Dark Genesis (Shadow and Shine Book 1)

by Danial Hooper

  He looked back to Jenna, and smiled again. He reached his hand down to the door and opened it.

  His body fell into the hallway as Toppy again crashed into him. Jenna heard the sound of bones breaking.

  She stood, prepared to run to the door and close it. Lynn opened the door for a reason. It was so she could trap him outside. He tricked Toppy.

  Jenna crawled to the door. Each movement forward was careful not to wake the toppled over bodies lying in the halls.

  The waves of his body rolled as he stood up from Lynn. He turned and looked at Jenna with those eyes. Licked Lips. Ugly smile.

  Jenna tried to slam the door, but he caught it before it could shut. His fat fingers held the door as she pushed and pushed and pushed, but he was too strong. Jenna was too weak. His power held the door in place despite Jenna.

  Just give up. He’s won.

  His wide body walked through the doorway. Toppy had her exactly where he wanted her. Jenna looked behind him, Lynn laid in the hall in a crumbled mess. Jenna backpedaled too quickly and tripped.

  Here he comes.

  Toppy raised his giant paw, “Mine. Mine. Mine.”

  “Stop,” a voice said.

  Her voice.

  Mona came into the room, barely visible due to Toppy’s width. Toppy turned and focused on her. Once again, someone was willing to stand up to this mammoth man to save Jenna while she laid on the ground with fear. Toppy stood over her now, keeping his big, fat fist raised in the air. He looked down to her and smiled. The sound of his lips being licked made Jenna’s stomach curl.

  “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?”

  Toppy brought his giant, hammer fist down. “Mine”. He grunted.

  “No.”

  His forearm bent backwards just above his wrist and flailed. The break stopped his attack on Mona. His arm swung wildly from side to side. “No.” Toppy replied.

  The pain and disability did not stop him from bringing his left arm slowly overhead, preparing to bring the hammer down on Mona. “Your turn” Mona said. Asher flashed into the room and sliced Toppy’s arm off.

  He continued standing: pen in his neck, broken right arm, missing left arm. Mona placed her hand on his knee, “Break,” and it buckled to the ground. Jenna could hear liquid splash onto the ground, it was hard to distinguish if it was his mouth, knee, or missing arm. His fat body struggled for balance despite having one of his legs just bend in half the wrong way.

  She put a hand on his left knee, “Break,” and he dropped to the carpet beside his missing hand.

  Mona bent down and held Toppy up by his chin. Her perfect jaw was clenched with a gleam in her eyes. “The bigger they are,” she said to Toppy, he snarled at her and started to speak. Mona interrupted him, “The harder they fall.”

  His body dropped to the floor.

  -

  Tink carried Harry into his apartment. Clothes, mustard, pictures, and random tools were all over the floor. Only a poster of Gone with the Wind was undamaged. The rest of the room looked like a hurricane came through. There was an old recliner and a leather couch in the far corner of the room with a flimsy kitchen table knocked off by the door. The apartment was the same size as Tink’s home. Except there was only one bedroom, instead of two.

  Tink carefully laid Harry back on the couch hoping not to cause extra pain. Harry kept calm while being carried, and Tink was grateful for the attempt to be as easy going as possible. The old man could have made both of their experiences a nightmare. Harry’s blood was streaked down Tink’s shirt and jeans. It was thick and nasty. “Ah.” he said, looking for something to wipe his hands clean. Harry was bleeding a lot. There were no towels hanging, nor any paper towels.

  “The bathroom is over there.” Harry said pointing, “There should be a clean towel in the bottom drawer.”

  “Thanks. Are you okay?” Tink asked. He kept the bathroom door open. The cool water felt great on his hands. He needed a shower.

  “I don’t know. I think I might die. Then again, I think that little girl you’re with saved my life. So maybe I’ll be okay. Or maybe it’ll all fall to pieces again. Who are you guys?”

  “My names Tink. My sister is Mona. We came here from Chicago.” Tink said, drying his hands off on an old towel. He walked back in the room and admired Harry’s movie poster. Tink had one of these growing up, except it wasn’t framed and it was from the movie Scarface.

