LAMENT OF PURGATORY (ASHWOOD CHRONICLES #1)

by Brandon Chandler

  “Oh shi-”

  He pulled the trigger, releasing projectiles from either barrel, followed by the right side of Johann’s head, exploding open on impact. He dropped to the floor in a pool of blood. The demon rolled onto his back flopping like a fish out of water.

  Dominic took aim once again at Johann.

  “My mother’s name was Anastasia,” he screamed. “Thanks to you and your friends I grew up without her love.” His voice was so distant, so emotionally faraway.

  Dominic pulled the trigger, firing rounds into Johann’s skull until the magazines were empty.

  The weapon vaporized from his hand, leaving behind no evidence it was ever there, except for the bloody mass of a deceased Johann Edelweiss. Dominic turned away from the body and towards Kori. She had backed herself into a corner pointing hysterically at the dead demon.

  “W-what the hell was that thing?”

  Dominic knelt next to the body. “A dead demon,” he answered. “Because of your strange touch I knew I had to use you as bait.”

  “Strange touch?” Kori asked.

  Dominic nodded, “I felt it when we first met... after colliding into you.”

  Suddenly Jezebel materialized in his clutches and he took aim at the door as it opened.

  Ethan screamed while Hayden traversed about the murder scene.

  “What did you do?” he demanded.

  “Something you don’t have the balls to,” Dominic retorted as he stood from the body. The weapon in his hands once again disbursed into a cloud of smoke. “All I asked is for you to stay out of my way.”

  “That’s kind of hard to do when you involve innocent people.” Hayden snapped spotting Kori still standing in her corner. Hayden made his way towards her.

  “They lived,” Dominic retorted.

  “But what if they didn’t?”

  Dominic shrugged. “Don’t know, because they are still alive.”

  “Unbelievable,” Hayden muttered. “I don’t know what you’re up to, but you need to stop before you attract the wrong attention.”

  “Sure,” Dominic replied in a tone that indicated he would do no such thing.

  He stooped next to the body, pulled an orb necklace from underneath his shirt collar and floated the jewelry over the defunct body. After muttering a few verses in a language that none of the others knew. The color of the ebony orb shifted from dark to red in an assortment of swirls. Next, the body began to wither, but not before a torrent of dark gray light shot upward from the torso of the demon and was immersed by the orb. The entire necklace glowed bloodshot for several seconds, radiating a whirring sound and seconds later returned to its original state.

  As Dominic made his way to the exit he paused and pointed towards the traumatized Kori and Ethan. They were huddled together with Ethan’s arms wrapped around Kori’s shoulders.

  “You should probably have Brianna erase their memories.”

  Chapter-Twenty-Two

  Ethan was awakened by the blaring of an alarm clock. Groaning, he pushed himself away from the pillow and groggily sat up. Almost immediately he threw his hands to either side of his temples, wincing in agony. Volts of pain pounded at his head relentlessly from all sides.

  He glanced at the blaring clock before shutting the alarm off.

  6:45 AM

  Massaging the sides of his skull Ethan climbed out of bed. Why in the world do I have such a headache?

  He gazed around his room as if the answer was hidden somewhere in the vicinity. However, after drawing a blank, he stepped into the foyer and stopped in his tracks as the smell of food being cooked found its way into his nostrils.

  “Is Kori making breakfast?” he whispered. He shook his head, “no, she barely knows how to use a microwave.”

  Her room door directly across from his was wide open. Inside he found Kori sprawled out across her bed snoring loudly, still in her clothing from the previous day. Ethan made his way towards her bedside.

  “Kori,” he whispered as he nudged her gently.

  She didn’t stir.

  Ethan elbowed a little harder while calling out her name.

  Once again Kori did not respond.

  Ethan rolled his eyes with a groan. “Kori, wake up!” he shouted shaking his sister with forceful heaves.

  She sprung upward, swinging her fist through the air. “Stay away from me, you ugly bastard.”

  Ethan managed to duck and weave between the wailing fists as he tried to calm Kori.

