I thought we can bring her back

Penny uses her knowledge in occult with Troy and Jake to summon Myla's soul.

Plot

Chapter 1: The After-Party GlowThe air was thick with the scent of cheap beer and triumph. Troy’s soccer team had won the championship, and the celebration had spilled from the campus bar into a sprawling house party. Jake, ever the happy-go-lucky ringmaster, kept the energy high with his infectious laughter. Penny, petite and vibrant, bounced between conversations like the cheerleader she was, her enthusiasm a spark that ignited everyone around her. Myla, the busty, magnetic center of many glances, held court on a couch, her laugh a bright, bubbling sound that drew people in. They were a unit, a four-cornered foundation of friendship, riding the wave of a perfect night. Chapter 2: The Midnight ProposalAs the party died down around 2 AM, the four friends piled into Troy’s Jeep, still buzzing with adrenaline. The highway stretched empty before them. “I’m still wide awake!” Penny chirped, leaning forward from the backseat. “What about a swim? Clear our heads.” Jake instantly agreed. Troy, though tired, nodded. Myla, with a mischievous grin, said, “The river’s only twenty minutes off the highway. Let’s do it.” The decision was made, a spontaneous pivot from celebration to serenity. Chapter 3: The River’s EmbraceThe old river access spot was deserted, cloaked in the deep silence of the woods. The water looked black and inviting under the sliver of moonlight. They stripped down to their underwear, the cool night air a shock against their skin. The river was colder still, but they laughed through the shivers, splashing and pushing the lingering drunkenness away. Chapter 4: Penny’s Challenge“I’ve got twenty bucks,” Penny announced, wading into the shallows. “Whoever holds their breath underwater longest wins it.” It was a silly, impulsive bet, but it felt like a perfect cap to the night. Jake, always game, cheered. Troy smirked, confident in his athlete’s stamina. Myla simply shrugged, a playful challenge in her eyes. “Easy money,” she said. Chapter 5: The ContestThey lined up on a submerged rock ledge. Jake went first, his face a comical mask of determination. He surfaced, sputtering, at 20 seconds. Penny followed, her cheerleader’s discipline giving her 25 seconds. Troy, leveraging his core strength, managed a solid 30 seconds, emerging with a triumphant grin. Then it was Myla’s turn. She took a deep, calm breath, smiled at them, and slipped beneath the dark surface. Chapter 6: The Lengthening SilenceThe playful mood evaporated as the seconds ticked past 30… then 40… then 50. Troy frowned. “She’s really going for it,” Jake said, his cheer fading. At a minute, Penny’s eyes widened with worry. “Myla?” she called softly. The river’s surface was still, unbroken. The silence became oppressive. They started calling her name louder, peering into the murky water, their hands sweeping through the cold depths where she’d vanished. Chapter 7: The Desperate SearchFive minutes passed. Panic, cold and sharp, replaced all warmth. They scrambled out of the river, shouting, running along the bank, diving back in to search blindly. Penny, her voice trembling, called 911. The wait for help was an eternity of helpless terror. Chapter 8: The Grim DiscoveryThe ambulance, police, and rescue team arrived, turning the peaceful spot into a scene of stark, flashing lights and grim procedures. The friends, wrapped in blankets, watched in mute horror as divers methodically combed the river. After three agonizing hours, they brought Myla’s body to the shore. The sight of her, pale and lifeless, under the harsh emergency lights, shattered their world. It was a sad, hollow dawn. Chapter 9: The Morgue and the SecretGuilt was a poison they all drank. The next day, Penny called Jake and Troy, her voice steady but strange. “Meet me at the city morgue. Tonight. There’s… there’s something we can do.” Driven by grief and a desperate need to undo their part in the tragedy, they agreed. They sneaked in through a service entrance Penny had researched, the sterile, cold air smelling of death and disinfectant. Chapter 10: The Purple CircleIn a dim storage room, Myla’s body lay on a trolley. Penny had drawn a bizarre symbol on the floor—a purple circle enclosing a complex star. “Put her inside the circle,” Penny instructed, her eyes burning with a fervor they’d never seen. Troy, his conscience screaming for redemption, helped Jake gently lift Myla’s cold form into the symbol. Penny placed black candles at points around the circle and lit them. Chapter 11: “I Want to Bring Back Myla.”