HOME | DD

Description
  At high noon, the sun beat down on the red Volkswagen roof, shining through the windshield and making the rust around the rims sparkles like red, speckled glitter. Out of the passenger window, a flow of blond hair rippled in the breeze as a short arm reached out to feel the corn fields through slender fingers. Dirt kicked up and floated into the sky as the tires spun, kicking up rocks along the way. The little hand danced in the wind as the car trucked along the old dirt road towards the rickety, wood paneled house.

As the car slowed to a stop, a short teenager stepped onto the gravel driveway. Her black skater shoes sank into the stones as she slammed the rusty, red door shut and made her way to the porch. Chelsie smiled ear-to-ear, her big, brown eyes danced along every corner of her favourite weekend spot. Everything had remained the same over the years since she had last visited. The tire swing swayed in the light breeze, inviting her to climb on, the porch still creaked under her weight as she climbed up the wooden steps, and the green door still had the duck shaped welcome sign hanging from the window. Her grandmother had not changed a thing.

  "Chels! Come get your bag, please!"
  Ann, Chelsie's grandmother, called from the car. Her white hair was tied in a tight braid down her back, and her old jeans looked thread bare as she bent into the back seat to grab the groceries and her suitcase.

Chelsie ran down the steps and jumped in the back seat to help her grandmother, hauling out a bag of groceries along with her back pack. As they started to climb the front porch steps, the thick, green door creaked open to reveal a small, plump, balding man. He looked like he had been working in the fields all day with dirty, grass stained coveralls and the worst case of farmer's tan Chelsie had ever seen, but Ann smiled brightly when she spotted him.

"Daniel! I didn't know you would be here," Ann chuckled as she hugged the stranger tightly. Chelsie looked on in confusion as the mysterious man opened the door wide for them to bring in their things.

  "Chels, this is Daniel. He's an old friend of your uncles' and stops by to help every once and a while. Daniel, this is Chelsie, my granddaughter,"

  Chelsie reached out and shook Daniel's hand, which was sweat soaked and filthy. When no one was watching her, she wiped her hand along the thigh of her jeans. Daniel hauled the many bags of groceries into the kitchen as Chelsie plopped onto her favourite childhood spot; the old, blue, corduroy couch along the far wall, over-looking the fields outside. She closed her eyes and remembered back to when she was younger, waking up from afternoon dozes, counting the roses on the old, blue rug, racing over the worn in hardwood floors with her Barbie car; those were the best years of her life.

As Chelsie started to doze off, she was startled awake by the slamming of the front door. She sat up and saw a very tall, muscular boy taking his shoes off in the front hall. Chelsie watched him with peaked interest as the boy's sweat soaked hair fell into his eyes, and his white shirt, stained with dirt and dust, clung to him like a second skin.

"Dad? The back porch is fixed," the boy called out, heading towards the kitchen. "Who's car is outside?"

Chelsie listened to Daniel introduce Ann to his son, and heard all three pairs of feet head her way, Chelsie leaped off the couch to grab her suitcase and began to dig for her mirror. She quickly smoothed out her hair and wiped away the access eyeliner from under her eyes before they all entered the room.

"Chels? Have you met Daniel's son?" Ann walked into the living room to find Chelsie lounging coolly on the couch. The boy towered over everyone behind his father, and smiled down at Chelsie as she stood up to shake his hand.

"I'm Tristan," the boy revealed, squeezing Chelsie's hand gently. His black eyes gleamed down at her as he grinned, his hair falling across his forehead and into the corner of his eyes in a sweaty mess.

"I'm Chelsie," Chelsie croaked in response, and quickly cleared her throat, turning bright red with embarrassment. "Sorry I seem to be thirsty. Excuse me a moment,"

Chelsie brushed past Tristan and headed into the kitchen. Pouring herself a glass of water, she wanted to bash her head into the sink by the time her grandmother walked in after her.

"He's 18, a high school graduate, and single," Ann grinned across the kitchen at Chelsie, who spit out her water and coughed deeply.

"Nana! I am not interested in Tristan!" Chelsie blushed as she spoke, hoping she could blame it on the coughing.

"If you weren't, you wouldn't have spit out your water, and you wouldn't be redder than a tomato right now,"

Chelsie wanted to crawl into a hole and die as her grandmother teased her, hoping she wouldn't tell Tristan of her little crush.

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  Everyone got ready for bed early after dinner, and Chelsie couldn't wait to be out of her grandmother's teasing stare. She crawled under the covers of her bed and began to fall asleep. She dozed with thoughts of Tristan in her head, and fell into a deep sleep with a smile across her lips.

