The Offering

James knew exactly where he wanted to take Jenna for this special night. The secluded little cove on Norris Lake wasn’t too far from parking, but a very short walk lead to a private little spot on the lakeshore that was perfectly laid out for a blanket picnic.

When he last checked it out, the grass was nearly knee high. Since it had been a couple of weeks, he drove by earlier that day to see if it had been mowed. He loaded his mower just in case. It hadn’t been, so he took care of mowing a walking path and a place big enough to comfortably lay their blanket out in the grass. Everything had to be perfect for Friday night. There couldn’t be the slightest hiccup in his plan. It was too important.

*****

Jenna let herself into James’ house while he was out. She knew he had plans for the day, and she wanted to surprise him with a romantic dinner.

She poured herself a glass of white wine and started preparing her special alfredo sauce while she opened the marinated chicken and prepped it for the oven.

She went over to the stereo to turn on some mood music. As she turned to head back towards the kitchen, she noticed a notebook sticking out from under some books. She was going to push it back into place but noticed her name written on it.

She pulled it out and started to read it. The day's entry appeared to be a to-do list.

Flowers

Blanket

Prepare the site

Wine

Crackers and charcuterie board

“Well, Mr. Reed, it looks like you may have something special planned as well.”

She was too intrigued to put the notebook back. She flipped back through to look at past entries. One from a few weeks ago caught her eye and she read aloud:

“On the 25th, check to see if the grass at the cove has been mowed. Load the mower just in case.” She looked up, “Ooh, that’s today.” Continuing to read, “Sinann has called upon me again. I knew the time would come. I was foolish to let my heart believe that it could ever be otherwise. She will arise at midnight on the 28th. The ritual must be completed and the sacrifice prepared for her arrival.”

“What the…? Our date is that night. What does he mean by a sacrifice? And what ritual?” She felt sudden panic and looked through the book, but there was nothing else about a ritual or a sacrifice. Just some more gushy diary crap about his love for her.

She looked at the books near where she had found the notebook. Nothing stuck out. She took a few books off the shelf. In between two of the books was a folded piece of paper. She opened it and read it silently to herself. She was horrified. This was the ceremonial chant for his ritual and instructions on how to perform the sacrifice to appease the spirit.

None of this seemed real.

Before Jenna had time to process all of this, she heard him pull into the driveway. She pulled her phone from her pocket and quickly snapped a picture of the paper and one of the notebook pages, and hurried to put the items as she found them. She had made it back to the kitchen just in time.

*****

“Act normal, Jenna. Just act normal,” she told herself, feeling like she could barely breathe.

He came into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around her from behind, “Well, beautiful, what do I owe this pleasure?”

She tried not to cringe, feeling his arms around her and his breath on her neck, “I wanted to surprise you with my homemade chicken alfredo.”

Wanting to get his hands off her, she took a scoop of the alfredo and turned towards him, “Here, try this and tell me what you think.”

Sipping from the spoon, “Mmm, that’s delicious. You could be a chef.”

She smiled best she could, “Why don’t you go get cleaned up. Dinner will be ready in about half an hour. I still need to make the salad and cook the pasta.”

He leaned in to kiss her and she backed up a little.

“What’s the matter?”

Pretending he had sauce on his lip, she wiped it and gave him a quick peck, “Nothing. Now go get cleaned up so I can finish dinner.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said as he saluted her.

She laughed and swatted at him with the hand towel as he headed upstairs.

*****

James entered his bedroom and closed the door. “She knows,” he said to himself. He couldn’t believe he’d been so careless as to give her a key to his house, and to still have the notebook right out in the open.

He knew why. It felt different with her. Everything felt different with her.

But, now, Sinann was back.

He took his tie off and walked over to the mirror as he got undressed, “You’re going to have to tell her the truth. Tell her everything.”

He huffed and got in the shower.

*****

By the time he returned downstairs, Jenna was setting the table.

“Babe, this smells delicious.”

She smiled but didn’t say anything.

She returned to the dining room with a large bowl of salad and then the chicken alfredo.

“Ready to eat?”

“You bet. I’m salivating just looking at it. You really outdid yourself.”

Smiling, “Anything for the man I love.”

James became even more certain that she knew. Her body language, not saying much, and the cringe he felt when he put his arms around her. He could see his bookshelf from where he was sitting and noticed the items had been disturbed. A knot grew in his stomach.

He filled the wine glasses, “Thank you for doing all of this. You didn’t have to.”

Jenna smiled, “I know. I wanted to. You always do for me, so I wanted to do something special for you. I’m glad I did.”

When dinner was done, they cleaned up and loaded the dishwasher.

He took her hand, “Let’s go to the living room. I’ll nab a fresh bottle of wine.”

She nodded and headed to the living room.

*****

He topped off their glasses, handed her her glass, picked up his, and sat back. He looked at her. She was still very tense. He knew it’d get much worse before it got better. He couldn’t put it off any longer. He had to tell her everything.

