Arriving at Hollow Hill a few minutes later, the kids parked the bikes next to the cabin. Andrew opened the cabin's door. The book was there, untouched. The pages had turned a bit because of the wind. They all stared at the book, circled around it. Andrew, in a hesitant move, turned it back to the page Shawn's blood fell on, from the tip of his finger.
"Alright...Let's take this outside. We burn it, and our lives go back to normal..."
"Yup..."
"Yeah..."
Andrew picked up the book, still keeping it from a certain distance of him.
"Where should we do it ? We can't put it on fire here, the grass is gonna burn with it too."
"Let's just find a spot with dirt instead of grass. We'll do it there." April said.
The kids looked around, searching for a place with dirt. Shawn found one first. He pointed it from the tip of his finger, and Mike noticed it first.
"There ! Shawn found one."
Andrew took a look at it.
"Great, let's go."
They took a few steps down the hill, where the dirt path was.
Andrew put the book down right in the center of it.
"Alrigh, Shawn, give me the alcoohol."
Shawn did, Andrew poured the whole bottle on the book.
"Matches."
Heather gave them to him. He lit one on fire.
"Get back !"
He threw it one the book, which immediately lit on fire. The fire seemed to grow, but not burn the book.
"It's got resistance."
The fire grew wider and wider. Mike started panicking.
"Uhm guys, I don't think that's normal."
"What the hell ?.."
The fire started taking a purple colors from the center, taking the lead on the vivid red. The fire then seemed to explode, a bright purple fire rushed at all the five kids.
"RUN !"
As soon as they were touched by the fire, it seemed as they totally blacked out. Each of them woke up, surrounder by black pitch void. Althought they could still hear eachother, none of them could see eachother, or see anything at all. Simply pitch black void.
Each of them called for each other, panicked. A deep pitched voice started talking.
"Reditus...De...Bestia."
A terrible laugh followed, the scariest thing any of them had ever heard.
"FEAR." The laugh became even louder. The black void around them surrounded with the same usual purple smoke, as it seemed to shape itself into buildings and different evironments.
Mike found himself in the middle of a classroom.
Heather and April both could now see eachother. The smoke had built around them the garden they would play in together during holidays, when their family would reunite.
Andrew looked around to see his old house.
Shawn, found himself in his bedroom.
Each of them was scared, scared as they could be. Because each of them recognised where they were. And on what day. And what was going to happen.
Mike looked around. All of his classmates were staring at him.
He closed his eyes, preparing himself.
"Faggot !"
He took a first hit, right on the arm. He felt his other classmates laughs, fusing at him.
"My dad said those were to burn !" More hits came. And from more persons.
"Homosexual !"
"Faggot !" Mike crumbled down to the floor, as his bullies kept hitting. He could here his classmates cheer.
"More, more, more !"
Shawn heard those same exact words, from a more deep pitched, single voice. Both of them yelled.
"Stop ! Please ! Stop"
Andrew, now facing the house, tried to rush into the house, searching for his parents. But he couldn't seem to open the door. That's when he started feeling it. The first tremors.
"Mom ! Dad !" He shouted, banging as hard as he could on the door.
The door opened in front of him. He saw them. Both of his parents.
But not only. He saw his sister, and himself. How could he see himself running ? The tremors became harder and harder. That's when the earthquake hit. In front of him, and next to his own family and himself, he lived it again. His house, that his poor parents worked so hard for, to offer their kids a comfortable living, crumbling upon his eyes. The exact event that pushed him to work so hard academically to help his family when he would be grown up. Nothing of the house was left, except the garden, full of debris. A garden, where the ruins evaporated into white smokes, to let place to Heather and April. That same garden where they would play together. He was there. Standing. "The old Man". He rushed towards them, as fast as he could. His face was scary, used by time, and empty of emotions.
"Come girls, it'll be fun !"
They kept rushing, as hard as they could, back into the house. They got to the door, storming in and shutting the door behind them. April was crying. Heather, was frightened.
"Leave us alone !" The Man smiled, before leaving
"Yeah, go ! Leave me alone !" Yelled April...
"Leave me alone..." "Leave...me..."
Shawn tried as hard as he could to leave from the hands of his Uncle.
"Please, stop ! Leave me alone !" His Uncle, standing upon him, smiled more and more.
"Not a word to ANYONE. You heard me ?! It'll be our little secret...Not a word ! Or I'll kill you !"
He yelled as hard as he could.
"STOP ! STOP." Suddenly, everything around any of the kids evaporated into that same purple smoke, before it shaped itself back into the real world. All of the kids saw eachother again. All of them were laying there, on the ground. The book was still there, untouched. The fire had ceased. Mike got up, crying, just as in the memory he just lived.
"What just happened ?" He mumbled.
Shawn got up, his lips bled. He helped Andrew to get up, then Heather. Andrew himself helped Heather. Shawn walked towards the book, as Andrew looked to all of the kids.
