It Took Billy

by Miguel Lopez de Leon

  I asked him where we were going, but he did not answer. After all, I had finished each of the five rituals. For a quick moment, I considered that he had found out that I knew the true story of the sisters. I tried not to let the panic show on my face.

  As we stepped through one of the doors, it led to an ancient looking hallway with a few torches on the wall, which cast an uneven light. The passage was very long, and after a while, we stopped at a heavy metal gate that looked impossibly old and sturdy. As Chaos waved his pale hand, I heard the gate unlock, and we continued walking onwards.

  A few moments later, after passing many doors, we finally stopped at one that had thick green moss growing all over it. As the demon opened the door, we stepped into a large room that looked like it had been taken over by a relentless wilderness. Although I could see the shape of the walls and sections of the same familiar stone floor and high ceiling like in the chamber, most of the room was covered in plant life. Large sections of the room were covered in the same thick moss that was on the door, as vines and weeds of every shape and size were growing wildly. Clusters of leafy bushes, and large, individual flowers, were scattered throughout the space, and the air was thick and heavy. There was also a strong floral smell in the room that was completely intoxicating, and somehow reminded me of youth and hope. An excessive number of squirrels were also busily moving around, except something about them did not seem normal. They looked very determined and focused. The little creatures did not even acknowledge that we had entered the room.

  And as if all this wasn’t disturbing enough, what I saw at the center of the room was a truly horrific sight. The same blossom-woman from the Spring room—the humanoid made of flowers—was standing in the center of this unusual indoor wilderness. Her entire body was still made of bright, multicolored blossoms and petals, but she was standing in a large stone pool of greenish water. And although I did not see any evidence of her being tied or chained to anything, it was obvious that she was somehow trapped.

  The squirrels in the room were splashing up to her and climbing on her. Each squirrel would then settle on a particular flower on her body, and bite it out with their teeth, causing the blossom-woman to flinch and squirm. And while she didn’t scream, a high-pitched squeak did issue from her trembling form. The deranged squirrels would then pat the now open wound with their soaked tails, while the greenish water that seeped into the wound instantly caused another flower to grow. The squirrel would then climb off her and carry her severed blossom over to some surrounding barrels. This was a constant, continuous process, which all the squirrels in the room were part of. Several barrels around the blossom-woman were already filled with flowers, as a strong scent emanated from the detached blooms…it smelled like honey.

  With a sick feeling in my stomach, I immediately realized that the flowers that the squirrels were collecting were one of the ingredients in the honey bread that the demon had been feeding me. It was why it was so addictive and intoxicating, and had a similar, though weaker, effect like the blossom-woman’s scent in the Spring room.

  I felt disgusted and nauseated. And as I watched more and more entranced squirrels rip, tear, and bite the flowers off the trapped blossom-woman, Chaos reached out with his pale hand and grabbed my forehead.

  Although the area was new to me, I knew that I was in a similar type of enchanted forest like I had been in when I witnessed the five sisters. This area, however, was teeming with an unbelievable amount of flowers, which were blooming and prospering in supernatural abundance. The air was sweet and hypnotic and I knew that I was in the domain of the sister Spring.

  Running in and out of all the trees, plants, and flowers, were dozens of blossom-women, and a multitude of happy, fluffy squirrels. Both the women and squirrels seemed to be helping the trees, flowers, and plants grow somehow. They looked content and fulfilled. The squirrels were innocently climbing all over the blossom-women, while many of them sat perched on their shoulders. I did not get the feeling that they were pets, but rather, that they were ancient friends.

  The entire area was a paradise, and it radiated joy and energy. There was one blossom-woman, however, who seemed more prominent than the others did, and who many of the squirrels seemed to mill around.

  Suddenly, Spring herself appeared, radiant and magnificent in her power. The immortal season noticed the attention and respect that particular blossom-woman was getting, and silently whispered an incantation under her own breath. The formerly chipper squirrels suddenly became robotic and stiff, and when Spring nodded her head slightly, the squirrels turned on their main blossom-woman, and began to relentlessly rip her to shreds. Spring laughed at the onslaught and watched with delight as the squirrels tore pieces of the blossom-woman’s face and body away. All the other blossom-women looked on in horror, unable to assist their terrified comrade. But before the main blossom-woman was completely destroyed, Spring ordered the squirrels to stop their assault. She then took great joy in banishing the butchered blossom-woman from her enchanted forest and cursed her and any squirrels who came near her. The blossom-woman’s beloved furry friends, or any regular squirrels that came near her, would now be a constant source of pain and suffering for her.

  As Chaos released my forehead, the wilderness-room came back into view, and I saw the squirrels continue to pluck flowers from the blossom-woman’s body. A cruel grin grew on the demon’s face, as he walked across the room and reached behind one of the barrels. He glided back to me holding another small loaf of honey bread.

  Despite the story, and the blossom-woman’s presence, I grabbed the bread as soon as he held it out to me. I began to eat it right in front of her. I didn’t care that the bread came from her pain and misery. I simply wanted what I wanted. And as I tore into the bread, Chaos shrieked gleefully. He was feeding off all the pain in the room. From me, from the blossom-woman…probably even from the squirrels. Still, I ate every crumb.

