A chill washed over Skylar suddenly, pulling him back to the land of the conscious. For a moment, he was confused, not sure where he was or how he’d gotten there. But as he began to wake more fully, he remembered that he was in the cemetery. He had been here visiting his brother – looking through old photos, and sharing memories. He must have fallen asleep.
The sun was down now, and Skylar knew that people must have been getting worried about where he’d been. After all, he skipped all of his classes today, and there was no way his friends were going to have missed that he hadn’t even shown up at his dorm. Sighing, he pushed himself off the ground, brushing the dirt off his clothing and out of his shaggy, dark hair.
A noise from behind him caused Skylar to jump, the young man spinning around to peer into the woods. “H-Hello?” he called out, eyes squinting so he could see better in the darkness. “Who’s there?”
Suddenly, a woman emerged from the trees, her long, red hair blowing in the breeze. She had dirt on her cheeks and her forehead – she looked like she lived out here in the woods. Her clothes were hanging off her body like they were three sizes too large for her, and holes littered the fabric in various places. “Who are you?” Skylar asked, taking a step away from the woman.
“It’s okay,” the woman replied, keeping her eyes locked on Skylar. “You don’t have to be afraid of me. I’m here to help you.” Seeing the clear confusion on Skylar’s face, the woman continued, “I overheard you talking to your brother earlier. My name is Venus. I hope I’m not intruding.”
Another frown came to Skylar’s lips when Venus explained that she was here to help him. “How are you going to help me?” he asked, barely resisting the urge to roll his eyes. Everyone wanted to help him – there was no help as far as he was concerned. All there was left now was pain and suffering. He was looking at the rest of his life without his brother – people thought they could help, and it was honestly laughable.
Venus could see the disbelief clearly on Skylar’s face. It wasn’t uncommon when you were in this line of work – no one ever believed in what could be done until they had proof. And that’s when it was rewarding. “I can help you bring him back,” she explained, a small smile coming to her lips when Skylar’s demeanor changed.
At first, Skylar thought that he was being played. Once someone died, there was no bringing them back. That kind of stuff only happened in the movies. But at this point, he was so desperate to have his brother back, that he was willing to believe anything was possible. “What do you mean you can help me bring him back?” he asked, shifting uncomfortably on his feet. “He died. You can’t just bring people back from the dead.”
Taking a step closer to Skylar, Venus argued, “Oh, but you can! You just have to believe it. And you need to be willing to do the ritual just right. I can help you with that.” Biting into her bottom lip, Venus continued, “I don’t want to overstep, but I’ve been seeing you around here a lot over the last few days. I can hear you crying. And I can hear you talking to him. You beg him to come back to you. And I can help you make that happen. If you’ll let me.”
When Venus stepped closer, Skylar fought the urge to move backwards again. He didn’t want to be rude, after all. Venus was apparently just trying to help him. “How?” he asked, feeling intrigued. Maybe this wasn’t just stuff for the old horror movies.
“There’s a ritual. It’s sort of complicated, but I can walk you through it,” Venus promised. Looking up to the sky, she frowned. “It’s getting late tonight. Meet me back here tomorrow evening and I’ll have all of the instructions for you.”
Although he was still very skeptical, Skylar nodded. “Okay, I will,” he answered, biting into his bottom lip. He resisted the urge to cross his arms over his chest, knowing that the sling supporting his left arm would prevent him from doing so. His shoulder had been seriously strained in the accident, but the doctors were surprised by how well he had been healing. With any luck, it would be able to come off in the next few days. Of course, Skylar hadn’t been wearing it the way he should. Like at the funeral. He’d wanted to feel the physical pain in his shoulder to help balance out the emotional pain. It hadn’t worked, but it had been worth a try.
After agreeing on a time, Skylar left the cemetery. As he walked home, he wondered if his parents were even going to be awake when he returned. They hadn’t been last night. And he hadn’t seen them all day today. And they were under the impression he’d gone back to the dorms. He was drifting away from everyone around him – he could feel it. But he didn’t know how to stop it. And now this new information just had him reeling. Could it really be possible? And if so, what was he going to tell everyone in his life?
So many questions were still running through his mind when he reached his driveway. Jessie’s car was parked there, causing him to sigh heavily. He’d completely forgotten to call her this morning before he left, and he knew she was going to grill him about that. And he deserved it. He had been so mean to her last night – it was out of character for him.
