Cloak Guy

It was a normal school day. My friend Sharon and I were sophomores in high school. She had her license; I didn't. So, as you can assume, we were always in her car. We drove to school together, she dropped me back off at home afterward. Unless it was a Friday night. Well, you guessed it, it's a Friday.

After school, we met by the big willow tree at the end of our high school's parking lot (we don't have last period together). "Are you ready to go?" Sharon asks me.

"Let's go. I've been waiting for this weekend for months," I say excitedly.

Tonight's the night we both make a terrible decision that I'll never forget. We get in her red little Toyota and blare music. First, we go by my house to grab some necessary supplies that I have hidden under my bed. The necessary supplies include: vodka, rum, Mike's Hard Lemonade, and a half ounce of weed. Off to Shawn's we went! Shawn was Sharon's boyfriend, or friend, or who knows (They kiss and flirt but aren't 'official').

We arrive at Shawn's house about ten minutes later. Shawn lives in a huge house. His dad is a lawyer and his mom is a surgeon, so you can only imagine how nice this house is. Well, they're gone for the night and Shawn's having the biggest 'rager' of the century!

Shots! Shots! Shots! Bong rips, bong rips, and more bong rips. I don't even know where Sharon is; probably off with Shawn in his big ass room doing only god knows what. I'm hanging with the usual: Christofer and TJ. They're my best guy friends and seriously the best stoners you'll ever meet. An hour into this party and we're high as a kite. Drunk as a poet on payday. I'm ready to leave.

"Sharon! Get your ass down here! I'm leaving with or without you!" I shout up the stairs where Shawn's room is (I was lying. No way in hell I was leaving alone).

Finally, Sharon walks downstairs and I bet you can't guess where we're headed to next. The Oakland Cemetery. Legend has it that two boys went down there with an Ouija Board and never came back. It's haunted as hell and no one gets buried there anymore. All the tombstones say 1700's-1800's. No one's even allowed to be at this cemetery. The grass is obviously overgrown and there are no trespassing signs everywhere.

We arrive. We park in the back so no cars are able to see Sharon's Toyota. Sharon pops her trunk and I grab my regular old Ouija Board I've had since I was like eight.

We decide to head over to a less-lighted area where there are five graves practically piled on top of each other; they're so close. When we read the names, they're all family. They all died the same year. Two adults: a man and a woman, and three children: one boy and two infant girls.

"Let's set up here," Sharon says to me shakily. She acts so tough, but I can hear it in her voice she's scared shit-less.

"Good enough spot, I guess," I say back confidently. Only I wasn't confident. I was just as afraid.

I set the Ouija Board down and began opening the box. A few moments later, Sharon and I have set up the board and we're ready to ask some questions to whatever spirits are wandering around. It had already been decided beforehand I'd be the first to ask a question and we would take turns from there.

"Is there anyone here that wants to communicate with us?" I ask, while looking at the board, waiting for the heart-shaped planchette to move. Nothing happens. So, I ask again.

"Is there anything spiritual here that wants to communicate with me?" I ask. As soon as I spit out the word "me," I felt something brush up against my shoulder.

"Sharon, I swear to God something just touched my shoulder."

"Shut up, Katherine. It's windy. Calm down. The dial thingy hasn't even moved," Sharon said matter-of-factly.

It's her turn to ask a question. She asks, "Was it something spiritual that touched my friends' shoulder?"

"Kat, oh my god! I felt a brush up against my shoulder. This shit is too real. Let's fucking go. I'm done. Bye!" and she starts to sit up and walk toward the car.

"OK, fine. We've only been planning this for the past month, but whatever; if you want to chicken out, that's fine. Let's go," I stated.

We make it to the Toyota. Sharon is in the driver's seat and I'm in the passenger. She puts the key into the ignition, but it won't start. Her car is just dead. "FUCK!" she yells, "You stupid POS car, START!" but it doesn't. Suddenly, her windows start to roll down by themselves. Sharon and I are speechless. All we can do is look at each other and cry. This was the moment I knew my best friend and I fucked up.

Just two seconds later, at the same time, we both get pulled by the hair by an unknown person or entity. These two things just looked like they were wearing black cloaks and all we could see were bright green eyes. We were pulled by our hair out of each window. I can hear Sharon screaming in the distance, crying for help. They're taking us in opposite directions!

My 'cloak guy' dragged me to a nearby pond, probably only about 500 feet away, but it felt like a damn mile. He picks me up, and doesn't say a word. He's holding me in the air above him by my throat. I try to spit in his face, but it's like there is no face. My spit flies toward the cloak, then bounces right back and smacks me in the cheek! "What the fuck are these things?" I wonder to myself.

The cloak guy lets go of my throat and I drop to the floor, panting and choking for air. Cloak Guy kicks me to the nearby pond and my face lands in the murky, muddy water. I inhale it and I can't breathe. I'm worried about Sharon. "Will we make it out of this alive? Why did we do this?" I scream at the top of my lungs.

Cloak Guy covers my mouth with long, sharp, black fingers and starts speaking Latin. I have no idea what he's saying, but my gut obviously tells me it's nothing great. He then throws me lightly, but I land in the middle of the wide lake! Wait, did I just say land? No, I didn't land. I'm floating. In mid-air. "Is this a dream? Wake up!" I whisper to myself, only I'm not waking up and this just isn't a nightmare.

I look over to where Cloak Guy threw me from and he's disappeared and Sharon is in his place. "WHAT'S GOING ON!?" I scream as loud as I possibly can. She can't understand me. It's too far away.

Behind her, I see red and blue lights. Police! Yes! Police! I couldn't be happier.

Two Oakland County Sheriffs are standing next to Sharon and they act like they can't see me. I'm in mid-air this entire time, and these fools can't see me.

About twenty or so minutes later, I hear a motorboat. It's Search and Rescue, rescuing me. Suddenly, I'm at the bottom of the pond and a man with an orange vest grabs me and pulls me to air. "What's going on? I was just floating, there was a guy dressed in black, Sharon was with me. She can tell you," I stammer, choking up water at the same time as I'm trying to explain myself. I can't believe what's happening and I don't even know what's happening.

"What were you doing in the pond, Katherine? It's no trespassing, and it's cold as an iceberg," he asked me, with a worried look on his face.

I just don't respond. I decide I'll wait until we're to the shore, where I'll have Sharon to back me up on this freaky shit that happened.

But Sharon doesn't back me up. She says we came here and used the Ouija Board, got spooked, and when she tried to leave, I ran into the pond.

"Am I crazy?" I ask myself, but I don't say it out loud, because I know I'm not crazy. I know what happened that night at the Oakland Cemetery and I'll never go back.

I can't believe Sharon has no memory of the Cloak Guys. My parents ended up putting me into a mental institution because they thought I was schizophrenic. I was locked in there for three days and they finally let me out.

Still, sometimes, when I'm alone, I'll see my Cloak Guy in the corner of my eye. Sometimes he's in my house. Sometimes he's in my school, and sometimes he's walking down the street or driving down the street. I'm just waiting for him to attack again.

To be continued.....