Daughters of the Damned

by Cecily Dawson

  “Ouch,” Akela bent down to untangle her leg from the wire that had her trapped. We bent to help her, bright red blood seeped from her the gash in her ankle and my fangs showed themselves. I turned away. Then, I got up and backed away from the smell of its potency. I wanted to suck it. I wanted to taste it. I was being driven by a primal desire to feed at the sight of blood, but I fought it.

  They all looked at me as I stood there fighting a raging battle inside. Natira snapped her fingers and a bright light shone on my countenance; I was a vicious predator lost in my own savageness. She shone the light onto Akela’s leg while Lucy untangled her. She quickly took off her own sweater and wrapped the leg, covering the blood.

  “Fight it, Rune. You are stronger than you think,” Lucy said.

  Suddenly, there was a howling coming from the hills in the distance. Akela looked toward them and longed to be where they were. She wanted to answer the call but knew that it was dangerous.

  “Let’s go,” Lucy said and continued around the school to the back where we found an opening in the gate surrounding the school.

  “Do you know what they’ll do to us if they find out we left school grounds?”

  “No, and I don’t want to find out,” I said.

  “We’ll have to climb, there,” she pointed, “There’s a hole right there in the gate.”

  “Natira, we’ll need the voltage to stop temporarily.”

  Natira placed her hands on the fence and the electricity was drawn to her like a worm to an apple. She closed her eyes and took it all in with pleasure. We climbed the gate and through the hole, then she returned the voltage and climbed over herself. Outside the school things were very different. The green grass was replaced with desert sand, dry and hot. Large white turbines reached over 300 feet into the sky dotting the expanse of barrenness before us. We took our shoes off and walked through the sand. When we came upon a small house in the distance we stopped.

  “Lucy, where are we?”

  “You’ll see,” she said, smiling.

  She knocked on the door of the only house in Harmagito. A boy who was about 18 years old answered the door, his blue eyes were the first thing I saw, and then his wide smile. His name was Kenneth and he worked as the Keeper of the Gates. It was his summer job and responsibility to keep the turbines in working order. Kenneth invited us in. It was a wide-open living room that offered a view of the kitchen and one bedroom. Kenneth had a station in the corner of the room that had various camera views of the turbines and a switch board to for operation of various parts of the turbines and lights. He flipped a few switches and then joined us on the sectional sofa.

  “Can I get anybody water?” he asked.

  Lucy opened her backpack and smiled a devious smile, “I brought something that will make our night.”

  I sat quietly at the end out the sofa, trying to keep my eyes focused on the television instead of boring a hole into Kenneth’s gorgeous face. Although the television was on mute, I watched the images of two men who were deep sea fishing. They pulled sword fish from their rod and held it up to the screen.

  “You fish?” Kenneth asked.

  “Me, nooooo. I want to.” I looked at him. His blue eyes darted in every direction; he was nervous. He ran his hand through his blond curls and leaned against the bookshelf.

  “How about some music,” he said thumbing through his record collection.

  “Rune, I heard you like music.”

  “Yes,” I said walking over to him. My fangs retreated. “So, you run this place all by yourself?”

  “Yes, my dad owns most of the land, the turbines are big money, but he is so cheap he refuses to hire anyone at full cost to run them, so I’m here. It’s not that hard, mostly picking up lots of dead birds and keeping an eye out for trespassers.”

  “How long have you been here?”

  “I’ve been around since I was about five. I know the turbines like the back of my hand.”

  He looked at me and smiled, I blushed. I looked at Lucy and she was spinning around with Natira in a blissful dance of inebriated bliss.

  My wheels were turning. I had so many questions for Kenneth, he would be my first step in uncovering the dark deeds of the Council. Lucy and Natira were giggling and taking selfies, while Akela was in the restroom, probably nursing her wound.

  “Isn’t this much better than that old stuffy school?” Lucy squealed in delight.

  “So much better,” Natira stumbled holding the bottle in her hand.

  “How long have you known Lucy?” they asked Kenneth.

  “We met last year.”

  There was a knock at the door. We jumped.

  “It’s just Barry,” Kenneth said opening the door. In walked a tall dark-haired boy with dark skin.

  “Baby!” Lucy jumped into his arms kissing him passionately. By now she had abandoned the shy reserved angel for the dark angel of devious proclivities.

  I stood next to Akela, and Natira joined us in our admiration of the blissful couple. As students at an all-girls school, we didn’t see any boys at all, so two in one night was definitely a treat.

  “So how long has this,” I pointed to the couple (Lucy and Barry) embraced in a gordian knot, “been going on Lucy?”

  “I met Barry through Kenneth; they are college roommates. Isn’t he cuuuuuttttteee!”

  Kenneth was looking at me, his cheeks were flushed, “Maybe we should give them some space. Let’s go outside,” he suggested.

  “We’re gonna look for dead birds!” Akela announced.

  “Maybe I can bring them back to life!” Natira said.

  They ran into the night, free from the rules of the Academy, free from the routines, free.

  “I found one!” The girls leaned over the motionless blackbird, his wing had been badly damaged by the propeller.

  Akela bent down, “Poor little guy!”

