Blood Stained Lives
Book 1
Ronald Edward Griffin
Published by: Immortal Publishing
Po Box 162, Strasburg, Va 22657, U.S.A.
Copyright © 2013 By Ronald Edward Griffin
All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher,
Immortal Publishing, PO Box 162, Strasburg, Va 22657
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2015952287
ISBN e-book- 978-0-9967775-3-7
Print paperback- 978-0-9967775-2-0
For Karalana
Daddy hopes to leave behind a legacy you can be proud of, as for my child that never was; daddy wishes he would have had the chance to meet you.
For my Mom:
Thank you for being my rock, and taking care of me all of those years, and for teaching me to become the man I am today.
Prologue
A car with three passengers is speeding north on I-75, heading away from the city of Macon shortly after midnight. The 7-year-old boy in the backseat is scared because he can sense the panic and fear in his parents’ voices. His mother is trying desperately to call the boy's godmother, and his father is focused on the road ahead of him.
“Katrina? This is Michelle. I do not know how, but they have found us!” There is a pause while she listens to her best friend. “We are coming up on exit 169 now. Have the Order send security to Forsyth. Maybe that’s far enough that Cyrus won't find us in the meantime.”
The car starts to sway back and forth and then skids sideways as the father tries to change direction. The mother looks ahead and sees a large creature blocking the interstate. It’s almost as tall as a small building and was humanoid in form, but its body is made of solid stone with pieces of soil and mud padding its joints.
She looks at its head, which is expressionless due to lacking a face and then an unearthly roar fills the air as it charges toward the car. As the ground starts to shake from its large mass in a full run, the car turns too sharply and flips onto its side in a ditch. The family quickly regains their senses and unbuckles their seat belts.
“Chase, we have got to get him out of here fast!”
Chase reaches back, snatches his son free of the seat belt, and helps him up front. The windshield is cracked, so he kicks it away and pushes his son free from the vehicle.
“Run, Namon! Hide and do not come back no matter what you hear. Do you understand?”
Tears swell up in the child’s eyes as he nods in response. He runs as fast as he can across the interstate as Chase and Michelle climb out of the car, yelling to get the creature's attention. The creature ignores them at first and starts after the child until a strong whirlwind sweeps beneath its legs, making it lose its balance and fall to the ground.
Oncoming traffic swerves to dodge the creature, and some onlookers that are paying more attention to the creature than the road wind up crashing into one another. Namon turns to see the car crash and dread fills his gut, but his father’s words repeat themselves in his mind and he obeys. He climbs the hill on the other side of the interstate and seeks refuge inside a Waffle House on Riverside Drive.
The creature returns to its feet and looks around, confused at its sudden lack of balance, and then sees a wolf with its lips curled back, snarling. The creature grabs a nearby car and throws it effortlessly through the air towards the wolf. The car crashes against pavement, and the creature walks to where the wolf was just standing, searching for the wolf but it doesn't see any blood at all, so it searches around the area for the wolf. Then, fast like the wind, the wolf runs beneath its legs and swirls around, trying to gather speed to knock it down again. It doesn't work this time, though, because the creature becomes wise to the wolf’s game and stomps the ground with all its force. The shock wave knocks the wolf off its feet, and it slides across the pavement.
Meanwhile, Michelle is forcing a woman out of her car and gets in, buckles the seat belt, and shifts the car into drive.
“I may not be able to turn into a wolf, but that doesn't mean I have to let him fight alone.”
She presses the accelerator to the floor to build up speed and rams the car into the creature's side, stunning it. The wolf jumps onto the now stunned creatures back, biting down on the glowing red gem on the back of its neck. It realizes what the wolf is doing, so it reaches over its shoulder and grabs the wolf. All Michelle can do is watch in horror as it throws wolf against the exit sign.
“Chase!” she screams out.
She backs the car up and rams the creature again, then again, and again, until the car will not run any longer. Tears streaming down her cheeks, she gets out of the car and rushes to her husband’s side. His eyes are closed, but she sees his chest is still moving. She lets out a sigh of relief until the ground starts to shake again, and Michelle turns to see the Destroyer demon towering over her. It raises its fist and brings it down over the top of her head hard, crushing her with little effort.
Chase regains consciousness at that moment and, as he watches his wife being crushed by the monster, feels rage building up inside of him. He ignores the pain from all the broken bones he has and runs around behind the monster, leaps onto its back once more, and with all his might he bites down on the gem and rips it from the demon's neck. Its body now lifeless, crumbles, falls apart, and pins Chase to the ground, crushing his body on impact. As the life starts to fade away from his body, he just stares at Michelle's mangled body and a tear falls. His body phases back to human form, and with his dying breath, he speaks.
“I love you, Michelle, and I will see you again soon.”
