The Cold One- Part 1

Prologue

Up until the moment of life and death, I inquired the memo of what would determine my subsistence on Earth. I couldn’t postulate my years of age coming to an end already with nothing but immortals trying to save my life from being killed. If I had to resolve what dying would be like right now, it would be much different than what I was used to hearing.

On the sunless sky above me, the stars made up one big constellation, Orion that I had saw on a star tour when I was little. Dad came with me to the tour. My dad, the coach of the High School Division three Soccer team, ( though he quit for an office job) stood six feet tall and had gray contacts that made him look older than he already was. He told people he was in his mid-thirties even though he was forty-nine… Fifty worries him for some reason. I keep telling him that lots of friends my age have moms and dads that are in their mid-fifties. He doesn’t listen to me though. I can’t blame him.

The people surrounding me were all of different ages by one year. Two had black hair, one blonde, and another had brown hair. They all seemed to be wearing the exact same clothing but with different shades of color, all ranging to a hazel- blueish color. It fit their smooth pale skin well. It brought out their eyes and the features of their skin. We were all near an inadequate part of Sacramento where you would only come to if a dark hooded figure offered you drugs. There was no way of relaxing without checking to see if anyone was behind you. But why would I need to if I’m crowded by five indestructibles? Could this be the end of whatever was going on outside the spotless ring? It couldn’t have been. There was still grunting and sounds of life outside the circle. Whatever was going on outside, I hope it will get through quickly without me being massacred.

Emma

Chapter 1 The Night Owl

My hands sprawled out in front of me seeking to find what I thought was a pillow but was just an old book that my mom got for me when she found out that I was in the advanced reading class at School. It was a work of Victor Hugo. “Les Miserables.” Exactly 1,480 pages of sorrow and depressing words. I read the first few chapters but then I stopped when, Cossette was sold as a slave in the 1700’s. She had no hope. She was just A little slave girl who was separated from her mother and sent to be a piece of property for someone. She could be beaten or even killed. I wonder if any slave owner would do that. Buy a slave for a lot of money just to kill it. It should have been illegal back then. But slavery wasn’t banned yet.

When I looked at the digital clock to see what time it was, I realized I only had twenty minutes to sleep before my alarm would go off. I’m one of those early risers. Even on the weekends. I wake up at five thirty every day just so I can finish the rest of my homework. With eight periods in school, I only have probably ten minutes to do my homework. I’m not talking about the kind that you get where all you have to do is answer a few questions and write a paragraph. This is the kind where one question might take up half a page. To my teachers, homework is all about them. At School, it feels like you’re a turtle inside its shell.

I don’t know a lot about eternal life on earth. It sounds like a weird thing. Never leaving earth and staying there for who knows how long. It would be scary. Seeing all the folks that you love, die. And never leaving yourself. I would have gotten tired of me if I lived on earth for more than seven- hundred years. The only time I’ve ever taken this thing seriously is in my bed where I am right now. At about five o’clock in the morning with nobody to distract me. A quiet place. Somewhere where I can think about me, and other things. “I have nothing to fear but fear itself,” my dad always tells me. That’s not the way I look at it. I see some other things to fear. But one is so deep that I’ve never told anyone before. Relive the past. If I could go back in time, I would just so those tiny things that I didn’t do, I could do again.

Right as my head collapsed back down on my pillow, my father turned the light on. “Get up kiddo,” he said, it being one of the few highlights of his day to see my face. “Dad, I’m not a kid anymore, I’m turning sixteen next week.” “Aah, you’re still a kid to me,” he replied. I sighed hoping he would walk out so I could regret the idea of going back to School today. I didn’t feel sick or anything, I was just exhausted from the immediate wake up and my Dad turning on the fluorescent light. It nearly blinded me.

“So, Dad. Are you still going to that meeting tonight with your friends boss?” The guilt raged up inside me. It’s like I was telling him to get out of the house and leave for good. “Yeah, Donna said she had a job opening for a stockbroker or something like that.” I was confused at the moment considering that my Dad only owned one suit and that was his from his wedding five years ago. “A lot can happen in five years Dad,” I spoke. “We’ll go to the store after you get home from School. I can get a new suit and you can get another buttoned shirt or that other brand that you like.” “Okay,” I said while charging out of the door.

Today, during English Mrs. Alpino told us all to write an essay about how the community would change if we recycled. I had done this essay before. I think it was in sixth grade for a writing competition. My mom was the only one to proof read it. I thought it was good, though after I turned it into Mr. Smith I never heard anything about it. So much for doing three rough drafts. Fortunately, I was able to find it on our computer that we have had for probably ten years. All it took was some editing and better word choice and I finished it in twenty minutes. The next day I turned it in. Mrs. Alpino gave me a weird look as though I was wearing something that I shouldn’t be. All she did was just give me a smile after her unconvincing facial expression. I returned back to the gymnasium where students ninth grade to eleventh grade sat in the morning. It wasn’t that crowded even though the bell would ring in five minutes. Something seemed different about today, but I couldn’t make out what it was. People were acting differently towards how they were talking to their friends. Every other minute, Samantha Green (Popular) and her friends (Popular) kept whispering about something new. New what? New house? New family member? New phone? It had something to do with “New,” I thought to myself. I put my backpack on and ran over to Hayes, one of my friends since kindergarten. “Do you know what everyone keeps talking about?” Whenever there is something that everyone knows but I don’t it bugs me.

“Something about a new student,” he answered. So I was right about the “New” part.

“Has anyone heard of his name?”

“No, but they said he won’t come here until next week.”

“Why?” I asked.

“The administration still has to get all his grades transferred from his old school.”

“Oh, Okay.”