"Did you guys just see the same thing as me ?"
April joined.
"I think, yeah..."
Heather agreed.
"But why my house, though ?!" Asked Andrew.
"What, what house ?!"
"My house ! When it fell down ! Isn't that what you guys just saw ?"
"What, no !"
Heather intervened.
"I was with April, in the garden of our childhood, with the scary old man."
Andrew seemed confused.
"Mike, what did you see ?!"
"Uhm, an accident !" He said, wiping his tears. " An accident, from when I was litle."
"Fear." Said Shawn, picking up the book.
"What ?" Andrew asked.
"Fear.", he repeated.
"Fear ! Fear ! Yes, that's what it said when I saw the black void ! Fear"
"We heard it too, with Heather !"
Mike managed to stop crying.
"I heard that too... I don't think the monster enjoyed his book being burnt...But how did he do that ? How did we all lived back a memory ?!"
Shawn closed the book, holding it in his hand.
"The Illusionist."
"What ?"
"The Illusionist" he repeated. "I remember it now. When I bled on the pages. I remember so many things happened, but I can't seem to be able to focus on any of them. It's like trying to remember a memory your brain deleted. But I remember now... This "Entity"... It's the Illusionist..."
"Does it has the power to make you speak ?" Asked Mike.
April looked at him in a mean way.
"It's not the time for your little jokes, Mike."
Andre agreed, looking at Mike in a disappointed stare.
"This, "Illusionist", from its name, I reckon has the power to use illusions onto us, using our fears ?"
Shawn nodded.
"That's no good news for us...Nor for anyone else...The book doesn't seem to destroy, and the Enti..Illusionist seems to have been angered even more after what we did. How are we gonna get rid of this ?"
"We have to face him." said Shawn.
"But how ? We don't even know where to find it...He only shows himself with smoke."
"I am linked with him since my blood summoned him... For the past three days, I keep seeing it in my dreams. The Fun Fair. It's coming in town in about a month and a half. That's where he's gonna hit next. I can feel it."
All the kids looked at eachother worried. Andrew put his hand on Shawn's shoulder.
"If that's what you think. We trust you. We'll wait until the Fun Fair in a few weeks, but until then, EVERYONE stays aware, alright ?! Mike. Take the two unworking walkie talkies and fix them home, just in case. The rest of you, everyone takes one, so we can all still keep in touch even from home alright."
"Alright." T
They all grabbed a walkie talkie, as Mike all put them under the same frequency.
"Here, they should work. Don't touch anything on it except this button, to talk, alright ?"
"Agreed." Said April.
Heather looked at Shawn's hand.
"What are we gonna do of the book for the next few weeks ?"
April looked down on the dirt spot.
"Burry it."
"What ?"
"Burry it ! That way no one will find it, and we'll know where to get it back."
"I agree with April, that's our best option. Let's burry it until the fun fair."
"See, even Andrew agrees."
Heather kneeled down.
"Let's dig up, then."
They all knelt, digging with Heather to burry it. They dug about 1.5 feet down, placed the book inside and covered it in dirt.
"Alright. As usual, not a word to anybody about today, guys. No one else than us can know what's going on guys, okay ?" Said Andrew, as the group walked back towards their bikes.
"And remember, if ANYTHING happens, tell the rest of us on the walkie talkies."
"Sir, yes sir!" Joked Mike.
"Stop joking around, I'm serious." He said, getting on his bike. "Stay alert guys, we don't know what could happen, okay ?"
April nodded.
"Yes, do not worry. We'll be careful."
Andrew smiled.
"Great. I'll see you guys tomorrow in class, bye ! Take care !"
The rest of the group said goodbye to him, waving.
Heather and April got on their bike, saying goodbye to Shawn and Mike.
"You guys too stay careful, alright ?"
Shawn nodded.
"Of course !" Mike said.
Heather smiled at the both of them.
"Bye guys !"
Shawn smiled.
"Bye."
Shawn and Mike finally themselves got on their bike. Their house wasn't actually that far from eachother, so the road from Hollow Hill to their houses was almost the same, only Shawn's was a bit longer. They left together. Mid ride, Shawn turned to Mike.
"It wasn't an accident, right ?"
"What."
"What you saw...It was that day again ?..."
"Yeah... I didn't want the others to know..."
"You know, they wouldn't judge you for some rumors, I think..."
"Yeah, rumors ! I know...But I don't want them to think I need you to defend myself...I couldn't tell that story without saying you're the one who fought them when I was down and to knock it..."
"You don't have to...Just say you got up and knocked'em down." He said smiling...
Mike chuckled
"Alright, one day..."
The rest of the ride home was quiet, but not the awkward silence quiet type. The type of silence that would be shared between two bestfriends that didn't need to always talk to have a good moment.
Best friends.