  “I think I can help him,” Natira rubbed her necklace and touched the turbine nearby. The electricity in the turbine sent a spark of ignition between them. She touched the birds wing with the tip of her finger, and it jumped to its feet and flew away. “And stay away from the turbines!” she yelled after it.

  I was always amazed at seeing her use her superpowers. The turbines were spinning slowly under the twilight sky emitting an interminable swooshing int the air, we watched as Natira and Akela ran from turbine to turbine in search of dead birds. Their screams pierced the night each time they came upon one. Fueled by the presence of alcohol, they became bold with excitement. Poking at the bird’s carcass and squealing in delight.

  We were quiet, the continuous swooshing sound of the turbines sent monotonous waves of sound through the air. I closed my eyes and thought of a sandy beach shore, waves crashing upon rock. “Does the noise drive you nuts?”

  “Not really, I’m used to it by now. Its more so the shadow flicker that bothers me in the mornings, especially when I’m trying to sleep. Strobe lights are soothing at night because they remind me of an airport.” He sat up and listened, “Your girls are pretty loud; I’d hate to be visited by the DOD Agents again.”

  “They visited you, here why?”

  “Some lady who calls herself Duchess came to see me last night about someone who was prodding around in the hills. She told me to keep my doors and windows locked because they were dangerous.”

  “Who is dangerous? Vampire hunters or Werewolf Chasers? I asked him.

  “She told me that they were closing the roads and I should not try to leave for 24 hours.”

  “Was she alone?”

  “No, she wasn’t, she was with a tall thin man who wore a white suit. His name was Prescott I believe.”

  “Drisdol, the Head Council?”

  “Not sure who that is,” he said, rubbing his hair.

  Could it be that Drisdol Prescott was here on the premises? I looked out into the hills, what was out there? were they after me? I wondered. I looked around for Lucy and Barry, they were still inside. When I glanced at my watch it wa
s a little after 11 p.m. and I knew we needed to get back to the school before the midnight sweep. Kenneth looked me into my eyes again and I found myself drawn to him.

  “There is something very familiar about you. I cannot put my finger on it but it’s like I’ve met you before.”

  He blushed, “Perhaps in a past life?”

  We laughed.

  “Girls, we need to get back,” I called into the darkness.

  Lucy emerged rearranging and adjusting her disheveled clothing, “You called?” she said still adjusting and repositioning her hair.

  Next, Natira came running out of the darkness, a finger lighting the way. “I can’t find Natira!”

  “What?”

  “Yeah she went a little further ahead of me looking for birds and never returned.”

  “What? “Kenneth said, “If she breaches the perimeter, I’m dead!”

  Kenneth ran into the facility and flicked on a huge flood light that lit up the entire perimeter of the area so that it looked like daylight. I looked as far as the light reached and there was no sign of Natira. Where had she gone? I looked beyond the light and could see the shadows of men in the distance.

  “What are those?”

  We all stepped forward to see if we could get a better look. They were bigger than normal men, and they didn’t walk, but they floated, dragging something behind them.

  “I can see something.”

  “Let me look,” Natira said. She stood on a chair and looked in the distance. Her eyes adjusted and she could see them as if they were a few feet in front of her. They were men, tall men with scaly skin. Their eyes were not in front but on the sides of their heads. They drug the bodies of women behind them. Natira looked closer, the faces of the woman they were dragging was hers, the others were Lucy, Akela and Rune. The swooshing sound not a swooshing at all, but a dragging, dragging of bodies in a circle around the perimeter of the desert academy.

  “We’re in trouble,” Natira said. “We need to get back into the safety of the school.”

  “What are they? What are they dragging?” I asked.

  She looked at me, “Us.”

  My heart dropped,” Akela?”

  Suddenly out of the darkness Akela came running toward them, she was frantically panting, her eyes were glazed over with fear. There was something odd about her disposition, “There are big men out there!”

  “Akela, why did you run away?”

  “I thought I heard someone calling me from the hills so I went to see who it was and that’s when I saw them.”

  “We have to go back. Kenneth it was nice meeting you.” I hugged him and we disappeared into the darkness. When we got back to the high voltage fence surrounding the school Natira placed her hands on it and drained the energy into herself. We began crawling over, but when we touched it it shocked us.

  “Ouch!” I yelled. “Natira you’re not taking the voltage.”

  “Yes I am,” she looked at us, “Something’s wrong.”

  Duchess came out of the shadows of the school. “Yes, something is very wrong. You girls are not supposed to be out here. You are in violation of a school rule,” she said holding her wand toward the gate. “Andratemus Gargantium!” she said and the voltage on the gate grew in size and volume so that Natira was thrown off. We couldn’t even touch it without being completely shocked.

  “I told you girls how dangerous it was to leave the safety of the school perimeter. There are men lying in wait, and if one of them got into this school do you know what could happen?”

  We bowed our heads in shame.

  “I’m sorry,” Lucy spoke up, “It was me. I took them out.”

  “Is that so,” Duchess said.

  “Raisano Lifteus!” she said pointing her wand toward us. We levitated into the air just above the electric gate so that we were looking down at her on the other side. She pointed the wand at us one at a time.

