Rituals of Samhain

"Is this really the best thing we can think of?" Nea asked looking at the cabin.

Tabby continued painting symbols along the edge of the cabin door with a fine tipped brush. "Probably not. With more time, we could come up with something else, but this is what it is. You're a witch in charge of an occult ritual to prevent the end of the world by an aspect of strife, Nea. You're going to have to hurt some feelings eventually. We're lucky the Witcheye showed us this bunch. Honestly, don't know how we'd do anything without it our little magic mirror."

Nea folded her arms. "I don't want anyone to get hurt."

"Technically, we already killed a guy," Tabby noted.

Conach climbed down from a nearby tree. "Last of the hex bags is in place. I didn't know witch-work required hiding so much stuff. — Hang on, we killed someone?"

Tabby finished the last of her runes and stood up. "Lucas? The vampire? Death eternal?"

"Sure, but he's not

dead

dead. And he enjoyed it."

"Yeah, they enjoy it in the end, but right up until then they're not having a great time," Tabby said. "The werewolf transformation is like having all your bones broken and knit back together in a the span of a minute. That's why the ritual works. The nymphomantic energy is all bound up with this other stuff — blood or ethereal energy. Ritual number four needs terror. Our lucky participants need to be drenched in it for the ritual to work."

Nea paced back and forth huffing in long sighs, "Couldn't we...jump out of a closet and then fuck or something?"

Tabby turned to face the other witch, "We've been through this. Conach, tell her."

"Tabby's right, mistress," he agreed. "The Morrigan wants her darkness, too. I think Tabby's come up with a charitable way of doing it. Much better than parading corpses around in front of the dead's loved ones. These humans will, ideally, be afraid, but safe. In fact, this ritual might be the least painful for anyone involved. Sharing my body with Beverly wasn't pleasant."

"Fine," Nea said. "Let's see what you'll look like."

Tabby held out her arms as her skirt disappeared. The red tank top melded into her skin, taking on the shine of latex as it rolled down below her breasts. From nothing, red latex gloves covered her hands and arms up to the shoulder. Similar leggings appeared, rising out of her skin, up to her ass. Over her breasts and ass, black latex appeared with a squeak as it enveloped her tits and covered her pussy and dick. The creeping substance filled in her crevices entirely, making her seem entirely made of rubber. A swath of red latex covered her eyes as she smiled. "What do you think? Sexy, right?"

"Yes," Nea said, trying to quell the sudden excitement in her body. She looked at Conach, "Your turn."

He snapped his fingers. A similar change happened. Red latex enveloped his cock and balls, making them look more pronounced. Otherwise, black rubber covered his body from the neck down while his tail became a flourish of red. Another red slash covered his eyes. "Oh, I can still see," he said. "How's that work?"

Her hand slid down Conach's back making a loud squeak. "Magic," Tabby said.

***

The Jeep rolled to a stop outside the cabin, and the four women piled out. Meadow grabbed her bag out of the back and hoisted it over her shoulder while looking up at the cabin. "So when the listing said 'cabin', I expected something more like what Lincoln lived in."

Lyla reached past Meadow to get her own bag. "Did you think we were coming out here to rough it? I looked at the photos. The inside should be gorgeous, and they promised a fully stocked bar."

The other two girls, Olivia and Candice, each had their phones up above their heads while frowning. "Nothing," Olivia said. "How are we going to post anything? Did they give us a wifi code?"

"Nope," Lyla said, leading the group up to the cabin. "We're all alone out here. Land-line for emergencies, but otherwise we're cut off completely."

"And we did this intentionally," Candice said, slightly bitter.

Meadow joined Lyla on the short walk up to the door. "That was the idea, I guess. We wanted to get away from all the drama for a while."

"We are the drama," Olivia called from the back of the Jeep.

Lyla used a key to unlock the door, and Meadow followed close behind as they stepped inside. They entered through the side of the kitchen and moved directly into a wide main room. The back wall was tall windows from end to end which looked out into the forest. Meadow figured it would be pretty at dawn, but it looked dreary at the moment. Several doors lined either side of the large room. They led to near identical bedrooms furnished with queen sized beds, a standing dresser, and, on top of the dresser, a television fitted with an ancient DVD player. Jack-and-Jill bathrooms connected the bedrooms on either side. Lyla and Meadow took the left side of the cabin, and Olivia and Candice took the other.

