Fallen from Grace

Chapter I

A girl with unnaturally white hair and porcelain skin walked down the hall of her high school, keeping her gaze down with her hood pulled over her head. Snaking her way around the crowd, she made her way to her locker. Opening it and taking out her books and stuffed them into her bag before slinging it over her shoulder adamant on getting out as soon as possible.

"Did you hear?" She heard the girl across from her gossip to her friend. "There is a rumor that you can summon the devil with a few things."

"Yeah?" Her friend laughed at the absurdity of it all. "What sort of things?"

"A little blood, the four elements, and incantation that is readily available on the internet." The first girl listed off. "I mean, there are tones of lore about it on the web, let's check it out once we're home."

"Yeah, no thank you." The second friend scoffed. "I don't need Satan to be my friend, he'd be ugly and red."

Both of them guffawed as the made their way down the corridor and out the school. The girl in the hood would never admit that she had been eavesdropping, but she was curious if it would actually work. Shaking her head, she packed the remainder of her things, before zipping up her bag and making her way out the deserted school.

Straddling her bicycle, she started to paddle her way out the school parking lot and onto the road that led her home. On her way, she stopped at the general store to get some things before resuming her journey. Sighing, she unlocked the door to her apartment building and greeted the old land lady kindly.

"Oh! Eleanora!" The landlady, Mrs. Scott, halted the teenager. "I have something for you." She informed as she rushed inside her apartment and returned with a lunch box filled with cookies along with an envelope.

"Oh. Thank you, Mrs. Scott." Eleanora smiled at the elderly as she adjusted the groceries in her arm before taking hold of the envelope and cookies. "I love your cookies. I'll come over in the afternoon once I'm done with my homework, is that alright?"

"Of course, dear!" She smiled brightly at her. "I'd love the company, and I'm sure you'd appreciate it, too. You should roam about with your friends."

Eleanora smile in response as she waved farewell and ascended the stairs. Unlocking her apartment door, she walked into the white and neat kitchen where she placed all the things before sighing tiredly and removing the hood from her head.

"Sebastian!" Eleanora called out. "I'm home!"

A bell tingling greeted her call as a little black kitten made it's way into the kitchen, meowing up at her, rubbing his head against her leg.

"Hey, baby." Eleanora smiled, lifting the kitten off the floor. Looking into his blue eyes, she scratched him under the neck as he purred in response. "How about some food, huh?"

Setting the kitten down, she took out a bowl and poured milk in it as she set it down on the ground for him. Instantly, Sebastian started to lick at the contents as Eleanora went about placing the groceries away and eating a cookie as she opened the envelope. Taking out a wad of cash, she looked confused for a moment, before looking at the calendar, seeing that it was the first of September, meaning pay day.

Eleanora worked as an online tutor and tutored kids from her room and gets paid for it through the mail. She teaches two to three student, neither of whom she had ever met and didn't plan on meeting them either.

Eleanora Clark was a 17-year-old girl who lived alone and didn't have any friends. All she had was Sebastian, her cat, and her landlady whom she loved dearly like her mother and her son. Taking out the money, she counted it before placing it in her safe deposit box, which she kept hidden.

Eleanora taking off her shoes as she made her way across her comfortable little lounge that had light wooden flooring with a light gray colored sofa against one wall and a television in the corner.

Walking into her room, she placed down her bag before going to take a shower. Once she was settled and relaxed she started off with her homework, finishing it withing the next three hours, as she spent an hour tutoring a child before getting ready to head down to Mrs. Scott's apartment.

Walking down the stairs, she knocked on the door as she greeted her at the door.

"Eleanora!" She smiled fondly at the teen. "Come on in!"

Smiling she walked inside and was instantly greeted by the fresh aroma of home cooked meals along with the lingering scent of cinnamon, the air freshener Mrs. Scott used on a day to day basis. Eleanora invited herself to settled down as she inspected the new knitting project her landlady had started.

