Awakening
You Don't Belong Here
The day grew dark and long shadows stretched out across the streets as
Kris walked down the road with thoughts of her studies in her mind. She
tried hard to shake them from her head and think about Jenn. Jenn... to
Kris she was her closest and dearest friend, almost family. For the past
while she had been holding onto a secret and now with this new arrival
Kris was beginning to wonder if that was truly the right idea. Something
about Kimberly's sudden appearance bothered her. She couldn't put her
finger on it right that moment, but she had a feeling that something big
was about to happen, and she didn't like surprises. Loathed them to be
exact. Her life had been filled with one surprise after another and she
longed for a day when she could relax a little and not have to be on
edge all the time. Finally when she felt that things were settling down
this red haired girl drops in out of nowhere and it gave her an
unsettling feeling and she felt her nerves on edge the entire afternoon.
Whatever was going to happen she hoped it was nothing special and would
pass by with ease, but she suspected that would not be the case here, it
never was.
Arriving at the front of Jenn's house, and seeing the darkened windows
made her stomach sink. She had a sensation that her wish for things to
play out quickly was coming true, however this was not going to be the
simple breeze she wished for. Jenn should have been home by now and to
she double checked her watch, which told her it was well past eight pm,
only to increase that worry that was building up inside of her. Hastily
she scanned the streets, expecting, no hoping, to see her friend come
running towards her, however she was only greeted by the lines of
streetlights as they flickered to life and the red sun disappearing
behind the silhouette of houses off in the distance. Slowly, and
cautiously, she moved through the front gate, cringing as it squeaked on
its hinges and freezing in place as her eyes studied the house before
her. Shadows nearly encased the entire house, almost as if they
stretched out like long finger greedily embracing the building, claiming
it as their own. This sight only stirred Kris’s stomach all the more as
a pit of dread began to burrow its way through her insides. Something
about the shadows did not sit well with her, they should have been some
light shining across the house from the falling sun and not this level
of darkness. To reassure that she was not acting paranoid she glanced
over at the neighbouring houses to see that they were indeed not
completely shrouded in darkness. Something unnatural was causing these
shadows to act in this matter and these only made her need to find out
if Jenn was inside intensify all the more and she continued her way up
to the house. A part of her wanting to believe that Jenn was simply
napping inside but somehow she knew that wouldn't be true. Carefully she
stepped up the wooden stairs to the porch, being sure to not make a
sound, and opened the screen door, She was about to test the knob when
she noticed the shadows move ever so slightly at the far end of the
porch and slowly she stepped away from the door, squinting slightly to
get a better look at what was hiding just out of her range of sight.
That was when she saw it. At first she did not know what she was seeing
and then it came into clear focus. A long leg stepped casually out of
the shadows, a leg belonging to a rather tall man, so large was this man
that there was no way he could have been hiding without Kris seeing him
and yet somehow he melted with the shadows as if they were one with
them. The fact that he was clad in long white cloak flowed around him,
occasionally revealing the black suit he wore underneath, only
reinstated that this man could not have been hiding easily, he should
have stood out against the darkness of the buildings paneling. Even his
hair was stark white hair almost, glowed in the streetlight, surrounding
a long narrow face. He slowly turned to face Kris, towering over the
girl, who was used to feeling like she was the tallest and currently was
having troubles finding her voice. She took a step back as his menacing
black eyes bore into her, almost examining her very soul.
"What are you doing here?" She demanded boldly, finally finding her
voice. The man moved swiftly, as if he truly was one of the shadows, and
before Kris knew what was happening there was a thick hand around her
throat and she was slammed against the side of the house. She clenched
her teeth against the pain as the man lifted Kris off the ground to eye
level and examined her even closer, as if he were studying her.
"You don't belong here." He said slowly, almost carefully, his face
merely inches from hers and she could smell something sickening upon his
breath that made it even harder to breath.