The bell sounded with a great alarm telling all of the students to go to their first period. I kept wondering about this new student and what he was like. The teachers didn’t seem to know anything about him. It was like he was an alien or a “visitor.” What would this mean for me? It was like a weird reaction to a food or something. Something about this person was alarming inside me and I didn’t know what to do. It felt like when mom died and I felt sick for two months. There, in my heart was a weak spot forming in it. I walked to class instantaneously passing by all of the posters for student council fundraisers and dozens of “Don’t Do Drugs signs.” I finally entered my homeroom teacher’s room stacked with hundreds of old books from the 1800s. English. Pictures of all the different types of classic novels from Mary Shelley to Louisa May Alcott hung in the back of the room next to the grammar Once class started I was sitting in the middle desk nearest to the window by some football jock named, Cameron whose humongous muscles nearly popped out of his Superman shirt. Our teacher went on and on for the morning announcements about the Homecoming committee needed to meet in her room at six thirty Tuesday night to discuss their plans for this year’s party. “And last but not least,” she spoke proudly, “we will be adding a new student to our classroom and when he comes I want you all to make him feel as welcome to our beautiful school as possible. Every one of us stared at her nodding our heads tiredly. Katie Longsten, the teacher’s pet raised her hand. “Ms. Blancard, what day is the new student coming?” She questioned her. “He’s coming next Monday. It was Friday. Three more days until Monday. The day where this new person would come and be a student at my School.

Chapter 2 Deep Thoughts

I returned home from School with an achy feeling inside my body that started to get worse when I trudged into my house. My heavy backpack dragged me into the kitchen to look for a few painkillers. Fortunately, I found some Advil in the medicine cabinet that was going to expire tomorrow. My dad wasn’t home from work but his briefcase was here. That’s the third time this month that he has left his briefcase. He’s gonna get fired eventually if he keeps forgetting it. His office building must not be as strict as my School. My phone buzzed continuously inside my pocket. When I pulled it out, only the number showed. I pressed my finger on the green button.

“Hello?” I inquired.

“Hey, Emma!” She said.

“Grace?”

“Now on to that new kid subject,” Grace blurted out through the phone.

“Everybody keeps talking about how he was sent to our School because he got kicked out of his last one,” She expressed.

“No way,” I shook my head.

“If this new guy is a criminal why is he coming to our School then?” Grace questioned me.

“I don’t know. Look, I have homework to do. Bye.”

My finger pressed over the maroon colored button on my phone and the conversation had ended. I still couldn’t think straight with all of what happened today. I felt like this guy was signaling me to do something or trying to warn me that danger was headed my way. Now, I sound like my mother when she was younger and I was a child. She would always say, “Danger happens in the darkest places. Just turn on your flashlight and all will be safe.” My mom kind’ve stole that quote from somebody else.

When I went to go sit down on the couch, Jack texted me something like this: A Y F T?

Which was soon translated into this: Are you free tonight?

Since my Dad still was a no show, I responded with a “Yes.” He didn’t exactly explain what we were doing, but it was evident that he wasn’t going to kidnap me. Jack moved to Wisconsin along with our family a few years ago when his dad got a job as a physical therapist. We issued a long series of conversations with Jack’s parents because we too weren’t living in the greatest part of town. It took us a year to finally make a decision about where we wanted to live. After the twelve months of eating at home and working extra hours, we scraped up enough money to buy a little house in the city. Ever since then, Jack and I have been engaging in more conversations than just polite small talk. He still makes the conversation awkward sometimes.

I intended first to finish my paper on “The Life of Phyllis W. Breacher,” a book we were all forced to read in Mrs. Alpino’s class if our grade needed to be pulled up to an “A.” About ¾ of the people in my class were reading it. So this book is about some woman who falls in love with a man. Then they both start an apple farm and they sell apples. Then a bear comes along and eats all their apples so the woman sets out to find the bear but when she meets him the bear looks so hopeless and she keeps him as a pet. The husband then finds out and kills the bear while the wife is asleep. It sounded sad when I heard of it. But they don’t know what happened to my mom.

My fingers went to typing away on the old laptop that my Dad got me for my birthday three years ago when I turned fourteen. That was the year that Jack moved away. I still remember those dreary nights that I lay in my bed with no thought of seeing Jack the next day like I always did. First, I typed a provision on how the setting affected the story making sure my punctuation was correct and I was spelling everything right. Then, my second paragraph was on how the bear felt when the woman kept him as a pet. As the time grew more and more late, I started typing slower, picking my hands up very heavily with no sudden movements. “Just a few minutes,” I whispered to myself. My head shifted back to find the back of the leather chair and rest for a little bit. Not only had this day gone by too fast, but it also had no difference from the one before. I kept thinking about that same guy. He was who I wondered about right now. Not anyone else. Him. I sealed my eyelids shut and watched the round blackness appear in a flash. It was dead silent with nothing to perplex me from rest. My body was ailing and I felt weak. I let out my last awake breath then collapsed into a peaceful sleep.

I awakened to the sound of a loud, grouchy cat outside. It purred almost as if it were begging for milk or a new owner. I shook against the chair waiting to see daylight only to find that it was still pitch black outside with only a few street lights to guide the way down the narrow road. What time is it? I thought to myself. My eyes pointed to the clock on the other side of the room. One hand pointed to the “twelve” and another hand pointed to the number, “two.” “ It’s two in the morning!” I exclaimed. “JACK!” I totally forgot about him. “Ugh! This is awful.” I am the worst friend. He was probably waiting at my doorstep forever. This was another negative about this week. If this gets worse, I won’t be able to handle it. Everything was changing. Fast.

