chapter 28- Tats for the strange

"Why do we have to meet in this shabby shop? It reeks of mold. You know I have better things to do," Ellie complained as she entered through the back door, leading to the hallway connected to the abandoned dollar store's front entrance.

"Like you actually have anything better to do. You don't even make an effort with your so-called friends," Maddie retorted.

"No, you're wrong! I do invite my friends, I just don't invite you because they don't like you either," Ellie shot back.

"What?!" Maddie screamed, outraged.

"Shut up," Khaza said wearily from behind his face mask and multiple layered jumpers.

"You warm enough there, mate?" Tommy quipped.

I watched as the rest of the group made their way to the assigned meeting location. Maddie had insisted we all urgently convene here. At first, everyone responded with confusion or claims of being too busy. Even Khaza questioned "Who the fuck is this?"

But we texted them that it was extremely important and whoever came first would get $20. These money-hoarding greedy bastards...

"Look, we brought you all here today to discuss an important matter," I began, exhausted from last night's vivid dream. "You all got dragged into some roleplaying game by an evil outer god, where you fight to the death."

"No, no no WAIT!" Maddie shouted. "James, shhhh. You can't just blurt it out like that, you've got to ease into it smoothly."

"Oh, I thought it was just a dream, but seems it wasn't. Well fuck me, we truly are cursed then," Khaza said with a sniffle. 

"Wait, we're cursed? What do you mean, like some voodoo shit? Trust me, I don't mess with satanic stuff, unless you count that one time I walked past a homeless guy without paying him or even looking at him. Yeah, I felt bad, but he didn't need to curse me, right? I'm not in the wrong here...reasonable, my actions are reasonable, you understand?" Ellie babbled nervously, looking like she might have a heart attack.

"No, no no, listen - we're not being punished for karmic debts built over our lives," Maddie tried to reassure them, but everyone froze.

"Maybe I did...not flush once on an airplane? Oh shit, maybe we are paying for sins we've committed," Tommy wondered aloud.

"Okay, enough dicking around. Now, Maddie made a gift for you all - we have red ribbons and blue ribbons. We'll separate into two groups. Nobody freak out, we're just categorizing what's best. Tommy, Ellie, and Max..."

"It's Maxwell."

"Shut up. I need you three to tie the red ribbons around your arms. Don't worry, it's not what you think, definitely not what you think. Once that's done, the rest will do the same but with blue ribbons," I instructed.

As the gang split into the two color-coded groups, I continued:

"The reason is - the reds are the ones without any memories. You're confused, unsure. But we get it, don't be shy about it, embrace your ignorance. Because if I was in your position, I'd want to live life to the fullest right now."

"Maddie...what does he mean? Maddie, why aren't you responding? What does he mean?" Ellie asked frantically.

"Maddie, Khaza and I have been blessed with the shitty privilege of remembering - getting bit, scratched, clawed and jumped by creatures from your worst nightmares. Shocking, isn't it?"

"No." That single word silenced me as the rest of the group looked on in confusion. It came from Ellie.

"I mean, when I was a child, I had dreams of creatures doing the same things you described. I'm no expert on this, but at least I know where you're coming from," Ellie said somberly.

A heavy pause hung in the air.

"Wait...you had visions of this before?" Maddie asked, stunned.

"Yeah, I thought I was cursed. Mother freaked out, you know how Christian families are with this occult stuff - illusions, bad mental health, it only got worse. I was the only one then, but it seems like it spread."

"Are you saying you spread this dream disease around the school, and it's all your fault?" Khaza accused sharply.

"Whoa there, mate. You can't blame all our misfortunes on one girl," I interjected.

"She might've robbed us of the only chance at a normal life, ended it all. Don't any of you understand? What we saw, that nightmarish shit - it's traumatizing! I doubt I'll be able to sleep at night now," Khaza ranted, spiraling.

"You're right, since we might get pulled back into that place again, even tonight," Maddie said.

"Maddie, not now. We're all confused, questions piling up. What's best is that we band together. Remembering or not, we're all part of this. We need to work together, especially you Maddie, and you too Khaza. We need you both. Are you in or are you out?"

"I...I don't know," Khaza wavered.

"Khaza Smith, are you in or out?" I pressed firmly.

"Fine, I'm in." He extended his hand outward.

"What are you doing, mate?" Maxwell asked, voicing everyone's confusion.

"For fuck's sake, it's to represent if you're in or not. You've never had enough friends to do a little ceremonial celebration?" Khaza snapped.

I smiled wryly and placed my hand over his. "If I get sick from you, I'm punching you."

Though usually silent around strangers, Tommy wasn't too shy to join our impromptu group ritual. He added his hand, understanding my look - we were both unsure about the situation, but had each other's backs. If I agreed, he would too.

Maddie joined in without hesitation. "Shotgun not being the leader."

"I'm not," I countered.

"I vote James as leader," Ellie declared, putting her hand in.

"I have better things to do, but I also vote James as leader. Always thought he'd make a good coach," Maxwell said as he joined the circle.

"Alright then, on three - one, two, thre-"

Before we could complete the chant, a strange phenomenon appeared on our bodies, more specifically our hands. Radiant tattoo-like symbols manifested across our skin.