Kris struggled with the man's large arm, her feet dangling above the
ground and his fingers digging into the flesh of her throat. "I… could
say the same for you." She choked, trying to conceal the fear that was
creeping up inside of her.
"Where is the child?" The man demanded, slamming the girl against the
wall another time, “Tell me now.”
Kris grinned as she realized that it was Jenn that this monster was
after, however that would mean she was right and her friend had not
arrived home yet. "If I knew I wouldn't tell you." Her voice came out in
a low snarl as she bared her teeth at the man, showing off small fangs
for the first time in years.
The man smiled back at her, baring teeth that were also jagged and
gleaming white, "How long has it been?" He asked sinisterly, in almost a
mocking tone.
"W.. I don't know what you are talking about." Kris stared at the man in
confusion.
"Oh yes you do. I can sense it on you." He cocked his head and sniffed
at the girl’s hair. "You came for her too, didn't you?" He whispered
into her ear, his breath like acid upon her skin.
The fear that Kris had been hiding slowly seeping out of its cage and
she squirmed against his grip, “What do you want with her?” She
demanded, frantically clawing at the sleeve of the man’s jacket, “She is
a normal little girl. She has nothing to do with the Shadows, so why
would you want her.”
He simply smiled at her and appeared to be about to say more when the
iron gate squeaked the arrival of another party to their conversation
and someone began to approach them.. The man turned his head around,
still keeping Kris pinned to the wall, and watched as Jenn approached
them, busily fumbling with her keys, so deep in her own thoughts that
she didn't even notice the man and her friend until her foot rested upon
the first step of the porch. The moment she saw the man she somehow knew
that he was the same one Kimberly had mentioned earlier. Her eyes
quickly moved along the man’s long arm to see her friend pinned
painfully against the wall, "KRIS!!" She heard herself yell out in shock
and she took another step closer.
Kris glanced down at her friend. "RUN! RU-" Kris tried to yell, however
the man started to squeeze his thumb into her throat, closing off her
windpipe.
He turned his attention back to Jenn and reached out his free hand
towards her. "Do not be afraid. I am here to help you." He offered, his
upturned hand, clad in white glove.
Jenn considered fleeing, but she could not leave Kris with this monster,
and founder herself frozen in place, unable to decide what move to make.
"I…If I c…come with you will you let Kris go?" She asked reluctantly.
"This child?" The man studied Kris carefully as he considered this
proposition, "Yes, I suppose I could leave her here." He said with a
broad grin that made Kris shiver.
"Never!" Kris snarled and something snapped within Kris and she swung
both of her legs up around the man's arm and twisted it, causing the two
of them to tumble over the porch rail and fall into the small garden
below. Jenn started to run towards where the two had fallen when she saw
the man suddenly appear out of the shadows and casually walk towards her
with his cloak billowing around him, as if the fall had no effect on him
what so ever. Kris jumped to her feet, lunging at the man. "Get out of
here!!" She yelled to Jenn. "GO ON!!"
Jenn dropped her keys, all of a sudden finding the strength to move as
she turned and started to flee. The man began to pursue when something
yanked on his cloak pulling him to the ground. Jenn didn't see what
happened after that, as she was too busy running down the street in the
direction of the only person she could think of, Kimberly.
The man pulled his cloak free of Kris’s grasp and backhanded the girl
across the face. To his surprise Kris blocked his blow with little
effort and gripped onto his arm with all her strength. "You will not
have her." She growled, steadying her stance as she prepared for the man
to try to break free once again.
The man clenched his fists, "I have no time for your games, little
girl." He stated through bared teeth.
"Well, you have no choice now, do you?" Kris smiled, twisting her arm
around his and digging her heels into the ground.
"Why do you stand in my way? Don't you want to help your friend?" He
asked almost with some sincerity.
"What I want is none of your business. You can't just waltz in here and
take what you want." Kris was visibly angry. She had never felt so much
hatred for anyone in years.
