Chapter 2

Daniela

I arrived at the pub, greeted by a gentle strumming guitar and the stinging smell of alcohol. The guitarist was perched on a small platform, half-heartedly running his hands along the strings. There were only about two or three people milling around the place, radiating the exhaustion of a hard and long day. 

I walked up to the bar, greeted by an old and burly man who smelled of cigarettes and had permanent frown lines etched into his face. “What can I get ya’?”

“Just a Coke and a burger.”

“Everything on it okay?” 

“Yeah.”

“Fries?”

“Sure.” He slid my Coke onto the counter and a straw alongside it. I grabbed the glass and settled in at the bar seat backed up against the wall, sipping the soda as I waited for my food. 

It wasn’t long, with no other patrons coming in the burger was promptly set in front of me. Despite the drab atmosphere, the burger was bursting with life. It looked delectable with a perfectly golden brown bun and a healthy hunk of meat, glistening with just the right amount of grease. I took my first bite, nearly humming with satisfaction as I tasted the tender meat, perfectly balanced by fresh lettuce. I bit into the fries next, thick cut and perfectly seasoned. Food really did make everything better. 

I listened to the gentle strum of the guitar and relished in the peaceful atmosphere as I ate my burger. I even finished off my Coke, ordering another and drinking it long after I had finished my plate. 

For a while, I stayed like that, drinking my soda and forgetting all my troubles. Until the peace was broken and the door creaked open, welcoming a small group of visitors.

“Back in town today?” The bartender asked with a warmth to his voice that suggested familiarity.

“Yeah, so we had to stop by and see you of course.” The voice was jovial and almost playful, not at all matching its owner. 

At the head of the group, the man was tall with a deep skin tone contrasted by his nearly white hair that was cropped close to his skull. He had an abundance of piercings: a septum ring, eyebrow piercing, and earrings lining the entirety of each ear. What struck me most about the man though was his relaxed posture and easy smile, which contrasted his intimidating looks.

The bartender grunted in what seemed to be agreement. “Always glad when you do. Just your usual drinks?”

“I think we’ll eat this time Harris.” This voice belonged to a man slightly shorter than the other but wider and much more intimidating. 

His hair was neatly slicked back, black on the top with white streaks decorating the sides. His eyes were coal colored and sharp and his chin was peppered with a light beard that contoured his sharp cheekbones. He wore a maroon button down that complimented his caramel skin but also made him look all the more stern.

Behind him were two more newcomers, another man, shorter and built like a swimmer as opposed to a tank. He had a head of tousled blonde curls and forest green eyes with flecks of brown, but he’s not the one who caught my eye. 

Just to his right was a girl with raven hair and eyes. She was wearing a pair of jeans that hugged her figure before flaring out at the bottom to house a pair of brown boots. On her top was an oversized sweater that was a shade or two darker than the jeans. What really made her stand out were her eyes, a beautiful chocolate brown that shone with life and the slight crinkle around her eyes revealed the soft smile that adorned her lips.

“Well come and sit down, I’ll get your drinks started while you decide on your food.”

“Thanks Harrison,” the girl replied with a slight nod that Harrison returned, a fatherly warmth in his eyes.

I continued to stare at the girl as she sat, completely oblivious of how much attention I was paying her until her eyes floated and locked onto mine. I quickly averted my gaze and decided I’d probably been in the pub long enough. 

I left a tip at the table, having already paid the bill, and walked out of the pub and into the cool night air. I checked the time, 11:45. Those people must really be close to the bartender if he’s accommodating them this close to closing time. 

For a moment, I thought of the girl. She was pretty, no doubt, but that’s not really why my thoughts strayed back to her. It just made me think about my complete lack of a social life since arriving in McCall. Honestly, I thought I was okay with that. Honestly, I thought I wasn’t ready to try to build a relationship from scratch. But right now, I thought I was willing to try. I thought I was finally ready to really try to create a new life here.

I decided the next time I saw the girl, I’d talk to her. Try to make a friend, a real friend. I’d had friends back in Massachusetts, but none of them stuck. I never text them or even keep up with them on social media. Sometimes, I can’t even remember their names, just their faces in some random memory. We weren’t really friends. We paraded as friends because that’s what was best for our status, our families. 

