Broomstick Shaman and his Pet Monkey by Keone Haley

Broomstick Shaman and his Pet Monkey by Keone Haley

Chapter One

I park my SUV in front of the grocery parking lot and watch the customers walk in and out of the store. My pet baby monkey, Bibi, sat in the backseat eating fruit. I look at him and stroke his fur. He loves being petted. “Are you okay, Monkey Bibi?” He’s too busy eating and continues to chomp down on his apple. He’s my best friend. The only creature I want alive. Everyone else must die.

I grab my candles and start preparing my ritual. I wear a long brown cloak. You might confuse me for a wizard if you saw me but I’m a shaman. Baby Monkey, Bibi, wears a diaper and a spiffy outfit I dress him in, a red t-shirt with a bow tie and shorts.

I watch the customers walk in and out of the grocery store, pushing and pulling carts full of groceries. A tall woman with a puppy climbs out of her vehicle and grabs a shopping cart. She walks towards the grocery store with her dog on a leash.

“Why don’t you all just starve to death?” I grab the matches from the armrest console. I light my candles. “It would be the greatest apocalypse ever. Done by a curse. Maybe I can poison them. Either way, they’re dead.”

I whistle a tune as I prepare my ritual. Pat pat pat. Someone taps on my window. “Who could this be, interrupting me and my plans.” Monkey Bibi jumped up and down excited to see another human. He was a friendly, gullible monkey who had no clue who he was dealing with. He thought all humans were good. I roll down the window. I look at a man with a Stripez uniform on. “Can I help you?”

“Yes. Excuse me sir. I’m so sorry to bother you but you’ve been sitting here an awful long time. He looked at my monkey. “Is that yours?”

“Yes.” I said.

“Okay sir, I just wanted to let you know, you’re not supposed to sleep in the parking lot. You and your monkey have to go somewhere else.”

I looked at the clock on the console. “How long have I been sitting here?” I asked.

“Sir, you and your monkey have been sitting here for over an hour and we watch all customers who park here.”

I cleared my throat. “Okay, and who are you?”

“I work here at the grocery store. You have to move your vehicle. I’m so sorry, sir. You have to leave.”

“No!” I raised my voice. “That’s not a good enough answer! Where do you get off telling us we have to leave?!” I opened the driver’s seat front door so I could get closer. “What’s your name?” I whispered.

“Charlie.” He points at his badge on his shirt and then at the store. “I work here at this grocery store Stripez. My job is to watch the parking lot area and make sure no one is doing anything fishy.” He sighed. “Sir, I’m just doing my job. You have to move your vehicle. You’re taking up customer space. You can’t park here.”

I clenched my fists tightly. “I’m not here to sleep. I’m here for something else.” I swung the front door open, pushing Charlie back. “Whooa!” he said falling back. He held up his hands. “What are you doing?”

I yanked my broomstick from the backseat and got out of my SUV, gripping it firmly in my hands, ready to attack. My broomstick is a shaman tool made out of solid wood and weighing 30 pounds. He won’t survive this. I stand six foot tall with ripped muscles. Monkey Bibi watched me with fruit still in his mouth.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Charlie beginning to run. I ran after him with my broomstick. Swoosh. I swung the broomstick at his legs. Crack. He toppled to the ground and covered his face with his hands. “Ah, please no sir! I was just doing my job!”

“No! I said that’s not good enough!” I gripped my hands firmly around my tool and swung it at him again. This time at his head. Crack. I could feel the warm air blow on me every strike I took. I smiled. There’s nothing better than getting rid of useless humans. Charlie moved his hands frantically trying to cover his face, trying to defend himself, trying to defend his life. Swish. Swoosh. Crack. I swung and bashed him in the shoulders. I swung at his head again. I was having a good time. Crack. Swoosh. My broomstick bristles fell off scattering everywhere. Blood splattered everywhere. But Charlie was still alive. He got on his hand and knees but fell back down trying to catch his breath. I threw the broken broomstick to the side and scolded him.