  “Chicago?” Harry said with a heavy cough. “Why? If I were you guys I would have ran for the hills instead of coming into this cluster. This place is evil, it’s horrible. There are freaks running around at night, and they’re not even the most dangerous.” Harry coughed again and covered his mouth. “You already met Asher, it was his brother who did this to me. You can’t trust them. They’ll turn on all of us. They’re not human. They’re beasts. Monsters. They’ll kill anyone who gets in their way.”

  “What? How? What are you talking about?” Tink asked. The idea that his little sister went off with some psychopath brought chills over him. Tink needed to do something. He couldn’t let her alone with that dude.

  “You really don’t know anything, huh? Oh buddy. You’re in for a treat there, Tinky boy. You and your sister jumped into the jungle. The world’s ending and you two decided to join.” Harry said. Tink noticed he was sweating a lot and his skin was a pale white. “Black-eyed, blank-faced freaks. Super-fast maniacs. Dust that corrodes everything it touches. And now you two.”

  Tink had to go. He didn’t know where, but he couldn’t leave Mona alone with someone that dangerous.

  Then again, she told him to stay here until she gets back, and said that people would die if he didn’t listen and do exactly what she said.

  Tink shook his head, “Mona knew what she was getting us into. She gave me a head’s up. I didn’t really believe her, but that girl stays knowing more than I give her credit for. About time I start believing her a little bit, I mean shoot, she knew about you.”

  “Huh?”

  “Before we left Chicago, she said she knew you. Some dude named Harry. She called you a friend.” Tink said, cleaning off the recliner and sat down. A deep sigh came from his chest, Tink was tired. His eyes started feeling heavy, the last few days were really catching up to him. Mona said this would be when he got to sleep a little bit. Didn’t she?

  He peaked over to Harry with his eyes half-closed. The old man was all of a sudden real quiet.

  Harry laid back, staring at the ceiling, and was crying through a smile. “I’m her friend.” He said.

  -

  Lynn laid dead in the hallway, brutally beaten to death. Ben was to blame. Neither Jenna nor Shelly had been able to explain exactly what happened. Jenna was incomprehensibly crying while Shelly stood catatonic. Asher felt for Edie’s pulse, but there was nothing. Two people were dead and Asher couldn’t do anything about it. He should have never left these people alone with Ben. Ben didn’t care about them, he only cared about killing the wolves. He should have never been trusted with someone’s safety. Asher was just as guilty as his brother.

  This little girl in front of him, who held Jenna like a crying baby, dismantled a behemoth wolf and somehow knew Asher. This made sense, because Asher felt like he knew her too. There was a familiarity between them, a bond similar to what he and Ben held. It was different, but he noticed it. So did she.

  “It was him. It was Ben. He did all of it. He broke Harry, broke him. And then Toppy, Toppy. Oh, no. Toppy. I’m so sorry. He came for me and killed them. Everyone is dead because of me.” Jenna said, panting.

  “No, shhh. It’s okay. This wasn’t your fault. Calm down, Jenna.” Mona said and used her jersey to wipe Jenna’s cheeks. “I know what happened, don’t blame yourself. It’s okay.” She helped Jenna stand, and brought her hand to Asher. “Asher, I need you to take Jenna to The Commodore. Can you please?”

  “What about you?” Asher asked.

  “Shelly and I should talk for a bit before we head over. That’s al
l.”

  If it weren’t for the connection, Asher would already have left to search for his brother. Instead, this little girl was asking him to take Jenna. He couldn’t abandon his brother, but he knew Mona needed him, and so did Jenna.

  “I’m staying,” Shelly said. Her eyes were glossy as she stared off. “I can’t leave him.”

  Mona nodded and covered Edie’s body with a blanket. “Asher, take Jenna over to where my brother and Harry are staying for the night. Please. I’ll hang back here with Shelly for a few minutes. We’ll catch up.”

  It wasn’t smart to leave these two alone here. It felt like the wolves left the city, but the last time Asher felt this, he was cornered by a pack and nearly killed. These girls were safer if Asher stayed close. “Maybe we should wait?” he replied.

  “It’s okay. We’ll be fine here. Trust me,” Mona winked. “Shelly and I need some time. Jenna, please go with Asher.”

