The Night After Prom

She couldn’t stop smiling as she slowly unzipped her prom gown. The pink iridescent material glowed in the light from her bedside lamp. It was only 11:30 pm and while most of her classmates were partying, having sex and celebrating prom night, she was preparing for a warm bath and an early bedtime.

Tomas said their first time together should be special and not cliche. Emma and Tomas met only 3 weeks ago. He was a new transfer to her high school. The moment they met she was captivated by him and they had spent every possible moment together.

There was just something different about him. Tall, muscular, of Mexican descent, mature beyond his years, with a calmness that resembled a clear night sky. He wasn’t like the other boys at school, hours seemed like minutes when she was with him and his eyes seemed to be clear windows into the universe.

She met him for the first time during a lunch break. She sat under her favorite tree and read her own writing before finalizing her literature report. Eating apple slices and enjoying the spring breeze, he approached her and calmly sat next to her. He said, “I am Tomas and you are beautiful”.

From that moment on, she felt as if she was in love or blessed, maybe the universe was just on her side. Immediately, Tomas asked her to prom and insisted on purchasing her dress. He accompanied her and her mother to every store and at times almost painfully spewed harsh criticism in regards to some of her dress choices. Though he made sure to tell her how beautiful and perfect she was, he just wanted to see her in a dress that accentuated her beauty.

Her long, slender frame didn’t fill out many of the dresses she chose and her strawberry blonde hair and bright red freckles often clashed with many colors, at least she believed they did. Tomas had a way of making her feel amazing, as if she was the only beautiful girl on earth.

Once the dress was chosen, he insisted on paying for it. Emma’s mother was very hesitant, but as a single mother, finances were always strained. She agreed to let the young man pay for her daughter's prom dress.

On prom night, he arrived on foot as the school was a 2 minute walk from Emma’s home. With two dozen red roses, he rang the doorbell. Emma's mother answered the door, “Good evening, I’ve brought you and Jennae roses.”

Happily she took them to the kitchen and placed them in water. Before the two left, her mother took way too many photos and asked Tomas if he would like some for his parents. Emma began to think… She had actually never been to Tomas’ home nor had she met his parents. She would need to make that a priority.

Prom was a typical prom, small town charm, music and fun. Towards the end of the evening, as they slowly danced, she ran her fingers through Tomas’s thick, black hair. I was shoulder length with ringlet curls. He always smelled of Sandalwood and as she ran her fingers through his hair, leaning closer to his neck, the smell enchanted her senses. As he held her, their bodies glided slowly across the dancefloor. She noticed a small mark behind his ear, it almost resembled numbers in a circle. Leaning in more for a closer look, she pushed his shiny black curls back to see and he immediately shoved her away and stepped back several steps.

Stunned by his physical response, she profusely apologized. “Tomas, I’m sorry, I just thought I saw something on your neck”.

“It’s ok my love, I am just not interested in public displays…”

Cutting him off to plead her case, “No, no, I wasn’t trying to kiss your neck, I really thought I saw something, a birthmark or tattoo?”

“Maybe we should discuss intimacy?” Tomas said with a softness to his voice.

Emma melted. To this point they had only shared a few kisses, no making out, or sexual innuendos, and quite honestly, she had wondered if he was physically interested in her. With her intense feelings for him, Emma honestly believed she would have sex with him on this very prom night with no hesitation.

The two went outside and sat on a patio that glowed from the small twinkling lights that adorned it. Sitting side by side, legs touching, holding hands, she turned to Tomas and said I would do it with you tonight.

Tomas chuckled at her words, “do it”. Calmly he turned her little body toward him, placing her legs across his, he said, “I don’t want our first time to be cliche, I want to make love to you under the light of the full moon. I don’t mean that to sound poetic or romantic, it is really how I want it to be when you sacrifice yourself for me”

Feeling like a million butterflies took residence in her stomach, Emma responded, “when is that, how long do we wait for a full moon.” Though, she thought the word sacrifice was odd, it gave her a mental laugh as she thought of her virginity being sacrificed.

