Dark's Descent

by Basil Bacorn

  Cassandra walked into the P.P.D. with Evangeline and waited for the secretary to see them. Eva was already impatient. “How may I help you?” said the lady. “I was wondering if you had a knife from a case a while back called the Silver Shadow?” Cassandra inquired, “I have been having nightmares lately about my involvement, and my counselor said that if I saw it again, maybe I would stop having the dreams.” The secretary looked on the computer. “Yes it is here, are you sure you want to see it?” the lady asked. “Yes,” Cassandra answered. The woman got up and went to the evidence room to fetch the knife. When she came out, she held out the bag. “Is this it?” she asked. Cassandra flashed back to that night. She heard the sound of the knife jabbing in the man's gut. She felt the blood run all over her hands. “Yes,” she smiled, “Yes it is.”

  Cassandra snatched the bag and waved her hand in front of the shocked woman's face. The woman fell to the ground, smashing her head on the desk on the way down. “Come on mom,” Cassandra ordered, “let's go!”

  Susan had the pedal pressed all the way down, for there was no time to lose. She surprisingly arrived at the castle in under an hour, though no one paid attention. They ran inside, and Will waved the guards away. He needed to get the Book of Death from the library so they could see the ingredients and somehow figure out their next move.

  The group barged in on King Albert's reading session and started searching. “What is going on here!” he demanded to know. Will told him what they needed and why. “I had that book locked up!” the king explained pointing to a book shelf, “Remove the three red books and the vault will open. It should be on the table.”

  Charlie ran and did as the king ordered and the bookshelf swung to the side, revealing a secret room. He ran inside and grabbed the book. Will flipped through the pages and found it. The top of the page said 'The Mother-Daughter Disruption'. Charlie scanned through the ingredient list and stopped about halfway. “The Silver Shadow!” he screeched. Susan stopped on 'the combined blood of twins'. “No!” she yelled, “You are not going to hurt my babies!” Stella froze when she read the second to last ingredient. 'The heart of the one the daughter hates most'. She knew that was her. She kissed Charlie. She was doomed if they didn't stop them.

  Stella expressed her worry to the group, making Susan cringe. They all knew that Stella's worry was a real problem. Stella was definitely the one Cassie hated most of all.

  Will was smart, and he knew Cassie. He did some quick figures, and he determined that they more than likely have the Silver Shadow, and the next ingredient they went for would be three up from that. “What's Cassie's most beloved ornament?” Will asked.

  “It's at the house! With the twins!” Susan yelled, already running to the limo. Everyone followed and Charlie carried the book. They were through the portal at an incredible speed, and flying through the streets of New York.

  Betty had been informed of the situation, so she stayed the night with the twins and James, knowing that Susan would insist he still work. James was the primary breadwinner of the family, so he needed his job.

  Vander and Vanessa were running around the house laughing when Susan burst through the door. “Vander! Vanessa! Go hide in the storage space!” Susan demanded. She didn't know how much blood they needed.

  Susan dug through the Christmas decorations and got out Cassie's favorite one. It was a gold star that she got from her grandmother on the day she died. Every year, she was very careful to not break it. The glitter occasionally fell off, but Cassie still loved it. They were going to be ready.

  “What do you want to get next?” Evangeline asked. Cassandra already picked it out. She told Eva and she smiled. It was time to visit home.

  Smoke filled the Smiths' place as the two appeared. Cassandra dashed to the Christmas decorations, but it wasn't there! “What happens if we can't get an ingredient?” Cassandra inquired, panicking. Evangeline shouted, “It doesn't work! What's wrong?”

  “I know what's wrong!” Susan teased. Charlie popped out from behind the couch. “It's an ambush!” Evangeline gasped. Charlie ran up to Cassandra. “I didn't kiss Stella, I don't even like her! I'm sorry! I love you!” Charlie blurted. “Shut your mouth!” Cassandra screamed, punching Charlie in the gut. Cassie gasped, “I'm so sorry!” “But I saw you kiss her you pig!” Cassandra accused.

