The Void

Chapter 1: the void

All this can be described as endless thought, mindless progression leading to one place. The horror of the destination, and the trigger of the festival. The first thing you feel when you enter the trace of an idea is a great comfort. The idea of you never returning to your home, family, loved ones, and least of all your selves. I had to learn this early and fast for it is the only particular way to survive in the hellish game they call a festival.

 It all started with 1 match, a terrible guessing game, and the luck of the draw. I was never much of a follower and if that morning showed anything about me I was one lazy man, and not that I like to admit my grandma was one heck of an alarm clock. 

"Granny just give me a Bloody second," I said dryly as I got up and then mumbled "Why today of all days"

"Solomon Argentavis Gracen you better get out of that rock bed of yours," Granny said with an amazingly crisp but violent voice.

"I'm up, I'm UP '' I yelled. Then tiredly started to reach for some clothes. The earaches started from the repeated yells of a hearing-impaired 60-year-old My lovely grandma. 

"Shut your trap and speed it up! We don't have all day!" 

I put on some old jeans with a Metallica t-shirt and exited my mess of a room. I looked at the clock "So why was this needed? Waking up at 5 am I mean''.

My granny starts to reach for her pipe that was on the chipped countertop and puts it toward her mouth and starts to light a match. The basis of when my granny ignites her pipe is well one of two things: either really good or extremely bad. 

"Well well, Solomon'' she started to make a few malformed smoke rings and then said, " I thought today would be a good day" Then with a slight smirk said, "It's always better to wake up early on a good day". I then started to slowly wander over the counter too tired to talk back either way whenever granny went on her smoking binges she always tended to talk a little loopy so there was the little point anyway.

 I started reaching up to my cabinets and rummaging through my very unorganized cabinet full of granola and a few broken boxes of cereal. I started to reach for the worn-down box of what looked like captain crunch, but I wasn't concerned. "Granny you stocked the fridge" I started to walk over and grab a jug of milk for the cereal I hoped to have for breakfast "unimportant Solomon we need to talk" Another smoke ring went up into the air as she said this with utmost certainty.

 I must admit at the time of this incident my teenage self was less than wise and due to this I harped back "Well you should have said that when you woke me up" She looked a little perplexed with the statement "I talk on my time son" and then she put her fist down on the kitchen table "no sass from you- you" she started to put her hand on her head "fes-fes-ti" I began to walk over quickly "Grannie May you alright"

I started to put a hand on her back and kneel "Gran you ok" I then said in a worried tone as the shock finally started to settle "I-I'm fine but I need you to remember this phrase "hic sunt dracones'' she then pulls on my shirt slightly "it will be your guide" she then released me 

I was shocked at this phrase but then it dawned on me that she was probably going through what most people thought was a mental tantrum. A few years ago when I first started to live with Grannie she started to have these mental fits but before she seemed to have nothing wrong and as far as I knew she was one of the only family members who were in my life that had such a disorder and as grannie would say " Solomon the Gracen family has many secrets and quirks but mental disorders aren't one of then". 

Though I must admit I do think now she was lying through her old teeth, that was all part of the enigma that was my grannie. 

The whole situation developed into a little fit, and I thought nothing about it. The more optional stress I could put on myself was more stressful the subject on hand with Granny and her shell shock-like disorder was ambiance I look at her one more time and grab what is left on the counter from my unfinished attempt at breakfast and try to run out for school maybe I could get a better chance at breakfast there. She then grabs me and hazily says "Don't take it just don't take it" I shake the grip and say "alright" treating this like another breakdown but what was I thinking at that time? Did I know I would get drawn into this world of hysteria and torment? My school was the great institution of Jacksonville Middle, home of the most unsuspecting bullies imaginable. You never quite knew where you stood because if you were in the right spot you would've been tackled right there and then just depended on location and timing in the hallway. As I walked into the school after my 10-minute walk up through the hectic terrain that was my town I started to get the hairs rise on the back of my neck "Pierce" I dodge back a little and then look at my almost jumper.

 I looked back to see a tall burly teenager with glassy blonde hair with a look of dumb smugness on his face "Oh Piercey, Piercey, Pierce you can try'' I snickered a little then the jumper responded, "Best friends gotta keep each other on their toes''. I raise my hand to my forehead and press it gently "You are one dumb-" he stopped me mid-sentence " before you say anything about my stupidity behind you" I look behind me and then I see a group gathering "The issue is" I looked back at him with a weirded out the expression "I don't see a big problem". He then grabbed me by the shoulders ``See it now?"He pointed me in the direction of one of my least favorite people in the world and I was incredibly likewise. 

