The Coven: Part One
By Patrick O'Donnell
Edited by SW Carter
Present 3:00 am
The sky swirled like a black cloth around the world that Sarah saw. She hadn’t left her windowsill in hours, just staring into the darkness and not moving. On the other side of the glass, perched un-waveringly, was a black cat. In her mind, she could feel the cat probing her. The voice inside her head was calling out to it. Sarah wanted to get down and turn away, but there was a force stronger than her at work here. The cat nodded, and then was gone. Sarah felt like she had just woken up. There was still an eerie feeling of not being in control that lingered. She looked down at her arms. Red cut marks lined the upper part of her arms. “The blood is good, it is not enough though, we need more blood,” said the voice.
Sarah walked over to her bed. Her white slip clung tightly to her body. Choking back tears, she grabbed the knife she had hidden under her pillow. There was a big round rug in the middle of the room. Sarah rolled up the rug. The soft bristles of the rug felt inviting and familiar. She longed to lay on it, and fall into a deep sleep, but she knew that it wasn’t time yet for that. Underneath the rug was a pentagram etched out with red chalk. She had no recollection of making it but she knew she had. Looking directly at it made her head spin as if it would take her away to somewhere else at any moment. Taking a deep breath, Sarah put the blade to her arm a little lower this time. She winced as the blade slid across her arm, as if she was playing a violin of flesh. The crimson liquid pooled in the cut before spilling over, and running down her fingers into the pentagram. “Yes, feed us, yes, you will be one of us soon,” said the voice. Sarah bites back the tears, but they still come. They slide down and drip into her open mouth, salty and desperate. At last Sarah falls asleep, her face pressed against the wood of the floor.
This night she dreams. There is a fire burning in the darkness. A full moon is the only other light. At first, she can’t see who is around her. Sarah can only hear the voices. None of them sound human, they sound almost animal. At last, her eyes adjust and she see the outline of five people on the other side of the fire. Four of them are women. Their bodies are naked and covered in mud. Their hair matted to their head with twigs and dirt. In the middle of them, is a woman wearing a dark red. The woman in red moves to be in front of the fire. Sarah’s heart is racing. The wind bellows through the trees shaking them back and forth. “Give in to what you desire. Allow us to awaken your true nature. You are destined for great things. This cutting of your skin, it does not befit a witch. You need to sacrifice others. Let your familiar help you,” the woman in dark red said. The woman cupped Sarah’s face, and lifted her gaze up to the moon. Sarah saw the flash of the black cat and then nothing at all.
When she woke up, she was somehow back in her own bed. The sun poured down from outside, and it was apparent that she had hidden her work from the night before. Sarah stroked her aching arm. The idea of sacrificing someone else was starting to sound and feel more like the better option.
Two Weeks Ago 12:36 pm
Sarah sat at her window bathed in moonlight. Jenna was going to call at any moment, and then they would be off. In her mind, she was a mixture of nervousness and excitement. Sneaking out was not something that was common for either of them. Down the hall, her parents were sleeping soundly. The mood throughout the house was peaceful. At last, a low humming broke the silence. It was a text from Jenna.
Waiting out 4 U
Sarah slowly opened her window, trying not to make a sound. Slowly she looked around her room, holding her breath. There was not a sound and the stillness of the house could be felt down to Sarah’s core. With a deep breath she was off.
Sarah had hid her shoes under her bed that morning. She was glad she had as she walked over the driveway, and felt hard rocks underfoot. “Let’s go, you are going so slow,” Jenna mocked. The warm breeze felt good. It had been a warm summer so far, and it was shaping up to be a perfect night for what they needed to do. “Did your parents give you any shit?” Jenna looked sad, and didn’t answer at first. “They aren’t home again, they are off on another trip.” Sarah knew that Jenna was struggling, and felt bad. She wished there was something she could do to help. “Well, at least it’s going to make this easier. If my parents ask were I was I’ll just say I was at your place and they will not even care.”
After walking for what felt like an eternity, they arrived at the forest. Sarah paused as it look familiar in a way she couldn’t quite put her finger on. “Do you have the book?” Jenna asked.
Sarah pulled out the book, and laid it on the ground. “Okay the first thing we have to do is strip off our clothes,” Sarah said. Jenna felt the blood rush to her cheeks. Neither of them had ever been nude in front of the other person. Sarah quickly glanced around the forest to make sure no one was watching. As she began to unbutton her shirt, she noticed that Jenna had paused and wasn’t moving. “Are you getting cold feet about all this? It’s okay if you want to stop.”
Jenna snapped out of whatever trance she was in. “No, I really do want to do this. I just have never done anything like this before. I mean, not that you have.”
After removing their clothes, they folded them nicely and laid them out on the ground. Jenna tried not to stare at Sarah. Her heart was beating so intensely, Jenna was sure that it sounded like a bass drum to anyone nearby.
Sarah scooped up mud, and began to smear it on her breasts. The coolness of the mud felt good against her skin. Jenna did the same, and the girls covered themselves in mud without talking or really looking at each other. “What’s the book say to do next?” Jenna asked.
Sarah picked it up and began to read aloud:
“Oh dark one, we have now stripped our clothes and covered ourselves with the ground. Bestow the power of manipulation of the natural world upon us. Make our bond deeper than blood, make our family stronger than soul. All this we ask of you, as we bow in the mud.”
