Nightmare's Daughter

by Aurora Smith

  Another hour of stomach cramps, feeling light headed and completely worthless acts and it was our turn. This was such a stupid idea and I had no idea how I’d gotten roped into this. I blamed the Siren. Also the Mermaid - that witch was on my list too.

  Cupid came bumbling up on stage; obviously he had been sucking back some kind of alcoholic remedy that numbed his brain to the ridiculousness being presented to us. I wanted a swig and a valium.

  “Now it’s time-hicup- for Liam Frankshhhtine and Gladys Marigold.” For the first time today there was an actual round of applause, everyone eager to see what we were going to be doing. I had gotten so much attention that day, mostly from people who regarded me as disgusting just a day before and now found me interesting and worth their while. Gladys had taken on roll of girlfriend, which was weird. She hung on my arm while we made our way up to the stage but what could I do about it? She’d taken my face into her hands earlier that day and said, “Oh, Liam, it would be a shame for that face to change again, so soon after getting it back. Gosh, I think you’re the good looking twin!” Which was silly because Justin was my complete copy; there was no difference except for the way we maintained our bodies, and my body had suffered this summer.

  I’d made it up onto the stage, my science garb on for the act, with a surprisingly beautiful Gladys; yes we were the talk of the camp. The stage was made of old wood and had a faded red, mold smelling curtains (seriously, a camp full of mythical creatures and we couldn’t make something better than this?). I turned my full attention to the campers; an ocean of a strange array of people all looked back up at me. Including the angry Ashley who was back to her normal, beautiful self and sitting in the front row with crossed, angry arms. Maya wasn’t hard to spot, her purple hair was shocking in the middle of dark brown and blond. Her eyes stood out too. I tried not to laugh that she was a good foot below all the other faces peering up at me, anxious to see what I was about to do.

  “I need a volunteer,” I said with all the confidence I could muster. Most every girl at camp shot their hands up in the air and waved them around. Christina, Ashley, Maya and Abby were the exception. I reached my tired arms out and tried not to show the pain that had struck my gut the second I raised them. A fruity taste filled my mouth but I pushed it out of my mind. Indigestion was bound to be a part of my recovery, back to eating regularly and getting my strength back.

  I pointed to a girl I’d never seen before, she was obviously a tree spirit or some kind of Elf; her body was formed beautifully and her face was striking and full. Her bubblegum pink lips smiled as she stood and made her way onto the stage. She stood next to me and gave me a dazzling smile while I held my hand out for her and kissed her hand before sitting her in a chair that we had provided. It was black and it folded, nothing special but you work with what ya got.

  “And what is your name?” I asked in a sexy voice I had used many times before—it was hard due to this aching in my side that had been persisting for the last minute and a half.

  “Lezley,” she answered with a country accent I hadn’t expected to come out of her Hollywood looking lips.

  “We are going to show you a little magic,” I said and Gladys stepped up.

  “Ahhhhh,” Lezley looked worried all of a sudden and I put my hands on her shoulders to try and comfort her.

  “There is absolutely nothing to worry about, Gladys is a remarkable witch,” I said and everyone laughed like I had told the funniest joke. That made Lezley even more worried—girl was smart.

  “Tell me, what is your favorite animal?”

  “A unicorn.”

  “A unicorn? The most magnificent creature known in our world. Close your eyes and picture a unicorn. White hair with a golden horn and the blackest mane you’ve ever seen.” I painted a picture in Gladys’ mind and the crowd gasped and wild clapping followed.

  Lezley stood before us; her girlish form had turned into the exact creature that I had described. Her hoofs pawed the wooden stage and I pet her neck in a show of affection that brought on cooing from the on looking women.

  “And now, what do you think? Should we leave her this way?” I looked to the crowd who all laughed and the horse whinnied. “No, I think even this creature can’t compare to the beauty Lezley has.” The unicorn girl stopped her tantrum and raised her head with pride.