But now, thinking back to the girl in the pub, I thought I did want a friend, a real friend: someone I could rely on. More than that I wanted to become a person that others could rely on, and that meant pulling my head out of my ass.
With renewed passion, I plugged my apartment’s address into the GPS: a 10 minute walk, and I looked forward to it. I was sure my thoughts wouldn’t wander, and I was determined to enjoy the simplicity of my new home. I was going to enjoy my walk in the breeze on this quiet night.

I began towards my apartment, passing by empty shops and lonely street lights. I made it back to the coffee shop, gazing inside. Huh? It really is shining. I almost giggled at my manic cleaning. Can’t wait to do it tomorrow, I thought, and I really couldn’t. Yeah the job was tedious and mundane, but I think I’m starting to like it.

I never realized before because I was caught up in my own little pity party, chasing the silence where I’d relive yet another distasteful memory. I wasn’t really living, wasn’t truly experiencing. I was still stuck in the past I was trying so hard to escape. 

For the first time, I was reflecting on my present. The coffee shop job was tedious and mundane, but it was exactly what I wanted: normalcy. I wanted to experience the quintessential part time job, have friends, go to parties, and be free from the expectations of others. I truly believe that McCall is the place to do it, if I let it happen. 

I continued walking past the coffee shop, coming closer to my apartment and reflecting on my plans for the future. Maybe I could start dating again too, and this time people I actually want to be with. I decided when I got home I’d create a dating profile and maybe even some new socials. 

Yeah, this is going to work. Everything is going to work itself out.

Bang! 

The sharp noise made me jump and I began frantically looking around me for the source of the noise. I squinted into the darkness looking at every crevice between the buildings lining the streets. Nothing. I couldn’t see anything.

I started to laugh at myself, probably just a stray knocking stuff around. 

I took a deep breath and tried to loosen the knots forming in my stomach. I shook out my hands and continued to breathe deep as I took more steps towards my apartment. It’s ok, you’re just freaking out over nothing. Besides, you’re almost to your apartment, so stop freaking yourself out over nothing. Despite my internal monologue, the uneasy feeling wouldn’t dissipate.

I knew it was probably irrational, but I thought it wouldn’t hurt to just walk a little faster. I picked up the pace, nearly jogging. I was so close to the apartment. I could see the outline of the building. Could even make out the wood grain of the walls against the small awning lights. 

Even though safety was just within my reach, yet the knots in my stomach tangled more by the second and my heart quickened, willing me to walk faster. This is so stupid. There’s nothing out here! Still I began to jog, trying to reach my apartment as fast as possible.

I reached the thin strip of parking in front of the building, just a short walk to the front door, and that’s when it happened. A shadowy figure appeared at the end of the parking lot, blocking my path to the door. 

My breathing picked up and adrenaline began to race through my body. I looked around, searching desperately for escape, for a place to hide. The apartment was so close and I was tempted to try running straight past the figure. All I had to do was reach the door, then I’d be surrounded by people who could help me.

I looked around, no one was there but the lone shadow blocking my path. My closest salvation was the apartment and I was willing to try to make it, so I took a deep breath and let my fear push me towards the door in a sprint. 

I ran with all my might as fast as I could toward the door, bracing myself for the mysterious person to come running at me. They didn’t move though, they were almost unnaturally still, not following my movements as I tried to run past them.

My gaze lingered on the figure, perplexed by their immobility. Maybe they’re not trying to hurt me? Just as I thought it, I ran straight into something large and solid. I bounced off the object and fell back onto my butt.

When I looked up there was another person, covered in a long dark robe with a hood pulled all the way down to their nose. I looked to the side, finding the other person standing in the exact same place. How the hell did I not notice this person, I looked everywhere for something, someone to help me and there was no one there, so where’d this guy come from?