Sirens wail in the distance and traffic is at a standstill. Katrina decides to take the Pierce Avenue exit to get around the interstate traffic. She then turns onto Riverside Drive, looks back out to the interstate to see what the trouble is, and sees an ambulance, police cars, and a fire engine. She pulls off on the side of the road, gets out of her vehicle with her binoculars in hand, and looks at the scene. Her height is about five feet four inches, and she has short black hair and is of African American descent. She is wearing a pair of jeans and a T-shirt; she has always had a basic, casual style. What she sees takes her breath away; the sight of Michelle’s mangled body on the ground and the remains of a destroyer demon piled on top of Chase. She pulls out her phone and makes a call.
“Chase and Michelle are down,” she says with tears flowing down her cheeks.
“This is not good at all. What about their son?” the man on the other end of the phone asks.
“I don't see him there, and they only have two body bags out.”
“Is there a need for a containment team?”
“No sir, it just appears that a dump truck lost its load while going down the interstate. So it can be ruled as an accident with all the construction going on.”
“Okay, then your top priority is locating Namon before Cyrus figures out Chase and Michelle had a son. We have been fortunate to have kept him a secret this long.”
“Yes sir.”
She hangs up the phone, and moments later, it rings again.
“Hello?”
&
nbsp; “Yes ma'am, may I speak to a Katrina Johnson?”
“This is she.”
“There is a little boy that came in here crying and all upset saying, ‘I want my Trina.’”
“He has a bracelet with your name and phone number on it, so we thought we should call.” the woman on the other line says.
“Put him on the phone, please.”
“Trina, Mommy and Daddy made me run. I think there was a monster chasing us.” His words were barely intelligible through his sobs.
“I'll be there as soon as I can, baby. You be good and stay right there, okay? Now put the nice lady on the phone, please.” There is a brief silence before the woman answers. “I am his godmother, and his parents just got into a car accident. I think someone was chasing them, and there was a big accident on the interstate.”
“So that’s what that commotion is out there. We will keep him safe until you get here.”
“Thank you, that is, very much appreciated. Where are you?”
“This is the Waffle House on Riverside, on the other side of the interstate here. We can see the lights from the emergency vehicles from the window right now.”
“Okay, I'm just a minute away, so I’ll be right there.”
She hangs up the phone, gets back into her car, and drives down the road to the Waffle House. She rushes inside, and Namon rushes to her and hugs her tightly. She kneels down and kisses the top of his head as both of them are crying.
“You're going to come home with me sweetie, okay?”
“What about Mommy and Daddy?”
She holds him closer to her, not wanting to break his little heart. Honesty has always been a strong value between them, and she just cannot bring herself to lie to him now.
“Baby, they can't come with us.”
“Did they die?”
Nodding affirmatively, she embraces him in another tight hug and sobs uncontrollably. They leave and go to her house for the night.
Katrina, Namon, and several others all gather at Rose Hill Cemetery days later to attend the funeral service for Chase and Michelle. The priest stands at the podium and clears his throat, looking out at everyone as he prepares to give his speech. Everyone is seated and holding tissue in their hands, sad and crying at the deaths of two people who still should have had a long life ahead of them.
“We gather here today to say farewell to two souls who have been called home at a young age. They leave behind with us, though, the most precious of gifts. They leave behind a son with a very bright future ahead of him. I am sure someday he will make his parents very proud. I am sure without a doubt that they will be watching down over you. Their closest and most trusted friend Katrina would like to say a few words of remembrance for the departed.”
He steps away from the podium, and Katrina stands up and approaches, tears falling from her face and her mascara running slightly.
“Michelle has been my best friend since I first moved here to Macon. I was only about a year older than Namon is now. I’ll always remember the first day we met in school. The other kids were throwing rocks at me because I'm black. She didn't care, though, and stood up to them for me. From that day forward, we were always there for one another.”
“She had many hardships in her life, but all that changed when she met Chase. He loved and protected her with every breath in his body and would never let any harm come to her. He was a good man and loved his family dearly. I'm so happy they found one another and they had a happy life together. I'm sure they didn't leave this life with any regrets. So now, I say goodbye to the both of you. I will cherish every single memory we all shared together, and I will care for Namon as if he were my very own.”
She wipes away her tears and steps away from the podium to take her seat beside him as she gently takes his small hand in hers. The priest then resumes his place at the podium and speaks, “Let us commend Chase and Michelle Freeman to the mercy of God. I will now recite from Alcuin of York. Eternal light, shine into our hearts; Eternal Goodness, deliver us from evil; Eternal Power, be our support; Eternal Wisdom, scatter the darkness of our ignorance; Eternal Pity, have mercy upon us; that with all our heart and mind and soul and strength, we may seek thy face and be brought by thy infinite mercy to the holy presence,; through Jesus Christ our lord. Now let us bow our heads for a prayer.”
