3 Cult

Michael:

"How do you know my name?" I repeat.

He doesn't reply as he steps back to allow me in the house. "Come, Michael, Zackary is upstairs in his room."

I follow him doubtfully. He leads me through dark twisting corridors, lit only by candlelight. The house is completely silent other than the sound of our footsteps. We eventually arrive at a set of narrow, rickety stairs. I look around and notice that Zack's uncle has disappeared. I begin to feel extremely nervous as I climb the stairs. What if the man wasn't really Zack's uncle? What if somehow this will end with my murder? I knock on the door at the top of the stairs. The door opens and a very surprised Zack walks out. His hair is unkempt, he has dark circles under his eyes, and he looks pale.

"What are you doing here!" he whispers harshly, looking around frantically.

"You haven't been in school for several days and I got worried..." I trail off as I see his room. Unlike the rest of the house, it looks relatively normal. I say relatively because it's filled with Dr. What, King of the Circles, Paranormal, Holmes, and plenty more geek gear. It's a nerd's dream come true in there. Zack speaking pulls me out of my reverie.

"You can't be here!" he pulls me into his room and shuts the door quickly, "Who let you in?"

"A guy, he said he was your uncle," I reply, taking in the sheer size of his room, "What's going on?"

"Never mind that. You need to leave. Now," he grabs my arm and starts pulling me back towards the front door. I notice things that I didn't notice on my way inside. There are strange symbols painted all over the walls in a strange looking red liquid. Just as we are nearing the door, a woman in another weird robe steps out in front of us. She give a warm smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes. I notice she is holding a small dagger of some sort, and that it is covered in what looks like blood.

"Zackary, is your friend leaving so soon?"

"Yes Mother," he replies, "Michael just remembered that he needs to get home right now."

Zack slowly pulls on me as we inch to the right, around his mother and towards the door. Suddenly, he opens the door and shoves me outside, then slams it quickly again. I hear some muffled arguing and decide I should probably leave.

I decide wander around town for awhile not only to brood about Zack, but also because I don't feel like going back to my empty house. After a few hours, it starts getting dark and I figure I should probably head home. I'm nearing my house, and it's already so dark that I can barely see my hand in front of me. That's probably why I miss the curb and fall flat on my face. I feel a second of pain and everything goes white. I don't know how long it has been when I come to. All I know is the sudden realization that I can't breathe. There is water in my mouth, nose, and lungs. My chest feels like it's on fire! I attempt to cough it out, but I'm still weak from hitting my head and can't manage it. I start to become light headed. I feel a momentary flash of pain throughout my head and chest, then everything goes black.