After taking a long sip, he cleared his throat and put her hand in his. “Jenna, I need to talk to you about something.”

Her face turned pale, “Okay. What’s going on?”

He sat up a bit and cleared his throat again, “Well, I don’t really know where to start, so I’m just going to start from the beginning.”

“Is everything okay?”

“That depends,” he said, trying to pull off a small laugh.

She situated herself so she could face him better, “Okay, I’m listening.”

He took another long sip of wine, “I need you to let me finish before you say anything. It’s going to be a lot to take in.”

She nodded silently.

*****

He couldn’t bring himself to make eye contact with her.

Nervously rubbing his thighs he started, “When I was 15, some buddies and I got into some dark stuff. I don’t know if we truly believed it would turn into what it did. We found a book on rituals and offering sacrifices.”

He looked at Jenna. Her eyes were wide. She was trying her best not to cry.

He looked back down at his hands and continued, “We had conjured up an entity after reading from the book. We never thought it’d work. We thought it was just a bunch of bullshit. It wasn’t. The entity demanded a sacrifice so we could live. She - I don’t like to say her name, because I’m afraid if I say it out loud, she might hear me - gave us instructions on what to do, where to go, and so forth. We refused. She said she would take one of us instead. My friend Paul was the first one she took. I can still hear him screaming as she drug him into the water to God knows where. Hell, maybe. Some sort of underworld. I just know that I never wanted to find out.”

He paused and stood. James ran his fingers through his hair and turned to her, “I tried to start with a small sacrifice. I found a stray dog. She wouldn’t take it.”

He sat back down beside her and took her hands in his. She pulled them away. He could feel she was shaking. She sat silently listening as he had instructed her to do.

“She wanted human sacrifices. And if I didn’t bring her one, she would take me instead.”

She stood up.

“Please. Please, sit. I need to tell you everything.”

“I don’t want to hear anymore, James. You just basically told me you killed people.”

“Please.”

She sat down in the chair. She didn’t want to be within the reach of his touch.

“Look, this isn’t something I ever wanted to do. I didn’t want to have to sacrifice people.”

“James, you didn’t have to. You could’ve just sacrificed yourself.”

“I had thought about it until I met you.”

She squinted her eyes at him, “You’re going to sacrifice me, aren’t you?”

“What? No,” running his fingers through his hair. “I’m not going to lie to you. Originally, I was. I didn’t expect to fall in love with you.”

“I’m flattered,” she said in a sarcastic tone. “Since you’re telling me all of this, I found your little list. On that list, I also saw my name and your list of things to do to prep. So, don’t try to feed me your bullshit.”

James looked down, “She has called to me again for another sacrifice, and she wants you. I told her I couldn’t do it. Eventually, I agreed. She can get inside my head, and the feeling is unbearable. I’m not going to do it, though. I can’t. I love you. And, I think I’ve come up with a plan to send her back.’

He was trying to read Jenna. She was sitting with her arms folded and her legs crossed. He knew she wasn’t happy and I could see the lack of trust in her eyes.

“I’m going to need your help to trick her, though. I’m going to need you to go along with it and to act normal, like you don’t know what’s going on. We’re gonna have one chance, and it’s gonna come and go really quickly. We have to catch her off guard.”

“Are you serious right now? You want me to act “normal” when She-Bitch of the Water wants me dead and you were actually going to do it for her until your conscience got the better of you?”

He hung his head. “I know. I know this is a lot to take in.”

“That’s an understatement.”

“Please, will you help me?”

She got up, topped off her wine glass, and chugged it. There was a long silence.

“Alright. I’ll help.”

James jumped up and hugged her. “I hope you’re doing the right thing, Jenna,” she told herself.

He kissed her and grabbed her face with his hands, “I love you and I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

She feigned her best smile, “I love you, too. Tell me how we’re doing this.”

*****

When she got home, she couldn’t shake the turn of events. She took out her phone and looked at the pictures she had taken.

She recollected the plan James had concocted. She wasn’t confident it would work. And she definitely had her doubts about trusting James.

She wondered to herself why she didn’t just run. Then she remembered reading the words of the ritual, and she remembered a feeling that had come over her at the time. It was something that she overlooked in that moment of shock and panic. But, as she let herself drift back to that moment with more clarity, she realized what that feeling was. She had connected with the entity, which she now knew was called Sinann, and she knew it was real. She knew that if James failed to make the sacrifice, Sinann would take him. But now, Jenna also knew that Sinann wanted her, and James or no James, Sinann would find her.

*****

They hadn’t spoken much since the other night. This gave Jenna ample time to think.

James picked up Jenna at her house. Before everything happened, she knew he had this big surprise planned. Ritual sacrifice, however, was unexpected, to say the least. Originally, she had secretly hoped it would be a marriage proposal. Marriage to James was now the furthest thing from her mind. Surviving the night was her only priority now.