"What are you making this time around, Mrs. Scott?" She called out to the woman in the kitchen.

"Oh, just some mittens for Elliot." She shrugged while mentioning her only son. "He forgets to dress appropriately for a such a chilly weather. It's Canada after all."

"You're right." Eleanora laughed. "He is always freezing whenever I see him."

Mrs. Scott laughed from her place as Eleanora heard the fridge door being opened before she let out a shriek.

"Is everything alright?" Eleanora rushed into the kitchen to find the elderly lady standing with a hand on her cheek as she shook her head. "Mrs. Scott?"

"Oh, dear." She muttered. "I forgot to get the cream for my mashed potatoes. You wouldn't have some, would you?"

"No." Eleanora shook her head. "But, I could go and get it for you."

"No..."

"It's alright!" Eleanora smiled. "I'll be back in a jiffy, promise." With that she grabbed her coat and scarf as she ran out of the apartment, adorning them as she ran down the street and towards the store that stood at the corner. Paying for a packet of cream, she rushed back but unexpectedly bumped into someone that appeared out of nowhere.

She fell with an 'oomph' as the person in front of her standing tall and straight, completely unaffected by her slamming into him at a running speed. Looking up, she noticed that half of his face was covered in a shadow, but one glimpse that she got of him was the fact that he had dark and deadly eyes. Giving her a glare he turned on his heel and stalked off, leaving Eleanora still on the floor. She blinked once, and he was gone.

"I'm great. Thanks." She muttered to herself as she stood up and dusted her clothes. Once more she was off again, running back to the apartment complex as she hurtled into the building, knocking on the door as she breathed heavily from all the running.

The door opened as Mrs. Scott stood there, a surprised look on her face. Eleanora gave her a pained smile before holding up the packet of cream.

"Got it."

"Oh! You're a lifesaver!" Mrs. Scott exclaimed as she crushed her in a hug. For an elderly, she had a lot of strength in her. "God bless you, child! God bless."

Mrs. Scott ran into her kitchen as she dished up the remainder of the food and Eleanora helped her with the plates and cutlery.

"Is Elliot going to join us?" She inquired as she opened the cabinet that housed the plates.

"Oh, yes." Mrs. Scott smiled fondly. "He said that he was starving, too."

"Well, I guess it's good then," Eleanora commented. "Him being 22, it's expected to eat. He should have a proper home cooked meal that contains all the vital nutrients that he requires. Even though he has stopped growing, his cells this grow day by day and if he doesn't ea-"

"-Honey, your nerd is showing." Mrs. Scott laughed as Eleanora was pulling out the facts again.

"Oh. Sorry." She apologized sheepishly and continued to set up the table for three. Soon, Elliot joined them in his police uniform as he greeted his mother with a hug and Eleanora with ruffling her to the point of no repair.

"ELLIOT!" She shrieked in dismay and pushed him away. "You ruined my hair!"

"That was the entire point." He smirked as they all sat down to have a nice dinner. They all ate together like a family as Mrs. Scott inquired about how Elliot's job was going and Eleanora's school.

"So, Ellen?" Elliot used her nickname for her. "What are your plans after you finish high school next year?"

"University." She shrugged. "And an internship at a hospital."

"Still wanna be a doctor?"

"Yeah." She nodded as she swallowed the meal. "I want to help people, save them."

"You're very ambitious about this aren't you?" Elliot smiled at her adoringly.

"Well, ambition is the first key to success." She laughed as she got up and gathered the plates, making her way towards the kitchen. "It's late, I'll heading off now."

"So soon?" Elliot and his mother inquired together.

"I have school in the morning and I want to go for a run before I leave." She smiled sheepishly. "But I'll drop by before leaving for school."

"Alright." Mrs. Scott sighed dejectedly. "Sleep well, dear."

