The Return
14 years ago from present day
The crickets had stopped chirping.
Haedyn was positive she heard them just a few seconds ago. The melody of outside noises had been her lullaby every night for as long as she could remember. Just for that reason, her cot sat next to the only window in the room. She had lived at the church orphanage from the day she was born, over eight years ago. So when something changed, she noticed. And right now she didn’t hear any of the noises she was used to, like the frogs croaking or the breeze as it whispered through the leaves of the big oak in the back yard.
Something must have startled the crickets for them to be so silent. Either someone was approaching or a predator was near. The orphanage was about a twenty-minute ride away from the closest town, so it wasn’t traffic or city noise that scared the crickets. And she would have heard the crunch of tires on gravel if someone came up the drive. No, it must be something else but she was having a hard time hearing what. Her ears were full of this buzzing sound, sort of like the static a radio makes when there’s no station in range. It wasn’t coming from outside, either; it was inside her head. She didn’t know how or why, but she knew what was causing it: evil.
Evil was making her head full of static. And the closer it came, the louder the buzzing got which made hearing anything else rather hard. She sat up and scooted closer to the window. Cupping her hands against the glass panes, she rested her ear against her bent fingers. Nope, she was right. The crickets had definitely stopped chirping.
Even the insects know when to be quiet and hide. She climbed from her cot already dressed. As irritating as it was to have the buzzing noise in her head, she was more afraid of what was coming. At least knowing it was on its way gave her time to prepare and hopefully keep the other orphans safe.
She tucked her hair behind her ears and put on her glasses. The nuns who ran the orphanage gave her a new pair every year. They said the glasses helped others to understand she couldn’t see. Her blindness was a side effect of her disorder, something the Sisters called albinism.
In Haedyn’s opinion, she could see just fine. Her vision may not be the same as theirs, but her eyes showed her what she needed to know. She saw light and dark, and sometimes she could make out the shapes of things. But, the Sisters said that wasn’t good enough: they preferred she wear the glasses instead.
She had heard the whispers though, and knew the real reason they wanted her to wear them. Her eyes looked weird which made everyone else, especially the Sisters, uncomfortable. So she never told them what else she could see, or what she saw when she looked at them. She never spoke about the red auras she saw, which gave shape to living things around her, or the blue ones that showed her when something was cold or dead. They didn’t want to know.
The Sisters did their best to pretend and ignore the obvious. There was something different about her. Not only was she advanced for her age, but she'd heard the Sisters make comments about how she was extremely strong for her size and how she moved so much faster than the other children. She knew she wasn't like the rest of the orphans, or anyone else for that matter. Sometimes she even wondered if she was human. There was no other explanation for the visions she had when she touched stuff, or the things that she just knew… times like now, when something really bad was about to happen.
She slipped on her shoes, then her gloves. She always wore gloves because without them the visions came and there was no way she could handle having one of those again. Especially now, when she needed to hurry. She had to move the other orphans to safety. They were too young to escape on their own. They were innocent and all alone; there was no one here to protect them. Their parents left them here just like hers had. But she wouldn’t leave them behind. She was going to make sure they survived. They were the closest thing to family she had, and she was going to save them.
She tip toed to the cot of her roommate, Rachel. She was only a few months older than Haedyn, but the two of them were the oldest kids in the orphanage by almost three years. They had shared a room ever since Rachel arrived a few years ago and they were rarely apart. Every time they went outside, Rachel would describe what she saw so that Haedyn could see the world through her words. Rachel was the only person she felt completely comfortable around, and she wasn’t about to let anything happen to her.
She touched the other girl’s arm and shook it just a little.
“Huh? What?” Rachel mumbled into her pillow.
Haedyn held a finger to her lips, signaling her roommate to be quiet. She pulled Rachel up to a sitting position and felt around on the floor for the girl’s shoes.
“Where are we going?” Rachel stifled a yawn.
Haedyn grabbed the sneakers and shoved them into Rachel’s lap.
“Why do I need my shoes? I don’t want to go outside, I’m tired,” Rachel said but slipped them on her feet anyway.
As she waited for the girl to fasten her laces, Haedyn searched on the nightstand for the Bible she knew was always there. Rachel finds solace in this. She held it out to Rachel. Maybe it will help her tonight.
