I looked up at Jay, who looked so scared I thought he would cry. He turned and ran down the hall, leaving his cousin behind. As I looked back at Kyle, who was still on the ground crippled with pain, April ran up and threw her arms around me. She held me tightly for a few seconds before she started to cry even harder than she already had been. I put my arm around her shoulder, and we made our way down the hall and toward the nurse’s office. As much as I hated Kyle, I still felt I should get him some help.
When we reached the office, the nurse looked up at us and her eyes widened. My eye must have turned black already, and April looked like a wreck.
“What happened?” the nurse asked. “Are you two okay?” She got up and ran around her desk.
“Yeah, I think we’re fine,” I replied. “She’s just a little shaken up.” The nurse looked April over and then turned to me. She grabbed my head and tilted it around to get a better look at my eye.
“This is looking pretty bruised. What happened?” I couldn’t avoid it any longer. I had to tell her.
“There was a fight,” I started slowly. She backed away from me and lifted her eyebrow, waiting for me to go on. “Kyle was hurting April, so I made him stop. He’s hurt pretty badly, down by the back of the gym.”
“Kyle who?” She was already walking towards the door.
“Brisling,” April said with a scratchy voice.
“And what exactly happened to Mr. Brisling?” She paused in the doorway.
“I…um…I kicked him in the groin,” I said hesitantly.
“Great,” the nurse sighed. “There’s an icepack in the freezer. I’ll be back in a little while. Please stay here.” With that, she left. April sat down as I opened the freezer and grabbed the icepack. I took a seat in the chair next to her. Her head was down, and her eyes were flashing around as she scanned the ground.
“April?” I whispered her name quietly to get her to look at me. “April, are you okay?” She slowly looked up at me but didn’t say anything. Her hazel eyes shimmered as more tears entered them and began to fall down her face. “Are you okay?” I repeated.
“Why would he do that?” she asked, her voice trembling. “Why would he hit me? And you…he was going to kill you.” She shook her head violently, and then looked away from me and out the window. Immediately, her eyes widened, and her mouth opened like she was trying to scream but there was no sound. Before I even looked, I knew what she had seen. The dark figure was standing in the rain outside the window again. This time she was closer. I could easily make out the tattered black hoodie and jeans. When she saw me looking, she waved. I was too shocked to do anything. There was no way a creature could get by the guards and just stand at a window.
April jumped out of her chair and stumbled for the door. She left me alone in the room with the creature only a couple of feet from me. All the creature had to do was crash through the window, and I would be dead. The blessed water in the windows wouldn’t stop her after she had already passed the majority of the other protections. I didn’t understand why she didn’t just get it over with, but then, no one could understand a mind so evil and corrupt.
I was getting angry that she was trying to play with my head. I stood up from my chair and walked to the window. She moved closer to me as well, causing me to hesitate, but I still kept moving until only a thin piece of glass separated us. All she had to do was put one of her hands through the window and could crush my head. I almost screamed at her to do it, but then she turned with unbelievable speed and ran away, disappearing into the dark downpour. A second after she vanished, footsteps crowded into the room. I turned to see three guards with their flamethrowers out and ready.
“Get away from there!” one of them yelled and pushed me back, putting himself between me and the window. Another guard grabbed the collar of my shirt and pulled me out of the room to where April stood with the principal.
“Oh, Jason, thank God you’re okay!” April cried as she threw her arms around me. “I’m so sorry I ran out without you. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“It’s okay; don’t worry about it.” I gave her a comforting smile. “You went and got help.”
“Excuse me.” One of the guards tapped me on the back. “I’m sorry, but I need ask you a few questions.” I nodded, and he led me back into the nurse’s office. We both sat down, and he cleared his throat as he began to speak. “Let’s start off easy. You definitely saw one of them outside the window?”
“Yes,” I replied without hesitation.
“You’re positive it wasn’t a student trying to scare you?”
“One hundred percent positive.”
“How can you be so sure?” He removed the helmet from his head so he could talk easier. He looked like a nice guy. His eyes were blue, and his black hair made them stand out. He had a chubby look to him, even though he wasn’t. He appeared very serious, but seemed a bit shaken. I knew if I told him everything that had been happening to me, he would believe that there had been a monster outside the window, but I couldn’t tell anyone the full details.
“I don’t know,” I answered stupidly. “I just am. There’s no way it could have been anything else or you guys would have caught it, right?” He looked away from me and out the window.
“Listen, Jason.” He kept his gaze out the window instead of looking at me. “One of my good friends was killed yesterday by one of these things. The school was almost closed today because of it, and if you really did see another creature outside the window, then the school is not safe, and we need to send everyone home.” He turned back to look at me and waited for my answer.
“I guess if that’s what has to happen you better start getting the buses here.” He looked angry, but he got up and walked to the door to call another guard. I overheard him saying that he wanted five guards per bus, and there was to be another sweep of the school grounds to make sure that the creature had really left. When they were done talking, he came back to me.
