As it was all eyes were on the high priest laughing as he cut the woman's heart out of her chest. The audience laughed with him.
EMILY’S HAND FLEW TO her mouth. She was horrified by how real the props and makeup looked. After a few seconds she realized how ridiculous it was to be horrified. She should be happy she got to witness something this amazing.
After the naked man was fully through the portal went dark. The man leaned against one of the pillars and surveyed the crowd. His dark eyes shone with excitement.
Once the cutting was done the high priest set the bloody Kopis next to the dead woman on the altar. Standing up with his arms raised he showed the crowd the beating heart give its last few beats.
The audience went wild with cheers and applause.
The cult members around the altar ceased their chanting.
Still holding the heart aloft the priest jumped off the altar.
The masked man and the priest met in the middle of the stage. The priest fell to his knees before his God.
Edward couldn’t help but noticed how well-endowed the masked figure was. Something inside him stirred with desire.
“My lord Dionysus I present this offering to gain your blessing and favor.”
Dionysus removed his stone mask. A smile full of bright white teeth was plastered on his face. He placed a hand on the cult leader’s shoulder.
“You have done well, my child. I see you were even able to bring a large audience this time. I’m very proud of you.” He took the offered heart and walked over to the altar. The priest followed him.
Dionysus whispered something to the high priest. The man nodded and grinned.
The high priest moved to the front of the stage.
Dionysus placed his stone mask next to the dead woman. From behind the altar he grabbed a large chalice and small thick staff with a pine at the top. Using the altar as a table he placed the heart into the chalice. Using the bloody Kopis he sliced his hand open over the chalice. The wound healed itself when the cup was about half full. After setting the Kopis back on the altar Dionysus went to work stirring the blood and heart together with his pine cone tipped thyrsus.
The music grew softer.
Amy was a little disappointed when she realized the play was almost over. She was also disappointed that Dionysus was standing behind the altar. It blocked her view of the best part of the play.
In the middle of the stage the high priest began to speak to the audience.
“Ladies and gentlemen tonight's entertainment will soon be coming to an end. Thank you all for coming. The power is greater the more people we have in one room. Now we have one more bit of business to finish up the ceremony.”
The brown and green robbed figures moved away from the altar to the center of the stage. Dionysus looked out over the crowd as he continued to stir the concoction in the chalice. Twelve different people noticed his gaze. Something stirred inside each of them.
“The drink our god is making will grant us the ability to pass through the gate way. Once there our bodies will be reshaped. Then we will truly be Dionysus’ children.”
The crowd cheered.
Mark was felt himself full of joy. He had never been this happy in his life before. He didn’t even want to come out tonight, but he agreed making his wife happy in hopes of her actually having sex with him later.
When Dionysus tapped his thyrsus against the chalice the cheers of the music and cheers where silenced. With two hands he brought the chalice over to the gathered cult. The first member in line took the offering. They took sip and passed the chalice along.
Dionysus walked back over to the naked dead woman.
Once the last few drops of liquid went down the high priest's throat the middle of the stone archway lit up.
“Enter my children to your new home.” Dionysus called. “I’ll be joining you very soon. There is just one last thing I have to do here.”
The people on stage began to chant once more. One by one, with the high priest in front, they entered into the portal. The light dimmed once the last member walked through.
Dionysus watched it all from the front of the altar. His back to the silent audience.
He slowly climbed into the blood covered stone.
When was face to face with the dead woman he leaned down kissing her on the lips. Had anyone been on the stage next to him they would have seen a small seed pod pass from the God’s mouth and into the woman's.
Janet felt jealousy when she saw her god kiss the dead woman. She started to wonder on ways to make him kiss her that way.
Suddenly, Dionysus jumped onto the stage floor facing the audience. He gave a final bow.
The lights went dark.
The curtain fell.
The audience roared with applause.
Walking out of the theatre Jeremy felt the most satisfied he felt in years. He didn’t want this feeling to go away. He started thinking of ways to keep this high.
Long after the audience left the woman sat up from the altar. The hole in her chest completely healed. She took a few moments to take in her surroundings.
The altar to the home of Dionysus was gone. In its place was a chair with a lush purple robe laid on it.
As the woman moved to put on the robe she knocked something of the altar.
Fully clothed she picked up the Kopis placing it in the sheath on the robe.
Walking off stage she passed the now broken stone altar. Something caught her eye.
It looked to be half of a stone mask.
She placed it on her face.
“Thy will be done my lord Dionysus.”
RAPID CITY NEWS!
“Missing girl found!”
Late last night Abigail Williams, age 20, was reunited with her family after being missing for close to three months. She has no memory of what happened after she was kidnapped. The custodian at the local community theatre called police last night after he found Ms. Williams naked in the alley behind the theatre. She was taken to Rapid City General to be check over for any injuries. The only injuries that doctors were able to find was an odd circle shaped wound on her chest. Not finding any complication with the wound she was released into the care of her family.
“New Actor Troupe in Town”
It seems that a group of twelve stranger are getting together to take famous play “The Play of Dionysus” on the road. Troupe leader, Alex, had this to say............
The End
Alexander Bailey
Alexander lives and works in Iowa. When not working his two jobs Alex can be found reading or playing video games. His favorite genre for both is Horror. One day Alex hopes to be able to write full time.
Wingreen Uprising
C.L. WIlliams
The following story is a prequel to the story “Wingreen Possession” that appears in the anthology Ghostly Writes Anthology 2018.
Reverend William Michaels is delivering his usual Sunday sermon in front of his congregation as they latch onto every word he speaks. He follows his sermon with the breaking of the bread for communion and ends the Sunday Services with a prayer. After he says “Amen” he then walks to the door as his congregation walks out and each member of the congregation shakes his hand as they leave the church.
While the majority of the congregation have left the church, there are a small few still sitting in the pews, waiting for the next order of business from the reverend. After returning inside the church, Reverend Michaels turns off the lights and the families sitting in the pews get up and follow him to the basement of the church. After everyone makes their way to the basement, they all form a circle with one opening for the Reverend, who has made a stop before coming downstairs. As they stand there, the lights come on in the center of the circle, revealing a covered person tied to a table. The Reverend, who enters in a new hooded wardrobe instead of his reverend garments begins speaking an incantation in what is believed to be Latin. He then grabs a chalice and removes the cover, revealing the person to be none other than Cindy Hopson, a member of the congregation. He forces Cindy to drink from the chalice and she begins seizing and passes out. Reverend Michaels then steps into the spot of the circle that was reserved for him and he speaks to those who followed him to the basement.