“Why do I need my Bible? What’s going on? Is something happening?” Rachel persisted.
Haedyn nodded and then tugged on Rachel’s sleeve to get her into motion. She opened the door slowly so as to ease the creaking sounds. They moved into the hallway, and Haedyn pointed to the bedroom doors of the other children.
“You want me to get the others? Why? What’s going on?” Rachel asked.
Haedyn held her finger to her lips again and stepped closer to the girl, placing a hand on her arm.
A window shattered in the den downstairs, piercing the silence. The evil had come sooner than she had expected. Rachel gasped and pulled away from Haedyn's touch towards the rooms of the other children across the hall. Her roommate’s presence would calm the others and give her a chance to check out what had happened.
Haedyn moved to the edge of the hallway, lifted her glasses off her eyes and glanced down over the railing to the open den area below. She hoped her unique vision might catch signs of movement. The darkness below was still, but she could feel a presence. The buzzing noise in her head had eased, though it wasn’t gone completely. Whatever it was hadn’t made it inside yet; it still stalked the perimeter. Shuffling from the other end of the hall alerted her that the Sisters had been awakened by the breaking glass. It looked like they were going to go downstairs to investigate.
Haedyn's mind raced. She hadn't thought about what would happen to the Sisters. Why couldn't they just stay safely locked in their room and call the police? There was no doubt in her mind that whatever that evil thing was down there, it was just waiting to spill blood. She could sense its need, its hunger. There was no hope for the Sisters if they went downstairs, but she didn’t know how to stop them. Besides, she had the other children to worry about. She took a calming breath and decided the Sisters would have to go it alone.
Things are about to get very bad. A knot formed in her stomach. She skulked back into the shadows of the hall and into the room where she knew the other seven orphans waited. Closing the door behind her, she held a hand up to silence their questions. She listened as the Sisters bustled down the stairs, chattering nervously amongst themselves.
She opened the door and waved for the small crew to follow her to the other end of the hallway where the back stairs led down into the kitchen. The stairs to the basement sat off the left side of the kitchen beside the refrigerator. She snuck down there one night several years ago and explored the room. It ran the length of the entire house and was full of old boxes and books. Plus it had a hidden tunnel that led out to the river. She just hoped they had enough time to get in there and escape before the evil thing found them.
“Shh, tip toe,” she whispered to the others as they entered the kitchen. The Sisters' voices carried from the den around the corner. Haedyn couldn’t understand what they were saying but she could hear the nervousness and fear in their high-
pitched voices. At least one was crying. Then came the first scream. The children let out a collective gasp and the youngest one, little Nicky, not quite two years old, started to whine. The younger ones grabbed onto the older children out of fear. Nicky’s whine muffled and she knew Rachel was doing her best to console him.
She directed the band of children down the basement stairs, trying to hurry them along. There wasn’t much time left. When the last child entered the stairwell, she ran over to the kitchen pantry and grabbed the spare diaper bag that the Sisters kept stocked in case of emergencies. Then she followed the rest of the orphans down into the musky, underground room. She handed the bag to Rachel and then hurried to the old bookshelf that sat along the far wall.
“Haedyn, what’s happening?” Rachel asked. “I’m scared.” But before Haedyn could answer her, screams came at full force from the den above.
She looked over toward the other orphans. She could barely see the rag-tag group of children huddled as close as they could get in the middle of the basement. The older ones tried to quiet the whimpers of those too young to understand the need for silence. Glass shattered and furniture crashed and thudded on the floor above, but it did little to mute the jolting screams of terror that rang out from the Sisters.
Haedyn worked quickly. She moved the large shelf aside to reveal a small door. Maybe five feet tall and a couple of feet wide, the door opened into a passageway between the walls. The walkway soon turned into stone steps descending into a darkened tunnel. She had no idea how long ago it had been created, but the supports and walls were sturdy and held all the way to the river. The children would be safe during their journey underground.
“Go. Stay in the tunnel until daylight. Then follow the river to town. Don't come out until the sun is up, though. Do you understand? It’s very important.” She looked at Rachel for confirmation.
She stood silently as the small bunch made their way through the little passage. Though her eyes could not truly see them in detail, the waves of fear that rolled off their bodies were visible in their auras. She tilted her head and listened to the sounds of the slaughter happening above. The knot in her stomach eased a bit from knowing the children were headed to safety, but they were moving so slowly. They needed to get further into the tunnel.
