Mira's Fire

In the blackwater swamps north of Akers, Louisiana, the Moses family cemetery lies hidden away from prying eyes. No matter how seasoned, rowdy, or drunk, local townspeople give the Moses plot a wide berth.

It’s summer on Lake Pontchartrain. The night air is warm, wet, and still. Curtains of Spanish moss hang from ancient live oaks, while a full moon casts a ghostly glow upon sixteen weathered gravestones.

Tonight, three content creators—YouTubers—ignore dire warnings and slip into the cemetery. Their goal: verify or disprove the existence of Mira Moses, a witch, and Voodoo Priestess.

Lucent lights glaring, their cameras recording, the interlopers wade into the fog. Taking separate paths, they weave among moss-covered markers. With each step, sullen sounds shatter sacred silence.

“Guys… You need to get over here…” Emily says as she brushes the frizzy mop of auburn hair away from her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Matt asks, arriving at her side.

Emily stands silent, pointing at the twenty-foot-wide circle, carved into consecrated ground.

“What the eff, Emily!” Mark chides upon reaching the scene. “It’s a goddamn circle.”

“Look at the center, Mark!” Matt demands, pointing to a glowing spot, pulsing with otherworldly power.

“Time to go!” Mark orders.

“We gotta go, Em,” Matt urges, but Emily doesn’t hear. She’s beguiled by the fiery vortex swirling above the circle’s center.

“Come to me, child.” The flaming female form beckons.

Entranced, Emily crosses the threshold.

Matt drops his camera gear, and charges to save her. But, upon reaching the trench, an unseen force drives him backward, crashing into Mark.

“What the hell, man!” Mark chides.

Matt says nothing, but points to Emily embracing the fiery femme fatale. Seconds later, the boys watch in horror as the flaming females fade into oblivion.