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St. Augustine, 1823
Cara shivered, the stone cold floor beneath her. Shrieks
sliced through the air above her, echoing through the stone walls. A moldy stench,
thick in the surrounding air, drifted up her nostrils. The temperature dropped
several degrees as a breeze touched her head. She dared to open her eyes and
stare into the darkness surrounding her, peeling one eye open and then the next.
“Cara,” sounded a soft voice, almost a whisper. A warm touch
caressed her hand, a shadowy figure flashed before her eyes. “You need to
leave.” The soothing voice didn’t elicit fear but warmth and love. Her eyes
searched for whom it belonged to. A breeze brushed against her and the voice
whispered in her ear. "You need to go. I can lead you.”
She tilted her head and gazed upon a transparent woman, no
more than twenty. Her flaxen hair fell across her shoulders, circling her heart-shaped
face. “Who are you?” Cara stammered.
“I’m Alda, once like you. They’ve been here for centuries,
before the pirates, before the first settlement. The true first inhabitants of
this continent.”
“Who are they?”
“They are Bloodseekers. Come now!” The urgency in her voice resounded
inside Cara. She jumped to her feet and followed the apparition. Alda’s white
bodice hugged her torso, the black hem grazing the stone floor.
Light from candles illuminated the darkness as they wound
through a narrow passageway, as one candle lit ahead of them, the one behind
went dark. The brightness of each light cast a glow on the shadow beside it,
lighting the faces of each ghost. One apparition after another, men and women,
blood drenching their shirts and bodices from the fang marks in their necks. The
chilly air sent waves of shivers spiraling through Cara’s body. She lifted her
arm to touch a girl, no more than twelve, but her hand went through the child’s
face.
They came upon a fork in the passage, Alda motioned for her
to stop. Quickening footsteps sounded from the right. “Plaster yourself against
the wall, into the shadows. They see heat, our lack of it will protect you.”
Cara did as asked. Not questioning Alda. She knew the footsteps
belonged to a Bloodseeker. One had come into her home and killed her family,
draining them of every drop of blood. She tried to escape, to run, but he was
too quick. His dark eyes bored into hers. And a voice inside her head commanded
her to stop. Her body froze in place. She tried to move but his mind controlled
the core of her brain and she collapsed, waking up on the stone floor.
Her back against the wall, the shadowy apparitions swarmed
around her, blanketing her in darkness, shielding her from the Bloodseeker. His
footsteps halted at the fork, as if deliberating which direction to go. He
turned and followed the corridor leading to the room she’d left, he halted. His
black eyes glowed through the shadows surrounding her. She closed her eyes
tight, to avoid his mind commands and held her breath. Cara stayed as
motionless as possible, controlling the tremors threatening to shake her body.
Her sense of hearing heightened with her eyes squeezed shut,
she heard his footsteps walk away from her and continue through the corridor.
She popped her eyes open and watched his form through the corner of her eye.
When he disappeared around the corner, Alda motioned for her to follow. He’d know she wasn’t there. He’d look for
her. The apparitions parted as Cara moved away from the wall.
Alda floated up the stairwell as Cara followed with gentle
footsteps, careful not to draw his attention. A wooden door appeared before
Cara as she reached the top of the stairs. Alda motioned for her to open it, the
hinges creaking as she pushed it open.
Moonlight from the crescent moon streamed through the parted
heavy curtains, bathing the room in enough light that Cara could see. Dozens of
ghosts swarmed the room. Now, able to see them clearly, she gasped. Their skin
tones and origins varied - black, white, and varying shades of brown. None
older than her. Their styles of dress told her many lived centuries before her.
A young black ghost hovered in front of her, clothed in a thick graying dress.
Her gentle brown eyes sent a burst of warmth through Cara’s quaking, goose-pimpled
body.
Alda soared towards a bookshelf and pointed to a nondescript
brown leather book. “Pull it.”
Cara hurried towards the shelf and lifted the book, the
shelf easing back to reveal another room.
