Julia... Julia Brown, a victim of ignorance that blinded people, or a victim of an evil soul that frightened, blinded the observer, deafened the listener, and silenced the speaker.
In Arizona, according to people's testimonies and what was said at the time, Julia was described as a (witch), but was this talk born of fear or of hatred that blinded all insight and distorted all truth?
Julia Brown was born in 1845. She was a Black woman, and any reader of history knows what happened in those past years. They were lean years of injustice and oppression for every Black person. The idea of white racial superiority prevailed in the minds of every white person, except for those whom God blessed with a pure heart and mind. Julia had a modest house that was sufficient for her needs in the Manchaak swamp, and on the edge of that swamp was a small town called Friner. Because of the fertile nature of the soil, which helped Julia to grow her medicinal herbs, in fact, that soil did not only help her, but it was a seed of hope that God had bestowed upon Julia. Julia was a herbalist, or "traitos," who used her methods, convictions, and herbs that she obtained from the swamp. Despite her assistance to the local people, her practice did not soften the hearts of those who hated her.
Some people, based on flimsy or delusional assumptions, considered her method of treatment to be nothing but heresy, and they called her a "witch" or a "voodoo priestess." This title was enough to spread rumors, fear, and hatred towards her.
But what increased Julia's pain was that the villagers she had helped believed these rumors—the same villagers she had helped and given medicine for every ailment they suffered from. But what you, dear reader, might not have expected, for you know in our time that you helped someone who thought they owned you, and that you became their servant because of your pure heart that showed compassion for their corrupt heart. Julia would sing a song while sitting on her balcony, adding a modest touch to her guitar to bring joy to the atmosphere of sadness and gloom in which she lived. The lyrics of this song sent shivers down the spine of anyone who heard them: "One day I will die, and everything will die with me... One day I will die, and I will take everything with me."
Despite its brevity, the song's lyrics were enough to cast another accusation upon her and create a widespread belief that the song was a curse she had placed upon herself due to the injustice and neglect she suffered at the hands of the villagers.
On September 29, 1915, Julia Brown died, and on the same day her soul departed her body, a devastating Category 4 hurricane struck the area, destroying and submerging the village of Frenier.
Unfortunately, every disaster brings losses not only in material terms but also in lives. The hurricane killed a considerable number of people and resulted in many being buried in a mass grave in that swamp (may God have mercy on the souls of those who died during that disaster). After the disaster, a rumor spread like wildfire among the people that the hurricane was the result of a curse placed by a woman named Julia Brown before her death, and that this curse led to a hurricane that took the town with it, just as she had predicted.
Today, it is believed that Julia's spirit still haunts the swamp, along with the spirits of the victims who died at that time. On tourist tours of the swamp, guides tell the story of Julia Brown and pass by a fake grave marked '1915'. Some visitors claim to have heard Julia's voice singing her song, its echo reverberating through the Manchaak Swamp.
Uzi sat thinking in front of her computer after reading these words and said to herself, repeating the phrases that she had read on the book in her mind, "And beware of the cursed voice... so that it does not lead you to your fateful fate... Beware of the dogs... for they are an extension of what is beyond the shadows... and beware of the one who died in oblivion." After a while of thinking, she said, "The cursed voice must be Julia's singing, and if the person hears it, it may lead him to destruction, but what about the dogs part? There is no information here that indicates that "Julia had a dog."
Uzi leaned her back on the chair and crossed her arms and sighed, saying, "Well, I wouldn't be surprised if there was a monster or a ghost in that swamp. What should I do now? The book said that the key is there and I have the map as well, but what's the solution now?" Uzi had made up her mind to go and find the key for the book's sake, and the reason for that rash decision was that she became more curious about her mother, as the following questions began to swirl in her mind - What had she done before she got married? With my father? What's up with this strange book? And why does it have her name on it? - All these questions had lit something like a fire in her mind. Perhaps finding this key and reading the book would extinguish or reduce this fire.
