THE SISTERHOOD

“I’m so glad we finally made it here!” Sabrina exclaimed, she and her six comrades having finally arrived at the old abandoned house they had decided to sneak into weeks ago. “We’re going to have a blast!”


“I still think it’s a mistake.” Marlene uttered in a voice barely above a whisper. She had been against the idea from the beginning, and cold chills raced up her spine when merely looking at the dilapidated structure as she and the others made their way up the creaking steps and into the house.


Flashing her friend a mischievous grin, Traci entered the building first. “No spooks here.” she giggled, waving her arms about like a phantom of sorts. “That is, unless you want to call me one.”


“Very funny.” Marlene said, rolling her eyes. “I never claimed I thought we’d see ghosts. I merely think we should have found another place to party, somewhere paid for and not invaded into like common trespassers.”


“Maybe she’s right.” Ginger agreed, suddenly wishing she had never come on the excursion now. Something about the old oil paintings hanging upon the worn down walls made her shiver. One in particular. Her sable eyes locked with the ones of the gray-haired man’s in that particular painting, the latter’s having an almost evil look in them that seemingly prevented her from looking away. Then there was that strange pendant worn about the man’s neck. What did those odd marks on it represent? Why did she feel they represented something wicked? It was several long moments before she could tear her eyes from the portrait.Glancing towards her comrades, she added, “This place gives me the creeps.”


“For Christ’s sake.” Lori mumbled grumpily. “Now you sound like Marlene. Get off it, Ginger. It’s only a run down old house. Don‘t be such a chicken shit!”


Doreen, Tammy, and Kelly glanced at one another skeptically, wondering if Marlene was right one instant, but fully intending to follow through with the plans they had made despite the doubts the next. Fun was what they had planned, and that was precisely what they were going to have. There was no way in hell they were leaving after having gone this far.


Sabrina reached into the bag she had brought along and pulled out several bottles of whiskey and some plastic cups. She passed each of her friends a glass before pouring some of the golden fluid into them. With a giggle, she reached into the bag again, and whipped out several bags of chips.


“Munchies.” she said, downing the contents in her glass before grabbing a handful of potato chips. “Drink up, girls. Let’s get this party started.”


Marlene and Ginger spotted it simultaneously and almost choked on the liquor. The eyes had moved! Having glanced at the painting adorning the wall unconsciously, both young women had witnessed the demonic looking man’s dark eyes move and the pendant worn about his neck change from a coppery hue to that of a bright red that nearly blinded them.


“He’s watching us!” Marlene exclaimed, her eyes still focused upon the portrait.


“Who?” Tammy inquired. “Damn it, Marlene! What the hell are you talking about?”


“Him.” Ginger supplied the information in a barely audible tone, her eyes still glued to the picture. Pointing a finger at the painting, she continued. “I saw it too. His eyes moved, and…and that necklace changed colors.”


“For the love of God,” Traci mumbled irritably. Gazing at the painting and spotting nothing out of the ordinary, she was certain her friends’ imaginations were playing tricks on them. “One drink and you’re conjuring up spooks.”


“His eyes moved!” Marlene screeched. “I’m telling you, they moved!”


“If you lightweights can’t handle the booze, then put it down.” Sabrina demanded, her heart hammering erratically. It wasn’t like Marlene or Ginger to be so jumpy. Sure Marlene was a bit superstitious, but Ginger had always been levelheaded. Dismissing it as their minds but playing some weird practical joke on them with the help of the whiskey, Sabrina poured more of the harsh liquor into her cup before dancing about the dimly lit room and going on. “The only thing moving in here is me. This is some good shit. What a buzz!”


Distracted for the time being, the others laughed and began dancing too. Consuming glass after glass of the whiskey, it wasn’t long before the inebriated young women slumped to the dusty wooden floor of the rundown estate to sleep.


The chandelier hanging overhead flickered as the image sprang to life, and iciness permeated the room. The man clutched at the pendant worn about his neck as he chanted words that most would find unintelligible while towering over Doreen’s petite body. Once the appropriate commands had been made, he stooped to place the necklace upon the girl’s heart inscription side down. A demonic chuckle was issued as the first of the intended victims vanished in a puff of gray smoke. A surge of life rushed through him after all of these passing years. Soon, he thought. Soon he would live again!


Sabrina and the others awoke the subsequent morning with aching heads, and wished they had not drank so much the evening before. It was some time before they realized Doreen was missing.


“The chicken shit left.” Kelly surmised. “The fucking bitch chickened out because Marlene and Ginger scared her. What a pansy ass!”