  I am disgusted by what I have become. But having said that, I am also more accepting of it. Had Chaos handed me another piece of honey bread, I would have eaten it as well.

  I am now sitting on the mossy floor of the forest-room, writing this entry. The demon is standing next to the door, silently enjoying the never-ending harvesting of the blossoms.

  Although I am disturbed by the latest vision Chaos has shown me, I am assuming that it did not really happen. My first thought is that this blossom-woman is probably a loyal, immortal follower of Spring. Maybe even Spring’s most beloved follower. Chaos could have stolen her from Spring’s domain, and now uses her flowers to brainwash new followers into his cult of hatred. Of course, I’m totally guessing.

  I want to help her, but how? In the Spring room, I was not powerful enough to fight her at all, whether or not she was under Chaos’s control. And the truly sick thought that keeps popping into my mind is this: If she is saved, does that mean that there will be no more honey bread? If that is the case, do I really want her saved?

  I just looked up and saw two of the squirrels fall from the blossom-woman’s shoulders, into the greenish water. Whether it was due to age, exhaustion, or starvation, I do not know, but it is obvious that they are dead.

  The demon just glided toward the pool. He just threw one of the dead squirrels toward me. It landed right next to my foot.

  As I write this, I can feel the tears running down my face.

  I know it’s disgusting, and I know it’s wrong. But I also know that the dead squirrel has been constantly in and out of the greenish water that the blossom-woman has been standing in. Its body is completely saturated in her scent.

  I can feel the energy of the demon rising. He knows what I am about to do. As soon as I put down this pen, I’m going to bite into the squirrel.

  The Chamber

  I’ve fallen asleep and woken up in the chamber several times since being in the room with the blossom-woman.

  After my time there, Chaos led me back to the chamber and left me—he hasn’t returned, at least not when I’ve
been awake. I know he’s been here though, since the bread and water keep showing up by the fire.

  I would not say that I miss his company. But I find myself wondering when he’ll be back. And what outing we’ll go on next?

  I keep wondering about the blossom-woman’s story as well, and what parts of it were true, if any. What a cruel fate for an immortal—I assume she’s immortal—to be constantly wounded and healed so she can be used as a food source. And not just for regular food, but food that destroys people’s minds. Then those same people eventually offer up all their pain to a season that she loves.

  I keep wondering though…if the blossom-woman was real, were all the images in the ritual rooms real, or only some of them? Were the three other men I met in the Autumn room real?

  And the dead squirrels I’ve been seeing ever since the cabin, was that just for Chaos’s sick amusement? Maybe he wanted to see how long it would take me to somehow sense what the squirrels were saturated in, and finally eat one. Although if I remember correctly, the previous dead squirrels smelled terrible.

  Where is he? Where is Chaos? I need to see him.

  The Chamber

  He still hasn’t come back. I wonder if I’ve angered him somehow.

  My mind is getting more hazy, and I seem to be blanking out much more lately. I keep staring off into space, and when I finally come to, I have no way of telling how long I was out of it. I can only gauge it by my aching limbs. When I woke up out of a more recent daydream, I realized I had been sitting with my legs bent under me the entire time, and I could no longer feel them.

  When is Chaos coming back? What could he be doing?

  The Chamber

  When I opened my eyes, I knew that the demon was in the chamber with me.

  I sat upright, and immediately consumed the bread and water that he had placed next to the fire. As I ate, he simply watched me. Had I actually missed him? It didn’t matter. Chaos was with me, and whatever was going to happen was going to happen. The terrible feeling of anticipation at his arrival was finished, at least for now.

  I stood up after I was done eating, and slowly walked over to him. I was hoping he would grab my forehead again, and show me some kind of supernatural vision, but he did not. I knew that the visions, at least when it concerned the sisters, were probably not real anyway. But regardless, they were still a distraction from this reality.

  Instead of any visions being forced into my head, I was instead led through a door, down the long torch-lit hallway, and through the heavy metal gate. When we approached the door with the thick moss growing on it, I thought we were going to enter that same room once more, but we did not. Instead, we kept moving further down the long, dark hallway.

  After a while, we eventually ended up in front of a much larger, much heavier looking door. After Chaos gestured, I heard the thick bolts of the door unlock. As we walked through, I felt my breath escape me. The large hall in front of us was filled with people and was made of the same ancient looking stone. It also had several large, wide open doors and windows, letting in an abundance of bright sunlight. At the end of the hall were the same huge stone statues of the five sisters that Chaos had shown me in the vision. The thick base of each statue was still stained red. An abundance of flowers and flickering candles were heaped around the statues as well. Neat rows of long wooden tables and benches occupied most of the space and seated at the tables were hundreds of other people, all busily typing into modern computers. After a few moments, the chalk-white man said something loudly in a language I did not understand. The hundreds of people in the hall all immediately stood up and faced us, and in unison, chanted “Glory to The Chaos of the Five.”

