Sirens Walk Among Us
Sweet little Evelyn looked in the mirror at her seven-year-old reflection. Brown hair, freckles, and one missing tooth, she was an adorable sight to behold. In her arms was a tattered, leather-bound book with pages barely holding to their place. It was her favorite book. It was from Maria.
To everyone else, Maria had been a crazy old hermit and a hoarder to boot. To Evelyn, she had been her closest friend since the girl had moved into the house two doors down from her. Evelyn enjoyed Maria. Maria believed in all sorts of mythical creatures and magical lands that most adults would find silly. She would tell Evelyn about the sprites that inhabited the forests of Ireland and the great Megalodon that secretly still reigned over the oceans. She spoke of witches, werewolves and vampires. But out of all the creatures she spoke about, the siren interested Evelyn the most.
“Do you know that sirens don’t just live in the water?” She would say, “Sirens can change forms and their song can trick the senses. They could make you think that you were a bird if they wanted too!” She would exclaim with her arms lifting towards the ceiling.
Her theories on sirens were incredible. Sirens used to live on the jagged rocks of the ocean because sailing ships were needed in life and they carried many delicious men aboard. It was simply a smart place to be if you wanted the guarantee of a filling meal.
But sirens, Maria would say, had began walking on land when ships stopped being the main form of transportation for humans. They thirsted for human life forces and would take whatever form in whatever place in order to have their meals.
Maria also claimed that they didn’t just consume the life forces of men. Any human life force would do. Although, most didn’t eat children, though the reason was unknown. It happened on occasion but was a rare thing indeed.
Maria’s stories didn’t scare Evelyn; she wasn’t your normal seven-year-old girl. She liked hearing the lore and Maria’s theories. As a gift, Maria had put together the large leather book on sirens with decades of her research. Oh, Evelyn enjoyed Maria… but all good things had to come to an end. Maria died at the ripe age of 87 and now all Evelyn had of her was the messy book and her memories.
“Remember child, “Maria would say, “If you trust your instincts and stay on your toes, you are less likely to be tricked!”
Evelyn repeated those words in her head as she stared seriously at her reflection. You see, Evelyn knew in her heart that she was facing a danger. Evelyn’s knew her new teacher was a siren.
She was sure of it! The woman was unnaturally beautiful with long auburn hair and grey eyes. Everyone felt an immediate trust for the woman. Everyone but Evelyn.
Ms. Flynn was her name. To most, she brought a sense of safety and warmth; a non-threatening perfection. No one questioned her; not even the adults.
But Evelyn had seen her true colors. Evelyn had seen her take over the minds of her students. One day, Evelyn and her peers had all come to school knowing they had a math test. Ms. Flynn went to the dry-erase board and went on teaching as usual. A tubby boy named
Scott raised his hand meekly.
“Yes Scott?” She said in an almost therapeutic voice.
“Wer-weren’t we going to have our test today?”
The other kids glared, all hoping Ms. Flynn had forgotten about the test. She looked at Scott and slowly said “We’ve already taken the test. Haven’t we children?” She looked up to the rest of us as she said the last part.
In unison, all the children dreamily said “Yes Ms. Flynn. We’ve already taken the test.” And they all believed it; all of them except Evelyn. She knew the truth.
Ms. Flynn would pull stunts like this multiple times a week; usually when she didn’t want to grade class work. That was disconcerting enough but it was nothing compared to what happened next…
First it was Susie Webber. She stayed after class to talk to Ms. Flynn and was never seen again. The police questioned the teacher but seemed sure that she hadn’t hurt Susie. In fact, she wouldn’t hurt any child. They didn’t even question her the next time one of her students went missing.
This time it was Harold Garcia. He had detention and was never seen again. All of the adults were in agreement: there was a predator targeting their children. They looked at everyone with suspicion; everyone except Ms. Flynn.
Five children. Five children disappeared within a month’s time. All of them were in Ms. Flynn’s class.