“Look at what you made me do, Charlie! My broomstick is broken. Look at the broomstick. Look at it! That’s a very important tool to me and now I have to go buy a new one!” He looked up at me with bloody eyes. His voice cracked as he tried to speak. He wheezed and put his hands across his chest as if preparing to die. This made me smile of course. “Bye, Charlie.” I waited for him to die. I could hear Monkey Bibi making a commotion from inside my vehicle. I turned to him. He was looking at me. “Bibi go to sleep. Don’t look at this. This is not healthy for you to watch.” Bibi obediently curled up on his bed in the backseat and closed his eyes to sleep. He was a very good, obedient monkey.

I turned back to Charlie. He wheezed. “Will you hurry up!?” I said.

His chest moved up and down as he was still struggling to breathe. He wheezed and wheezed for minutes. “Hurry up!” I screamed, throwing my fists in the air. Then he finally stopped. He stopped moving altogether and his eyes rolled back into his head. He was finally dead.

I bent down next to Charlie’s face and whispered in his ears. “You’re DEAD!” I laughed.

I looked around as I continued laughing. I stood back up. I didn’t see anyone looking. “Good. No one has seen what happened. Now I can go continue my ritual in peace, hopefully. No one better dare interrupt me again or they’ll end up like Charlie. But first, I need to buy a new broomstick! I can’t do the ritual without the broomstick!” I throw my hands up in the air. “If it wasn’t for you Charlie, not minding your own business, I would still have my broomstick and maybe, just maybe you would still be alive!” I looked back at him. He lay lifeless on the ground. “I should run you over with my vehicle!”

I got back in my SUV and slammed the door shut. “I have to continue my ritual. I have to continue my ritual. Spirits help me. I have to continue my ritual.” I rummaged through my backpack to find my wallet. I need to see how much cash I have left to buy a new broomstick. “Those things are expensive Charlie!” I continued on ranting. “Look at what you made me do Charlie. Now I have to go waste time on buying a new broomstick instead of starting my ritual now! Thanks a lot. That’s so nice of you. Typical bad human. That’s why the Spirits and I are going to destroy you all and make this world a better place. The Spirits promised me this.”

Charlie’s lifeless body is still lying on the ground behind my SUV but I wanted to clean my hands off of his blood. It smelled, bad. Real bad. I pulled a piece of the paper towel from the roll sitting on the seat and tried wiping the dried blood off my hands. “Charlie, you’re stinking up my SUV and I’m not happy about it.”

I grabbed my keys and turned on the ignition. Vroom. The SUV started up. I put it in reverse and slam my feet on the gas.

There were customers walking in and out of the grocery store minding their own business. The SUV bumped up and down as it ran over Charlie. “Whoo-hoo!” I got a rush out of that. It reminded me of a roller coaster ride. “Let’s do it again! One. More. Time!” I said out loud to myself.

Urrrkk! My tires skidded as I pressed on the brakes stopping midway over Charlie. “The bumpier the ride, the better!” Monkey Bibi woke up and jumped up and down with excitement. He thought the bumps were a game. We went up and down again as I pressed on the gas. Vroom. I drove off of Charlie and got back onto the road in front of him. “Go back to sleep, Bibi.” I took one more look through my rearview mirror. I wanted to see Charlie one more time. His lifeless body sprawled on the ground. He flattened like a pancake on the ground. “I flattened him out! I’m going to miss you buddy but I don’t think you’ll be bothering anyone else again.” I smiled and pressed on the gas and drove off with Bibi. I had to go buy a new broomstick from my shaman friend to continue my ritual.

I look back at Monkey Bibi and he was fast asleep in his bed. “Good boy. Sleep peacefully.”

I pressed my feet on the gas and sped off onto the intersection. I think about my next moves. I need to go to shaman’s house to get a new broomstick. He’s my good friend. He’s also a shaman. The only other shaman I know. I repeat my step by step plan in my head as I drive to his house.

1. Go to my friend’s/shaman’s house to buy a new broomstick.

2. Come back and complete what I started.

3. No one better interrupt me this time or they’ll end up like Charlie.

I watched the traffic jam up ahead. I gripped my steering wheel. Beads of sweat formed on my forehead. “Where are all of you humans going!? Get out of my way!” I slammed on my horn. “They just need to go die. I need to hurry up and put a curse on you all. End you all.”