“We are notifying your and April’s parents about what has happened. I don’t mean to scare you, but you could be in a lot of danger right now.” I almost laughed at him. He had no idea how much danger I was in. “We will come by your house periodically for the next couple of days to make sure you’re okay.” Just as he finished talking, another guard ran in yelling.
“It’s been spotted near the perimeter! We’re going to try and push it away from the school, and hopefully kill it!”
“I’ll be right there!” the first guard shouted and put his helmet back on. He turned back to me before he ran out of the room and said, “Be careful, Jason.” Then he was gone, and I was alone in the nurse’s office again. I wasn’t bothered anymore after that. They left me alone until my parents came. April and I were the first to get out of school, and both of us were escorted by a group of the Blood Protectors. As my mother and I pulled away, I saw the buses parking to pick up the rest of the kids. I waved to April as she drove in the other direction toward her own house.
“Jason,” my mom sniffled, “Are you okay?” I had been marked for death by one of the creatures, and now everyone knew. It truthfully frightened me beyond belief that I would soon be killed, but to spare my mother I told her I was fine.
“How can you be fine?” she almost screamed back at me. “You were almost killed today! And those…those things! They do stuff like that before they come after you!” She was in hysterics, and she was beginning to scare me. If I died, and no doubt I would very shortly, she wouldn’t be able to handle it.
“Mom?” I said very hesitantly. She held up her finger, and I waited for her to speak. When she did, her voice was slow and shaky.
“I’m sorry, Jason. That wasn’t fair to you. This is very scary, and I’m being selfish.”
“It’s fine, Mom,” I told her, truthfully this time. “I just don’t want you to throw your own life away if…if something does happen. I know it’s a hard thing to ask, but I want you to go and live your life as if I weren’t…gone.” Tears were flo
wing down her face as we reached our driveway. I’d never thought I would have a talk like this so calmly in a car. I’d always thought I’d be yelling it as I was being dragged away into darkness.
My mom didn’t say another word and when we walked into the house, she disappeared into her room. Billy and my dad were sitting at the kitchen table, so I joined them. Both looked at me as if I were going to die right there in front of their very eyes. I couldn’t help but think about how so many families had been going through this exact same thing. The creatures were so powerful that every time they chose a victim, they would let them know so they could watch them run scared. Then, when the victim would least expect it, the creature would kill them. I wouldn’t be like that. I would expect I was going to die every minute of the rest of my life now.
“What do you want to do, Jason?” Billy asked me.
I looked him straight in his big blue eyes and said, “I want lunch. I’m starving.”
“Alright, I’ll make you something. Anything you want. What will it be?” He lifted one of his thick, bushy eye brows and a smile cracked across my face. I never thought I’d smile at a time like this, but I could never resist the look on his face when he lifted his eyebrow. Then we both jerked our heads up when my dad slammed his fist on the table so hard all of the place mats jumped into the air.
“How can you two be so calm?!” he screamed. “Jason could be killed at any time, and he will be killed before the week is over! This is serious, and you guys are acting like nothing’s wrong!” He pushed his chair away and stomped out of the kitchen toward his study.
“Did you ever think this is what I wanted before I died?!” I yelled after him. “All I want is for my life to go on like normal! That’s why I didn’t tell you that I already ran into this very same Dahmshed yesterday!” I said the word so easily that I hadn’t realized I had said it at all. Dahmshed. Blood Demon. I didn’t fear it anymore. It was a slight comfort to know I was going to die soon by a Dahmshed. A Dahmshed was a better death than many I supposed. Unless, of course, they altered me. I would rather be burned alive then altered into one of those vile, ruthless creatures.
Before I stormed out of the kitchen and into my own room, I saw Billy’s face. He was wide-eyed, and his jaw was hanging low. I must have surprised him with the fact that I didn’t even tell him about the Dahmshed from yesterday.
I locked the door behind me and sat down on my couch. It was still early in the day, but I was tired. I rested my head on the arm of the couch and, within seconds, was asleep and dreaming.
***
I was one of them. A Dahmshed. My senses were going wild as a storm raged all around me. I was on a beach by myself. The sky was so dark, it could have been night, but lightning lit the area around me as it flashed continuously. The ocean to my right seemed to be battling the rain that was falling mercilessly against it. As I looked closer at the ocean, I noticed it was red. An ocean of blood. The temptation to drink up the entire sea was unbearable. I turned my back to it with amazing speed. The green hill that arched away from the ocean seemed to melt as I gazed upon it. The grass grew redder and redder until it was finally blood streaming toward me. When I thought it couldn’t get any worse, the sand below my bare feet began turning to red liquid as well. I was surrounded by blood, and I craved it desperately.
I ran up the hill and away from the ocean to try and find an escape. The pools of streaming blood splashed with each step, covering my legs and torso. I was slowly losing the battle to control myself. I almost bent over to drink five times before I reached the top of the hill. Once there, I stopped dead in my tracks, for I could not continue. Fire blazed as far as the eye could see in every direction on this side of the hill. I reacted instinctively by shielding my face and backing away quickly. Since fire was one of the few things that could permanently damage a Dahmshed, I knew I had to get far away from it.