At 4am, she was awoken by the slamming of car doors and people shushing each other. She crept to her window and watched a group of people dressed in all black head towards the cellar door and climb down inside, using flashlights to guide their way. She squinted her eyes and saw Daniel entering last, closing the doors behind him. Curiosity got the best of her, and she grabbed her flashlight, creeping down the old stairs and avoiding every creaky spot.

In just her pajama pants and a tank, Chelsie crept along the side of the house in her bare feet and peeked through the crack of the cellar doors, which were now glowing with dim candle light. From inside, she could hear low chanting, and she could smell incense and the sour smell of blood. She was just about to open the cellar door to see what was going on when she felt a strong hand grasp her wrist and pull her away.

Chelsie turned and whipped her arm away, seeing Tristan standing in front of her. She stood up to him, her shoulders back and looking as tough as she could.

"What did you grab me for? This is my grandmother's house. I have every right to know what's going on in there," Chelsie frowned at Tristan. His dark hair shone in the light of the moon as he signed and shook his head.

"You can't go in during a ceremony. Do you want to let them out?"
  Chelsie looked up at him, confused and not sure if she wanted to know what as going on.

"Let what out?"
  "The Demons."
  Tristan pulled Chelsie away from the house and into the corn fields as he explained that his father and her uncles have been using the cellar as a demonic place of worship for the past few years. Chelsie listened with wide eyes as Tristan explained what was going on, wondering how he knew all of this.

"I was a curious 16-year-old too. My dad caught me peeking and explained everything, but I have never seen the cellar."

"I'm looking in the morning," Chelsie said and turned back towards the house. Before she could get to far, Tristan grabbed her arm.
  "You can't do that,"
  "I can't???" Chelsie hissed, whipping her arm out of his grasp again. "I can do what I please. This is my family's house. You're either coming with me or not by either way, you're not saying a word," Chelsie turned again and started towards the house as Daniels guests exited the cellar. She shrunk back amongst the corn stalks , watching them intently. Tristan appeared beside her and crouched down, waiting for everyone to drive away, and was the first to step out into the opening. He motioned for Chelsie, and they both ran for the house. As he looked for her to join him on the front porch, he was shocked to see her climbing the side of the house, skimming up with the precision of a pro, and jumping into her bedroom window. Tristan smiled as he watched, then headed for the front door.

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  The next morning, Chelsie awoke ready and set on seeing what she could find in that cellar. She put on her most comfortable jeans. A black tank and her favourite black skater shoes and headed downstairs. Her grandmother was cooking breakfast in the kitchen and out of the window, she could see Tristan and Daniel working on their truck in the driveway. She lingered for a second longer than she should, hoping Tristan would notice her watching him and turn around, but the moment never happened and soon, Ann called Chelsie into the kitchen to help cook.

"Do me a favour and get the peanut butter out of the top cabinet," Ann instructed and shoved a step stool over towards the counter top. "My bones aren't as good as yours, sweetie."

Chelsie climbed onto the counter without the stool and stood up. At 4'7" tall, she was smaller than most girls her age, but got the jar easily and jumped off the counter, leaving black scuffs on the linoleum floor. Ann scowled at her to be more careful as she took the jar and slathered the sticky spread on her pile of toast as Chelsie walked towards the front door.

"Do me another favour before you go outside, Chelsie?" She stopped dead and turned to face her grandmother at the entrance to the doorway and waited, looking at her for any sign of Ann knowing about her plan to go into the cellar."Call Daniel and Tristan in for breakfast for me while I set the table? Are you eating with us?"

Chelsie looked at her grandmother and smiled. She had not heard the commotion last night, nor did she know of her plan to see the hidden place of worship with Tristan.

"Of course I am, Nana. I'm starving. I'll be right back with the guys," Chelsie skipped away quickly and called in the men, who were covered in grease and dirt. She instructed them to wash their hands and headed back into the kitchen to help her grandmother.

  The stories around the kitchen table that morning were filled with laughter and reminiscing on past events with Ann and Daniel as Tristan and Chelsie watched with smiles on their faces. The way Ann seemed to go on about her boys when they were young reminded her of her own family life. With three brothers at home with her mom and her dad, she felt lucky to be able to spend the alone time with her grandmother. She missed her family whenever she came here when she was younger, but always enjoyed the quality time she shared with Ann each summer, and missed it when she started high school and seemed too busy to be with the woman who was the closest to her heart. In the last year, after losing her grandfather, she realized that family means more to her than anything ever could, and looking at her grandmother now, smiling and laughing with her sons' friend, she seemed to look like the woman she was before she lost the man in her life.