The figure grabbed onto my shoulders and pulled me to stand. Their grip on my shoulders tightened and it hurt. I struggled to pull away, trying to kick at the person, but they didn’t budge, no matter what I hit or how hard. I began trying to wrench their hands off my shoulders. At first, their grip wouldn’t let up, but I managed to get one finger off, so I kicked them right in the groin. 

I was almost surprised when they keeled over but I took the opportunity and tried to run back, but I ran into yet another wall. I changed directions, another wall. Again, another wall. Until there was nowhere else for me to go and I was completely surrounded by a wall of bodies all swallowed by the same black robes. 

Someone grabbed onto my wrists. I tried to fight back, throwing my body weight around, but the retaliation didn’t last long before more hands were on me. Hands around my waist, on my neck, my shoulders. The crush of people moved closer until I was nearly suffocating with the proximity. 

The person holding my wrist began wrapping a thick, scratchy rope around my wrists, making several knots until it was so tight my fingers began to tingle with numbness. I was then pushed to the ground, without my hands to save me I slammed right onto my chin. My ears began to ring and stars danced in my vision.

I barely registered the ropes that were wrapped around my chest and ankles. I didn’t even flinch when one of the cloaked figures slung my limp body over their shoulder, carrying me off to God knows where. 

I wanted to see where they were taking me, but as the figure started moving and my body started bouncing, I had to fight hard not to lose my dinner all over the pavement. My head swam and it was hard to concentrate, so I resigned myself to squeezing my eyes shut until I didn’t feel like my food was coming back to attack me. 

We kept walking, and I couldn’t tell you for how long. It could have been a few minutes, but to me it felt like an eternity. At some point, I felt less nauseous but the pain in my chin became sharper as it radiated throughout my whole head. I was able to open my eyes without the whole world spinning and I saw that we were walking near patches of luscious grass. When I really concentrated I could smell the musty odor of Payette Lake. 

We must be in Legacy Park. The park was about a 4 minute walk from my apartment. Usually overshadowed by the bigger Ponderosa state park that was a short drive from here, but it was still enjoyed by many of the locals here, me included. I’d sometimes come to sit on the grass just to eat some food or read a book, though I always ended up on my phone instead of reading. 

On an ordinary day the park had enough people roaming around to feel safe but not over crowded. It was usually peaceful, but now it seemed like it would become my grave. I guess if I'm going to die at least it will be in a place I enjoyed. For a second, I almost resigned myself to that, until I remembered all the things I was going to do. 

Anger bubbled up from my bowels and suddenly all the pain faded to the background as I struggled against my captor. They wobbled and faltered, grunting with the effort of keeping us both upright. I doubled my efforts and the person almost went toppling over if it wasn’t for the hoard of cloaks.

Suddenly, hands were all over me, pulling me onto the ground and adding more ropes. They tied the ropes on my wrist to the one on my ankles and no matter what I did I couldn’t move despite some miniscule twitches. Every move made my skin rub raw on the ropes. Everywhere the ropes touched, my skin ached and burned.

I flailed until I couldn’t anymore. My breathing came in harsh and my heart pounded against my chest as if it was trying to escape. While I struggled, my captors formed up, encasing me in a circle of dark robes and missing faces.

That’s when one person broke off from the crowd and began sketching on the sidewalk pad we were situated at. They filled a set of circles with weird symbols and words I couldn’t understand, but the symbol in the middle was unmistakable: a pentagram.

Great, cult shit. 

When the artist had finished, the circle around me enclosed and I was carried into the circle and unceremoniously dropped on the sidewalk. I’m getting pretty tired of this, can’t they just set me down gently?!

The people backed away, outlining the largest circle with their bodies, and that’s when the chanting began. Their words echoed through the park in a language I couldn’t understand. With each verse of the haunting song, their voices rose.

With the swelling volume the world seemed to be ripping open, giving way to something. No it’s not, I reprimanded myself. There’s no such thing as magic, you’re just imagining things because you’re scared.

That’s what I told myself, but deep down I didn’t believe it. The group continued to chant until the song reached its crescendo, and then the chanting began to fizzle out. In its wake, something else remained. A tainted power that was almost alive, and it was waiting. Waiting for direction. Waiting to be unleashed.