The Ritual

With shaky fingers, Lance smoked a cigarette in his backyard, as music boomed from his house. Lance took a drag, trying to ignore the grating laughter coming from inside the house. A full moon hung in the sky.

Lance turned his attention from the dirt-covered shovel lying in the middle of the backyard to the noise of the party taking place inside, where three guys sat on his couch and drank beer.

Lance wondered if there were beer stains on the carpet. Not that it mattered since his father was busy getting high with his friends that night at the old junkyard.

Lance brought the cigarette to his lips again, feeling soft fabric touch the side of his face. Bandages were on each of his fingers, and blood was beginning to seep through his wounds again.

Lance winced from the pain, as he got up to drop his cigarette, crushing it beneath a mud-stained boot. He looked through one of the cabin windows, watching Jake and his two friends, Brad and Caleb laughing.

Lance crossed his arms, a sudden chill going over his body. He never thought he would attempt to ever dig up a dead body. Once the plan was set in motion, there was no going back.

Lance could still hear the last breathe from his dying sister in the hospital. She meant the world to him.

And Jake was the reason why he lost her forever.

They were drunk driving during the night, and they didn’t see his sister walking home from a friend’s house.

Their vehicle slammed into her, and by the time he got to the hospital, he watched her die. The evidence pointed to Jake and his two friends, but how could you report the mayor’s own son to the police?

The mayor covered up for his son, protecting him from losing his future. No justice was served for Jake and his father, and their lives were destroyed. His father turned to drugs, and he lost him too.

His whole family was taken. All because of Jake.

Since no one was willing to help him take revenge, he had no choice but to take matters into his own hands. One night, he went over to Connor’s house, telling him about his plan.

Connor listened intently, and before Lance could ask him what he thought about his plan for revenge, Connor told him he had a different one in mind.

Connor pulled out a switchblade, flicking it out. It had a dark black handle, with a very sharp blade. A red satanic symbol was embedded on the blade.

“Connor, what the hell is that?”

“I got this from that old man. Remember that creepy dude that vanished? He gave me this, and told me what it could do. I think we should give it a shot.”

“You mean that man that everyone suspected worshiped the devil? Connor, why the hell did you even take that from him? And what do you mean by what the knife can do?”

Connor smiled.

“It has power. I’m not sure how it works, but all I know is that I have to die. And then you gotta dig me back up, and stab me with this thing.”

“What? Connor, what the fuck did you — ’’

Connor touched Lance on the cheek.

“Trust me on this. You want revenge for your sister? For your dad? Then we have to do this.”

Lance could feel tears beginning to form in his eyes. Whether from exhaustion or the pain of what he went through, he didn’t know.

“What if it doesn’t work, you fucking idiot? Are you really going to take the word of a devil worshipper? And what about your family?”

Connor shook his head back and forth.

“No one would miss me.”

“How…are you going to die? Please don’t do this, Connor. Please don’t do this. You’re really scaring me right now.”

Connor grabbed the sides of Lance’s face, placing his forehead on his.

“I would do anything for you. I love you. We are going to do this fucking thing, and whatever happens, happens. Do you understand me?”

“Connor, are you fucking crazy? Do you hear yourself right now? Do you have any idea what you would do to me — ’’

Connor placed a finger on his lips.

“Trust me, babe. Trust me.”

Lance felt a small tear slide down his cheek. He scrubbed his eyes and walked back into the party. Jake and his friends were already quite drunk at this point. It was actually quite easy to convince Jake to come over.

Ever since the accident, several of his friends did drop him. Why Caleb and Brad didn’t was beyond Lance, but perhaps they were going to miss the money that Jake didn’t hesitate to spend on them.

Jake appeared surprised that Lance invited him over to his house since he knew that he accidentally killed his sister.

Lance told him that he forgave him, and wanted to celebrate for his sister by throwing a booze fest.

He told him that he knew a place that his dad owned, a cabin in the middle of the woods. It was the perfect getaway spot to have some fun. The promise of booze was enough to convince him.

Lance didn’t know if Jake was unbelievably stupid, but perhaps he really was becoming a bit lonely. He did lose a huge chunk of his friends, and he probably knew deep down that Brad and Caleb were using him.

It was a sad existence for Jake now, and even though he was already suffering; revenge was the only thing to give Lance closure.

Lance snuck away from the cabin, making sure that Jake and his friends were completely drunk. All three were singing to the song playing on the record, and they were falling asleep at the same time.

Lance took the lantern that was by his side, and he made his way to a random tree in the woods. A satanic symbol was etched into the wood. There was an open grave in front of the tree.

The grave was now empty.

Lance gasped, dropping the lantern.

“Over here, Lance.”

He whirled around to find Connor sitting on his knees several feet away from his grave, looking down at his hands. He was covered in dirt. Lance ran over to Connor. His black hair was tangled with sticks and mud.

His face was deathly pale, resembling a ghost. His eyes were completely black, and his nose was gone, exposing bone. The right side of his face had flesh hanging from his cheek, exposing his pink gums, along with his rotting teeth. A worm wiggled its way through the hole in his cheek, and Conner opened his mouth, to crunch down on the worm.