  "So kids, what do you have planned for today?" Daniel smiled at the two youngest people at the table with glee as he asked, shoving a peanut butter filled piece of toast into his mouth with undying hunger.

  "I'm going to show Chelsie around the neighbourhood," Tristan spoke up, covering for the original plan. "I heard it was a while since she has seen it all and some has changed. Thought it would be fun."

  Chelsie smiled at her grandmother and Daniel as she took a bite out of her apple. She was never a good liar and decided to just not say anything else to add to the story, otherwise she would blow their cover. After they had all finished eating, Tristan and Chelsie excused themselves and headed out to Daniel's truck.

  "We'll just park this down the street and run back so they think we're gone," Tristan said, looking backwards as he pulled out of the driveway. "Are you sure you want to go in there? It seems like a bad idea to me. I don't want to get involved in something we can't get out of."

  Chelsie inhaled deeply and held her breath, scared of the things she was about to witness in the cellar of the house her grandparents used to share. The exact same house her mother grew up in.

  "I'm sure. I need to know what my uncles have been up to in my grandmother's house. I owe her the explanation if we find anything really horrible."

  The car was parked a block and a half away in the driveway of the abandoned house next door. The house was beaten down, just a door and 3 broken down walls as Tristan and Chelsie ran past it into the corn fields. He led the way, knowing these fields more than Chelsie ever did as a child, and grabbed her hand to make her hurry. The corn stalks, dry and brittle, hit her body and face, causing several light cuts and scrapes as they ran through the dense fields. The sun was high up now, and the ground was rock hard under their feet, as they made their way back to the rickety, old house that Chelsie loved so much.

  Tristan stopped at the edge, where he and Chelsie had looked upon the guests leaving the night before and let Chelsie catch her breath. She was breathing heavily after trying to catch up to Tristan, and felt like she had just run a marathon through the Sahara Desert.

  "You ready?" Tristan looked down at her with a look of sheer determination as she stood next to him, staring at the cellar doors like they were about to fly open and beasts were going to come attack her. She looked at him and nodded. Afraid to let him hear the fear in her voice, and they both trotted up to the doors.

  He pulled open the door, it creaked with a low resistance as he pulled out a flashlight and led Chelsie inside. Each step they took was followed by a low thudding sound as Tristan's work boots hit hard on the stone steps. Chelsie held her breath as the after stench of old incense and what smelled like old blood hit her hard in the face. She could barely see anything as the flashlight hit certain areas of the cellar.

  "Wait here. Don't move," Tristan whispered to her and went to find the light switch, located in the centre of the room. He pulled the string and an old light bulb flickered to life, leaving Chelsie slightly blinded.

  "Oh my God," Tristan exclaimed. He sounded breathless in Chelsie's ear, as she still had her eyes closed. She opened them slowly and inhaled sharply by the sight she saw.

  In the centre of the wood paneled floor, where Tristan stood, was a humongous pentagram drawn in white chalk. It covered more than three quarters of the floor and had twelve high-backed wood chairs surrounding it. There was a table in the centre of the pentagram that was covered in blood with a knife and a pig's head still on top, and the walls, painted a midnight black, had shelves covered with books surrounding the satanic rituals that were being practiced. In the corners of the room, Chelsie noticed 4 candelabras, each with five long, black candles stuck inside the holders. The smell of the decaying pig flooded Tristan and Chelsie's noses as they made their way around the room, covering their faces with their hands. Chelsie made her way over to the book shelf, her eye catching a glimpse of a book that was sat on top. As she opened it, Tristan eyed her carefully.

  "Hey." He called to her in a warning tone. He looked frightened to be anywhere near here, and looked just as small as she in the stuffy room. "Don't do anything stupid now, alright? We should go."

  "'And to Hades. I call down to you. I release you from your cage and unto us, your loyal servants,'" Chelsie read aloud. She looked at Tristan with a look of pure fear as she stopped reading. He started walking towards her when suddenly, the candles in the far corners of the room flicked to life on their own, making him stop and spin around, looking for the source of the new light. The other candles burst to life, their flames rising up bigger than Chelsie had ever seen. Tristan grabbed Chelsie's hand and ran for the cellar door, just making it out as it slammed shut, almost locking them inside.

  "Why did you do that??" Tristan screamed at her, looking down at her as tears sprang into her eyes. Before she had time to answer, the doors of the cellar sprang open by wind that came from nowhere. Tristan looked down at Chelsie's hand and saw that she still clutched the book from the shelf. He pulled her into the house as the sky got dark, and locked the door.

