Jerome sat in a fetal position as he swayed back and forth. He had shut out all the noise in the hallway. The disdain, the taunts, the looks of disgust that were thrown at him but he didn't care, neither did he let it affect him. It wasn't that he had transcended all pain and woes. It was that he was too disturbed to even notice it. He was sick. Every moment of his life had been spent in pain and his mind had closed itself due to the frightening amount of mental breakdown he had experienced through the years of his miserable existence.
Groaning, he picked up his black journal. The only thing that had kept his sanity from crumbling. Searching for his pen, he wrote,
24th May
11:05
It is about to happen again. Death has come - and them - They are together with Andres. Every moment, whenever I look at them. They smile at me. They snicker, they giggle. I can hear them. They murmur. They laugh. At the same time they mourn, they cry and wait whilst pointing at me. They curse and groan. But I have learnt to ignore and they have learnt to curb their excesses. I see them now, they prepare a rope. They tie it to a knot while they whisper in his ears. I can see a dark aura surrounding him. Andres - Rest in peace.
He stood up as he closed his journal. The bell had gone off signaling the end of lectures not that he cared as much as he cared about anyone. He had witnessed so many people die and then see them come again and scream at him for his indifference. Every moment from their death he could smell their rotten corpse pointing at him and cursing him to dammation.
As he turned a corner, he felt a sudden impulse to walk through a hallway. Walking down, he could see something lodged in between a door. It was a brown envelope. He could see that it wasn't naturally colored that way but had lost it's original color. It was affixed with a blood red seal. He felt it was more than that as he could perceive a pungent essence reminiscent of blood. He felt it was strange but he cared less. Picking it up, he unsealed it and pulled out a coarse paper. It contained a very succinct yet mysterious message. It read:
"At the stroke of 23:00, seek the deadwood, where shadows whisper secrets. Come alone and listen closely"
He tucked it into his pockets and left. He of course knew where deadwood was. However, he was a little bit surprised that someone else wanted to use it as a meet. Then again, anyone who would choose such a place was certainly not normal. He felt curious and decided to take a look. Of course, he wasn't worried about anything happening to him. At most, he would be put out of his misery.
Jerome lived in a trailer a little bit deeper into the woods. Previously, he stayed with his adopted parents but overtime as his weird nature was getting more noticeable they made it subtly known they didn't want to have him around. He was able to quickly pick on it and moved out. They still took care of him but he lived alone.
On getting to his abode. He heaved a sigh of relief. It was a bit rundown but it was his solace. He loved being here. He felt very safe and free. Although, he had learnt to ignore the mockery and glares from others, there was of course that little feeling of sadness of being shunned. However, at home it was just him and…
Looking up he saw the familiar silhouette perched upon a tree branch silently gazing at him. His mouth twitched as he called on it.
"Gray get over here". The owl hooted and flew over. He rubbed its feathers endearingly and whispered to it.
"An invitation has arrived, cloaked in shadows and whispers. Some folks beckon me to a gathering, shrouded in secrecy. You must delve into the depths and observe"
The owl hooted in aquiscence and flew off. Seeing it off with his eyes, he decided to take a nap. Just as he passed through the door. He fell into a daze. Everything seemed to blur. When he recovered, he saw himself on a vast expanse. He stood there naked unsure of what next to do. He tried to take a step and everything blurred again, he blinked. Once his eyes opened, he found himself under the canopy of a huge tree. He blinked again and this time he found himself in a cemetery standing in front of a tombstone that which weirdly had his name on it. He bent down and traced his finger over it. He was very curious who was buried under it. Could it be him? Suddenly he felt a presence above him. He looked up and found someone staring deep at him. This person surprisingly looked exactly like him except he had white hair compared to his dark one. He leaned in to take a better look. Everything blurred once again. This time he awoke to a blinding headache. He still stood at the doorframe lost in thought. Rubbing his temple, he searched for his journal and opened it. It was empty. However, he smiled. For the first time in years, he willingly let out a smile and a small chuckle escaped his lips. He knew from this moment he would no longer experience the pain and anguish from the past.
"Uhn it's time". He said as he checked his pocket watch. He was surprised because he felt only a little moment had passed but unknowingly hours had gone by. He changed his clothes then headed to deadwood. Deadwood wasn't a tree nor a forest even if it sounded like one. Deadwood was a derelict prison facility. It was named deadwood because of the astonishing amount of death that had happened between its four walls. At that period, it was widely believed that anyone who stepped foot into that place was already subjected to death in every way possible. Even the wardens after a long period of time developed mental issues and trauma. As a result of these and other unknown factors it was permanently shut down and abandoned.
It was covered with weed and part of the walls had already collapsed. Finding his way in. He could see a little bonfire setup a little distance away. Picking up his pace, he got there soon enough and found two people already seated in silence. He knew one of them. She was a gothic girl whom usually hung around her goth friends. The other person was unfamiliar and a bit weird. He was dressed in a slightly murky long robe. His black hair stopping just below his neck. His eyes were blank and unfocused. He seemed lost. Jerome seeing no one responding to him sat down and waited quitely.
A bit later, someone walked it. He was surprised and puzzled. This person was one of the most popular girls in school. She hung around the most important people and was well known. What was she doing here? Her influence was at an all time high. Although there was some rumors that she had gotten intimate with a lot of people. There were no derogatory or snide remarks targeted at her and her prestige was still high. He was confused how such a person could be here.
The next person that walked in didn't surprise him at all. Compared to him who was usually ignored. This person was prime bully material and was the target for the bullies in school. As usual, he was tattered and his hair was ruffled. He walked in briskly and sat down making a circle. Once he sat that down the gothic girl spoke up.