  Jenna agreed and took him by the hand. Asher didn’t know what else to do but go. He would do whatever Mona asked. She had that effect on him. Apparently, judging by Jenna and Harry’s reactions, everybody would follow Mona’s orders. Asher wasn’t sure if blindly following a teenage girl was idiotic or their only hope, but looking at her now, poised and controlled, Asher was all ears.

  -

  Each breath was exhausted by the throbbing pain of his leg. This is what dying feels like: slow and fast, sweaty and cold, and helpless. That’s not true though, Harry wasn’t helpless. Tink sat close by, half asleep, and he was here to help. His sister was going to save everyone, and she was going to be a friend, a real friend. Not a drinking buddy or a co-worker, but a friend. Harry couldn’t remember the last time he had one of those. Maybe he never did.

  “Tell me about her,” He said.

  Tink’s eyes fluttered a little before they opened up. He was trying to sleep, but Harry was too juiced up on adrenaline and needed someone to talk to. “About who?”

  “Your sister, tell me about her. You said she knew me, but I don’t know anything about her. What’s she like?” Harry asked. It might be a good idea to learn a little bit about her before she came back. Harry didn’t know how kids these days became friends, but he knew it wasn’t about spending time together anymore. Now, everyone was too busy on their computers and phones. Too bad for them, all those shiny electronics are as worthless as the gun Harry left back in his hotel room.

  “It’s a little weird for a sixty-year old, white man to ask about a fourteen-year old girl, ya know?”

  “Oh, give me a break. She said I was the friend. Right? So then she would know, I’m not a bad guy.” He said, looking Tink in the eye. He looked like a tough son of a gun, someone who probably robbed a couple of convenience stores in his life. Not that Harry was saying he did, but that he looked that way. He looked hard, strong, and not like someone Harry would want to fight. “How about this, just tell me how she was able to convince her adult brother to drive across the country, just to enter a war zone.”

  Tink kicked his feet against the bottom of the recliner and leaned forward, “Man, it sounds stupid when you put it that way. Like I’m some dummy following his sister around while she makes up all these crazy stories that I believe.” Tink said and laughed a little. His teeth were bright white. He was a handsome fella, despite looking like a gangbanger.

  “Musta been something she said?” Harry asked. It did sound stupid.

  “Not what she said. More like, how she said it. Mona isn’t like other people. Never was. She’s always been able to keep cool and stay to herself. She’s more mature than most adults, especially where I’m from…”

  “Around here too, I’m sure.” Harry interrupted. He appreciated seeing Tink talk about her. He made it seem really nice to love someone like her.

  “Yeah, exactly. So, anyways, when Mona was waiting for me after work, early in the morning. I knew something was up. She’s always awake and all, but this was different.”

  “How?” Harry asked.

  “She was crying. Now, plenty of teenage girls wake up and cry, right?”

  “Never had one, don’t know.”

  “Me neither, but I’m sure they do. Anyways, I never seen Mona cry. Not once. Sure, the baby whining and whatnot, but even then there were never tears. Mona would come home with cuts and bruises from recess and never once crying. She could break her leg and she would have just asked for an ice pack. She wasn’t a crier. Not that she was heartless, she just knew how to recover and didn’t let bad things upset her. Made raising her alone easy.”

  “Where are your folks?”

  “Dad, dead. Mom, who knows.”

  “Oh…”

  “Yeah, so I came home to a crying baby sister. Not bawling. Not dramatic, but she looked like she just spent the whole night crying and trying to sleep. You know what I mean? So I knew something was up. And then she told me about this vision she had. Some girl and her boyfriend. And then the story just kept going and going. The whole time, she’s crying. Our mom left when Mona was little, I was too afraid to tell her for the first few days, but when I finally did, she didn’t even blink. She did the laundry. And cooked us dinner. It hurt her, but not bad enough for her to cry.” Tink laughed again.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “All of it sounds dumb. I literally went with my sister, no no, I drove my sister across the country because she was crying. Somewhere out there, there are like a million teenagers crying and making some up sad story and I’m the guy who believed it.”

  “But she was right, so you did the right thing.”

  “Bringing my baby sister into a war-zone. Sure don’t sound like I did the right thing.”

