Children of Morpheus

Chapter 7

    I dashed down the stairs, with my eyes are in a panic strike. My breathing paced on as I called out Dean, yelling his name that bounced and hurled across space of the house.    

    I left Sebastian in my room while he sat down shaking vigorously with his eyes rolled back into white, like he was possessed or something. Then someone called my name that turned my head and made me looked upstairs. It was Sebastian, summoning me with his shaking voice.  

    I hurried upstairs that trembled the planks of every step. Sebastian, with the same state, kept calling out my name as he suddenly stopped and stared at me at my door, from that moment I slowly step towards him. My intent is to remove the book from his hands as he froze still, with his white sight stared blankly at me. His hands shook as he turned the pages of the book and fold the edges of the paper. 

    He jerked his head and looked at me with his creepy eyes as I moved across him. He smirked and looked back at the book. And shut the cover that gave a bang into my nerves and jumped back.

    What is happening to him? I thought as I watched him do whatever he's doing.

    “Get a knife,” he chanted repeatedly as his head bowed down. 

    “What for?” I replied, but he didn't answer. He just kept reciting his words louder and louder. . .

I hurried down to the kitchen and slicked the silver knife from the rack. Then I saw Dean came in from the back door. He looked at me as I panicked and galloped upstairs. 

    “Slow down! What are you doing with that knife?” He yelled then followed me into my room.

    “Dean, help!” I called out as I push the door open. He jerked in beside me and stared down at Sebastian.

Sebastian was sitting with legs crossed on the floor with the opened book sitting in front of him. He raised his hand to me and face his palm up. I gave him the knife as he put it on the top of the book. 

    Dean just stared down at Sebastian with curiosity in his eyes, he didn't bother to help me or him. He pushed me and nod up. “He wants you to join him.” He said as he took a step back, watching me take a sit across Sebastian. 

    Sebastian took the knife with his left hand pointing outward and raised his right towards me. My eyes went wide as he edged the knife above on his palm.

    What is happening to him? The only idea that kept popping in my mind is that I gave my hand to him and he will stab it. Nothing else. My hand was trembling as silence took over the room. I gave him my hand and slowly raised the knife pointing right down in the middle.  

    My eyes shook as I repeatedly looked at Dean with astonishment in his eyes. He looked down at me with his lips mumbled. “It's okay, just breathe Rafael. Try to calm down yourself.” Then Sebastian started chanting in a soft voice that I can't understand. 

    He tightens his grip on my wrist as I took a deep breath. Then he jerked the knife into my hand as I felt the million bee sting, stinging the same spot. I locked my scream in, as I tried to pull my hand back to me. Blood started to gush out from my palm, flowing down like a waterfall on the book. The droplets of blood shot as the book opened by itself on the folded pages. It oozes down as the sound of a voice came a bite in my ears in tight.

    “From upside down, the spirit rested. All glows in the presence of his blood. The light brought the twilight wood within and that swallowed the tombs and was forgotten. It lied down in the house of the dead with the original Forman.” The voice riddled as the sound repeatedly trapped in my mind.  

    Sebastian dropped down on his back on the floor and suddenly gasped as he jolted up his eyes. He inhaled deeply while he yanked himself up and sat. I moved towards him and hold his back.

“Are you okay?” I asked. 

    “Your mother, cast a spell on the book, she scattered the words throughout the pages. I revealed the message by reciting each of her words backward.” Sebastian said weakly as his breathing came in hard.

    I called Emma to come over and take care of Sebastian as he sleeps in my bedroom. His ability drained him like a hungry leech. It's been a while since the three of us were at my house. I ringed Barbara and told her that Sebastian stayed in our house for the night, and she understands that he needs his friends for the time being. I can't tell her what happened to him, exactly. Since I don't even know if she knows about him, or anything that involves in our lives. 

    I ran towards the forest and think. I tried to wrap my head about the message that mom left from her book. I kept chanting the message over and over. The only thing I know from the riddle on the book was Forman, everyone knows him. They taught about him in school, in history class. He is one of the founders of our town. 

    “Forman Shade,”

    Then I heard a snap behind me that jerked my head. I felt like I was being watched. I continued walking straight as someone or something is making the thudding steps behind me. I quickly dashed and darted between trees as the footsteps came and followed behind me. Then I stopped. My heart was beating fast as I looked around me with paranoid thoughts going wild in my mind. Then the footsteps paced in my back. I looked around and saw someone running towards me in a green cloak. I stood there, turned to stone with my eyes grew in fear. The man then lunged on me. 

    “Boo!” The cloaked man chuckled. He removed the hood and it was Alexander. Alexander Shade. “It has been a while, Rafael." Then he kissed my cheek and winked while he is on top of me, pinning me to the ground.