“Tomorrow night the moon will be full, the night after prom night. Our intimate time together will be unique and blessed by the moon.” Lightly kissing her lips, he looked at his watch. “I should get you home so you can prepare.”

“It’s only 11:20?! We can stay til midnight!” Emma was a bit shocked he was cutting prom night short.

“I want you rested and feeling well for tomorrow evening. I’ll take you home, you’ll soak in a bathtub with the petals of the roses I brought you.”

Once arriving at home, running her bath and placing rose petals in the warm water, she settled in to soak. Her mind was full of only Tomas, she felt so amazed to have him in her life. She had almost given up hope on finding a highschool sweetheart, when he arrived in her life. She literally knew every single guy in this small midwest town, it was hard to find love with any of them and most were immature with no depth.

Tomas had so many layers to him it seemed that it would take a lifetime to explore them all, but she was willing to take on this task.

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Tomas dropped Emma at her doorstep, gave her a delicate kiss on her soft, pink lips. It almost saddened him to have to sacrifice such a sweet, innocent girl. Though, there was no other option if he wanted to fulfill his destiny within the Dioses Del Infierno. The group had been around for decades, some labelled it a street gang, but Tomas knew it was much more than a simple street gang fighting for turf. Every member of his family line had been in the Dioses Del Infierno, it was now his turn. To enter, you must bring a sacrifice to the dark lord, Satan.

The group was large and ranged from coast to coast in the U.S. and even larger in Mexico. Children are taught the ways of the group, but once the age of 16 is reached, they become official members with a Black Mass ceremony taking place. Committing their soul to satan. Since the majority of the world did not share the views of this powerful group, the elder and more experienced members would take the younger members to various locations to perform the Black Masses. This assisted in avoiding detection of the group and allowing them to seek human sacrifices without interference.

Emma would be Tomas’s sacrifice to their lord satan.Tomorrow night she would be given as an offering to show his loyalty to the dark lord. Tomas felt that he would begin to experience guilt, but that had not occurred yet, his mind was more focused on luring her without alarming her.

The group of seven had come to this small town in Kansas as it was small, unknown for any major crimes or tourism, undetected. The town had a population of roughly 300 and was surrounded by rolling hills, wheat fields and miles between any other signs of life. Scouting the area for a location for the mass, they stumbled across an old building in the middle of nowhere about 50 miles outside of the small town. They determined this to be the location of the black mass and urged Tomas to seek a sacrifice.

One week after the group's arrival, Tomas spotted Emma sitting by a tree in the courtyard of the highschool and she was breathtaking and angelic. He just knew she was the offering that would most satisfy Satan.

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Waking before sunrise, excitement intoxicated Emma as she remembered tonight would be a special night for her and Tomas. She woke up and began selecting the perfect outfit for the evening when her mother knocked at her bedroom door.

“Honey, I’ve been called in for a shift this evening, the diner is short staffed and we need the money. Any plans for the evening?”

Emma’s mother worked two jobs, during the day she was one of the four sheriff/fire/ambulance dispatchers. In the evening, she waited tables at one of the only local diners.

“Tomas and are going out this evening, I’m not sure where yet, but I’ll text you the location when we arrive.” Emma said without even a glance to her mother, her focus solely on her clothing hanging in her closet.

“How was prom last night?! I hope you had the most amazing time!”

“It was amazing to be with Tomas all evening, we danced and had a lot of fun. Tonight we are just hanging out, don’t worry, I won’t be out too late!”

Emma’s cell phone rang and she waved her mother away. It was Tomas.

“Hello my angel, I hope you slept well. I can’t wait to see you this evening. Hey, I was thinking, I want tonight to be so special, will you wear your prom gown again?”

Emma’s heart was racing and she was hypnotized by the sound of his voice, all she could push out was an, “uh huh.”

“Great! I’ll pick you up at 6:30 this evening, be ready.”

The day went by so slowly, she watched t.v., did a little homework, cleaned around the house and at 4 pm, she took a shower and began dressing for the evening.

At 6:30 pm exactly, the doorbell rang. It felt like a repeat of last night's prom as she cascaded down the stairs in the light pink iridescent dress to greet Tomas at the door.

