Crystal clear

He told her to meet him at midnight, near the lake. The darkness shadowed everything as she waited, shivering from the slight chill in the air. The weeping willows on the bank, looked like giant dark monsters, with their willowy tentacles brushing the shore.

She wrapped her shawl tighter around her, wishing depseratley she had gone for something more practical and less fashionable. The white gossamer cloth was not very thick, but matched perfectly with her peasant top. She was dressed as a wench and she was awaiting her swash buckling pirate to meet her, so they could attend a Halloween party at the frat house nearby.

He claimed he had a prize for her and he wanted to meet her by Lake Crystal Water. The water was anything but crystal. It’s murky depths probably hid secrets of a sorted past. It was a central meeting point at their college campus, Algone. Angelica was not sure if the college had a sorted past. She had only started in August, and only because they gave her full scholarship. She knew very little about the college, but that it had supposedly had been around more then a century.

Angelica had recieved an acceptance letter and offer for a scholarship simultaneously. She thought it was odd, but she had applied to so many colleges. Her high school GPA of 2.5, did not offer too many options except perhaps, community college and she desperately wanted to get away from her small town of only 800 people. Algone was nestled in the Wisconsin wilderness. She had no time to visit, as the letter came in late July. She saw her opportunity and ran with it.

Although, Algone’s student population was not much bigger then her home town in Illinois, she felt worlds away. It did not take her too long to meet a few friends, settle into her dorm and then a few days ago, she met a boy. His name was Stevie and he had invited her to a Halloween part at the only frat house on campus. Despite, her misgivings she agreed to go. She was just so excited to be asked out, it was her first time ever going on a date.

Angelica was not ugly, by any stretch of the imagination, but a town of 800 people, with a high school graduating class of 12, did not help her chances on finding a boyfriend. As she was mussing about her lack of social life before college, she felt hands cover her eyes from behind. The hands smelled like pepperoni, which had been served in the cafeteria for dinner. She felt oddly comforted by the smell.

Angelica turned and Stevie stood smiling. He held an odd shaped necklace in his right hand. It was sliver and the symbol was a sideways cross, piercing a heart.

“Is that for me?” She asked puzzled by the odd symbol. There was a splash of red patina on the heart. It almost looked like a scar.

“Yes” he said mischievously, “Come on, we will be late,” he took her had and led her towards the frat house. As they drew nearer the darkness seemed to gather around them. The surroundings were quiet.

“Where is everyone?” She asked in hush tones, almost as if they were entering a church.

Stevie was nonchalant. “They are probably just out back by the bonfire. They promised s’mores. Later, we are supposed to go back to the lake and tell ghost stories.”

“That sounds cool,” she said trepediciously. They entered the house and headed towards the back yard. Before they got very far, she was viciously pulled back and a black bag was thrown over her head.

Angelic started screaming out of fear and her dreams of a romantic evening being crushed in so little time. Her hopes of a better future, dashed and drowned in murky waters. She felt herself being dragged back towards the entrance of the house and back into the chill of outside. In the background she hear weird chanting.

The hood was yanked off and they were back by Crystal Lake, but on the other side from where she meant Stevie. A crowd surrounded her as she was pulled roughly towards a pole and tied to it.

Angelica screamed expletives at the the crowd. “What is this?! What are you doing?”

“It’s simple,” Stevie explained as he touched the necklace around her neck. “It’s the fall sacrifice, so the students of Algone can keep living.”

“We are immortal,” another student explained. “The students here have been around for a 100 years. We cannot keep living without the fall sacrifice.”

…………..

Morning fell upon the campus, bright and unassuming. No one noticed Angelica missing from her morning classes, and no one cared. In the Registrars office, a student representative put together letters with offeres of scholarships to attract othe unsuspecting victims.