  “Where did Akela go?”

  I started to answer, “Not you!”

  I looked at Natira and Lucy, who both looked at me. I looked down at Akela’s wound, it was not there, instead her ankle was as smooth as a baby’s butt.

  “Akela, your cut, it’s healed.”

  “No, it’s not because this is not Akela,” as quickly as she said it she used her wand to throw us onto the school yard just as Akela, or the girl we thought was Akela lashed out toward us, turning into a man wearing a long black trench coat and an eye patch. He was holding a dagger.

  “I’m here to collect what belongs to me!” he yelled down at Duchess.

  “Not on my watch!” Duchess yelled.

  “We’ll see about that!” The man yelled throwing a bunch of stones toward Duchess, each of the stones glowed and moved in different directions until they were in front of each of the girls, they floated above them and their glow radiated outward. “See those stones, they have identified my property. These girls are werewolves and vampires and the other two, we’ll find out soon enough!”

  “These girls belong to Desert Academy!”

  “We both know their souls belong in the outer realm!”

  The security guard took out his taser and pointed it toward the levitating man. In one move the levitating man lassoed the guard and squeezed, revealing a troll instead of a man. “One of Drisdol’s moves, I see he’s still using cheap labor!”

  Duchess pointed her wand toward him, “Headius Mutatinus Androneptus!” and the creature fell onto the electrified gate and screamed into the night.

  Duchess turned to security guards and pointed her wand again, “Reverso!” and the guards grew in size and stature. “Get these girls back into the school. I’m going to get Akela.”

  “Yes ma’am!”

  I watched as Duchess jumped over the gate in one swift move and disappeared into the darkness. She found the scaled men marching in the ring of darkness still dragging the girls behind them, they’d do it until they had them in their custody.

  “I have come for the girl!” Duchess yelled.

  “She belongs to us,” one answered, yet no one spoke. They communicated through their thoughts.

  Duchess raised her wand and threw out a powerful substance that mimicked acid. It burned the scales of the men and they raised their hands to shield their eyes and she pulled Akela from their grip.

  From the shadows of darkness her body was thrown to the ground with a thump. Duchess pointed her wand at Akela and uttered the words, “Raisado Armedo.” Akela’s arms was thrown up into the air and Duchess saw that the barcode and number were intact. It was her. The spirits could not duplicate the code as it was made of a powerful spell that could only be duplicated and controlled by the original creator.

  “Akela?” Duchess shook her until she awoke. “Are you ok?”

  Ake;a opened her eyes, “What happened?”

  “You were taken by- “

  “The men, the scaled me. They called my name and I went to answer.”

  “You’re ok now, let’s return to the school.”

  Chapter Seven

  When I open my eyes the next morning Akela and Natira were staring at me from the opposite bed. They were fully dressed. I sat up in my bed and rubbed my eyes, Akela looked as if she’d been crying because her eyes are red and puffy.

  “What happened last night,” I asked her. “How did Duchess find you, where were you?”

  “Wait,” Natira said, “Someone might hear us.” She waved her hand over the room window and a thick glass wall slid down with her hand, then she did the same to the door. “Now,” she sat back down. “Soundproof.”

  “You are a genius!”

  Akela spoke, “There is something very evil out there,” she pointed toward Harmagito.

  “What do you mean, I remember standing there talking to Kenneth and you and Natira were searching for dead birds around the turbines, then suddenly she came back screaming that you’re gone.”

  “Yes, I heard someone calling my name.” She leaned in and whispered, someone that sou
nded like my mother. I heard her voice. So, I went after it, it was coming from the hills.”

  “What did you see out there?”

  “Well at first, I saw my mother she was standing not too far away, reaching for me.”

  “No,” I said. “Natira we are in a desert. Maybe you saw a mirage.”

  “No, it was so clear. But when I started walking toward her, she turned and walked away away so I followed after her. A man with scales for skin and his eyes were,” she touched her temples. “His eyes were not in front of his face but on his temples instead. On each side of his face.”

  Natira spoke, “Was he dragging something?”

  “Yes, it was a girl in a white dress.”

  “I know I saw them; they were replicas of us.”

  “Then I started to run back but it grabbed me from afar and pulled me in to him. Inside of him. I was trapped inside of his body. I was screaming and hitting him and trying to get out but all I heard was an echo, it was like I was in a dark coffin.”

  “That sounds so creepy,” I shuddered.

  “Yes, it was then I heard the name Gabriel and I was thrown out to the ground. I don’t remember anything else; I just woke up in this bed.”

  “Duchess rescued you. Has anyone heard from Lucy?”

  “No, but we are probably in big trouble for leaving.”

  The green light over the door started flashing.

  “Oh no, I don’t have time to get dressed!”

  Hold on, Natira flipped through a yearbook that was sitting on my desk and smiled, she touched a picture and then passed her hand over my face and down the length of my body and I was dressed. I looked in the mirror and I was wearing my uniform, a white handkerchief tucked neatly inside the chest pocket. My hair was in a high ponytail with a sparkling hunter green bow. My shoes were sparkling hunter green high tops to match my bow and my white socks were to my knees. “Cute.”