Celadon Scythe

Author's Note: This is my

Literotica Halloween Story Contest 2024

entry. I set out to write a dark, horror romance, but my characters refused to cooperate - especially the protagonist who turned out to be someone different than I had originally imagined. I appreciate anyone who checks it out and thank you for your time. I will enjoy exploring this world further if it finds some fans.

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Celadon Scythe

One

It was the first week of my sophomore year when I saw my first ghost. I'm not going to lie; I freaked way out - ask anyone living on the fourth floor of Shepherd Hall. The screaming brought a crowd to my room. Most were concerned; others were pissed I woke them up. The knocking on my door turned into pounding before I could pull myself together enough to open it. When the well-intention residence assistant saw me, she said "Emora, are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost." That's when I fainted.

I kept my mouth shut about what I had seen. I told everyone it was just a nightmare. The lie was embarrassing enough, but it was better than saying I had seen a ghost. My roommate acted uncomfortable around me and I knew people were talking behind my back. I even heard one guy laugh when I walked by as he told his buddies, "I hear she's a screamer." Alright, I admit that was funny, and more than just a little true.

The incident left my nerves frayed. I couldn't sleep and I avoided the dorm as much as I could. I had no interest in seeing whatever I had seen again. I had been enjoying my time at Celadon University, a private college in Eastern Wisconsin founded in 1852. It wasn't as well known as the colleges of the University of Wisconsin System, but acceptance standards at Celadon were high. It was a beautiful campus with gothic style buildings - many of them over a century old. Learning the campus was haunted changed my thoughts about my future at Celadon, though.

Maybe a change would be for the best. I didn't have the active social life I was hoping to find in college. I managed to go on a few dates during my first year and had a boyfriend most of the second semester. That was until he told me he thought we both could "use some space." What an asshole. Even I knew that was code for him wanting to sleep with other women. I looked on it as an opportunity for me to broaden my sexual horizons as well, but opportunities were proving elusive. I heard through the Celadon grapevine that my ex planned to get back together with me after he had played the field a while. I made up my mind I would under no circumstances date or sleep with him again. I was already regretting that stance since no crowd of men were throwing themselves at my feet to get me into the sack. Hell, I would have been satisfied with one guy tripping in my general direction.

I wanted to have fun, to experiment and get a little wild. Celadon University was much more sexually conservative than I had expected. Most of the guys that went here were super smart. There were probably diamonds in the rough under their geeky exterior, but so far, my search had been fruitless. There were a few jocks, too. Although I'm not sure you can use the term jock for someone who plays on a football team that went 2 and 10 each of the last two seasons.

Two

I met Maddie two days after I saw the ghost. I had spent the time trying to convince myself that it really had been a bad dream. I was studying under a tree on Cambos Hill when she sat in the shade near me and took out an Organic Chemistry textbook. I didn't think much of it at first. This was a popular place to catch some fall sun before the weather turned cold. "How are classes going?" she asked.

"I'm managing" I told her.

"The second year is easier than being a freshman," she said.

"I hope so," I replied. I should have known something was up when she knew I was a sophomore, but it seemed like an innocent enough comment. I took a moment to study her. She was small with dark hair and green eyes. The juxtaposition was striking. She was dressed in a black T-shirt, black jeans and black Doc Martens. If her goal was to look cool and nerdy with a bit of goth thrown in, she was nailing it. I was happy for the small talk. It had been a couple of days since I had a conversation with someone that didn't know about my late-night screaming incident.

"I'm Maddie," she said. "And this is Calvin." She pointed to a sandy blonde man standing a few feet away with his back to us. I hadn't noticed him. It was unnerving that the two of them were together, but he seemed disinterested in us, as if he were on the lookout for something.

I hesitated before answering. "Emora," I said.

"I know who you are" Maddie said.

"Oh. So, you're a stalker. Are you hitting on me?"

"No, nothing like that. Calvin and I are here to help you. We would rather not talk about it here where someone could hear us though," she said.