  Ann and Daniel walked out of the kitchen, startled by the sound of the slamming door.
  "What is going on out here?" Ann asked, startled and annoyed at the noise and disrespect of her door. "What's the matter? You both look terrified. What happened?"

  Tristan grabbed the book from Chelsie and threw it at his father, looking down at him with more rage than he had ever expressed before.

  "Ask him," Tristan growled as the book cover flew open and pages turned on its own. Wind filled the house as Chelsie clung to her grandmother's sweater, feeling like a child again as she watched the pages stop on a photo of what looked like a cloud of demons. Daniel looked at Tristan with a look of pure agony as he picked up the book, attempting to close it, but failing miserably.

  "What were you doing in the cellar? I told you to never go in there!" Daniel roared back at Tristan. The house groaned and shook under their feet, the walls cracking and splintering as the wind in the house got stronger.

  "Someone better tell me what's happening to my house!" Ann screamed over the groans and wind, looking at Daniel as he stared down his son. Ann clung to Chelsie as if her life depended on it as Daniel explained.

  "Six years ago, Andrew brought in a clan of people from a cult he joined. I joined after hearing the benefits of it. I wanted to make a better home for my son. When I joined and accepted Satan, my life got better and so did Tristan's. It was Andrew's idea to use your cellar Ann, not mine. I'm sorry. I just did it for my family."

  Ann was shocked hearing her youngest son was the ring leader as her house fell apart. The front door flew off and dark, ghost like shapes entered through the hole the door left behind. Tristan instinctively grabbed Chelsie and ran for the back of the house as Daniel stood there, taking a verbal beat down from Ann. Tristan pulled Chelsie outside as the front of the house completely flew off into the driveway. Chelsie pulled her arm away and made an attempt back for the house, but Tristan grabbed her again.

  "Will you let me go?!" Chelsie screamed and yanked hard, almost dislocating her arm as she fled back into the house. She saw her grandmother inside, still yelling over the commotion of the atmosphere. Chelsie grabbed her grandmother and shook her back to reality, watching as the shadows creeped over Daniel in shock as Chelsie pulled her away. Daniel didn't move as both girls fled to the back of the house. The back stairs had caved in, so Tristan helped them both down and they made a run for it through the corn fields to where he had stashed the car.

  Ann fell half way there, struggling to keep up with the two teenagers who had much more energy than her. Tristan ran back for her, hoisting her up in his arms and continued to run as he heard his father's screams in the shadowed house. They got to the truck and watched from a safe distance as the house pulled itself apart, leaving nothing but a concrete block behind. Ann felt her heart stop in her chest as she watched the house her husband had helped build, the house she had raised all six of her children in, tumble to the ground and disappear before her eyes, leaving nothing but a shell of what she used to call her home. Tristan drove away from the scene, kicking up rocks and dirt as he sped towards the highway, not once looking back for his father.

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  The sun beat down on Chelsie's skin as she and her mother lounged in their back yard. Getting her back-to-school tan was going to be easy with this weather. It had been 2 months since the incident at her grandmother's weekend house, and as the nightmares started to erase themselves from Chelsie's mind, she was thankful to have her grandmother out safely. Chelsie got up from her towel, leaving her mother there to doze for a little while and headed into the air conditioned house. Her grandmother was in the kitchen, cooking a lunch as Tristan watched on with curiosity. When he saw Chelsie, he looked up and smiled, and followed her into the living room as she motioned for him to follow.

  They sat on the couch and he snuck a peck on her lips as no one was looking. Chelsie threw her legs across his as she watched her little brother out in the front yard running through the sprinkler with friends.

  "Can I ask you something?" Tristan asked wistfully. He was looking out the window with her as he asked, and she looked at him and waited for his question.

  "Why did you go back in when I grabbed you and took you outside?"

  Chelsie smiled at him and looked down at his hand and grabbed it, interlocking her fingers with his.

  "Because she's family, and family means everything to me. Nana is one of the biggest influences in my life and if she wasn't coming out on her own, I had to go in after her. She would have done the same for me. That's how we always have been," Chelsie watched her brother play as Tristan watched her, admiring her honesty. Without saying a word, he kissed the back of her hand and they sat in silence and watched the summer afternoon slip away.

  "Hey! Lunch time everyone!" Ann called from the kitchen. Everyone gathered at the kitchen table, Charlie was soaking wet from the sprinkler, Chelsie's mom had a nice red tinge to her bronze skin, and Tristan had a small smile on his face as Chelsie sat next time him. The newly joined family all enjoyed the last lunch of summer break together in the kitchen, making more memories with each passing minute.