When I woke up, it was ten and I was still tired from the night before. I came downstairs to find that my Dad had prepared breakfast downstairs for us. Eggs, bacon, pancakes, and sausage links were each on a large plate waiting for me on the kitchen table. “Hey dad,” I said sounding exhausted. “Hey honey,” he let out with a quick sigh afterwards. I hadn’t heard that one in a while. “Dad, I have a question,” I addressed while sitting down on the couch with a plate of pancakes and some bacon. “What?” He asked quickly.

“Do you know anything about the new family that’s moving in tomorrow?” I asked while taking two pieces of bacon and devouring them in three bites.

“Yeah, the Porters,” he told me. “They have like four children.”

“How did you hear about them?” I interrogated with a blank expression on my face.

“I saw a moving sign in the front yard that said “Coming Soon, The Porters.”

“Oh,” I spoke.

At that point, I felt incoherent. I had what must’ve been a million more questions to ask, but I wasn’t eager enough to ask any more. Besides, I still had to hang out with Jack to make up for last night’s calamity.

“I’ll clean up Dad,” I blurted out.

“Okay, thanks,” he responded back as he plantigrade above.

I took my time with the dishes. Cleaning them slowly and smoothly making sure that all of the corners were white and gleaming. I could hear the cars from outside blaring past the house and some tires screeching on the highway close by. Most of them sounded horrendous like their muffler was about to explode. Many leaves soared down, through the air as the wind swayed and flowed through the bitter atmosphere.

I had no idea of what tomorrow would bring. It would bring one thing. The Porters. I didn’t know what to expect. He definitely had a reaction that no other new student in this School had on me.

My entity was changing and I wasn’t ready. Everything from that point in my life grew stranger everyday.

Chapter 3 The Call

My 2001 Toyota is the closest thing I have to Mom. She gave it to me before she had left us. At that time, the car smelt new and fresh like a rental car. Now each year I have to replace the other car freshener with a new one. The worst part I hate is in the summer when we have to work on the engine one day then the washing of the car the next day. Wouldn’t it be easier if we just hired a mechanic to come out here and fix it? I would say. My Dad would always give the same dreadful response. NO! Now that we live in Wisconsin though, Jack helps me with my car at any time of the year. One time after there was a crazy snowstorm, my tires had ice all over them. When I knew I couldn’t get out, Jack came right away with this big machine that he borrowed from his Dad. He always had some sort of guilty look in his eyes that made him look like his help wasn’t wanted here. There seemed to be something hiding inside of his soul that was too dark to speak out. I knew something was wrong with him- I just couldn’t make out what it was. He scraped the ice off looking irritated that day. I hadn’t mentioned anything about his appearance that next day. Jack was still my friend, but I couldn’t tell what his secret was.

I strode outside quickly feeling a sudden breeze of bitterness against my rosy cheeks that hadi an actual reaction on me when I sat in my leather car seat. Everything around me was changing. The leaves changed from their minty green sight to an unsettling brown and the grass simply became the color of lemon yellow.

My truck coughed and rumbled a good bit when I turned the engine on and put the joystick into “Drive.” My foot gently eased on the right pedal and the vehicle quickly made its way from my neighborhood and accelerated down the highway passing nearly every car it drove by. I had to talk to Jack about something important.

As I entered into his neighborhood, my phone went off onto its obnoxious ringtone. It was Jack. I picked up the phone and pressed the accept button as if it were going to kill me, then I placed it to my ear. I waited a few seconds not knowing what to expect.

“Emma, are you there?!” Jack sounded worried.

“Jack?” I asked confused.

He gasped.

“Thank goodness!” Jack expressed.

I was trying to hear what he was saying but it was covered by the sound of the leaves brushing against my window.

“JACK! WHAT’S- WRONG?”I could hear his tears.

“Emma. Your dad.”

Jack was trying so hard to fight the tears on his face. “Your Dad was murdered.”

Chapter 4 The Body

I couldn’t come to my senses. Blood was pounding in my ears and I wasn’t breathing. I was in shock. I couldn’t hear anything. It felt like a thousand bullets pounding against my head.

“How do you know he died?” I asked stupidly.

Jack paused for a long moment while I was waiting for an answer.

“I went to come tell you something at your house but you weren’t there and when I walked in, your Dad was covered in blood and there was a knife in his hand and a slit in his throat.”

It just wasn’t right. He would never do something like that. I jammed my finger on the decline button and raced home in my truck. Everything was turning black. He couldn’t be dead…

As soon as I got onto our street I parked my truck in our neighbors driveway and sprinted to my house. The door was cracked open. There was a river of blood leading to the worst sight I has seen in my entire life. It was true. Just as Jack described it. A knife in his hand and him being covered in blood. It was dry and unbearable. My knees gave out and I fell to the ground screaming in pain. He was dead. My dad was dead. I kept opening my eyes to see if I was in my bed and it was all just a nightmare. But it wasn’t. Then when I woke up from the blackout. My hand reached heavily for my cell phone that was half shattered from falling on the ground. I dialed 911.

“Hello somebody- please.” I broke out into tears.

“MY DAD WAS MURDERED. PLEASE HELP ME!”

A man with a deep voice answered.

“You’ll be okay. Get over it. There’s worse things than that,” then he hung up immediately.

I couldn’t believe it. They didn’t think I was telling the truth. How could they do that? Tears came to my face again. There was no one to help me. What could I do? There was no other relative I could live with.

As I scanned the ground smothered in blood, I realized something awful had happened. My dad wasn’t there. His body was gone. It had disappeared and I hadn’t even noticed it. A chill went up my spine as I thought of his body when it was there and when it wasn’t.

“Hello?” I asked.