  I made a show of smiling at Gladys, and Lezley turned back into human form. The crowd erupted for the second time in a show of appreciation. I dismissed her off of the stage and asked for another volunteer. More shows of hands appeared in the air, even a few guys wanted to be a part of the fun. Had they learned nothing? Flattery is a slippery slope. I stuck to the plan however and picked another girl. I had no idea what she might be. She wasn’t as obviously beautiful as Lezley had been but this girl still possessed a grandiose quality that was evidently something very important. I pointed to her and she popped right up and ran to stage, excitement pouring from her grey eyes.

  “And your name is?” I asked while kissing her hand.

  “Brittney.” She flushed and I winked at her.

  “Belle Brittney, what is something that you’ve always dreamed of doing?”

  “Dating a Frenchman,” she said and made a show of batting her eye lashes at me. I gave her a deep, exaggerated French laugh that made everyone laugh. Flexing my abdominal muscles made my knees weak from pain and I hoped no one saw. I looked to the crowed and I saw Maya give me an angrily concerned face. Great. Now I was an obnoxious, cheating jerk with tummy issues.

  “Dating a Frenchman? Have you met my brother? He’s a very good looking guy.” I winked at the crowd and everyone laughed, including Justin. “Justin, come up here?” More laughing, and an embarrassed Justin meandered up to the stage.

  “Justin, this is my friend Britney. Britney, this is a strong, handsome Frenchman who I know would love to take you out on a date that you would never forget.” Going with the show, the pair of them laughed and walked off the stage together.

  “Another happy customer, I think we have time for one more.” I looked to Abby who took a deep breath. Her eyes looked worried and I wondered if I was doing the right thing. I had convinced her that this was the right thing to do and I hoped with everything in me that I was right.

  Everyone, except Maya and Ashley, raised their hands this time, and I pointed directly to Abby. A groan of displeasure followed Abby as she walked up on stage.

  “What about you, lovely girl?” I kissed her hand like I had the other two women before her and she spoke in a broken, worried voice.

  “I’ve always wanted a beautiful fin.” The girl was brave, I had to give it to her. I admired her and while the crowd was scoffing. I hoped that they were going to be blown away.

  I turned around and smiled at Gladys, who looked like she was trying not to glare at me.

  “Turning ugly to beautiful always has a price,” Gladys said, and the crowd went from noisy to eerily silent in a second. I joined them because this was not something we had practiced.

  “And what will this already striking girl have to pay?” I said through gritted teeth.

  “It’s hard to say, it depends on her.” Gladys spoke mysteriously and I felt lightheaded. The crowd was beginning to spin so I used Abby’s shoulder to steady myself, but she was so worried for herself that she didn’t help steady me, she just stared at Gladys with big, worried eyes. When Abby didn’t answer and there was an awkward, silent lull Gladys rolled her eyes and pointed to Abby who gasped and fell to the ground.

  She was clutched over in pain and I grabbed Gladys by the arm and hissed at her.

  “What have you done?”

  “I did what she wanted.” Gladys shook off my arm and I felt a searing pain, like a knife was cutting into my brain. I grabbed my head, unable to hide this kind of agony.

  I opened my eyes when I heard the crowd gasp, not a polite gasp meant for entertainment value but a real, honest to goodness, surprised gasp. Abby was engulfed in black dust that sparkled and it
was so thick you could hardly see her. I scooted over to her, real fear washing over me now as I reached out for her, not knowing what I could do to help her once I found her in the cloud.

  I found her arm and pulled her but the thick smoke followed her.

  “What’s happening?” Abby asked me, her face so close to mine that I felt her lips moving and a worried tear slid from my right eye as I tried to comfort her.

  “It’s all just part of the show; you’re going to be okay.” I was trying to fight the pain long enough to comfort her but my body was giving in.

  Another gasp from crowed told me that the cloud was thinning and fear made me not want to look but anger made me. Abby released my neck and peered down at her legs and saw a long fin, a fin that was a deep red with white waves running through it. The points on her fins were black and they were big and probably the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

  Gladys walked over to us and bent down so we were the only ones who heard her.