~Crissy. D

Description
  At high noon, the sun beat down on the red Volkswagen roof, shining through the windshield and making the rust around the rims sparkles like red, speckled glitter. Out of the passenger window, a flow of blond hair rippled in the breeze as a short arm reached out to feel the corn fields through slender fingers. Dirt kicked up and floated into the sky as the tires spun, kicking up rocks along the way. The little hand danced in the wind as the car trucked along the old dirt road towards the rickety, wood paneled house.

As the car slowed to a stop, a short teenager stepped onto the gravel driveway. Her black skater shoes sank into the stones as she slammed the rusty, red door shut and made her way to the porch. Chelsie smiled ear-to-ear, her big, brown eyes danced along every corner of her favourite weekend spot. Everything had remained the same over the years since she had last visited. The tire swing swayed in the light breeze, inviting her to climb on, the porch still creaked under her weight as she climbed up the wooden steps, and the green door still had the duck shaped welcome sign hanging from the window. Her grandmother had not changed a thing.

  "Chels! Come get your bag, please!"
  Ann, Chelsie's grandmother, called from the car. Her white hair was tied in a tight braid down her back, and her old jeans looked thread bare as she bent into the back seat to grab the groceries and her suitcase.

Chelsie ran down the steps and jumped in the back seat to help her grandmother, hauling out a bag of groceries along with her back pack. As they started to climb the front porch steps, the thick, green door creaked open to reveal a small, plump, balding man. He looked like he had been working in the fields all day with dirty, grass stained coveralls and the worst case of farmer's tan Chelsie had ever seen, but Ann smiled brightly when she spotted him.

"Daniel! I didn't know you would be here," Ann chuckled as she hugged the stranger tightly. Chelsie looked on in confusion as the mysterious man opened the door wide for them to bring in their things.

  "Chels, this is Daniel. He's an old friend of your uncles' and stops by to help every once and a while. Daniel, this is Chelsie, my granddaughter,"

  Chelsie reached out and shook Daniel's hand, which was sweat soaked and filthy. When no one was watching her, she wiped her hand along the thigh of her jeans. Daniel hauled the many bags of groceries into the kitchen as Chelsie plopped onto her favourite childhood spot; the old, blue, corduroy couch along the far wall, over-looking the fields outside. She closed her eyes and remembered back to when she was younger, waking up from afternoon dozes, counting the roses on the old, blue rug, racing over the worn in hardwood floors with her Barbie car; those were the best years of her life.

As Chelsie started to doze off, she was startled awake by the slamming of the front door. She sat up and saw a very tall, muscular boy taking his shoes off in the front hall. Chelsie watched him with peaked interest as the boy's sweat soaked hair fell into his eyes, and his white shirt, stained with dirt and dust, clung to him like a second skin.

"Dad? The back porch is fixed," the boy called out, heading towards the kitchen. "Who's car is outside?"

Chelsie listened to Daniel introduce Ann to his son, and heard all three pairs of feet head her way, Chelsie leaped off the couch to grab her suitcase and began to dig for her mirror. She quickly smoothed out her hair and wiped away the access eyeliner from under her eyes before they all entered the room.

"Chels? Have you met Daniel's son?" Ann walked into the living room to find Chelsie lounging coolly on the couch. The boy towered over everyone behind his father, and smiled down at Chelsie as she stood up to shake his hand.

"I'm Tristan," the boy revealed, squeezing Chelsie's hand gently. His black eyes gleamed down at her as he grinned, his hair falling across his forehead and into the corner of his eyes in a sweaty mess.

"I'm Chelsie," Chelsie croaked in response, and quickly cleared her throat, turning bright red with embarrassment. "Sorry I seem to be thirsty. Excuse me a moment,"

Chelsie brushed past Tristan and headed into the kitchen. Pouring herself a glass of water, she wanted to bash her head into the sink by the time her grandmother walked in after her.

"He's 18, a high school graduate, and single," Ann grinned across the kitchen at Chelsie, who spit out her water and coughed deeply.

"Nana! I am not interested in Tristan!" Chelsie blushed as she spoke, hoping she could blame it on the coughing.

"If you weren't, you wouldn't have spit out your water, and you wouldn't be redder than a tomato right now,"

Chelsie wanted to crawl into a hole and die as her grandmother teased her, hoping she wouldn't tell Tristan of her little crush.

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  Everyone got ready for bed early after dinner, and Chelsie couldn't wait to be out of her grandmother's teasing stare. She crawled under the covers of her bed and began to fall asleep. She dozed with thoughts of Tristan in her head, and fell into a deep sleep with a smile across her lips.

