Hello everybody. I am Odette, Sophie„s mom. This is the first time I post here, although stories about events in my life have been posted here before. My dear Sophie posted about things that happened recently (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3).
After the home invasion from Sophie’s last post, things seemed to have calmed down. Helena remained in our house, to watch over us, especially Sophie and Artanis. In a way, we returned to normal, at least me and my husband, being awake during the day and sleeping during the night. Helena, of course, was asleep during the day, mostly, and awake at night. There were some sparse testimonies on Facebook regarding Candles being seen, and the usual missing people reports, but nothing spectacular. Yet, something remained in the air, like a shadow.
Some crappy things have happened those days, not supernatural in nature, before last night. For those who have not read what was posted before, I can tell you that the father of my granddaughter is not my son in law, and his mother is a loathsome person. Instead of supporting her granddaughter, she threatened us with several things, some legal, some not. She is, supposedly, a businesswoman who raises her own son on her own, after divorce. Some fifteen years ago, she used to be the manager of a state owned factory, did some shady things there, like peculation, stealing a lot, so that the factory was closed, before becoming a businesswoman. She claims to be a devoted mother, though.
Michael is a charming young man, I can see why Sophie fell in love with him. He is smart and cultivated, although immature and under his mother„s control. Each time I have met them, only with Doina being present, Michael was, mostly, silent. One meeting, last month, left me with a headache. Last week, I received a citation for one of my signed projects (I am an urbanist.), that it was illegally put in practice, for the benefit of a gangster. It did not seem to me at the moment to be anything wrong with it, when I signed it.
Yesterday, a friend told me he knows something that Doina is behind all this. This made me pretty angry and I decided to have a confrontation. Sophie had a bad feeling about this, but I considered this prick needs to be addressed, so I asked Sophie to message Michael that I shall pay them a visit, since Doina blocked up on most channels. I finished work around 3 pm and drove from Bucharest to Mogoșoaia. Doina and Michael live in a new house, at the outskirts of Mogoșoaia, that is a suburb of the city, with picturesque architecture, parks/small forests and a lake. After I left, Doina messaged me on WhatsApp that we shall meet near the Chitila dendrological park. She sounded pretty insolent, that made me even angrier.
I waited for 15 minutes for Doina to appear. When I finally saw her car parking, I noticed Michael was with her. They both came out of the car, Doina in her Versace overcoat, with a sharp, malicious grin on her face, Michael behind. He looked pretty low, pale and sickly, he tried hard not to keep his head down. Doina looked at me with a contemptuous smile. I tried to keep calm.
”I know what you did.” I said. ”Really?” she replied grimly. ”Yes, I know. You can not prove a thing.” She tilted her head, keeping her expression: ”I do not know what you are talking about.” ”Stop pulling the crap, I know it is your device very well. And I want to tell you it will not work!” She replied with the same calm: ”I do not know what you are talking about.” Oh, she knew too well, I could read it in her face. A small breeze moved her Russian bob style haircut, but her face remained the same.
Michael was avoiding looking at me directly. This time, I felt somewhat less angry with him, I almost pitied him. With such a scorpion of a mother (Yes, in Romanian we call very toxic people scorpions.), most likely his life was ruined. Indeed, she claimed all she did was for him, but she does not. I do not think he loves him.
Doina looked different then the previous time I saw her, a few months ago. She seemed colder, more confident, more controlled, more hateful. After a few moments of silence, she said: ”This is all? I am busy, you are wasting my time.” I was quite abashed, as I did not know what to say or do. I went to my car, shouting one last thing: ”You shall not succeed.” I looked her in the eye and I felt really bad. Hard to describe in what way. I felt the need to drive just to calm down.
As I left, I started playing a new Gothic rock album I had discovered on Bandcamp the days before on high volume, to calm myself. I drove around Mogoșoaia several times. I even turned towards Dâmbovița county, wanting to reach Pitești, a city that is not close to Bucharest, but I turned back, after seeing night coming. My mind could not calm down, thoughts and emotions formed a rumble like a flock of seagulls on LSD. I played at high volume several other Gothic rock or Death rock albums, I felt the heavy guitar started to put my mind together, slowly.