I rolled down my windows to bring in some fresh air. The flow of traffic prevented me from getting anywhere fast. Time seemed to slow down as I inched my way to my destination. I held back the temptation to ram my vehicle into other vehicles. I took in a long deep breath. After about an hour I finally pulled up at my friend shaman’s driveway. My friend. The only other shaman I know. I parked my SUV in his driveway and looked at his house. It’s made out of sticks. A typical shaman house. His front door is wide open as usual. There’s no reason for him to keep his door closed. He’s not afraid. He’s not human. Neither am I. We have shaman in our blood. I get out of my SUV and walk in through his front door.

“Hey Matt.” I called out as I walked in. Matt looked up from his desk and looked at me. He had a shaman shop within his house and everything was made out of sticks, wood.

“Oh, hey Peter. How can I help you this time? Are you okay? You look kind of rough.”

“Matt. I need a new a broomstick. The other broomstick you gave me broke.”

“Yeah buddy. I’ll go get you another one. It’s in the back room. Wait a minute here. I’ll be back.” I count my money as I wait. A few minutes later, Matt walks back in with a brand new shaman broomstick in his hands.

I hand over a $20 cash bill to him. “Thanks.” I sniff my new broomstick long and hard. “That smells so good, Matt. I can’t wait to use it. It smells like new wood and bristles!”

He looks me up and down. “Look Peter. What happened? You’re covered in blood. You’re filthy. You smell like blood.” His eyes widened. He smiled. “Come on man! You’re covered in blood!” he paused. “Did you do it?”

I smirk. “Yeah, I’m doing it today. I’m putting an end to this world as we know it and the Spirits are helping me. They left me a letter with instructions.”

He jumps up into the air. “Yeah! Go get ‘em.” He pats me on the back. “Complete the mission as you were told by the Spirits man. Awesome.”

I was confused. I looked at Matt and wondered what he was talking about. I wondered why he was so happy for me. Didn’t he know he would also be extinct once my curse is done? The only survivors will be the Spirits, my Monkey Bibi and I. The Spirits promised me this. We have a pact. Why was Matt so happy?

“High five,” Matt said, holding up his hands to me. I reach my hand out to his. We clapped our hands together and said our goodbyes. “Alright man, see you later.” Matt giggled.

Again, as I walked out the door I pondered why Matt was so happy for me? Didn’t he know he would also be extinct from this Earth once my ritual is done? He’s not included in the list of folks I want to remain alive. He needs to wipe that smirk off his face. I held my broomstick and walked back outside.

Chapter Two

Back at the Stripez grocery store, police vehicles and ambulance gathered around Charlie’s corpse. Curious customers also stood by. They were trying to figure out what happened to him. “Who could do such a thing?” One person asked.

& & &

I walk back outside with my new broomstick and Monkey Bibi stood on top of my roof waiting for me. “Bibi get back inside!” He jumped down and wobbled over to me walking with his two monkey feet. He walked like a small child. He climbed up on me making his little monkey noises and chattering his teeth. I held him in my arms and petted him for a minute.

I breathe in the fresh air. As I approach my SUV I notice splashes of dried blood and brain splattered all over my back tires. Charlie’s body parts were all over my back tires. I bent over and examined the back wheel trying to peel off the brain but it wouldn’t budge. It seemed to have hardened onto the tires. “Dried brain pieces stuck on my tires. Great.” Monkey Bibi tried to pull a piece of the flesh to eat but I pushed his hands away. “No Bibi that’s not food. That’s human brain. You don’t want that.” Bibi cried. I opened the back door and gave him grapes. He sat down and ate his fruit. “Eat that Bibi. Fruit is good for you. Brain is not good for you.” Bibi obediently ate his fruit. I closed the door.

From a distance, the sound of sirens filled the air. “Where’s that sound coming from? Are those police sirens or ambulance sirens? It sounded like dozens of them. “There must be a car accident up ahead.” I tried to ignore it and got back in my SUV. I turned the key in the ignition and drove back to the shopping center to continue my ritual.

My throat tightened as the sound of the sirens got louder and louder, the closer I got to the Stripez grocery store. “I wonder where that noise is coming from. I didn’t see any car accidents.”

