by Kim Cormack
The hallways were lined with the dead as always. It would be extremely inconvenient if they were all zombies. They didn’t move as she marched down the hall flanked by the dead quite secure in the fact that she could control them if she chose to. She slowed as she reached the classroom where she’d had her imaginary detention, there was a thick trail of blood leading to it and the door had been torn off its hinges. As she stood in front of the open door she could see the bodies of Derek and Janice slumped over in the desks. They weren’t there earlier. The room was completely spotless when she left. She cautiously made her way closer. Janice had been impaled with Miss Conner’s ruler. She reached over and poked Derek’s shoulder. His body crumpled to the floor. It seemed real…It couldn’t be. Owen heard the tick, tick, ticking of the clock. She slowly turned around to look at the wall above the teacher’s desk… it was there. She closed her eyes for only a second in disbelief and when she opened them she was surrounded by the dead. There was nowhere to go and why bother? They would always be with her. The echoes of their ravenous groans filled the room as they swarmed in and devoured her. She shrieked until the light in the room became blindingly bright.
Suddenly, she was aware that her arms were being restrained by multiple people wearing pastel colors.
“Just a pinch sweetheart and you’ll feel better,” a familiar voice soothed.
She was in the sanitarium. No…This wasn’t real. She wasn’t in here anymore. It wasn’t happening. Owen felt the poke of a needle in her arm as she whispered, “No… No, I don’t want to be here. Help me… I’m not here anymore.” Someone was stroking her hair whispering for her to calm down as she took in the faces of the dead in the background, behind the nurses as the lights flickered and went out.
The Beginning...
Author’s Note
To My Awesome Series Readers,
Thank you for reading the first Children of Ankh series short story, ‘Bring Out Your Dead.’ Please take a moment and leave a quick review. If you are chomping at the bit to find out what happens next, book two in this novella series will be coming soon. I am presently hard at work writing book four in the main series. After this book, there is a teaser for book one in the main series, ‘Sweet Sleep.’
If you want to carry on reading about the characters in this series, here is the order.
Children of Ankh Series
Sweet Sleep
Enlightenment
Let There Be Dragons
C.O.A side series.
Wild Thing
Wicked Thing
Children of Ankh Series Shorts
Bring Out Your Dead
Behind the Series
One thousand years ago, procreation with mortals became illegal under, immortal law. Any suspected immortal offspring will be allowed to live until the age of sixteen. At this time, a Correction will be sent to erase their family line. The suspected immortal and their immediate family will be executed. If the partially immortal teen manages to survive their Correction or have impressed the Guardians of the in-between with their bravery, they may be granted a second chance as a sacrificial lamb for the greater good. They must join one of three clans of immortals living on earth. Clan Ankh, Clan Trinity or Clan Triad. They will then have the symbol of that clan branded into their flesh and with this mark, their souls will no longer be permitted through the hall of souls when they die. They must wait in the in-between for their clans to heal their mortal shells. Once they have reached the age of eighteen they will be sealed to their clan. The next step is to train their partially mortal brains to survive the stresses of immortality. The next feat will be the immortal Testing where they will be dropped into a floating crypt the size of New York City. This Testing is fuelled by your worst nightmares. It is a place of magic. A personal hell, where anything can happen. Here you must die a thousand times if need be, in increasingly violent ways until you understand what it is to be immortal. All three Clans go into the Testing. They must remain together and search for the Amber room in order to survive. There is a catch…only the first two clans that find the Amber room will be allowed out. The third clan will remain trapped in the nightmare forever…
About the Author
Kim Cormack is the always comedic author of the darkly twisted epic paranormal romance series, “The Children of Ankh.” She worked for over 16 years as an Early Childhood educator in preschool, daycare, and as an aid. She has M.S and has lived most of her life on Vancouver Island in beautiful British Columbia, Canada. She currently lives in the gorgeous little town of Port Alberni. She's a single mom with two awesome kids. Her Daughter Jenna is going to university working towards her bachelor of education and her son Cameron is just finishing off elementary school.
Happy Reading
Kim Cormack XO
A Teaser for Sweet Sleep
The humming of Kayn’s blood as it coursed through her veins seemed to sing along to the steady, almost tribal, beat of her feet as they pounded rhythmically into the dirt. A veil of earth flowed behind her. She resembled a flaxen haired angel attempting to outrun a cloud. The dust seemed to follow her for a moment or two longer than it should with not one whisper of wind in the afternoon air. A smile spread across her lips. Her heart was overflowing with too much joy to be contained beneath a serious competitive demeanor.
Kayn noticed in the moment of clarity that Kevin was not sitting in the grass watching her run. She could picture him as he rushed to his locker and fumbled with the lock in an attempt to keep the facade going. She wasn't stupid. She didn't actually believe he enjoyed watching her run in circles around a track. There was a method to his madness. Her best friend was madly in love with her twin sister. He had been addicted to the mere sight of her since kindergarten. To anyone else this would make no sense but Kayn understood. She was Kevin’s friend… Chloe was his fantasy.