Lance couldn’t help himself. He vomited all over the grass in front of Connor.

“Damn, Lance. Calm down, man. I just came back from the dead, you don’t gotta make me feel like shit,” Conner said nonchalantly.

“I’m….sorry…the smell….it’s awful….”

“Don’t blame me for that shit. Corpses don’t ever smell pretty you know.”

Connor pulled out the blood-stained switchblade from his pocket, flicking it between his fingers.

“Told you it would fucking work, didn’t I? Stab my body, wait twenty minutes, and I come back. I’m so glad your old man got this cabin. Otherwise, this plan would have been fucked.”

Lance gasped when he felt his arm get pulled down to meet face to face with Connor.

“Don’t be afraid of me, babe. It’s still me. You know that, right?”

Lance shivered. He felt Connor’s hand tighten on his arm, but then his fingers loosened.

“Sorry. I shouldn’t do that. I know that this is pretty…strange for you.”

Lance didn’t reply. Conner turned his face toward the direction of the cabin.

“So…are they already there?”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

Connor stood up, cracking his neck. Another worm wiggled out of a hole on the side of his face. Connor extended his hand to Lance.

“Let’s go. We gotta finish what we started.”

Lance relutantly took his hand. Connor held onto his hand tightly, as they made their way to the cabin. Every step that got them closer made his heart skip a beat. He was scared of what was about to happen.

He wanted this for a long time.

But he was scared to find out what Connor was going to do to them.

They made it to the cabin, and he could see Jake dead asleep on the couch, through one of the cabin windows.

“How did you convince them to come here, anyway?”

“I uh…promised them booze, and Jake said yes.”

“That’s all it took? Shit. What a fucking idiot.”

Lance didn’t bother responding. It was stupid to hang out with the brother of the woman that you killed. Connor reached out to slide open the door, careful not to make a sound.

“Lance. I don’t think you should stay and watch this. Go wait inside your pa’s truck.”

Lance let out a shuddering breathe.

“Do you promise me you will make them suffer?”

“Yes.”

Tears flowed from his eyes, as Lance gave Connor a firm nod.

“Thank you.”

Lance walked away, leaving Connor to take care of it. Lance climbed inside of the truck, closing the door behind him. He watched as Connor made his way inside.

He waited for what felt like days until he heard the screams. Lance covered his mouth, his whole body shaking. It sounded horrific, even worse than the horror movies he used to watch with his sister.

He covered his ears and then let out a sob when a spray of blood landed on one of the cabin windows. Lance wrapped his arms around himself and completely broke down.

He thought of his sister’s last moments, as he held her hand the whole time. When she died, Lance didn’t want to accept it. He loved her so much, she was his whole world.

He remembered Connor holding onto him in the hospital, he refused to let go of his sister’s hand until he couldn’t cry anymore. These tears were the same as that day, but this time, he wasn’t sure what he was crying for.

It didn’t matter if it was for what Jake and his friends were going through right now, or if he was relieved over finally having his revenge.

He was finally going to get the justice he had craved for so long.

The screams lasted for a long time. They finally stopped at some point, but Lance didn’t really know when they did. He was crying too much to care. He didn’t notice that Connor had already left the cabin, covered in blood.

Lance finally opened his eyes when he heard the passenger door open. He looked over at Connor. He was covered in red from head to toe. Connor no longer smelled or looked like death.

He was fully regenerated.

Lance crawled over to Connor to the passenger side, hugging Connor. He continued to cry as Connor whispered sweet words into his ears, comforting him.

Lance eventually pulled back from the hug, wiping at his tears.

“I’m sorry. I just…I’m not sure how to feel.”

Connor shrugged.

“I know. It’s a lot to take in.”

“I just can’t believe it’s all over.”

“Yeah…how do you feel?”

Lance laughed through his tears.

“I wish I could answer that. I’m not sure how to feel…did you…make them suffer?”

Connor’s eyes expressed a hint of sadness.

“You really don’t want to know.”

Lance’s eyes shot to Connor’s lips. He thought he spotted traces of human skin, and he immediately looked away.

“I — I don’t want to know.”

“Good. Let’s keep it that way.”

Lance heard Connor come inside of the car. Then he opened the compartment to the truck. He heard the familiar click of a lighter being turned on.

“Want one?,” Connor asked.

Lance nodded. He reached out a hand without looking, and he felt the cigarette being placed in his hand. He inhaled once, while his fingers were shaking again. It wasn’t enough to help him feel better, but it was a start.

He felt Connor place his fingers over his hand.

“Do you need some time alone?”

“No. I need you here with me. I just…I’m not sure if I can look at you yet.”

“Alright.”

Lance continued to smoke his cigarette, and at some point, he couldn’t stop the words from coming out of his mouth.

“I love you, Connor. And thank you, for everything.”

“I love you too. And you’re welcome.”

The couple stayed there, holding hands. They weren’t sure what the future was going to hold for them. This chaos wouldn’t be the last, since Connor would need to feed again, but none of that mattered to Lance.

He had the closure that he needed.

Now like his sister, he could be at peace.

Thank you for reading!

Emy Quinn