Uzi took a deep breath and looked at her weapon and said, "Okay, I can take a leave of absence from school tomorrow. No one would care if I showed up yes or no, and I can take the bus there. It's at least 45 minutes away by bus, but the only problem is the dangers I will face there, the ghost of a witch and a dog of some kind, and on top of all that, will my weapon be enough to deal with them?" Uzi put her hands on her forehead and started rubbing them in an attempt to reduce the tension and continued, "Ugh, if there was another way to deal with all of this?" Then she said to herself, "If there is someone, anyone, who can help me, I barely escaped from Vampire last time to face a ghost and a cursed dog..."
When Uzi said the word "vampire," she remembered N and what he said to her on the bus today, and she said, "Okay, I can..." Then she shook her head in the negative, saying, "No, no, that vampire will betray me at the next opportunity, trying to kill me." Then she looked at the ground, thinking to herself, "Will he really do that? I mean, he had several chances to kill me, but he didn't, and he also..." Uzi sighed and said in annoyance, surrendering and accepting this idea, "I can't believe it, But I have no choice."
The next day in front of Copper-9 High School, after school hours.
Uzi was waiting for N to appear in front of the school, in a spot far from the students' eyes, thinking to herself
"Will this work? I bet he'll ask for something in return. There's no way he'll agree that easily. Whatever he asks for, I must not let him know the real reason behind it".
She scratched her head and muttered,
"I mean, who would agree to something like this? What am I even supposed to say to him? 'Hey, come help me search for a weird key hidden in a swamp inhabited by a strange monster and a witch's ghost'?"
Then, out loud:
"Only an idiot would agree to something like that!"
"Agree to what?"
Uzi, still lost in her thoughts and not paying attention to the person behind her, answered "Agree to help me. Only an idiot would agree to that".
The voice replied "Help you? Of course I'll help you. I love doing anything!"
Uzi said "Thanks, N".
After a minute of silence, Uzi's mind snapped back to reality. She turned around in panic and shouted "N!!!"
N waved at her with a big drawn-on smile and said "Hi, Uzi!"
Uzi asked "How long have you been standing there? And why didn't you say anything when you arrived?"
N replied "Oh, I got here just a little while ago and saw you deep in thought, so I didn't want to disturb you".
Uzi said "I see…" Then she asked, "Wait... how did you find me today and yesterday anyway?"
N answered simply "By smell".
Uzi said in surprise "What?" She shook her head. "Never mind, that's not important. Listen, there's something really important I need to tell you."
N asked "Something important?"
Uzi continued "You see… I need to go to a swamp inhabited by the spirit of a dead witch and a demonic monster that looks like a dog, I think. And I need… someone… to, well, you know… help me…"
N smiled brightly "Of course I'll help you! No problem at all".
Uzi said "Look, I don't know how you vampires make deals among yourselves, but if you want..."
Her eyes widened as she realized what he had just said.
Uzi said "Wait… what?"
N repeated "Yeah, I'll help you".
Uzi stared at him in disbelief "Why? I mean, why would you want to help me? You barely know me... we've only known each other for two days. And don't forget I literally blew your head off with my railgun. And now I'm asking you to come with me to a creepy place full of terrifying things… just like that? No reward? Without even knowing why?"
N replied "Well, I'm not really sure I like scary things, but if you need help, I'll do it. No payment needed".
Uzi looked at N in astonishment. In this world, it was impossible for anyone to help another person like this without wanting something in return , even your own flesh and blood would demand something. Yet the person standing in front of her… She wondered to herself "Is he kind? Or just an idiot? Or is he trying to trick me?"
She asked "Okay… that still doesn't answer my question. Why do you want to help me without anything in return? Or without knowing the reason I'm going there? Are you trying to trick me?"
N answered earnestly "No… trust me, I just want to help you… because you're… my friend. I'll help you no matter what. You don't have to tell me the reason if you don't want to. You have your own matters and secrets, and I understand if you don't want to share them. That's all there is to it. I swear".
Uzi's cheeks turned slightly red and said "Oh…" She brushed a strand of her bangs aside, looking down at the ground in embarrassment and said shyly "Okay… I believe you".
She was extremely flustered, this was the first time anyone had ever said something like that to her. It made her nervous and even more surprised by N. She sighed and said "Anyway, we should get going. The bus will leave soon".
N asked "Bus? Why?"
Uzi replied "Huh? What do you mean 'why'? The place is really far away, it takes at least 45 minutes by bus. So we need to leave now or…"
N asked "Where exactly is this place?"