In her vision of why he was late for their daily routine, she pictured him shoving his way past a herd of students and prying his body through the single doorway that led the gym. He was shoved up against the wall and his books fell out of his backpack. She found herself laughing aloud as she ran; for thoughts of him always brought a smile to her face. His organizational skills had always left something to be desired. After taking a moment to collect his papers, he would zip up his bag and continue on his quest for his moment in the presence of her twin sister, the always unattainable Chloe Brighton.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw him. He raced up the hill and unceremoniously plopped himself down in the grass beside her school bag and things were as they should be. As she rounded the corner kicking up dust like a champ, he was fiddling with his cell phone and she knew he was planning to time her next lap. She flashed past her friend in a cloud of dust. He smiled at her through the haze.
Her body was lean and freckled from daily exposure to the sun, and her skin glinted with sparkles. Kayn loved coconut sparkle tanning spray. She could see it on her clenched fists each time they flashed by her line of sight. She was a girl with many strange little rituals on her daily to do list. At the beginning of her run, she imagined that she looked quite magical, glittering in the sun, but not by the end. By the end of her training, the glitter tanning spray would cause the track’s dust to stick to her whole body in a rather comical way. She would inevitably end up looking as though she had spent her whole afternoon rolling in it, not running on it.
Kayn allowed herself to appreciate the gentle warmth of the sun’s rays whispering across her skin. She was rounding the corner kicking up another cloud of dust to outrun just as a jolt of electricity surged through her. Adrenaline rippled a winding path beneath her skin, igniting her soul and setting it afire with insurmountable pleasure. In this moment, it always felt like she’d been given a gift or anointment of power. She hit the straight stretch feeling such transcendent euphoria that she felt baptized by the sweat trickling down her forehead. Kayn Brighton was alive in a way only a runner could comprehend.
Every nerve ending was humming,
“Faster, Kayn… Go faster.” Kayn was an athlete born to push the limits of her body. Runners were a breed of their own; they had both incredible days and horrible days while training but it was always worth it.
“Don’t Call Me Baby,” by Madison Avenue was cranked in her ears. She kept pace to the beat, feeling powerful and strong. Kayn made eye contact and grinned as she passed her best friend, acknowledging his presence.
Kevin sat listening to his own music, while plucking the long green strands of grass out of the ground by their roots. He glanced up from his grass picking duties as she approached and over zealously waved at her while displayed a giant charming toothy grin. He’d done this since kindergarten and it never failed to induce laughter. She acknowledged his presence by shaking her head and smiling as she slowed her pace. Her heart began to thump wildly in her chest as an act of defiance to her now walking feet. Kayn licked the sweat from her upper lip, tasting its salty, pleasurable reward. She took her track dust covered hand and wiped her forehead to keep the stinging sweat from her eyes. Kayn wiped her hands on her shorts noticing the streaks of dirt and wondered if she also had a streak of it across her brow.
Kayn turned in one fluid movement to greet Kevin, whose grassy scent signalled his arrival at her side. His giant grin told her that her face was most certainly covered in dirt, but he didn’t mention it because he was too busy cheering for her. You’d think she’d just won the Olympics or something equally spectacular. The sight of him cheering with no sound to the music in her ears was more than a little bit adorable. Kayn yanked out one of her earbuds.
“Holy crap,” Kevin yelled in her face. “That’s your best time this year. You are going to kick serious butt at the finals next month.”
“You know my earbuds are out now. I can hear you.” Kayn spoke quietly.
“Oh, you think you’re pretty cool because you’re fast. Well, young lady, plenty of people are fast, but how many people can do this?” Kevin retorted. He did a peculiar dance involving a twirl and a running man move while laughing at her mortification.
“Please, stop,” Kayn sighed as she surveyed the track and surrounding area for witnesses. Kayn knew she was an attractive girl, but she’d never known the perfection of her twin sister Chloe. It did stand to reason that she could quite easily alter her appearance, to match her identical twin, but she didn't care about superficial things. She was the socially awkward version, and she was fine with that on most days. Her naturally curly, wheat colored hair was up in a messy ponytail and she was slick with perspiration as she strolled away from the track knowing she was in desperate need of a shower. Kevin was staring at her with a strange look on his face. He’d often told her that she resembled an Amazonian sized forest nymph. She knew it was probably because she was tall and didn’t care if she was covered in dirt. She had never been sure if his observation was meant as a compliment. Kevin was jogging beside her now attempting to keep up with her long, athletic strides.