  Evangeline knew she was going good. It was time to retreat. “Cassandra! Come!” she ordered. “No! I need to make sure Charlie is okay!” Cassie cried. “And kick him after I do!” Cassandra howled. Charlie stood up and grabbed Cassie. “Let go of me you-” Cassandra cut out and Cassie continued, “amazing boy! I love you!” “Love is weakness!” Cassandra hooted, “Mother!”

  What was he going to do? Charlie was losing her! He had to kiss her, maybe that would work! Charlie stood up and leaned forward. He fell face first as a loving Cassie disappeared in a poof of smoke.

  Cassandra laid on the floor, exhausted. “Go rest in your room.” Evangeline ordered, “You barely made it.” From now on, Eva was going to have to collect ingredients on her own.

  Twins Of A Tear Of Joy

  Susan placed the ornament in her pocket, saddened by their failed attempt to bring Cassie back. They had been so close, but Evangeline took her away before they could finish. As long as Eva was around, they would never get Cassie back.

  Charlie was so close! If he had moved faster, he'd probably be sitting next to Cassie right now, talking about where to go for their first date.

  Stella was really hoping. If Cassie didn't come back soon, she was probably going to die, and Stella didn't want to die! She had so many plans. Stella wasn't sure what plans she had, but dying young wasn't one of them.

  “Everyone get to Betty's van.” Susan ordered, “She says we can use it. It's good on gas, has a full tank, and we can all fit without having a giant limo to deal with.” Will, Stella, Charlie, and Susan all got in the van and drove back to Everlanon.

  Betty wasn't sure why the twins hadn't come out of the storage space yet, so she went to go see. The group left a half hour ago, and she figured they were waiting for an 'okay' to get out. “Vander! Vanessa! You can come out now!” she called, opening the door. To her surprise, the twins weren't there! There was only a note written in crayon by Vanessa. Vanessa was smarter than Vander, but her spelling was still way off. The note read, 'Wee r goin wiv momee too find Casee. Dunt woree ubot us. Wee r O K.' It was signed Vanessa and scribble-loop. Betty didn't know what to do. She began to panic, and then she passed out.

  Vander and Vanessa were hiding under a blanket in the very back of the van when the group went through the portal. Who knew Mommy was such a bad driver?

  Susan flew past the Good Woods at a dangerous speed. “Do you think we can use any of these spells to get to Cassie faster?” Stella asked. Will shook his head no, “They are forbidden.”

  Charlie laughed and flipped through the book. Nothing was forbidden when he was talking about Cassie. “Ah-ha!” Charlie announced, pointing at a page, “It says transportation spell, it works to send you a distance of 5 million gonshavs?” Will grabbed the book. “That will only get us to the Dark Forest! And no one here knows magic anyway!” Will explained, throwing the book in the back.

  A big book hit Vander over the head and landed open in front of his sister. “Trans-port-ate-on?” Vanessa read. The rest of the words were easy! Vander scooted closer for a look as Vanessa read the page.

  This book is for using,

  We need to go far,

  Send us on our trailing,

  Says one who dares no spar?

  Black smoke surrounded the van and they were lifted up. “What's happening!” Stella squealed looking around, “Who's doing that!” The van soared over the burnt market and over the Rawshkin Mountains. They began to lower elevation as they approached the Dark Forest.

  Will knew that it must be the spell, but who did it? He looked behind the seat and saw two lumps under a blanket. “Gotcha!” he yelled whipping the blanket away. It was the t
wins with the book? How? “Mrs. Smith!” he called as the van landed at the edge of the forest, “Did you know your twins are here? And they can perform magic?!”

  Cassandra looked around her new room. It was so dark and gloomy, but she just remembered she was a bad girl, and bad girls don't have pink wallpaper and unicorn nightlights. The room was mostly black, with a few highlights of red and grey spread throughout the mix. There was a desk, and a bed, but that was it. The desk itself was cluttered with junk like bottles, books, and a crystal ball. A crystal ball? Cassandra had to investigate.