  “Hey, it’s me, relax,” Ethan shouted repeatedly.

  Kori took a few more swings before dropping her arms and glancing towards Ethan. “S-sorry. My dream, it felt so real,” she said breathlessly.

  “I can’t remember anything from mine...” he trailed off. “Heck I can’t remember anything after Dominic came over,” Ethan said with a half-smile.

  Kori gasped. “So, Dominic did come over?”

  “Yeah and unannounced,” Ethan said peeved.

  Kori huffed. “Am I confusing dreams with my reality?” she glanced at Ethan with a concerned expression. “In my dream Dominic showed up and talked us into going to a nightclub.”

  Ethan mended the sides of his head as he tried to recall the events of last night but only drew a blank. He knelt onto one knee trying his hardest to summon up a memory of last night, while Kori strained to cipher through details of her dream.

  “My first-period teacher was there and he like mind-controlled me into going into some private room with him, but Dominic showed up and ripped out his heart and he turned into a monster. Then Hayden and Brianna showed up.” Kori said rubbing the side of her head. “It all felt so real.”

  Ethan gestured towards his head. “Do you also have a massive migraine.”

  She opened her mouth to answer, but then paused to sniff the air, “are you frying bacon?”

  Ethan shook his head. “No, but I smell it too.”

  He stood and stepped aside, allowing Kori to climb out of bed.

  “Well, first things first, let’s go find out who is making breakfast,” she said with a giggle.

  Together they exited the room and darted down the stairwell.

  After reaching the bottom step, the aroma of the cookery intensified, awakening Ethan and Kori’s hunger and allowing them to forget about their head-splitting headaches.

  She and Ethan entered the conventional kitchen ready to appease their appetites when-

  “Good morning kiddos.”

  The young teens halted. A few feet in front of them was a middle-aged woman placing plates containing eggs, bacon and toast on the counters near the fridge. Not far from her was a man. He frantically danced around the dinner table placing and unfolding rolls of paper that looked like schematics and plans for the design of some sort of machine.

  “Good morning mom,” Kori said confused.

  “Mrs. Shawna that smells amazing,” Ethan said once again massaging his temples. He glanced towards the frantic man as he studied the charts he carefully laid out. “How are you dad?”

  The man looked up from his work revealing baggy sunken eyes behind big square framed glasses.

  “I’m doing fine son,” he hastily returned his attention towards the diagrams.

  Due to his stubby cheeks and unkempt hair, Ethan could tell his father was clearly not fine.

  “Thanks for the compliment Ethan, but you don’t always have to call me Mrs....just plain Shawna is fine.”

  Ethan nodded, not taking his eyes off his father who was hysterically mumbling to himself while adjusting the designs. “S-sorry Mrs....I mean Shawna,” he stammered.

  “The two of you look hungover,” she teased. “It would explain why so many lights were left on and the front door left wide open.”

  Ethan and Kori gave her a puzzled look.

  “Are the two of you okay?” Shawna took a step back regarding her children.

  Still massaging his skull, Ethan nodded. “We’ll be more careful in the future.”

  Kori nodded her agr
eement.

  She smiled sweetly at them, while Mr. Waite piped up. “Listen to your mother kids,” he said without looking away from the plans.

  Ethan switched glances between his parents before returning to kneading his head.

  “I decided I would stop by the market on my way home and grab a few things to make us some breakfast...” Shawna trailed off while giving Ethan a concerned glance as he babied the sides of his head. “Are you sure you’re okay Ethan you’re a little pale.”

  Kori quickly chimed in. “He’s concerned about this strange dream I had,” she said grabbing a plate of food.

  “Oh?” Mrs. Waite said.

  “Yeah, it was super bizarre,” Kori continued while stuffing her mouth full of bacon.

  “This boy from our school; Dominic Ashwood invited us to go with him to a nightclub called Nocte. It was jam packed with weirdos, drunks and my steamy first-period teacher was there too, but he turned into a hideous beast and tried to eat me or something.”