Her best friend used to be the most adorable little boy on the planet, but there was a point where she sensed he had stopped feeling adorable. She had comically surpassed him in height by the end of the seventh grade and that was a complication that their mothers had not anticipated while plotting their nuptials in the second grade. Kevin had been in a painfully awkward, acne covered stage for at least three years now. He was still adorable, although possibly only to her. However, she did notice that Kevin’s skin was looking pretty clear today. Kayn smiled at him as he valiantly attempted to run as fast as she was walking. Kayn’s affliction was very different. Kayn was invisible. To her this was a good thing. It was her preference to blend into the crowd.
“You are awesome. I mean that, and I’m totally not saying that to butter you up so you’ll put a good word in with your sister,” Kevin said with a grin.
She loved him to death, but she had been letting him down easy for ten years now. She gave him a pat on the shoulder and then flung her arm around him as they slowed down to a casual stroll. She sweetly replied, “There’s just this one problem, muffin. My sister is way too advanced for you.”
“Right…That’s what you say to all of the guys stalking your twin sister,” he countered with a grin at her cleverly creative way of calling her sister slutty.
Kayn choked on a laugh and sparred, “Yes, as a matter of fact it is exactly what I say to every single one of them. I was forced to come up with one token line that I use on everyone. It just saves time, darling.”
Kevin’s face crinkled into a dimpled grin and he shook his head feigning his distaste. He responded in a flirtatious voice, “I can’t believe after all these years, I am merely a number to you.”
She displayed a giant smile at his attempt at innuendo. Maybe she would have even been a little flattered if the conversation had been directed towards her.
Kayn gave Kevin a friendly pat on the shoulder and said, “Just do yourself a favor; take a hint. She is not the right girl for you.” She slapped him on the butt and teased, “At least have the decency to warn me if you ever find yourself wanting to wear my sister as a skin coat so I can try to get you some help.”
Kevin let out a small yelp, and he jumped from the sting of her hand. He shot a dirty look back in her direction.
Kayn took on a fake serious tone as she added, “How hard can it be to arrange an intervention or a creepy exorcism or something in your honor. I would hate to have to visit my best friend in a padded cell somewhere.” She winked at him and waited for his inevitable comeback.
“You’re really very clever, Candy Kayn. You should have a comedy show or something,” he shot back at her.
“It would be hilarious if it wasn't the truth,” Kayn challenged.
Kayn’s twin sister, Chloe Brighton, was the perfected version of her. She was stylish and always the picture of popularity and perfection. Her twin was described with words like captivating, stunning, and provocative. Kayn, on the other hand, was blandly characterized as cute, funny, and a good runner. It didn’t seem very fair; however, she loved her sister with blind acceptance. They had always been close but definitely didn’t hang out in the same crowd. To be honest, Kayn had no crowd at all. It was just her and Kevin.
The only boys who had shown an interest in her were usually after her sister Chloe. Kayn, being less sophisticated, would always fall for their games. She would think foolish thoughts like, maybe this time he actually likes me? They’d chat on the phone for a while and then inevitably they would ask to come over to hang out or maybe do some homework together. Kayn would invite them over and right when her heart would begin to flutter with the romantic possibilities of a goodnight kiss or how incredible it would be to have an actual boyfriend, it would happen. They would make their intentions obvious by saying something like, “Because we are such good friends could you introduce me to your sister Chloe?”
Friends… an uncomplicated word, it was also a word that Kayn had despised at a very young age because of her sister Chloe. That one word felt like the wind from a breath that would blow out every candle of hope she’d kept lit inside of her heart her whole life to date. Kayn would be blatantly lying if she said that the constantly repeating scenario didn’t breed some resentment towards her sister. Still, she would never let it show. Not once had she ever freaked out at her sister for stealing her imaginary boyfriends or simply for being completely morally bankrupt.
She’d learned at a young age that Chloe didn’t follow the same ethical or moral codes that most people followed. Kayn had this thing called a conscience which included guilt and a little voice in her ear that repeated, “Don’t do it, Kayn,” until she chose to listen to it. She was pretty sure the voice talking to Chloe said, “Do it,” every single time because there was no need for sentiment or morality in Chloe’s universe. The giant self-contained universe that seemed to revolve completely around Chloe was simply amazing. One could stand with mouth agape for hours listening to the stories of horrific events that Chloe had caused during a 24-hour period
of time. It was as though her sister were protected in her own little snow globe completely by herself and life merely surrounded her. Occasionally someone stirred up her water, but it simply swirled around her like everything else did, never really touching her or causing her to lose a second of control. Chloe was completely unaffected by the world around her and stood unwavering through life’s currents.
Kayn couldn’t get mad at the boys who fell for Chloe because she truly believed her sister had the mythical powers of a siren. Chloe was alluring, enticing and seemed to have catnip for men on her somewhere. How had all of the game ended up in one of the babies and not the other? They were in the same womb after all. It didn’t seem fair.
Kevin was one person whose opinion she valued. She could vent to him and he understood. He understood the power that her sister held. They would joke about it on a regular basis, but as soon as Chloe was within a ten-foot radius of him, he wasn't able to tell you his own name. It infuriated her to no end.