“What is this?” Troy whispered, the candlelight casting eerie shadows. Penny’s answer was simple, terrifying, and hopeful. “I want to bring back Myla.” Jake recoiled. “Penny, that’s impossible. She’s gone.” But Troy, his face etched with pain, said, “My conscience can’t bear this. If there’s a chance, even a dark one, I’m willing to try.” Jake, seeing their resolve, sighed. “I can’t let you two get into trouble alone. It’s worth a try.” Chapter 12: The RitualThey began chanting words from an ancient, digital grimoire Penny had found. The air in the room grew heavy, then frigid. A gush of wind, with no source, whipped around them, extinguishing the candles for a moment before they relit themselves with a blue flame. Eerie, whispering sounds filled their ears; the overhead lights flickered madly. Then Myla’s body jerked. A grieving, ragged sigh tore from her lips as she arched her back violently, her eyes snapping open—wide, unseeing, and gasping for a breath that shouldn’t exist. Chapter 13: The ReturnThey stared, frozen in disbelief. Myla was breathing, heavy and ragged. They rushed to her, hugging her cold, trembling body, tears of shock and joy mixing. She didn’t speak, only trembled. They smuggled her out, a secret more profound than death itself, and took her to Penny’s quiet house. Chapter 14: The First DreamMyla was confused, fragile. “I don’t remember… anything after the bet,” she murmured, her voice a hollow echo. She asked for privacy and sleep. The three friends, exhausted and emotionally shattered, crashed in the living room. Penny’s sleep was not peaceful. She dreamed of a dark, endless forest. Myla stood ahead, back turned. As Penny approached, Myla spun. Dark, oily liquid wept from her eyes, and her mouth opened in a silent shriek that formed a word: “Die!” Penny woke gasping. Troy was already awake, watching her. “Bad dream?” he asked. Penny nodded, heart pounding. “Where’s Jake?” Troy pointed to the garden. “Smoking.” Chapter 15: Outside, Jake saw a murder of crows circling the rooftop, a silent, black vortex against the gathering storm clouds. Lightning cracked, promising heavy rain. Unease settled in his gut, a primal warning. He hurried inside, joining Penny and Troy as they tried to distract themselves with the mundane glow of the TV. Then the lights flickered. The TV signal sizzled into static, and a total blackout swallowed the house, plunging them into a darkness that felt alive and watchful. Penny, using her phone flashlight, went to check on Myla. The bedroom was empty, the sheets cold. The bathroom door was ajar. “Myla?” Penny called, pushing the door open. Myla was at the sink, washing her face. Penny directed the light at her. Myla turned. Her eyes were voids of terror, and from them streamed that same black liquid from Penny’s dream. Penny screamed, bolting back toward the living room. As Jake and Troy moved to meet her, the world twisted. The hallway stretched, then folded. Penny found herself running, but the living room door led to another hallway, then a kitchen she didn’t recognize, then back to the hallway—a loop of never-ending rooms. She stopped, panting, in a duplicate of her own bedroom. There, in the center, stood Myla. Myla’s head tilted, a black tear tracing her cheek. Then she ran, not with human grace, but with a predatory, terrifying speed. Penny backed into a corner, the door behind her now a solid wall. Myla was upon her, the black liquid dripping from her jaw, her hands rising, cold and final. But as those cold fingers touched Penny’s throat, a shout echoed through the impossible space. “Penny!” It was Troy’s voice, raw and desperate. The bedroom wall shimmered like a mirage, and Jake and Troy burst through, not from a door, but through the very plaster, as if the house’s reality had momentarily fractured. Jake tackled Myla, knocking her off Penny. The entity—Myla’s body—shrieked, a sound like grinding stones and rushing water. It scrambled back, its dark eyes fixed on them with pure malice. “Out! We have to get out!” Troy yelled, grabbing Penny’s arm. They ran, but the house fought them. The front door, when they reached it, was a seamless part of the wall. Windows refused to open. They were trapped in a labyrinth of their own home. Myla stalked them, appearing at the end of hallways, crawling from shadows, her movements unnaturally swift. A plan formed in frantic pieces. “The garage!” Jake hissed. “The side door to the garage—it’s old, it’s just a manual latch!” They sprinted, Myla’s form flickering behind them. Troy slammed his shoulder against the connecting door, and it flew open. They tumbled into the dark garage, rain now pounding on its roof. The old side door had a simple bolt. Jake yanked it back and pushed. Cold, wet night air hit their faces. They stumbled into the storm, sprinting across the soaked lawn to Troy’s Jeep. As Troy reversed wildly out of the driveway, they saw a figure standing in the open garage doorway. Myla, drenched in rain and shadow, watched them leave, her head tilted in that inhuman way. They drove in silence, trembling, the only sound the rain and their ragged breaths. Penny, clutching her phone, knew one person who might understand. Her grandmother, Anna, who lived on the old farm outside town and spoke of things others dismissed as superstition. Chapter 16: Grandma Anna’s Wisdom Anna’s farmhouse was a sanctuary of normality, smelling of herbs and old wood. They arrived like ghosts, pale and shaking. Anna, a woman with sharp eyes and a calm demeanor, listened without