The Haunted Traveler Vol 1 Issue 2

saying instead, “Yeah, okay.” He watched as Tom
picked up another of the daggers and drug the blade
across his palm, hissing in pain, before Benny performed
the motion on himself. Blood welled up from
the wound, dripping down his wrist as he looked
towards his friend.
Tom grabbed Benny’s bleeding hand with his
own, pressing their palms together tightly. “I vow to
never betray you, Benny.”
“I vow to never betray you, Tom,” Benny repeated.
§
As Tom grew older, his actions became erratic.
Before he was 14, he had gotten into six fights
in school, his attitude would turn on a dime, and he
slapped his father across the face. Benny went with
his friend’s family when they took him to a psychiatrist
like he had suggested. As they sat in the waiting
room, Tom was led away with a scowl on his face.
Unable to handle the stifling tension in the room,
Benny turned to Tom’s father. “Mr. Bowers?”
The weary man looked at the boy and tried to
smile. “What’s up, Bud?”
Benny hesitated for a moment, unsure of what
to say, before settling on something that he had been
curious about for a while. “Tom showed me the daggers
that he found in the attic a couple years ago…I
was wondering if you could tell me where they were
from.”
Mr. Bowers smiled and ruffled Benny’s hair.
“Sure. Those daggers belonged to my great-grandfather.
He was a part of a very unique religion called
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