Once they'd put away their things, they all returned to the main room. On the wall adjoining the right bedrooms was a small wet bar. In it they found two bottles each of whiskey, vodka, rum, and tequila. Olivia checked the fridge and found soda, various juices, as well as different snack platters and other necessities like milk, eggs, and butter. "I guess they go shop for this stuff right before we get here," she mused.

Meadow investigated the cabinets to locate the flatware and glasses. As she searched, she noted a strange symbol burned into the side of one of the cabinets. Lyla stole her attention with a clap of her hands, "Alright, let's get in our pajamas and start drinking."

"Ugh, I brought some cute bottoms," Candice whined, "but if I can't post the pics then what's the point."

Meadow shut the cabinet. "The point is to blow off steam with your friends, Candice. You can take all the pictures you want and post them the second we're back in civilization. I'm sure some thirsty guys will follow your stories religiously no matter what." She flipped her long hair at the other women as she went into her bedroom.

She opened her bag and put a few things in the drawers. Toiletries and makeup went into the bathroom, and she spent a few minutes freshening up after the long drive. While looking at herself in the mirror, she felt the unusual sensation of being watched, enough to want to check the shower and closet of her room. She even spent a few minutes looking around the walls and shelves for hidden cameras, wondering if the cabin owners had set up a pervy spy network. She didn't find anything other than an excess of toilet paper.

With Lyla's suggestion in mind, she changed clothes. It was nice to get out of the jeans and t-shirt she'd traveled in all day. She left her bra off and changed into a new shirt and a pair of baggy pajama bottoms she stole from an ex-boyfriend. Knowing Olivia and Candice would spend most of the evening taking pictures, Meadow spent the time to make herself look cute and comfortable.

By the time Meadow returned to the main room, the other girls had all changed as well. Olivia had her bright red hair out in a pony tail, a tight shirt with a unicorn galloping across her breast, and a pair of cotton bottoms with "JUICY" written across the butt, which she bought ironically and wound up liking. Candice dressed a little more subtly, but not by much. She stuck with a pair of athletic shorts that barely covered her ass, but did look comfortable, and a cut off t-shirt that let her belly hang out when she did anything other than stand still. Lyla took the rustic route, wearing an old t-shirt and some oversized shorts which didn't flatter her in the slightest. She seemed entirely at ease behind the bar pouring shots. "Tequila. It's been a long week."

The girls gathered around, made a toast, and downed the first of the tequila. They followed it almost immediately with the second round. Meadow took over the bartending, making light drinks for everyone while the other girls got comfortable around the house. Olivia found some board games she wanted to play, but didn't specify when. Candice got a stereo system working and set the satellite radio to a Top 100 station. It wasn't until Meadow returned to the bar for the second round of drinks that she found something else odd.

Behind the second row of bottles, she noticed a small bit of string. Curious, she tugged on it. A cloth bag fell out of the shadows at the back of the cabinet. It was three inches tall and two wide, made of white cloth, and bound closed by a bit of twine. She brought it to her nose and sniffed. It smelled like lilac and something metallic. Turning it over in her hand, she saw the symbol on it that she'd seen in the cabinet earlier. Wanting to jog her memory, she went back to the cabinet to compare the two. "Hey," she called over the din of the radio, "turn that down for a second."

"What? Why?" Candice whined as Olivia obliged.

Lyla saw the item in Meadow's hand. "What's that thing?"

"I'm not sure," Meadow said, pulling at the string. "I found it in the bar. It's got this weird symbol on it. Same thing is in the cabinet here. Looks like someone burned it onto the wood." The small sack opened, and she looked inside before gasping and dropping it on the floor.

"What is it?" Olivia said, some slight worry in her voice.

Meadow picked up the bag with the tips of her fingers and threw it on top of the kitchen table. The contents spilled out. A small rodent foot, a few strange looking teeth, and crumple flower petals. "You tell me what the fuck it is," she said.

The other women gathered around to look at the bizarre objects on the table. Lyla got a fork from the kitchen and nudged the items around. "What kind of teeth are those?"