interruption as they spilled the story—the river, the ritual, the purple circle, the thing that now wore Myla’s skin. When they finished, Anna sighed, a sound of deep sorrow. “You didn’t bring back your friend,” she said softly, her gaze holding each of them. “You opened a door. When a soul passes, it moves on. To try to pull it back… you create a vacancy. A hollow place. And dark things are drawn to hollow places. You performed a summoning ritual, not a resurrection. You invited something in, and it used the empty vessel you provided.” Penny’s heart sank. “What is it?” “A mimic. A parasite of grief. It feeds on your guilt, your love for her, your memories. It wears her face to get close to you. It will consume you, one by one, until there’s nothing left, and then it will move on, stronger.” “How do we stop it?” Troy asked, his voice firm despite the fear. Anna looked at Penny. “You drew the circle. The purple circle with the star. That symbol is a seal. It’s not for summoning; it’s for containment. You used it backwards. You opened the seal instead of closing it.” Jake leaned forward. “So we need to seal it… inside the circle?” Anna nodded. “You must lure it back into that same symbol. And then you must complete the ritual—the true ritual of binding. You must close the door you opened.” “But how?” Penny cried. “It’s at my house! And the morgue… we can’t go back there.” Anna stood and walked to a cupboard, retrieving a small vial of purple powder and a bundle of black candles. “You must draw the seal again, somewhere it will come. It is attached to you now. It will follow. You must be ready. You must be stronger than your fear, and you must be willing to say goodbye to Myla for real this time.” She handed the items to Penny. “The powder is for the circle. The candles mark the boundary. The words you chanted… you must chant them again, but with the intent of closure, not invitation. You must send it back.” The weight of the task settled on them. They had to trap the entity that looked like their friend. They had to finish what they started. “And,” Anna added, her eyes grave, “you must do it before sunrise. These things cling to the night. In the light of a new day, the seal will be strongest. But if you fail… it will be free forever.” They left Anna’s house armed not with weapons, but with terrible knowledge and a fragile hope. They had to find a place to draw the circle, to face the thing they had created, and to finally let Myla go. The storm raged around them, but a quieter, more desperate storm was brewing inside their hearts. **Chapter 17: The Burden of the Seal** The drive back into town was a silent, tense pilgrimage. The vial of purple powder felt heavy in Penny’s palm, not physically, but morally. It was the weight of their second chance, and their last hope. Troy drove with a grim focus, his eyes scanning the rain-slicked roads. Jake sat in the back, staring out the window, his usual levity replaced by a hollow dread. “Where can we do this?” Troy finally asked, his voice cutting through the quiet. “We can’t go back to your house, Penny. It’s… contaminated.” Penny thought, her mind racing through locations. The morgue was impossible. Campus was too exposed. The river… the river was where it began, but it was too open, too unpredictable. “The old community theater,” Jake said quietly, from the backseat. “It’s closed for renovations. I know because my cousin’s crew is working on it. There’s a back entrance they use. It’s empty. And it’s… a stage. A defined space.” It was perfect. A contained, artificial environment. A place where illusions were crafted. They agreed. **Chapter 18: The Stage is Set** The theater loomed in the darkness, a grand old building now shrouded in construction fencing. Jake led them to a side door, his cousin’s key (obtained with a frantic, vague phone call) letting them slip inside. The air was dusty and still. They moved through a labyrinth of stacked chairs and draped curtains to the main stage. The vast, empty space felt like a cathedral of their impending confrontation. Working quickly, driven by adrenaline and Anna’s deadline, they swept a section of the stage clear. Penny, with trembling hands but steady intent, began to draw. Using the purple powder, she replicated the circle and the complex star within it, the symbol now a trap, not a welcome. Troy and Jake placed the black candles at the precise points around its edge. As they finished, the atmosphere in the theater shifted. The dust seemed to settle more heavily. The distant sound of rain on the roof became the only noise, until it wasn’t. A soft, dragging footstep echoed from the wings. They froze. Myla—the entity—emerged from the shadows beside a forgotten prop. She looked less human now. The black liquid seeped continuously from her eyes and the corners of her mouth, staining her skin. Her movements were jagged, like a broken marionette. “You left me,” the thing hissed, its voice a distorted echo of Myla’s. “You ran from me.” “We’re not running now,” Troy said, stepping forward, putting himself between