She had planned on joining them and closing off the passageway behind her, but that wasn’t going to work now. The evil upstairs needed to be distracted so it wouldn’t find them. The screams were tapering off and she knew it was too late for the Sisters. They were most likely dead by now, but she could still save the other orphans. She looked again at the terrified lot, then quickly turned and grabbed the shelf to move it back.
“No! Wait! Aren’t you coming? They’ll get you!” Rachel’s loud whisper came from the darkened passageway.
“Make sure you keep them safe in the tunnel until daylight,” she repeated, and then she moved the shelf back into place. The other children wouldn’t be able to move it away and come back. They weren’t strong enough. She had to believe they would travel to the water instead, and that someone would find them once daybreak came or she wouldn't have the courage to face whatever lurked upstairs. Taking a deep breath, she took the stairs quickly and quietly.
She entered the kitchen and discarded her glasses. They always got in her way, and they didn’t help her see anyway. In fact, they made things worse. Plus, she didn’t need them now that the Sisters were gone.
She moved forward, scanning the area for any type of movement or presence. Whimpering filled her ears as she rounded the doorway into the main living area. One of the Sisters must still be alive.
She discerned a few shapes as what was left of furniture and a dim light from outside the broken windows penetrated the darkness. A red aura faded from bodies that had been ripped apart and left lying on the floor. She knew it was the heat of life seeping slowly out of the Sisters’ splintered forms. The way they lay on the floor created a path to the latest victim. Whatever it was that had attacked them had killed the Sisters’ one by one, dropping them, or what was left of them, to the floor before moving on to the next.
She tasted bile and swallowed hard. Guilt nagged at her. She should've tried to stop the Sisters, but deep down she knew they wouldn't have listened to her. Still, she never wanted anything like this to happen. She walked tentatively through the maze of broken furniture, shapes and bodily remains to stand in the middle of the carnage.
“What the hell is that?” asked a thick voice from her left. She turned her head towards it. She heard movement but saw...she wasn’t sure what she saw. There was something there, sort of like a shadow but not really. It was see-through but moved like a solid figure. There was no red aura to show life or heat, nor was there a blue one telling her it was cold or dead. It was the oddest thing she had ever encountered.
“It doesn’t matter, Frank. Just take care of it.” The voice was crisp and pronounced, coming from in front of her and a little to the right. Her fear fell away. She felt more curious than anything now. She turned her attention back towards the one called Frank. He was moving towards her. He came close enough that she felt his presence, but the moonlight from the broken window glowed right through him. Haedyn wondered if it was just her unique vision or if Frank was actually see-through. Maybe he was a ghost? She wasn't sure, but she didn't think ghosts would murder nuns. No, they must be something else.
Frank interrupted her thoughts. “It’s just a girl. A scrawny little girl. She’s paler than Ruben over there.” A slight grunt from yet another voice startled Haedyn. So, there were three of these things.
“Hey Dave, look at her eyes. They’re creepy. I think she’s blind. I say we have a bit of fun with this one before we take her.” Frank continued.
Haedyn raised an eyebrow. Apparently, the Sisters weren’t the only ones who didn’t like her eyes.
“Just hurry it up, would ya? We don’t have much time left,” Dave answered. He was the one with the crisp voice, and it was clear he was in charge. She felt movement in front of her face and realized Frank was waving a hand close to her eyes. She didn't move away or flinch, even when he got really close. He finally put his hand down and then stood there, staring down at her. She stood still, waiting. These beings, these shadowy see-through shapes, didn’t scare her. They were nothing compared to whatever had created the static in her head earlier. Something else, something much bigger and more threatening, had done that.
Curious as to why they didn’t show an aura, however, she reached out a hand to touch Frank but he shoved her backwards before she made contact. She landed hard on the floor and slid into the decapitated torso of one of the Sisters. The smell of blood and raw flesh filled her nostrils before she could scoot away from remains. She suppressed the nausea that started to rise in her throat and stood. These things may not be the evil that she expected, but they weren’t exactly nice, either.
