How long had we driven for? A few hours? The large abundance of trees in the area signaled that we were close to Mescalero, New Mexico. Recently, my brother, Michael and I were checking out rituals online due to lack of better things to do. Eventually, we stumbled upon one called "Luck In Mescalero," a ritual that could result in millions of dollars, good luck, a wish being granted, and all that jazz.
At first I laughed it off, but Michael insisted that we go due to Mescalero being within driving distance. This was when I really began to consider the whole ordeal. Everything could go right. It was too tempting to refuse. It took me, oh, five hours to finally drive the car to the gas station and prepare it for the next day ahead.
Today was the day. The sun was slowly setting on the horizon, creating a beautiful image to look at. Our materials were in the backseat, and the source of the entire ritual had been copied onto paper. Lining the sides of the roads were advertisements and directions towards the Inn of the Mountain Gods, our direct location. It wasn't long before I turned the car towards the road to the hotel. We crossed through mountains before finally chancing upon the beautiful lake.
"That's gorgeous," Michael said.
"You can say that again," I replied.
We parked our car inside of the parking lot, which was already full and crowded with multiple cars, just to exit and walk back up the hill towards the check-in area. We entered the hotel, materials in hand. To our left, the casino. To our right, Broken Arrow. And in front of us? The giant fountain pouring water, already filled with coins.
I walked towards the fountain. Michael followed behind. The first staircase leading to the fountain separated into two other stairways down to ground floor, but I didn't need to use them. I turned towards Michael and said, "What's my cue?"
He handed me the coin and sealed it in my right palm. I slipped the coin within my fingers, feeling its metallic surface. "Do you remember the words?" Michael asked me.
I thought for a second. "Yeah."
I closed my eyes and began to speak. "Luck has shone upon me today. Whatever luck has to offer for me, I kindly ask that it currently present itself in its purest form. Take me to the place where the sky shines blue and the water is emerald green. If there is a risk I need to take, I will take it." I tried to be fancy with throwing the coin, I flipped it with my thumb and heard it plop in the water.
All of the lights turned off. I heard Michael scream in horror, then shout a pained "Ow!" following a loud slam on the upper staircase.
Then, everything went black - not much different from the the earlier darkness, but still just as shocking.
The ritual had begun.
When I opened my eyes, I looked around. "Michael!" I screamed. "Where are you?!"
"Right here!" he replied frantically.
Sure enough, the sky was blue outside and the water in the glimmering lake was green. There was no one in the hotel besides us, very different from earlier. No sign of life. All was still. We had one hour to survive here - the only thing I was oblivious to is to what would happen within that hour.
"Let's walk across the hotel. Don't worry, I have the lantern. If we're going to want to live, we're going to live now," Michael said.
I nodded. Who knew what would happen?
We ascended up the staircase. The fake fireplace was turned off, Broken Arrow was devoid of life, and it took me too long to notice that the fountain had stopped running, nor were there any coins nor water in there.
It chilled me.
We walked down the aisles. Still, there was nothing. No one. We walked towards the casino, which was much of the same - still nothing. We walked down, passing the inactive fountain.
It had been around 10 minutes into our hour when we finally sat on the fountain's rim and gave up with exploring.
Suddenly, the water outside began to rumble. The emerald color of the water faded into a deep muggy green. Before we knew it, the entire hotel was shaking. Much to the shock of Michael and I, small goblins started coming out of the lake, increasingly growing bigger by the second.
"Run," Michael mumbled. "Run!"
We ran up the staircase, tripping all the way. It was too late, for the goblins had already teleported inside and were charging straight for us. We ran towards the elevators, frantically pushed buttons, and waited until we arrived at an acceptable floor. Hopefully, the goblins wouldn't find us there.
"I'm beginning to regret this," Michael groaned.
"Me too," I replied.
When we arrived at a room, I kicked the door down with my shoes and signaled to the bathroom. Michael and I hid inside, slamming the door behind us. The lights were off, and we stayed close to each other with the shower curtains closed.
We waited. And waited. And waited.
It seemed like forever until the rumbling finally stopped. I opened my eyes again to find myself in the lobby, next to Michael-the same exact place where we were before. To my surprise, there was no evidence that the goblins had even existed. They had simply been wiped out. Nothing was destroyed.
Suddenly, the rumbling started again. Giant waves lashed at the window.
"Oh, no, no, no," Michael mumbled. "This is just like Catching Fire, where different things happen each given time!"
My heart sunk.
Literally.
A wave came crashing towards us, breaking the glass, sending sea spray onto our faces and dampening strands of my hair.
"Stay back!" I yelled. "Just stay back!"
We remained close to the window for the duration of the time.
Finally, after one more massive wave, it was over. When we filed into the lobby, the destruction had again disappeared we waited there for the next disaster to happen, but nothing did.
"Huh," Michael said. "Maybe it's broken?"
We were walking towards the casino when I felt something shift underneath my foot, like a pressure plate of some sort. As soon as I heard the noise, I saw a needle flying through the air. It pierced me in my arm.
"Ouch!" I cried in pain. Blood stained my sweater and trickled down my arm, making me blush. "So, there's needles now," I gasped. "Let's be careful."
We cautiously walked through the casino. When Michael touched one of the slot machines, I heard him yelp out in agony. One had pierced his back. As we walked, we got hurt more - one to my leg, another to my arm, and one to my nose. As for Michael, there were multiple needles. He was in clear, searing pain.
"Thank god we've only got a half hour left," Michael sighed.
"That means we only have to survive two more things," I said. "Let's continue on."
"And then it's the finale," Michael replied. "How will we make it out alive?"
I shrugged.
The fourth round would be starting soon, anyway.
Of course, there was the rumbling that I had grown numb to.
But what happened next was something that none of us had been expecting.
Giant bricks fell onto the ground, almost falling at random. It was almost like hail. Thank the Lord that none of the bricks had fallen onto us from the start, but we began rushing through the hotel, trying to find a secure shelter from the bricks. One of the bricks fell onto my back, weighing me down to the ground as I groaned in pain. Michael helped me onto my feet.
However, my biggest concern was not of the bricks, nor of the pain, but of the finale.
This time, when the round was over, a horn erupted. As soon as it ended, we were both holding knives.
This was going to be big.
Michael held up his lantern.
We walked around until the area's presence became cold. So cold that I couldn't move. Michael shone his lantern, and suddenly the area warmed up again.
And that was the moment that indescribable creatures appeared, screaming. They had no eyes, a large nose, and a disfigured tongue.
The creatures leapt onto us, gnashing and screaming. One of them left a mark on my face, but I swung my knife and killed it. Smaller ones tried to knock me over, but I kicked them off and stabbed them. Michael did the same with a trick of his own by slashing his knife and killing a row of them efficiently.
Suddenly, a big one was coming for us. It was the biggest monster I never hoped to lay eyes on. It had purely white pupils, a bigger nose, and a large mouth.
No way.
With a scream, I threw my knife at the creature's heart just as it aimed a needle at me.
We were both pushed back, and I saw Michael looming over me with worry. He dropped his knife onto the ground next to me.
"We are worthy!" he screamed.
We were being returned.
The lights turned off, then went back on swiftly. When I was finally able to stand, I looked at Michael. "We did it!" I shouted. Michael and I hugged each other tightly. "Wait a minute, what was our gift?" I asked.
"Let's find out later," he replied. "I'm just so glad you're safe."
We kept hugging for a minute more before heading to the casino. I rushed to play one of the slots, sat down, and saw what my score would be.
When my eyes caught sight of the screen, I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
Jackpot.
My gift was good luck.
Notice:
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