Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 [Part 5] (https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/n03k5m/a_half_priced_voodoo_store_opened_up_on_campus/) [Part 6] (https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/n7dmjk/a_half_priced_voodoo_store_opened_up_on_campus/) [Part 7] (https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/obag7a/a_half_priced_voodoo_store_opened_up_on_campus/)
Arriving back at the dorm it was clear that Brian had sugar-coated what had happened just a little bit. The door was nearly torn off its hinges and the whole dorm was in complete disarray. The couch had been flipped over and just by looking towards my room I could tell that it was also in a state of a complete mess.
“You made it seem like it wasn’t that bad,” I told Brian when he came out of his room when he heard me come in. Looking around and nodding a bit. “Anything taken?” I asked him, flipping the table over and putting the items back on top of it.
“Honestly I can’t even tell. Everything is everywhere so I can’t mentally check to see if anything is really missing.” He sighed, walking over and motioning to help him flip the couch back over. Grunting along with him I flipped it back over and sighed.
“Well I’ll go see the damage in my room I guess.” I sighed walking over and reaching out to grab my doorknob. I barely grabbed it, when the entire door fell forward into my room. Staring at it with just the smallest bit of resentment, I took a step into my room and found it utterly and completely trashed. It was worse than the common room and just by a hunch much worse than Brian’s room.
“What are the chances that your creepy undead boss did this?” Brian asked me, standing in the doorframe and looking around at the complete mess that my room had become. I sighed as I looked around at the smashed and destroyed items around my room. I didn’t come with much but the little amount had basically been smashed and thrown across the ground.
“I’d say pretty good chances.” I sighed, going over to my bed and checking under it, half expecting those button eyes to be staring back at me. But thankfully there was nothing under there but the suitcase I had brought when I moved in. Pulling myself up with an old man grunt I looked around the room and just felt tired looking at the mess I was going to have to clean up.
“It’s weird, they didn’t even touch my room. Like at all.” Brian said from my doorframe, looking around at my mess and heading back into the common room when I exited my completely trashed room. Sighing hard I rubbed my face and smeared my makeup all over my hands and face. I was too fed up to care at this point.
“Alright, well I have classes in a few hours and you have to work soon right? Maybe together we can clean all this up.” I sighed, not really feeling the urge to report this to anyone. What would I tell them? My freaky undead voodoo boss broke in and trashed the place? Brian barely believed me at first, why would anyone else?
Together I and Brian were able to get the common room in some kind of clean state. And I said I could handle my room while he went to work. With the promise to keep an eye on Preston to see if he did anything strange. Once he left I looked around the dorm and felt just a tiny bit unnerved by something.
“For once I’m glad I have class,” I mumbled to myself, walking back into my destroyed room and picking up my makeup from the floor, and going about fixing the smear I had created on myself. I was in the middle of gathering my stuff for class when my phone rang. Fishing it out of my pocket I saw it was Alexandra. Pressing the speaker button I placed the phone on my bed and went about my makeup. “Hello Alexandra, I’m in a bit of a hurry.”
“Good afternoon Travis.” Her soft motherly voice filled my room as she spoke. It was always a comforting feeling to have her or Olivia call me. “Are you free tomorrow? Me and Olivia wish to visit you.” She said, the sound of Olivia being excited on the other end did, even more, to make me smile.
“I should be free tomorrow,” I said as I finished up my makeup and made sure I still looked somewhat presentable. “I told Brian about everything. So he knows pretty much everything about what happened.” I explained to her, moving away from my mirror and fishing my backpack from the mess of my room, and checking to make sure both nothing evil was in there and that I had everything for class.
“Very well. I will inform you when we have arrived. Good luck today Travis.” I heard her hand the phone to Olivia.
“I can’t wait to see you!” She shouted excitedly. Bringing a smile to my face as I looked over to my phone.
“Me too Livy. See you guys tomorrow.” I ended the call and sighed out the little bit of breath I was holding in my lungs. Picking up my backpack I headed for the door and realized a predicament. Mostly the fact that the front door was almost completely blown off its hinges. Carefully closing it, I made it seem like it wasn’t about to fall down if you just blew on it and just went off to class. Hopefully, no one actually wanted to rob up this time.
Entering my next class I took my usual spot away from most people and did my best to follow whatever it was the professor was teaching today. Honestly, for as much as I hate being in class and struggling to try and keep up with everyone else, this is still far better than being at the voodoo store. Which just made me more worried for Brian working at this seeming knock-off shop.
As these thoughts kept filling my head I kept trying to scribble down on my notes. Sighing hard I had thought that I should just give up when suddenly that idea was thrown out the window. Looking around at the other students I flinched out of my chair and fell down, looking around at all of them. They were all suspended by string, with their eyes and mouths sewn shut.
I stood up quickly and moved to the closest student to me. Poking them for any kind of reaction. They were hanging from strings and mindlessly scribbling on their notes or typing on their laptops if they had one. I looked around at all of them and then down at me. Luckily enough for me, I wasn’t under the string’s control.