  Cassandra hopped down from her bed. It was pathetic! Just hay on the ground. She sighed and remembered something. She had magic! Cassandra waved her hand and transformed the hay into a luxurious hotel type bed, perfectly made.

  Turning back to the crystal ball, Cassandra picked up the orb. It must weigh like twenty pounds! Maybe it would make a good bowling ball. Cassandra walked up to the hall and rolled the ball at the wall. She thought it would just bump into the wall, but no. It kept going, sliding straight through the wall with ease. Oops.

  Forgetting the ball, Cassandra started thinking about what she would do when she became ruler of, well, everything she knew. She would first get her old friends and put them to work. They would spend the rest of their lives pleasing her in any way she wanted. She thought of killing them if they messed up.

  “You didn't clean my shoes properly, Charles!” Cassandra would roar, as she reached for her sword. Charlie would beg for his life, and for some reason, she dropped the sword and gave him a hug. He then became her personal servant, and did everything that she demanded.

  Back in reality, Cassandra wondered the reason for Charlie's luck. She imagined it different ways, but for some reason, Charlie never died. “Ugh!” she yelled, tipping over the desks. She soon found out that the bottles weren't empty. They broke open, and different colored solids, liquids, and gasses spread throughout the room. Cassandra frantically tried to contain them, but it was too late. Her sight blurred, and the last thing she remembered was her mother repeating the same three words, over and over again. 'Love is weakness'. Love is weakness.

  “What are you two doing here?!” Susan scolded, “What were you thinking?” Susan already forgot about the spell issue, bigger fish. She now had two four year olds on her hands and they were hundreds of miles from home!

  “We just wanted to help!” Vanessa pouted. “It was her idea!” Vander tattled, pointing an accusing finger at his sister. “I don't care whose idea it was!” Susan screamed, “Now I have to worry about you two as we try to save your sister!” The twins started to cry and Susan sighed. “Fine!” Susan exclaimed, restarting the van to drive through the potentially dangerous, scary woods.

  “There are millions of creatures in these woods.” Will explained, “If the twins hadn't used the spell, we could've used it to fly over the forest, but it can only be used once a day.” Susan turned on the headlights and started down the path.

  Will had researched Everlanon in the time he was living there since the portal opened. He read of the Living Screams, trolls, goblins, and such that lived in the Dark Forest. They gave him chills, however, they weren't as bad as the chills creatures from other realms gave him. Will took out ear plugs, a prince is always prepared, and gave them to the twins. “Living Screams are probably the most dangerous creature we could encounter.” he retold, “They are as the name implies, living screams. I call them The Eeks, but they are yips, shouts, and yells of pain, sadness, and anger that have detached from their owner, and have become, living, breathing sound.”

  “That's impossible.” Stella whispered, “Noise can't live!”

  Will opened his mouth to start talking when a loud bang came from the roof. “What was that?” Charlie asked. The bang hit again, and a hideous creature crawled on the windshield. It looked like a brown wrinkled little man. Its teeth were jagged and yellow, and it had pointy ears. The thing banged on the window and growled as it dripped goo from its rotting nose. “Drive!” Will demanded, “If it gets in, we are all dead.”

  Evangeline was now getting a black sheep's wool. She figured it would be easy, but sheep are fast! “Get back here!” she screamed, trying to zap the critter so she could get the wool. It figures the black sheep was a ram known for running fast. The ram changed course and started running at Evangeline. “Oh no you don't!” she teased, turning into a cloud of smoke. The ram stopped and looked at the cloud. Now was the perfect time to put the thing to sleep!

  Eva reformed, but before she could raise her hand, the ram did what rams do best, and butted her in the gut. “Argh!” she grunted as she fell over, “Ow, ow, ow!” The ram walked over her. How could she get beaten by an entree! How embarrassing!

  Cassandra still laid on the ground when the smoke cleared. “Huh?” she yawned, sitting up. As she grabbed the desk for support, she by chance sent a small rock sliding across the floor. The stone hit some crystals and Cassandra got zapped by the resulting burst. She looked at her mirror and saw herself. Clothes ripped, hair frizzed, and a lazy eye, Cassandra counted the scorched spots on her skin. “23,” she announced to the empty, now trashed, room, “I hate clutter.”