Uzi said "Right! I never told you the location!" Then, getting annoyed "You should've asked from the very beginning, you idiot—before agreeing without knowing any details! That's not smart. Someone could take advantage of your kindness and you wouldn't even realize it".
N looked embarrassed "Sorry… I didn't mean to".
Uzi said "It's fine… I guess. The place is called Manchac Swamp. If you don't have any more questions, we should go now before the bus leaves".
N said "Okay… I don't have any questions, but I have a suggestion that I think will save a lot of time".
Uzi asked "What's your suggestion?"
N replied "What if we fly there? As you know, I have wings and I can fly. We'd get there in less than five minutes. What do you think?"
Uzi was shocked by the suggestion. Although it was dangerous, it made sense and was much better than paying for a bus or sitting awkwardly with N for nearly an hour doing nothing. It would also avoid embarrassing conversations and moments. Still, there was the risk, he could drop her mid flight. Plus, she had never flown like this before, so nervousness took over.
She asked "How can I trust you won't betray me and drop me?"
N looked unusually serious "I would never do that. Just trust me, please?"
Uzi sighed "Okay, fine. But how do we...".
Before she could finish, N suddenly scooped her up in a princess carry, spread his wings, and said excitedly:
"Okay, up we go now!"
Uzi, overwhelmed with embarrassment, protested "N… wait! What are you doing? Put me down, please…"
But N didn't hear her and shot up into the sky.
A minute later, N was flying at high speed and high altitude. Uzi clung tightly to him, eyes squeezed shut from fear. The strong wind and pressure made her tremble, so she buried her face in his chest and held on as hard as she could.
After another three minutes of flight, she asked "Are… are we there yet?"
N answered "Almost, but I need you to open your eyes so you can tell me exactly where to land".
Despite her overwhelming fear, Uzi gathered her courage and opened her eyes. What she saw stunned and amazed her. She saw the clouds she used to look up at from the ground, N was piercing through them at high speed. The wind hit her face, making her squint a little. She looked down and saw trees, buildings, and cars looking tiny like ants from this height.
Then she looked up at N, the one carrying her. For one brief second, she forgot why she had opened her eyes, her full attention went to him. She noticed his pale white face, tired features, and glowing yellow eyes.
At that moment N was calling her name, snapping her out of it.
She said "Wha—what?"
N replied "We've reached the swamp".
He looked around, puzzled "But where exactly should I land?"
Uzi said "Oh, right!"
She pulled out the map from her pocket and began comparing it with the surroundings. After a minute of careful checking, she said "Okay, the hotel is here, and our destination is about 10 kilometers east of the hotel… I think?"
N said "Got it".
He flew quickly to the spot Uzi pointed out and asked "Here?"
Uzi looked at the map in confusion, she had never been good at reading maps, and the buildings and bridges in the area made it even harder. While she was thinking, N called "Uzi?"
She snapped "Don't interrupt my thinking! Tell me what you want quickly".
N said"Sorry… but is this normal?"
Uzi asked "What do you mean?"
N pointed "Your necklace… it's glowing, Is that normal?"
Uzi was confused by the question "Necklace?"
Then she remembered the skull-faced pendant from the box, she had put it on before leaving. She took it off and saw it was emitting a very faint glow toward the north, She said "This is it. The necklace acts like a compass for this map".
She motioned for N to fly in the direction the pendant was glowing.
While flying, Uzi suddenly said "Stop".
N stopped immediately and waited for her next instruction.
She continued "Land here. Right here."
N descended and gently set Uzi down. She could barely stand on her own feet.
N asked worriedly "Are you okay?"
Uzi replied "Yeah… yeah, I'm fine. Just give me a minute... I'm not used to flying."
N said "Maybe we should rest a bit. I'm not sure you're really okay."
Uzi snapped angrily "I said I'm fine! Stop bothering me… but thanks for asking."
When Uzi tried to walk, her legs wobbled and she nearly fell, but N caught her just in time. He asked again "Are you okay? You almost fell."
Uzi realized the position they were in, she had seen enough anime and read enough manga to know exactly what this scene meant. Her face turned bright red with embarrassment as she shouted "I said I'm fine! Get away from me, you idiot!"
N quickly let go "Sorry".