There was no answer as I thought there wouldn’t be. The body couldn’t have disappeared like that. Nobody would take it. But maybe somebody did. Jack said he went to my house to come tell me something. He wouldn’t have. Jack is my best friend. But maybe he did. When he came into my house he said my dad was already dead. Jack was a betrayer. He hurt not only my Dad, but me. I knew what had happened at that point. Jack had killed my father when he came into my house. It was the only possible solution. Jack, from this point on would be a monster. A monster who murders people.

While wiping away my tears, I thought of something that would allow me having to do something dangerous. It was the only that would work. With all my family being dead, I had to run away. I would have to Travel light so if I sensed danger, I could run. My thoughts were scattered all over the place and getting my things together was my top priority. All my small bag could carry were three pairs of clothes to change into, a toothbrush, hairbrush, and a notebook with a pen. I thought this idea could work.

As I set off on my way to who knows where, I pushed the depressing thoughts of my Dad’s body away into the bottom of my brain. I could never think of that time the same way ever again.

Chapter 5 The Runaway

As I made my way past the thick branches of the oak trees, my legs were getting cut up by the thorns. The light was very dim. My thoughts of my Dad had been long escaped. In Wisconsin, the temperatures could drop as low as ten degrees in the woods at night. I would have to find a way to make something that would protect me from the bitter coldness.

When I found a place to set up shelter it started to pour down rain. “Great,” I said in a mad sarcastic way. Over in a meadow, I found some tree branches that would work for the roof and body of the house. They didn’t seem like much but when I was done, the appearance of them was unpredictable. The leaves covering the roof so no rain or any other type of water could get in. In the inside, the floor smoothly patted down with dry soil for sleeping on. For once today, I felt like everything was going my way. The tiny shack that I managed to build in four hours. It was my first accomplishment that I had built without my Dad. A sudden look of sorrow came to my eyes. No-I can’t think of him. Not now. When I’m proud of myself for doing something instead of still balling at home with my head in a pillow and all the lights in the house turned out. Those memories had to be forgotten soon. But I would have to accept that they would return every single day.

As I prepared for bed, a sudden wind of eerie swept over the woods. It blew through the trees and I sensed a shadow in the far distance. It definitely wasn’t mine. My hands clicked on my small flashlight and the woods became clearer. The shadow wasn’t clear yet. I took a step closer with an uneasy feeling in my stomach. My flashlight wasn’t strong enough. The shadow was still at least twenty yards away. I couldn’t tell if I was moving or the shadow was. A shiver went up my spine and I breathed out a loud breath. Then I realized the shadow was walking towards me. Stop, I wanted to say but no words would come out of my mouth. The figure dragged his feet closer. I started to back away before I was surrounded by trees then my body couldn’t go anywhere. “Hello Emma,” the person said. My flashlight clicked off. The person was visible even with the flashlight off. His skin was pale and his facial features were nearly all white. “What’s your name?” I asked frightfully. He responded to me. “Cyprian Porter.” He finished his name with a grin. My face was expressionless. There was no one in the woods. Wait… Dad said something about the Porters. Cyprian was one of them.He was the new guy. He was the one who I had been thinking about this whole time. He was different.

Chapter 6 The Unusual

I felt strange on the inside. Like one of my long lost siblings was here face to face with me.

“Hello,” I said.

“Emma, I signaled you before I was coming. All those thoughts you had about me. I sent those to you. I know what happened to your Dad.” My Dad… The thoughts came back and flooded my brain. I couldn’t help but cry.

“Don’t talk about him,” I said anxiously.

“His name was Richard. He was tall.”

“Stop!” I started to get angry.

“He was forty-nine. He loved you.” Cyprian finished in a vicious tone.

“You know what? NONE OF YOUR PARENTS ARE DEAD ARE THEY?! MY WHOLE FAMILY IS DEAD. QUIT TALKING ABOUT HIM OR ANYONE. GO AWAY AND DON’T COME BACK! They’re all dead,” I whispered to Cyprian who was now sitting beside me now. I could feel his body temperature. It was like ice. That explained the blue eyes. My mom always said that people with blue eyes had the spirit of winter. She said that to me as a little kid when I actually believed in her stories. “Cyprian- why did you signal me?” I interrogated.