At 4am, she was awoken by the slamming of car doors and people shushing each other. She crept to her window and watched a group of people dressed in all black head towards the cellar door and climb down inside, using flashlights to guide their way. She squinted her eyes and saw Daniel entering last, closing the doors behind him. Curiosity got the best of her, and she grabbed her flashlight, creeping down the old stairs and avoiding every creaky spot.

In just her pajama pants and a tank, Chelsie crept along the side of the house in her bare feet and peeked through the crack of the cellar doors, which were now glowing with dim candle light. From inside, she could hear low chanting, and she could smell incense and the sour smell of blood. She was just about to open the cellar door to see what was going on when she felt a strong hand grasp her wrist and pull her away.

Chelsie turned and whipped her arm away, seeing Tristan standing in front of her. She stood up to him, her shoulders back and looking as tough as she could.

"What did you grab me for? This is my grandmother's house. I have every right to know what's going on in there," Chelsie frowned at Tristan. His dark hair shone in the light of the moon as he signed and shook his head.

"You can't go in during a ceremony. Do you want to let them out?"
  Chelsie looked up at him, confused and not sure if she wanted to know what as going on.

"Let what out?"
  "The Demons."
  Tristan pulled Chelsie away from the house and into the corn fields as he explained that his father and her uncles have been using the cellar as a demonic place of worship for the past few years. Chelsie listened with wide eyes as Tristan explained what was going on, wondering how he knew all of this.

"I was a curious 16-year-old too. My dad caught me peeking and explained everything, but I have never seen the cellar."

"I'm looking in the morning," Chelsie said and turned back towards the house. Before she could get to far, Tristan grabbed her arm.
  "You can't do that,"
  "I can't???" Chelsie hissed, whipping her arm out of his grasp again. "I can do what I please. This is my family's house. You're either coming with me or not by either way, you're not saying a word," Chelsie turned again and started towards the house as Daniels guests exited the cellar. She shrunk back amongst the corn stalks , watching them intently. Tristan appeared beside her and crouched down, waiting for everyone to drive away, and was the first to step out into the opening. He motioned for Chelsie, and they both ran for the house. As he looked for her to join him on the front porch, he was shocked to see her climbing the side of the house, skimming up with the precision of a pro, and jumping into her bedroom window. Tristan smiled as he watched, then headed for the front door.

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  The next morning, Chelsie awoke ready and set on seeing what she could find in that cellar. She put on her most comfortable jeans. A black tank and her favourite black skater shoes and headed downstairs. Her grandmother was cooking breakfast in the kitchen and out of the window, she could see Tristan and Daniel working on their truck in the driveway. She lingered for a second longer than she should, hoping Tristan would notice her watching him and turn around, but the moment never happened and soon, Ann called Chelsie into the kitchen to help cook.

"Do me a favour and get the peanut butter out of the top cabinet," Ann instructed and shoved a step stool over towards the counter top. "My bones aren't as good as yours, sweetie."

Chelsie climbed onto the counter without the stool and stood up. At 4'7" tall, she was smaller than most girls her age, but got the jar easily and jumped off the counter, leaving black scuffs on the linoleum floor. Ann scowled at her to be more careful as she took the jar and slathered the sticky spread on her pile of toast as Chelsie walked towards the front door.

"Do me another favour before you go outside, Chelsie?" She stopped dead and turned to face her grandmother at the entrance to the doorway and waited, looking at her for any sign of Ann knowing about her plan to go into the cellar."Call Daniel and Tristan in for breakfast for me while I set the table? Are you eating with us?"

Chelsie looked at her grandmother and smiled. She had not heard the commotion last night, nor did she know of her plan to see the hidden place of worship with Tristan.

"Of course I am, Nana. I'm starving. I'll be right back with the guys," Chelsie skipped away quickly and called in the men, who were covered in grease and dirt. She instructed them to wash their hands and headed back into the kitchen to help her grandmother.

  The stories around the kitchen table that morning were filled with laughter and reminiscing on past events with Ann and Daniel as Tristan and Chelsie watched with smiles on their faces. The way Ann seemed to go on about her boys when they were young reminded her of her own family life. With three brothers at home with her mom and her dad, she felt lucky to be able to spend the alone time with her grandmother. She missed her family whenever she came here when she was younger, but always enjoyed the quality time she shared with Ann each summer, and missed it when she started high school and seemed too busy to be with the woman who was the closest to her heart. In the last year, after losing her grandfather, she realized that family means more to her than anything ever could, and looking at her grandmother now, smiling and laughing with her sons' friend, she seemed to look like the woman she was before she lost the man in her life.