Maddie seemed friendly enough. Calvin looked nice. By that I mean his ass looked good in the jeans he was wearing. I still hadn't seen his face. I wasn't comfortable going anywhere with the two of them, however. "I appreciate that you want to, um, help me, but I'm not sure what you are talking about. I don't want to be rude, but I have studying to do, and I would like to get back to it."

"We know you saw something." It was Calvin who spoke this time.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said. But I had a strange feeling they knew I was lying.

"I think you do," Maddie said. "You can tell us about it. We promise to believe you. We may even have answers. Please, just fifteen minutes of your time. If you want us to leave you alone after that, we'll never bother you again. We can go into North Hall. There is a professor who will let us use his office."

I'm not sure what made me decide to go with them. It was probably the mention of them having answers since I had no idea what had really happened that night in my room. We climbed the stairs to the second floor of North Hall and came to a small, cluttered office. A thin, aged, mostly bald man sat behind the desk. I say aged because I feel like saying he was really fucking old seems rude. His long, hooked nose threw off his face's proportion. He stood when he saw Calvin in the doorway. "Could we borrow your office for ten minutes, Dr. Keil?" Calvin asked.

"Of course. I'll take a walk. Seems a nice day for it."

Who were these students who could kick a professor out of his office for an impromptu meeting? The way Dr. Keil shuffled from behind his desk and out of the office made me think he couldn't get too far in 10 minutes. He was by far the oldest professor I had ever seen. As he left the room, I thought I saw flickers of light behind him. They looked like orbs and were gone the moment he was in the hallway. I dismissed it as a trick of the light coming in from the office window.

There were two wooden chairs in front of the ancient looking desk. Maddie motioned for me to sit. She took the other. Calvin stood outside the door, still giving me the impression he was on the lookout for something.

"Is he on his way?" Maddie asked.

"I texted him. He said he would be here as soon as he could," Calvin replied from outside the door.

Before I could ask who was on his way, a man, presumably another student, walked into the office and took the professor's chair behind the desk. He wore khaki slacks and a pink plaid button-down short sleeved shirt. His hair was dark, like Maddie's, and was slicked back with gel. He struck me as incredibly handsome, although it was difficult to make a true assessment because he was wearing a pair of plastic framed dark sunglasses. The energy in the room changed once he showed up. He had my full attention.

"I won't waste your time," he said. "I know you saw something last week, so I have a few questions. I can only help you if you answer honestly, however."

"I have a question first. Who the hell are you? Who are all of you?" I asked.

"My name is Trent, and I get to ask the questions first."

I was beginning to dislike this guy hiding behind sunglasses. I decided it was arrogance that emanated from him, not energy. His stiff, almost formal way of talking was irritating, but damn he was good looking.

"Okay, I'll play along for now and answer your questions, but I'll walk out of here if I decide you are just three weirdos harassing me."

"That's fair. First question. Do you think you saw a ghost?" Trent asked.

I swallowed and hesitated before answering. "I don't know what I saw for sure, but yes, I think it was a ghost."

"Was it a man or woman?" Trent asked.

"Woman."

Tell me what you remember - what she looked like, what she was wearing or if she said anything," he said.

"Has anyone ever told you that you suck at asking questions? That wasn't a question, but okay, whatever. I had just gone to bed and turned out the light. She was just like, suddenly at the foot of my bed. She was about our age and wearing a white nightgown with ruffles at the wrists."

I swore I would never tell anyone this next part, but if I had come this far what the hell, right? "She told me to not be scared. I screamed before she could say anything else," I said.

"A ghost tells you not to be scared and you scream? Brilliant." Trent said.

"Margaretta," Maddie said.

"Yes. It sounds like her," Trent said. "She's harmless."

"Who the fuck is Margaretta?" I asked.

"She was a student. It's believed Margaretta contracted meningitis. She thought it was the flu. By the time anyone tried to help her it was too late. She died alone in her dorm room in 1903."

"In the dorm?"

"Room 410 of Shepherd Hall to exact."

"That's my room," I said.

"There you have it then," Trent said.

"And others have seen her?"

"On occasion. Not everyone can see spirits. It's rare, no matter what you see on tv. Have you seen ghosts before?"

I shook my head.

How are you doing with all this?" Maddie asked.

