Lakeshore

Chapter 2
Initiation: Part 1

Chapter Description: Riley begins his path toward the secrets of Scholomance.

Earlier that spring the Caldwell estate had been raided by seventeen cops and a half dozen dogs, led by a notorious federal narcotics agent who was visiting for an upcoming alumni weekend. Em and two of her friends were arrested on various distribution charges, but most of these had to be dropped due to “peculiarities in the search warrant”. Shortly after the raid the narcotics agent purportedly moved to the countryside; and the local police made no further attempts to breach the gates. They and the rest of the neighborhood contented themselves with lurking on the highway across the way and checking out all those coming but occasionally, not going. Local sheriffs deputies stopped and questioned a steady stream of college professors, vagrants, lawyers, students, psychologists, psychics and high-style hippies. There was not much the police could do except run keep a steady flow of traffic tickets on the cars parked illegally for weeks, but they did this with unflagging determination. Now and then they would find an obvious drunk or somebody completely stoned, but during several months of intense vigil their only actual arrests netted less than a half dozen homeless squatters.

Meanwhile, the parties grew ever wilder and crazier. There was very little weed, but copious amounts of what appeared to be household cleaner, which was then not known to be a tricksters mixture. The cops parked by the dozens and gazed across the creek at a scene that must have tortured the very roots of their understanding, shattered paradigms and caused many confused blinks. Here were all these students and randoms running wild, bellowing and dancing half naked to bass heavy rap and wild perversions of classic house, all the while arriving and leaving in uneven numbers at the gated mansion.

I figured this was where I’d be going as Em grabbed my hand and led me far through the hall to a door. At this point, I’d stopped considering any and all laws that (in my recent experience, anyway) governed the physical realm. Regardless, I couldn’t help but assume that I was standing at a back door of sorts leading to some kind of secret lot with secret cars funded by secret drug money in which Em and I could drive to that secret party…and maybe even test the durability of her Victoria’s secret lingerie as I tore it off in the backseat…

Several minutes and crushed expectations later, Em and I were standing in front of a pit with no visible bottom, surrounded by four naked stone walls, setting the room in a cube shape. In fact, tendrils of darkness seemed to rise up from the hole, and I felt compelled to backpedal a bit. The creepy thing was pulling me toward it.

“Are you alright?” Em stopped and looked at me with concern. “I understand this is all very strange, and that I haven’t really explain things properly, but this next step is very important. So, I really need to know, are you—”

“I’m fine,” I said, trying to sound a bit tough. Granted, the beads of sweat on my forehead despite the cold air in the chamber lent evidence to the contrary, but I still needed to stay strong. “So…what happens next?”

She put her hands around my chest from behind me, resting her head against my neck. “Ry,” she said, her voice barely audible, just a whisper in the dark, cool air of the chamber, “I really can’t help you with this part. But please promise me you’ll come back just as you are now.”

My pulse leaped. I could feel her tears running down her warm cheeks onto my neck. Then, I felt the moisture rise away as Em pushed me with her full strength forward. I felt the warmth from her arms dissipate to be replaced by the cold of the pit as I went airborne above it, wavering for just a moment before my lips let loose I primal scream and I began to descend into the dark below.

I fell for what seemed like ages, the wind whistling past me. That was fine though. As I fell, I could make out subtle and quick screams. I heard a man shout, a woman shriek, and for a moment recognized the shrill wailing of an infant, perhaps even multiple. As I finally made out ground below me, I wondered what kind of doomed abyss Em had sent me to.

I hit the ground. Hard enough to wonder if I was alive and, if so, how I had survived. I had been falling for at least twenty minutes. I certainly was dead. Nevertheless, I was able to force myself to a standing position after a few moments and look around. I found myself within a forest dark, for the straightforward pathway had been lost. Or something like that. I could make out someone standing in the distance, leaning against a tree. For just a moment, she looked toward me and her eyes flashed like headlights before she spun on her heel and started off ahead.

“Wait!” I yelled, but she didn’t respond. I tried to run after her, but my injuries finally decided to show their faces. As I took the first step forward, my mind was locked with terrifying pain, as if a firing squad had let loose behind each of my ribs. I fell slowly and closed my eyes, only to feel a pair of strong arms catch me and lay me gently onto the ground. I gazed up, my vision blurry, only making out a woman’s face in the darkness.

“Let me guess, you must be Virgil?” I said, just a hint of sarcasm coming through the pain.

“Virginia, actually. I would tell you more, but you probably won’t stay awake long enough.” She was smiling at me. I felt warm.

I opened my mouth to respond with something clever, but, as if on cue, the pain claimed me and I fell off into a different darkness.

***

I woke to find myself laying in what was perhaps the most comfortable bed I’d ever been in. Soft blankets covered me and my head felt like it was laying against a bunch of clouds. Everything felt fine, except for one glaring annoyance: the handcuffs keeping my wrists against the mattress below me. I could see that the second cuff was fastened through a metal loop protruding above the mattress. My ankles had been fed through some sort of stock like device and I could really move my abdomen on account of the pain it would cause.