"You too." Eleanora smiled as she gathered her belonging before making her way out the apartment and went up the stairs to her own. Upon entering her kitten was meowing up at her, smiling down at the cat, she picked it up as she cuddled him.

Sighing, she sat down on her sofa, flipping through the channels that were showing some friendship program. Not wanting to feel lonely, she flipped the channel, the next one showing something more about friendship. She continued to scan through the channels, and every single signal was about friends, something which she didn't have.

Sudden loneliness and depression consumed her. Eleanora was an introvert and very shy. The last friend she had was when she was 7...and was in an orphanage home at that time. At the school she currently went to, the people looked at her as if though she were a freak and she didn't have any friends there either. All she had was Sebastian, Elliot and Mrs. Scott, the only friends and family she had.

Tears streamed down her face as the loneliness piled on her, and the craving for a hug overwhelmed her. The words of the girls from previously in the day came back to her. Without thinking, she set out to work.

Eleanora filled a bowl with some water and dirt. Taking a knife, she produced a cut across her palm, as she squeezed the blood into the bowl that rested on her table. Eleanora had no control over herself at the moment and did not what she was up to. It was almost like she was...possessed.

A foreign language coursed through her lips as she lit a match and dropped it into the bowl, the contents instantly catching fire as a small burst of flames jumped out the container. Eleanora continued to chant in the ancient language that sounded older than Latin to her own ears. She tried to stop, but she couldn't, no matter how hard she tried.

Suddenly, it all stopped as she sat on her sofa, blinking rapidly as she had no idea what had just happened. Shaking her head, she felt a headache forming as she looked around herself. Her apartment looked like it usually did, scarce and clean and homely. She continued to look around, expecting something to happen, expecting the Devil to jump out from the floor, but then shook her head at the absurdity of her thoughts. Getting to her feet, she shrugged on her coat before making her way out her apartment, closing the door behind her as she decided to go out for a walk.

The cold air nipped at her skin as she walked with her hands stuffed into her pockets. Her breath fogged up in front of her as she stood under a streetlight in a deserted park. She sat down on the bench for a while as she tried to understand what had happened a while ago.

She remembered a strange sensation ooze down her back as she felt as though she were a prisoner in her own body, seeing what she was doing, doing it herself, but having no control over it whatsoever. The occurrence was strange and definitely paranormal. Shaking her head, she rid herself of the thoughts as she decided to ignore what had happened and continue on with her generally lonely and depressed life.

Getting up from the bench, she made her way back and realized that she had been out for nearly an hour and it was high time that she went to bed if she wanted to be up early in the morning. Unlocking the door, she entered her apartment and flipped the switch, but was surprised to find the apartment still dark.

"Come on." She groaned to herself as she tossed her keys onto the table and made her way into her dark apartment, rummaging for an emergency torch light that she kept for occurrences like now.

"Damn it." She cursed as she couldn't find the torch. Stumbling in the dark, she traced the walls with her hand as she made her way to her room, stumbling blindly as she searched for her phone, which she remembered putting on the bed. Grasping hold of the cold metal she sighed in relief as she turned on the flashlight.

She walked out of the room, and back towards the kitchen when she felt a cold chill wash over her. Exhaling, she saw her breath fog up in front of her as goosebumps appeared on her arm. Rubbing a hand over her arm she stood still as it seemed like the temperature continued to drop.

Eleanora felt as if though someone was staring at her. Ever so slowly she turned around and greeted the darkness before flashing the light in the direction of the presence she assumed to have felt. The light illuminated the area and found it to be deserted. Chuckling to herself, she shook her head.

"God, I must be tired." She muttered as she brushing away her bottle blonde hair.

Eleanora turned around, the light aimed in front of her when she gasped as a solid figure stood in front of her. Instant fear prickled at her from every molecule that surrounded her as she shook at the sight of a muscular chest in front of her. Trembling she looked up slowly and was greeted by the sight of dark, cold and dangerous eyes.

"Why have you summoned me here?"