the entity and the circle. His athlete’s stance was defensive, ready. “Myla, please,” Penny pleaded, tears in her eyes. “You have to go into the circle. It’s the only way to help you.” The entity’s head tilted. “Help me? You killed me. You watched me drown. You let the river take me.” Each word was a blade, crafted from their deepest guilt. “We didn’t!” Jake shouted, his voice cracking. “We tried to save you! We… we just wanted you back.” “And you got me,” it smiled, a horrific stretching of lips. “Now you have me forever.” It lunged, not at Troy, but at Jake, moving with that unnatural speed. Jake stumbled back, falling painfully against a stack of stage flats. The entity was on him, its cold hands gripping his shoulders, the black liquid beginning to drip onto his face. “No!” Penny screamed. Troy didn’t hesitate. He charged, not to fight, but to divert. He grabbed the entity from behind, pulling it away from Jake. Its strength was immense, but Troy’s desperation and training matched it. He wrestled, dragging it, step by struggling step, toward the purple circle. “Penny! Now!” Troy roared, as he managed to shove the entity into the center of the star. Penny, her heart a drum of terror, lit the black candles with a shaking match. The flames sprang up, not yellow, but a deep, violet blue. She began to chant. The same words from the digital grimoire, but now her intent was different. Not *come*, but *stay*. Not *return*, but *be bound*. **Chapter 19: The Binding** The entity shrieked, a sound that shook the dust from the rafters. It tried to step out of the circle, but its foot seemed to meet a invisible, solid barrier. The purple lines of the symbol glowed faintly. Jake, recovered, joined Penny’s chanting, his voice a low, steady bass. Troy, still holding the entity within the circle, added his voice too. The three voices merged, a triad of resolve against the cacophony of the thing’s screams. The entity thrashed, Myla’s form distorting. The black liquid flowed faster, pooling on the stage floor within the circle, but unable to cross the line. Its eyes, full of malice, began to change. The darkness receded, and for a fleeting second, they saw a glimpse of real terror—not the entity’s, but Myla’s. The final, drowning terror of their friend. It was that glimpse that broke them. Penny’s chant faltered into a sob. “We’re sorry, Myla. We’re so sorry. You have to rest now. Please.” The entity’s struggles weakened. The glowing purple lines of the circle intensified, rising like a wall of light around it. The black candles burned brighter, their violet light merging with the seal. With a final, wrenching gasp that sounded too human, the form collapsed. The black liquid evaporated into a foul mist that was sucked downward, into the very center of the star on the stage floor. Then, silence. Myla’s body lay within the circle, still, pale, and finally, truly empty. **Chapter 20: The Dawn and the Debt** They sat on the dusty stage for a long time, watching as the first gray light of dawn filtered through the high windows. The circle’s glow had faded. The candles had burned out. The entity was gone. But Myla’s body remained. The practical, terrible reality descended. They had bound the darkness, but they had not solved the problem of the physical shell it had inhabited. They couldn’t leave her here. They couldn’t explain. “Anna,” Penny whispered, the name a lifeline. They called her. Anna arrived with a quiet urgency. She saw the scene—the circle, the body, the exhausted friends—and understood. “You succeeded,” she said, her voice carrying a somber respect. “You closed the door. But the vessel is still here. The law, the world, will need an answer.” She helped them, with a calmness that steadied their shattered nerves. They wrapped Myla’s body carefully. Anna had an old, rarely-used pickup truck. In the clean, cold light of dawn, they transported her back to the place where it had all began: the river. They chose a secluded spot, far from the access point where the party had been. With a reverence that felt both sacred and criminal, they let the river take her. This time, it was a burial, not a loss. A return, not a theft. As the water accepted Myla’s form, carrying it away from view, Penny felt a final, quiet release. The guilt would remain, a scar. The grief would linger, a shadow. But the haunting was over. They stood on the bank, three friends again, bound by a secret no one else would ever believe. The sun rose fully, painting the river in gold and pink. It was a new day. “We owe a debt,” Troy said, looking at Anna. “Not just to Myla. To you.” Anna shook her head. “The debt is to yourselves. Live with this. Learn from it. Let it make you kinder, not fearful. That is the only payment that matters.” They drove away from the river, leaving the silence of the woods behind. They would go back to their lives, to college, to parties, to soccer games. But they would never swim in that river again. And they would never, ever speak of purple circles, black candles, or the friend they tried to bring back from the dark.

