REDEMPTION

FROM PAST TO PRESENT.

The door to her balcony had opened but she couldn't remember what happened next. Was it a scream? Or was that just the sound of the wind? Perhaps it was a signal for an upcoming weather. Upcoming weather? That did not sound right. She opened her eyes and looked around. Her room. She heaved a sigh of relief, one she had been holding unknowingly.

"It has been a while, little one," a beautiful calm voice said.

It kept her looped in the moment. The words echoed in her mind but it occurred to her that she has spoken, but that wasn't her voice! Her lips had moved. Audrey was sure, they had moved. She had felt them move but the sound, that melodious voice was not hers.

As if on cue, her body lifted itself from the ground and dusted her clothes. She felt her lips curl up into a smile. Audrey’s right leg lifted itself and she walked toward her dressing table. Upon sitting, she looked at herself in the mirror.

At first glance, Audrey’s face was normal but when she looked closer into the mirror she caught on. Her eyes were a different color. Instead of her marvelous mismatched eyes, what sat before her were blazing ruby red eyes. She had a rough idea of what was going on. However, she hadn’t expected it to come this soon.

“Am sorry,” she heard the voice say but she shook her head and assured her that it was okay.

“It’s been far too long, Millim.” She replied.

As she said this her mind was taken back to the day this happened. Audrey and her brothers just came from one of their holiday traditions, hiking when they noticed that something was off. It was quiet. Too quiet. Just as they were about to make a run for it, a fleet of cars came out of nowhere and people in them pointed guns at them.

The smell that hit her nose wasn’t gunpowder but holy water and silver. That meant that these were not ordinary gangsters. Sensing her discomfort, Ralph asked her what was wrong. Her body was shivering as she backed away from them.

“Hunters.”

As soon as the word left her mouth, her brothers sprinted and ran in the opposite direction, dragging her in the process. Tears ran down her face uncontrollably. They had not broken any rules or made themselves known so why did they open fire. Audrey’s body and mind told her that they were after her. A part of her knew what they wanted but it was all blurry. Her brain raced through every possible route but came up empty at the end.

Shawn and Ralph always hid something from her. And anytime she walked in on them, they would stop talking about it and switch to a new topic. They never treated her any different and she remembered that she used to think that they always talked about work. That was until one day, she heard them mention something about a trigger. She wanted to know more but they sensed her and immediately shifted to a sport activity.

Ever since then, Audrey had searched and tried finding book concerning this `trigger` but no results were found. It was either an expression or a past down myth or a specific towns folklore. That was the only logic explanation she could come up with that could satisfy her curiosity. But now? She was not as sure as she was before. What was this trigger? Why is it so important? What did it look like? And what did she have anything to do with it? Why only her?

Audrey’s curiosity was interrupted when she heard one of her attackers speak.

“Down with the trigger. Don’t let them get away! Open fire”

Gunshots fired and echoed all around the mountain. They ran while hiding behind the trees for covered. Audrey, Shawn and Ralph were angels. Creatures that existed since time immemorial. They were worshipped as deities and perceived as the light that fought evil. Yet here they were being hunted down.

This was not something out of the ordinary. Man being a cautious creature found a way to deal with these `angels` if they ever caused trouble. That’s where the hunters came from but their principles seemed to have changed over time. Silver bullets with holy water could stop the regenerative abilities of the angels. And kill them too if they had lived and bathed in the human energy for a long time.

The human realm reduced the angels energy and restricted their abilities to a certain degree. Only high level angels could survive in the human realm. For the rest, the human realm was a double edged sword.

As they ran for their lives, she remembered hearing a gunshot and everything turned pitch black. When she opened her eyes, she was at home. Shawn was pacing up and down, a habit he had developed over the years. Whenever something irritated or angered him and he could not put it to words, he’d pace. Ralph was missing.

When she asked what happened and where Ralph was, Shawn shot her a glare. His gaze was so cold that she wanted to curl into a corner and die. When he noticed this, his face softened and he approached her. After that incident, Audrey felt that Shawn’s attitude toward her had changed.

Perhaps it was her imagination. Perhaps it wasn’t. She couldn’t put it to words neither could she prove it but deep down, she knew, she felt, that her brother had become cold toward her.

Whenever she tried to remember what had happened, her world would turn black and she would wake up in a hospital bed. In time, she stopped trying. She closed her heart, kept to herself and simply smiled. Her smile convinced the world that she was fine. However, this trick only worked one way. Audrey could not bring herself to ask Shawn what happened again. She saw how shattered he was. So, Audrey being Audrey, swept the matter under the carpet.

However, one night she dreamt of meeting a lady that looked exactly like her. Thee only difference was her eyes. They were red. She talked about being her other half and that she had saved her life by possessing her body. Moreover, now that she had, she was unable to leave. Her spirit was trapped. She introduced herself as Millim and promised to stay in the shadows until the proclamation.

The ceremony each magical creature went through when they reached a certain age. This allowed them to enter the magical realm. They could study, work or live their depending on what abilities they had. To a magical creature a proclamation ceremony was a golden ticket to success but it could also be a death sentence. One could only hope for the best outcome and wait.

“It’s about time,” Millim said, bringing her back to reality.

Audrey’s head nodded and Millim, who was in control, stood up. She left Audrey’s room and headed to the direction of the party. Her heart began pumping faster as she got close. Different scenarios ran through her mind. All leaned to the negative side. The word `scared` could not even cover what she was feeling.

Suddenly, Audrey’s body felt fatigued, she felt herself falling and hitting something cold. Stretching out her hand to feel what it was she leaning on, she paused. It was cold and smooth, her mind told her that her feet were still on the ground. That was a good sign, she though.

With a little push, she supported herself but it was not enough. Audrey’s mind kept on sending distress signals in waves. Her eyes scanned the area only to come up empty. She thought she saw a black figure move. Turning to face it, it was gone. Audrey pushed herself once more and staggered a bit, her legs refusing to move. She heaved and pushed forward.

“Don’t fight it. Doing so only triggers it further. Breathe. That’s it… now, try again.” Millim ordered.

Audrey did ass she was told. Negative energy so dark flooded her senses. Her hand held her mouth afraid she would let out a scream and call whatever that was. Her brain wondered what that was.

O“Dark intentions. They are amplified whenever a being from the dark realm is close. One could say that it is why people commit crime. Nevertheless, it cannot work without the intention being there in the first place. But, it has been a while since I have felt one this concentrated. We need to hurry otherwise, something bad Will happen.” Millim continued.

9.30am

Hearing this, Audrey forced her body to move. At the back of her mind she could also feel Millim try to move as well. Her voice had been calm as she talked. She was always dependable and that gave Audrey confidence. After a few tries, they were able to stand.

Millim raised her right and flexed. She lifted her left leg and kicked, it obeyed. That confirmed that she could move. She ran to where she had seen Audrey leaving from earlier. Only one name came to her mind, Shawn.