As moonlight cast haunting shadows upon the frayed edges of the journal, I could almost envision the young author, their sanity slowly unraveling, as they chronicled the sinister events that unfolded, blurring the lines between reality and nightmare in a dance of malevolent intrigue. The very act of transcribing their experiences onto paper appeared to invoke an ancient evil, one that lingered between the lines, eager to claw its way into our realm once more…
A second entry awaits…
THE RUNAWAY
A Stray Souls Story
Journal Entry #2 - ``Journey Anew``
June 24, 2000
Life out here’s been pretty darn good so far. It’s honestly surprising how serene things are since I left Aspen Falls. Back there, life was always a whirlwind. There was always bustling news or events happening – I hardly had a moment to myself.
I recently scored a gig at a local video store, which has helped me buy a few odds and ends for my place. It isn’t fancy, but I’ve got a bed and a spot to sit and eat. I wish I could scrape up enough for a TV, but I’ll make do with borrowing books from the library for now.
Lately, I’ve been diving into some books about the history of cults in America. Funny, I never used to consider that the belief system I was raised with was the be-all and end-all, the “one true religion” and all that jazz. Deep down, I knew better, but saying as much to my folks or any of the town bigwigs? That’d be like asking for a fast pass to eternal damnation, as far as they’d be concerned.
Now, I probably shouldn’t outright label the Society of Unified Silence a “cult.” There were quirks that didn’t quite line up. We didn’t have a single leader claiming to be a god, for starters, and we sure as heck didn’t dwell on some gated compound or guzzle weird-tasting Kool-Aid in hopes of making contact with little green aliens.
Well, we kinda had all those things, in a way. Old Mrs. Davidson was pretty much the head at every get-together, and Aspen Falls was tighter than a drum, keeping outsiders at arm’s length. And, I’ll admit, some of the drinks passed around at our little gatherings had an aftertaste akin to licking a penny. But, hey, no one ever started twitching and frothing like a mad dog after sipping on those concoctions.
I suppose you could say we were a “cult light.” Boy, am I relieved I got myself out of that mess.
Speaking of which, I’m due back at the store for another shift. These shelves won’t restock themselves, after all…
That’s all for today! Thanks for joining us for an inside peek at Stray Souls!
As always, if you have any content to share or questions for the team, please feel free to reach out. You can stay in touch with me and the rest of the Versus Evil team by joining our Discord and following us on our various social media channels.
~ VS | Renee
Stray Souls Community Manager