Both girls got on their knees, and pressed their faces into the soft earth. “That should be all we have to do. We did it, we are now witches.”
Jenna scrunched her nose. “That feels a bit anticlimactic.”
Sarah nodded in agreement. “Hey, how are we going to get this mud off of our bodies? We can’t just drive home naked and covered in mud,” Sarah said.
“Good point. Hey follow me I think I know of a river nearby.”
Sure enough, there was a river and the water made a soft gurgling sound as it lapped over the rocks. The girls got in, causing the water to turn brown from where they were washing. Looking up, Sarah thought she saw something in the forest. “Holy shit, did you see that? I swear I just saw a person, or something, just run through the forest,” Sarah said.
Jenna splashed water at her. “Don’t fucking even start right now. You are going to scare the shit out of me.” Jenna felt uncomfortable now, and got enough of the mud off. “Let’s just go back to my house where we can have a real shower. I’ll even let you go first,” Jenna said. Sarah’s body glowed in the moonlight. Her skin seemed even more smooth now that the mud had been washed off. Her long brown hair stopped right above the small of her back. Jenna couldn’t stop staring, hoping that Sarah wouldn’t turn around and see her longing gaze. “We could always share the shower,” Sarah said. Jenna could feel herself blushing. In her mind, this had all worked out even better than she could have hoped.
When they got to Jenna’s house, Sarah was the first one to get in the shower. The warm water felt good, and her body started to relax from all the craziness in the woods. As she stepped out of the shower, she wiped away the steam from the mirror to look at herself. For a split second, it looked like there was someone behind her. Sarah whirled around to check but there was nothing there. Sarah was starting to feel uneasy. It felt like there were eyes watching her. She decided not to tell Jenna what she may or may not have seen. When she stepped out of the bathroom Jenna was lounging in a chair staring out the window at the moon.
“Soon we should do your love potion. That’s what this has all been about, it would be stupid to wait too long to do it,” Jenna said. Her voice was cold and distant and she didn’t look at Sarah as she spoke. Sarah felt uneasy, and wanted to leave but wasn’t sure how to even attempt an escape.
While Jenna was in the shower, Sarah pulled back out the book. It was odd to her that the missing pages seemed to be almost deliberate, like the person who had the book last was trying to hide something from them. Sarah knew she was being paranoid, and put the book back in her bag.
Present 2:30 PM
Sarah sat on the awkward plastic bed in the exam room. She had been informed the doctor would be there shortly, but it seemed like ages since she had been told that. Her Mom had set up the appointment, and begged to come with her. Sarah insisted that she should be able to go alone, but that she would let her know if the doctor found out anything. Covering the walls were posters of different diseases and the symptoms they carry. Even if she wasn’t sick, she felt sick sitting in the room reading all of them. The people in the pictures all seemed so divorced from what they were suppose to have. The one that Sarah found particularly amusing was the one for STDS. It had a boy and girl sitting on a bed holding hands. Underneath that it read, “A condom is the difference between making love and making a mistake.” Sarah felt like it was going to take a hell of a lot more than a condom to make sex safe for her.
At last, the door squeaked open, and the doctor came in. He was a tall man with graying hair, and slightly round proportions. Sarah had been going to this doctor ever since she could remember, but for some reason was blanking on his name. Luckily, his name tag was worn proudly around his neck like a badge of honor. In laminated pristine white plastic it said, “Doctor Otto.” In his picture he had a big grin and a greater amount of hair.
“Hi Sarah, what seems to be the trouble today?" he asked.
Sarah wasn’t sure what to say, exactly. She tried the most un-alarming thing she could think of. “I am having a hard time sleeping.” He looked her over, and began to put his hands on her. He took her arm to put on the blood pressure cuff. His touch felt hot and sticky, and Sarah could feel the rush of blood moving around in his hand. It was intoxicating, and it was all she could do to ignore the voice in her head telling her to slice him open, and bleed him like a pig.
Otto was pushing up Sarah’s sleeve when he noticed the cuts. “Sarah, what have you been doing? You know if you are self harming or doing anything dangerous like that I have to keep you here for observation right?”
Sarah tried to think of an excuse, and as if one was planted there she knew what to say. “It’s my friend Jenna, she got a new cat and we haven’t clipped the nails just yet. She likes to scratch.” For a second it looked like the doctor didn’t believe her. Then, he let out a sigh of relief.
“A cat, that makes sense. You had me worried there.” Otto finished his inspection without any alarms or concerns. “I’m going to prescribe you some sleep medication. It’ll be over the counter stuff, nothing too potent. My diagnosis is stress. You are in college now with a lot going on. You need to take it easy. Maybe go on a few dates, I’m sure the boys are all asking you.”
Sarah felt uncomfortable, but wasn’t sure what to say. She thanked Otto, and was out.
When she got home, her Mom was sitting at the kitchen table. “I was just so worried about you, I didn’t know what to do other than sit here and pray.”
Sarah leaned on her Mom, and the two embraced each other. “Mom, you’ll love me no matter what right? No matter what I did or said, you’d love me?”
Jenna’s Mom looked up. Jenna had tears streaming down her face. “Of course I will, a mother always loves her child.”