I make a right turn to pull into the Stripez shopping center and my mouth drops open. I slam on my brakes. There’s a large gathering of people at the very same spot where I murdered Charlie. “They’re gathering around Charlie?” I gasped. “How could this be? Now I have to go somewhere else. I can’t do the ritual here.” I looked at Bibi. He was asleep on his bed. His fruit was scattered everywhere on the seat.

“I don’t know what to do.”

Police and ambulance vehicles surrounded Charlie. There must have been hundreds of people there. Customers were no longer shopping. They were all running over to take a look at the commotion. “They’re everywhere!”

I no longer felt comfortable doing the ritual here. I pondered the idea of leaving and doing the ritual elsewhere. “I need some encouragement to stay. Spirits, where are you?” I opened the armrest console and pulled out the letter I was given by the Spirits. I hold the letter tightly in my hands and read it.

Dear Peter,

As we agreed earlier. We can’t do this alone. We need your help to make the world a better place. We’re running out of time. Destroy all of them first and then we will come in and help you take over and repopulate the Earth with much better people. Try putting a curse on their food source. If this doesn’t starve and kill them all off then kill all the trees in their world so they don’t have any more oxygen to breathe. For this to work you need a broomstick, candles and dirt. These are required for the curse to work. We will help you take over the planet once your job is done. You will be rewarded. You’re special Peter. You and your monkey Bibi are very special and you will both be rewarded. You and Monkey Bibi will make a better Earth and we will help you.

Thank you,
The Spirits

At that moment, I looked up and the five Spirits appeared out of nowhere in front of me peering at me through my front windshield. Their shadowy figures hovered above my vehicle. The sky above them turned black. Their presence always darkened the sky and blocked out the sun. A flock of crows flew by above them. I get out of my vehicle. I need to ask them a question.

The five Spirits looked down at me. “Don’t go Peter. Stay and kill them all.” They chanted. “Stay and kill them all and we will help you make the world a better place.” A gusty wind went by blowing me over. I tried to keep my balance. “Stay and kill them all and we will help you make the world a better place.” It was a short and sweet message. I smiled. “Thank you Spirits. Okay, I’ll do just that. I’ll stay.”

The Spirits said nothing more to me. They just continued to stare down at me. I waited for them to say something else but nothing. They slowly began to disappear into thin air. The black crows disappeared with them. The sun came back out and the gray clouds were gone.

I looked around to see if anyone was watching me but everyone was still focused on Charlie so I got back in my SUV to continue my ritual there. I prepared my candles and lined them up side by side on the dashboard. I need to hurry and end these humans and make the world a better place with the Spirits. I smile.

I pick up the box of matches and lit the wick of each candle one by one. I could still hear commotion going on outside. The people still surrounded him. I ignored it and continued.

I got out of my SUV and grabbed the bag of dirt from the backseat. I pour the dirt around my vehicle making a circle. And just as I’m doing this, I look back at the commotion and see someone pointing at me while talking to one of the cops. I feel uneasy. “Why is she pointing at me for?”

Just then, two of the police officers pulled out their guns and started running towards me. “Freeze! Put up your hands now!”

I dropped the bag of dirt and bashed my fists on the back of the SUV. I realized then the woman pointing at me must have told them I did it. “You’re going to die today!” I yell back at the officers. I run to the driver’s seat and hop back in. “You’re going to die today!” I yell out again. I turn on the ignition and back up my SUV screech. “I’m going to run you over!”

“Freeze!” The officers yelled back. Bang bang bang bang bang. “They hit my car!” The wheels wobbled and came to a stop. “They shot at my tires!?” I pressed on the gas harder and it wouldn’t move. I clenched my hands into fists. “Why did you do that?!” I yelled out at them from the front seat.

“Get out of the SUV now! Show your hands and get out of the SUV!”

“Okay, fine.” I crack open the front door and plan my attack on them. I get out of my SUV and quickly grab my new broomstick that I just bought. I’m really pissed I have to use it again. “I rather do things the easy way and use a ritual to kill you all. Why are you guys making things hard on me?! I just bought this!” I yelled at them.

“Freeze! Put your hands up now!”

I freeze with my broomstick in my hands.

“Drop the broomstick now!”

I sprint towards the closest officer near me. Swoosh. I swing the broomstick at his head.