Olivia gawked at her, "That's your question? Not why the fuck is there a weird sack of teeth and feet in this house?" She gave the thing one last look before backing away to the opposite side of the room.

Lyla shrugged. "I guess. Why are you all so freaked? This is clearly some kind of little luck sachet or something. Not sure on the symbol."

"Sachet?" Candice said.

"Little bag. Usually have perfume stuff in them. Sometimes used for good luck...or curses, but usually like wards against bad spirits, I think. Not sure this one is hygienic one way or the other. I'm pretty sure that's a squirrel foot."

"Lyla, you say all that like this is remotely acceptable," Candice said. "This place is supposed to be clean and...animal sacks free. We should get our money back. And that's if we overlook how fucking creepy it is. Why is the symbol in the cabinet, too?"

"Hey," Olivia said, unnoticed.

Meadow raked the items back into the small bag with Lyla's fork. She delicately picked up the sachet and threw it in the trash. "What if there are others around here? I don't care if they are for good luck, I don't want them around."

"Hey..."

Lyla drifted to the bar and picked up the half glass of vodka Meadow had poured before finding the sachet. "It's really not something to freak out about. I mean, sure, we can demand our money back or at least a discount or something, but it's not like we can prove it was put there intentionally. If it was sitting in plain view or somewhere, it'd be different, but you found it where? Behind a bottle that's probably been untouched for how many guests?"

"Hey!"

They all turned to look at Olivia who stood in front of the windows looking out at the dark night. She didn't turn around, keeping her focus on something none of the others could see. "Christ, Olivia, what?" Candice said.

"There's someone outside."

The three other women rushed over to look. At first, none of them saw anything, but as Olivia pointed, they gasped one by one. "That's...is that someone?" Meadow saw what could have been a shoulder and arm, perhaps a leg. On the other hand, it could have been something else entirely. Whatever it was, it wasn't moving. Meadow wondered if the cabin owner liked spooking their guests for some twisted reason. Halloween was coming up after all. She didn't like the joke and made instant plans to leave a scathing review.

It moved. Nothing more than a flicker of light reflected off its strange skin as it disappeared into the shadows. Meadow's heart leapt to her throat, and the other girls made various sounds of shock. "No, nope, nuh-uh," Meadow said, backing away from the window. She crossed the room to the door they'd entered through and locked it. "I'm not playing with this fucking weird shit. Where are the other doors to the outside?"

Lyla answered, "Sliding doors in my room leading onto the deck."

"And mine," Candice said. "I don't see a way up onto the deck from outside, though."

"Another door," Olivia said, "down that hall." She pointed to a narrow corridor that led to the laundry room. "Goes to the side of the cabin. I checked while you all were changing. There's a wood pile...and an axe."

They exchanged looks. Lyla moved first, taking a few steps toward the hallway before everyone else made noises of objection. "What?" she said. "

Someone

is out there. Maybe it's not a crazy murderer, but if it is, I'd rather we have the axe inside with us than outside with the murderer."

Candice crossed her arms, "If they're a murderer, wouldn't they bring their own weapon?"

"Jesus, Candice," Meadow hissed, looking at Olivia. The redhead looked on the verge of tears. "It's not a murderer. Probably some creep who knew we were coming up here and thought he'd get a show of four girls playing with each other's tits. I want to make sure we're safe in here, but we don't need to jump straight to hitting people with axes."

"We'll still need the axe," Lyla insisted.

"The phone. You said there was a phone. Let's call the landlord people. They can come up or send someone up."

Candice moved over to the wall mounted phone. She picked it up, held it to her ear, and let it go slack in her hand. "Somehow, I'm not surprised. No dial tone. The line is dead."

"Axe now?" Lyla asked.

Meadow furrowed her brow. "Let's go. We leave our stuff, drive to the nearest, brightest gas station, and, I dunno, call the police."

"Yeah, I would like to leave," Olivia said.

Lyla moved to the kitchen door, looking out through the window. "Jeep seems ok, but they wouldn't really advertise disconnecting the battery, would they? One of us should go and see if it still starts."

"Ugh, I'll do it," Candice said. "If anyone's driving us out of here, it's me anyway. You two might not realize it, but you're two shots and half a glass of vodka in already. That's going to catch up with you sooner or later, and I'd rather not escape a creep just to die from crashing into a tree. Keys?"

