Warm souls
I stared at my roots, letting out a sigh. I hated my light blonde roots, I wanted my hair to look so much like my mothers that my hair was straight from all the dye and gels I put in my hair. As long as it’s not blonde I thought to myself before I heard the bathroom door open. I snapped my head over and saw it was my little sister.
“I'm almost done Bella” I told her, returning my gaze back forward, It was like I could feel her rolling her eyes as she sighed.
She leaned against the doorframe as she started at her long list of complaints, “you don’t even need to catch the bus today Birdie, why are you even up before me anyway?”
I rolled my eyes, “I need to pick up my car from dad, remember?” I told her, her confident demeanor shifted, she knew how I felt about dad, and I knew how she felt about him as well.
I tied a bandana around the top of my head, covering my roots, as I turned to her, noticing her still shifted numb demeanor. “Hey” I started as she looked at me, “Help me dye my roots after we get home from school will you?”
She looked at me, nodding, “yeah, alright.”
I left the bathroom as she went in and closed the door behind her, I sighed and went downstairs fast, gabbing my keys and shoes. As I kneeled down to tie them my mom emerged from her room.
“Raven?” I halted, as I heard her use my first name, I looked up at her.
“Yes mama?” I said finishing and standing up.
“I have to work late tonight, I’ll leave some money for you and Bella for takeout.” She said fidgeting with her necklace.
I nodded, I couldn’t really say anything, she works too hard for us, to keep everything that we have and so we were happy. “Okay mama, just don’t over do it…” I said.
She nodded looking away from me and sighing, “I hope you find a good person Raven, that will take care of you.”
My mouth went into a tight line as I averted my gaze from her, sighing, I knew it was hard for her, from moving on from our father, from working to the bone now. All I hoped for her was to find someone better, but that’s becoming very rare these days, for her and for me and my sister.
“I will momma, I promise” I told her
— — —
As I was walking down the street drinking from my water bottle my gaze in front of me was blocked until I put the water bottle down, turning a corner. A streetlight, a large concrete and metal one, was bent five different ways in front of one of my dads neighbors houses. My friend who lived there, Yumi, was outside looking at it as her parents were giving a police report to two police officers on their lawn. I walked over to her house, as I got closer she looked up to me.
“What the hell happened?” I asked her.
Yumi shrugged before responding, “They said it could’ve been a semi truck, then again it could’ve been a lot of things” she said shaking her head. “I think it was a Chupacabra”
I raised an eyebrow at that, “A Chupacabra? You can’t be serious…”
She looked straight at me, responding, “Well what do you think it could have been then?”
I rubbed my head looking at the light post, “That could have been a lot of things, I just don’t think jumping to it being a “Chupacabra” is the correct answer however”
She sighed and shook her head, “I guess, I still think its that blood sucking demon of the night”
I sighed and continued walking to my dads house, seeing my car in his driveway. I used my key to get into the house, as usual he was passed out on the couch, I picked up my car keys as I turned around and let out a gasp, It was his girlfriend. I usually just called her his emotional support person, she was nice enough, just a bit blunt at times.
“Did you bring your dad home last night?” She asked calmly.
“Yeah, why?” I said.
She shrugged leaning against the table next to the door, “Just was making sure it was you and not some random girl…”
I just nodded before I opened the door and headed out, I don’t know why she asked that, it was MY car outside anyway.
– — — —
I parked my car in the parking lot and got my bag out from the passenger seat.
I got out, locked the doors, and walked into school, catching up to my friend Tucker.
“There you are, finally, where the hell were you anyway?” He said, shoving his hands into his jean jacket pockets.
I rolled my eyes, responding, “I had to take my idiot dad home from the bar last night, and a light on his street was bent in 5 different places right in front of Yumi’s house, I think some of it went on her lawn”
His cocky smirk dropped when I said that, he took a second to respond; “Did her or her parents know what it is?”
I sighed remembering what she said, “She said she thought it was “Chupacabra””
He smirked again, “Who says it’s not that?”
I rolled my eyes again, “Even If they were real, why would they even bend a light post 5 different ways? Aren’t they supposed to be blood sucking creatures?”
He shrugged, “Well do you have anything else it could have been a smart guy?” He said, his smirk going into a clever smile now.
I grumbled, “Why do people keep saying that? It obviously could be a lot of things, just not a damn mythical creature? This is Minneapolis, not Porto Rico”
“Okay okay i get it, Ill stop teasing you” He said, running a hand through his hair, “Whatever it is its not a normal animal, that's for sure”
I sighed with a nod, “you got that right…” I said as the bell rang.
