*** POV - Melaena Blackburn - age 9 years old
“Ilkay, I’m going to the park with some friends!” I shout to my brother as I close the front door, not waiting for his response. He’s busy studying like usual and probably won’t even hear me.
My two blond ponytails make it difficult to fit my helmet on my head, but I manage eventually, strapping it under my chin. I fast-pedal my bike down the street to where the rest of my grade 4 class is waiting. We’re not actually heading for the park, but to investigate the haunted house near Big Basin and I just know that if my bloody family ever found out, they would kill me for sure – hence the lie.
The building previously belonged to some or other rich dude, but it’s been deserted for years. According to legend, the entire family vanished overnight into thin air, never to be heard from again. Rumors spread that they were abducted by the devil himself! And if that’s not enough – a demon guards the place - ripping anyone who dares to trespass on the property into shreds. Well, that’s where we’re heading right now – under pressure might I add - and there’s no backing out.
Why? Because of Jason Steward, the stupid class bully who dared us all to go investigate the place with him. Anybody that chickens out will be labeled as a namby-pamby, and knowing Jason, he’ll make it stick until we graduate - for sure. Yeah, graduation for us may be a long way off, but I - Melaena Blackburn - for one, am not going through the rest of my educational experience with a stamp on my back, no sirree. I’d rather get killed by that demon thing then.
I look to my left meeting Kiara’s dark eyes as she peddles alongside me - I know that she’s got my back and vice-versa. After all, it’s not our first outing together – we’ve been buddies since the first day of kindergarten. And since then, following in the footsteps of my hyperactive brothers
or at least trying to
, we’ve gotten into more scrapes than I can count on my fingers. Jason casually drops his bike and walks up to the rusty gate, pushing it open. The loud shrieking noise leaves a trail of goosebumps on my skin. I’m not scared! It’s just freaking eerie – as if predicting something bad is going to happen. And suddenly I hear my father’s voice in my head – ‘Don’t worry, our family burns the black’. Ug, it’s such a cheesy saying of his … but then again … he has more than enough of those lame dad jokes to go around. Not even mom finds them funny, but it doesn’t discourage him at all.
Like me, Kiara hangs her helmet onto her steering bar and we walk down the overgrown pathway - the grass almost as high as our shoulders. A classmate, Axel, pushes against the wooden door - it takes a little effort to open the door since it’s stuck, probably from being abandoned for years. The sleeve of his oversized hoody pulls up just enough for me to notice some nasty purple-blue bruises on his wrist. He’s always wearing big hoodies as if he’s hiding something - the mysterious kid hiding in a corner, not talking to anybody, and always getting into fights. However, my personal opinion is that he’s a vampire who dons such tops to avoid sparking in the sun or burning to ash … whichever one is real. And if you look into his eyes … boy … you would definitely agree with me – they are not normal. Both Edward and the Salvatores can hop on the boring bus compared to this boy’s beauty.
The door is quite impressive, and even though the wood is cracked and weathered by exposure, I can make out the shape of a rearing horse carved in the rotten wood. I trace my finger over the slimy, spongy surface, covered by moss and other fungi before I step into a dimly lit room.
The soles of my sneakers stick on the muggy floor tiles as I carefully move deeper into the house, making an unsettling squicking sound. My gaze follows a wide curved staircase to the upper level and the ceiling where an antique chandelier clings to the light breeze now blowing through the open door. In its prime, this must have been one heck of a house, which makes me wonder what actually happened here. I’ll have to ask Ilkay when I get home … he would probably know since he knows everything.
Jason shuffles a little forward, pushing Axel in front of him, and I observe that his face seems paler than his usual faded complexion; no dump that, he is bleached white. Could it be that Jason is a pissy-pants? As I bump Kiara with my elbow, gesturing in the direction of Jason, a slight smile creeps across her peanut-butter-colored face. She takes out her phone and starts filming Jason with a sly expression. Hell, with Jason, we’ve learned that you have to shoot low, just in case you need backup. She hates him just as much as I do, if not a little more. But who won’t … he tries to ruin our lives around every nook and corner.
