MALEDICTION (16)
Was a dark and stormy night. Gil couldn't tell what was even happening as he sat back and watched the old television set before him, of course to him it appeared to be a box that displayed images in black and white.
"This is what they call, a film." One of the girls responded to Gil's mental question.
"Oh." Although his mind had long wandered away from the black and white screen. 'I have to get out of this place and find the 'tomb' or where ever he is.'
"Won't you eat kind sir?"
Gil stared at his plate again. "Sorry, its just that I don't normally… eat this kind of dish."
"Are you a vegetarian?"
"Yes, yes I am." Gil lied.
"Oh my."
"Sorry, we had no idea."
"We hope this doesn't turn you off staying with us."
"No, no it doesn't." Honestly the eyeballs kind of did it first. "I'm surprised, why is there a group of children living alone in the middle of a cemetery?"
They all looked at him, then each other, as though baffled at what he had just uttered.
"Cemetery? Kind sir, we live in no such place." The eldest answered.
"Yes, perhaps he was seeing things, we should probably let him go and rest."
"Yes, perhaps that is a good idea."
The eldest son lifted a bell from under his chair and rang it. A few seconds later the door opened on its own revealing a spacious living room with portraits of an old white man with a funny looking mustache, Beside him were children and in one of them was a woman who Gil suspected was his wife.
"Please kind sir, allow me to escort you to your room." The eldest rose up, bowing before the rest of his siblings he made his way to the door.
"Let us be on our way kind sir."
"Oh, um… Woah!" The chair retracted from below him, but he managed to catch himself.
"Sorry." One of the girl's said ,"He does that sometimes."
"He?"
"Yes, the chair, he's very picky about people who sit on him."
"OH."
"Kind sir?"
Gil looked up at the eldest, he followed him as they both left the room. The door shutting behind them. The hall was spacious, but Gil thought nothing of it when he sat on the chair , now that he was actually in the room he could feel the space around him.
"Come."
The boy led him up a flight of stairs, and through a grand corridor with shadows that lit up as the two passed.
"Are you traveling by yourself?" The eldest asked.
"Traveling? No, I live in the village just a few miles from here." Gil still remained truthful at his core, he assumed that such information wouldn't cause him any harm.
"Oh, a villager, sorry to hear that."
"Why is that?"
The eldest paused for a moment, "Well, I hear you people have suffered a great deal, haven't you?"
"Yes, I suppose that's true…"
"The way you speak, there is malice in your voice." The eldest said, "Hatred, with a sprinkle of regret. I can hear it."
"Hear what?" Gil's eyes narrowed.
" We're hear." They reached the door, wooden, brown, with a golden door knob like all the others.
"Be sure to clean yourself up kind sir."
The eldest turned. "Hold on." Gil tapped his shoulder.
"What did you hear?"
The eldest said nothing, removing Gil's hand from his shoulder. "Take care kind sir."
He continued moving. Not looking back at Gil who watched him leave.
Turning and looking into the musty old room that was suppose to be his for the night. But he sadly couldn't wait that long, he entered the room locking the door behind him.
CLICK!
The door clicked into place. The room was small, with white sheets covering the paintings and furniture, which consisted of a small stool and an old looking chair.
But it was at that moment that he realized something he hadn't before. He was unconscious, meaning he wasn't in the right state of mind to coat his body in fragment energy.
'Which means one of two things.' He took a seat on the old bed, 'Either Blake was lying, or somehow I'm protected in this house.'
The second one most likely was the correct one. When Blake told him not to let the coating fade he said so with a serious tone, leading Gil to believe he was serious.
'But this could actually work in my favor.' He whispered, 'Something about how he emphasized the concept of sight and energy conversion makes me believe that it wasn't all a coincidence.'
He sat upright on the bed, with his legs crossed.
'Gathering fragment energy, mixing it with human energy or (Chi) is how sorcerers are able to do sorcery. Thus all I have to do is do that then concentrate that energy into my eyes, that way I can 'see' whatever it was he wanted for me to see.'
But what he didn't know at the time how difficult it would be. From an ordinary person's perspective, this would seem easy in theory. However, one must remember that it was only recently that Gil had just awaken to fragment energy, and even more recently that he learnt how to mix it with chi. For him to pull off something as advanced as what he was planning he would have to be…
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OUTSIDE THE GATES
"…a Genius." Blake took another puff of his cigar as he said this to himself, "What does that term really mean? Someone smart? Someone talented? No, someone who can do the 'impossible' according to modern standards, someone who can go beyond the level of what people think is the norm, that is what I call a genius."
There was so much that Blake hadn't taught him, and obviously it was all intentional. He had a hypothesis, one that he had obtained after seeing purple lightning. After which he intended to act on his insticts and entrust the fate of the village to Gil.
"Probably wasn't my best idea."
**************************************************
BACK AT THE HOUSE
Catherine stumbled through the halls as she tried figuring out where they even led to.
"Who builds a house like this?"
In truth it did feel as though the house was actively switching doors or rooms to make her disoriented. Whenever she fazed into another room, she would end up in a new area with the same problem. An endless hallway that led into darkness. Forget disorienting, this place was a maze.
"How is anyone supposed to get anywhere in this goddamn place!"
CLUNK!
She stopped for a moment, in the distance she could see a faint glow of candle light. She tiptoed, even though her feet didn't touch the ground and even if they didn't it would make any sound (Because she's dead.) She still felt the need to do so, human habits die hard, don't they?
As she came up to the door, she heard voices.
"How is he fairing dear brother?" One of the girls asked.
"Mh?"
"The kind sir."
"I see." The eldest did not speak, but rather sat back on the table, "There is something quiet off about him, yes indeed."
"Indeed?" They all responded.
"Is he one of those witches?" The youngest brother asked.
'Witches?' Catherine gasped under her breath.
"No, but he surely does smell like one of them."
"How sure are you, brother?"
"If he was, he wouldn't have lost his way and he would have noticed already."
"Noticed what?"
"That we aren't quiet human ourselves."
"Indeed?"
"Indeed." They all repeated in unison.
"So what shall we do with him when morning comes?" The eldest sister asked.
"As we do with all of them, let them go to their impending death. As we always do."
"As we always do." in unison again.
They all got up and immediately began emptying their left overs into the rubbish when suddenly one of them came to a halt next to the door and stared at it.
Catherine jumped back. 'Was she looking at me?' She asked. 'Wait, but I'm a ghost, can they see me?'
The youngest sister went into the hall way, Catherine scampered back hiding in the shadows cast by the hallway itself. The youngest stared into the abyss.
"Something the matter, sister?" The eldest brother asked.
"No, I thought I heard something." She said with a glaring smile, "But perhaps its just the wind." She walked back into the kitchen, shutting the door.
Catherine had held her breath this entire time, thinking that perhaps the girl could hear her, but maybe she was imagining it.
"God, that was scary." She said, "They aren't human, I can feel it in my bones… I mean my… um… I don't know what ghosts have. But they said Gilly was here so I just have to look."
She paused, realizing how well that went earlier.
'Or maybe there's a better way of doing this.' She thought making her way back to the door, half of them were gone. Only the two sisters and the eldest brother remained.
"I should go prepare the kind sir his exit gift." Said the eldest washing his hands before drying it with a towel.
"Please sleep well now dear sisters."
"Yes, indeed." They said in unison.
He began walking out the room, 'Maybe I should follow him, any of the girls would be too dangerous, I'd rather take my chances with the guys.'
As such she slowly made her way passed the kitchen and into the next room where she followed the eldest through the dark corridor. All in an attempt to find her friend.
THESE KIDS ARE WEIRD.
TO BE CONTINUED!