  “It could be your brain’s way of coping with the move,” Shawna said. “How was your first day of school?”

  Kori laughed abruptly. “Let’s say it was an interesting one.”

  Ethan gave Kori a pleading look not to go into too much detail. She acknowledged the guise.

  “Long story short Ethan ended up teaming with Dominic and Hayden Ashwood in a game of basketball against three other students.”

  With a look of pride, Shawna glanced over to Ethan. “Did the three of you win?”

  “Y-yeah-” Ethan began, however, Kori quickly intruded once again.

  “He even scored a few baskets himself and everyone was cheering him on. It was so amazing to watch.”

  Ethan blushed. “I think it was an adrenaline rush because after the excitement wore off, I began to suck once again.”

  Mr. Waite looked away from his work for the first time. “You two making friends with my boss’s kids? And did you say Club Nocte?” he asked pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose.

  Kori continued to stuff her face before answering. “Yeah, a few people at school say they are really strange.” Kori took a moment to swallow her food. “But they don’t seem that weird to me.”

  “The club you mentioned is owned by one of my bosses.” Mr. Waite said, showing more interest in the conversation.

  Kori nearly choked. “Wait, Nocte is an actual club?”

  “According to my colleagues it’s a popular place. Many of them often go there.”

  Shawna giggled. “Maybe you and I should have a date night there then.”

  Mr. Waite huffed. “From what I hear that place sounds like a modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah.”

  His wife continued to giggle. “Well in that case if I ever catch you there, I’ll skin you alive.”

  “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Mr. Waite said returning to his work.

  Shawna kissed Kori on her forehead. “Boys don’t forget to eat your breakfast before you head out,” she said with a wide yawn. “I’m off to bed,” Shawna smiled sweetly at her family before withdrawing.

  Ethan grabbed a plate from the counter. With one hand holding the dish he began to munch a piece of toast with the other. In silence, he and Kori watched his father scamper around his work, continuously talking to himself in rapid whispers.

  “Have you met Alexander Ashwood?” Ethan asked abruptly.

  “Uh yes, he’s a very imposing man,” Mr. Waite said unconcernedly. “He’s quite a lot older than I am, but he is in impeccable shape.”

  “Is he your only boss?” Ethan continued.

  Mr. Waite looked up at his son.

  “I have two superiors, Mr. Alexander Ashwood and Mr. Cicero Giovanni.” Jonathan watched his children empty their plate into the sink. “I’ve never met or seen Mr. Giovanni. In fact, no one really knows what he looks like. But apparently, he has a penthouse on the top floor of the building.”

  Kori shivered mockingly, “he sounds mysterious.”

  “Yeah he stays cooped up there 24/7 and the only reason why I know he exists is because his annoying butler is consistently breathing down my neck asking for updates about my work.”

  Kori chuckled at the sight of her stepdad’s flustered face. He took a moment to clear his throat and recompose himself. He then fixed his son with a blank stare, “why the sudden interest?”

  Ethan fell silent, matching his father’s stare. Picking up on tension, Kori let out an over-exaggerated yawn, breaking the silence.

  “Love to hear more about your new job but look at the time,” she said glaring at a pretend wristwatch. “I have to go get ready for school.”

  With that said she hastily exited the kitchen.

  Jonathan sighed deeply. “It’s obvious that you’re worried about the new job I have,” he said.

  “But my dear boy, everything Shawna and I are doing is for the benefit of this family. I know it may seem like we’re working too much but it’s only so we can get used to the new swing of things. Once everything has settled, we’ll be a normal family again, I promise.”

  Ethan reluctantly nodded. “Take a break every once and a while okay?”

  That said he exited the kitchen making his room his next endpoint.

  “Whoa, someone is brooding intensely.”

  Surprised, Ethan stopped at the top step, inches away from bumping into Kori.

  She took a couple of steps back allowing Ethan passage onto the second floor. He stared at her for a few seconds silently.

  “You can stop with the passionate brooding,” Kori said while laughing tenderly.

