Tony was outside the operating theater when he saw the spirit of a young man leave his body. Tony sensed Travis was not ready to pass on. He somehow managed to force the spirit back into the dead Travis, giving him another chance in life. Tony had then later gave Travis a place to stay since both his parents had died instantaneously on that day of the accident, leaving him homeless and alone.
Tony asked Travis, “have you informed the participants we will soon be ready for another meeting?”
“Yes, they are all awaiting the date and time. Everyone is excited and curious to know what you have discovered, and will do what it takes to attend the ritual,” said Travis.
“We all know once the location is decided, it must be kept a secret between all of us. No other person must know the whereabouts,” said Tony.
Travis responded, “yes of course. I made it clear to everyone.”
Tony said, “so it is set. As soon as professor Shireberg translates even a part of the Mayan hieroglyphs, you will inform the others when and where the ritual will take place.”
A day had passed, and Helen through research and experience had managed to decipher a third of the Mayan hieroglyphs. She had not yet fully understood the exact meanings but was guessing all will be revealed once the whole plaque is entirely translated.
Tony was now becoming impatient and continually warned Helen the consequences if she failed to meet the deadline. He asks her to hand over what she has managed to translate, eager to try and perform a ritual based on what she has already translated. Helen tries to warn him that things might not go as planned with only a third of the written translated text. He dismisses her warnings and decides to go ahead with it.
Later that day, Travis was busy all afternoon on the phone with the other participants. All in their late teens and still at university, they plan to meet that very night on a part of the beach that hardly anyone uses. Tony prepares the necessary things and packs them all into the back of his BMW. He also made arrangements with Carlos, agreeing to pay him extra to keep Helen in his sights at all times, knowing she will try to escape or make contact with someone. All phones were taken out of the basement rooms and from the guest room. Emails were also password locked. Helen was a prisoner in this mans home. She knew she had to get a word out to someone. Her best chance was to find a way to get a message through to Jason somehow.
At around eleven pm, Tony and Travis departed from home that same night. Travis took the wheel while Tony went over the translation that Helen had prepared. The words seemed jumbled up to him as he went over each line again and again. He wasn’t expecting much from tonight’s ritual, as he considered it a practice run in preparation when the whole translation of the tablet was complete.
The drive lasted nearly an hour when finally Travis pulled over at a deserted beach. As they stepped out of the vehicle, they saw a small fire burning further down the long sandy beach. Travis smiled as he saw the rest of the other members he had called that afternoon. They must have got here earlier, all eager to begin yet another one of the many gatherings they had performed this year. The five girls lay together on the warm sand, relaxed and alone in their tranquil surroundings. The waves were gently breaking on the sand while the reflections of the bright moon shone upon the calm sea like sparkling diamonds. Everything seemed perfect as Travis and Tony approached them.
Travis called out to them.
“Hey, sleepy heads! Wake up and get busy,” he said with a laugh.
Sarah was the first to get up. She went over to help Travis with the large cloth he had brought. The other girls made space while Travis and Sarah unfolded the cloth revealing a large pentagram printed in the center. Tony then handed a large candle to each of the five girls, and one for Travis. Little was said between them as they took their positions near each of the pentagrams points. Except for one girl who went to her place in the center of the five-pointed star. It would be her turn to enter the spiritual realm mentally.
Tony then took out a long white robe from his bag and dressed himself in it. He took his position on the outer rim of the pentagram and began the same intonations he usually uses to summon a wandering spirit. The other members were now in deep meditation, almost lost in a hypnotic state. Tony continued with the chants. The candle flames then began to rise and fall fluttering from left to right just as they would in a soft breeze. Tony knew quite well it was not the wind that was making the flames dance. He could now see white misty figures moving amongst them.
He now began to read from the Mayan text Helen had deciphered. Almost immediately, he felt a presence he never experienced before. It was much stronger, and the energy was tremendous. His whole body began to shake as he kept repeating the text over an over again. He then looked at the five girls and Travis. Their bodies were now shuddering as if they were exposed to freezing temperatures. Suddenly he noticed the candle flame of the girl kneeling in the center as it started to rise higher and higher as if having a mind of its own. That’s when Tony saw it. A dark shadow was now hanging above the girl. He felt an evil presence, something he had never felt before. The shadow had now enveloped the girl. It swirled around her like a tornado, spinning faster and faster until her body shook with intense force. Tony kept on reading over and again, amazed at what he was witnessing. The dark shadow continued swirling around the girl, when suddenly her body began to levitate just a few inches above the ground. It held there for over a minute, floating in midair. The swirling stopped, and the shadow was now taking the form of a man. It was still above the girl, then without warning it descended, wrapping itself around the girl’s body, making a loud growling sound when suddenly it disappeared into the night.
Tony stopped the chants, and the girl’s dead body fell to the ground. All was silent. Tony could not believe what had just happened. His first reaction was to go and see if the girl was alright. Travis and the others came out of their hypnotic state. They saw Tony kneeling next to the lifeless girl. None of them had any recollection of what went on around them. Travis rushed over to Tony.
“What happened? Is she okay?” He asked.
Tony leaned over her mouth to check her breathing, but could not hear anything. He then tried to find a pulse. Nothing.
He said, “I believe she’s dead Travis! It killed her!”
“What do you mean killed her? What killed her? There’s nothing else here but us!” said Travis.
Tony tried to explain. “It seemed to suck the life out of her! A dark force took her life. It all happened so fast. It was strong Travis. Real powerful energy!”
Travis then held the girl in his arms.
“What are we going to do Tony? We have to tell someone!”
“Tell who Travis? The police? No one will believe us! Do you want to end up in prison?” Said Tony.
Travis gently laid the girl’s body on the sand.
“We have to get out of here then,” he said.
The other girls wept while collecting their belongings, and left the beach. Sarah Masters was about to leave when Tony grabbed her by the arm.
“Sarah! Remove her clothing. Make it look like she went for a night swim and ran into trouble. Leave her wearing nothing but her underwear,” Tony said.
Travis helped Sarah undress the dead girl, and placed her face down in the sand.
Sarah then turned to Travis.
“We’re not going to get away with this Travis! We didn’t kill her, yet we are to blame.”
She got up and ran to her car, looking back at the lifeless body as she drove away.