Croatoan

”Everyone loves a good mystery, but some mysteries are left unsolved and forgotten to all, to stop the bloodshed of innocents.” …Michael Douglas (7/23/2020)

Introduction

Javier

I inhale the cold forest air, “Should we be out here, I heard it’s a haunted and nobody knows the real age of the house.“ I said as I sat on my mountain bike with a flabbergasted look on my face. “No, but who really wants to sit at home forever and never find any real adventure. I want to be the first to uncover the houses mystery and get rich.” Javier said through deep breaths. “Let’s continue the rest of the way, it said on the map that its only 10 miles outside town.” I stated. We took off blazing the back roads of North Carolina forest land, the sign in the ack ground reads Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. After riding for some time Javier hit his breaks hard coming to a sudden stop. I slammed on my breaks as well, “What is it Javier?” I ask as I see this unnaturally tall hedge not even ten yards through the trees. “Yes, we are here finally, but the house is surrounded by marsh and isn’t accessible to our bikes, so we will continue on foot.” he says. He pauses for a minute staring at the hedge, “Don’t you find it odd the hedge is maintained as if someone lives here?” I ask thinking something is horribly wrong. I start to scan the forest around us, I turn and Javier isn’t there by his bike anymore. I can’t see him at all, “Javier!” I screamed “I’m here” came from the hedge. I walk to the hedge and go to say his name again… a hand grabs me and pulls me into the hedge and covers my mouth. “shhh, it’s just me” the hand lets go and I turn to see Javier sitting there with his face full of pure anguish. “If I tell you something you have to promise not to say a word to anyone,” I nod in agreement, “Okay, I didn’t tell you everything, and I don’t have all the answers. But before we came here, I did a little local research and found a man with a story of Croatoan, the lost colony. He described horrible things that I can’t repeat at this time, but if we make it back home, we will know the truth.” he continues speaking but something caught my eye in the back ground, I notice a house across a well maintained yard and the house is in disrepair but I noticed the door to the house was open fully and no one was there. “If we make it back today ill tell you the whole story if you want…” I cut him off, “Javier, the houses door opened a minute ago and nobody was there” I whisper as loudly as I dared to. “It’s fine Michael, it’s probably just a racoon or something” he states rather confidently as he steps out of the hedge. As he did this, I lost sight of him completely as if he stepped through a barrier of some kind. I reach forward and touch the barrier but it’s like an illusion of some kind, as my hand passed through it with no resistance or effect. I poke my head through to take a look, and instantly regret it throwing up my burger and fries we bought for the trip. On the other side was the house and field littered with skeletons and to the left of the house, a large oak tree a hundred feet tall. Each thick branch was brandished with a skeleton hanging from a noose. I look up dazed to see my friend on his knees in shock of what he was standing in. I was about to call his name when I noticed something behind Javier. I look at the base of this entity and see no feet like it’s wearing a black cloak made of pure shadow, and I scan it to only see its eyes. Which look to be two searing coals bleeding a stream of blood that cascades to the earth below. I start to scream and stop cold when I realize the eyes were on me and Javier wasn’t on the ground anymore and was now hanging, limp and unmoving. He showed a horrific face that was stuck there forever as his body separated from the head of Javier, falling to the ground without a sound as I stood horrified. I stand frozen in the spot, I can’t take my eyes off this thing staring at me holding Javier’s severed head, I can’t move and that’s when its featureless head split where a mouth would be. It smiled with a grin wider than the joker himself, and then I knew he was coming for me. (I had to move before this thing kills me) I thought. I took off as fast as I could to my bike. I jumped the small marsh and missed the end of my jump landing knee deep in the marsh. I look down and see I’m firmly stuck knee deep in the water. I see that thing behind me still on the other side of the hedge looking at me with those eyes of fire. My friends head still hanging from his left hand. I totally lose it and frantically try and free myself from the marsh before that thing decides to change its mind and kill me. I am about to free my legs and I look up to see that thing is next to my bike. I freeze and watch it reach down and grab Javier’s bike in its giant hand then disappear from sight. I jump out of the marsh and grab my bike and take off as fast as I can.