He was speechless. All he did was look down at the fire I had built under some trees. His eyes turned red. “Emma, I signaled you because you- you were-like no other girl I had ever seen. You were brave. It’s what we’re supposed to do. Find people like you. My family and I need brave ones.” He seemed better to have that out of his mouth. “It’s not just girls though is it?” He shook his head in response. “Why do you need me and how did you signal me?” Cyprian paused for a long while like he was stalling and then he answered while shaking. “I’m a Cold One-and my family needs more people like you. I signaled you with one of my demonic powers. But they don’t always come into good use Emma. When using them, you can experience pain. That’s why I thought for a long time before signaling you.” Cyprian was definitely different. He acted scared. He shook almost every time he was near me. This couldn’t have a good outcome on him at all. I caused danger to him. How did he become a cold one? How did he get the powers? Why was he so shaky around me? I had so many questions to ask. “So, are there others like you?” I wondered. “What do you mean?” He asked. “You said your family was looking for ones like me.” His face became more white. “ I don’t have any parents. They were killed by Colton. He betrayed me and my family. He was one of my friends before he became a cold one.” Cyprian explained. “My family became my brothers and sisters after that night.” He had no parents. He must’ve felt just like me. Empty on the inside. A feeling that made you want to rip your heart out. How could Cyprian? He was immortal. He had no blood in his veins or his body. This must’ve been a weird time for him. He was talking to a mortal but he wasn’t wild. He wouldn’t look at me and kill me instantly as Colton would probably do. I thought of the killer and how he brutally murdered my dad and put a knife in his hand to make him look like he had commit suicide. I sighed loudly showing dishonor in the conversation that became awkward suddenly. “Cyprian, do you know a guy named Jack? He may or may not be a cold one. He killed my father.” After figuring out what I had just said, the thoughts came into clear. Jack could be a cold one. A wild cold one. He could be like Colton-Vicious and clueless about what he was doing. This act of murder may not have been intentional. How could he be a cold one?Maybe Colton… No he couldn’t have. “Did Colton attack other people?” I asked Cyprian. “Yes. He attacked and killed all of my old friends. There’s a rumor that he’s leading an army. The Peace Court tried to keep them away in a prison called The Torcher. It was a narrow building that would heat up everyday until you melted down to the bone.” “And did it kill them?” I questioned Cyprian. An irritative expression came onto his pale face. “No. They got out on the third day when the furnace was just at ninety degrees. The Peace Court guard was beheaded after they escaped. I’m surprised Colton didn’t kill him.” Cyprian explained. “How can a wild cold one become-you know- a normal cold one?” “It’s not easy.” He said. “There’s a part in a cold one that forms when they’re reborn. It’s called the Core. Kind of like humans have hearts, Cold Ones have cores. You have to obtain the darkest soul. That dark soul will take over the core and will give you the ability to not think about slaughtering someone the instant you see them.” It seemed painful what Cyprian said. A dark soul. A monster in you. A core instead of a heart. Hating someone instead of loving them. How could Cyprian live with himself?Him having to run all the time so nobody would figure out his secret-and if they did, he would have one option. Turn them into a cold one. How could cold ones survive? Cyprian was different than anyone I Had ever met. He was immortal and he would stay that way. Why would someone make such a life threatening decision to live forever? They wouldn’t be able to go to Heaven or be with their family. Cyprian had a dark life.

Chapter 7 The House

When I woke up to the chirping of birds and the sun’s bright fluorescent color, I realized that I was in a bed with thick covers. Not in a sleeping bag with a shelter covering me. The bed had three pillows that were way too huge for what I was used to. The sheets colorful patterns stretched to a faded yellow with a touch of green. Behind me was a mahogany headboard that was smoothened out for the protection of splinters. On the foot of the bed were clothes from a shop that must have been expensive. The shirt was made out of a fine periwinkle silk with three buttons on the neck that could be loosened if there was any discomfort. A pair of matching leather jeans were laid out underneath where the shirt had been. It suited my personality. Gentle on the outside but a little tomboyish on the inside.

It took my eyes a minute to adjust to the light after waking up completely but when I did I noticed I wasn’t at my house. I was at a place surrounded by mountains and hidden by the woods. As I walked over to the black-framed picture to look at it, Cyprian walked around the corner and into my room. “That’s my Mom and Dad in that portrait,” he conveyed. His voice startled me. I couldn’t believe it. I thought all of last night at the fire was just a dream. Politely, I let the thought rush past me. “It is?” Cyprian looked up at me as if he was going to answer me but then stared in wonder at the portrait. They looked just as I pictured. Normal and human. “Cyprian, I really am sorry about your parents. I know how you feel.” His eyes traced up from the ground to my face. The footsteps grew louder as he came closer to me. Cyprian put his arms around my neck and then he hugged me. His skin was unbearable as I shivered. He drew away quickly nudging me a little from his touch like there was a shield around him. “Emma, would you like to stay here?” My inner thoughts fought together deciding if I should go back to the woods or stay with a family of cold ones. I pushed them into the back of my head. “Sure,” I said quickly. He didn’t answer. All he did was just walk out of the room silently, not saying a word

When I made my way into the living room, the five of them all stood there staring deeply at me as though they could see right through me. “Who’s the girl?” A guy inquired to Cyprian. “Emma.” Their red eyes quickly concentrated back on mine. We all made no sound. Probably from the awkwardness they all felt seeing me. A human. Not a cold one. “Emma,” Cyprian informed me. “These people are Aurora, Seth, Natalie, Jason, and Jillian. They’re my siblings.” My thoughts were oblivious. I didn’t know what to say. The teenagers looked alike. Red eyes, tall, and vicious. “So, what do you guys like to do for fun?” “Oh, we do plenty of fun things don’t we guys?” Said the youngest girl in the family. “Sorry Emma, they’re a little down from the last move. Stephen said we were going to stay in Alaska for quite a bit longer but then he-died.” She kept on talking.

My thoughts were racing around inside my mind as they looked at me. Not knowing whether I should have or shouldn’t have said yes to staying here I positioned my body for the door that lay about six feet in front of me. Cyprian jolted in front of me nudging my body backwards. “Guys, I hear something.” All of them walked out the open door and listened with caution. The night was dead and I could hear the air blowing eerily through the trees. Cricket sounds filled the woods. A branch snapped on the near left tree. “Shh,” whispered the oldest girl. “I think I hear something.” Another sound came alarming my almost asleep eyes. This time it was leaves but they were near the opposite side of where the branch had snapped. There must be at least two of these creatures I thought to myself. The lights started to flicker from within the house, each flicker five seconds apart. Adrenaline rushed through my body. As we turned to look back at the light, a beast came out and attacked Cyprian.