  “The curse is broken; this is what you would have looked like. But remember that I can take this away, I can easily give you your brown, fishy tail back.” She glared at Abby who had absolutely no expression besides shock on her face.

  There was an applause that ripped the air and Gladys looked to me, her new beautiful face turning horribly ugly and mean. She didn’t say anything but more pain erupted and I grabbed my head and let out a groan that no one heard, they were too busy freaking out over Abby’s new beauty.

  The noise faded but my pain grew and I fell to my back.

  “Liam?” Abby’s voice sounded like it was miles away and I didn’t think to answer her, I couldn’t compel any action that my mind could think up. I wanted to answer Abby. I wanted to look up and make sure Maya was okay and I wanted to grab Gladys by the neck and strangle her. But I just lay there, unable to move. Open my eyes. Move my hands. Do anything. I lay there, helpless, knowing that I must have been the price that Gladys was talking about. This was the price that I had to pay to get her to agree to taking back the curse and for kissing her when I didn’t mean it. I should have known better than to mess with a witch.

  “Liam!” Maya’s voice came to me and I felt her hands grab the front of my lab coat. Relief eased my discomfort of not being able to move. I couldn’t answer her but my mind screamed out for her. “What’s wrong with him? What did you do Gladys?” I heard her scream.

  “I didn’t do anything to him.” Gladys sounded angry and I wanted to shield Maya but I couldn’t move. I absolutely could not move.

  There was movement next to me, some scrambling and loud voices and I was being picked up by strong arms. My brother’s arms.

  “Help,” Justin said to the crowd and everyone laughed. Apparently still in entertainment mode.

  ***

  My mind went in and out of consciousness for an amount of time that I was unable to measure. I caught voices here and there; my father’s and Justin’s, even Maya’s. Hers were among the ones that made me want to reach my hands up the most. But they were immobile. No matter how much I wanted to move my body I was stuck. What had that witch done to me? Was I to spend the rest of my life in this prison of punishment?

  “Liam. I’m here.” Were the words that went over and over in my mind. The sweet words that Maya said to me as I lay in what I assumed was a hospital bed. Her little hand held onto mine, my palms unable to respond the way they wanted to.

  “How is he today?” A man’s voice that I didn’t recognized filled the stale smelling room I was in.

  “Same.” My father’s voice answered the unknown voice.

  “It has been a month, we need to start talking about what our plans are.”

  “Not here, not while he is in the room.” My father sounded angry.

  “I assure you, coma patients can’t hear a thing,” the voice said and I screamed that I could hear but no one knew it. My father touched my leg but I heard nothing more. k12

  I hope you enjoyed the first installment of Nightmare’s Daughter. Enjoy the first chapter of My Stupid Girl!

  Chapter One: Ice and Walls

  Have you ever planned to go somewhere but the whole time you’re there you’re wondering, “what the heck am I doing here?”

  Well, that’s pretty much my life. But today was particularly bad.

  I was at a park near my dad’s house that I’d been to a million times before. There was a beautiful lake, frozen solid at the moment, swarming with sweet, happy families who all wore colorful beanies and scarves. The kids danced around and ate falling snowflakes while the grown-ups smiled at each other over steaming cups of hot chocolate.

  Excuse me while I vomit.

  Me and my friends occupied the only bench near the frozen lake. Some genius in the park’s planning department had loaded up the playground area with a ton of benches but left the lake benchless. No problem in the summer, but kind of a big deal during the winter, when the playground was useless under a foot of snow. Geniuses work at the parks department, apparently. Geniuses who only plan around one season. The warm one.

  My group hadn’t gotten too much attention in the morning, with snowflakes and hot chocolate for breakfast. But now we were getting dirty looks from all of the people who had brought lunch for their families. Really? It was 17 degrees out. I know the lake is super-cool, but eat in your car. Don’t make your five-year-old sit on a freezing bench and take off their gloves to eat a crappy tuna fish sandwich so that you can say you had a winter family outing.