So I lay there, waiting for something to happen.

After a time, I heard the oddly familiar sound of heels against a wooden floor. Eight steps, then a stop. Three more steps. Four more. A cabinet opening with a slight squeak.

“Hello? Is anyone there?” I hadn’t spoken since the fall, and my throat felt dry. I heard the steps draw nearer and nearer until the woman stood in the doorway with a warm smile on her face. She was wearing, as I’d guessed, short heels, a mid length skirt, and a blouse. Her hair was tied in a bun, and she was wearing the pendant necklace I had given her for mothers day, 16 years ago.

“M-m-mom?” I felt the tears start to stream down my face, first in the single digits before a steady cascade bathed my cheeks and drip onto my chest.

The smile melted off my mother’s face and was replaced by a sneer that resounded within my heart. “Not quite, sweetie. Unfortunately, your mother couldn’t make it down here. But, this appearance was all you thought about while you were asleep. I figured seeing this first might give you some…comfort before the fun part starts.”

I couldn’t take this. The voice, the look. Everything was the same. But my mother had died years ago of a bacterial infection while she was traveling with my father. My happiness and confusion morphed into a steady anger. “Who the fuck are you? What the fuck are you? Who—” My voice broke as I began to sob full force, screaming with no sound as I looked at her.

“I’m Virginia, from before. I’ll be teaching you some things while you’re here.”

I looked up again, fuming. “Why do you look like my mother?”

“In due time sweetie. This is who you were thinking about, and my parter for this bit insisted this be your trial.”

With all the confusion, I had finally calmed down just enough to speak clearly. “Teach me? What the hell are you talking about? Are you with Scholomance?”

“Not really. I’m just doing my part. To give you that power…it’s a bit more complex than learning a spell. Just remember this: even the best chefs had to get burned at some point.” She put a finger up, as if she were dishing out some quality wisdom to me.

My only response was, “What the hell are you talking about?!?!” I has calmed down, but the combination of the confusion and her appearance had reignited my rage.

She sighed. “Look, this is going to be difficult for you. But, quite honestly, I’m not going to pretend I won’t enjoy this process. I’m going to release you, but be civil with my partner.”

She flicked her wrist and the cuffs disappeared. I turned and sat upright in the bed as I heard more footsteps. When the second figure came through the door, I couldn’t hold back. Jumping from the bed, I ignored the protests from my chest and lunged for this ‘partners’ throat. This was too cruel. This was unforgivable. I grabbed his flannel shirt and tore it open as I pulled him toward me and punched him. His hard pecks and hairy face each received another blow, but he didn’t react at all. I looked up at his eyes, same as mine, and they flickered until the entire shape was black as the night.

We both froze for a moment as we locked eyes. “If you’re here, this must be hell. Isn’t that right, Dad?”

He blinked and looked at me. “You’ve got it. But you probably can’t guess what’s next. Unlike Virginia, I plan on making it very clear that teaching you will be the highlight of this century for me.”

I took another swing at his snickering face. This time, he grabbed my wrist and yanked me toward him. He dragged me back toward the bed as he sat down. Then, with an insanely low amount of effort, he pulled me across him lap, securing my arms behind my back. I knew this position all to well.

As he used his other hand to slowly peel off my pants and boxers, he looked up at mom, or Virginia rather, and said, “I suppose he’s still got this old anger at me.” As he finished pulling my boxers off, he rested a hand across my ass. “In my humble opinion, I think old vendetta need old punishments to quash them. As a matter of fact, I think everything here needs a little throwback to feel right.”

He finished speaking, and I felt his hand heat up gradually against my ass. I was too shocked to speak— this was too much to handle. I was in Hell, splayed across my dead father’s lap naked from the waist down as his hand began to approach uncomfortable temperatures. The first blow came hard. I yelped at the pain, it was considerably more than what I’d expected. My father started off with a swat every four seconds or so, but soon he was raining blows down in earnest. My rear was on fire, heated from my hand and the spanking, but my insides felt like they were being churned. His hand seemed to grow with every hit, and my crotch was on fire. I screamed as my body sank into agony. I felt my testicles pulled, then I realized they were going inside of me. My teeth began to be sink into my gums as new, smaller ones pierced my flesh to take their places. Every hair on my body stood straight out, then those on my face began to retract. All the while my scream took on a higher pitch, getting even louder once I realized exactly what was happening to me. Finally, the blows slowed in pace, and eventually stopped. My legs were barely hanging over my father’s lap now, and as he pulled my oversized shirt off I didn’t resist in the slightest. Fearing more punishment, I sobbed gently as he picked me up and stood me in front of him.

Suddenly, his face took on a more comforting pose. He feigned concern, then allowed his eyes to transition back to a normal green.

“Come on Riley, don’t cry. Why are you sad? Don’t you understand? You’re home, buddy.”