"And how is your way much better?" The man smiled when he saw Kris
flinch at his word. "Could it be she doesn't know? That you never told
her?" He thought to himself for a moment, "Or is it that you lov_"
"SHUT UP!!" Kris yelled, hitting the man squarely in the chest with both
of her palm, forcing the man to the ground. "Just shut the hell UP!!”
She stomped over to the man with intent to continue her assault only to
have the man quickly get to his face and glare at her. His eyes held a
piercing look to them that stopped Kris in her tracks.
The man’s eye reverted back to normal and he began to clap his hands
together. "So I am right. Maybe I will leave this girl to you... for
now." He deeply bowed and faded back into the shadows from which he
came. Kris glanced around to make sure the man wasn't trying to trick
her and jump out of another shadow. Only when she was certain he was
gone did Kris finally move from where she was stood and run after Jenn.
*****
"Mom, I wish you where here." Kimberly spoke softly to the photo on her
dresser, her head resting under her arms, "Everything is so confusing."
She rolled her head over and placed her palms under her chin while
gazing at her refection in the dresser mirror. "Why do things like this
keep happening to me? I finally get to see Lauren, but she wasn't the
same... and then there's Natalie... and Jenn..." She let out a sigh at
the thought of the dark haired girl, "I wish I knew what to do." She
buried her face in her arms, "Why can't I live a normal life?" She let
out a soft sob.
Ever since leaving the café she could not stop thinking about both Jenn
and Lauren and it was beginning to get to her. Jenn was nice to her and
helped cheer her up on the way back to her place. The more Kimberly saw
Jenn's smile the more she felt her heartache and she couldn't understand
why. What was it about this girl that was drawing her in? What was it
about any girl for that matter? Her eyes peeked out from behind her arm
and she gazed at herself in the mirror again. Her nightgown loosely hung
off her small frame, making her appear even more tiny and frail then she
was. She could not understand why anyone would find an interest in her.
She felt ugly and so small, her hair was a mess of long locks of bright
red hair that she despised and her face covered with more freckles then
she truly desired. Even her eyes were strange, and if anyone got to know
her really well they would run away for she was overtly depressing to be
around. Tears streaked her cheek in frustration as she stared at her
face.
For a while she tried to convince herself that she was not interested in
girls in that way; that Lauren looking like a boy was the true reason
she fell in love with her, but that didn't explain Jenn. Sure Jenn was
charming and all, but her appearance was that of a normal girl, so Kim
could not state that it was her boiish looks that she was attracted to.
The more Kim thought of Jenn’s smile it made heart melt and hurt all in
the same moment and that was confusing her more then anything else. She
had only met the girl that day so she shouldn’t be having these feelings
towards Jenn, she shouldn’t. Then there was Lauren's kiss, so soft and
sweet. Her smell and everything about her was just so... Kimberly felt
herself blush as memories rushed through her head. She turned to her
mother's photo, "I'm sorry mom..." Again she buried her face in her arms
and cried.
Suddenly there came a knock at the door and Kimberly quickly lifted her
head and glanced around in surprise of the sound, "Dad?" she inquired
quietly, afraid of whom would answer, thinking the knocking was coming
from her bedroom door. When there was no answer she cautiously she got
to her feet and glanced down the long dark hall outside her room. At the
far end of the hall she could see the small flickering of light coming
from the television in the living room, but nothing more. Gingerly she
crept down the hall, stopping when she approached the living room
entrance and peeked inside. There in his sofa chair, between her and the
little fourteen-inch television on a wobbly metal TV tray, sat her
father. A few beer bottles could be seen on the little wooden folding
table that sat next to him and the sounds of snoring emitting from deep
from within his chest; a low rumbling sound that made the young girl
relax a little for she knew that it would not be until lunch the next
day that he would possibly wake up, and this meant another night of
freedom for herself.
Another knock came at the front door and Kimberly was scared out of her
musing. She swiftly moved across the living room, through the kitchen
and to the front door of the apartment. Along her way she wondered who
it could possibly be as she reached for the doorknob and prepared to
open it. Guardedly she opened the door a crack, being sure that the
chain was in place, and peered outside. "H..hello?" She asked in almost
a whisper.