“Screw her.” Tammy mumbled grumpily, her head throbbing unmercifully. “Who needs her anyway? She’ll be sorry when she finds out what a great time we’ve had.”


“Let’s eat a little something.” Sabrina suggested. “Then we’ll take a tour of this dump.”


“We only have chips.” Traci reminded her friend. “I hardly think that makes for a good breakfast.”


Sabrina giggled amiably before informing them that her boyfriend Rafe and several of his friends were coming in a short time with food. She told them Rafe, Garrett, Spence, and Bobby had agreed to bring their meals here since the estate had no appliances when they had investigated it before the girls had come.


“Maybe they’ll bring Doreen back with them.” Kelly laughed.


“Like Tammy said,” Sabrina reiterated. “who the hell cares?”


The topic was dismissed when Rafe and his comrades rapped on the heavy wooden door seconds later, their arms laden with boxes containing an array of victuals. Not only had they provided platters of steaming hot buttered pancakes saturated with plenty of maple syrup, sausage links, and scrambled eggs, but enough chips, candy bars, cookies, canned tuna fish, mayonnaise, bread, juices, and liquor to last for several days.


Sabrina made her way towards her boyfriend and hugged him, squealing with delight when he whisked her into his muscle-bound arms and whirled her about.


“Thanks, Rafe.” she said as he set her upon her feet. Suddenly recalling the departure of their friend, she queried, “You didn’t see Doreen by any chance, did you? She chickened out and left sometime during the night while we were sleeping.”


“Nope.” he answered. Totally perplexed, he went on. “That’s weird, Bri. Doreen told Spence she couldn’t wait to come here. Wonder why she left.”


“I think it’s odd too.” Marlene piped up.


“You think everything’s odd.” Traci snapped, growing weary of her comrade’s wariness.


Sabrina told Rafe and the newcomers what Ginger and Marlene had supposedly witnessed the previous evening before passing out, and they all laughed heartily.


“Ooooh, moving eyes and a color-changing necklace.” Bobby chuckled, flailing his arms about the two young women in a ghost-like fashion.


“Screw you, Bobby!” Ginger snapped angrily. “We saw it, damn you!”


“Let it go.” Garrett demanded in an authoritative tone, for some strange reason his intuition warning him that Marlene and Ginger hadn’t imagined what they claimed to have observed. His eyes fusing with the ones in the painting for several seconds before directing his attention back to the others, he added, “It’s not important.” At least I hope not, his mind screamed.


It was decided Rafe and his friends would return later that evening with supper. Placing a tender kiss on her lips beforehand, he and the other young men left the house, Garrett casting a backwards glance at the structure his senses simply warned him was ominous.


Once breakfast was eaten, the six began touring the dilapidated house. White linen sheets covered most of the furniture remaining in the dwelling, and they turned their noses up at the numerous cobwebs seen in each room.


What had once served as the kitchen was now just a void, even the dusty cabinets barren save for an occasional mouse or rat observed scampering inside. The marbled flooring was filthy, yet still beautiful. It was easy to see that this had been a grand room at one time.


Their eyes widened when entering what had been the dining room. A twelve-lighted chandelier hung just above the enormous table that could easily seat twenty people. Removing the covering upon the table, they marveled at the rich mahogany furniture. Never had they seen anything so grand. The walls of the room were adorned with various pictures, all coated thickly with dust. A large hutch and buffet, sterling silver serving tray with enough compartments to hold at least twenty to thirty different dishes upon it, and an enormous wine rack was all that was left in this spacious room.


The front room and the parlor were scarcely furnished. Of course, they had noted that upon arrival, only the fireplace and an old sofa along with two matching over-stuffed chairs found in these adjoining rooms.


They couldn’t help but admire the long winding staircase leading to the bedchambers. Counting each step as they ascended, one hundred and fifteen to be exact, the six young women entered the first room and frowned. The stench there was overwhelming. It reeked of mustiness and the dead carcasses of mice and rats, as did the other seven explored. It was in the eighth and largest bedroom, the one they realized was the master bedroom, that a discovery was made. Inside one of the dresser drawers was an oversized journal found by Lori. Only glancing at the first couple of pages before deciding to read more later, it appeared to be the master of the house’s book. The first few pages spoke of how the man they now knew had been called Dakota Fleming had met his wife Penelope. It had been love at first sight according to the contents read before closing the journal and making their way back downstairs, Dakota being nearly thirteen years older than his mate.


“Anyone for a sandwich?” Lori asked, pulling the tuna, mayonnaise, and bread out of one of the boxes brought to them earlier once she had placed the diary upon the dining room table.