Bang bang bang.

I fall down to the ground trembling. I wish I would have got them before they got me. I breathe in and out. My chest goes up and down. I scream at the officer who shot me “You’re a murderer!” Bang bang bang. I stop breathing. Everything went black. Monkey Bibi, remained asleep on his bed in the vehicle.

&  & &

Shamans don’t die. The cops think I’m dead but I’m not. I’m in a coma and will wake up in 24 hours to finish the ritual. Silly humans. Did you really think you could get rid of me so easily? Think again.

I will take this opportunity to enjoy a peaceful rest. I’ll gather my strength and wake up stronger than ever before. I’m like a cockroach. You can step on one and think they’re dead but then find out they’re actually still alive. You really have to try hard to kill a cockroach. They’re not easy to kill. Neither am I.

Chapter Three

I open my eyes and look around. It’s pitch black and cold. “Where am I?” I sit up gasping for air. I’m in something. Something plastic. I push in front of me. I’m locked in. It feels like I’m in a bag. “I am in a bag!” It smells like death but the smell is not coming from me. It’s coming from outside.

Suddenly, I feel something underneath me. Something cold and flat. “Where am I?”

“I need to get out!” I punch the bag. That doesn’t work. I wiggle my body. “Spirits help me.” I push my long nails against the bag and zip a hole right through. I pull open the bag and climb out. I’m in a hospital morgue and I’m not the only one there. I see 12 bags lying on steel tables. The stench is horrible. I cover my nose. I’ve got to get out. There’s a window in the corner of the room. I head for it. I look out the window and see nothing but trees. “I can’t get out this way. I’m on the top floor. I need to find another way out. I have to hurry and get back to Stripez and finish the ritual for the Spirits so we can make the world a better place. I need to get rid of all these humans on this planet before it’s too late.”

I look around the room to find the exit door.

I find a door across the room and stumble over towards it. I pull open the handle and run down the hallway until I find the exit door. I run out and take in a deep breath of fresh air. I’m surrounded by trees. I look around and only see a small empty parking space lot to the left and in front of me are woods. “I’m in the middle of nowhere. What kind of hospital is this?” I don’t see any other buildings. There’s only a hospital in the middle of nowhere with no street signs. I look ahead at the woods and run towards it. I run run run through the woods trying to find my way back to my SUV and back to Monkey Bibi. I hope he’s still asleep on his bed. I’m sure he is. He’s a very obedient monkey and will stay put. He has plenty of fruit with him that will last him for days. He’ll wait for me. I need to get back to him and continue my ritual.

I run. I brush by tree branches and run on top of leaves. The leaves crunched under my feet. Pat pat pat. Far in the distance about a mile away I see a clearing. I run towards it. Boom boom. I stop. My heart racing. Boom boom boom. “Someone’s shooting a gun here!?” I turn around and see a man in camouflage aiming his gun at something. I follow the direction of where he’s pointing his weapon. I see a deer about 40 feet away from him. “He’s aiming his gun at the deer? He plans on killing that deer?”

I clench my fists. “Another bad human.”

“Hey!” I called out to the man.

The man turned to me.

“Hey, what are you doing?” I asked, walking closer to him.

He put his finger over his mouth. “Shh! I’m trying to catch a deer.” He whispered.

Off to my left, I noticed a pond not too far away as I walked up closer to the man. I’m certain there are alligators living in it. This is Florida. As a matter of fact, I can see an alligator looking at us from a distance, lurking its head from the water.

“Are you on the verge of killing that deer?” I asked.

The man doesn’t respond.

“Well, is this what you do when you’re bored or is this something you enjoy?”

“Shh.” He ignores me. He focuses his gun on the deer and isn’t looking at me. I walk up behind him and grab the gun. He struggles with it and tries to take it back but my grip is too strong. Bang. I shoot him once in the stomach. He drops to the ground and looks up at me with terror in his eyes. He turns over and crawls trying to get away from me. Bang bang bang. He stops moving. He’s covered in blood.

I grab his foot and drag him near the pond where I saw the alligator looking at us. The alligator crawled out of the pond and quickly snatches the man’s body from my grip. He pulls him back under the water with him. Splash. I stand back and watch. In an instant, a pool of blood surrounds the pond water. It’s red. All I see are alligator tails swirling around in the water. Splish splash splish splash. I can’t help but smile.