    Alexander Shade is a completely straight and hated his second name—Forman. He is a happy go lucky and cocky type of guy. The worst part is, he always pulled pranks on each one of us every year. There is one time in the school picture, he exchanged the camera to an exploding cream camera. It got messy that day, especially for him. He is annoying but the shocking part is that everyone in this town loved him. He's like the town's sweet potato pie. I don't know why, But I guess there's more to him than his stupid acts.

    “Why are you here?” I asked as I tried to push him. “You nearly scared the life out of me.” 

    “You called my name.” He strengthen his hold on me and stab his hand on my shoulder. Then he raised his eyebrow to me. He looked down on my arms as I continued bleeding. “What happened to your hand?”

    It's been a surprising day, I forgot about that stab wound. He moved and helped me stand up. I dusted my self from the leaves and dirt in my straight hair and clothes. Then I remembered that he is a history genius, maybe he could help me.

    “Hey, do you know where Forman Shade buried?” I asked since it was his family line. “Just to make up to me for pushing me and make me bleed more.”

    “Well, I don't have anything to do since I've cleared my schedule yesterday.” He said as he kicked the leaves up. “So sure. But let me remind you, it's in the forbidden part of the forest.” He added as he turned back and walked towards me. 

    I nodded.  

    The woods are now getting darker and we've been walking for an hour. The silhouettes of the birds and trees are changing the vibe in this place. It's becoming scarier with an eerie effect. We passed the yellow sign that was nailed to a tree that says, restricted area. We lifted and hitched the wire with a large piece of wood and ducked our way through. 

    Then a caw snapped at the back, that made my head turn. There's a crow landed on the limb of a tree. I turned back and saw Alexander walking towards a huge oak. The leaves were bright green that differs from the other trees. It has vines hanging in the branches like swings in the playground. With patches of small flowers.

    I inhaled deep and the scent was familiar. It smelled like my Valerian necklace. The flowers bloomed in white and purple as it dances in the wind. I picked a stem and something touch my fingers that gave a small shock. 

    “What the—” I snapped.

    “Just a few trees away. C'mon, Raf!” He called.

    I stood and again, I followed him. I looked back, then the flower wiggled like it was dancing. I quickly ran towards him and I felt like the trees are watching me. Like they have hidden eyes, staring at me. Maybe it's just paranoia. . . right?

    “We're here!” He turned back looking at me smiling with his arms raised.

    It's creepier than I imagined, I said to myself. 

    Cracked headstones were scattered around the place as the daylight gave a majestic yet creepy effect. The ground was shaken and dug up as if the dead bodies burst out from the ground. Huge mausoleums are still standing and locked with cracks and wild vines slithered through and up. 

    The earthquake really messed this place up. This part of the forest was used to be the north part of the town, connecting Alderwright and Silver Keyshade. When an earthquake rumbled the place, the ground underneath collapsed and, that shut down the place. The people petitioned to rebury their dead family but they couldn't find a single body, so they just left it there on the ground. 

    “Wow, amazing.” I said astonished as I looked around. This is my first time going here. It's eerie is beautiful.

    “Rafael looked here, I found Melinda Tobit's headstone.” He said as he put three parts together like a puzzle. 

    “Why are there seven mausoleums?” I asked.

    “Actually there is more. The earthquake just destroyed them.” He replied. “Why are we here again?”

    “To find Forman Shade's coffin,” I answered as I continued looking around. 

    “Do you remember that they didn't find any corpses, right?” 

    “I know. We just need to find his tomb.”

    It's been a few hours since we arrived in the old cemetery. We dug and pulled cracked tombstones together in where we found them. We've seen a lot of my Williams, Tobit, Ekron, Shade, Dawn, and Thanes. But not a single one of the Shade is Forman Shade.

    “Didn't they say in school that the original founders were buried in their own crypts?” He said as he sat down the ground, resting. “Did you checked the mausoleums?”

    “Not yet,” I smiled. That slipped my mind. The mausoleums are at the outermost corner of the yard. 

    We rested for a while, then a caw came running again in my ears. I looked at the crow and I think it was the same crow that I saw back in the Valerian flower patch. I threw a pebble to it, just to a scare it away. . . but it didn't. It just flew right back. I got the feeling that the crow is watching us the whole time. It looked and cawed at us like it was talking or warning us. 

    We paced towards the mausoleums and looked at the name that was carved into the locked door. Nothing, there was no Forman Shade. We continued reassembling the carved stones to find what we're looking for.

    “What do you think what happened to those corpses?” I started as I smiled. “And, what's that awful smell?”

    “I don't know. Why don't you asked them?” He said while he kept patting my back as his voice trembled.

I turned around and my eyes grew in fear as our bodies froze and shook. Skeletons walking right towards us, as their bones ticked and snapped.