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The Chosen

3.1 Something Old, Something New

Kat

• 3 min read

Haunted Trail

The Haunted Trail is set up to support hurricane victims in the south. The trail has three sections:

  • Monsters
  • Haunted Places
  • Wild and Weird

Gabe, Deaver, Chase, Rachel, and Stefan are in the Haunted Places section, in a replica of the warehouse district.

They come around a corner and find Will. He’s been off to the army and back again. They’re happy to see him. Introductions to Stefan and Rachel are made. There’s an awkward moment when he asks after Raveena.

Suddenly, they hear screaming. It’s a haunted trail, they’ve heard lots of screaming, but this is serious screaming. They go running and find themselves at a replica of the Sacred Grove, where the source of the screams is pinned to the ground, surrounded by four or five vampires.

The Fight

The fight ensues. The girl acquits herself well. Really well. Like slayer well.

Further discussion with the girl (who introduces herself as Rive Kellinger) reveals that she knows nothing about vampires, less about slayers, and thinks they’re all completely insane.

The group’s awkward attempts at conversation with the disbelieving Rive all fail miserably as they accompany her back to the entrance. Once there, she extracts herself quickly and makes for the exit, but not before Deaver gives her his card and gently tells her to stop by sometime.

Geoff at the Register

A familiar voice reaches them from the line where nervous and excited patrons wait for entrance to the trail.

Geoff, dressed in a full-on cowboy costume, works the register and greets a tiny ballerina and her mother with a grin.

The Scoobies spot him and there’s an awkward silence as everyone looks at Chase. Before she can react, a volunteer approaches Geoff with an agitated expression. His face goes sheet white. He quickly finds someone to cover his post and disappears with the volunteer.

Spotting the commotion, the gang follows.

The Storage Room

They’re waylaid at the door by a well-meaning volunteer, but as soon as Geoff strides out of a nearby door and sees them, he abruptly summons them over.

Following him to a back storage area deep within volunteer headquarters, the gang is met with a gruesome sight:

  • A large pool of blood covers the floor.
  • More blood is splashed on the trunks and boxes behind it.
  • The room is barely illuminated by a small window high in the eaves.

Sharp eyes spot tiny splashes of blood traveling up the boxes toward the broken window above.

Will runs outside and sees a similar spot of blood on the ground beneath the window, and then nothing. Whatever it was was too small to leave prints in the grass.

Geoff grimly tells them that Simone disappeared a couple of hours ago. Since she’s one of the primary organizers behind the trail, he would normally be only a little concerned, but in light of this, he’s incredibly worried.

The gang decides to start an all-out search for Simone. They split into two groups and search the trail.

Nothing new comes to light, although those who visit the Wild and Weird section get a good laugh despite the ugly situation at how far off base some of McKennitt’s most famous crazy legends are in the exhibits.

Rowan’s Vision

Rachel gets a phone call from some worried CG folks. Rowan had a vision earlier. Not all that unusual, but what is unusual is that she hasn’t contacted anyone yet.

Rachel agrees to go to Rowan’s place to check on her. Stefan and Chase ask that she call if it’s anything major. She agrees and leaves.

The group meets back up in the middle of the trail. Everyone turns up empty-handed. There is no sign of Simone.

Just then, Stefan’s phone rings.

It’s Rachel.

She tells them to get to Rowan’s. Now. It’s related. And it’s important.

Rowan’s House

The front door is unlocked, and there is a chill to the air inside the house. They move toward the sound of sobbing.

In the back bedroom, they’re met with another gruesome tableau:

  • Blood splashed across the walls.
  • Two twin pools about shoulder-width apart on the floor.
  • Rowan’s roommate crying inside a circle of salt.

The magic is still up, and Rachel is kneeling outside the circle, trying to get the woman to let her in. She and Chase finally manage to talk her into breaking the circle. They get her out of the hellish room and into the living room, where she spills the story.

The Roommate’s Story

  • Three women in old-timey clothes.
  • Spiked chain-like weapons.
  • Iron spikes and old parchment with something she couldn’t make out.
  • A salt circle.
  • A big witchy fight.
  • Rowan gone.
  • Then two women gone.
  • The final woman who stabbed Rowan turns into a cat and jumps out the window.

Research Time

Sounds like a job for research.

Chase and Will wait for the police at the respective crime scenes, then hook up with everyone else at the library.

The weather has gotten worse, and the storm knocks out the power. Candles flare to life.

And there is Bannon.

They tell him what they know (which confuses Will horribly, since the last time he checked, Bannon was a bad guy). He thinks a moment and fingers Bathory.

There is some discussion of virgins and whether Simone and Rowan are dead or alive.