“Goodbye.”

Chapter Four

Splish splash. I continued to hear the sounds of the alligators fighting over their new meal as I walked away. I continued to walk down the same path I was previously on. I saw the clearing up ahead. As I walk past the bushes and trees I hear birds whistling and squirrels chirping. Then something else catches my eye. There’s a wooden house from up ahead not too far from where I’m at. I stop and decide to head towards it.

“What’s in it? Is someone home?” I wondered. The front door is closed. “I wonder if it’s locked.” I walk over to the front door. Crunch crunch. I stepped on tree branches and leaves.

I ring the doorbell. No one comes to the door. I pull on the door knob but it’s locked. I rush to the windows and peer through to see if anyone’s home. The windows are dirty and it’s hard to see through. “What’s in the back?” I walk around to the backyard. There’s a car parked there and a shed. “This must be there car.”

I walk in their porch and try the door there. There’s no sound from the inside. “There’s a sliding door back here.” I push my hands against the glass door and it slides right open. “Great!” I peek my head in slowly through the opening. “Anyone home!?” No one answered. I walked in. The back door leads to the living room. I look at the couch and right next to the couch is an end table with a family photo on it. I walk up closer to take a closer look at it to see who’s in it. I gasp. “It’s the hunter I just fed to the alligators. This is his house!?” I pick up the photo. A photo of the hunter and his family was in the photo. “Oh so this is your house, huh? I’m so sorry.” I put the photo back down on the table. And start looking around. The wall is decorated with stuffed animals. “His house walls were covered in taxidermy art! Awful. What an awful human being.” I walk around the room. “What a disgusting display of art.”

I made myself comfortable. I sat down on the couch and turned on the TV. The local news is immediately on and to my horror I see myself on the news being carried away on an ambulance stretcher in front of the grocery store at the Stripez shopping center. “I’m on TV!” I jumped up from the couch. “I’m a star. They’ve got me on TV. I’m on national television!” I jumped up and down. “Well, you guys just wait and see what’s next. Pretty soon you all will be extinct. Whoo-hoo! I’m a star! I’m the biggest star of them all.” I jumped up and down and waved my hands in the air. “I can’t believe it! I really am a star!” I sat back down on the couch and turned up the TV. The news anchor woman announced what happened, “This man right here that you see being carried away in this ambulance is the suspect. He’s said to be the one who tortured and killed a young man named Charlie who worked here at this grocery store, Stripez earlier today.”

“It’s not today!” I screamed at the television. “I didn’t kill him today lady! Get it right! It happened yesterday. I killed him yesterday!”

I laughed so loud, I choked on my spit. “What a ride! I want to end you all and the Spirits are right there with me supporting me in every way possible. This is only the beginning. You’re not stopping me.”

A commercial break comes on and I don’t care to hear it. I grab the remote control and turn it off.

I stand up. I worry about Monkey Bibi. I’ve got to get back to Monkey Bibi. I’ve got to finish the ritual. I’ve got to complete the curse and end them all.

Chapter Five

I see keys sitting on the kitchen table. I look outside at the red car parked next to the shed. I grab the keys and walk back outside. The sun is starting to go down and I need to get out of here before it gets too dark. I won’t be able to see anything. “I’ll take this car with me. I need to get out of here before sundown.” I get in the car and put the key in the ignition. Vroom. It starts right up. I look in the back seat of the car and see dozens of guns. I’m amazed at how many guns this hunter had. I grab one and put it in my hands. I check to see if there are bullets in it already. “It’s full. Great.”

I slammed my foot on the gas and sped up to the side of the house accidentally hitting it, damaging it slightly on the way out. “Oops.” I yanked on the wheel. The car swayed to the left almost hitting a tree but I’m an expert at driving and managed to get the car back on track, driving down the path I once was walking on. Vroom. I press on the gas harder, speeding pass the trees and heading to the clearing up ahead.

I reach the clearing and press on the brakes and look around to try and figure out where I am. It led up to the main highway and I knew where I was. I press on the gas again and get onto the highway speeding driving past other vehicles all the way down to Stripez shopping center.