She scanned the area looking for where all the shadowy things stood. One was at the very front of the room so she figured that one was Dave. The one that hovered over the still whimpering Sister and slowly sucked the red aura of heat from her body must be Ruben. And the last one, Frank, was moving towards her again. She didn’t like being picked on and he had shoved her. She ducked out of the way when he reached for her and moved quickly around behind him, pushing him as hard as she could.
“What the…” Frank began, and then stumbled and fell. He stood and reached for her again. This time he squeezed her arm in a painful grip.
“Stupid kid, come here,” he said, yanking her up and tossing her forward. She landed on her feet in a crouch and turned toward him as he came at her again.
A blow to the side of her face knocked her back before she could jump out of the way. She lay crumpled on the floor for a moment, tasting a coppery sweetness on her tongue. The blood pooled inside her mouth and dripped from her busted lip. Adrenaline pushed through her body but her mind remained calm. Her instincts took over. Perhaps too late, she recogniz
ed the shadowy beings, especially the one named Frank, as the threat they really were.
She felt the movement of air above her just before he grabbed her arm again. Impulsively, she used his appendage to swing herself up onto his back. She wrapped both arms around what she figured should be his head and twisted until she heard the snap of bones in his neck.
She rolled off as they both fell forward and then grabbed a shard of glass from the floor. She moved over Frank’s now twitching body and paused to make sure Dave and Ruben weren’t coming for her as well. Not sensing any movement, she reached down and plunged the shard into Frank's chest, forcing it through to puncture his heart. She turned and faced the other shadowy beings as Frank's body dissolved on the floor. Her hand burned where the glass had sliced into her but she quickly snatched up another piece in case she needed a weapon against the others.
A moment of silence passed before the one she thought they called Ruben piped up. “Holy shit. She killed Frank. There's no way a human kid could do that. She's gotta be something else. What is she?”
“Who cares?” replied Dave. “Just kill it.” Haedyn heard a slight twitch in his voice. He was scared of her.
Just then, the buzzing-static from earlier came back. Its intensity made her want to grab at her head, but she refused to show that weakness in front of her opponents. Instead, she squeezed her empty hand into a fist and tried to focus the pain there. Just as suddenly as it began, the noise stopped and a melodic voice came from the doorway.
“That would be unwise.” The tone of the voice, the beauty it created, made her look in the direction it came from. She could see the form of this one; it was more than just a shadow. A pulsing red aura showed heat in this one’s body as well as the blue swirls of cold death.
“I haven’t seen one of her kind in many, many years,” explained the new arrival. “It’s an Unnamed.”
Haedyn blinked at his words. Was he talking about her? A knot of tension she had unknowingly held near her heart released. What she’d always somehow suspected was true: she wasn’t human after all. But what exactly was she?
He'd called her an Unnamed. If he knew what she was, maybe he also knew if there were more of her kind and if they lived close by. Do they know about her? Maybe she'd finally have a home. She had so many questions to ask this new creature. Just then, Ruben stepped forward, bringing her back to her present threat.
“What?” Ruben yelped. “Ain’t they supposed to be extinct? We need to kill it!”
Haedyn could hear the fear in his voice. She turned towards him, shifting the shard of glass in her hand for a better hold.
“It really isn’t that dangerous unless you’re just stupid,” Dave said. “From what I hear, they aren’t very intelligent creatures.”
Haedyn scrunched her face at the insult. He didn’t seem so smart to her either. But she still shifted so that she could watch both Ruben and Dave. They were the immediate threats. She wasn’t so sure about the newest one yet. So far it hadn’t made comments about killing her, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t. She wasn’t sure what any of these beings were, but if they kept talking maybe she’d find out more.
“It killed Frank, and you say it ain’t dangerous,” Ruben spat out the words. “It had to be able to think to know how to stake him.”
Ruben was scared of her. He would dispose of her the first chance he got. Calmness settled over her again. She remained still and silent, waiting for him to make a move.
“Frank was sloppy,” Dave pointed out. “He was antagonizing it. He would have been killed sooner than later, we both know that. I heard these things were annihilated centuries ago. They can’t be too much of a threat if they got killed off.”
The melodic voice drifted sweetly to Haedyn’s ears. “She is probably the last of her kind. Their bloodlines have been weakened from centuries of impurities. This one is different… she can be trained. She has a talent that would be wasted if she were to be eliminated.”