The mother of a missing boy, Jake Timbers, actually did question Ms. Flynn but was received negatively by everyone in the community. Soon, she too stopped questioning Ms. Flynn, believing every word she said.
The class was being picked off one by one and Evelyn knew that it wouldn’t be long before it was her turn. She sat on her bed, reading the leather-bound book Maria had left her. She had read through it so many times that she knew exactly what she was looking for.
How To Kill a Siren.
The handwritten papers described two possible ways sirens could be killed.
One: Sirens have been known to kill their own. The older the siren, the more powerful she shall be. The more ancient sirens can easily overpower and absorb the life force of a younger siren. If she so desires, an older siren can kill a younger siren.
Two: The Ending Spell
The human must face the siren and recite:
Evil demon with your song,
Go back to hell where you belong.
To damnation you shall go,
And never return from the pits below.
The words must be recited three times. The caster must be pure of heart, or the spell shall not work.
So here Evelyn stood looking in the mirror. The school bus would be here any minute and today was the day she would end Ms. Flynn’s plague of terror.
She heard the bus pull up. It was now or never.
When she reached the classroom, Ms. Flynn wanted to know what the odd book was that Evelyn had brought to class. Evelyn didn’t respond. Ms. Flynn marched up to her and pulled the book out of Evelyn’s tiny arms. She opened it and flipped through the pages. Her eyes darkened as she abruptly shut the book. “You,” She said quietly, “shall see me after class.” The underlying threat was palpable. Evelyn took her seat and watched the clock as time seemed to drag on.
She didn’t eat at lunch, and she didn’t play at recess. She just waited.
As the end of class bell rang, Evelyn knew this was it. One by one, her peers left the classroom and she was left alone with Ms. Flynn.
Ms. Flynn locked the door and sat on her desk. “You know, at first I considered denying everything to you but that would just be silly. I don’t pander to my food.”
Evelyn remained silent.
“This book is quite impressive, but I’m afraid it has some serious misconceptions. For instance, the spell you are undoubtedly going to try to use to kill me only works when spoken in Aramaic… a language that was used far before even my time.” She said with a smirk.
“How old are you?” Evelyn asked quietly, standing in front of her desk.
“Ho! My dear. I couldn’t even say for certain but my best guess would be around 800 years old.” She said with a seductive brag tainting her voice.
Evelyn looked at her for a few moments before quietly saying “You presumptuous child.”
Ms. Flynn paused, looking confused for the first time in their conversation.
“You couldn’t have made yourself more obvious of your true form and then what do you do? You eat five children! Do you not know why we don’t eat children?” Evelyn said in a hiss.
Ms. Flynn stood up, paling at the words.
“It is because,” Evelyn continued, “the instincts of a human mother can sometimes over-power the siren’s song. You are lucky I got to the Timbers woman before she made an even louder fuss.
Every risky step you have taken endangers the secrecy we sirens have strived for for years. Five children in a month?! You couldn’t bring more attention to yourself if you tried you gluttonous bitch!”
Evelyn was slowly walking towards the now fearful siren. “I have lived for thousands of years and have survived knowing how to pick my targets and how to lure them in. Not even you expected a child could be a danger to you. Though, I suppose it’s not totally your fault; my song is strong. No one in this town has even noticed that I live alone. No one has questioned the lack of my parents’ existence.”
She said with fire in her eyes. “You, child, have done more than just put yourself in danger. You have put ME in danger and THAT is something I cannot abide.”
Evelyn stopped right in front of her teacher. “For the record, I do speak Aramaic but could never perform that spell. I fear the ‘pure of heart’ thing would really fuck things up.”
With that said, Evelyn opened her mouth and let it stretch until her chin was resting on her chest. With a wooshing sound, she breathed in, sucking the other siren’s life force away slowly until she crumpled dead on the ground.
Once done, she snapped her mouth shut and smiled. Such a cute little seven-year-old girl.
She waved her small hand and Ms. Flynn’s body turned to dust and then turned to air. Evelyn contemplated how delicious the siren had been. She had really enjoyed her…
Though not as much as she had enjoyed Maria.