Chapter 8 The Golem

It all took me by surprise. The tentacles slithered out of its mouth sprawling out to Cyprian’s chest. The beastly creature had humongous red eyes and razor sharp teeth that could rip out a heart easily. When it latched on to Cyprian, I screamed in terror. He had been knocked out instantly by the force it had on his stomach. Cyprian’s eyes rolled into the back of his head as the surrounding cold ones tried to fight off the monster. This had to be one of Colton’s creations I thought. I ran into the house and darted for one of the drawers with the utensils in it. My mind raced around frantically but then I made a decision. I had my eyes set on the serrated knife blade with the black handle to the right in a special compartment. I grabbed the weapon and hurried out the door. The growling pounded in my ears and my heart beat out from inside me. Sweat trickled down my face. I jumped off the front two steps taking a quick slash at the beast. It howled in pain at the tearing skin. “GET OUT OF HERE!!” I exclaimed. The beast would only creep slowly towards me grunting loudly with thick drool streaming down his the corners of his mouth. The others tried to distract him but the monster would only give a quick glance at them then stare back at me. I stared at the nearly dead Cyprian in agony. His roaring voice sounding from the pain. “Come on Cyprian, fight it!” I exclaimed to him. My feet dragged to the monster with struggle. The knife raised within my hand to strike the monster on the back. I sank down to hit the creature right as his tail whipped back and knocked me into the air. My body went shooting back towards the fence and hit with a thud. This couldn’t be happening right now to me. I couldn’t let Cyprian die because of my sudden appearance. It wouldn’t seem likely to me that his death was my fault. The monster’s terrifying scream rattled my bones inside and sent a chill up my spine. This night felt like a nightmare I couldn’t escape.

Natalie was the first one to attack the demon-like giant. Her eyes glistened against its scaly skin turning different colors every time she twisted around to strike him. The sound it made was very deceiving as I cupped my hands over my ears to block out the horrific vibration. She gave a hard kick at it and was thrown backwards against a tree only to ricochet off it and come tumbling back for more of the action. Only this time Aurora, Jason, Jillian, and Seth joined in. A pack of wild mutts was one way to describe them. Their hands were tearing at the raw flesh that Natalie had already managed to break away earlier. Aurora had already been knocked down a few times but her invincible body stood up and continued battling viciously. I decided it would be best if I stood back and just enjoyed what gruesome violence was to be seen.

Seth and Jason both had the thing in an armlock, their arms linked together for more pressure on its windpipe. I heard a faint snap and just like that the beast let out one last roar and fell flat on the ground. Dead. The green liquid that the monster was full of oozed out in a thick form making a pond of goo beside its mouth. Everything was almost unbearable to look at as though it had been a previous war scene from a gory movie. Natalie and all of the others had been long tired from the fighting as it had lasted until the faint glow of the sunrise was visible. The monster’s circulation was cut off from the neck up leaving the color of its rough skin a violent shade of purple. The sight of it was disgusting. The worst was Cyprian’s deep wound near his left rib cage. Infection wasn’t even the first word to describe it. In the middle of his chest were three marks that I couldn’t tell what they had come from. He groaned in deep pain.

“Come on guys, help me!”

“What do we do? This is a rooted gash,” Aurora spoke. “Wait a second,” Aurora said while contemplating the wound. “The monster scratched him.” What does that mean?” I asked. “It’s likely that if a mark like this doesn’t get treated, then Cyprian could die.”

“He could die?” I asked.

“Why are these marks such a bad thing? What do they mean?”

Jason started talking from the first time I ever heard him spoke. “Colton sent this demonic spirit to us to mark Cyprian because Colton now knows that you’re with us. This happened to a lot of Cold Ones. They would get marked and it would slowly kill them from the inside out. It can drive some people crazy and sometimes they end up trying to attack the human race. More than one person can be killed in a situation like this Emma.”

Would Cyprian try to hurt me or maybe even slaughter me? It didn’t sound anything like what he would do… But maybe with the three marks on his chest that seemed to appear very painful from the shouts of Cyprian’s voice he would kill me.

“Guys we need to bring him inside.” Jason being the strongest of the group had no problem with bringing him in. “Seth, get the Aura pill,” commanded Natalie. Seth was back in a flash with a small capsule that had a clear red looking liquid put in it. “What does Aura do?” I asked while contemplating the container. “It’s supposed to run into the wound and kill the infection inside.” Aurora placed her hand over a screaming Cyprian and pushed a little on the capsule. A red drop fell onto his marks and spread into the slash. Cyprian let out a large cry and quickly fell asleep.

After a few minutes of waiting beside him, we walked away into the living room, me following them in the back. As we sat, one person would keep guard over the house and check on Cyprian every once in awhile. By midnight, I was nearly asleep. Walking away to my bedroom, I realized that I should check on Cyprian one more time. My feet guided me to the kitchen where he lay flat on the table. “Goodnight Cyprian,” I said. As I turned to walk upstairs he grabbed my arm. “Emma,” he spoke. “Stay.” My mind told me to just go to bed but my feet didn’t move. “Okay,” I responded laying my head down on part of the table.

It didn’t come to my recognition until later that night that Cyprian could be luring me into a violent trap. One that would be deadly. One that would be eerie. One that would murder me.

Chapter 9 The Attack

His loud gasping was the thing that woke me up abruptly. It was as if he breathed hard for air but couldn’t fill his lungs with any. He wouldn’t scream or let out any sign of distress. His mouth would just let out a wheezing sound. What’s wrong? My thoughts scattered all around my brain with no decision of what was happening at the moment. Breathe… Breathe… Breathe… Something was controlling me not to. Who is this person? A weird feeling of déjà vu overcame me. Then, my scattered thoughts turned into a nightmare. I am on a streetside near some clothing shops. A man in a black trench coat stands about thirty yards away from the nearest streetlight. We are the only people here tonight. There is faint noises to my right but they only sound like frogs croaking. The man lets out a small cough and that’s when I see the his terrifying blood red eyes. Now, I scream. RUN! RUN! RUN! I can’t- my feet are stuck in something black. The road has now turned into thick, hot, tar. “HELP!” SOMEBODY!” I scream. Now the man is in a sprint coming towards me. I try to close my eyes and think my way out of this. It doesn’t work. The man is now a few feet in front of me. He stops and comes into the light. “Hello Emma.” Where did this voice come from? He said one more thing before drawing a knife. “I’m Colton.”

