"I really want to be done with this, I'm not in the mood for this party... Well at the very least, I'll meet some old friends, but it's quite difficult coming back home and talking with my friends. In the past 8 years, so many things have changed, I feel like I don't even know these people anymore. Actually, it's more like I exiled myself from these people in the last 8 years, and now I feel nervous about meeting them," he thought to himself.
Alex was unsure of how he felt about being back in the countryside. If it weren't for his best friend's birthday and the endless nagging, he wouldn't have come back here. Max Ramirez was the only one with whom he actually kept in touch, mostly because Max was very outgoing and didn't really care about what other people thought when they saw someone who had left home.
When he got there, he was flooded with old memories. This old cabin was a favorite hangout spot for him and his friends when they were kids. In the meantime, it seemed that it had been renovated and looked a lot better. This place had been his life for the first 20 years. In the past 8 years, college and work had taken a toll on him, and he didn't have much free time to come back home. Not that he wanted to; after his parents moved to the city, there were fewer reasons to visit. In the last 8 years, he had come back home only twice, both times for Max and Maya. Maya was Max's sister, and they had been friends forever. Maya was different from Max; he had met her quite a few times since they both lived in the same city and were still quite close. However, she was the opposite of Alex. She would go back home every few weeks.
"Here goes nothing," said Alex as he got closer to the wooden cabin surrounded by the old forest north of his village. He started to see a few of his friends. Ethan and Ava were together outside smoking and talking; they seemed closer than usual. Did they finally get together? Everyone knew that they liked each other, except themselves. He also saw Lucas and Liam talking by the creek with a beer in their hands; it seemed they were barbecuing something there. Lucas always loved cooking, and he was damned good at it as well. As he got closer, he felt someone behind him and saw Olivia, a short girl who had been his neighbor for quite a few years.
"Alex, it's been quite some time," said Olivia while hugging Alex.
"It's been too long. I thought about coming back here, but I always delayed it."
"Yeah! We know, don't worry. We're happy to see you again, and we have quite a lot to catch up on from the last 8 years. How long are you staying?"
"I will stay here for two weeks. I managed to convince my boss to let me work from home for these two weeks."
"Are you still working at the same company?"
"Yeah, it's a bit hard to quit when you've worked this much in the same place. But it has some benefits, I guess. I usually work hybrid with two days in the office, but they made an exception for me since I'm an old employee."
"If only you could find a remote job, you could come back here. Although I don't know if you would still want it. Your family moved and all that, plus life in the city is probably more exciting than here."
"I don't know, Olivia. I have many memories here, and definitely more friends, but it feels weird even now being here."
"Look who's back home, guys," yelled a rather well-built guy. It took almost a moment for Alex to recognize him; it was Finn, and he had gotten a lot taller.
"What the hell did they feed you to get like this? When I left this place, I was taller than you, and now you have to look down at me," said Alex, laughing.
"I actually inherited quite a lot of land from my grandparents and was very busy with work right when you left. I guess that work and the type of life made me develop quite a bit," said Finn while laughing.
When everyone heard Finn, they came closer and started swarming Alex, shaking hands and hugging and engaging in small talk. "It's as if I left yesterday. I was worried for nothing," thought Alex. Jack and Noah were the only ones who seemed a bit quiet, but even they seemed happy to see him.
"Hey guys, I don't know if you forgot, but it's actually my birthday, not his. And please don't forget that I managed to convince his lazy ass to come back home. So, Lucas, make sure today's food is extra delicious," said Max from behind them.
"Max!" said Alex, going for a hug with his friend. "It's nice being back."
"Well then! Grab a beer and have fun. I have to run some errands in town, but I'll be back in about an hour with Maya."
"I already have an extra beer here," said Ethan. "By the way, I don't know if you heard from Max or Maya, but in the meantime, Ava and I got engaged."
"Congrats! I'm very happy to hear this, guys. I was sure you would get together sooner or later."
"Well, it took Ethan quite a bit of time to build up the courage to ask me out. By the way, we're going to get married next year in May. We'll come and hunt you down if you don't come," said Ava while hugging Alex.
"I'll be there, don't worry! I wouldn't miss it for anything. Do you know how much time I invested in telling Ethan to just muster his courage and try?"
For the next few hours, Alex started catching up with his friends and even started getting back in the good graces of Jack and Noah, who were at first upset with him since he left without saying much and never even thought about keeping in touch with the people he was so close with. The night was more or less what he expected; dancing, singing, and laughing with his friends.
"See, it was not that difficult coming back home? I told you they would be happy to see you. It's as if you never left."
"Yeah, it seems I was worried for nothing. But what would you expect? I thought they would be angry with me since I left this place and never looked back."
"And some of them resented you for some time. But we grew up; so many people left that we are just happy to see anyone that comes back. We would never do anything to upset them. Talking about people that are coming back, look who is here."
Alex looked over the entrance and saw quite a few people from his high school. Max was always very popular, so it was no wonder he would invite people who were not in their closest circle. There were almost 40 people in the cabin at this point, and he started to feel worried again. But this time it was more like dread, a fear that something bad that could not be avoided would happen. And with this sinking feeling, he started looking at his friends' faces, and he saw him frozen. It was like time had stopped, or more like time had been stretched longer; every second felt like an eternity, and the terror of inevitability came over him. While looking at everyone, he saw that almost everyone was worried about something, and then he saw him. A huge person in the far corner of the room, the others seemed like they didn't see him. He wanted to ask Max who this guy was, but his words got stuck in his throat, and he could say nothing. He tried to move and show the others this corner, but he could not move. He was like a spectator in this case. He could do nothing more than watch to see what he was going to do.
He was wearing a long black robe with a hoodie. He looked back at everyone and knelt. He took some chalk and started drawing something. Alex did not know what he was drawing; the only thing that he recognized was a pentagram. But nothing else. There were some strange symbols. After he finished drawing what he had to do, he looked at everyone and started chanting in a weird language that somehow sounded like Latin. He recognized some words from his school days but could not remember what they meant. And after what seemed like a few hours of chanting, he looked at Alex.
"It seems that at least one of you might survive. Good luck; I hope you suffer the most horrendous death," said the figure while laughing.