All readily accepted the invitation, having lost track of time when touring the estate. Had they really spent four long hours investing the surroundings?


After a leisurely luncheon, the six made their way back into the main room, and listened intently as Marlene read more of Fleming’s journal aloud. It was written that he had sired six children, which accounted for the many pictures seen adorning the walls while investigating the upstairs bedrooms. Dakota went on to write how he had come across the pendant while on a shopping spree in New Orleans for his wife and children. It was said the jeweled piece had brought him good fortune…that is, until his beautiful wife had been caught fornicating with one of the servants. Fleming went on to write how he would make them pay for that debauchery, written down how he had discovered that the pendant had the power to do as he willed it to do.


The year had been 1773 when those powers had been summoned. Eli, his wife’s stud, had been the first to perish. According to the book, Dakota had been sent a particular chant to use to destroy what displeased him, and in by doing so while placing the necklace upon his victim, his life would be elongated. Eli had mysteriously disappeared only weeks after the entry was made, leaving the girls to wonder if Penelope’s lover had been murdered. The journal went on to relay how Penelope had vanished just days later, and then, how one by one, she and Dakota’s six children had disappeared too. Three pages of unintelligible words followed. Then the diary went on to inform them that Fleming had remarried a Cajun woman who was also much younger than he, and who vanished only one week after they had wed. More of the garbled words were found on the next eight pages, leaving the six girls completely baffled when Marlene decided to quit reading for a while.


“I don’t like it.” Marlene stated once she set the book beside her. “I told you something eerie was going on here. Now maybe you’ll believe Ginger and I. Those eyes did move. He’s up to no good. I feel it!”


“Me too.” Ginger agreed, shivering involuntarily as her eyes focused on the man’s portrait. Tearing her gaze away from the picture and directing her attention to the others, she beseeched them to leave. “Let’s get out of here before something dreadful happens.”


This time no arguments were made. The others wholeheartedly agreed that it was time to leave the abandoned house. Gathering their things, they headed towards the door. Sabrina turned the knob to open it, but found it was locked. Putting her belongings on the floor, she strove to open the door, but to her horror, found that it wouldn’t yield. She and her comrades darted towards the back door to find it bolted and no way out this way either. Panic seized them. Why couldn’t they get the doors open? Why couldn’t the locks be budged?


Windows! That was it! They would break the windows and escape this horrible place. Lori picked up one of the logs by the fireplace and tossed it at the stained glass window in the front room. No, her mind screamed hysterically. The glass didn’t shatter as expected. Sabrina and the others did the same to every window in the house, but their efforts proved fruitless. Trapped! They were trapped like animals in this house of hell!


Rafe and the others showed up as promised later that evening. They were stunned when no one answered the door. Beating upon the heavy wooden structure time and time again, they assumed the girls had gone out for a bit. Only Garrett suspected there was more to it than met the eye, and immediately hastened to tell them so.


“Not you too, Garrett.” Spence said. “Surely you don’t believe that bullshit too. There’s no such thing as ghosts. Marlene and Ginger were drunk. That’s all there is to it.”


The boys left shortly afterwards, Garrett determined to find out more about the house once they returned to town. Having already done his research and finding out the dwelling had belonged to Dakota Fleming just last night, he intended to glean as much information about the man as possible.


He instantly made his way to his room and turned on the computer once they reached their destination. Punching the keys until he’d pulled up the image of the pendant and what it represented, his eyes widened in astonishment. It was said that the necklace originated from New Orleans, and that the jewelry possessed both good and evil powers. Supposedly a woman there had been sentenced to death when caught in the act of practicing voodoo, and had put an evil curse on the pendant that had once been used for good. Her name was Iliayah Newborne, and her powers were said to be colossal. After being scorned by her lover, Zekius Borroll, Iliayah’s heart had become cold and she had placed a curse on the jewel.


On and on he read, Garrett’s fear mounting when reading how the scorned woman had killed at least seventy people before her demise. Iliayah had not managed to completely rid the jewel from goodness despite her efforts according to the article, had merely succeeded in cursing the object to be used for evil three quarters of the time one wore it unless it’s owner successfully killed before the pendant changed colors at the bewitching hour of ten p.m. For every life taken by the individual wearing the cursed object, he or she would gain prolonged existence by ten years. The only way the curse could be dispelled was if it was removed from the owner’s neck and returned to its original black case before six a.m. These had been Iliayah’s final words before her death sentence had been carried out and she had tossed the box into the swamplands. Years later, the box had been discovered by someone a man known as Timothy Weller and sold to a merchant in New Orleans, who then sold it to Dakota Fleming.