I slow down as I reach the intersection to turn into the Stripez shopping center. “Phew my SUV is there parked under a tree.” I rush over to check if Monkey Bibi was okay. I jumped out of the car and ran to my backseat and opened the door. Monkey Bibi jumped out on top of me chattering his teeth and climbing all over me. “Hey baby. I missed you. I’m sorry I was away for so long. I’m back. And we’re going to complete this ritual okay. I won’t leave you again.”

My broomstick still lay on the ground. I picked it up and placed it back in my vehicle. My keys were sitting on the passenger seat. I pick them up and I start the ignition to make sure everything works. My candles were still there and the bag of dirt was in the backseat where I last left it. It’s amazing the police didn’t take my vehicle or broomstick. “It’s so obvious the Spirits were watching out for me and made sure they didn’t take my tools. I need those things. The Spirits have definitely protected me.” I look up at the sky. “Thank you Spirits for protecting Monkey Bibi and my tools while I was away. I have my tools. I will continue the ritual as promised.” I looked at the grocery store.

I put Monkey Bibi back in his bed. I pet him some more. I missed him so much. He looked up at me and chattered his teeth at me. He was a very cute and obedient monkey.

I get in and plop down on the seat happy to be back in my SUV and happy to be back with Bibi.

I start preparing to do my ritual, gathering my candles together to light them up again when I looked to my right and to my surprise, I notice the police vehicles were still parked on the other side of the parking lot. “Where did they come from? I didn’t see them when I came in. Oh, I need to get out of here before they see me. I can’t let anymore interruptions happen. The sooner you all are gone, the better. Forget about doing the ritual here. I’ll go to an area where there are a lot of trees and no interruptions.”

Just then, the five Spirits appeared in front of me, hovering above my vehicle. I got out and looked up at them. The sky turned black and crows were hovering above them. They looked down at me. “Leave and do the ritual somewhere else. Go to the forest and do the ritual there instead. It’s too dangerous to do it here. There are too many interruptions.”

I nodded my head. “Yes, okay I agree. I’ll go to the forest and do the ritual there and end this world.”

The Spirits said nothing more. They just looked at me and disappeared. Monkey Bibi was asleep the entire time.

I start up my SUV and pull out of the shopping center, heading towards the nearest secluded wooded area. As I drive down the road I start to hear voices in my head. “Kill them all Peter. Kill them all and we’ll make the world a better place together. Remember our promise Peter. Remember.” It was the Spirits. I couldn’t help but smile thinking of the Spirits’ reminder that they were right there with me helping me out. “It’s great to have encouragement right when you need it.”

I was starting to wonder which way to go. “Is the forest down that way?”

I daydreamed of the day this world would be extinct of humans. I drove out into the rural area. The road was empty and no cars were driving by. I stopped at a stop light and looked around trying to figure out where I was. Monkey Bibi slept in his bed. There were trees all around us. “Perfect. I just need to park my SUV somewhere good.” I saw a clearing on some parts of the woods to my right. “There’s a spot.” I pressed my feet on the gas and drove up to the clearing within the woods and parked my SUV. I could hear frogs and crickets from outside my SUV. I got and pulled out my tent from the trunk.

I set up the tent. I walked around the area to gather some sticks from the ground. “We need fire.” The sun started to set. “The perfect time to do a ritual is in the dark so this is just great.” Monkey Bibi woke up and hopped out of the SUV and ran to me chattering his teeth. He must have been hungry. I grabbed my candles and box of matches from the SUV. I lit the sticks on fire and I held Monkey Bibi’s hand. I grabbed the candles and lit them all one by one. “Spirits! I’m about to do this!”

Suddenly, the five Spirits appeared in the air floating above the fire I just made. They looked down at us and smiled. “You’re a very brave one,” they said. Then they disappeared.

I jumped up and down. “Ahh yes, the Spirits think I’m brave.” I jumped up and down and clapped my hands. “Whoo-hoo!” I yelled up at the sky. I looked up at the stars and the moon. The Spirits were very proud of us. I wanted to make them more proud. I walked around and made sure all the candles were lit up and ready to go. I grabbed the broomstick and sat it next to the candles. I grabbed the bag of dirt and poured it around me, Monkey Bibi and the fire. The moon’s glow was all around us. I looked up at the full moon. “It’s a full moon tonight, Bibi.” I smiled. “I loved full moons. They say the crazies come out at night during full moons.” I smiled at that thought. I couldn’t help but smile.