  "So kids, what do you have planned for today?" Daniel smiled at the two youngest people at the table with glee as he asked, shoving a peanut butter filled piece of toast into his mouth with undying hunger.

  "I'm going to show Chelsie around the neighbourhood," Tristan spoke up, covering for the original plan. "I heard it was a while since she has seen it all and some has changed. Thought it would be fun."

  Chelsie smiled at her grandmother and Daniel as she took a bite out of her apple. She was never a good liar and decided to just not say anything else to add to the story, otherwise she would blow their cover. After they had all finished eating, Tristan and Chelsie excused themselves and headed out to Daniel's truck.

  "We'll just park this down the street and run back so they think we're gone," Tristan said, looking backwards as he pulled out of the driveway. "Are you sure you want to go in there? It seems like a bad idea to me. I don't want to get involved in something we can't get out of."

  Chelsie inhaled deeply and held her breath, scared of the things she was about to witness in the cellar of the house her grandparents used to share. The exact same house her mother grew up in.

  "I'm sure. I need to know what my uncles have been up to in my grandmother's house. I owe her the explanation if we find anything really horrible."

  The car was parked a block and a half away in the driveway of the abandoned house next door. The house was beaten down, just a door and 3 broken down walls as Tristan and Chelsie ran past it into the corn fields. He led the way, knowing these fields more than Chelsie ever did as a child, and grabbed her hand to make her hurry. The corn stalks, dry and brittle, hit her body and face, causing several light cuts and scrapes as they ran through the dense fields. The sun was high up now, and the ground was rock hard under their feet, as they made their way back to the rickety, old house that Chelsie loved so much.

  Tristan stopped at the edge, where he and Chelsie had looked upon the guests leaving the night before and let Chelsie catch her breath. She was breathing heavily after trying to catch up to Tristan, and felt like she had just run a marathon through the Sahara Desert.

  "You ready?" Tristan looked down at her with a look of sheer determination as she stood next to him, staring at the cellar doors like they were about to fly open and beasts were going to come attack her. She looked at him and nodded. Afraid to let him hear the fear in her voice, and they both trotted up to the doors.

  He pulled open the door, it creaked with a low resistance as he pulled out a flashlight and led Chelsie inside. Each step they took was followed by a low thudding sound as Tristan's work boots hit hard on the stone steps. Chelsie held her breath as the after stench of old incense and what smelled like old blood hit her hard in the face. She could barely see anything as the flashlight hit certain areas of the cellar.

  "Wait here. Don't move," Tristan whispered to her and went to find the light switch, located in the centre of the room. He pulled the string and an old light bulb flickered to life, leaving Chelsie slightly blinded.

  "Oh my God," Tristan exclaimed. He sounded breathless in Chelsie's ear, as she still had her eyes closed. She opened them slowly and inhaled sharply by the sight she saw.

  In the centre of the wood paneled floor, where Tristan stood, was a humongous pentagram drawn in white chalk. It covered more than three quarters of the floor and had twelve high-backed wood chairs surrounding it. There was a table in the centre of the pentagram that was covered in blood with a knife and a pig's head still on top, and the walls, painted a midnight black, had shelves covered with books surrounding the satanic rituals that were being practiced. In the corners of the room, Chelsie noticed 4 candelabras, each with five long, black candles stuck inside the holders. The smell of the decaying pig flooded Tristan and Chelsie's noses as they made their way around the room, covering their faces with their hands. Chelsie made her way over to the book shelf, her eye catching a glimpse of a book that was sat on top. As she opened it, Tristan eyed her carefully.

  "Hey." He called to her in a warning tone. He looked frightened to be anywhere near here, and looked just as small as she in the stuffy room. "Don't do anything stupid now, alright? We should go."

  "'And to Hades. I call down to you. I release you from your cage and unto us, your loyal servants,'" Chelsie read aloud. She looked at Tristan with a look of pure fear as she stopped reading. He started walking towards her when suddenly, the candles in the far corners of the room flicked to life on their own, making him stop and spin around, looking for the source of the new light. The other candles burst to life, their flames rising up bigger than Chelsie had ever seen. Tristan grabbed Chelsie's hand and ran for the cellar door, just making it out as it slammed shut, almost locking them inside.

  "Why did you do that??" Tristan screamed at her, looking down at her as tears sprang into her eyes. Before she had time to answer, the doors of the cellar sprang open by wind that came from nowhere. Tristan looked down at Chelsie's hand and saw that she still clutched the book from the shelf. He pulled her into the house as the sky got dark, and locked the door.