I started to cry as I shook my head. "I can't concentrate. I haven't been able to sleep and haven't eaten much since that night."

"You don't have anything to worry about. I know it's scary to see your first spirit, but you're okay. There's really nothing to worry about," Maddie said.

"I hate being in my dorm room. With what you just told me, I really don't want to spend another night there. I had no idea Shepherd Hall was haunted."

I had almost forgotten Calvin standing outside the door. "We could bring Emora to the House. We have a space," he said.

"That would be, um, unprecedented. I'm not sure it's a good idea," Trent said.

"Come on, Trent. She's scared, even you can see that," Maddie said.

"I'll think about it. Emora, let Maddie know when you are done with classes today. She will meet you and take you to the House. I'm not sure this is a good fit, but I can't decide until after we talk more," Trent said.

"What house are we talking about?" I asked.

"You'll see when you get there," Trent said, "in the meantime, don't tell anyone about this conversation."

Three

Maddie met me outside Arthur Hall after my English Lit class finished. We walked together toward the outskirts of campus past fraternity and sorority houses. I had rushed during the fall the year before, but in the end, I wasn't sure I wanted to be part of a sorority, which worked out because it seemed none of them wanted me for a sister, either. Just before reaching the lake on the edge of campus, Maddie directed me down an alley. The old house we came to fit right in among the Greek houses although there was no sign in the yard, no Greek letters above the door. Maddie grabbed an ornated knocker and made three loud, evenly spaced knocks.

We stood waiting, neither of us saying anything. I was curious about the house and what we were doing there. The door opened after a wait that felt longer than it probably was. Trent stood in the doorway, completely naked except for the same pair of sunglasses he had worn earlier. "Hey," was all he said by way of greeting.

I've never been uptight when it came to the human body or sex, but most of my liaisons admittedly happened with the lights off, or at the very least dimmed. I had never seen a naked man on full display the way Trent was now. I hadn't seen a dick in a minute. Okay fine, it had been months, so I'm not ashamed to say I checked him out. His body matched his good looks. He wasn't overly muscular or exceptionally well endowed, but his body all came together in a pleasing way. It was hard to miss the tattoo on his chest - a long handle with a curved blade at the top making it look like an upside-down backward L, overlaid on a crescent moon. He was definitely fuckable, I thought to myself. If only I could get past his arrogant personality. Then there was the weird sunglasses thing and the way I felt like he was being condescending when he spoke to me. He stepped aside and I followed him and Maddie into the house. Since he couldn't see me, I watched his ass as he led the way. I have always liked a good ass, and this man had one.

The entryway opened to a large foyer. "Thank you for bringing Emora to our humble abode, Maddie," Trent said. I couldn't tell if he was being sincere or sarcastic. "Let's step out on the balcony."

"Is this the part where you throw me off the balcony into the lake? At least the last thing I'll see is a naked man," I said.

"Funny," Trent said, but his tone let me know he didn't think it was.

I had no idea why I was here, but curiosity was getting the best of me. Plus, any reason to not spend time in my dorm room was a good one. And why was he naked? Maddie was acting like it wasn't a big deal, so I just went along with it. Trent led us through a set of double doors and onto a deck and took a chair with a folded towel laid out on the cushion. The view of the lake was beautiful. I spent some time taking it in.

"What are your plans, Emora? Will you stay at Celadon?" Trent asked.

"I always thought I'd graduate from Celadon, at least before the incident. I haven't decided what I will do now. I haven't had time to process things, but I may start looking at other colleges. Transferring seems like a good option right now. Preferably to a college without ghosts."

"They all have ghosts. You should consider staying at Celadon. Seeing one entity could be an anomaly, it doesn't mean you will see Margaretta again, or any other ghosts for that matter," Trent said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"It's like I said earlier today, not everyone can see ghosts. Seeing one does not necessarily mean you have the gift to see and communicate with them regularly. You're sure you've never seen anything else you couldn't explain?"

"I thought I saw lights or orbs follow Dr. Keil out of his office, but it was probably the reflection of the sun hitting a cell phone or something."