“Travis, is there something the matter?” Creole’s soft voice pulled me away from the horror around me and drew my attention down to where the professor had been teaching. He stared back at me with a smile on his face as he tossed the lifeless body of my professor on the floor. “Seems like you fell asleep in class.” He chuckled, tilting his head at me which cracked and crunched like he hadn’t cracked it in years.
“H-how?! I was just taking notes!” I shouted back at him, looking over at my desk as if to confirm it. Walking back over and checking my notes I saw that I hadn’t been doing that at all. My book was completely filled with scribbles and illegible chicken scratch. Which for me is saying something. My handwriting is terrible.
“To think that you fell asleep in a class that you’re paying for!” This nightmare Creole chuckled, taking a long gangly step towards me. When he did so all the students turned their heads towards me. Their sewn-up faces hiding their expressions, but the air I felt around them was plain enough for me to tell they were pissed off and angry. “Shoulda just stayed put in the shop, Travis. Would’ve been better for you.” Creole’s voice came closer and closer. Looking over I caught sight of him climbing up on the desks and easily walking on top of them over to me.
“Oh yeah, being your stupid puppet for eternity would definitely be better than this!” I shouted back at him, fishing in my pocket for any kind of item that could help defend myself. Pulling out the pen I had been using for writing. That wasn’t going to help me, unless. Before I got in another war of words with Creole I quickly clicked the pen and jammed it into my hand.
Flinching hard I suddenly fell out of my desk and looked around in complete confusion. Looking up I saw that a few of the other students were looking at me like I was an idiot. Which I guess I am. Standing back up and sitting back in my chair I sighed and decided just to not try for the rest of the lecture. Staring down at my hand I saw that there was a small hole staring back at me. Now when my hands had been drilled into when I was turned into a puppet, they eventually healed around the strings in my hand. So seeing a tiny hole staring back at me made me unsettled. Even if I was the reason it had happened.
When the lecture was finally over I made my way out of and quickly started heading to my dorm. Carefully opening the door I poked my head into it and looked around to make sure all was still well. It was so I pushed the door all the way open and stepped in. Checking my phone in hopes to see if Brian had messaged me, I let out a worried sigh when I saw he hadn’t. I paced around the dorm a bit before heading back to my room to try and clean it up.
Finally getting my room back to its state of messy clean that I enjoyed I then decided that instead of staying here and accidentally falling asleep I might as well try and do something that I hadn’t done in a long long time. Socialize. Honestly, that’s almost as terrifying as Nightmare Creole is. Getting up all my social skills I headed out and down towards the same area I had gotten my pizza at. And I already regretted my decision when I saw Riley and her group of friends coming out of one of the shops nearby.
“Travis!” Riley’s excited voice came, as I tried to turn around and escape. She came over and smiled as her friends followed after her. Obviously not happy at being dragged over to see this obviously awkward idiot in front of them.
“H-hey Riley,” I mumbled to her, reaching up to scratch my stitches, and catching myself before I revealed them to anyone. “Uhm, I was just passing through,” I told her, looking over at her friend group and praying my foundation held up.
“That’s cool. We were just heading outside. Wanna join us?” She asked, looking up at me. I swallowed nervously and suddenly was really regretting my choice to try and socialize. “Common, at least walk us over to our dorms.” She asked me, to which I finally agreed.
“Hey, aren’t you the guy that fell out of your chair during the last lecture at psychology?” One of her friends asked me, a raised brow directed at me. I swallowed yet another lump in my throat and thankful that this foundation was hiding both my painted red cheeks and my actually red cheeks.
“Uh yeah. Had a nightmare.” I quickly explained away as I walked with them out of the hall and onto the campus grounds. Sticking close to Riley since she was the only one I knew in this group of ladies.
“Really? In High School, you slept through everything. One time you slept through a fire drill!” Riley teased at me, nudging me playfully. Causing me to panic slightly at being touched, but managing to hold it in against the building wall of uncomfortableness.
“A lot has changed since then,” I told her with just a hint of sorrow in my voice. She seemed to pick up on it and turned to talk to me. But we didn’t get much of a chance.
“Hey, let’s head in here real quick!” One of her friends called out, pointing my attention to the voodoo shop. My stomach sank even further upon seeing that we had found our way over there. This was just the group of people I dreaded seeing in the voodoo shop. Because I knew I would have to clean up.
“Why?” Riley asked, her attention turning from me back to her friends. “What business do you have Becky?” She asked Becky, a girl with a Karen haircut in the making by the looks of things.
“I want to get a good luck charm for my test tomorrow.” She hummed, turning and heading towards her entrance. Everyone else followed except for me and Riley. She groaned and looked over to me.
“You coming with?” She asked me, with eyes that basically begged me to follow her in. Reluctantly I nodded back and smiled a little when she smiled up at me and thanked me. Together we entered the voodoo shop to see Brian at the counter talking to one of the girls.