 The person was Gary James, the most annoying person I've ever had the chance to meet before the events of the festival, though my opinion on all accounts could be biased. Depending on such situations, 1: he could be looking for a fight, 2: maybe he just wants a good mocking before breakfast, and 3: he could just be out on a walk. It all depended on your reputation at Jackson High. For instance, my reputation was that of a king or one of the people not to mess with, but then again that would make Pierce a solid right-hand man which is borderline untrue but he gets the job done. As I wander more about the subject one thing also comes to mind. He could be making his daily rounds if so more were behind him "We better go to 1st period don't have much interest in being caught in the crosshairs of that snitch" I said and like usual Pierce nods.

 As I start my two-minute walk down to G1, my history classroom. The second I think of history I think "What am I learning, I honestly don't know?" the more I cruise down the hallway the more violence I see like the common thing in terrible high school movies throwing people in lockers which is odd because it usually happens at lunch. Through being at this junior high I have discovered 1 of two things: always memorize the bully schedule and 2 always wear a black hoodie, especially the typing class. Those people were monsters flying ink everywhere. 

 As I finally reached the classroom but something was strange on the classroom plaque. It looked like some carnival logo but Halloween-ish maybe some people thought it was funny to draw i- " Students You have 1 Minute To Get To Class" said the Screeching voice of the vice principal Mr. Depson. I start to scramble to get through the door while just feeling this chilling feeling, one that I just couldn't shake. I start to take a seat in the middle of the room while Mr. Pike the history teacher starts to take attendance "Romero" he says as he checks down the list "Here Senior" says the student to my left as the teacher says " Caster you have been chosen" I shake my head a few times then I hear "Trosper" I then here "here teach" after that supreme use of a sarcastic comment it heard another voice.

 "Caster you have been chosen by the wheel of fate you must heed the call!!" I start to shake my head more like I'm getting a headache "The wheel has chosen Join The Festival Of The Hollows" I lowered my head down against the desk hearing the searing voice inside my head. After the teacher ended his roll call he started to get into a lesson surrounding the civil war and the Gettysburg Address. To me, it was like a madman speaking compared to the headache I was receiving and the little voice inside my head saying "Power through". As the end of the class shifted into the passing period my headache diminished into a small memory but the voice remained fresh in my head same as my algebra homework that was due.

Homework was the least of my worries but it just ached in the back of my mind like some forgotten art form coming to the surface and only now being used. As I walked towards my locker to put some books back then I thought "What's my combo" I then scratched the back of my head a little and start to shuffle through my head "Oh yeah" I started to put "10, then 27, and finally 40" I smile a little as I do this and I put my history textbook below my slightly shoved in a bag and start making my way to class. The walk was a painless transition, the equal train of thought to get to math which was just two lefts and a right was what got me through not thinking about history class and my still raging headache. Though I've found in the years of me being a middle schooler was just to keep thinking but just how to do it was the real trick.

Almost there, just got to get to math "Join the festival" I hold my head as I hear the words clear as day. The searing pain as I try to make it to the door of my math class and I hear the voice of Mr.Depson on the intercom this time following the song Monster Mash playing as the timer to get to class. I start to look around for the door as the minute slowly passes, then I finally see the sign that says G6 Math on the door and I rush in to take my seat. At the front of the classroom, my teacher Mrs. Willis slowly tries to teach the Pythagorean theorem as a bunch of kids in the back are talking rather loudly as I try my best to take at least some notes "To here it may concern what is the formula of the Pythagorean theorem" says Mrs. Willis in a wistful tone. I start to raise my hand but one of the other kids beats me to the punch "A2+B2=C2" says the kid in the back "Excellent Mr. Anderson" says Mrs. Willis as she then proceeds to write the equation on the board. I then sigh a little and resume taking notes with most of the headache dissipating. I'm mostly just looking at the digital clock in the top right of the wall to say it's time to go. I hate math. 

Then I start hearing the dribble of some sort of ball. It must be one of the guys dribbling a toy basketball huh, must just be one of those days. As most of the day passed I had this nagging sense that someone was always behind me which at the moment I was the only one feeling or sensing it was all just weird and very uncomfortable. Then right on time, I hear the bell leading into lunch I start to sit at my usual table in the far corner with Pierce and a few other undesirables "Yo Sully you gonna sit or are you just looking into space" Pierce asks in a little bit of laid back tone "Nah I'm fine man just thinking" and then I hear some Halloween music come through speaks on the outer edges of the room as I think "I hate Halloween" (because every year a bully by the name of Eddy Harrison always steals my candy). As I just sit down and listen to Pierce telling people how he wants to join the military when he grows up so badly I think of something "Hey Pierce you have that brochure about that new upcoming carnival I heard it was supposed to be good".

 Pierce takes a crumpled filer and hands it to me "Hear you go The Festival of the Hollow is supposed to be quite the big event if you know what I mean" He then looks over to the table of girls a few ways away "The Festival Of The Hollows huh maybe it'll be worth it".

