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Chapter 27: Escape
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Darkness Chapter 28: Dinner
I woke to excited screeches from the front room. I blinked the sleep from my eyes and wondered if it was a parakeet being murdered or my possessed roommate. Mila burst into the room. She seemed almost back to her usual self. "Kira, come out. Come meet my dad! He's brought stuff for us!" She vanished with a flip of her blonde hair. I rubbed my temples. What the hell was going on? The last thing I remembered was falling into bed around noon after taking a really long shower. I reached under my pillow where I found a black knife. I wondered how that had gotten there. I stuffed it back under the pillow then dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. I took a deep breath then prepared for my first encounter with my real father.I crept out of my room and leaned against the hallway wall with my arms crossed. Here he was, the man I should talk to just arrived in my apartment. A nagging feeling pulled at me deep in my gut. Was this somehow Remi's doing? Was he forcing me to follow this trail? I alre
Darkness Chapter 29: Memory
I trudged out into the sunshine. The afternoon sun lit the street. People passed. Weird things passed. I was still seeing the crazy. Or the unknown. I wasn't sure which side of the fence I was on yet. I walked a long ways, trying to get away from it all. I wasn't going to jump off a bridge this time. Wait, I remembered that. My head stung with pain. Why were things so complicated? I just wanted a straightforward answer. I felt like so many things were being kept from me. I walked on. I could go back. Maybe Matei had some answers. Maybe we could work all this out. But, no. I was too angry. He knew. He knew the whole time. I didn't need a liar like that in my life right now. Maybe never. I wasn't ready to let him in. I kept seeing shadows under the trees. The little ember blinked in and out of my peripheral vision. I wasn't in the mood. I avoided the shade. I didn't want to talk to that liar either. I knew he'd just smile at me and I would forget all my anger.I took the path down to
Darkness Chapter 30: Nexus Point
On my walk back to the apartment, I read through the paper. It had a list of ingredients, a drawing of a pentagram with mathematical looking symbols in it, and, as would be proper for any insane black magic spell, a chant to go along with it. However, to my surprise, it was in English. The first task was to find a nexus point. Scratch that. The first task was to figure out what the hell a nexus point was.It was still before sunset, so I took a detour to the local library. It was small, but still open. I nodded to the librarian at the desk as I walked past the entrance. There weren't many people around, or other "people" either. I did see one with pink skin, but she looked fairly normal. I hoped she didn't catch me staring.I sat at one of the computer desks. It had a flat screen monitor, one of those all-in-one PCs, a small mouse, and keyboard. Once upon a time, I too had a computer, but not recently. I had to pawn it to pay rent a few months ago. I logged in under my library userna
Darkness Chapter 31: Store
I kept my steps lively as I marched down the street towards the store. I only needed a few things. I jammed my hand in my tote bag and fished around for my wallet. I had twenty dollars and some change. That should be enough for some campfire food. I ducked into Grocer Outlet. I knew I shouldn't be here, but it was the cheapest place to get food.I darted around the aisle to avoid eye contact with my manger. If I was careful, I could get out of here without getting seen by anyone that would rat on me. I sunk in low as I waited for the manger to pass."What are you doing?" Angie asked.I nearly jumped out of my skin. I knocked several cans of beans from the shelves as I danced around in an awkward spin to avoid stepping on them and to get a better look at the intruder trying to blow my cover."Shut up," I breathed. "I'm trying to be covert here."His stony face stared at me."What are you doing?" He repeated."Why do you care?" I whispered harshly. "I'm not in any danger so piss o
Darkness Chapter 32: Ice Cream
I pushed the door open. To my surprise, Matei was still there. Mila and Anton sat with him at the table eating straight from the tub of ice cream. I gritted my teeth and smiled warmly."There you are!" Mila jumped to her feet. "We waited a long time for you." She rushed over waving a spoon in my face. "You have to try this. We found butterscotch."My eyebrows rose. Butterscotch ice cream was impossible to find on the shelf. I'd only ever made it at home. It was definitely my favorite. I couldn't help myself and accepted the spoon. I joined them at the table. Matei and I shared a glance. I slapped the spoon on my tongue and narrowed my eyes at him."Where did you go?" Mila asked.I pulled the spoon from my mouth. "I got a phone call, then had to go pick up something."Mila waited for more information, but when I didn't offer it, she turned to Matei. "How long are you visiting for, Daddy?"He shook his head. "Not long, pumpkin. I just had some business to take care of and thought I
Darkness Chapter 33: Sister
The scream died. The darkness cleared. The glow of the symbols dimmed until they were just dirt again. My stomach ached, but my balance returned as my eyes stopped spinning. A body lay slumped at the center of the star.I took a tentative step forward, testing to see that I could. When my foot moved freely, I leaped the two steps forward and crouched down at the center."Mila?"At first I thought she was dead. Her body didn't move, but then I realized the body wasn't right. It was too big to be Mila. I fumbled to turn the flashlight on. It was hard to tell in the light, but the hair wasn't right either. It was too dark, not Mila's bright blonde.The head lifted. The hair fell back. Two grey eyes stared out at me. I stumbled backward. The eyes staring back at me were mine. The face staring back at me was mine."What the fuck!" I cursed as I jumped back and my butt hit the dirt.The eyes staring at me blinked. "Can you get this light out of my eyes?" The woman leaned away from the
Darkness Chapter 34: Guilt
Lanie dragged me out of the forest. My feet felt wooden. My legs barely moved even though I was consciously make every step to follow her. I felt like they just wouldn't move fast enough. We walked through the empty darkened streets. With her here, I didn't feel the darkness pressing in around me like before. I felt safe. Maybe it was the first time in my life that I felt this way.I pointed her in the direction of my apartment then fumbled with the keys as I unlocked the front door. When it opened, Anton looked up from the couch in the living/makeshift bedroom."Where's Mila? Whoa, there are two of you?" He asked.I stared dumbly at him. I felt so empty inside. I didn't know how to handle this. Lanie rescued me. "I'm her sister. I'm visiting from Salt Lake."A skeptical look went over his face for a moment.She continued to look at him. "I'm sure Kira must have mentioned me. I was studying to be a teacher.A strange sensation hit me like a wave. It felt like it rippled through
Darkness Chapter 35: Book
I stood at the checkout counter moving mechanically. This job required no thought, which was good because my mind was zipping through countless scenarios where I could have saved Mila's life. It always came down to two things: I trusted too easily and I wasn't brave enough. I wished I could be like my sister. She seemed so confident and so knowledgeable. I needed to learn from her so nothing like this happened again.I was the last one in the store again. I hated working last shift, but I had no choice. It came with a little pay bump. I stepped out into the night air. I was glad my car was working again, but I had left it for Lanie to use. It was another walk in the dark home for me. My eyes shifted from side to side as I walked through the parking lot. I was getting that feeling again, like it was okay if the darkness got me. I was pretty worthless, after all. But nothing seemed to appear. No black clouds, no burning embers, no shadow man tonight. Everything was just normal. It was a
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