  I sat on the edge of the picnic bench, three layers between me and the cold wood. My elbows rested on my knees as I observed my surroundings. I wore my usual long-sleeved black shirt and a thick black hoodie, the hood up, of course. Over that, was a thick black coat I’d scored from a thrift store. I was sure it was an old military coat, but it didn’t really matter. It looked cool and it was insanely warm. It must have been made out of genetically altered super-wool. I wore tight, black skinny jeans and my combat boots that came up to the middle of my calves. They counteracted my stunningly terrible chicken legs, which were extraordinarily un-proportioned to my thick chest and big shoulders. I looked like an upturned triangle; my legs looked like they were going to break in half at any moment under the weight of the ginormous top half of my body. Body-builders kill for this look, apparently. Newsflash: I am not a bodybuilder.

  I have naturally tan skin, so I wore foundation at least three shades lighter than my skin tone to lighten up my face. I had on thick black eyeliner and black mascara, which made my short lashes seem longer, but that’s not really why I wore it. I liked the thickness it added. My lashes were already reasonably thick, but with mascara you could hardly see the muddy green colored eyes that were hiding. I had two lip rings, one in the right corner of my mouth, and the other in the left corner, and an eyebrow ring in my left eyebrow. My hair went down to my shoulders and I had a curtain of thick black bangs that completely covered my right eye. A curtain that was to be avoided by anyone who didn’t want to die a slow and painful death. Oh, and I’m a boy.

  This might seem a little weird. Honestly, I like paying attention to my appearance. For some reason, my brain works better when I can figure out a combination that works. I like the control that makeup gives me. In case you haven’t noticed, I actually care quite a bit about how I look. I’m just not going for bodybuilder-chic.

  I took a deep drag of my cigarette and stared blankly out over the frozen lake as I exhaled a thick cloud of smoke. It was freezing out, but I didn’t believe in snow suits. To keep from shivering, I might have had a pair of long underwear on under my pants, but I would never admit that.

  My best friends Johnny, Isaiah, and Michelle were all with me. Or rather, I was there with them. I didn’t want to come (as usual) but they drug me out (as usual) insisting that we make the frolicking townsfolk feel uncomfortable as a team. It was working.

  We all sat in a circle around the bench, saying nothing, just staring at anyone who dared to look in our direction. Our fellow
citizens were not pleased. This was not a shocker for us. People in this small, incredibly boring town didn’t like us.

  Johnny was the only one of us who left his hair a natural color; it was spiked and was reddish brown. The three of us made sure Johnny knew how preppy he was every chance we got. His face was spotted with freckles so thick that they went down to his neck and hands. His eyes were a deep blue. Johnny was the chipper one of the bunch; his attitude was fed by that mass of riotous freckles, I think. He didn’t change much about his appearance like the rest of us. He hung out with us more by default, because no other groups in school wanted to have a freckle-faced, eyeliner wearing “freak.“ So he came to hang out with us punks.

  Isaiah was a tall, scrawny, long faced, grump. He had the driest sense of humor on the face of the planet; you could choke and die from lack of humidity in Isaiah’s presence. He was the most in-your-face about his fashion, wearing bright red combat boots, tight blue jeans and a belt with a gigantic, sparkling skull that was, I swear, bigger than Isaiah’s own head. Today he had on a long-sleeved black-and-white striped shirt and a black short-sleeved shirt on over it. The t-shirt looked like it had blood dripping out of a hole where Isaiah’s heart would be. Fitting, considering how heartless his comments usually were. (Ba DUM!) He wore black, fingerless gloves, his finger nails completely black. His dark hair was shorter than mine, but still long, for a boy. The lip ring in the left corner of his mouth clinked against the tongue ring that he constantly swiped across his teeth. He wore the palest foundation that he could get his hands on, along with eyeliner in a complete circle of faded black that extended down over the soft part under his eye and then circled above it, to right below his eyebrows.