"Kimberly, it's me." Jenn stood at the door shivering in the night air.
Kimberly quickly removed the chain and opened the door wider, "Jenn?
What are you doing here?" She continued to keep her voice down and
signalled to her friend to do the same.
"I..." Jenn glanced around fearfully, " I didn't know where to run to.
You were right. I didn't tell you the truth before. I've felt it too.
Something is wrong about this place and I’ve felt it for sometime.” She
explained in a hasty confused ramble. “I keep seeing things, things that
are not really here, but are."
"Seeing things?” Kim stepped out into the hall, partly closing the door
behind her, but not entirely, “You don't mean?" She whispered softly.
"I don't know..." Jenn continued to glance nervously over her shoulder
as she spoke, "I'm so confused right now.” She explained as she rubbed
at the sides of her head, “You’re the only one I know who’d understand.
C… could I please come inside? I'm scared." She wrapped her arms around
herself tightly as if a cold breeze just swept past her.
"Inside?" Kimberly tried to see what it was that had scared her new
friend, scanning the halls for any sign of someone following the girl,
or something… Then glanced inside her house and thought about what her
father would think if he found Jenn here. "Ummm... I don't know..." She
said nervously.
"Please," Jenn begged, reaching out to lightly tug upon Kim's sleeve, "I
have nowhere else to go." Her eyes were wide with fear as she again
glanced down the hall and back at the girl before her.
Kimberly took another look around as she nervously licked at her lips
and then glanced back into the house, and then nodded for Jenn to enter,
but put a finger to her lips to signal that she could not say a word.
Jenn gladly nodded as she followed the girl into the apartment, silently
closing the door behind her before kicking off her shoes on the mat near
the front door, then followed as the redhead soundlessly crept back
through the kitchen. Kimberly stopped for a second when she came to the
door to the living room and made a silent prayer to her mother, before
continuing towards her room.
"Kim, ‘ho was dat at the dor?" Kim's father groggily called out, not
moving from his chair. Kimberly stared at Jenn with worry in her eyes.
She tried to think fast but it wasn't fast enough because her father was
beginning to turn around and Kimberly froze in place as she felt his
eyes set on her.
Jenn could not see who had spoken because he was backlit by the
television, but she could feel his eyes move over her, inspecting her
with such scrutiny that it made her skin crawl. Finally he turned back
to Kimberly, "Kim, 'ho is dis girl?" he asked with a drunken slur.
"She is... a..." Kimberly gazed at Jenn and stammered, trying to think
of some kind of excuse that would get them both out of that room and
safely into her bedroom.
"I'm a friend from school, sir." Jenn suddenly cut in, willing her legs
to stop shaking as the man’s eyes moved back to her, "I was the one who
dropped Kim off earlier." She tried hard not to let her voice betray
her. "I forgot something--"
"I was speakin' to my child 'ere." He said pointing at Kimberly as he
started to stand.
Kimberly quickly stepped forward, standing between Jenn and her father,
"Dad, she just came by to... help me catch up with school." She hoped
her father was too drunk to see through her lie, but feared that was not
likely.
"Don't lie to me." He spat, "You are jst like you mother. De both of
you." He pointed from Kimberly to Jenn and back again.
Kimberly realized that she was not going to get away easily but she
didn't want Jenn to get involved. "I'm not lying. She is from my cla-"
Her words where cut off by a sharp smack across her left cheek that sent
the small girl crashing head long into a nearby wall.
Jenn felt herself cringe as the sound echoed throughout the room the
tiny room, a hollow thud that sounded as if Kim’s skull had cracked on
impact. Jenn breathed a sigh of relief as she watched her friend slowly
push herself into a seated position.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to talk back to me?" He
snarled as he towered over the girl, Kimberly glanced up just in time to
receive another blow to the face. She landed on her hands and knees and
let out a small cry of pain. Her left eye was bruised and she knew that
in the morning it would blacken, but this wasn't so bad. No, she learned
years ago how to shut off the pain. It was what usually came after that
really scared her. When her father would drag her back to her room to
teach her the real lesson.
