REVENANTS BEFORE DAWN

"In 200 feet, turn Left," the GPS says.

At 200 feet, the driver turns onto a rough road brightened by nothing but the piss-clear headlights of his car.

"Your destination is straight ahead," the GPS says as a black iron-barred gate comes into view.

On the inside of the gate, the trees appear naked, the ground- barren. The Death of nature is thick beyond this gate, yet Life prevails in the surrounding area. But in the distance, beyond that of the thickness of death and rot, the silhouette of a medieval castle stands tall- illuminated by the full moon's light.

"Here's your stop Luther," The driver says to his backseat passenger.

Luther, 19 years old- has a burning passion to make his name mean something. He wants to be seen, known, accepted. In his mind, what better way to accomplish those things than traveling to an abandoned castle in the middle of nowhere?

Crazy things spark attention, right?

Luther reaches for the handheld camera sitting beside him and exits the driver's side passenger door. He knocks on the driver's window.

"What?" The driver asks, rolling down the window.

Luther pulls some money from his pocket, "Here's your tip," he says.

The driver takes the money, "Thanks, and uh- good-luck with your little ghost hunt."

Luther laughs, and as the driver backs away, "Fuckin' dumbass," Luther hears him mutter, but he shrugs it off.

With the camera's light focused on Luther's face, "HELLO YouTube," he shouts into the night, "It's ya' boy Luther, and today- or rather tonight, we're going to be exploring..." the camera faces the castle, "...the infamous Castle Victoria," the camera faces him, "so if you hadn't already, please Like and Subscribe, and consider following me on Instagram, link in the description!"

With the intro done, Luther approaches the gate.

"Everything looks dead back there," he says, "let's see if the gate will open."

He pushes the gates open; they squeak as they swing backward. Luther begins walking on the path to the castle, scanning the environment with the camera as he goes.

"We're in the middle of summer," he says, "and these trees, the ground- looks dead. The entire scenery changes beyond the gate. Strange."

He presses on, walking for several minutes.

"Been walking for a while now, is it getting any closer?"

The further in he walks, the colder the atmosphere becomes.

"I should've brought my jacket," he says, "it's gettin' chilly."

But he continues on, and on. Walking for what would seem like half an hour, until finally, the dead ivy-covered cracked stone stairs of Castle Victoria come into his view.

"Woah," the camera scans the castle, "looks so much bigger up close, holy shit." He says, "Now I don't know much about this place, I received a DM about it." He explains. "The sender said it had been sitting here for God knows how long. No one claims it, owns it. Hell, it doesn't even pop up as an address on Google Maps. It just sits here, and no one talks about it."

Luther proceeds up the flight of stairs, ivy leaves crunching beneath his feet. He approaches what would seem to be the entrance- some massive double wooden doors.

"Alright guys," he says, "this is it, let's see what's inside."

With the delicate touch of his hand, the doors opened simultaneously, revealing a chandelier-lightened hallway, decorated with dark wood walls and arc pillars, with a floor paved with gold-printed red carpet.

"What the fuck...?" Luther mutters in amazement, "Does someone live here?"

Enticed by the warmth and luxury, Luther enters the interior. He scans around with his camera, "Man this is... beautiful," he says, "I've never seen anything like this... what do you guys think? Comment down below..."

"I think you're trespassing," says a delicate feminine voice.

Startled, Luther directs his attention down the hallway. A Caucasian woman, red hair, wearing a tattered black cloak with Gothic makeup, slowly walks his way.

"Oh- umm- hi, I-I didn't know someone-"

"Shh," the woman silences him, one finger to her lip. The woman reaches behind her, unsheathing a spearheaded blade with a chain attached to the end of its handle.

"Umm, what- what are you doing with that...?" Luther asks nervously.

The mere moment his left foot inched backward for the exit, the woman threw the blade at Luther, piercing his left shin, causing him to drop the camera and fall to the floor screaming in agony.

"ARRGGHHH," Luther screams, "Wha- what the FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!"

With the blade locked into his leg, she pulls him in via the chain.

"PLEASE!" Luther pants, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"Shh," she silences him, "The Queen doesn't like noise."

Another woman, African brown glistening skin and black hair, dressed the same as the redhead, appears out of thin air behind her.

"Who might this be," She asks the redhead, "One of the slaves?"

"No, Esther," she replies, "this one is different. He smells... Fresh."

"Mmm," Esther moans, "it's been long since we had a fresh one, let's report him to the Queen before he starts to go stale."

The two women laugh and giggle.

"Hey! Wait!" Luther shouts.

The redhead yanks the chain, dragging Luther through the castle hallways right beside Esther.

"PLEASE STOP!" Luther shouts along the way, "PLEASE, I'M FUCKIN' BEGGIN' YOU!"

The women ignore his begging, continuing to laugh and giggle like children at a birthday party. After some travel, the pair stop before some massive double white doors- early 1900s music emanating from them.

They push the double doors open, revealing the back of a large pipe smoking figure sitting on a pearl white couch in front of a burning fireplace. The women drag Luther inside and abandon him behind the couch to speak with said figure.

"Your Majesty?" Esther calls out, "We've brought you a gift."

AUTHOR'S NOTE

This is a short teaser to the full story actual story. If you so happen to like the structure and description of my writing, please be sure to Like for a hopefully more improved version. Lastly, if you so happen to have the time, please consider commenting on what you like and or foresee in Luther's journey. Thank you for your time, have a nice day or night.