https://youtu.be/qaF6jtg1mGY

As the silver rays of the moon shone over a vast swampy prairie, a cold subtle wind whistled through the trees encircling it. A creek, deep and wide enough to allow the passage of canoes cut at the edge of the prairie and snaked off to places unknow.

At the edge of the forest, away from the creek, a small tent large enough for the family of four occupying it, rustled against the wind.

The Davis' were long overdue for a vacation, and though they couldn't afford one, William, the man of the house, had the idea to go camping over the weekend. They brought plenty of supplies and found a nice spot a few miles deep in Conecuh National Forest, near the southern edge of Alabama, and north of the Florida panhandle.

William slept beside his wife of seventeen years, and she cuddled up with both their five-year-old son and eight-year-old daughter, resting from an eventful day of catching frogs, canoeing, and sightseeing. They had planned to do more tomorrow. Catch some fish, light a bonfire, and maybe spot an alligator.

That day would never come, because as they were sleeping, six canoes rowed down the creek and to the water's edge. They beached upon the shore. Each canoe carried two people cloaked in gray robes, and their hoods concealed their faces. They were known as the Gray Ghosts of Conecuh Forest, and tonight they were hunting.

They spotted the Davis' tent far in the distance, and they approached it. The leader of these cultists remained in the first canoe, and watched as his subjects drew closer to their targets. Once they reached the blue tent, they intruded upon them, and smothered their faces with a black rag that smelled earthy. The husband, William, the wife, Brenda, the son, Daniel, the daughter, Amy, all of the Davis' were unconscious.

One by one, they were removed from their tent and placed on a stretcher. The cultists carried their abductees across the open prairie and to their leader, Thaddeus Grimshaw the Twelfth. Thaddeus was a tall and imposing man. His stare; cold, unnerving. He studied Brenda, Daniel, Amy, and William as if he were a lion hunting a gazelle.

Thaddeus said, "a family of four can keep the church fed for ten days." He had a slight lean to his gait. A bushy beard seldom groomed covered his chin and mouth. Hair, thin and wispy, swayed in the wind as he examined the family of four. He tapped his pen against his chin and surveyed the four abductees laying in front of him.

Two of Thaddeus' strongest cultists perished because of old age, and the church's food stores were already low. A manor and chapel were in dire need of repair. The meat they had collected throughout the summer either rotted or had been consumed. The challenges the church faced seemed endless. People didn't live forever, and the freezers they used to keep their meat fresh broke down.

The age of the church was starting to show, and Thaddeus knew that he needed fresh blood in the church, but he also knew that he and his subjects must eat. He contemplated whether the father should serve as nutrition or use him for labor. He wasn't sure, as people didn't venture deep into Conecuh National Forest as much as they used to, and this made hunting more frequent.

As a result of the more frequent hunts, the sightings of the cultists, or as the locals called them, the Gray Ghosts, increased, and since those sightings increased, fewer people camped in the forest.

A vicious cycle had developed, and the cultists in the Church of Syn were starving because of it — more hunts for less food.

Consuming any other kind of meat is forbidden, therefore, hunting deer or any other animal is out of the question. To consume any meat other than human flesh is to taint their soul and bar themselves from ever sitting with Syn in the Dark Well, a place these people considered heaven. Though none of them knew what the Dark Well was, they still believed in it, and refused to eat any meat that wasn't 'pure'.

Thaddeus, whose rank was surpassed only by Syn himself, could not afford to appear weak in front of his subjects. His grandson, Theodore, stood at the ready; prepared to whisk the people away. He was a short man with a bowl haircut. Not too old either and the heir to the Church of Syn. His father died seven years ago from disease, and he has never met his mother.

Age was something people in the cult tend to forget, but Theodore (Thaddeus Grimshaw the Twelfth) is twenty-eight and balding. He too had a bushy beard, though it is brown with a slight orange hint. Thaddeus urged Theodore to come over at once, and together they examined the family of four one last time.

Thaddeus turned his gaze toward the gray clouds above. The air was thick with a swampy odor, and a subtle drizzle rolled across them. Heavy clouds, full of rain, cascaded across the sky and the grass bent to the breeze which pushed it. As curtains of moss swayed from Southern Live Oaks, Thaddeus knew he must decide soon. Rain was coming, and he could smell it.

Thaddeus said, "we will use the father and replace him with a lone camper whenever we find one. I know that people rarely camp these days, but the manor and chapel need to be repaired. Theodore, instruct the others to spare the father, as we will need him, and prepare the others for consumption." The cultists placed each member of the Davis family into a canoe, and they paddled down the creek. The canoes which held Brenda, Daniel, and Amy veered left, while the one which held William stayed right. Either way, they both sailed in obscurity.

They brought William to a small wooden cabin and kept him drugged long enough to allow a few days to pass. Water was given to him by gently pouring it into his pried open mouth, and this was done whenever he began to stir. Asleep enough to drink, but not awake enough to be alert.

Once Thaddeus gave the okay to allow William to wake up, they bound him, and seated him in front of a dining room table. And now, William Davis, sat tied to a seat. Thick black hair remained unclean, and dirt covered his face. His head wobbled from side to side as he woke. In front of him was a long cherry oak table, and at the center was a boar's head placed on a platter, and in its mouth was an apple.

Thaddeus noticed William begin to stir and gestured with his index finger for Theodore to set the table. Thaddeus studied William's arms and chest. He surmised that William would be strong enough to do the grunt work. Several windows in the chapel had to be replaced, and the longer he thought, the more jobs there were.