— — —
The whole day went pretty smoothly, nothing necessarily seemed out of the ordinary, I kept getting chills down my spine from time to time. I just thought it could have been from me starting to get sick and or the air conditioning was always so cold. But something was different, my body was cold, but it felt like my chest was warm, and my stomach was full, not from eating, but with content.
Before I went home I looked in my car visor mirror, looking at my face and at my eyes to see if I had a cold or fever or anything of that sort. Nothing was wrong so I leaned back in my car seat, my hands on the steering wheel, letting out a breath. What was wrong with me today?
As I drove home I could feel that feeling slowly leaving my body, the “fever” as I called it, was going away. As I made it home I was a bit disappointed it went away, that warm feeling in my chest.
Whatever, as long as I’m not sick and freezing. I thought to myself, shaking my head. Unlocking my door going inside, feeling a wave of warmth contrast from the cold air outside.
I set my bag down and slumped on the couch next to my sister who had gotten home earlier, and was asleep. I carefully pulled the remote from her hand making sure not to wake her, as I changed the channel. Flipping through the channels I saw a glimpse of the news channel, before flipping back to it, to make sure my eyes weren’t deceiving me.
Right there, the channel description, “Chupacabra images found” Right above it were the two news broadcasters, and an image of Yumi’s house with the bent light post.
I sighed, shaking my head, they’re calling this on the news now? Seriously? I sighed sitting back as they talked more, believing it to originally be a brown or black bear, to the strong rain from last night, or just straight up the light collapsed on itself from the weight or what it was on. Until the unexpected “twist” which was a blurry image from the house’s bird-feeder camera seeing a black blob with white eyes, rushing away in a blink and you’ll miss it, image. The news anchors proclaiming it was what Yumi and apparently her family said, a Chupacabra.
I sighed again, thinking it was kids or some stupid drunk geezer, until I thought about it more, kids or some drunk guy couldn’t have done that much damage with a car, or even with work tools. So what the hell was that thing?
Mid thought Bella stirred from her sleep, halfway asleep she looked at me, then the TV. Mumbling, she said; “I saw that light post on my way from the bus this morning… did they say what it was?”
I shrugged, "A Chupacabra"
She sighed and shook her head, "Seriously?" She said groaning before getting up.
I looked up at her walking towards the door, putting her shoes on.
"Where are you going?" I said, starting to sound like my mother.
"I'm spending the night at Jenny's house remember?" Jenny was her best friend, and she did tell me that, and I cursed myself for forgetting that was tonight.
"right right, you gonna take my car?" I asked, as she shook her head.
"They're gonna pick me up at the end of the street." she responded.
I nodded with a sigh, laying down on the couch now, before she left I said, "Have fun" I don't think she heard me since she immediately left.
I sighed my gaze going back to the tv, talking about the weather now.
--------
Before I even realized, I woke up, to complete darkness except the light that was coming from the TV. Damn, I took too long of a nap I thought to myself standing up. Before I could flip the light switch on however, I heard a loud thud upstairs, I was a bit startled for a second before rationalizing, thinking it was just some of my books falling off my crooked shelf again.
I walked over to the kitchen and turned on the light switch , the light waking me up more. But the more and more contchus I gotten, I could feel that cold body experience again, but my chest felt warmer for some reason, not just my chest but my heart.
I held my chest, thinking it was a heart attack... but, weren't hearts attacks supposed to hurt? not feel so calming and soothing...?
Before she could rationalize she heard a bigger crash in the attic.
"Oh my god.." She said annoyed, not thinking about what it could've been, just heading upstairs, taking out her flash on her phone before going into the attic.
As she slowly went upstairs, the first thing her phone went to, was the broken window, it was a big opening, like something slammed into it. Her body became colder going back to the news, and back to what she saw this morning, what Yumi told her. God, why was she feeling so calm still? This was a horrifying realization!
She heard a floorboard creaking behind her, she wiped her head around, seeing white eyes, before her flashlight landed on the figure.
It was a thin boy, his skin pale, his eyes paler than his skin, and his hair was jet black.
he gave a nervous and weak smile, "Hello-"
And before he could say anything else, Birdie swung a fist into his nose, knocking him down in one fell swoop. She covered the bottom of her mouth realizing what she had done, while this thin man was groaning on the floor.