  “Sorry,” he apologized still staring at Kori. “Wow, you’re already dressed for school.”

  She grinned. “Dominic is the only one who can explain what happened last night.”

  Ethan folded his arms. “And you want to go look for him?”

  Kori winced at the site of Ethan’s disapproval expression, “yeah?”

  The two of them stood silently with Ethan compiling a mental list of reasons why Kori’s idea was absurd.

  “Are you coming or not?” she asked breaking through his train of thoughts.

  Ethan scoffed, “I’ll be ready in fifteen minutes.”

  “Cool beans. I’ll be waiting in the living room.”

  SHE BOLTED DOWN THE flight of steps taking each stride two by two. Within seconds she was on the first floor greeting a yawning Jonathan.

  “Do you kiss my mom with breath like that?” she said fanning her hand in front of her face.

  Mr. Waite paused in his tracks staring blankly at Kori.

  “It’s a joke my dude,” she said. “How were you and my dad ever friends?”

  Jonathan scratched the side of his face. “Yes, your father did have quite a sense of humor...I never understood,” he chuckled lightly.

  “And I see where Ethan gets his,” Kori said underneath her breath.

  Mr. Waite adjusted his glasses. “Are you heading to school early?”

  “Ethan and I are going to attempt to learn our way around campus,” she lied.

  Mr. Waite nodded, then looked from Kori to the stairwell.

  She followed his gaze and saw Ethan at the base of the stairwell.

  “And I hope there aren’t any bullies this year.” Jonathan said. “If so, I could have a talk with the principal.”

  “No!” shouted Kori and Ethan simultaneously.

  Jonathan glanced at his children with raised eyebrows but didn’t pursue the matter any further.

  The last time you did that the bullying only increased Kori thought.

  “Okay then,” he said with a yawn. “You kids have a wonderful day.”

  They waved him off as he disappeared up the staircase.

  Outside, the morning couldn’t have been more beautiful. From the emaciating branches of multiple trees to the flocks of birds carrying on a musical conversation. Like their house, the neighboring homes were square, two-story houses with whitewashed wooden porches and well-manicured lawns.<
br />
  A few neighbors could be seen scurrying towards their vehicles. Others were out retrieving their morning newspapers while some were jogging.

  “Like it or not this is our new home,” Kori said as her eyes scanned over the well-manicured neighborhood.

  “It’s too conventional for my taste.” Ethan retorted.

  Kori frowned. But then squinted her eyes to get a better view of two figures briskly heading in the direction of their school. As the dual frames arrived closer, Kori instantly recognized who they were.

  Ethan followed her gazed.

  “Hey, that’s Hayden and Brianna,” Kori bellowed.

  Ethan bobbed his head and adjusted his glassed like they were binoculars. “I wonder if they are heading to school early also.”

  Kori smiled and vaulted off the porch. “I don’t know but let’s go find out,” she said.

  Ethan sighed as Kori called out to the siblings.

  The sounds of her outcry caused Brianna and Hayden to stop. Looking to their left the duo watched Kori hurry towards their location with Ethan close behind.

  “What’s the rush?” she asked stopping at Hayden’s side.

  He didn’t answer.

  “We’re looking for Dominic.” Brianna replied.

  Kori clapped her hands together excitedly. “So are we.”

  With a raised eyebrow Hayden asked. “W-why, what do you want with him?”

  “It’s nothing,” Ethan said with a timid laugh. “But Kori believes he might know why she and I can’t remember anything from last night.”

  Hayden cocked his head in confusion, “What do you remember?”

  “It was more like a dream in my case,” Kori said massaging her chin.

  “Dominic came over and convinced us to go to a nightclub,” Kori paused staring at Hayden then to Brianna.

  “The two of you were there also,” she began to massage her head as she felt sharp pain creeping into existence. “My dream was so surreal...and it ended with you doing something to our memories.” Kori grimaced as her headache intensified. She pointed at Brianna, who in return took a defensive step backward. “Please tell me that it was all a dream.”