“Talent, you say?” Dave remarked. “Well, it gives me the creeps just looking at it… those eyes, and that white skin. Even her white hair is creepy the way it just reaches out from her head. I think we should kill it anyways.”
Haedyn heard Dave and Ruben gasp and took the chance to glance in the direction of the being with the melodic voice. Its form had changed from the humanoid figure it arrived as to a large, bulky creature with two heads and a long tail. A colorful aura of energies rippled in waves around it.
A cold chill ran from the top of Haedyn's head all the way down to her toes, making her shiver. This creature was what caused the static in her head. This was the evil she had been expecting. And it was here.
“You are both imbeciles.” The creature snapped his fingers. Haedyn turned in time to witness both Dave and Ruben's forms disperse. Their shadowy images broke into tiny pieces and faded away. A cold fear settled in the pit of her stomach.
“Vampires. I’ve never met one that was worth the trouble they cause.” The creature turned toward her. “They will not hurt you. I’ve taken care of them.”
The abrupt demise of Dave and Ruben alarmed her, but at least she knew what they were now. Vampires. She looked back at the creature with the beautiful voice and watched as it changed forms again to a smaller, less threatening shape. One similar to the size of an older child. Its voice was beautiful. Soft and warm, reminding her of brownies baking. Though drawn toward it, she sensed the icy undertones it carried.
This was a very dangerous predator; much more so than the vampires. Not only had it killed Dave and Ruben without touching them, but it could change forms at will. And right now, it had her in its sights. The hair on the nape of her neck and arms lifted. There was no way she could win a fight against this one. Maybe she could sprint past it out the front door and hide, though that didn't seem like much of a plan either, since it would probably find her. But right now, she didn't have another choice. She shifted her weight to the tips of her toes, ready to bolt as soon as she saw a chance.
“Your stance is unnecessary. There is no need to run, little one. Besides, I think you know I’d catch you,” it remarked. Apparently, it could read her mind or maybe it was just observing her body language. Regardless, she remained silent. Her every sense was heightened. The need to survive flooded into her veins.
“You don’t belong here, in the world of humans,” the being continued. “The Unnamed don’t belong anywhere. You’re abominations.” Its red and blue auras changed back and forth showing her the multiple shapes that it could take. First, he looked like a human, then a winged creature, and finally a large wolf. Then it started all over again. She didn’t know whether he was trying to distract her with shape-shifting or his words, but she refused to budge.
“I was around when your kind were created. Mistakes. Each and every one of you was nothing but a mistake. The Angels knew they had botched things up just as much as we did. Our demon blood was never meant to mingle with theirs. That’s why they helped us hunt and kill every one of you.” The being stopped in front of her. He turned his head to look in her direction. “Or so we thought.”
It began pacing again and Haedyn took the chance to process what it had said. Mistakes. Abominations. She didn't understand what he was saying about demon blood mixing with angels, but the fact that angels and demons had joined together to kill off the rest of her kind was perfectly clear.
A blanket of loneliness settled around her heart as his words sunk into her soul. She was the only one left, the last. There was no family waiting for her. There were no others of her kind to welcome her into their home. She was alone.
The sweet melody of his voice pulled her back from her thoughts. “But you seem to have a skill. Death becomes you, little one. Running those orphans straight to their slaughter at the river…it was as if you knew I’d be waiting for them!” The creature laughed.
Haedyn closed her eyes in a slow blink as her shoulders dropped a notch. The children must not have stayed in the tunnel like she tol
d them. If they had only listened to her and not come out before daylight, they could have stayed hidden. They would have at least had a chance. Tears threatened to fall as she thought about losing Rachel to this monster. She pushed the feelings aside. Now wasn’t the time to deal with her loss, not with this thing standing right in front of her.
“Aww,” the being’s voice took on a softer tone. “You were trying to save them, weren’t you? But don’t you see? You delivered them, just as they were meant to be. They would have grown up in this world and become humans full of hatred and deceit. They would never have known happiness. Death was a better alternative, don’t you think?”
She looked up at the creature again. She couldn’t imagine Rachel as he described. She was always laughing and nice. But, Rachel was young still. Adults behaved much differently. She had read about it in the books in the church library. The pain and violence they inflicted on the ones they claimed to love occurred far too frequently to be something other than their nature. The adults even treated their young as useless burdens, leaving them to be raised by others who viewed them as obligations. Rachel’s parents had done that, as well as her own.