*****

They didn’t talk much on the way there. James had already said he didn’t want to discuss his plan any further than last night. Sinann could get in his head, and touch his mind. Too much talking might draw her attention, especially as the time was close.

He parked and turned off the car. He rubbed his hands up and down his thighs a few times, sighed, and turned towards her, “Are you ready?”

She nodded. He noticed her hands were clenched together.

“Before we do this, Jenna, I need to say something.”

“Okay.”

“I love you. I never thought I’d get attached to anyone the way I am to you. You make every single day of my life better because you are in it. You are my everything. I just needed to tell you that.”

She put her hand on his, “I love you, too. I do. That’s what makes all of this so hard to take in and process.”

She leaned in and kissed him.

He popped the trunk before they got out. They nabbed the supplies. He parked so they could easily flee when it was time. It was dark, so the path had to be clear and free of anything that could get in their way.

He took the blanket and spread it neatly onto the ground. He opened the picnic basket, took out two glasses, 4 flameless candles, napkins, cutlery, a box of fine crackers, and a charcuterie board. He moved the basket out of the way and opened the cooler. He removed a nicely chilled bottle of white wine and fresh fruits he had prepared.

He placed the candles at each corner of the blanket. The flicker gave a nice little romantic feel. Lastly, he pulled a small speaker from his pocket and turned it on. He found his music app and put on some soft music for the background.

“Wow, James, you did think of everything.”

He smiled the best he could, “I tried to make this as romantic as possible.”

“Yeah, real romantic. Way to woo me for my death,” she thought to herself.

*****

James inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of the lake.

“What are you doing?”

“Taking in all the beauty around me.”

Jenna looked around and closed her eyes. The frogs croaked from their hidden nooks and crickets sang their night songs for all to hear. The sounds were soothing to her.

After a few moments, she opened her eyes. The view, though. It was magical. The moon was full and cast a glow on the rippling lake water. The fog was thickening and the moon’s light bounced off it like a huge halo.

It was almost as if the water knew what was coming and wanted to be a part of the show.

*****

“Shall we sit?” James said as he motioned his hand towards the blanket. He had his other hand on the small of her back.

Jenna nodded. James helped her get situated and then he sat across from her.

“Wine?”

“Yes, please,” she responded, smiling at him.

“I love you, James.”

For some reason, he wasn’t expecting her to say that. She could tell by the look on his face. “I love you, too, Jenna. You are my everything.”

He handed her a glass and held his up. She clinked his glass with hers, “To us and our love.”

He smiled and they each took a long sip.

For a moment, they enjoyed themselves. They snacked on the food, reminisced on fun times in their relationship, and, surprisingly, touched on the future.

*****

For a time, they had forgotten what was about to take place. At least until they heard a disturbance in the water.

They turned towards the water in unison.

The ripple started small, but quickly grew until the water started to bubble. Sinann rose from the water and hovered, looking at James and Jenna.

“What a lovely specimen you have brought me.”

James stood, “She is, isn’t she?” He looked down and smiled at Jenna.

Jenna didn’t believe James when he said he had a plan to save her and send Sinann away, and his grin at that moment confirmed her suspicions.

Jenna stood and looked Sinann in the eyes, then she turned to James. “Kiss me, James.”

He did as asked. It was the least he could do to honor her last request. He did love her after all. But he would never allow himself to be dragged into the water to whatever hellish place bore forth something as terrible as Sinann.

He grabbed his side as he felt a sharp pain. He stepped away from Jenna and lifted his hand. He saw the damp blood glisten in the moonlight. James looked at Jenna, “What did you do?”

She held the knife out for him to see, turning it slowly in the moonlight, as though she was mesmerized by the shiny blood slowly running down the blade and over her fingers. “Well, my love,” she said. “Let me tell you.”

She moved over to the edge of the bank and gave a brief kneel before the awful entity in the water. She then turned back to James. She tapped her finger on her lips as she moved closer to him.

“The other night, at first, I believed you weren’t going to sacrifice me. You did a pretty good job in trying to convince me. But, after some thought, I saw through you to your true intentions. If you were going to sacrifice yourself, you would’ve already done so. Not to mention, if you actually thought you could destroy our friend, you would have tried by now.”

“Please help me,” James gasped.

Jenna smiled, “Don’t worry, this will be over soon. I took a picture of your little ritual and brought our newly mutual friend to me. We made a little deal.”

Panic filled James’ eyes, “What..deal?” He was growing weak and fell over.

“Aww, poor baby. I won’t make you suffer much longer. It’s funny how our roles have reversed tonight.”

She went over and knelt beside him. After looking at him for a brief moment, she leaned in and kissed his forehead, she whispered, “I love you,” as she pulled the knife across his throat.

As he bled, she stood above him and read the ceremonial chant, making her offering to Sinann.

Once finished, she turned to Sinann and smiled, “See you next year.”