“Take the book inside the room. The door will close behind
you.”
Cara didn’t argue. Thundering sets of footsteps pounded the
floor behind her, only moments from catching her she dived into the room. The
book case closed, leaving behind all the ghosts except Alda. A Bloodseeker
rushed towards it, catching it with his hand. He forced the heavy door open.
Cara scooted away from his grasp.
A bright red light flickered from the corner of the dark
room. “Grab the light!” Alda yelled. Cara scurried towards it, dropping the
book as she reached for it. She held it firmly in her hand and tugged, but the
object was caught on something she couldn’t see in the dark.
The Bloodseeker dived for her, catching her other arm in his
firm grasp. A blast of white light diffused through the room from the object
Cara clutched in her hand. He pulled her towards him. She tightened her grasp as
the object and the nail it was stuck on slackened from the wall. The Bloodseeker,
too late to stop her, screamed in agony as the light blasted him against the
door, his body engulfed in flames.
The light enveloped Cara, pushing its way through her body. She
burst into fire, the flames licking the walls, then eddying into nothingness.
Her ginger hair now crimson red, her amber eyes shining as garnets in the
darkness. Beneath her skin, muscles exploded to the surface.
“What’s happening?”
A smile widened on Alda’s face. “You’re the one. We’ve
waited for you.”
“What do you mean and how come I can see you and they can’t?”
“You are a Slayer, that’s why you see us. As long as you
wear the amulet you will be indestructible and invisible to the Bloodseekers.
They won’t be able to harm you. Your job is to find others like yourself and
slay every last Bloodseeker. Don’t ever take it off and keep it protected
beneath your clothes. Should it fall into their hands they will use it against
you. You see us because you are special. All the answers are in the book. Take
it, place the amulet around your neck and leave now!”
Cara leaned over and grabbed the book. She then pulled the
glowing amulet over her head. “What about you and the others?”
“You have freed us. We are forever grateful but you must
leave.”
Cara hurried towards the door, stepping on the Bloodseeker’s
ashes. The door opened for her and she ran through the house, ghosts guiding
her way. She dodged the Bloodseekers, their dark glowing eyes searching, fangs
sharp as daggers protruding from their upper gums. Their blood covered mouths
saturated the air with scent of iron. Claw-like fingers sliced through the air,
scratching her clothes as she sprinted past them, hurdling tables and furniture
with skill and agility unknown to her.
Finally reaching the front entrance, she twisted the golden knob
on the large, chunky door and ran into the morning’s first light. Dawn. The sun
rising just above the horizon. She stepped onto the porch, Bloodseekers on her
trail. Stumbling down the steps, she landed face first in the dirt. Scrambling
she lifted herself upright and quickly turned towards the house.
A tall, thin Bloodseeker hissed, shielding his face as he
sank into the house, flames licking his hands. The sun’s light rose bigger and
brighter in the sky, immersing the house in radiance. The ground shook. She sprinted.
Reaching the relative safety of the tree line, she turned in
time to watch the ground part around the house, swallowing it. Thousands of lights
glowed as the ghosts swirled into the atmosphere, rising high into the sky as
they disappeared. Screams reverberated in the air surrounding her as the Bloodseekers
were burned and buried.
She cupped her ears and knelt, curling her head towards her
knees to muffle their death screeches. Unable to stifle the noise, tears rose
to her eyes from the pain in her throbbing ears. As soon as the screeching
began, it stopped, and the earth filled in above the house. The ground appeared
undisturbed. The sun shone high in the sky, erasing the dreadful night.
Cara lifted the amulet hanging against her chest, a large
red stone set in the center surrounded by, and hanging on, a silver chain. She
clutched it, the book tucked beneath her arm, and marched down the road. Not a
soul peered outside their windows or took notice of the event.
The house was wiped from existence and erased from St.
Augustine’s inhabitants’ minds. Cara’s secret.
copyright and intellectual property of Lisa Klaes 2016
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