe." Like I even have to say anything. I have had a crush on her since fourth grade. I had been coming home from cello practice (my mother thought I needed an instrument) and heard her practicing the violin. The next day she had entered my home room in school. We became fast friends and as we grew up, no one could resist her charm. Not even me. She had her black belt in karate by the age of 13, trademark Asian lilt of the eyes, gossamer black hair, and thin frame.
Shiori bit her lip in indecision, "Promise?"
"Of course, I would never let anything happen to you." I respond, turning to face the condemned building. "Follow me, our entrance is around the back." I grab her hand and we approach a, now glassless, window. I release her hand, and step onto the windowsil. From there, I lowered myself down to the floor.
"See, prefectly safe. Now, step up like I did and I'll lower you down." She complied, and I wrapped my arm around her waist, gently setting her down.
"Hey, Alin, what would you do if something happened to me?"
"Hide the bones," I respond waggling my eyebrows evilly.
She smirked, "Remind me why were friends?"
"Because you can't resist my natural charisma and handsome face?"
I am gifted a subtle eye-roll, "Yeah, that's definitely it, Alin"
I chuckled softly, flicking on my flashlight and revealing the rotted wood and shabby frame. The ground was covered in old mason jars. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a small calico-blue bottle. "Hey, check out this one!" I call over to her.
"What was stored in that? Milk of magnesia?"
"No idea. Want a souvenier?"
"Sure, I-" She was cut off by the sound of a fire starting, a big fire.
"We need to get back," I shout, my voice laced with panic. I had invited Shiori to my family reunion, the direction the blast came from.
I leaped through the window, and gave Shiori my hand. Once we were both outside, it was an an all-out sprint on a gravel road. About four-hundred meters later, we reached some great-uncle-of-mine's log cabin. The cabin itself was untouched, but the woods around it were blazing with orange hues as flames embraced the trees. After our first impressions cleared, Shiori spoke up, "Where are all the people?"
We begin to frantically search and call out names, while avoiding staying under the trees whose burning limbs fell with the slightest breath of wind. With simultaneous nods, we head to the last unchecked area. The house.
Wrapping my arm around her shoulder, we ascend the wooden porch. I hesitate to open the door, allowing myself a quick glance at Shiori who takes a deep breath and nodds. Entering the buiding, we found everything in disarray. Hunting trophies smashed on the ground, tables flipped, doors thrown wide open, floor-boards ripped up. It was as if someone was looking for something, or someone and became very angry, very quickly.
"Greetings...I see you have finally arrived," a destinctly male voice drifts down from the loft, "my guest of honor."
Out of the shadows, a figure manifests itself before us, "As you can probably tell, I have been looking for you." He drawled in an unidentifiable accent. "Are you ready to accompany me, my bride?"
A timid whisper, "What does he mean?" Comes from my right.
"Nothing, he's just another crazy dude." I return in a solid tone, trying more to convince myself than Shiori.
His voice had a hollow ring to it. "Oh, contraire, I am most definitely not crazy. Just mad. So don't make my already bad mood worse, and comply. I would say obey, but I am trying a new approach. I belive the term is being 'nice'." With that said, he leapt from the loft and landed not three feet from us. His head cocked ever so slightly to the right whilst the left eyebrow inched up his forehead as if awaiting for our response. Now that he had entered the lit area we saw what he looked like. Midnight black hair tipped incarnadine framed cruel, soulless black eyes that could have been the entrance to Hell itself.
"Come on, you'll be saying 'yes' to me somehow or another. Omnis viae Romam ducunt."
"What?" Shiori questioned me.
"'All roads lead to Rome' it's Latin."
His face lit up for a half-second and he mused, "Useful, a servant who can speak Latin. Perhaps you shall be spared, Alin."
"How did you know my name? And what do you mean by 'servant'?" I asked sharply. Alas, my question was never to be answered. For, from his being poured out a terrible miasma which made the world grow black and cold. The last sound I heard was a sinister laugh.