As soon as he walked into the door, Jessie pulled him into a hug, Skylar wrapping his arm around her and keeping her close. He missed her. Over the last few days, he had been pushing her away – he didn’t even know why really – and he just wanted her back. Of course, he knew she wasn’t actually going anywhere, but he felt like they were losing their spark. And no wonder with everything that had happened. But Skylar needed to get it back.
Slowly, Jessie pulled back from the hug, cupping Skylar’s cheek as she checked him over. “You didn’t call me this morning,” she frowned, eyes ticking from Skylar’s face to his dirty clothes, and back. “And then I talked to Adam earlier and he said you didn’t show up for class this morning. I figured you’d gone to the cemetery by the time I got here and you weren’t in your room. Did you stay there all day?”
Skylar frowned when Jessie pulled back, his right hand gently holding her fingers so he didn’t lose contact. “Yes,” he admitted, eyes never leaving Jessie’s. “I went there this morning when I woke up with some photo albums I found in Tyler’s room. I must’ve fallen asleep because before I knew it, the sun was down. I wanted to drive to the dorms and get to class, but I just…couldn’t.”
He made the decision here and now that he wasn’t going to keep anything about today a secret from Jessie. Their relationship had always been open and honest, and he wasn’t about to stop that trend now. “There was a woman there when I woke up,” he explained, biting into his bottom lip. “She said her name was Venus. And…that she can help me bring Tyler back.”
A deep frown marred Jessie’s features at Skylar’s words. “What do you mean she can help you bring Tyler back?” she asked, fearing for her boyfriend’s sanity. He had been through so much these last few days and she was worried that he was finally cracking under the pressure.
“Back from the dead,” Skylar explained. “Apparently, there’s some kind of ritual that I can do and it’ll bring him back. He won’t be dead anymore, Jessie. I’ll have my brother back!” Nodding, mainly to herself, Skylar added, “And I’m gonna do it. I’m going to bring him back.”
Again, Jessie frowned, even more worried about Skylar now. “Skylar, babe, you need to stop,” she whispered, her pain clear in the hushed plea. “He’s gone, baby. And I can’t even begin to imagine how hard that must be for you. But you can’t keep doing this. You’re only going to hurt yourself in the end.” Shaking her head, Jessie cupped Skylar’s face in his hands. “Tyler is gone, Skylar. And it’s horrible. But you just have to accept that.”
Anger sparked inside Skylar at Jessie’s harsh words. Quickly, he dropped his hand, putting some distance between the two of them. “Accept it?” he scoffed, shaking his head. “How can I just accept that my brother is dead? Especially when there’s a chance that I can do something about it?! Jessie, I know you’ve never experienced anything like this before because you’re an only child, and you can’t possibly begin to imagine how it feels to lose a twin, but I need you to understand this. I will never accept the fact that my brother isn’t here with me anymore! And I will do whatever it takes to get him back!”
Sighing, Skylar hung his head, suddenly feeling a lot more alone than he did a couple of minutes ago. “I’m doing this, Jessie. I’m meeting Venus tomorrow night, and I’m going to bring Tyler back. Or…at least I’m going to try. And if you can’t support me, then you can just leave me the hell alone.”
Without thinking, Jessie closed the distance between them, hands resting gently on Skylar’s upper arms. “Baby, you shouldn’t be alone,” she argued, not wanting to leave him by himself here. “You’ve been alone all day. And all night last night. Just let me stay here with you.”
Skylar didn’t want to be alone. Jessie had a point when she stated that he had been alone all day and all night. He was just so tired of being alone. “Okay,” he whispered, nodding slowly. “Okay, you can stay here with me.”
After a few awkward moments of silence, Jessie suggested that they watch some television. Figuring that it would be a nice distraction, Skylar agreed. Now, they were watching some comedy movie that Skylar wasn’t even really paying attention to. Unfortunately, this wasn’t as distracting as he thought it would be since his mind kept going to his brother. He just wanted him back. And Jessie was trying to comfort him as best as she could, but it just wasn’t working. Skylar knew that the only thing that was going to keep him from losing his sanity was getting Tyler out of that grave.
**~~**
The next day seemed to fly by. Skylar actually went to class since he’d already missed quite a few days and he needed to get caught up. Plus, it made his friends happy to see him there. It was obvious that they had been worried about him too. But the big thing it did was keep his mind off this evening. Sure, the meeting was in the back of his mind, but Skylar was able to keep his main focus on his school work. Tyler would have scolded him if he failed out of college in his third year.