  Ann and Daniel walked out of the kitchen, startled by the sound of the slamming door.
  "What is going on out here?" Ann asked, startled and annoyed at the noise and disrespect of her door. "What's the matter? You both look terrified. What happened?"

  Tristan grabbed the book from Chelsie and threw it at his father, looking down at him with more rage than he had ever expressed before.

  "Ask him," Tristan growled as the book cover flew open and pages turned on its own. Wind filled the house as Chelsie clung to her grandmother's sweater, feeling like a child again as she watched the pages stop on a photo of what looked like a cloud of demons. Daniel looked at Tristan with a look of pure agony as he picked up the book, attempting to close it, but failing miserably.

  "What were you doing in the cellar? I told you to never go in there!" Daniel roared back at Tristan. The house groaned and shook under their feet, the walls cracking and splintering as the wind in the house got stronger.

  "Someone better tell me what's happening to my house!" Ann screamed over the groans and wind, looking at Daniel as he stared down his son. Ann clung to Chelsie as if her life depended on it as Daniel explained.

  "Six years ago, Andrew brought in a clan of people from a cult he joined. I joined after hearing the benefits of it. I wanted to make a better home for my son. When I joined and accepted Satan, my life got better and so did Tristan's. It was Andrew's idea to use your cellar Ann, not mine. I'm sorry. I just did it for my family."

  Ann was shocked hearing her youngest son was the ring leader as her house fell apart. The front door flew off and dark, ghost like shapes entered through the hole the door left behind. Tristan instinctively grabbed Chelsie and ran for the back of the house as Daniel stood there, taking a verbal beat down from Ann. Tristan pulled Chelsie outside as the front of the house completely flew off into the driveway. Chelsie pulled her arm away and made an attempt back for the house, but Tristan grabbed her again.

  "Will you let me go?!" Chelsie screamed and yanked hard, almost dislocating her arm as she fled back into the house. She saw her grandmother inside, still yelling over the commotion of the atmosphere. Chelsie grabbed her grandmother and shook her back to reality, watching as the shadows creeped over Daniel in shock as Chelsie pulled her away. Daniel didn't move as both girls fled to the back of the house. The back stairs had caved in, so Tristan helped them both down and they made a run for it through the corn fields to where he had stashed the car.

  Ann fell half way there, struggling to keep up with the two teenagers who had much more energy than her. Tristan ran back for her, hoisting her up in his arms and continued to run as he heard his father's screams in the shadowed house. They got to the truck and watched from a safe distance as the house pulled itself apart, leaving nothing but a concrete block behind. Ann felt her heart stop in her chest as she watched the house her husband had helped build, the house she had raised all six of her children in, tumble to the ground and disappear before her eyes, leaving nothing but a shell of what she used to call her home. Tristan drove away from the scene, kicking up rocks and dirt as he sped towards the highway, not once looking back for his father.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

  The sun beat down on Chelsie's skin as she and her mother lounged in their back yard. Getting her back-to-school tan was going to be easy with this weather. It had been 2 months since the incident at her grandmother's weekend house, and as the nightmares started to erase themselves from Chelsie's mind, she was thankful to have her grandmother out safely. Chelsie got up from her towel, leaving her mother there to doze for a little while and headed into the air conditioned house. Her grandmother was in the kitchen, cooking a lunch as Tristan watched on with curiosity. When he saw Chelsie, he looked up and smiled, and followed her into the living room as she motioned for him to follow.

  They sat on the couch and he snuck a peck on her lips as no one was looking. Chelsie threw her legs across his as she watched her little brother out in the front yard running through the sprinkler with friends.

  "Can I ask you something?" Tristan asked wistfully. He was looking out the window with her as he asked, and she looked at him and waited for his question.

  "Why did you go back in when I grabbed you and took you outside?"

  Chelsie smiled at him and looked down at his hand and grabbed it, interlocking her fingers with his.

  "Because she's family, and family means everything to me. Nana is one of the biggest influences in my life and if she wasn't coming out on her own, I had to go in after her. She would have done the same for me. That's how we always have been," Chelsie watched her brother play as Tristan watched her, admiring her honesty. Without saying a word, he kissed the back of her hand and they sat in silence and watched the summer afternoon slip away.

  "Hey! Lunch time everyone!" Ann called from the kitchen. Everyone gathered at the kitchen table, Charlie was soaking wet from the sprinkler, Chelsie's mom had a nice red tinge to her bronze skin, and Tristan had a small smile on his face as Chelsie sat next time him. The newly joined family all enjoyed the last lunch of summer break together in the kitchen, making more memories with each passing minute.

~Crissy. D