Her father raised his fist once again and was about to bring it down on
his daughter when Jenn threw herself at the man. "STOP IT!!" She yelled
out as she grabbed onto the man’s arm in an attempt to stop the blow
from connecting with her friend, "She didn't do anything wrong. I
dropped by without calling. I'm sorry, just stop hitting her!" The man
turned and with one easy sweep of his arms Jenn was thrown backwards off
her feet and came crashing down on an end table knocking beer bottles to
the floor with a crash, sending shards of glass sprinkling across the
ground, reflecting the static of the television.
The man unstably turned his attention on Jenn as he moved across the
living room, tossing the remains of the table off the girl and grabbed
her by the back neck, "It would seem we have someone else who needs to
be taught a lesson." He stated as he leaned over the girl's shoulder and
spoke into her face, "Don't you think so?"
Jenn closed her eyes tight as his beer soaked breath invaded her senses
and it made her cough. She felt his rough fingers tighten around her
neck as his other hand began to ensnare the hairs at the top of her head
and he suddenly dragged her to her feet and started down the hall.
"Wa-" Jenn tried to speak only to feel the man's other hand tighten
around her throat. Eyes widened in as every possible torture this man
had prepared for her began to enter her mind. She struggled with all her
strength as the man dragged her through the door to his room and slammed
it shut.
Kimberly wobbled and tried to stand, only to find dizziness overcome her
and she dropped to the ground once again. She knew exactly what her
father had planned for her friend, knew the suffering she would go
through on this night, but could not find the strength in her to fight
her father and as such she sunk to the floor, sobbing to herself. Then
she heard Jenn's screams and it was like a knife in her heart. She could
not allow this to happen to her new friend. She knew how to shut off the
pain -- She knew how to block out everything -- but Jenn wasn't her.
Jenn was her friend. Someone she cared for. Someone she... loved?
Kimberly's eyes suddenly opened wide and willed her legs to stand.
Hastily she moved to the kitchen, using the wall to stabilize her, and
tossed the contents of one of the boxes onto the floor. Silverware of
all types clattered to the ground making such a ruckus that she had to
hold her hands to her ears as the sound echoed off the kitchen walls.
She nervously glanced over her shoulder to be sure that her father had
not heard her, or realized what she was about to do. She imagined him
coming burling out of the bedroom, death in his eyes as he prepared to
finally put an end to his daughter’s life. A death that she would be
more then willing to accept, but at this moment she could not leave her
father alone with her friend and the sounds of another muffled scream
snapped Kim’s mind back into focus and she turned back to the silverware
upon the floor. There, amongst the spoons and forks, she found a long
kitchen knife, almost the length of her forearm, its blade gleaming
brightly in the kitchen light. Carefully she picked up the knife she
moved down the hall to her father's room. When she arrived at the door
she was only greeted by a silence that came from the room and Kimberly
found herself frozen with her hand on the doorknob. Taking a deep breath
she quickly twisted the doorknob and flung the door open wide.
There before her she saw her father on top of Jenn holding her down upon
the bed with his back to the door. An image flashed through Kimberly's
mind from long ago. An image of her mother stumbling upon her father in
her room, on top of her just as he was now on Jenn, and tried to get him
off of her. Her mother screamed as she threatened to call the police,
but before she could get to the phone he grabbed her mother and hit her
head off the corner of the night table. Kimberly recalled watching her
mother bleeding on the floor beside her bed, her blood soaking into the
white plush carpet turning it a deep shade of red. Kim quickly shook the
thought from her head and again her eyes fell once again on father and
Jenn. With a newfound hatred filling her heart and mind she lunged at
her father’s back and drove the knife deep between his shoulder blades.