Everyone bows their heads as the priest leads the prayer, but Namon sits there with a blank expression on his face. He is lost in this world without his parents and doing his best to cope with the loss. When the prayer is over, everyone stands and walks over to the graves. As the coffins are being lowered, he lets out a tearless sob, his young emotions so overwhelming he cannot even shed a tear at this moment.
“We therefore commit Chase and Michelle's bodies to the ground; Earth to earth, ashes to ashes; dust to dust; in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life. Amen.”
One by one, everyone shows their respects and drops a rose into each grave. Namon and Katrina remain seated until everyone has left. They continue to sit there even after the graves are covered. He just stares at the graves with a lost expression on his face. Katrina holds him close and then stands.
“Let’s get out of here and go get something to eat, okay?”
Minutes later they are at Stevi B's, a local favorite, but he barely eats anything and refuses to play any of the games.
No child should have to lose their parents at such a young age, she thinks to herself. She stands and slides into the booth beside him and puts her arm around him. He buries his face into her shoulder and grips her tightly.
“I want my mommy and daddy back.”
She just sits there and continues to hold him close to her.
“I know you do, baby. I will raise you the best way that I can, though. I know I can never replace them. I can promise you though, I will give my life to protect you and keep you safe. You just do not know how important you are, Namon. One day when you’re old enough, I'll tell you everything.” She wipes the tears from his face and kisses his forehead. “You want to get out of here and go home?”
He answers her with a nod.
That night, Katrina tucks him into bed and gives him a kiss goodnight. She turns to leave, and he calls out to her.
“Trina will you please tell me a story? You always tell me good stories.”
She smiles, sits at the foot of his bed, and starts telling him the story of the first White Wolf.
CHAPTER ONE
An alarm clock starts buzzing annoyingly, and Namon just rolls over, pulling the covers over his head. Katrina knocks on the door to his room before entering and turns the alarm off. She turns and taps on the covers in an attempt to get him up.
“Okay sleepyhead, you know there is no sleeping in on Sundays. Now get your butt up and get ready for church.”
He lets out a mumbled grunt before pulling the covers down.
“Do I really have to? I mean, there is something off about St. Joseph. Everyone is always staring at me and whispering when I am there. It’s really creeping me out.”
She puts her hands on her hips and gives him that look that screams, Boy; you had better get out of that bed before I drag you out.
Rolling his eyes at her, “Okay, okay. I'm getting up, but I get first dibs on the ice cream when we get back.”
She cocks her eyebrow.
“Get dressed now!”
“Okay Trina, but are you going to stand there and watch me? That’s as creepy as the people at church. You’re like a mother to me," he says giving her a sidelong smirk.
She roughly runs her hand over his hair, messing it up even more as she grins back at him.
“Aw, man! You’re messing my hair up.”
“It was already messed up. And you call that mop hair? I need to take you take him to the Barber and get it cut.”
He quickly covers his head with his hands.
“No, no, no, no! Come on now, you know how long I've been trying to grow it out, and I just got it to
shoulder length,” he gruffly whines.
She looks at him and can't help but see both of his parents in him. He has his mother’s green eyes but his father’s looks and height at five feet ten inches. Sad memories flood her mind of the funeral and she thinks back at her vow to always protect Namon. Because of her secret life and her responsibility to him, Trina had never met anyone that she could share her life with, but she wouldn't have it any other way. She leaves his room, shutting the door behind herself.
After she leaves, he gets up, takes a quick shower, and dresses himself with a pair of khakis and a long-sleeved blue button-up shirt. Looking into the mirror, he can see his green eyes as he combs his hair, parting it in the middle. It has a slight wavy quality to it while it’s wet, and to him that’s the most aggravating thing about having long hair, he has to wait for it to dry before it will straighten. Before leaving the room, he looks into the mirror one last time wishing he didn't have his mother’s complexion; he is borderline tan and white. Minutes later, he walks out of his room nice and clean, dressed, and ready for church. A breakfast of pancakes, bacon, grits, and scrambled eggs awaits him.
The smell of bacon and maple syrup fills the house, a smell that he has grown very comfortable with over the last ten years. Every Sunday morning, Katrina cooks him a big breakfast before they go to church. This is his home, and even though she didn't give birth to him, she is his mother.
“Well don't you look handsome,” she comments with a smile. “I have started writing a new book, and I have the first chapter ready if you want to read it tonight.”
His eyes light up like an excited child.
“Is it another White Wolf story?”
She gives him a half smile and nods a yes.
“I'm calling this one Southern Heat.”
“Does it have Lance in it and Alexandria? Another adventure after they took down the dragon Galamythe?” he says while thrusting his butter knife into the air. She chuckles as she puts her hand on his wrist to lower it.
Blood Stained Lives (The Blood Stained Saga Book 1) Page 1
