Alisha opened the door to find the girl from earlier, Selena standing on the porch, dressed in leggings and an oversized hoodie. Her eyes darted around the street like she was being followed.
"Selena, right?" Alisha asked, one hand still gripping the door.
"Can I come in?" Selena's voice sounded urgent. Something about her nervous energy made Alisha hesitate. She didn't know what she might be letting into her house, but curiosity edged out caution. With a slight nod, she stepped aside.
Selena slipped inside and headed straight for the couch, dropping into it with a tension that refused to settle. Her hands fidgeted in her lap, and she didn't bother with small talk.
"Is everything okay?" Alisha asked carefully.
"Yes... and no," Selena muttered, then looked up. "Alisha, it's not wise to go around telling people you have powers. I know my brother asked you nicely, but next time, don't deliver messages like that. It's dangerous."
Alisha frowned. "What do you mean?"
"You're either naive.....or you truly have no idea what you are."
"I'm both, apparently. I still can't believe I'm... supernatural. And how the hell did we get here, why are you talking like this is normal to you?"
Selena exhaled. "You're a necromancer. A witch who speaks for and with the dead. But in this town? Witches were exiled years ago. If the Council catches wind of your magic, you'll be punished. No trial. No warning."
Alisha's stomach turned. "The Council?"
That's the second time sheheard the name today. Selena leaned forward, her voice a whisper. "I'm a witch too, just not your kind. I'm a nature witch. But even we don't show our magic openly. The Council is ruthless. You don't want their smoke."
"You sound just like my boyfriend," Alisha muttered. "He was saying the same thing earlier... except he didn't call me a necro-witch or something."
"Necromancer," Selena corrected softly, almost smiling.
"Whatever. I didn't ask for this. I was normal before coming to this town. Now suddenly, I'm some kind of voodoo witch girl?"
Selena stood. "Are you free right now?"
Alisha narrowed her eyes. "Why?"
"There's somewhere I want to take you," Selena said, already heading toward the door.
"With you?" Alisha crossed her arms. "And why should I trust you? Back at your house, you acted like I was insane. And now you're saying you're like me?"
"Hermione..my sister-in-law is human," Selena said calmly. "Humans can't know about us. I didn't want you to say anything out loud. But I knew... I knew my brother had found peace. I did a spirit summoning that night. They told me he'd passed on."
She paused, then turned to face Alisha fully. "Now... are you coming or not? I want to show you something. A place where you'll find others like us."
Alisha knew she should say no. But something in her gut stirred. A strange pull. She wanted answers, she needed them. Her instincts had guided her through hell already... maybe it was time to trust them again.
Without another word, she grabbed her hoodie and followed Selena out to the car.
They arrived in a quiet, rougher part of town, a neighborhood that felt like it had been forgotten by time. Broken streetlights buzzed overhead, flickering like dying stars. The air smelled of stale beer and damp concrete. Trash lined the gutters, and the houses sat hunched and weathered, their lawns wild and unkempt. Alisha stepped out of the car and instantly felt it...that prickling unease. She couldn't tell if it was supernatural… or just discomfort.
Selena said nothing as she led her into an old brick building that looked like it had once been a gym. The paint was chipped, the sign above the door had fallen halfway off, and the metal handle creaked as they stepped inside. But the interior had been stripped and transformed. Folding chairs sat arranged in a wide circle at the center of the room, and about thirty people...young and old sat quietly, their hands interlocked like some kind of ritual.
Alisha blinked. Was this some cult?
Selena nudged her toward a spare chair. A few people shuffled to make room. No one smiled. No one asked questions. They simply closed the circle.
As soon as Alisha sat and grasped the hands beside her, the chanting began. Low at first...strange syllables that didn't sound familiar. She didn't recognize the words, but something about them crawled beneath her skin. The lights above flickered, the air thickened, and the room began to hum with an invisible pulse. Like a whistle rising in pitch....
She could feel it now, the energy flowing through the circle. Like electricity. It entered through her fingers, raced up her arms, then down into her chest like a second heartbeat.
Then, as suddenly as it started, it stopped.
The lights steadied. The room was still. One by one, the witches opened their eyes, and silence followed.
Alisha sat there, stunned, her heart drumming against her ribs.
She had no idea what just happened but it felt oddly familiar.
Alisha, still slightly disoriented by the chant, was suddenly aware of the circle's eyes on her. Sheila, the dark woman in her late forties who exuded quiet authority, turned toward her with a kind look.
"Alisha," she said softly, "since you're our newest sister, would you mind introducing yourself?"
Alisha hesitated. She could feel the weight of the group's attention. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest, and she felt uneasy. This was all foreign to her and she didn't know how to act or what to say. If she had to say anything at all.
"I'm Alisha Montes," she began. "I just… found out I might not be normal."
A few smiled at that knowingly, not mockingly.
Selena leaned in and whispered something into Sheila's ear. The older woman listened, nodded slowly, and then stepped forward, enveloping Alisha in a gentle embrace.
"Welcome, child," Sheila said. "You're safe here. Every time someone awakens to who they really are, they feel left out, like they're crazy. It can be scary. That's why we're here to make sure you don't go through it alone."
As everyone relaxed, Sheila moved to the center of the room and began explaining the supernatural world to Alisha. It was a ritual, Selena said. They performed for every new witch. Alisha listened, but her thoughts wandered. Nothing in Sheila's speech explained how she became what she was. Whatever that is.
Sheila spoke of lineages....how witches were born, not made. If witches were born, then that meant… one of her parents had to be supernatural. Alisha frowned.
Her mother? No way. If her mom had powers, she would've noticed the changes, would've said something when she started acting weird. She'd been with her every day since that first blackout. Surely, she would've seen the signs. Would've warned her.
Her father, then? He died in a car crash when she was three. But… that didn't make sense either. Supernaturals didn't just die from something as ordinary as a car crash. Not unless something, or someone....intervened.
Had he kept it a secret from her mom? Was her mother truly in the dark or was she the supernatural in question?
She didn't know. And that uncertainty dug a hole in her chest.
"Tell me, Alisha," Sheila said gently, pulling her back to the moment. "When did you first start noticing your powers?"
Alisha blinked, startled. The room was quiet again, everyone watching her and waiting. Her eyes flicked between the faces before settling on Sheila's.
"About a month ago, give or take," she murmured. "I went into the woods to film a documentary… and I got chased by a werewolf."
A few gasps rippled around the circle.
"I think… the fear, or maybe the trauma, triggered something. Since then… I've been different. I pass out a lot. I see… things. Ghosts. And....."
She stopped herself.
Something inside her...deep in her gut warned her not to say too much. Not yet. She couldn't explain it, but she trusted it.
Sheila nodded slowly. "You're right. Trauma often unlocks dormant abilities. And surviving a werewolf attack, well… most don't. Those creatures rarely show mercy. From what Selena told me, It's possible, Alisha, that you are a necromancer, a rare type of witch who communicates with, and even summons, the dead. It's no wonder your magic is unstable. Untrained power tends to overwhelm the body."
She smiled warmly.
"But that's why we're here. Though the Council forbids us from practicing openly, we don't hide from who we are. That's why I started this group. To give witches like you a safe space to learn, grow, and belong."
Alisha's chest ached, but this time, it wasn't fear. It was relief. For the first time since her world flipped upside down… she felt understood.
"Thank you," she whispered.