He had a lot of notes to copy, and he had one exam to make up, so he would have to worry about all of that in the near future. Luckily, his professor had always been a fan of his, so he was allowed to schedule the make up exam for the following week. That gave him time to pour over his notes so he wasn’t going in blind. And Adam allowed him to borrow his notebook so Skylar could copy all of the notes that he had missed. All in all, it was a pretty successful day.
When the sun started to set, Skylar pulled his light blue Henley over his head, shoved his arms into his leather jacket, and tied his sneakers tight. He needed to get to the cemetery to meet Venus. Tonight, he was going to learn everything he could about this ritual that Venus was claiming could bring his brother back. Although he was still a little skeptical, he wasn’t going to let that ruin this for him. If there was hope, he was going to cling to it until it was gone.
Once he was ready, Skylar called an Uber to get him to the cemetery. His Jeep had been declared totaled, and he hadn’t had a chance to get a new car yet. And now that he was back at the dorms, it was a bit too far to run there like he had from his parents’ house. Almost as soon as Skylar got there, he spotted Venus standing behind one of the trees, much like she said she would be. “You came,” Skylar breathed, trying not to sound too surprised.
“I told you I would be here,” Venus assured him with a small smile. “Honestly, I’m a little surprised you came. Last night, you didn’t seem all that convinced when we spoke.” Pushing away from the tree, Venus took a few steps closer to Skylar. “I’m glad you came, though. I have everything you need to bring your brother back.”
Skylar’s eyes ticked to the items Venus had in her hands. He was nervous. It was very possible this woman was crazy and she was leading Skylar out here to perform some sort of sacrifice, and Skylar had just walked right into it. But he was willing to take the risk. After all, if he really was about to be sacrificed, then he wouldn’t have to spend another minute here without his brother. That was a plus, at least. “Tell me what I have to do,” he whispered, locking gazes with Venus once more.
Without hesitation, Venus handed over the information she had compiled for Skylar. “In this folder is everything you’ll need,” she assured him. “There’s some past stories from people I’ve helped before, and there’s information needed for the ritual.” She then tapped the giant, ancient looking book she’d handed over with the folder. “And the actual ritual is in here – page 666. Now, it needs to be done on a full moon, which is tomorrow.”
When Skylar tried to open the book, Venus quickly pushed the cover closed. “Before you read this, I need to make you aware of a few things. This ritual is very touchy. If it’s not performed correctly, the chances of your brother coming back as the person he was are slim to none. He’ll come back wrong – like something from your worst nightmares.”
Fear gripped Skylar like a vice at Venus’s words. Lately, Skylar’s nightmares had been horrible. Not even sleeping with Jessie last night had been able to keep them at bay. But they all involved Tyler dying – this way, he would be coming back. Surely, nothing was going to go wrong. “I’ll do everything right,” he assured the woman.
Although she admired his confidence, Venus knew how tricky this ritual could be. “That’s what they all say, sweetie,” she frowned. “And I need to make you aware that even if everything is done right, some people just aren’t strong enough to resist the pull of evil. They won’t be like they were before. So be aware that what you bring back may look like your brother, and he may act like your brother for a while, but if he is not strong enough, the darkness can take over when you least expect it.”
Another frown came to Skylar’s lips when Venus warned him of the consequences. “That won’t happen,” he assured her once more. “I won’t let it. Tyler is strong. Whatever forces you’re referring to, he can fight them. I know my brother.”
Nodding, Venus replied, “I’m sure you do. I just want to be thorough with my warnings so you aren’t surprised if something doesn’t go exactly as planned.” Sighing, she continued, “In those files I gave you, there are some stories about what happened when the ritual didn’t go as planned. Please read them before you make any decisions. The last thing we need in this world is something from the depths of Hell breaking loose and running wild through the streets.”
At Venus’s words, Skylar felt a little offended. His brother was one of the best people he ever knew. There was no way he was in Hell. Skylar was a firm believer in the fact that only sinners were shipped down to Hell, and he was sure that Tyler was the most pure, most innocent, and all around best person Skylar ever knew. To think that he could possibly come back as something that belonged in Hell was unheard of. “I’ll read over everything before I make my decision,” he promised.
Again, Venus nodded, taking her hand away from the book. “I have no doubt you will. And I know that you will make the right decision.” Glancing up at the sky, Venus frowned. “I have to go. Don’t forget to read everything I gave you. If you want to go through with the ritual, it must be done tomorrow night. Otherwise, you have to wait until next month. If you have any questions, you can find me here most nights.”