Opening scene

The glow of Penny’s laptop screen was a constant, soft beacon in her dorm room, a companion to the late-night study sessions and the idle hours between classes and cheerleading practice. While her friends scrolled through social media, watched sports highlights, or played games, Penny’s browser history told a different story. Her fascination wasn’t with the mainstream—the astrology columns or the pop-culture tarot readings. It was with the edges, the shadows of the internet. She frequented forums where users debated the authenticity of archaic symbols, shared scanned pages from obscure, out-of-print texts, and posted firsthand accounts of paranormal events that were always met with skepticism and fervent analysis. To Penny, it was a puzzle. A complex, endless puzzle where the pieces were fragments of forgotten lore, cryptic images, and whispered rituals. It started as a curiosity, a way to spice up the mundane routine of college life. She’d read about protective sigils and thought about drawing one on her dorm door. She learned about the concept of “spirit vessels” and wondered if her favorite necklace could be one. It was a game, a secret hobby. Her friends knew she was “into weird stuff,” but they saw it as a quirky part of her personality, like Jake’s obsession with vintage horror movies or Troy’s meticulous soccer stats. Myla would sometimes tease her, calling her “our little witch,” but it was always with a fond smile. The night of the championship party, as the celebration raged around her, Penny found a moment of quiet in a corner of the noisy house. Pulling out her phone, she idly checked one of her favorite forums. A new user had posted an image: a complex, geometric star enclosed within a circle, drawn in what appeared to be violet ink on aged parchment. The poster claimed it was a “Key of Return,” a seal used in certain Balkan folk traditions not to summon, but to contain a spirit, to provide a focused space for communication with the departed. The thread was filled with arguments—some calling it a hoax, others citing similar symbols in medieval grimoires. Penny saved the image. She didn’t believe it, not really. But she found it beautiful in its intricacy, and the idea—a specific, drawn space to safely interact with the beyond—stuck in her mind. It felt more structured, more real, than the vague ghost stories she usually read. It was a tool, a diagram. A blueprint.

Characters

Tags: College Student Athlete Sports Horror Supernatural Friendship Modern SchoolLife Angst Suspense Thriller Youth Urban City Multiple ThirdPerson Bittersweet

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By: slasherus

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