  “Well, yeah, I guess it doesn’t when you put it like that. But I’m glad you are here. If not, I’d be a piece of roadkill out there. If it weren’t for you listening to her, I would be dead. So thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” Tink replied.

  The room was quiet. It felt nice, other than the cuts on the top of his mouth and his leg. Hopefully, Mona could fix him. He needed to be okay. Maybe he should get some pain pills.

  “There’s enough Vicodin over in Twyla Potter’s apartment, to kill twenty goats. It’s in the room down the hall. Would you mind going down to get one?”

  Tink started to say something until the door opened and in walked Jenna and Asher. They were both a mess. Asher’s face was beat up, and his expensive clothes were ruined. Harry wasn’t sure how he should feel about Asher being here, but it was great for him to bring Jenna back safely. Tink kicked himself out of the recliner and stood to greet them. Harry let out a yelp while he tried to adjust himself.

  Jenna’s pretty eyes were already crying as she came over. The cast on her foot hung together by only a few threads while she limped in his direction. She had been broken too, not as bad as Harry, but bad enough to be bad. She and Harry were more broken emotionally than physically. At least she was still able to walk though. She kneeled down and hugged him. Harry couldn’t remember the last time someone hugged him, it must have been at least fifteen years though. He wasn’t sure if he should hug back, or just let her finish. His arms had a mind of their own and stretched around her little shoulders, and his hands rested on the middle of her back. Harry fully embraced her as best he could. Her tears tickled the back of his neck.

  Harry, as usual, spent the last few days of his life being angry and full of rage for no good reason and directed it at people who didn’t deserve it. That was all about to change though. Now, Mona came at his worse time and was going to be his friend. These people here would be his friend too. Harry would have a redemption story. He didn’t even know what that meant, but it sounded wonderful. Everything in his life had brought him to this couch, with this broken leg, and to be surrounded with people who were going to be there for him. It was worth it. The pain was worth it. The tears were worth it. Harry had a purpose. His purpose was redemption. Harry never used to be a good person, nor somebody who deserved to be redeemed. He w
as not strong, or tough, or brave, or a soldier, or anything he ever wanted to be. He was a drunk mechanic with no friends and no redeeming qualities, but these people here, in his apartment, he felt different. Soon, Mona would come and make things better. He would follow her, and she would protect him. He was broken. Beaten. Just a chewed up piece of gum stuck to the bottom of a dirty toilet seat. But now, he felt like more. He felt special. He was someone’s friend. And that made him cry too. Different tears.

  -

  Harry’s leg looked worse up close than what Jenna saw from the hotel. His whiskers were in a smile as she pulled herself a little away. His big, blue eyes were filled with a joy she never saw in him before. She didn’t think a person like Harry could be happy, let alone look like this.

  “Who are you?” Asher asked. He was looking at the new person in the room. Asher’s voice boomed making Jenna shudder. She was still trying to calm herself down after watching Edie and Lynn die to save her, and now Asher was yelling at a stranger.

  “My name is Tink. I’m Mona’s brother,” he said, holding his empty hands up. He wasn’t afraid, just showing innocence. He had no idea how strong and dangerous Asher could be.

  “Who is Mona?” Asher asked.

  He doesn’t know?

  Jenna walked in between Asher and Tink. Someone needed to lessen the tension. Otherwise, this could get out of control, and anyone related to Mona should be protected. Asher didn’t know how important she was, which meant he didn’t know how important Tink must be too. She put her hand on Asher’s shoulder, “Oh my gosh,” she said, “you’re burning up. Are you okay?”

  He finally looked back at her, and gave a quick smile. The blue of his eyes was nearly missing, his pupils were so dilated. “I’m fine. Just, I don’t understand what’s happening.”

  Jenna said, “Mona is the girl you were with at the hotel. Tink is her brother. Can’t you see the resemblance? We all need to relax a little, okay?”

  “I… I don’t know. I’m sorry. I don’t know you. I don’t know your sister.” He looked over at Harry. “Oh no. Harry, how did that? That’s not. No. He couldn’t have.” Harry started to cry again. This time quiet, heavy tears while Asher walked over to him. “I’m so, so sorry. I didn’t know.”