I closed my eyes and started chanting. Monkey Bibi sat next to me holding my hand. All life on Earth, humans, animals, trees, plants vanished. Monkey Bibi and I fell asleep after I finished.

Chapter Six

I opened my eyes and looked around. Monkey Bibi was already awake eating his fruit. I got up. It was a total apocalypse. The whole world was vacant of any life. No people, no animals, no trees. No nothing. Just me and Monkey Bibi. I smiled. It’s what I expected. “Time for a new start. A new beginning, Bibi. Soon the Spirits will join us to repopulate the Earth with better people. I can’t wait for them to arrive and thank me and make this world a better place.”

It was extremely hot because there were no trees to cool things down. The sun beamed down on us as we waited for the Spirits.

I picked up Monkey Bibi and held him in my arms. He needed more food. I grabbed the bag of fruit but his fruit was starting to rot. “Here Bibi, take this.” He grabbed the rotten banana from my hand and ate it. We waited for the Spirits. “The Spirits should be here soon Bibi and we’ll live happily ever after!” Bibi chattered his teeth. He did that when he was happy.

We waited and waited and the Spirits never arrived. Months passed by and the Spirits still never arrived. Shamans can live without food for awhile but time was running out for me and even I needed a little food every now and then. Monkey Bibi was living off of dirt. He was getting tired of eating dirt.

“Where are you!??” I screamed up at the sky speaking to the Spirits. “Where are you at?!!!” I balled my fists and shook them to the sky. My sources were running out and we no longer had anything to eat.

I laid on the ground and curled up into a ball holding Monkey Bibi. Bibi was beginning to start to lose weight. I wondered how much more time we had left. “How much more time do we have before we die? Where are you!!!” I screamed out loud. I punched the dirt with my fists. I looked up at the sky while laying down still hoping the Spirits would show up. I watched the clouds go by. I was so angry. “I could kill you guys! Where are you Spirits!!!!? We’re all alone!” I ran out of energy and laid my head down and closed my eyes. I still had hope they would show up. “Maybe they’ll come tomorrow Bibi.” I slept and didn’t wake back up. I shriveled up and died on the Earth. Monkey Bibi cried and looked at my decaying bones. He was getting tired of eating dirt. Monkey Bibi couldn’t survive on dirt for much longer. He died a few days after me. Bibi decayed next to me.

& & &

I heard a voice. It sounded familiar. It was the Spirits. “They’re here?! They’ve finally come?” I didn’t realize I was dead. I listened again to hear if I could hear the voice again. I waited.

“Peter! Come here Peter.”

I opened my eyes and realized I was floating. “Where’s Bibi?” I saw the five Spirits in front of me. “Why are their eyes red?” The Spirits glared at me. Their eyes bright red, glaring at me.

 “Off to hell you go!” they chanted simultaneously at me. Their eyes turned a brighter red as they glared longer at me. “Off to hell you go we said!”

I opened my mouth in horror. “I can’t believe this. Did I die?” I looked at the Spirits waiting for them to rescue me. “You promised we would make the world a better place. Where am I? Where’s Monkey Bibi?”

“Off to hell you go, we said!” they continued to chant at me. I felt a force push me back. I tried to fight it but it was too strong, too powerful. I had no control. My body helplessly flailed down a deep dark hole. I looked to my left and saw Monkey Bibi falling down the dark hole with me. “Bibi!!!” Bibi cried as he fell down the dark hole with me. He looked at me and chattered his teeth. His body flailed down the dark hole. I tried to catch him but he was moving too fast. I could hear voices of males and females, children and adults cheering and laughing. The sounds of that echoed as we fell.

“Welcome,” they cheered. “Welcome to our home. Welcome to hell, Peter.”

“Nooo!” I yelled, my voice echoed down the dark hole. “Please, nooo!!!”

* * * * THE END * * * *
Copyright Keone Haley 2024