  Susan raced through the woods, trying to shake the troll off. It wailed and screamed as it swung side to side by its front paw, but it didn't let go. Stella noticed that its claws had punctured the roof above her, so she got out her fingernail clippers. “This has got to be the grossest thing I've ever done!” she grunted, squeezing the clippers as hard as she could. Snap! The claw flew at Charlie and he screamed as he tried to get it off. Stella proceeded the spa treatment, each claw hitting someone as it broke off. “Ugh! Monsters are soooo lazy with their hygiene!” Stella snipped, as she cut through the last nail. The creature screamed as it flew off and fell on the ground.

  Evangeline returned to the tower. Her dress was half missing, she had a bald spot from where the invalid ovine chewed, and had a black eye from a hoof. Her stomach was still churning from the attack. “What happened to you!” Cassandra inquired, smiling a bit. “A sheep, what happened to you.” Eva shot back. “You know that desk full of potions and stuff in my room?” Cassandra explained, “That kind of isn't there anymore. I mean, not in one piece.” Evangeline snickered at her daughter's clumsiness, and then remembered the sheep. She pulled the wool out and told Cassandra to put it with the other ingredients. “Now for everything else.” Eva sighed.

  Will was still curious as to how the twins were able to perform magic. He had an idea. “Vanessa?” he called, “Can you hand me that book?”

  Vanessa hoisted the book up on the seat and gave it to Will with a scowl. “I don't like you.” she warned. That was the boy who hurt her sister's feelings and she didn't like that. It was a long time ago, but she didn't hear him say sorry.

  Will flipped to the page he needed. It was titled, 'The Test' and had a picture of a hand on it. “Vanessa, can you put your hand right here?” he asked and she obeyed. Nothing happened. Charlie was watching what Will was up to, and he had mixed feelings. Vander yelled, “Lemme see!” and jumped on Vanessa. The handprint shone brightly, and sparkles showed a picture story.

  The sparkles showed Cassie crying tears of joy, and giving a cookie to Susan. A deep voice began, “A tear of joy produced two twins, whose powers were good.” Susan pulled over the car and watched in amazement as she saw herself eating the cookie with the tear. “Born from evil, changed by happiness, and transformed into two, the powers work only when the two are in contact with one another.” the voice expounded, “Vanessa and Vander Smith are all powerful, for they are the Twins of a Tear of Joy, and are capable of greatness.” Vanessa removed her hand once the glow faded away. “Cool!” the twins chirped.

  Just one normal, not magical child? No? Oh well, it's fine with Susan, anyway, she still loves them all the same. Susan sighed. Twins of a Tear of Joy.

  Surviving The Living Screams

  Susan continued at eighty miles per hour. This place was giving he
r the creeps, and she certainly did not want to meet any Eeks. The trees were a blur as the van bumped and lurched around. Susan’s main goal right now was to get out of the woods before night took the sky.

  “Is there a way to kill Living Screams?” Charlie asked. Will just shrugged, “No one knows. We just hope we don't run into any.”

  Stella looked out the window and watched a goblin of some sort shimmy up a tree. It looked like it was scared of something. “Char-Char, Will?” Stella stuttered, “What scares a gob-” Stella was cut off as a blood-curdling scream echoed through the forest. Trees fell over and birds flew away. “Oh no!” Will whispered, “Go faster!” Susan pushed the accelerator down and they zoomed off. A thunderous cackle shook the van, and dirt flew everywhere. Yelps rustled in the treetops, hollers snapped branches, screams banged the ground. “Living Screams!” Charlie yelled.

  Yelps, shouts, and cries. Branches broke, rocks flew, and the occasional goblin fell to its death. The minivan passed a small elf covering its large ears. A loud scream flew down, and knocked it out cold. A yell slammed the side of the van Charlie was on and made him fall on Will's and Stella's lap. He grappled for his own seat, but he was stuck. That is until Will shoved him off. Will had enough problems without Charlie in the way.