“Cyprian!” I shouted to the top of my lungs. “Emma.” It was Natalie who came to me first. “Emma, what happened?” Through pouring tears, I told her what I had seen. “I was in a nightmare and- I think- I think I saw Colton. Natalie’s eyes went big. “Although he looked different than I had imagined him to be. He was taller and much stronger than you had described him. His eyes were red like he was mad or-” I closed my eyes to remember exactly what had happened. “Like he was looking to kill someone.” Natalie stared at me in disbelief. “Emma, but that’s imposs-” “Look Natalie, I know what I saw. Colton is coming closer and he’s going to kill anybody that gets in his way.” I started to get desperate. Is no one going to believe me? I thought.

Natalie sat up and brought me over to Cyprian. His eyes were still in the same place the night before. Closed. His breaths were a lot lighter than usual but I figured it was just from the Aura medicine. The Sun had just risen when I looked up into the woods. It’s sprawled colors mixed into a beautiful rainbow-like horizon. Below the colorful scene was the green runny substance that the monster had left. It was disgusting making the grass an ugly shade of brown. I can still picture the monster attaching itself to Cyprian and- wait- THE MONSTER! Where was it? I hadn’t remembered anybody moving it to somewhere more hidden. Did it come back alive and escape during the night? “Natalie, did you move the monster somewhere?” She stared blankly at me. “What do you mean?” It took me awhile to answer her back. I kept talking while scanning the outside perimeter of the woods. “It’s not there anymore.” She looked outside as well glancing at the same spot I had. Natalie walked out the door with an irritated expression on her face. “Ugh! I forgot. That was a manticore. They have the power to vanish dead or alive. Its heart is made out of a disappearing element that makes it vanish at the most needed time.” She walked inside with a grin on her face as if she was one of the smart alecs in my homeroom who answered questions correctly every time. Now I felt irrelevant.

When I strode back inside, Aurora, Seth, and Jason were all sitting on the teal couch discussing about today. They all had a different colored backpack strapped on their shoulder. One laid beside Jason’s feet. When I came over he gave me the backpack while still talking with the rest of them. Jason nor anybody else said a word to me. The pack was filled with notebooks for a different subject and a copy of “Shakespeare’s The Tempest.” I had never read a Shakespeare play before. Inside the cover was a folded piece of paper with my schedule on it. Mrs. Alpino was first period. “Why are we going to School?” I asked Seth. He made a provoked face and started moving his mouth. “We’re supposed to be blending in more with the town. Aurora said it would help us be found less quicker.” The three of them stood up with their backpacks and headed towards the Mustang. “Are you sure this is a good idea?” I questioned. “It’s the best choice we have right now,” Jason spoke. I wedged myself into the car with scattered thoughts.

Riding to the school was silent. If there was any sound, it got drowned out by the pounding rain outside the car. I wondered if Cyprian was going to die… If his wound would be too bad to treat, then that would be it. The aura was meant for the Cold Ones. Was that strong enough? “Emma, what’s wrong?” Aurora divulged. “Your face is turning unusually pale.” She was right. I hadn’t noticed but I was squeezing so hard on the book in my hand that- a dent had appeared in the side of it. A full sized textbook for english. The sight of this was unreal. Looking at my fists and my legs and my face in the rearview mirror left a sudden blush of embarrassment. All the thoughts of Cyprian had escaped through a passage in my brain. The passage that acts as a garbage disposal when you talk for a long period of time about how you’re going to tell someone your idea then it slips away.

A sudden stop came upon my body after what felt like an hour of deciding what had happened with the dent in my textbook and the pale as snow body. The bell of the school rang like a sudden murder strike in a horror movie convincing all of the thirty something students to actually go into the place they dreaded most. High School… I let out a sigh of relief when Grace came bolting over to me shouting, “Emma! Where in the world have you been? I tried to call your cell sixty-three times this week but you never picked up. What happened?” My eyes were processing slowly to the environment. This was the last place I had been before- my Dad. The sudden feeling of the urge to cry was on me but that would be stupid, to cry in public. “I’m okay.”

The next two hours of my life were spent in the teachers classrooms discussing with them about what had happened and why I had been gone so long. Of course it was all a made up story of my Grandfather’s death and his funeral. Third period in Science was a different story. The first few minutes of class were just the role. I guess word had gotten out about my story so I wouldn’t have to explain all of the tragedy that happened eleven years ago as a coverup for what really happened. The rest of class was a lecture of the complete substance of a dragka liquid. It sounded similar to the thing Jason had explained was the thing that made a Cold One’s heart.

The lunch bell was heard from outside the door way. A crowd of hungry students filled the halls like lions at a meat fest. As I came out of the line with a tray of food leaning on my forearms the seat closest to the window was mine. The traffic in the lunchroom was down today. Not as many glasses on the floor from nerds getting beat up and thrown in the trash. Nowhere near as many cliques roaming the stage above like they own the school. “Where is everybody?” I asked a football player named Jordan. “I hear there was a freak show downtown and some uninvited guests crashed the party.” I turned away just staring at the table. Freak Show? Uninvited guests? Downtown? Oh no… It was him. Colton and other people with him. Like- an army. His army was here.

A bright flash of light deliberately entered the room with a sudden force against the front half of the Cafeteria. The thing that followed through the echoing room was a sound like a howling terror or a high pitched shout of convulsion. Its voice behind the screeching wails was way worse than the pounding in my ears. It was a frightening sound almost like someone speaking in the language of a snake rather than the language of a human. The footsteps were the first normal thing I heard. But as they grew more in number, it drew even louder.

