ENC 1101-B3 & B4: Writing for Discovery

"SHUT UP BRYAN! You are scaring Meredith." screamed Jon, nervously wondering if anyone figured that it was truly him that was scared.

"Everyone got their flashlights?" asked Geoff, shaking a little, but trying to mask the fear in his voice.

"Yup!" yelled the group in unison.

As the group walked out of the dorm and into the parking garage, trying to figure out how it was that the six of them were to fit in one car. I finally settled it by stating on obvious conclusion.

"Of the group, Geoff and his room mate Jon are the best of friends. I mean, the only reason that we are even here is because all of us are tagging along with them. I mean, yeah, we're all from the same dorm, and over the course of the fall semester we have become great friends, but the friendships that me or Brandon have, or Steven and Meredith, are nothing compared to you two. So, I will drive --especially since I am the biggest, and can squeeze no where other than the trunk-- Meredith will sit on Brandon's lap. Jon, you can sit on Geoff's lap and Steve will ride "Shotgun." It was here that I explained to my companions my prior experiences in the Dark Arts, and I am pretty sure that they were quite intrigued. Most of the group had already been to Sunland, but I am sure that they wanted to know what the experience would be like with one that could see, and feel.

As we arrived, all of us caught a huge chill from the mood that poured off of the complex. I parked the car inside the forest nearest to the building, and that only seemed to intensify the dark mood. The full moons light shone down and cast a spooky shadow on the forest floor; that --coupled with the movements of various animals in the trees and bushes-- and all were ready to just turn around and never look back.

"Um, guys... I don't think that I want to go in any more." quibbled Meredith.

"Stopped being su..such a wuss, Meredith." replied Jon, clearly stammering, but hoping that no one would bother him about it. Of course I jumped at the chance and bothered him right away.

"You are such a wuss, Jon. I mean, seriously, my little sister wouldn't be as scared as you are right now." I gloated.

"Lay off of me, Bryan. I bet that you are just as scared as I am!"

In truth, I truly was. There was something about this place that I did not like. I could smell the rot of the dead that once called this place home. I saw them moving out of the corner of my eyes, and knew that this could be a dangerous venture for me, and everyone else, but said nothing against continuing on. The first floor was easiest to walk through. It was well illuminated, and looked only like a run down building. However, the further up we went, the deeper into their throats did their hearts climb. I kept laughing and cracking jokes whenever possible, to try and lighten the mood, little did they know that they were being followed. I often found myself debating whether to turn around and just leave, but I could not bare to be made fun of by any of the group. All around us, the souls of those already gone were hovering, waiting for the right moment to show themselves to the right person.

I had seen them all along. There wasn't a moment that passed by that I did not spot two or three of them trailing us. I often times found myself staring at them because they intrigued me quite a bit. Each one was a pale shade of black, and almost whisp-like in figure. Their eyes are what facinated me the most, each one of them with a different shade of crimson or azure, but always seeming as though they looked passed the physical and straight through to your soul.

It was as they all climbed on to the roof, that the spirits swarmed. The spirits, in unison, became visible to anyone that looked hard enough, and in an instant, hundreds of specters appeared, and a moment later six flashlights hit the floor with a loud thud. Six bodies ran six different directions, in the confusion Brandon tripped, fell and that was the last that I ever heard of him.

In truth, I know exactly what happened to Brandon, although the details might be a little much. It all has to deal with the abililty of those on the other side to be able to feed on the energy given off by candle light, and my strategic placing of ten candles in the shape of a pentagram on the third floor. I thought that it would only give them enough energy to apparate. Apparently wrong, I aloted them enough to both materialize in our world, and inflict physical harm. Brandon was the first to learn of my mistake, when, after tripping was grabbed by ten of the apparitions. They proceeded to drag Brandon to his grave, quite literally. A freshly dug hole, in the middle of the back portion of the structure. He died of suffocation, and is doomed hence to spend eternity with his captors.

In the mean time, Meredith, Jon, and I managed to find each other after a startling collision on the fifth floor. They automatically assumed they were safe from whatever they had seen moments earlier, but I knew that they were wrong. I saw the dozens of red eyes floating behind us. I knew that it was only a matter of time before the beings that those eyes belonged to would be upon us. I took off running, while Jon grabbed Meredith's hand and began roaming the halls for the staircase that he and his friend had just come from. It was never found, and neither were they. The fact of the matter was, that they became part of that staircase, pressed into holes freshly punched into its walls, and then covered up.

I kept running until I came upon Steven and Geoff, who had managed to keep their whits about them. They stuck together through the dark, cold passage ways; however, some how at every turn one of us managed to disappear until each of us was alone, going on our own separate ways, to their own section of what was destined to be their final resting place. I heard Steven scream first, so I am sure the he was the first to go, and --though no one was there to take it into account-- it sounded like to me that he found the stairwell, only to be pushed down it by and unseen hand.

Walking behind him, although it was too dark for him to realize, was Geoff, who before reaching the stairs was attracted to the open elevator shaft by the sound of "Stephen's" voice. He met his end by gravity's hand. I, however, perhaps through a protection I crafted through my trade managed to escape, and until the day I die, I vow to go back into that desolate waste hole every night for any sight of my friends.

******************************************

"Hey Sarge, I think we found something. It appears to be written by one of the missing persons," screamed out Officer Jennifer Ortega.

"Which one Jen? I mean there are a bunch of them." replied the mild mannered Sergeant.

"I believe it was that Bryan kid. It talks about everyone else, but he leaves himself as the narrator. I am sure that it is him."

"Well looks like he didn't understand the fact that he was just as gone as the rest of them."

"Um, Sarge... the ink's still wet. I think that he could still be around here somewhere."

They never found my body, and all that they had to do was look inside the boiler room. I mean, all I really want is a little company. Who knows, maybe the next time one of you come down, I'll make sure to make it feasible for you to become a permanent resident...