Glancing at the watch on his wrist and noting that it was nearly nine then, Garrett sprang from the chair and rounded up his friends after showing them the evidence found. Within minutes, he and the others were headed towards the Fleming house again.


Upon arrival, the four young men jumped from Rafe’s vehicle and raced for the door. Beating upon the wooden structure barricading the girls repeatedly and receiving no response, Bobby tried opening the door; already conscious it would still be securely locked. Looking at his watch and seeing it was fifteen minutes after ten, he and the others tried a new tactic. The women must be warned!


“Bri!” Rafe shouted as loudly as he could. “Bri, is everyone alright?” Hearing nothing, he called out frantically again. “Damn it, Bri, answer me! It’s important! You’re in danger!”


Sabrina and the others had read the rest of the diary earlier in an attempt to discover if Fleming had written an entry there as to why this was happening to them and how they could escape unscathed. Dakota had done so, and the six girls were aware of everything. They had planned to make their getaway before ten, but it wasn’t meant to be. Lori had been making herself a sandwich in the kitchen with Tammy shortly before completion of the reading when it happened. A shrill scream was heard, and the Sabrina and the others who had remained to finish reading the journal jumped up and darted into the kitchen to find that Lori and Tammy had vanished just like Doreen had the night before. It was at that time they realized their fates were sealed. Fleming had managed to kill before the bewitching hour. They were as good as dead!


Marlene was the first to hear the boys call out, and raced for the door. “Help us!” she cried hysterically. “He’s coming for us!”


Rafe and his comrades breathed a deep sigh of relief when hearing her voice. Thank God! They were alive after all! Their elation was short lived when Kelly informed them of Lori and Tammy’s disappearances.


“Listen to me!” Garrett demanded in an authoritative tone. “Stick together now. If he comes for you, you’ve got to find a way to rip the fucking necklace off of him and put it back in its original case!”


“We know.” Sabrina replied. “We read Fleming’s diary and know everything.”


“Do you have the case?” Spence queried.


“No.” she admitted. “We looked for it down here, but couldn’t find it. We’re too frightened to go upstairs to search for it. He’ll get us for sure if we even try.” Her eyes misting with tears of fear then, she went on. “Rafe, help us! Please help us!”


“Baby, listen to me.” Rafe strove to calm her down and prompt her and the others to continue the hunt for the case. “I know you’re afraid, Bri, but you’ve got to go upstairs and find that damned case. Without it, you won’t stand an ice cube’s chance in Hell of getting out of here alive.”


She knew without a doubt he was right. They must locate the black box the pendant had come from and find a way to tear it from Dakota’s neck if they were to survive.


“Okay.” she agreed reluctantly. “We’ll do it, Rafe. We’ll find the box.”


“You’re out of your goddamned mind!” Kelly exclaimed. “I’m not going up there!”


“Then we’ll die.” Marlene muttered, knowing no alternative was left to them.


“We’ll die in any case.” Traci piped up, her eyes reflecting fear. “He’s won. He killed Tammy and Lori before ten.”


“Pull yourselves together!” Sabrina commanded, striving to control her fright of following through with her promise to her boyfriend. “We’ve got to find the box before he comes for us. I’m not giving up, damn it! I’m not going to sit here like a timid rabbit!” Eyeing each of her friends, she continued. “Who’s with me?”


“Not me.” Kelly stated with adamancy.


“Me either.” Traci rejoined.


“I’m in.” Ginger said, thrilled when Marlene agreed to go as well.


Sabrina, Marlene, and Ginger ascended the stairs warily, wishing Kelly and Traci had come too. One by one they searched the bedrooms once upstairs, sticking together like Garrett had advised. Nothing! They found absolutely nothing save a set of old keys in a drawer of the master bedroom, their spirits sinking as time passed by slowly.


Kelly and Traci hugged one another tightly, their fear intense as Fleming’s image sprang to life and made its way towards them menacingly. His eyes were like magnetic forces as the terrified girls were willed to him one by one and the life slowly drained from them before they disappeared too, their murderer again feeling a surge of life emanating throughout. Killing four of the women who had dared to intrude here, he had managed to gain forty years of life. Having destroyed thousands already, soon he would become whole again, he mused, a wicked grin coming to his lips.


Discouraged, Sabrina, Marlene, and Ginger headed back downstairs, the keys in then latter’s hand as they entered the main room and instantly noted Kelly and Traci’s disappearances. They wept uncontrollably. Sabrina blamed herself for the loss of her four friends, for it had been her idea to come to this hell house.