At first, I had thoughts like fleeing the country. To the UK, first, but I could be rendered back.We discussed relocating out of Romania due to the supernatural issues, or least from Bucharest, but things felt easier on that. Several times, I was about to get into an accident on the highway. I got myself a coffee from a gas station, near a forest, to put myself back on track. While I drank it, something inside my mind was nagging me that I should not be alone after dark and, after what happened, it made sense. I had time to return to Bucharest in time.
As the sun disappeared below the wide plains of southern Romania, I was getting close to Mogoșoaia again, and the vibe of the city started to be felt. I hated the traffic jam, so I drove into several roads that I knew too well, since visiting certain monasteries. I tried listening to some Death rock, it did not work too well, I tried some new darkwave, it worked a bit.
A strange unease was felt, unlike anything I felt before. It was already nighttime. In front of me, on the road, a dark silhouette of a person, like some sort of old lady dressed in ragged grey clothes, crossed the road in front of me, but she seemed too tall and athletic to be an old lady. Also she seemed to be walking quite gracefully, with small and steady footsteps. She was not very close to me but, in order not to hit her, I slowed down, as she crossed the road towards some trees, where she disappeared. This old lady or whatever that was gave some chills on my spine, like I was not supposed to get too close.
Suddenly, my temples started to pulsate, where I have had scars from the wounds I have received in December 1989, by an unknown instrument of the Securitate, the Romanian political police of the time. I have not felt anything in that part of my head for more than 30 years. I thought I had to cut it out and get home. But I realized I didn’t know where I was, that I drove mindlessly in the last minutes.
I was near some sort of forest, I took my phone to check the location, but the phone turned off. The board of the car turned off as well. Since there were no street lights on in here and it was really dark, I pushed the break, as I could not see clearly ahead. Before the car stopped, I hit some sort of battlement and the car into a ditch. As my body shook and got ready for the impact, I was able to say the Jesus Prayer and the airbag hit my face. I thought of my life, how it was, I thought of Sophie and Artanis, if my husband would be able to take care of them on his own. I thought that they shall care for my soul and do all that is necessary, especially the Sărindar. I also thought I shall soon know how it is to be dead. A dead Elf.
The second impact reached the marrow of my bones. My forehead hurt so much that I felt like cracking, and my spine felt like breaking. The last thing I remember before it went dark is that I said: ”Lord, have mercy on my soul.”
I do not remember waking up. It was dark and cold. In a way, it felt like being submerged in cold water, but not literally. Was I dead? Was I dying? I was not sure, all I knew is the state of dead Humans is very different from the one of living Humans. Would for Elves be the same? Or, since the death of the unsaved Elf is only partial, things would be different? Cold and alone, but also not alone. Was I alive? Could I feel my body? I tried to make sense if I still had a body, legs, arms, head, like gathering me… I felt like hours, perhaps days? Like a limbo between being asleep and being awake it felt, but like naked in cold water, but not literally. Alone and lost with a presence of something who did not care for me, even hated me.
I started feeling a pain on my temples, on my old wounds. This meant that I still had a head. Indeed, I had a head and it hurt. Not an unbearable pain, indeed, but a present. I was grateful for it, as I remembered the crash now. Slowly, my head started to feel my head, then my neck, then my torso, then my limbs. It took a few minutes and, as I was clearly alive, I knew I needed to see if I could move. The fumes of unconsciousness were going away, but not without a fight. I was able to move the fingers on my right hand, then the left, then the toes. As I was going back to reality, a sharp fear became more and more present. Of something around me or something that enveloped me.
Indeed, I could be injured, or my car could break up in flames, so I needed to get out of it, if possible. This was a very different fear from the one of what was out there. I was afraid to open my eyes, of what could be out there. Heck, I didn’t even know if the inside of my car was safe from the outer danger, whatever would be in nature. I started to feel cold, as no heating was present, the gentle autumn rain outside pierced the silence. I started to feel aches in different parts of my body, that was a good sign.
I dared to open my eyes. There was little light outside, I could not make out anything clear, just that it was very dark and the raindrops on the windshield. I could move, with aches. Still felt a clear anxiety about going outside. But I had to.