After lunch, I had one burning question: What was this festival? The combination of the endless thoughts on the subject maddened me; it was like a spark to a flame. As I walked up to the gym after a minute-long struggle to get my clothes out of my locker, I was still struggling with this question, despite the trouble only minutes before. I started opening the doors to the medium-sized gym and headed towards the locker room. Which, just my luck, had a massive line waiting to get in.

 After listening to an enticing conversation on which football team is better, the LA Rams or The Seattle Seahawks, I quickly walked out, not interested in the rest of the squabble between dumb and dumber. I slowly went to the side of the bleachers that belonged to my part of the gym class to take my seat. "Hey, Kiddos!" I look up from my seat with a nicely sized book that I brought in from my hiding spot in one of the locker room lockers in my hand to see my middle-aged gym teacher, Mr. Holt with his very addictive cheery attitude most notable during his hellish workouts. "Would you kindly say yes if you dressed, no if you didn't, and finally nothing if you're not here"? He starts to slowly call out names while scrolling down his phone "Gracen" I hear my name and say kinda loudly "Yep"

"Alright, kids start jogging till I say stop" I start practically jumping off the bleachers and start jogging in circles for what seemed like an hour. I slowly settle down into a jog and start sweating a little and just hate my life fast forward a few minutes and then Mr. Holt says "Burpees on me" Everyone starts to groan. By the end of the gym class, I was sore and had more of a headache than I began with then I started to hear the laughter, the blasted clown laughter, and the sounds of their blasted bicycle horns rolling around in my ears. It started in waves, It was very small one time and then it came loudly the next and I never quite knew where it was gonna hit me and it never stopped even when I entered that god-forsaken carnival.

What I soon learned was that clown laughter was not the worst of it. It sadly was one of its best qualities. The stable commitment just to not faking being sick in Mr. Holt's gym class was unholy at least for me and the echoes of clown laughter swimming in my head and then he finally said "Time to get dressed Ladies" "Ladies" referring to the heavily sweating class of boys with what sounded like bellows every time they took a breath. Finally, after too long minutes of being gassed in the face by adrenaline-induced boys and their sweaty odor, I got ready for the 9th hour and a sweet, sweet escape from Jacksonville Middle and Fright Night. Fright Night is what we in Jacksonville call the day before Halloween and the greatest prank night of the year in my opinion and the worst due to me being the target of many a prank, scheme, or any attempt to dye my hair green. It is both a joy to participate and a hell on earth for many. I mean one year I even saw a 6th grader become the 6th grade mummy. Other than the possibility of getting pranked for the rest of my time at school, I accidentally almost got hit by a water balloon on my way out by one of the kids in front of the crowd of students but as a happy coincidence, it hit Pierce instead.

The greatest mistake they had made at that moment in time was hitting Pierce in the head. The simple explanation would be he hates being touched anywhere near his head region but the most reasonable answer is because of lasting resentment of having his head bash in a few years ago. "Hey douchebags which one of you through it" the people started to scatter with there own safety in mind "i'll be right back i'm go hunting for the jerks" i turn my head a little "alright i'm not waiting gotta help granny set decorations" he then starts running and waves his head to signal ok. I truly feel so sorry for any man or teenager that has to deal with him.

The walk to my little apartment was full of worries and mystery. All that was directly going through my head was "what is the festival, and what are the voices". The crosswalk wasn't much further ahead and i developed that strange feeling again like i was being watched and all of the hairs on my neck went up when i saw the clown on the other side slowly moving forward with a devilish grin with his makeup slowly overshadowed by his red eyes and magma like face. I wanted to run but I was paralyzed by fear of this devilish clown getting near me . closer and closer it came and then just as it was getting near me it slowly disintegrated slowly in a cloud of smoke and ash I assumed that only I could see. How can you imagine how disorientating the experience was to have one of the scariest things you have seen in your life just disappear in front of your very eyes. It was like life itself just stopped and the world was just waiting in perpetual motion.

 Life moved on and so did I or at least I tried to because I was at an active crosswalk and I needed to get moving or else I could lose the opening of cars to get to the other side. As I started to walk more to my apartment the laughter started to get louder and louder and the waves thicker and thicker of straight malice as I was getting closer to my medium sized apartment. I then walked straight past the entrance to a slightly well kept apartment building that still kept its odor of cigarette smoke as I walked through. I started to lean on the railing of the beginning of the staircase and slowly made it up with the voices in my head in a swift pursuit to drive me insane. Walking up more voices were filling my head of laughter and dark voices that I could barely hear "joi-n" was all I heard with devilish clown laughter playing on repeat. I was passing the second floor when I finally just heard quiet and then I slowly sat down on the steps and cried for a few minutes while trying to put myself back together. The silence was much needed as I picked myself back up to make it to the third and final floor of this seemingly winding staircase. Slowly walking off the staircase I marched to room 308 at the end of the hall and the great game that awaited.