She let out a deep sigh. She had seen how cruel the adults could be when she went into town with the Sisters. She’s been pointed at and called names. The Sisters hadn’t even tried to comfort her. But this creature looming in front of her was evil, she was sure of it. She just wasn’t sure if it was any more evil than humans.
“Ah, little one. What shall I do with you now?” It walked in a circle around her as it spoke. Haedyn followed it, not allowing it to leave her unique sight.
“You do have a gift,” it continued. “I saw what you did to Frank. That’s a talent that I can help you hone. It comes from your demon side, you know, something I'm very familiar with,” he said with a slight chuckle.
Haedyn blinked in response. Her demon side? The Sisters reverently worshiped scriptures that told tales of the existence of demons, but it never occurred to her that she would ever be face to face with one. Or that it would be praising her on how well she could kill. Was it right? That must be how she knew it was coming. She must be evil, like this demon.
Lessons taught by the Sisters swam in her mind. She couldn’t shake the warnings they gave on how evil could make you believe its lies. But she couldn’t help but to hear the truth of this creature’s words. She was confused and that meant she was in a terrible situation. If this being attacked her, there was no way she could escape. There was no other choice than to wait it out and hope she found a way. She glanced to the front door and back to the being in front of her.
A husky laugh escaped its throat. “Do you think that the humans will let you live? After they've come here and seen the bodies drained of blood? The children slaughtered at the river? And then they find you, the lone survivor… the blind child with red eyes and white hair. Do you think they'll take you in with open arms? Give you a home and a life?” The creature laughed again, sending a shiver across Haedyn’s skin.
It leaned down to whisper in her ear. “But I can. I can train you to see with more than just your eyes. And when you are ready, I can give you your sight. It won't be as good as a demon's vision, but maybe it will be as good as that of a human. I can do that for you. All you have to do is come with me, let me train you, mold you. I can give you a purpose in this world.”
Haedyn sucked in her breath. Would it really do that for her? Give her sight to see what she’s been missing? Could it really have that much power? The thought of what it offered her was tempting. But this was a demon. Why would it want to give her such gifts and what did it want in return?
Straightening, it continued. “Do you think humans would do that for you? Even if they could, they think you are an albino. You might not know but that is still a rare disorder for their kind, and it makes you different. And humans don’t like different. You know I’m right. You've already experienced it with the way the Sisters treated you. The rest of the human population won't be so kind.” The distaste for humans ran deep in the demon before her. When it mentioned them, the tones of its voice turned cold and harsh filling her ears with unspoken urges to eliminate them all.
“You are different. You weren't meant to exist. And even humans can instinctively feel that you shouldn’t be here. You will never be part of their world, little one. No matter how hard you try, you will always stand apart. But I can give you a place in our world, where at least you might have a chance at survival, if you do as I say.”
The being reached out its hand towards Haedyn. She looked around at the chaos of what was once the orphanage, the only place she had ever known. The bodies of the Sisters lay motionless where they’d been tossed. Furniture lay broken and scattered. Rachel was gone. There was nothing left for her here. There would be no reunion with others like herself and the world outside the orphanage was foreign to her as well. She truly was alone now.
Haedyn lifted her chin and walked toward the being. She looked at his hand, and then up to his face. She couldn’t see the details, but she didn’t need to. This demon was going to give her what she needed to survive, and that’s all that mattered to her now.
“My name is Azazel and I’ll teach you things. I’ll allow you to use your deathly talents in a more productive manner. It’s time to come home, little one.” He turned and walked ahead of her as she followed it into the night.
*~*~*~*
Thank you for reading The Unnamed. If you enjoyed it, please take a moment to write a review on your favorite bookseller website and share with your friends!
Find out what happens next in Haedyn’s Choice, Book I of the Haedyn Chronicles.
Other Cool Stuff
OTHER BOOKS BY JENNIFER L. OLIVER
HAEDYN’S CHOICE, Book I of the Haedyn Chronicles
LENORE’S SECRET (A short story addition to the Haedyn Chronicles)
~COMING SOON~
DEMON RISING, Book II of the Haedyn Chronicles
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The Unnamed - Prequel to the Haedyn Chronicles Page 6