All electricity around, including my phone, that was on the floor, seemed dead. I managed to get my phone, as I may need it, my wallet and my car keys and decided to get out. I could not open the door, like it was stuck on something or broken. I gathered my strength and managed to break the glass. Bitter cold came from outside, wet cold. I tried to clean up the edges, so I could get out. Took a deep breath and started coming out. I looked in the dark, for any potential dangers, as I struggled to get out.
When I finally fell on the muddy ground, rain started to pinch me. My clothes were dirty, but I couldn’t care less. Only that I hate feeling that wetness on my skin, on my body. The impact on the ground was pretty ruff, but I managed, with effort and pain, to get on my feet, using a piece of wood for support at first. I looked around, as I said the Jesus Prayer in my mind. Silence and darkness, only distantly, the orange shimmering of the sodium vapor street lights and the distant sound of cars.
I started walking slowly towards that road, trying to climb the ditch. It was not easy at first, but I managed to get around it and find some stairs. There were not very abrupt slopes, someone in a better condition could take them pretty easily, only getting dirty.
I could not escape the feeling of being watched, of being exposed to something hostile. No trees in sight in front of me, it looked like some background road that was not very much used. Some small wax cherry trees, one road sign. Not very close, there seemed to be some dark statues that seemed out of place, in the small mist and rain. As I struggled to get to the road, I realized something was moving close to me. It tried not to get noticed, but it came after me, for sure. It walked on all fours, I could hear it touching the bushes. I tried to run faster towards the road, still pretty far away, but this thing changed pace with me. My heart started beating faster, as I had a feeling of what this was.
I was getting close to the lamp post that was on, but the slope was steep. I got close enough to see the being who was following me. It looked like some sort of giant wolf, but with Human proportions. Grey fur, giant shiny eyes, wild eyes, pointy years. I have never seen a Werewolf before, but I could recognize one in an instant. I gave a scream and started running away from it. Unfortunately, the flat part was moving me away from the road, as I needed to climb the slope, and that would take long, long enough to get caught.
I ran away deeper into darkness and mist, and I could feel the presence of that thing in my car again, even more now. My old temple wounds pulsated. I managed to get outside the previous slope that I crossed before, I even fell with a thud. Although painful, I was able to rise and run in the opposite sense, in darkness. A small group of trees, like a small park or forest, seemed present. I was reluctant to get in the trees, but I wanted to escape the Werewolf, so I went there. I looked behind, no sign of it, so I tried to get out of the forest on the other side, sideways.
There, in the dark field that was next to the forest, I could see some statues like before, standing. I started feeling even colder and scared, as I looked at them. They looked like vaguely Humanoid shapes, covered in some sort of stone veil, with some belts around them. I first thought they were stone statues, but the veils on them moved in the wind, then I realized that they were dressed in something that was kept with belts. I remembered the sculptures from cemeteries depicting ghosts or angels or similar things. I remembered the old lady I thought I saw earlier. They looked at me, I could feel the malice, ruthlessness and coldness. I knew I had to move away from them as fast as I could.
Then I heard voices behind. Like from some sunken place, distant, yet clear and towards me: ”Odette…. Odette…” I remember the voice of the wax Specter at home, it sounded very much like that. I started running almost mindlessly in the trees, trying to get out of the trees. I could hear their whispers coming from all around: ”Odette… Odette… No escape for you… Come and join us…” My hair was raised on my head, so hard that it almost hurt.
Suddenly, in front of me, almost stumbling to it, there was one of those figures. I could not see it due to the dark too much, but it was tall and small silver lights were seen where the eyes should be. I froze on the spot, sweating in the cold, and that made me shiver even more. It started coming towards me with small steps, like floating. Something like a magic kept me in place, surrounded, and the voice of the being came: ”Odette… It is your destiny to join us…” I said a small prayer in my mind, that partially broke the trance-like state, I gave a scream and started running senselessly in the trees. I noticed another one, but an exit was in sight.
When I was about to exit, one of these things blocked the way. I could see in the moonlight, as the moon light barely touched it, the shapes behind the thick grey veil. It was a Human skull. The silver lights in its eyes pierced me again. I tried to get back to the trees, and two of the figures came to me. I tried to move to another side, another of them was there. They surrounded me. My heart started beating desperately, I prayed out loud, shaking, and icy sweat flowing from my head and back down, making things worse. I scream and scream and scream, while I try to get past the one blocking the exit.
