Blue Crescent

Meet and Greet

Maddison

“You will forget everything that happened tonight when you wake up. No one should talk about me, magic, and the creatures of this world. Whoever knows the truth will surely die,” Mrs. Shaw said.

“Mrs. Shaw? What are you saying? What do you mean forget everything—”

“You will die!” Mrs. Shaw pointed a finger at me, instantly throwing me into the burning fire.

“Ah!” I opened my eyes, grasping for breath.

I got up and covered my face with my hands before running them through my hair.

“Stupid dream.” I sighed before checking the clock on the bedside table.

“It’s 3AM,” I muttered.

Getting out of bed, I stood up and walked towards the window. I looked at the night sky and watched the full moon dancing all over the vast space above. Feeling the cold air, I closed the curtains but paused when I saw pieces of leaves on the ground moving in one direction—towards me. Goosebumps sprang up all over my body when I caught sight of a shadow standing in front of our house.

Frightened, I hid behind the walls and closed the windows before closing the curtains. I hurriedly went back to my bed and closed my eyes, covering myself with a blanket. The sound of the wind outside gave me chills, and it scared me to death like hell. My ears were alert, listening to every sound of the wind that I could hear. Slowly, my blanket was moving away from me as my heart literally beat faster. Fear struck me to the bones that I screamed at the top of my voice calling Mom and Dad, but they didn’t wake up from their slumber. I screamed louder and louder, but it seemed like my voice was stuck in my throat.

“Amara,” the voice echoed as the windows opened and curtains billowed in the wind.

I covered my face with the blanket I was holding. Ah, I could never stop my body from shaking.

“Amara,” the voice repeated.

“Go away! I am not Amara!”

“You can’t hide away from me, Amara. Your body is what I wanted.”

“What? What are you, a demon? You can’t possess me. Go away!”

“Not until we try.”

The wind stopped and the curtains followed. I could only hear my breathing in the deafening silence. Suddenly, something bumped against my body and pushed me against the wall as the wind blew violently once more. It felt like I was fighting against someone that I couldn’t see, and it made me scared all the more.

The invisible entity had me pinned to the wall, and I couldn’t move to free myself. I couldn’t figure out what it was, and I couldn’t even touch it.

“Let me in, Amara! Let me in!” the voice said.

“Who are you? What do you want from me?” I cried.

“Let me in.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“Let me in.”

‘Let you in? Where?”

“Inside you.”

“Are you crazy? No!”

“Let . . . me . . . in!”

“No!”

It wasn’t long before lightning struck and thunder roared into the air. The rain poured heavily as flames began to rise up inside the room. Scared as hell, I screamed once more and poured all of my strength and fear. Surprisingly, the invisible being was thrown out with such force, breaking the glass windows that I fell onto the floor stomach-first and lay for a moment. Raising my head and looking around the room, I was surprised to see everything back in place; untouched.

“Maddie?” I heard Mom’s voice and opened my eyes.

“Maddie?” Dad said.

“Mom? Dad?” I uttered.

“Having a nightmare, baby?” Mom asked.

I couldn’t get my eyes off of my room. The windows were not broken. The books were kept on the bookshelf. The cabinet was in place. The sheets on the bed were not burned.

What is happening to me? Why do I keep on having nightmares?

“Are you alright?” Dad asked, touching my hair. "We heard you screaming."

“Here, baby,” Mom said, giving me a glass of water as she helped me get up.

“Thanks Mom,” I said after drinking the liquid.

“Do you want us to sleep in your room, baby?” Mom gently asked.

I looked into my parents’ eyes and felt like bursting into tears as I nodded in response. Mom lay on my left while Dad positioned himself on my right; both wrapping me in their arms and singing a lullaby like I was a baby.

Having a family is perhaps the best feeling in the world. You have someone to stay by your side when you’re scared and alone. I could feel the love and belongingness that I had been looking for since I was a child. With my mom and dad, I felt safe.

Unknowingly, the invisible entity who had just tortured me was standing on the ground in front of my room. It was staring at my window, loathing and burning with envy and hatred.

***

Ava

“Having tantrums, Ava?” Orpheus asked.

“Stultus!” I uttered, getting rid of a dead body blocking my way. "Could you please throw your leftovers away when you're done draining them?"

Oprheus smirked. “Hmmm . . . I see. Have you found what you’re looking for, my dear Ava?” Orpheus asked.

I responded with a huff.

“I couldn’t get inside her body,” I answered.

“Well, what do you plan to do then?”

“I don’t know. I had to find out how to get inside her, then our powers shall become one. I shall kill her, put her head on a platter, and pour her blood in a goblet. Father shall drink it and become immortal. He shall be proud of me and shall make me the ruler of the supernatural beings. I shall be his successor!”

“That’s a great plan indeed,” Orpheus said before sucking blood from a dead human in his arms.

I looked at the human he was feeding on and rolled my eyes.

“You’re such a drunkard.”

“Don’t you crave blood, Ava? I mean, your father, Gorgon, is a vampire. It is natural for his daughter to be a vampire too, isn’t it?” he said, glancing at the dead body on his lap.

“I am an invisible being. I don’t have a face. I don’t have a body. I don’t even know what I look like,” I shouted. “How dare you ask me if I have tasted blood, or even smelled it once in my whole existence?”

“Calm down, my dear. I have a present for you,” he said, letting go of the human and standing up.

He stepped on the body that was lying on the floor and walked towards the wall.

“You see, this lovely cave in the woods that we live in is full of wonders that humans couldn’t possess. But fear not, Ava. You can look into this magical thing and see your true form.”

He handed me a thing made of aluminum.

“What is this? Where did you get this?” I asked.

“Oh, I just traveled through time and took a glimpse of what the future looks like and saw this beautiful flat surface at a place where humans eat their food.”

“A platter?” I asked, taking the silvery thing from him.

“Well, it does look like a platter, but I heard humans call it . . . a tray.”

Curious to possibly see my embodiment, I placed the object before me and looked at my reflection. My eyes grew wide and my jaw dropped.

“Amara! Why do I look like Amara, Orpheus? Are you playing a joke on me?” I asked, dropping the tray.

“No, my dear. What you see is the reflection of your physical body. You see? Amara took everything from you. Immortality, beauty, body, family, life, and happiness. Can you imagine how much your father wanted this human to be eradicated from this world? Your father only wants the best for you, but Amara and her mother took away everything that belongs to you so she could live the life that you are deprived of. Truth is, Amara has always been using your face all along.”

“No!" I screamed, throwing the tray against the wall. "How could she use my face in luxury while I live in nothingness!"

"You have to get inside Amara and take her powers. Once she’s powerless, you and her body shall become one. Only then can you slit her throat and take her blood for your father to drink. When she's dead, you are free to leave her body. She shall vanish on the face of the earth, and you, my dear Ava, shall reign and rule as your father's successor.”

“Amara,” I uttered through gritted teeth.