Uzi took a deep breath to calm down and forget what just happened, then refocused on why she came here. She held the map, looked around to survey the area, and said "Okay, we've passed Ponchatoula and Lake Prairie's shallows. Now we're in a really weird part of the swamp".
The deeper parts of the swamp were completely different, black stagnant water surrounded by dense floating vegetation like bull tongue and alligator weed, scattered bald cypress trees, thick fog blanketing everything, oppressive silence broken only by methane bubbles, and heavy, suffocating humidity that isolated the entire area.
Uzi said "Okay, we need to find a cypress tree with a skull mark on it so we can start moving."
The fog was so thick it limited visibility. N asked "What about the necklace? Can't we use it?"
Uzi held the pendant and turned it in every direction "It's still glowing, but it's glowing in every direction now. I don't think it'll help us anymore."
Then she remembered something "N, right, your abilities. Vampires can see in the dark. Maybe your power can help us".
N replied, a bit discouraged "I'm sorry, Uzi, but it doesn't work like that. When I use it, I can see something like the flow of blood paths inside human bodies and detect body heat".
He briefly explained how bodies generate heat through metabolism in cells, muscles, and organs, and how vampires can see their prey's heat signatures even in complete darkness. If they concentrate hard, or if they're starving and bloodlust takes over, they can even see the actual bloodstream paths from far away.
Uzi said "So you can see body heat. Okay, use it now. As you can see, we don't have any other options here".
N tensed up but couldn't refuse her "Okay… I'll try".
He activated his ability, his yellow eyes glowed brighter, thin crack-like lines appeared around them, and scanned the area carefully. After a while, he found nothing.
Uzi asked "Did you find anything?"
N answered "No… nothing. Just trees, plants, and alligators swimming in the water. Sorry".
Uzi said in frustration "It's okay… we'll find another way to locate the tree".
N noticed the disappointment in her voice and didn't like it. So he decided to push his vision further, even though it would tire him out. The downside for vampires was that every use of their powers consumed energy, the energy they got from blood. N didn't consume much blood and didn't enjoy it, he always tried to conserve his strength. He had already flown here at high speed and carried Uzi in under six minutes, so he wanted to save what remained for any real threats. But for the sake of his friend, he was willing to take the risk, even if it turned out useless. Trees don't give off heat… but he refused to hold back any effort to help Uzi.
He expanded his range, turning his head left and right. After about a minute, he was shocked to see a faint heat signature coming from one of the trees.
He exclaimed "I don't believe it!!"
Uzi asked urgently "What? What is it? What did you see?"
N said "That tree over there, I can see heat coming from it".
They both approached the tree and began inspecting it carefully. While checking, N said "Uzi?"
She answered, still focused "Yeah… what? Can't you see I'm busy right now?"
N said "Sorry for bothering you, but I think you need to see this".
Uzi said "See what…".
The sight in front of her made her freeze. She had thought the map referred to a tree with a drawn skull symbol, not a real human skull embedded right in the middle of the trunk. She steadied herself from the shocking image and said"Okay… I guess we found the right tree. But how did someone manage to embed a skull in the middle of it like this?"
N said nervously "I don't think anyone put it there."
Uzi looked at the expression on his face and asked in surprise "What do you mean?"
N swallowed hard "I think… Uzi, I think this tree is made out of human bodies".
Uzi stepped back from the tree, horror spreading across her face "What…? How…? What made you think that?"
N explained "Because this tree is giving off heat. Normally only living creatures with blood and flesh produce heat that I can detect. And when I focus harder… I can see what look like human bloodstream paths inside it. This tree… it's made of flesh".
Uzi asked "Who could do something like this?"
Even though terror had gripped her, she still had to continue, she needed to find the key for the book and uncover her mother's secret. With a firm voice she said "Okay, we've found the tree. There's no point staying here asking questions with no answers. Let's keep moving".
Despite being surprised by Uzi's reaction, N realized that no matter what happened, nothing would make this girl give up or stray from her goal. He gathered himself and said "Okay".
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I know I said last time that I would stop, but I can't do that. Despite my poor health, this story has taken over my mind, and I couldn't sleep or eat because of thinking about it. So I will return to posting one or two chapters every week at most. Please tell me what you think of the story so far?