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Tomas spent the day setting up the location of the mass with 6 others that had accompanied him to the small Kansas town. Throughout the day many others arrived to be part of the black mass and witness his rite of passage into Dioses Del Infierno, Including his parents and older siblings. The old building they found had one side missing and the remaining walls acted as a shield to winds that crossed the plains. The fire pit would be set inside the structure as it had no roof but three walls to enclose the fire.

The structure was nearly 75 miles away from the main highway and was not visible by any passersby on the highway. Cars began to line up and park, chairs were set in front for the elders who could not stand or take part in the activities. All that remained was to bring the sacrifice to the altar in the fire.

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Tomas drove the rental car that the group had secured for this trip, a silver commuter type that smelled like a brand new car inside. He packed a few items in the trunk and set off to pick his sacrifice up.

Once in the car, he told her she was an angel and the heavens must weep that she isn’t with them, but was glad to have her here with him. When he complimented her, it was obvious she didn’t know how to respond, but it drew her closer and closer to him. She was head over heels and had no idea what was really about to happen.

They drove for a while and he found a nice place outside of town to park and look at the stars. Emma wanted to makeout and even more, but Tomas slowed her down.

“I’ve brought some champagne for this wonderful evening, we must have a toast to our love.” Surprisingly, Emma agreed. Tomas opened the trunk and took two disposable cups out, while she was admiring the stars, he placed several crushed sleeping pills in Emma’s drink.

The two spread out a blanket and lounged around under the stars, kissing and enjoying the chilled champagne.

Emma suddenly felt drowsy, and couldn't keep her eyes open.

What is wrong with me! Ruining this amazing night, he’s going to think I am a child and not worthy of his love.

“Are you ok my love, Tomas asked as he noticed her head becoming heavy and her eyes fluttering, “Maybe I should take you home?”

“NO!” Fighting back the drowsy feeling and begging to stay a bit longer, “Please, I want to make love under the moon.”

Tomas sat back and watched her fight to stay awake and beg him to deflower her. As she began to fall over on the blanket, he laughed, it was quite a sight to see this pitiful woman beg, he tried to imagine it was her begging for her life rather than sex. That thought excited him.

Finally packing the sleeping sacrifice into the car, he drove the distance to his Black Mass. The fire was large and probably reached to 10 feet or higher, it lit the black plains for miles. Many were chanting around the fire wearing their hoods with horns attached, while others sought guidance from the Satanic priests. Half naked women danced around an upside down pentagram that had been set on fire and off in the distance in different directions other small structures were lit on fire and celebrated.

He carried the sleeping sacrifice to the altar of his dark lord directly in front of the main fire pit, which was sheltered in the roofless structure. This altar consisted of an upside down cross, this would be where Emma took her final breath. Several men came forward and nailed her to the cross, where she was drained of her blood and burned to death. Tomas stood before her body, nailed to the cross, the site of her sagging body from the loss of blood exhilarated him. As the fire began to rise and engulf her ankles, he felt a tingle and almost a sense of arousal. He let out a loud animal-like yell.

Her blood was passed around and mocked but some drank it or smeared it on them. A Satanic Priest read some and later deemed Tomas an official member of Dioses Del Infierno. The festivities ranged long into the night, but by morning, it was cleared of any traces that could lead to any one individual in the group. Though in their true style, they left the burnt structures and the bones of the sacrifice, it was their calling card.

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Emma’s mother had come home the night of the sacrifice exhausted. She had not looked in on her daughter. Emma’s a good kid, she’s in bed and fine.

The next morning, opening Emma’s bedroom door to find a very empty room, she panicked. She had not heard from her or received the text Emma promised to send identifying her location. Calling the Sheriff and asking neighbors if they’d seen anything, she discovered footage from a neighbors camera of Emma leaving with Tomas, but there was no footage of her coming back.

The Sheriff arrived and began questioning her about Tomas and his character. Contacting the high school to obtain his address or parents phone number, he received a statement back from the school from dispatch over the radio.

The dispatcher radioed back, “Sheriff, the high school says there is no record of a young man by that name and they have not enrolled anyone new to the school in about two years.”