I felt it„s breath was freezing me, like a wild cold wind. Finally, a stony, strong and ruthless skeleton hand grabbed my left arm. It felt like freezing and burning at the same time, like before. Yes, I knew then. Those were Dead Elves. I could feel the frozen fire inside them, hidden under the thick veil and bones. I could feel the familiar burned wax inside them. Something from inside this being started to get, gradually, into me, into every cell, from the point of touch, like a poison of some sorts, feeling like, perhaps, the coldness of death took over my body. And it was working fast.
I screamed to the Heavens, as I felt death at hand: ”Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!” Then, something unexpected happened. The Werewolf jumped from a bush into the creature and started to fight it ferociously. My eyes bulged out, as I could easily be killed by any of them and I screamed ceaselessly. Until the arm of the creature broke out from the body (skeleton), releasing me. I ran away into the fields, screaming, as I heard the fight behind me.
I do not know how much I ran like this, on the fields, with the poison of the thing in me still, but, in the end, I ended up on a road with lights on. I waved at a passing car and I got in. I was still in shock, and I found it really hard to escape what was in me, I think. I was brought to the hospital.
I felt better and the heat had returned to my body, although still shaken, I declared I had an accident and that I was attacked in the dark. My phone went back on at the hospital. Some weird, frost-bite-like scars were on my arm, similar to the ones from the attack at home, but not serious.
It seems that the Candles now have some sort of body. One of the main ingredients is a Human (or Elf) skeleton. Looking back, they felt stronger but, in a way, weaker than the specter presence at home. They are evolving, somehow.
The next day, when I exited my house, to see the November sunlight and forget the night before, to bring the warms back in bones after the chill of the creatures, a man stood waiting at our gate. He was about my age, tall, with grey hair and a beard, dressed in leather. His gaze was sharp, familiar in a way I could not understand. I looked at him, without greeting him.
He gave a harsh smile and said: ”Hello, Odette. I hope you are fine. ” I looked at him puzzled and asked: ”Do we know each other?” ”Not very well, but we have known each other for a long time. I used to have a mohawk back then, more piercings and I shaved my beard.”
Yeah, I know him. In 1989, a group of Goths were in relation with a gang of tough and feared Punks, lead by Razorblade, on her real name Miruna, the fiercest woman I ever met. Although she was the leader, her brother, Ferdinand, was also in the gang, he managed to escape the onslaught during the anti-communist revolution of December 1989, when all of my Goth friends were killed and much of the gand of Razorblade were also killed, including herself. Me and Ferdinand barely interacted back then. ”Ahhhhhh… you are Ferdinand.” ”Yep. But not just then, we met last night.” And he showed some scars on his arm and chest. ”You owe me a good one. If I weren’t there in the wolf form, they would have got you.”
I looked amazed. Then, something else I remembered, regarding Razorblade, how she looked with that savage expression. ”Your sister was a Werewolf too, right?” ”Yes, she was.” ”Why didn’t she get wolf form to fight then? Perhaps…” ”It is not as easy as you may think, to transform. Shapeshifting takes time and certain stages that I shall not share now. Part of the Humanity of the Werewolf is suspended then, they become dangerous even to innocents. But, even so, I really doubt she would have survived the bullets.”
I looked at him in amazement. ”How did you know?” ”I have my sources. And I searched in many places where the weird things came out, as best as I could. I was unable to save that guy at Grozăvești. But I am glad I managed to save you.” ”Thank you.” I smiled. I indeed owe you one. It seems being a hero comes in your family.” ”Oh, no, I would not say that. My sister was the hero type, more than me. I just was at the right time.” We spoke a little on other things, exchanged numbers and online accounts. In the end, he greeted me, while going about his business on his motorcycle: ”Be really careful. My sister was right when she said that you Goths are squishy.” He winked and drove off.
We went back to siege mode at home, during the night. I feel something very bad is cooking. I hope we shall be able to keep you updated.
Stay safe out there,
Odette
Update Part 5