The lunchroom was filled with chaotic teens running left and right to escape the living nightmare. A familiar girl screamed out in my direction something awful. “Emma help me!” Her voice vanished before the dark hooded figure grabbed hold of her neck and snapped it. The girl who had just been killed was Grace. There was no being prepared for what was happening right now.

I flipped out my phone and dialed Jason’s number waiting for the ring.

“EMMA! Are you okay.” We’re headed your way right now.”

“Why did you leave?”

“We had business to take care of.”

“Okay, well hurry! Colton is here…”

“- Emma. Stay where you are. Colton kills people who make any sudden movements. Where are you?”

“The cafeteria.” My finger pressed down on the hang up button and the noises faded down into nothing. There was no more screaming. Just Colton’s deep awful voice.

“If any of try to hurt me or even make contact with me, you will die a slow and painful death! Do I make myself clear?” No one said a word. They just sat in silence staring at the blood stained floor. The first thing I heard were the cafeteria doors open.

“Colton. STOP! Our kind needs no harm on humans. After what happened? Don’t you remember?” The voice belonged to Seth. “I’m over here guys!” “Quiet! Take her far away from Jack and throw her in the…” he paused as if thinking where to put me. “Put her in the incinerator,” he said to one of his most strongest followers. The man walked over to me and threw my arms behind my back. His tense muscles were almost unbearable. It was as if he might crush my arms with one squeeze. I bit the inside of my cheek hard to not think about the pain spreading throughout my arms. All of a sudden, Cyprian’s voice came into my head. “Emma, this guy is under the control of Colton. He’s used to people who are screaming or who are in a ton of pain. Think of something else besides the pain and you’ll be freed from his hands.” I nodded my head into the air as if Cyprian was standing right in front of me.

Different random thoughts rushed into my brain. My Dad, my house, my bed, all of the thoughts kept leading me back to the pain in my arms. It was an aching feeling now. But the sight of them were different. Instead of the pale skin that was once there a shade of purple replaced it. I felt as if I might pass out. The only thing I could think about right now was Cyprian and how bad he looked when I left the house this morning. His clenched jaw and the enormous wound on his chest that was infected with green pus. How his whole body shook from the discomfort.

I felt my eyes slowly start to close as the feeling in my arms became little to none. The last thing in my sight were the fiery red eyes staring at my captor behind him.

Chapter 10 The Fallen

“Emma.” A voice appeared inside my head suddenly. Everything was dark on the inside but it felt so light on the outside. The sound was different. No normal voice I knew. It wasn’t a normal voice anybody could know. It was soft and delicate. It could only be… my Mom. “Emma,” the voice called inside my head again. What!! I thought angrily. The voice didn’t sound like my mother anymore. It sounded like Colton’s dark and whispery voice. What is your problem with me? I asked him. “It’s not our problem- it’s yours.” Now the darkness inside was growing smaller each second I thought of the voice coming from within it. The thing that replaced it was an image of Jack. First, I saw his eyes. Then, his mouth. After, was a sight no living creature would ever want to see. His face had been compensated into a snow white format with blood red eyes and a shadow circling him. I only heard a slight mumble at first- but then it got louder and louder until it seemed as if he was shouting his words. “All of this is his fault!”

I woke up to a bright light startled by the pain in my shoulder blade but also by the noise of a female in the echoing room. “Hello Emma.” The woman said like Cyprian did when we first met. “I’m Kathryn.”

Kathryn sat in a miraculous gold chair lined with scarlet swirling throughout the seat. Her long brown wavy hair brought out her gentle green eyes. It was her eyes that looked like they could hypnotize any human on Earth. But what really caught my attention was the fluorescent stained glass portrait of many different creatures. They all looked similar to the manticore that had been killed about a week ago. The way its rustic skin blurred into my eyes made me lack focus and lose my train of thought of what had been there before. My head grew larger at the miraculous colors of the gigantic room. Pillars were lined up so high, I thought they were going to sprout faces and destroy me.

As soon as I closed my eyes to think straight about where I was, a liquidy substance ran over into my shoes startling me at the sight of its glossy appearance. It surprised me at first but then it grew thicker and towered up until it was waist high on me. When my hands moved to grab the metal railing nearby, I noticed they wouldn’t move- like they were stuck together. The substance was so firm that it confined me from moving even a step. I’m going to die here, I thought. Why was I so stupid to be distracted by a picture? Kathryn wasn’t who I thought she was. Her unique ability that somehow moved an object to another place was unbelievable. It must’ve been like a telepathic power or something. Was this how all people of the whatever this government thing was called acted? Somebody gets distracted so they kill them. That was definitely a first. I was still exasperated at the thought of another Cold One trying to slaughter me.

The liquid was up to my chin now. I was still trying to figure out what it was. The color was a reddish black with hints of white on the top surface. It had a strong smell of burnt coal and overcooked food. I had no desire to smell anything of the same scent ever again. I knew for a fact though that the thing I was in right now builded up pretty fast. I had just enough room to take one breath before going under. The bottom of the substance was light red and very delicate, almost like a china set. It changed colors every time I blinked. I struggled under the vast waving movement of the bottom underneath the surface. It kicked me around and shoved me into what seemed like an endless ocean of despair. After I coughed from the way it made my eyes water, it poured into my mouth. I was drowning quickly. Drowning with my thoughts full and my heart saying its goodbyes to what was left of my world. I wished Cyprian was here or Kathryn didn’t cast her stupid power on this room to murder me. Where are you Cyprian? Where are you and the Cold Ones? I thought. Don’t leave me here stranded underneath the weight of the world to die the worst death of all. I closed my eyes, my lungs nearly full and waited until my time was done. What a sad way. I anticipated. What a sad way to depart from life.