Chapter 1
November 1st, one of the worst days of my family’s life. To most it’s a normal day. To others it’s a day to remember the dead. But to me and my family. It’s something entirely different. For years my family and I have been the guardians of the Tierra de los Vivos. What are we protecting it from you may be asking; well we are protecting it from the Tierra de los Muerte. We keep the spirits and their world separate from ours. If they ever were to collide it could throw the entire universe imbalance. The line between life and death would break and curve. People would die and come back or die with no further reason as to why. So it has been up to us to be that blockade. Now you may be wondering who we are and even who I am. Well my name is Ysabelle Flores and we are the Flores, Guardians of the Mortal World.
This year is a special year for me. This year I’ll finally be able to go and help my family protect the opening. For a while I was considered too young. But this year I turned 16 which is basically our year of passage. Where you are finally allowed to go and help fight off all the spirits trying to transfer over. Obviously Dia de los Muertos allows people to “talk” to their dead relatives but only through offerings and pictures. No spirit is allowed to fully cross the line. Only take their offerings and look through their picture on their ofrenda but no more than that.
But every year some spirits try to get across to our world. So it’s up to- “Hurry up Ysabelle we don’t have all night!” my uncle shouts.
“Sorry!” I shout back.
Seems I’ll have to explain as we go. I was mostly ready, I had my shirt, family vest, pants, and glasses. I grabbed everything else I may need like my phone and headphones. I was about to leave when I remembered the most important thing. I ran back in and looked through my closest. There I found it, my staff, Luchadora Espiritual. I got it for my sixteenth birthday. Everyone has one to fight off the spirits. Mine is made of zapote wood and on the edge has a crystal tip. It’s connected to the staff by rope. It’s a perfect weight and height for me. I practice swinging it around my room before I leave. Luckily not hitting anything on my shelves. “Last time we are going with or without you!” my uncle calls again.
“Shit my bad,”.
“Just hurry up!”.
I double check my room and run out. I meet everyone outside and give them an awkward smile. Everyone looks annoyed. “Sorry about that,” I say.
“Just hop in, let’s go,” my uncle says.
He is in the driver seat looking very impatient. I hop into the backseat and fix Luchadora Espiritual in the back. Good enough I think. I sit down and look outside the window at our house. It ain’t too bad but I know we could afford more, but we have lived here for years. We need to live near the opening. If we don’t we put the entire world at risk. I know you’re probably wondering why it has to be us, the Flores. Well since years back our family has had the ability to be able to see the spirits. Most humans can’t see them. They just think it’s a strong wind. So we have taken the responsibility.
In the car with me was my uncle, mom, older sister, and my cousin. All five of us this year would be guarding the opening. All of us have our own weapons to fight off the spirits. I have my staff, Jorge(my cousin) has his dagger, Maria(my sister) has her bow, my mom her hammer, and my uncle his sword. All of us were ready to fight. My mom looked over at me. “What?” I asked.
“Here take this it’s going to get cold and we can’t have you freezing on us,” she told me.
She hands me a gray zip up jacket. I put it on and it does help me feel warmer. “Prepare for the time of your life,” my uncle said laughing at me.
“Yeah you have,” Jorge looked at his watch, “ two hours and three minutes,”.
It was 9:57. Not too long now till midnight. I was scared and excited. I’ve only heard stories of what happens. Maria looks very focused. I don’t want to bother her. I look out the window. I watch as we leave the town far behind us. The opening is out in the desert on its own. Which is lucky for fighting all kinds of spirits, but unlucky for travel. Who knows how long we’ll be in this car. Well my uncle probably does. “How long is the drive?” I ask.
“Not too long, just about an hour,” he says.
“Could be worse,”.
I decide it will probably be best for me to sleep while we drive. So I start to doze off as I imagine myself fighting all the spirits. As I sleep I start to have a dream. In my dream I can see the opening. I’m standing in front of it with my sister in front of me, she’s bleeding from a cut from her forehead. In front of her is what I think is a Spanish conquistador. He pulls out a sword and makes a sound so horrendous it wakes me up. I woke up in shock, scaring my uncle and mom. “Ay qué pasa?” she asked.
“No sé. Just a bad dream. Perdón,” I say as I adjust myself again to be comfortable. Jorge and Maria are asleep. I look at Maria and imagine how she was in my dream. Bloodied and unconscious. “Mira, we’re here,” my uncle says.
I look ahead and see a huge mountain. It cast a shadow over us. Everywhere around us is dark and quiet. It’s just us and the mountain. I look at my phone for the time. It’s now 11:03. Fifty-seven minutes till doomsday. My first doomsday. Jorge and Maria start to wake up. Both of them seem groggy. Once we get close enough my uncle stops the car and parks. “Time to set up everybody, get your stuff together,” my uncle says.
Everyone starts to get out. Jorge stretches and goes to the back with his dad. They open the back and start to bring out gear. They prop everyone’s weapon against the car. They also bring out wood, flashlights, walkie-talkies, and a medical bag. We don’t need that much besides our weapons. Everything else is for safety. “Ok here everyone take a walkie-talkie and keep it on channel 2 no matter what,” my uncle says, throwing everyone their talkie.
I turn mine on and switch to channel 2. I clip it onto my belt. Everyone else does the same. “Jorge, come take this wood and start making piles. We need the fire for light,” my mom says.
Jorge nods and follows my mom with wood. “So what do we do?” I asked my uncle and Maria.
“For now just practice, stay vigilant, and prepare,” Maria says.
My uncle nods in agreement. I walk over and grab Luchadora Espiritual. I walk off a bit and start practicing, watching the mountains as well. They are tall and dark. Little to no plant life along the side. Far too steep to climb without gear. As I look around, the environment looks purple. Almost no light reaches us out here. The moonlight being all we have. I continue to look around seeing my family. My uncle and sister are sparring against one another. Trying to out maneuver and speed one another. Maria is quick with her bow but my uncle is fast enough to dodge them or deflect them. Meanwhile my mom and Jorge were off making little piles of wood for fire.
After some time I walk back over and sit down. “How much longer?” I ask.
Maria and my uncle stop and take a breath. They look at their watches. “Not much longer lets get into position and wait.” my uncle says.
My mom and Jorge return and we take a second to breathe. “Let’s not tire ourselves out, take a second and then stand at your post,” my mom says.
We all slow down and try to relax. My uncle gives everyone water and we wait. I check my phone and it’s 11:44. I start to lean against the car to calm down. As I close my eyes my dream flashes before my eyes. I see the conquistador once again. He’s horrific. He’s a tall and muscular man. His beard is scratchy just like his scream. The shout he let out from the bottom of his lungs. I spring back up again. “Hey you good?” Jorge ask.
“Yeah, all good,” I say as honestly as I can sound.
“Everyone we are reaching our final minutes of peace so be ready. Maria you have your bow I want you to either find some high ground or behind us all to cover us. Jorge, you and I will take the front. Marisol I want you to be not far behind us with Ysabelle to be with her,” my uncle told us all.
We all agreed and nodded prepared for the plan. Jorge and his dad walked up ahead to take the heat of the attack. My mom and I were right behind them. Maria decided to climb on top of the car to be above us. I checked the time again, it was 11:56. Four more minutes. Four more minutes till the start of new life. I’ve never been more ready.