CLICK! and then within one second, all hell breaks loose! Jason stepped on a loose tile – aka a pressure plate - and almost immediately a sharp pain shoots through my arm. Biting on my lip I glance down, noticing the tip of an arrow protruding from my bicep on the right. It pierced right through my upper ligament, looking kind of like a fake Halloween accessory. I’m still trying to figure out if it’s real or just a prank when somebody lets out a high-pitched yell, sending poor little Jason running for the door. In his rush, he shoves a still-filming Kiara out of his way, causing her to tumble into a gap where the floor collapsed. I dash to the edge and peep over the side, my one hand clamping my arm to try and control the pain; for some weird reason, there isn’t much bleeding.
I make out her body lying at the bottom of the hole … it’s not major deep, but there’s no way she’s going to climb out of there by herself, nor will I reach her with my short arms.
“Kiara, are you ok?” I shout, cursing Jason in my mind, already thinking of ways to get him back.
“Yes, only my ankle. I think it might be broken,” she sniffs and I know she’s crying. The image of me yanking all of Jason’s hair out fuels my wicked imagination.
“Just hang on, I’ll get the others to come help get you out.” But before I can even move, the bone-piercing sound of shotgun fire trembles through the house, swinging the chandelier fiercely from side to side. The rest of the class follows Jason pushing and shuffling to get out first.
“Yellow bellies!” I shout at them, while my mind is working overtime, trying to think how the hell I’m going to pull Kiara up all by myself, with only one arm. Maybe the angry demon can help me … if he’s not too busy ripping me apart.
A hand lands on my shoulder. “SHIP!” I shriek in terror and almost jump into the hole with my friend - but at least I remembered that according to my mother a lady doesn’t swear. So shit gets transformed into a more feminine version instead. I look up to see a pair of apple-green eyes, belonging to a boy with obnoxious features, covered in dirt. And he’s even prettier than Axel … his eyes a color I’ve never seen before. This boy is for sure not in my class … so where did he come from all of a sudden? He flashes me a broad pearly tooth grin, and for some reason, I feel both calm and anxious at the same time. Weird.
“I’ll try and pull her up with this.” He walks up to the edge of the opening and drops one end of a vine down to Kiara. She grabs on, twisting her arms around the vine. I, clumsily with one hand, try to help. The vine breaks and I fall back onto my butt.
“Ouch!”
“Can you just sit there and keep your arm still, little girl.” He orders me, pushing me down when I try to get up. Oh no, he didn’t!
“You can’t tell me what to do, nitwit,” I yell at him but he just keeps on staring at me as if he’s going to suck out my blood. Maybe he’s a vampire too. He for sure has the hypnotizing eyes… Nope, his skin is not pale enough and he doesn’t sparkle in the few rays of sunlight shining through the windows. I've seen Twilight and TVD and will know a vampire when I see one … I think. But bloodsucker or not, this guy is giving me the chills, so I step back and swallow. Usually, I don’t let the opposite sex shunt me around; having 4 older brothers I’ve learned to stand my ground … firmly … but something in this boy’s stare tells me to do as he says.
Axel appears with another vine, but it also breaks. Then the strange boy with messy black hair swears and jumps into the hole. He pushes Kiara up while Axel pulls her out from the top. And like some strong demon ninja, Green-eyes emerges - as if he climbs out of holes all of the time. Maybe he’s not a vampire … but the demon watching over the house. You know, I’ve read somewhere that demons have peculiar eyes, and this boy’s gaze is anything but ordinary.
“Thanks” Kiara smiles at the two boys and the dudes proudly high-five each other with smock faces. Ug, boys … they’re all the freaking same!
Some strange sounds are coming from upstairs. “I think we better go.” Axel helps Kiara onto his back, while Green-eyes wraps an arm around my shoulders and we rapidly make our way to the entrance. As we leave through the mossy door, I look back to see a man standing at the top of the stairs, sparkling eyes shining in his hideous beastlike mess of a face. I swear he’s looking right through me. The demon guard! He pumps his shotgun and fires into the air, and the boy grabs my hand and starts running, pulling me with him.