Lyla fetched the keys from her room while the others kept a fierce watch out of any window they could. Meadow craned her neck around any which way she could to see the various corners and dark spots around the parking area.

Too many trees,

she thought. The creep could be behind any of them.

With keys in hand, Candice took a calming breath and tried to smile. "We're overreacting," she said. She unlocked and opened the door, stepping out into the night air. The other three crowded in the doorway watching her walk down the steps and into the gravel drive. Candice walked briskly and hopped into the Jeep. From Meadow's view, the other woman fumbled with the keys for a minute before getting it in the ignition. The Jeep rumbled to life. For a moment, they all experienced a huge relief. Except, as the headlights turned on, Meadow noticed something in the shadow of one of the trees.

She hesitated to think of the thing as a woman or even as human. It moved like a rolling blob of oil, skin glimmering with reflected light. As it neared the Jeep, Meadow's hand thudded into the other girls, pointing at the creature moving slowly toward their friend. She heard Lyla yell as Olivia ran back inside. The engine died as the small parking area dropped back into darkness. Candice's face looked confused and panicked before the light went out. The creature kept coming.

As it grew closer, Meadow saw it was at least somewhat human and somewhat female. The creature's skin looked like latex. Meadow knew it wasn't an outfit because each of the thing's breasts had full definition. Even fifteen yards away, Meadow could see pronounced nipples and a naval. Most of it was red, but across the breasts and pubic area the skin was black. Despite the shadows, Meadow could see a phallus which only added to her confusion. The cock looked fully defined, but no testicles waited beneath. Instead, Meadow caught a glimpse of latex lips between the thing's legs. Another swath of red covered where her eyes should have been. Instead, there were no eyes or even eye sockets. Nevertheless, Meadow knew the thing could definitely see them.

Candice finally realized something was wrong. She turned to see the creature moving toward the back of the Jeep. She managed to climb halfway out of the vehicle before it reached her. A shiny hand came down on the girl's shoulder as she screamed. Meadow and Lyla watched, paralyzed with fear and confusion. The latex hand covered Candice's mouth as the creature smiled. It leaned close to Candice's ear and whispered something before letting Candice go.

What the fuck is she doing?

"Candice?! Run! Come here!"

Candice looked at them with blank eyes as she clenched her fists. She turned around to face the creature. The others expected her to scream or fight or something. Instead, Candice dropped to her knees before it. She opened her mouth and sucked the shiny, black cock into her mouth. Meadow felt a rush of shame and the urge to look away. She ignored it, watching her friend deep throat some kind of monster's dick. Behind them, Olivia asked what was happening, emotion choking her voice. Neither Lyla or Meadow answered. They kept their focus on Candice.

They could see the bulge in her throat as she took more and more of the phallus into her. The creature's smile dropped into a pouting slackness that conveyed pleasure. One hand moved up to stroke the shining nipples while the other slid into Candice's hair, gently shoving her down on the cock a little further each time. With little prompt, the creature pulled out of Candice's throat as black cum splattered across Candice's face. It hit her eyes and mouth, rolling over her chin and down her chest. Meadow felt a cold chill as she understood what was about to happen before it even began.

The cum adhered to Candice's skin. She scrambled back from the creature, somehow only then aware of what she'd done. Her clothes melted off her as though eaten away by voracious, invisible insects. Within seconds, she was naked and scrambling painfully back across the gravel. The black fluid soaked into Candice's skin and spread down from her face to bloom over her breasts. Another patch of red appeared on her stomach, moving down to her hips as a dick grew out from the top of her naked pussy. Candice stopped struggling as the cock swelled to eight inches. Her shiny red hand gripped it and stroked, a smile appearing on her face.

Lyla yanked Meadow back and slammed the door, turning the lock. "I'm getting the fucking axe."

***

"We can't stay here," Olivia said over the low radio playing. She'd been saying it over and over since Lyla's mad dash and return with a wood axe. Meadow kept a watch on the two creatures outside. Candice, or what had been Candice, finished changing, becoming almost identical to the original monster. She still had Candice's mouth and chin, but the smile on her face was one Meadow didn't recognize at all. It seemed cruel and hungry.