Chapter 1

The Bet

“Knock, knock, knock” I peek through the door to see David and Shante. I open the door and they barge into the living room to sit down. “So, what is it you two wanted to chat about so franticly, you wouldn’t say it over the phone like it’s a government secret or some.” I joked. David looks at me and then looks at Shante with a look of doubt before asking, “I know last year we all had it rough and you most of all, so me and Shante were thinking of a way to cheer up all our friends. You remember that house you two went to and visit, the house Javier wanted to explore for months, well the thing is, we want to take our whole group of friends out there in his honor and memory of his death.” I froze at the mention of the house with that thing. “No! You can’t go there, promise me that?” I plead with them. Shante scuffs, “We will do it without you then if you think so strongly against this idea to honor our friend.”. “That’s not it at all, just promise me you won’t go there ever, nobody can ever go there”. David laughs loudly as Shante speaks, “We thought you might try this, so we made a bet with every one that if they don’t go, there garbage for one and two they owe all of use fifty dollars for not honoring our good friend Javier after he just died, and the ones who do go have the chance to win everyone’s fifty dollars. All you have to do is be the last one in the house.” She states smiling as she finishes speaking, I can’t take it anymore, “You can’t go, if you do you will all die just like Javier.” I scolded them, “You won’t listen to the one friend who knows what happened and it isn’t like you will believe the truth.” Shante looks at me sizing me up as she spoke, “You probably do know what happened but..” David cuts her off randomly, “Yeah story is you killed him out there.” I my vision goes red. Shante screams as she sees Michael jab David in the kidney sending him to one knee. Shante rushes forward to stop it but is too late as Michael jabs David right in the throat as Shante catches David from hitting the ground. “Why, *SNIFF* …Michael?” she screams through the tears. “Don’t say I ever killed my friend again or I’ll make the saying true just for you.” My voice thu’umed through the house as I hovered over David who’s gasping for air still while trying to hold his kidney in shear agony. “Now leave me be, I will go to your stupid idea, just text me the details.” Shante helps David leave in a hurry even though he is still wheezing. I shut the door and slump the floor out of energy as my hearts in my throat. Images flash of two pairs of eyes, the blood falling to the floor, and the smile he made at me. I will forever remember that moment. I get up and walk to the fridge to get a sprite, I grab and pull it open to fall to my knees as I see my friends head in horror like it still hung there severed from his body.

Chapter 3

The House

I take off from my house and head across the bridge to the forest again. We all met at the edge closest to the bridge. When I arrived, I noticed I was the last one to arrive and only 8 people showed up to honor our friend. There was Aidan who was one of those football players that isn’t very social and is the receiver who has all the fame this year in school, he was the fastest in school and even did track on the side. Then there was that girl from science class, I think her name was Taylor, she loved to tease me in science class by asking questions she knows I couldn’t answer and thinks it’s funny, she is still one of my best friends and we tend to hang out a lot. We also had his parents here and Javier’s other best friend Baker who we always ditched class with to smoke. Tosan who was super tall at over six feet and spit sick rhymes when he dropped a beat. Tina was the girl who everyone liked and I never let anyone pick on her for her height of three foot five inches. David and Shante of course were first to show up. “Only eight of us then?” I ask. “No. We have more coming, they just texted me. We have Jasmine that sexy cheer leader,” Shante slaps his arm hard, “Ow, sorry babe, then we got that guy who nicknamed himself Zealot, Robert the guy who loved to bully everyone, Sean ‘The Guy’, Garrett who loved video games, El the would-be mechanic. And we have Ed and Peggy who came to honor their son.” David says while rubbing his arm still. “We can’t take a car there so we’ll be walking there and I’ll be your guide to the house.” I told everyone, “Any questions?” but there was none. We began our walk to the house and our graves. After a hour I stopped, “I’m not trying to do something funny or something by saying this, but I know what waits for us in five minutes and I implore you all to turn back and go home, no honor or cash is worth what waits for us.” I pleaded though tears on my knees I begged them. Ed is the first to speak, “How dare you Michael, you sit here saying all this and knowing Javier died out here by himself and you didn’t even say what happened. You said he got lost out here when you guys split up and couldn’t find one another after that. So, unless you have something to share with us all on this lie you made up over his death, then I say we move on to the house and get to why I came here in the first place.” Ed finishes speaking with a face like a cherry. “No, sir I don’t have more to add on the subject until you see it for yourselves. You won’t believe me either way until you see the house.” I say as quite as I possibly could, I stare at the ground. I start walking to the house as everyone is in shock to what I just said. Everyone follows me to the marshes edge, they stop at the edge and watch me cross safely to the hedge. I part the hedge as everyone is staring at the house on the other side. “It’s maintained? mowed? The house looks to be even repaired a little? What the fuck is going on Michael?” asked David. I reached forward and stuck my hand into the illusion and watched everyone’s face drop. “Do you believe me now; can we leave please. If we don’t that thing will find us!” I calmly say as I see a blur on the edge of my vision, I quickly glance at the front door and see its open just like before. “Did the door open just now?” I whisper to them all. Tina is the one who speaks first, “Yes. There wasn’t anything there to open it? What happened Michael?” she asks in a panic. Everyone turns to look at the door as I see another blur in the corner of my eye, I turn to look back at the group when I see El disappear in a blur of shadow. And Tina who was right next to him noticed the moving air as the blur flew by her. But as Tina was looking back to see what happened, I see her disappear the same way. “Run for the house everyone, it’s our only hope, Tina and EL are already dead!” I literally start running before I was fully through my sentence which made everyone trip over one another scrambling for their lives.

FYI dear readers this is a story in the works if you want the rest posted please share my story and message me with ideas if there legit ideas only please. i have the first book written out pretty much in my head and am writting it out for you all.