Our evening meal went off without a hitch. I say that because I didn't gorge myself then throw up almost immediately afterwards. The hall dining hall was pretty quiet as most of the other students had gone home for the weekend and there were only a few, maybe a few dozen of us still staying at the school. We had sat on our own at a table away from everyone else and enjoyed the peace and quiet over a chicken curry with rice, naan bread and an excellent tiramisu for desert.
'Maddie is there any reason why Liam Blakeley would be glaring at you?' Victoria said to me, her voice low. I turned my head slightly and out of the corner of my eye, there he was; Liam Blakeley glaring at me like he was the other night.
I was in the right mood to go waltzing over to him and ask him what his problem was, maybe even be a bit sassy and ask him if he wanted a photo because they last longer. But I couldn't be arsed. I was full and now I just wanted to go for a walk with my friend and chill out for a bit. We took our plates to the kitchen then set off outside for our usual after dinner walk. I managed to make it round back to our dorm without spewing which was a win for me. Victoria had even bought snacks when she went in to town earlier so we decided to watch TV for a bit. I had stashed some biscuits and some cans of pop which I got out for us to share.
We got in to our pyjamas, got comfy and dished out our snacks and chatted for a bit as we watched some Saturday night telly. It was getting a bit late, Victoria had passed out on her bed flat on her back and was making a strange gurgling sound. I must have fallen asleep at some point as I woke up just after eleven according to my phone, feeling a bit chilly and with a half eaten bag of Mini Cheddars at my side. The TV had automatically switched off which made our room significantly darker what with there only being our small bedside lamps on but the moon was blaring it's silvery light in through our windows.
'Full moon.' I muttered to myself.
Feeling the cold a bit more, I decided to throw on my new fluffy bathrobe. I even put my trainers on and took a trip downstairs to the kitchen of our dorm house and got myself a glass of water which I downed within seconds. I gave the glass a quick clean, dried it and put it back in the cupboard. I hung around for a bit not wanting to go straight back to my room. For some reason, the house was quiet. Not quiet in the sense that there was nobody around and everybody was in their rooms but quiet because there were literally no sounds to hear. The fridge didn't seem to be making its usual low humming sound nor could I hear any other kind of background noise such as the house making it's own weird creaks and rattles.
I went outside. I have no idea why but I was drawn outside almost as if I was on autopilot, compelled to wandering. I walked.
And walked.
And walked.
I had no idea where I was going but something was making me not care in the slightest. I had walked for what seemed like ages far in to the woods surrounding the school; the light of the full moon illuminating my way but with a vividness I'd never experienced before. It was almost like I could see in the dark which normally would have freaked me out but again, I wasn't caring. It felt like I should have been cold but I wasn't and it felt like I should've been kicking myself for walking out at this time of night on my own in to the spooky woods, but I literally did not care.
After more walking, I felt the evening breeze shift slightly. I could smell something, something quite strong but pleasant. It smelt like burning wood, leaves and of something sweet I couldn't quite place. I drifted toward where I thought the smell was coming from and found myself edging toward what seemed to be a clearing in the woods. Then there was the sound that seemed to interlace almost with the smell which was a bizarre sensation. The sound was comforting; like a smooth humming or a chant coming from a choir. Moving closer to the clearing, I peeked my head round a bush to find a large bonfire in the middle and at least eight figures swathed in dark clothing surrounding it with their cloak hoods up and their heads bowed.
Now it dawned on me that I was in the middle of the woods at stupid o'clock at night, on my own and now just a few yards away from what was obviously some kind of cult or something. Now I was panicking. And I swear my heart could've stopped when I saw all the eight cloaked figures look at me in unison, peeking out from round a bush. I ducked and turned around in an attempt to flee back to my dorm as fast as I could but I was stopped in my tracks.
'She's finally decided to join us!'
I gasped and stuttered slightly as I saw none other than my Auntie M, stood right in front of me with her face beaming our from under her cloaks large dark hood.
'Auntie M... what? What? Ahhh...'
I croaked out a slew of random noises as my Auntie M tugged back her hood then stepped closer and draped her arm around my shoulders.
'Come on now, let's get you by the fire and I'll introduce you to the others.'
Auntie M lead me further in to the clearing. My eyes darted about all over the place going from the fire, to one of the cloaked figures, to another one, back to the fire then over to a small trestle table that had a hot water geyser on it and what looked like mugs, a box of tea, jar of coffee and a carton of milk. There was even a box of Family Circle biscuits.
'Everyone!' My Auntie M announced. 'This is my other niece Madelyn.'
'Hi Madelyn!'
My eyes bulged slightly in confusion as the group of dark cloaked figures started pulling their hoods down, revealing their smiling faces as they said hello to me. "Other niece?" I thought to myself, I thought I was her only niece? I was only ever made aware of a few guy cousins I had.
'Um, Auntie M.' I stammered. 'What's going on?'
I watched as some of the people made their way over to the table and began making themselves cups of tea and coffee whilst some went under the table and started pulling out folding chairs and started arranging them round the fire.
'C'mon Maddie. Sit down and we'll explain everything.'