Ben sped through the puddles, his electric bike's headlights cutting through the rain-soaked night. The storm had barely let up, and the dark clouds still threatened more downpours. He arrived home late, soaked to the bloody bone, and knackered from the day's events. As he pushed open the front door, he was met with a familiar unfriendly voice.
"Look who finally decided to grace us with their presence," Jennifer teased, leaning against the hallway wall with her arms crossed. Her cheerleader uniform accentuated her toned body, and her blonde hair framed a face that could easily be described as classically beautiful. Unfortunately it was permanently painted with a derisive smirk and a generally smug look, though that could have more to do with who she was looking at. The siblings had never gotten along. "You look like a drowned rat. Did you get lost on your way back from 'voluntoldering'?"
Ben sighed, not in the mood for her persistent mockery. "Yeah, Jen. I got lost. Now can you please just let me pass?" Under his breath, he mumbled his own dig back at her "wouldn't want the rain to melt you."
Jennifer laughed, stepping aside but not before giving him a final smirk. "Whatever, loser."
Ignoring her, Ben trudged upstairs to his room. He stripped off his wet clothes, tossed them into a corner. After grabbing a towel from the wardrobe to quickly dry himself off, it too joining the soggy clothing in the corner he collapsed onto his bed. Crawling up it with the minimal energy that was left in his tired body and slipped under the sheets that felt almost too warm against his chilled skin. He drew the covers over his face and snuggled in. His body felt great now wrapped in complete comfort with nothing else for it to do. His mind, however, was a whirlwind of thoughts about the succubi and the ritual he had witnessed. Finally, he shoved it all to the back of his mind, hoping sleep would offer some respite. Thankfully his weariness brought him to sleep before
**
The next morning, Ben dragged himself out of bed. The storm had thankfully passed, leaving behind a cool, crisp and somewhat damp morning. He grabbed a quick breakfast and headed out to catch the bus to school. As he boarded, he spotted his friends huddled together near the back.
"Hey, Ben!" called out Jake, one of his best mates. "How was your weekend? Any more exciting stories from church duty?"
"Maybe he polished a pole, like a good altar boy" chuckled Mark.
Ben managed a weak smile, sliding into the seat beside them. He was well used the church banter by now. "Nothing exciting, just the usual cleaning and organizing."
Chris, another friend, raised an eyebrow. "That sounds like a barrel of laughs. You at least get to sneak in some video games?"
"Nah, no time for that," Ben replied, trying to keep the conversation light. "But what about you guys? What did you do?" Jake grinned. "I went to a party on Saturday. It was insane! Everyone was there." Chris nodded enthusiastically a wide grin on his face. "Yeah, was there too, and I swear I saw ya sis getting cosy with some rando. You should've seen her, Ben. She looked amazing."
Ben's heart skipped a beat at the mention of his pain in the arse eldest sister (there was no need to ask if it was one of the twins). "Really? Maybe she finally dumped that loser boyfriend of hers." The bus ride continued with more chatter about parties, schoolwork, and upcoming exams. Ben tried to focus on his friends' stories, but his mind kept drifting back to the events at the church. By the time the bus reached school, his head was spinning with conflicting emotions.
"Hey, you guys hear the lower grade all suddenly got sent off on work placement? Thank fuck we didn't have to do that."
As they disembarked, most of the guys were busy responding to Mark. Jake slowed down to stick with Ben patting him on the back. "Hey, don't look so stressed, buddy. We'll survive these last few weeks. Then we can finally move on to uni and do a Jessica... and blow this popsicle stand." He gave Ben a large wink trying to lift his spirits. Ben nodded, plastering on a smile. "Yeah, you're right. Let's just get through this month."
They parted ways at the entrance, each heading to their respective classes. Ben walked down the corridor, the drone of students chatting and laughing around him. He entered his classroom and took a seat near the back, glancing at the clock. Only a few minutes left before the bell rang.
His thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of Miss Evans, their history teacher, standing at the front of the room. Her long black hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her piercing green eyes seemed to study each student as they settled in. "Hmm has she done something to her hair?" he thought as he tried to work out what was different about her.
"Good morning, class," she greeted, her voice clear and authoritative. "Today, we'll be going over the rise of Fascism in Europe. Please take out your textbooks and turn to page 124."
Ben opened his book, but his mind was far from the lecture. He couldn't shake the image of the succubi and the ritual from his thoughts. How could any of this be real? And what did it mean for him?
As Miss Evans began her lecture, her voice became a distant murmur. Ben's thoughts were interrupted again when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Chris looking at him, concern on his face. "You okay, man? You zoned out for a bit there." Ben forced a smile. "Yeah, just tired. Didn't sleep well." Chris nodded, accepting the explanation.
"Well, hang in there. Lunch is almost here. We can grab something and relax for a bit." Ben nodded, grateful for the distraction. But as the minutes ticked by, the weight of his secret only seemed to grow heavier. He needed to find a way to deal with what he had seen and find some semblance of normalcy in his life.
As the bell rang and the standard dash for the door began Ben continued to move slowly, much to the ire of his mates. "Hurry up church boy," heckled Mark, "some of us have hot girlfriends waiting for them... not gonna keep Beth's awesome ass waiting for your hairy one."