With the fire trapping me in the sea of blood, there was no way I could resist the temptation any longer. I dropped to my knees, causing more blood to splash up and drench my clothes. Before I could taste the treat that my body craved so badly, I heard movement behind me. I turned quickly to see a wolf standing only five feet from me. It was so silvery-white that it seemed to glow and brighten up the dark beach. I had to place a hand across my face and squint just to look at it. Its eyes were white as well, as white, if not more, than its fur. Even with all of this, my gaze drifted to its paws. Blood was still running fast down the hill but the wolf stood on the greenest grass I had ever seen. I stood to admire the wolf more and even tried to walk to it, but it backed away from me.
“Not yet,” it said deeply. “Not yet, but soon.” It disappeared, and I was awake.
A loud crack of thunder shook my whole house, and I jumped off the couch. It was dark, night dark, so I reached for the light switch. I was blinded at first, but after a minute my eyes adjusted. The clock told me it was one in the morning. I had been sleeping for over fifteen hours. I was happy to still be alive after leaving my body empty of conscious life for so long.
After standing in the middle of my room for a few minutes, I grabbed my copy of A Streetcar Named Desire off of my desk. I hadn’t started it yet, and now seemed like a good time; I hoped I could finish it before I died. I hated starting a book and never knowing the end.
I was hooked right away and didn’t stop reading until about three o’clock, when I realized my throat was dry. I hadn’t had anything to drink since before I fell asleep. I crept into the kitchen to get a glass of water. Of course, when I was trying to be quiet, every single step creaked on my way down the stairs. The noise didn’t abate as I walked down the wood-floored hallway into the kitchen. Once there, I hit the lights, and the room lit up. I walked slowly across the stone-tiled floor and filled a cup in the sink. As I took my first sip, there was another house-shaking crash of thunder. It took me by such surprise that half the water in my cup ended up on the floor. Only seconds after that, there was a short zap, and the lights turned off. I felt very alone in the dark kitchen, so far away from the safety of my room. I fled, forgetting all about the spilled water and the cup sitting on the counter. Just as I left the kitchen, I took one quick look behind me. There was a flash of lightning and through the kitchen window, I saw the outline of a human figure, but another quick flash showed there was nothing there. I was afraid; my eyes had to be playing tricks on me.
I stared out the window for another ten flashes of lightning before turning around again. Down the hallway next to the stairwell was a bathroom. On my way downstairs, the door had been closed, but now it stood ajar. I didn’t move another step as I watched a lightning flash show the window cracked open and two more figures running in opposite directions outside the house.
I quickly jumped into the linen closet to my right. It was all I could do, but I knew they would find me no matter where I hid. They smelled my blood; they heard my heart beating faster with every minute as I waited for a death that seemed more real now than ever.
She would make no noise as she approached me, so I had no way of knowing when the door would fly open, and I would be pulled away into the night to die. She also seemed to have brought a dining companion, and there was no way of knowing if there were more. For all I knew, she had an entire clan waiting outside. If so, my family was in danger as well. But I stayed in my closet, frozen in fear.
Eventually, I heard a scream. It was my mother, and it had come from far away, on the other side of the house. There was no way for me to get to her and my father. Billy was probably dead already, if they had entered through the bathroom window, because he was closer than my parents. It was odd, though, that they didn’t come for me first. I was their target; I was the closest, and I was awake and had been so visible in the lit kitchen.
Then, it happened. It was so fast I couldn’t tell where I was until they tossed me onto a carpeted floor. I knew I wasn’t downstairs, anymore; there, we had only tile and wood floors. There was heavy breathing and a whimpering sound coming
from in front of me. My family was right across from me. I wanted to call out to them, to tell them I loved them, and that I was sorry that I had brought them to this fate. I knew what they would say, and I knew they would mean it. They would say they loved me, too, and that it wasn’t my fault. The Dahmshed were going to kill our whole family no matter what I did. I just wanted to get one thing out before we were killed, but before I could speak, another voice erupted throughout the room. It was deep, and commanded attention.
“Kneel, boy! Do it now, or I shall make this very painful for you!” I did as he said. When on my knees, I tried to look around but I couldn’t see anything in the dark. The storm had subsided, so there was no lightning to show me how many creatures lurked silently in the room. The deep voice spoke again.
“We are all here on this great night on orders from the mighty Alexander!” He paused, and an uncountable number of other Dahmshed shouted in unison.
“All hail the great Alexander!” they yelled loudly into the darkness. Although for them it wasn’t dark. They could see as well in the dark as a human could on a bright day.
“He has requested we come to the house of Hook, to seek out and destroy the family that resides here. We will be killing them by the breaking of their necks.” Small cheers echoed around the room and the deep voice went on. “Alexander has said there will be instant death to anyone that even puts their lips to the skin of this family. No blood shall be spilt tonight, sadly enough, but four will die, and the end of our quest will be ever closer!” More cheers came from the savage creatures as they waited to kill my family. I had no idea why our blood would not be drained, but I was glad. I would have no chance of becoming one of them, and my body would not be tainted by the evil of a Dahmshed’s bite.
Descendant: The Protector (The Descendant Series) Page 5