“Yo! Travis!” He said, more than a little surprised to see me outside of the house. And with a random girl as well. Riley looked up at me surprised as well. Probably from the fact I had an actual friend.
“He’s my roommate,” I explained to her.
“Just your roommate? I’m hurt, Travis.” Brian pouted, obviously faking it. I rolled my eyes at him and turned back to Riley.
“He’s my roommate and very annoying.” I corrected.
“Thank you very much.” Brain said with a chuckle, turning back to finish talking with the girl at the counter while the others looked around at the random knick-knacks that were offered by this place. Me and Riley looked around together, ending up at the wall of voodoo dolls. Well, wall of voodoo doll templates. Unlike Ol’ King Creole’s, these voodoo dolls weren’t designed to look like people. They all just kinda looked like Tempie.
“Do you even believe any of this voodoo crap?” Riley turned to ask me as she picked up a voodoo doll from the wall. I looked at her, and then down at my hand. Imagining the torture and pain that the living voodoo doll had done to me. And what he had caused me to do to my parents.
“Yea,” I mumbled back weakly. Really at that point just wanting to leave and go back to my room. But our little awkward moment was interrupted by the sound of violent coughing from behind us. Both of us turned around to see Preston Brooks. Supposed owner of this here Voodoo establishment.
“So sorry kiddos. This cold just gets worse and worse.” He chuckled with a smile. Putting the handkerchief he had coughed into back into his pocket and closed his hands together. “Anything I can help you two find?”
“Just looking,” Riley responded, placing the doll back on the wall with his other friends. “We’re just waiting for my friends to finish up,” Riley said, moving on and leaving me to look at this dude that ran the shop.
“Uh, yea. What she said.” I mumbled, backing up from him and into the wall of voodoo dolls.
“Shame, well let me know if you need anything.” He said with a smile and left me there. I let out a breath of relief and soon flinched when I felt a hand on my shoulder.
“It’s me, dude. Sorry, I had to get your attention quietly.” Brian told me, looking at me and then back at Preston as he had his back to us helping Becky to pick out a charm for her test. “Something’s up with him,” Brian whispered to me as he pulled me over to a corner.
“What do you mean?” I asked him, looking at an item to make it seem like Brian was helping to explain what it was.
“He coughs way too much. Like I’ve had bad colds before, but this dude sounds like he smokes a pack of cigarettes every hour on the hour.” He pointed back towards Preston and we both watched. He pulled out his handkerchief and coughed hard into it. That loud scratchy cough that makes it seem like somethings stuck up in there.
“Okay, so maybe he just has a disease or something. That isn’t exactly bad, right?” I asked him, placing the item back and picking up another one off the counter in the corner.
“No, except what comes out of his mouth. That handkerchief at the start of the day is white. Look at the color now.” We both turned our heads to see. The item was completely black as he put it back into his pocket and continued helping Becky out.
“Point taken,” I said shakily, going back to looking at the item and starting to think. Me and Creole whenever we got hurt always leaked out a black ooze from our bodies. Which from what Alexandra had told me was our soul trying to escape. Hence why Creole’s mouth is sewn up, it keeps his soul from leaking out.
“Plus he gets this weird dude coming in all the time. Looks like a slick business guy from the 80s or something. Hairs slicked back and he’s got giant bags under his eye. He always comes in around this time and they talk to each other in his office.” As if on cue the front door opened and a man walked in holding an umbrella. Despite the fact, it was perfectly clear outside.
“Ah! You’re here.” Preston chuckled walking over and shaking the man’s hand as he closed his large umbrella and used it as a kind of cane.
“Let’s just get this over with.” The mystery man told him, looking around the shop his eyes suddenly fell on me. His eyes were heavy like he was about to fall asleep at any moment but they shot open the moment he saw me. He pulled Preston close to him and whispered into his ear. Preston nodded quickly and walked off towards the office, the mystery man following after.
“Whoever he is, I think he knows me.” I swallowed and looked over to Brian. “I think I should leave before anything happens.”
“Hey, are you going to ring me up or what?” Becky suddenly asked, our attention turning to her and Brain quickly nodded. Leaving me with his usual fistbump and heading back behind the counter.
“Oh my God, did you see who that was?!” Riley suddenly came running over to me, excitedly grabbing my arms and pulling me along. I freaked out and pulled my arm away from her. She looked at me confused and just a little bit hurt.
“Uh, I bruised it when I fell out of my desk.” I quickly lied.
“Oh! Shit, I’m sorry. But, did you see him?!” She quickly said, changing the subject back to her excitement.
“Yeah, who the hell is he?” I asked her, and she looked up at me like I had just called her the c-word or something.
“That’s Constantine Sinclair!! He runs the Sombra Rehab Center!! It’s my dream place to work, I wanna help addicts get over their addiction and become normal parts of society again!” She told me excitedly. All the while I looked on in terror towards that office door.
Constantine Sinclair. I had heard Creole on the phone with him before. And now I’m finding out who the Hell he actually is.
Why the fuck does Creole know him. And why is he inside a Voodoo Shop?