  I noticed that while the ages of the men and women looked like they ranged anywhere from thirteen to seventy or more, the majority looked around my age. Everyone was wearing normal, everyday clothing. All of them, however, looked on at Chaos with what I can only describe as a fanatical devotion. They all seemed simultaneously ecstatic, and terrified, to see him. Most of them had desperate smiles on their faces, and although they seemed healthy, they all had dark circles under their eyes.

  When Chaos slightly nodded his head, they all immediately sat back down and continued working on their individual computers.

  As I continued looking around the hall, I noticed that pressed up against one wall was a long table filled with loaves of honey bread, platters of fruit, trays of sandwiches, and barrels of things to drink.

  Despite the initial shock I had at seeing all these people, what I really had trouble wrapping my head around were all the wide-open doors and windows that led outside. As I peered out one of the doors, I didn’t see any wall or fence keeping everyone inside. All I saw was open flatland. Yet, no one was trying to escape or run. Everyone was just working diligently.

  I turned to look at the demon, who was quietly observing me. He had noticed me looking around the hall and gestured for me to proceed and have a closer look.

  I followed his silent instruction, and began walking between the tables, and observing the people there. Part of me wanted to shout, “Help!” Or run to one of the computers and contact my dad, or the police! But I knew that would be futile. I mean, it was obvious that these people were connected to the internet, but I had the very distinct feeling that if I reached for one of the computers, I would be forcibly, or even violently, stopped.

  As I continued to walk between the tables, no one looked up at me. And despite the number of people present, the entire hall was eerily quiet.

  I walked past person after person, until I noticed one young woman perform the simplest of gestures. She had long brown hair, and all she did was casually push it back behind her ear. For some reason, the naturalness of her movement seemed very comforting to me. I walked over to her, and said, “Hello.”

  To my surprise, she stopped typing, looked up at me, and smiled.

  “Hello,” she said politely. “Glory to The Chaos of the Five.”

  “Glory to The Chaos of the Five.” I responded. I don’t know why I repeated what she had said. It just felt like it was what she expected me to say, so I said it.

  “My name is Billy.” I continued.

  “My name is Amanda.” She said sweetly. “Welcome to the Hall of Statues, Billy. I’m so happy to meet you.”

  Even in that brief interaction, I knew that Amanda was not really there. Her eyes were glazed over, and vacant, and although she seemed very friendly, she promptly returned to her computer work.

  I looked back toward Chaos, standing near the door, silently observing our interaction. I briefly wondered what would happen if I ran out one of the open doors. Would all these brainwashed people start chasing me? I still had no idea where I was. I could have been five minutes away from a nearby town, or totally in the middle of nowhere. But as these thoughts raced through my mind, a very disturbing realization occurred to me: I did not want to leave. I mean, I was thinking about it, and it seemed like something I should attempt to do, but I didn’t want to do it. I wanted to be by Chaos’s side. And although the presence of all these other people should have been disturbing to me, seeing them was surprisingly comforting.

  I slowly turned around and began walking back to the chalk-white man, glancing at all the computer screens as I made my way to him. Many of the seated followers were in chat rooms and were engaged in long conversations. Many of them were also on various forms of social media.

  As I got back to Chaos, he once again said something loudly to the assemblage that I didn’t understand. They all quickly stood up, and replied, “Glory to The Chaos of the Five.”

  As we were walking back through the large doorway, a barrage of questions filled my mind: Who were all these people? Were they abducted like me, or did some of them come here willingly? Would this be what I would eventually become—vacant and completely submissive? Was I already that now?

  I obediently followed the demon back through the long hall, until he left me back in my chamber, next to the fire.
<
br />   Why did he bother showing me all those people? Was it some kind of test? To see if I would run out one of the doors, launch toward a computer, or ask someone there for help? Since I didn’t attempt any of those things, did I pass the test? Was he pleased?

  I no longer feel trapped here. I’m aware that I’m a prisoner, and that I’m living in a constant state of terror, but I now know that I don’t want to leave. All the doors could suddenly unlock, and I don’t think that I would move from this spot.

  The Chamber

  I still don’t know why Chaos has shown me all of this—the story about the blossom-woman, and the hundreds of other cultists here. What does he want me to do with this information? Why bother showing me any of it at all?

  Everything is starting to blur in my mind. All these dark experiences. All these twisted images. The rituals, the sisters…I just don’t know what to make of it anymore.

  I almost don’t want to think. About anything. It would be so much easier if I just didn’t think.

  Is that what Chaos wants? Is that his goal for me?

  I just want to go blank.

  The Chamber

  I’m a dead man.

  Since my last entry, my journal was taken. I woke up and it was gone. I almost lost my mind. It was like someone had secretly ripped my arm off, and I had suddenly looked down to see that it was missing.

  I don’t know how long it was gone, but even in my newly panicked state I had fallen asleep twice. So maybe two days? What would the demon want with my journal? And for two days? After waking up a little while ago, I found the journal next to me.

  The first thing I noticed was that the pages from the first half of the journal had been ripped out. The entries now start on July 6. But other than that, nothing else seems to have been altered. I skimmed through everything, especially the real story of the five sisters, and everything looked intact.