Skylar tucked the folder between the pages of the book, snapping it closed before the wind could blow anything away. When he returned his attention to the tree, Venus was gone, causing him to frown deeply. That was by far the oddest encounter he’d had with the woman to date. But he got everything he needed, and now he just had to get home and read through everything before tomorrow night.
As he was driven back to the dorms, Skylar silently prayed that Jessie wasn’t there tonight. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see her, but he needed to get this done. And Jessie had made it perfectly clear that she wasn’t on board with this idea. Her absence would just make everything easier for him tonight. And it wasn’t like he hadn’t just seen her the night before – she’d spent the night tucked under his arm while they watched movies until they both fell asleep. Surely, she could give him some space for one evening.
Luckily, when he walked into the hallway, Jessie was nowhere to be seen. Sighing, he pushed the door open, tossing his keys onto the end table and grabbing his phone. Jessie had texted him that she was going to stay in tonight, but to let her know if he needed her. That was perfect – he had all night to look over everything now without interruptions.
Taking a few steps further into his room, Skylar spread everything out over his desk, taking a deep breath as he stared at all of the information before him. There were pages of first hand stories from people who had done this ritual and had success. Venus had it all separated into the stories of success, and the failures. Skylar decided to read through the success stories first. He needed a little more confidence in this matter.
He wasn’t sure how long he had been reading through the material, but he reached a point where he just couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer. Skylar didn’t even bother changing out of his jeans before he flopped onto the bed, eyes closing almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.
It was cold in the room. Skylar reached for his blankets, but his hand was met with wet grass and dirt. He was outside. Quickly, he pushed himself to his feet, wrapping his arms tightly around his body. Looking around, he realized that he was in the cemetery. But something was wrong – it felt off tonight.
Skylar wanted to get out of here. The atmosphere and the general feel of the place tonight was making him uneasy. He took a step forward and fell, groaning in pain when he landed on a hard surface. Turning so that he was on his back, Skylar felt fear grip his as he realized that he had fallen into an open grave.
Again, he groaned, pushing himself into a seated position. Why was there an open grave in the middle of the cemetery right now? And more importantly, why was he in a position where he could fall into it. Sighing, he pushed himself to his feet, using the coffin he’d fallen into as a stepping stone to grip the grass above him, pulling himself out of the hole.
Once he was back on his feet, and out of the grave, Skylar wiped off his clothes, frowning as he tried to piece together why he was here. His eyes searched his surroundings, looking for any clues on why he might be here. When ice blue orbs landed on the headstone in front of him, Skylar’s eyes widened. In front of his were all the answers he’d been seeking in three little words: Tyler Anthony Briggs.
He could barely process this. Quickly, in an attempt to run away from everything around him, Skylar turned from the grave, ready to bolt. However, before he had a chance to move, it was like his world was ripped out from under him, making him dizzy. There, standing right in front of him, was his brother.
“Tyler,” Skylar breathed. There was dirt smeared across Tyler’s cheek, his hair knotted and filthy. His tuxedo was tattered and torn and the skin on his knuckles was ripped and bleeding. “Oh my God, Tyler. You’re here.” A single tear slipped down Skylar’s cheek as he took a tentative step towards his brother.
Before Skylar could get too close, Tyler’s hand shot out. Strong fingers wrapped around Skylar’s neck, squeezing his windpipe. On instinct, Skylar reached for the hand, clawing at it. His breath hitched in his throat, brows knit in confusion “Tyler,” he croaked out, feeling his consciousness begin to fade. Fear coiled around him as Tyler practically snarled, his grip tightening.
The last thing Skylar saw were his brother’s cold, emotionless eyes before everything went black.
Skylar jolted awake, his hand instinctively clutching at the phantom hand around his throat. It had just been a dream. He was losing his mind because of the reading material he’d chosen before he’d fallen asleep. Sighing, Skylar pushed himself off the bed, hands carding through his hair as he made his way back to the desk.
Sunshine was barely peeking through the curtains, letting Skylar know that it was almost time to start the day. He had a class at 10:30, but he had no idea how he could go. There was no way he was going to be able to focus on anything that was happening during the lecture. His mind would be somewhere else and it would just be a waste of time. Honestly, Skylar had no time to waste. He needed to get some supplies before the full moon tonight. He wanted to be prepared for this. The last thing he needed was to mess everything up and fail.
Failure wasn’t something he could survive. His brother needed him. Tyler needed Skylar to do this spell perfectly. And Skylar wasn’t going to let his brother down. Not again.