He let out a howl that was less then human, standing up and tossing
Kimberly to the ground. He tried to pull the knife from his back but
could not reach it, staggering around the room, knocking objects off the
dress as he struggled to free himself of the blade from his back.
His eyes fell upon his daughter and he suddenly understand what had
happened, "You little..." He turned towards Kimberly with death in his
eyes just as Kim expected that he would.
He reached out for the girl as she back-pedalled in an attempt to escape
his wrath. Just as his hands were about to clamp around her small throat
she closed her eyes and let out a terrified scream. Her father
unexpectedly stopped in his tracks, as if an invisible force grabbed
hold of him and held him from touching his daughter. He struggled in an
attempt to break free of whatever held him and abruptly he was thrown
off his feet, across the room, over the bed and crashing through the
window at the far side of the room.
Kimberly warily opened her eyes, afraid that her father’s was still
standing before her. She scanned the room nervously and relaxed ever so
slightly when she noticed that her father was nowhere in sight. Then her
eyes fell on the broken window and she hesitantly stood to her feet,
walking towards the window and over the shards of broken glass. Jenn sat
up in the bed, rubbing at her tear streaked cheeks as she fix her skirt
and tried hard not to think about what just about happened to her. She
quickly slid off the large bed and tested her wobbly legs, then glanced
over at Kim, who was now staring out the window.
"W... What just happened?" Jenn stammered as she joined the girl at the
window, being careful of the glass strew across the floor. She was sure
she saw Kimberly throw her own father out the window but that couldn't
be possible, Kim was merely seventy pounds and that man had to be no
less then three hundred. With a glance out the window she confirmed that
the man had indeed fallen to this death and let out a sigh of relief,
then looked at Kimberly to see the horror stricken look upon the girl’s
face and suddenly regretted feeling grateful for the man’s death.
Lightly she placed a hand upon the girl’s shoulder, “Oh, Kim… I… I’m
sorry…” She said, not really sure what to say considering the
circumstances
Kimberly suddenly dropped to the floor, not caring that she was now
sitting on shards of glass, "I… I killed him." She said in a daze,
staring down at the palms of her hands as they began to shake
uncontrollably.
Jenn blinked at Kim, "It… It wasn't your fault..." She was still trying
sort out herself what just happened and knelt next to the girl, being
sure to not step on any of the glass, unlike her friend, whom Jenn
noticed has several small pieces of glass protruding from her feet. "Are
you going to be alright?" She asked, examining at Kim's face and
grimacing at the painful looking bruises that had begun to form around
the girl’s eye and cheek.
Tears began to fall from the redhead's eyes, "I killed him," She
repeated, clenching her arms around her body and curling up into a ball,
“I…” A soft sob began to emit from the girl’s chest as tears dripped
upon the shards of the window.
Jenn didn't know what to do. How do you comfort someone after something
like this? In her mind the man deserved to die, he was an evil that
needed to be purged from the world and deserved his fate more then
anyone in the world, however she did not like seeing her friend in pain
and longed for a way to take that pain away, to ease her worries in some
way at all.
Kimberly gazed down at the shards of glass and shakily picked up a large
piece. Turning it over in the light as she watched her tears run down
its sleek surface. “I… I… I don’t deserve to live.” She muttered as she
slowly she moved into a seated position and lightly placed the edge of
the shard against her flesh and prepared to allow the glass to cut
through her arm.
"NO! DON'T!!!" Jenn cried as she grabbed the shard of glass with both
her hands, "It wasn't your fault! It wasn-" The glass slashed deep into
Jenn's fingers as her hands frantically tried to remove the harmful
devise from the girl’s hands. “You can’t do this. I won’t let you.” She
sobbed as the glass became slick with her blood and their hands touched.
All of a suddenly Jenn notice tingling like the first time they touched
and suddenly something wash over the two girl, almost like electricity
running through their bodies and a bright flash of light blinded them.
*****
To be Continued...
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