23 Scary stories (23)

School was finally over and we have decided to meet Zach and Lucas at Portland Grills to discuss about tomorrow's trip. Cee was way too enthusiastic about it, unlike me. The only thing that was bothering her were the dense clouds which were persistent enough to stay. There was a high probability that it would rain tomorrow as it did today. It was mandatory to have the check weather forecast beforehand, so that the outing doesn't end up being miserable. 

Zach and Lucas were already at the Grills when we arrived. They were settled face to face in the corner of the grills, slightly far from other seats. They weren't talking. Lucas was relaxed in his seat while Zach sat tall with his back straight. When we reached them, Zach smiled at us as he spoke. 

"Can I get you ladies something?" He asked in a soft musical voice. His blonde hair were swiped back neatly and the green sweater he wore accentuated his electric blue eyes.

"A hot chocolate and a Strawberry milkshake."

Zach nodded and left for the counter to get us our orders. We shrugged out of our jackets and settled on our seats. Cee was seated in the empty seat beside Zach and I was seated beside Lucas.

"Hey Lucas! How have you been?" Cee asked. 

He said, "I've been good Cecelia. What about you?" This was the first time I noticed him talking to someone else other than me. Not that I thought he only talked to me. But I was a little taken aback when for the very first time he was talking, without sounding obnoxious. 

Cee' face held astonishment for a second as well, but it changed back to normal. "I'm excited for our trip tomorrow." Cee giggled.

"That's great!" He replied, smiling. I doubted if he was trying to keep the conversation short.

"So? How's Portland treating you? Have you started enjoying it yet?" Cee asked ardently. 

"Yes, we've explored a few places here. . ." He stopped mid-sentence and from the corner of my eye, a smirk was beginning to form on his perfect lips. "Thanks to Katherine, she introduced me to an excellent book cafe here."

"When did that happen?" Cee was now looking at me in utter shock. Apparently she must be angry because I never told her anything about it. And whenever we talked about Lucas, I've always complained about how rude and provoking he can get. 

"It was a coincidence, I just. . . " I attempted to explain her but Lucas cut me off. 

"About a week ago, I guess." He nudged my knee with his which caught me off guard and made me turn instantly towards him. He grinned when he saw my troubled face. Why was he doing this? 

"Oh that's super cool." Cee eyed me suspiciously. I can't begin to wonder how many questions she's going to unleash at me, once this was over. Ughh. 

Zach returned with our orders and settled on the empty chair beside Cee. 

"Thank you so much!" Cee smiled more than usual. 

"The pleasure is all mine." Zach smiled back and winked at her. 

"So. . . When do we leave tomorrow?" Zach asked turning his gaze from Cee to me. 

"How about tomorrow afternoon?" Cee took a sip of her hot chocolate, "If that's okay with everyone?"

"Yeah, that's perfect."

"I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow, otherwise we'll have to cancel the plan." She pouted while pointing at the window covered with the light drizzle.

Zach turned his head slightly towards the window. He gazed outside, appearing as if he was deep in his thoughts, musing about something. "It won't rain tomorrow. . . I assure you." He spoke after a minute.

"And what makes you so sure? I've checked the forecast several times, they say it will be rainy tomorrow." Cee challenged.

"It will be sunny tomorrow. . . Won't it brother?" He looked at Lucas with a smug expression.

"He's right. I can even bet on it." Lucas looked at his brother with the same look.

"Well. . . I hope whatever you both say is right cause I don't want to cancel tomorrow's plan." Cee expressed her excitement.

"I did a little research on Forest Park yesterday. There are so many trails there. . . So which trail are we taking?" Zach asked.

"We can take the ridge trail or the MacLeay trail." I suggested feeling obligatory to participate in the conversation. It was rude to just sit there, when everyone else was excited.

Cee looked at me with happy eyes, "I think Macleay trail is a better idea considering half of the area is confiscated due to those murders."

"Yeah the murders. . ." Zach muttered running his hand up and down his glass. After a pause he began, "So Cee. . .you think witches exists!" It sounded more like a statement than a question.

"Not at all. Witches only exists in folklore and stories. But. . . if one pays attention to the way the victims were killed, one might get the idea that it's the work of witches even though one knows they don't exist." She put her mug down, "I did a little research, found some interesting facts and bingo. . . my article was ready. I was prepared to receive the rude criticism, almost had anxiety to walk around in school after publishing it, but no one said anything." She cast her eyes down, and paused for a second before looking back again at everyone. "The most surprising thing was when people expressed their approval."

"You're a genius Cee." Lucas appreciated. Odd thing was, it didn't sound like a compliment. It sounded more like he was trying to shut her off. I wasn't sure if anyone got that. Lucas had a way of speaking things with a hidden messages. Something I have grown accustomed to.

"Thanks." Cee smiled, unaware of the fact that it wasn't a praise. "So what do you guys think about it? Everyone has a theory. . . What's yours?" Cee passed a glance from Lucas to Zach, then back to Lucas.

"I have no thoughts about them. . . however I was tempted to believe in the witch part. There are a lot of things we've heard about Portland before coming here." Zach responded.

"Really. . . what kind of things?" I was unable to curb my curiosity. Was there really something in Portland? Maybe this information might help lead me to my answers.

"How come you guys don't know anything about this? You've lived here your whole life." Zach's expression was a shocked one, but I had a feeling that he was just trying to make it sound more fascinating.

"Well are you going to start the story or not?" Cee' tone was impatient.

"Portland is a town of witches." Zach's reply left me and Cee appalled.

"I've lived in this town for sixteen years and never came across such a thing, except for witch's castle. But it has a different story." Cee disagreed.

"That's cause people have been keeping it a secret ever since. It is said that most of the families in Portland are the families of witches. There are covens and secret meetings are held among these covens, without anyone ever noticing or being suspicious about it."

"Really?"

"Yes. They practice witchcraft and sacrifice animals. . . sometimes humans too."

"Okay that's enough." Cee dropped her hands on the table, "You guys should really stop this. We are not kids, so stop your scary stories." Everyone went quiet for a moment, before Lucas laughed.

"You must have seen the look on Katherine's face, she was totally buying it." He spoke as he laughed.

I passed a glare at him knowing it would have no effect on him.

"Oh come on now. . . You can't deny the fact that it was an intriguing story." He put a hand on his mouth, acting like he was trying to suppress his laugh, but I knew better. He was enjoying every second of this.

"On the contrary, it's not just a story." Zach began, "It's what people outside say about Portland."

"A thousand mouths will speak a thousand words, doesn't mean you have to believe everything they say." Cee pushed back a strand of hair behind her left ear and took a sip from the china mug placed in front of her.

"Then what about those strange symbols? What will you say about them?" Zach challenged.

"Well. . . I was myself convinced to believe in witches for sometime, but. . . psychopaths do exist, right?."

"Who knows? Maybe it was a psychopath witch!" Lucas chuckled.

"Yeah. . . bite me." Cee rolled her eyes.

The three of them were taking it so coolly while I was preparing mental notes to look up about this information later. Finn Marshall never made an appearance and I wasn't sure if he was ever going to come. The amulet offered by him was keeping the dangers at bay. But I wasn't sure how long it can work. I needed to be prepared before anything else happens. So later that night when Cee dropped me home, I googled about Portland's history. There were a numerous results but none of them pointed out towards witches, except for the Witch's Castle in Forest park, which I knew had a different story. Maybe Zach and Lucas were just toying around. Or what if it had been kept a secret since the beginning.

* * * * 

What do you guys think about Zach and Lucas? Comment down your thoughts. 😊😊

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