Marlene’s eyes rested on the portrait once they had ceased crying, a sudden notion springing to mind as her eyes fused with those of the man’s in the picture. Could it be she had discovered the location of the box? Was it really as simple as that?


“Maybe we’ve overlooked something.” she speculated aloud, her eyes still focused on the painting.


“Like what?” Sabrina inquired bewilderedly. “We’ve searched high and low, Marlene. What could have possibly been overlooked?”


“That.” she replied, still gazing at the ominous portrait. “What if he his the box behind the picture? Think about it. Wouldn’t that be the least likely place anyone would think of looking?”


“You bet it is!” Sabrina exclaimed merrily. “We’ll look there.”


They sauntered towards the painting slowly, their hearts hammering erratically. How they hoped Marlene was right and the box would be discovered behind Fleming’s photograph! Still, their fear was intense as they proceeded to remove the demonic object from the wall.


Exuberance enveloped them when spotting a tiny safe behind the portrait, that joy short-lived with the knowledge that without a key, the safe couldn’t be opened. Suddenly remembering the keys that had been found while in the master bedroom, Sabrina grasped them from Ginger’s hand and began trying them one by one. At least twenty on the ring, the process was slow, but at last she finally succeeded in finding the right one.


She cautiously opened the safe, flashing the others a triumphant smile when a small black box that had the same unintelligible words on it was observed inside the security box. Pulling it out and relocking the safe again, she then placed the painting back into place, her eyes widening in terror when noting that Fleming’s image was not there. He was coming, her mind screamed. He was coming for them!


“Think you’re pretty smart, eh bitch?”


Sabrina and the others whirled about upon hearing the menacing voice. Her assumption correct, Sabrina knew she and her comrades were in for the fight of their lives. She had to get that pendant and put it into the box before they were killed! Dakota Fleming must be destroyed once and for all!


“More so than you thought.” she smirked, her eyes glued to his. “We found the keys and the box, you fucking bastard.”


Fleming laughed wickedly as he made his way towards the frightened young women he was intent on destroying. “You won’t find me easy to eliminate.” he hissed. “Many have tried before you came along and failed.”


What transpired next shocked them all…including Fleming. It couldn’t be! Not them! But they knew without doubt that it was indeed the spirits of Penelope and her children that made their presence known.


“Let them go, Dakota.” the lovely brunette pleaded earnestly. “It was not them who riled you. It was I.”


For a brief moment Dakota’s dark eyes softened. He stared at the woman he had loved with every fiber of his being so long ago. Then, recalling why he had murdered her and their offspring, his eyes darkened with fury. “Yes, it was you who destroyed me, wife. But revenge was exacted. You stole my heart and crushed it.”


“Because of the pendant.” Penelope responded. “You became like a man possessed once you discovered it could be used for evil too. You chanted like a demon to obtain the things you wanted, and then used it to murder all of those innocent people who defied or offended you in any way. As much as I once loved you, I grew to despise you, Dakota. You loved that pendant more than anyone or anything, including your children and me. How was I to continue loving a man who became a ruthless killer?”


“I never harmed you or the children.” he stressed. “Everything I did was done….NOOOOOOOOO!”


His attention distracted, Sabrina had taken the opportunity to rip the cursed object from Fleming’s neck and place it into the box. The room suddenly lit up with a heavenly glow so bright it nearly blinded she and her friends. Dakota’s harsh features were replaced by gentleness, and Sabrina and the others stood spellbound as they watched him take Penelope’s hand into his and summon his children before their ghostly silhouettes vanished. The portrait that had once been so intimidating became one of the entire family then, nothing about it evil at all.


“It’s over.” Sabrina said, breathing a sigh of relief. “It’s weird, isn’t it? He loved her so much that he bought the necklace for her, destroying what they shared by using it to suit his needs when he found out the powers it had.”


Marlene took the box from her friend’s hand. Removing the picture from the wall, she placed the box into the safe and locked it before hanging the portrait again. “That should do it.” she spoke up, tossing the keys into the fireplace. “Now it’s over.”


“Thank God.” Ginger joined in as they made their way to the door to exit the house.


None noticed the cancerous grin that came to Fleming’s lips as they left the estate with Rafe and his comrade’s seconds later. Nor did they witness his dark eyes lingering on the keys in the fireplace or the concern upon Penelope and the children‘s faces. Over? No it wasn’t by any means.

Approximately 4606 Words