I heard Maddie take in a breath as she and Trent glanced at each other. Neither of them spoke. I heard the waves against the shore and the call of gulls in the distance. The setting was gorgeous, but marred by the fact I was sitting across from a naked man, and we were discussing, what? The paranormal? It was the first time that word had come to mind since this all started. For the first time since I had met him, Trent seemed uncomfortable.

Finally, Trent broke the silence. "Will you excuse Maddie and me for a moment, Emora?" Before I could answer he stood giving me a full-frontal view of his naked body. It was hard not to look at his cock since it was at eye level. He walked back into the house followed closely by Maddie.

I kept thinking I should just leave. But the truth was I was feeling incredibly alone. As strange as all this was, I really didn't have anyone else to turn to. If these two had any answers at all about what was going on, then I would hear them out.

I heard Trent and Maddie talking and realized they both had raised their voices. It sounded like an argument. I could hear my name being mentioned, but as hard as I tried, I couldn't make out anything else they said. I jumped in my seat as the double doors flew open and Trent came back outside. He was still wearing only sunglasses.

Trent sat in the chair he had occupied earlier and took a deep breath before he spoke. Everything I say from this point on must not be repeated, Emora. Can you agree to that? If you choose to walk away, we would appreciate it if you forgot about this conversation."

"This is a little weird. No, it's a lot weird," I said. "You're sitting here with no clothes on telling me we are about to have some sort of secret conversation. Why are you naked, anyhow?"

"Does nudity bother you?"

"Not really, it's just..."

"Weird. You already said that. Maybe I wanted to see your reaction."

"Why?"

He didn't answer my question. Instead, he said, "You may not see it right now, but if you can really see and hear ghosts then you have a gift. Very few people can glimpse into the afterlife. Maddie feels strongly there's a place for you here. I'm not sure I agree with her, but here you wouldn't be alone."

"Are you telling me you see ghosts, too?"

"My gift is somewhat different, but yes, I see ghosts. Maddie and Calvin have the ability too. I know this is a lot to grasp right now. We're considering you for membership in the Order," Trent said.

"What? What Order?"

"An organization that has existed on the campus of Celadon since 1856."

"A secret organization of what, people who see ghosts? Really?" I laughed.

"Yes, really. I want to tell you more, but as I said, this must remain between the three of us."

"Okay. I must be crazy, but I'm listening."

"The official name of the organization is the Order of the Scythe. Most members just call it the Scythe. Why we exist is a little complicated, so I'll just say we serve as the boundary between the campus's living and the dead. We do our best to ensure the two worlds stay separate and don't, um, blur into each other. If you were to join you would live here in Scythe House. There is a candidate period when we'll get to know you and the nature of your abilities. You would have the opportunity to get to know us and learn about our mission. Membership of 12 individuals is required. Always 12 - no more, no less. We had room for four Scythe candidates in the fall. We had four, but something came up so one won't be continuing their candidacy period. If you're going to successfully navigate the path that has been opened to you, you'll need us. That's all I can tell you right now."

"I don't know what to even say."

"Then don't say anything. Take some time to think about it, but you're already behind the other three candidates. We need your answer soon. You would need to move into Scythe House right away. Maddie feels that you should be here with us. I want to be clear; I think you're a smart ass with a foul mouth. I'll allow you to move in and become a candidate, but it's a two-way street. You may decide you don't belong here, and we have the right to part ways if we feel it's for the best. Call it a feeling out period," Trent said.

"Feeling out period says the naked man. Nice. I committed to living in the dorm this year, I can't just move out," I said.

"We can take care of getting you out of your housing contract. You wouldn't have to deal with that. You're doing little to change my mind about you though." Trent told me.

"Come on, Emora," Maddie said. "I'll walk you back to the dorm. We can talk more on the way."

Four

My mind was swimming as we walked back to my room in Shepard Hall. Maddie was quiet as she strolled along side me. I couldn't wrap my head around a secret organization existing on campus. And ghosts? I supposed it made sense a college as old as Celadon would have them. It wasn't that I was a nonbeliever, but I had never been overly convinced they were real, either. The truth was I hadn't spent much time thinking about it before the night in the dorm.