Unveiled: The Chronicles of Luxor Everstone

by Jacklyn Daher

  Five doors down, Luxor nudged the door with her elbow and entered her bedroom. Like the rest of the house, the bedroom was fully furnished, except this room was in pristine condition. She rolled a shoulder to unhook the backpack and situated her suitcase on the edge of the four-post queen sized bed. It was adorned with matching lilac sheets and blanket, a dusty pink tulle canopy draped around the poles as if she was a princess. Unzipping her hoodie, she released the kitten who promptly made its way to the mountain of pillows and mewled.

  Across the room, Luxor pulled apart the purple velour curtains to air out the room where she found a balcony.

  She smiled.

  Finally, a familiar sight.

  Unlike her old bedroom which had a beautiful view, the only view before her was a vast paddock which spread on for miles leading to a creek. On the edge of the property, a lopsided barn rammed up the creepy factor.

  Luxor undressed, kicking her clothes to the side and slipped into silky, lilac shorts and a camisole. She headed into the miniscule en-suite which only had a shower and a toilet, emptying the bag into the top drawer, bits and pieces tumbled out; toothbrush, toothpaste and copious amounts of creams.

  Luxor sighed in exhaustion and winced at her bare faced reflection. Pale and gaunt, constant dark circles marred underneath her eyes and her hair was tied back in a messy ponytail. A stranger reflected from the mirror, unrecognisable from the girl she had been for sixteen years.

  Luxor tilted her head back and looked upwards, removing the blue contacts. She returned them to their little case ready to use the next time she left the house. Her eyes flickered, slightly irritated as they were returned to their natural aqua colour.

  It had only been a few weeks since she had been wearing them, in preparation for the move. She still wasn't used to the sensation of having them in, but as far as she was concerned, it was needed to make sure she didn't stand out too much.

  Luxor couldn’t understand how Meredith hadn’t even noticed that her eye colour had changed. They spent many days arguing on the issue and Meredith threatened to have her institutionalised. Luxor figured Meredith thought she was crazy, which she was starting to believe. Meredith must have conceded defeat and allowed the contacts, but begged her to choose brown because, "it was a normal colour, and great for a new change,” but she was adamant to hold on to something close to her former self. Being naturally blue eyed, it was the one thing Luxor wanted to keep, and in the end, Meredith couldn't do anything about it.

  But that wasn’t the only change.

  Navy blue veins intertwined and ran up and down her arms, and climbed up to her elbow, weaving in intricate patterns similar to snakes. It made her feel like an even bigger freak than she already was.

  After the fight with Verity, Luxor ended up in the hospital battered, broken, and stuck in a coma. When she awoke, her veins were permanently marked, and her eyes had turned aqua.

  When Luxor asked about her veins, the doctors scratched their heads and conceded it was because of the copious amount of medication she was on. They assured her they would change back when she had gotten off them, but they never did. And that was a month ago.

  Luxor rifled through the piles of expensive creams, makeup, and brushes, until she came across the aloe vera. She smeared a blob on her arms and smoothed the lotion before massaging it in until the cream had dissolved. Her skin was supple, but Luxor hoped if she continued to use a cheap cream one day the markings on her arms would dissolve.

  She had lost count of the number of dermatologists and skin specialists she had visited. Just like the research Luxor had undertaken herself, she couldn’t find an explanation. Her blood tests came back normal and there was nothing else the doctors could do, and so they refused to prescribe any topical medical.

  Luxor yawned and headed to the bed, not able to keep her eyes open any longer, she was past the threshold of being tired and close to venturing in delirium. Climbing underneath the sheets she cuddled a pillow for security. It didn’t take long for her to fall into a deep sleep.

  Warm streaks of sunlight broke and radiated through the luscious looming oak and elm trees, the harmonious melodies of hummingbirds gliding mid-air dancing with butterflies, an array of multi-colours swirling around. Straight ahead, high above on a branch an owl hooted, its wide eyes wise enough to know this was a twisted world of danger under the guise of beauty.

  Luxor was sucked back into a world she dreaded and submerged wholly. She inhaled a sharp breath and puffed out her cheeks. She twirled around and wondered aimlessly, refusing to inhale the polluted air, all too aware of the fate which behold them.

  No, no, no! Not again!

  It was a repeat performance.

  The Forest.

  The Hunt.

  The Fall.

  This isn’t real, it’ll be over soon.

  Since the accident, the night terrors were her reality. Night after night. Luxor wanted to run to wake up, but it was futile. She was a prisoner inside her own nightmare. A low hiss echoed from one of the low branches. She cradled herself and shivered as she peered up, but she couldn’t see anything. She curled her barefooted toes into the dirt and moved forward. For the first time it was a new addition.

  Ready.

  Luxor changed a bit of the game to gain control, she couldn’t keep going the same way. Sixteen years was enough.

  Set.

  “What do you want?” she said into the void. It was the same question she always asked, hoping for an answer.

  A rumble shook underneath, a sign of a muted answer, followed by a melodious laugh echoing through the trees. But it didn’t offer a reprieve. The chase was about to commence.

  Go!

  Luxor played the part and lifted the hem of her ivory dress and clutched the chiffon tightly. She glanced over her shoulder and dashed into the distance to nowhere. She dodged any obstacles in her way, her arms scratching against rough bark. Twigs snapped and leaves crunched under her bare feet as bugs were squashed mixing in with a gritty residue of burnt dirt which stuck between her toes.

  As usual nobody was there, but a deep sense of foreboding awaited her and a deep chilling presence arrived which ultimately welcomed her.

  A gust of wind whooshed in and brought a frosty chill, a telltale sign of ominous danger, just as the flash of a violet lightning bolt ahead lit up the sky. The environment transformed, and the wildlife scampered away in all directions, leaving a mess in their wake.

  The lush foliage died and transformed to black, stripped of all its beauty as oak trees extended their branches, knocking the grand apple tree beside it. Apples rained down and cast her surroundings into darkness.

  Nobody was in sight, but that meant nothing, this was the perfect setting.

  Luxor stopped dead in her tracks as an iridescent glow hypnotised and blinded her. Shielding her eyes with the back of her hand, she squinted. Even if she wanted to look away, she couldn’t. The glow was utterly alluring.

  A large root bulged up from a towering tree and long blades of grass sprouted into weeds, curling about transforming into vines. Luxor stumbled to her knees, the spell she was under momentarily broken. After blinking three times, she noticed the vines shackled her ankles as mud covered her feet and stones lacerated them with navy blue liquid oozing out. She rid herself of the constraints and low crawled.

  Whispers murmured in the air, incomprehensible like static through a telephone wire.

  A choking mist, tasting of sulphuric acid, clouded from above just as long canopy leaves blanketed and closed her in. The suffocation phase began. It was always the same—beauty, dying, suffocation, and the promise of death. The further she ran, the louder the whispers became until it was all she could hear. The hissing joined in and she expected at any moment for a lethal boa constrictor or python to make an appearance, but nothing did.

  “Stop changing the game,” she cried out, her lips chaffed from the toxic air.

  Luxor could handle the night terrors, but this was something unf
amiliar, and she hated it. While concentrating on blocking out the recent additions of the whispers and hissing she had forgotten all about the next phase. One by one, hummingbirds rained down on her until it had become a full-blown down pour, their hums replaced by caws. She peeked upwards and released the lush foliage hadn’t turn black because of death, the crows had covered them like a blanket. She ducked and covered her head and crawled to find shelter.

  “Bloody psycho,” she grumbled, squeezing through a hole and underneath a harsh log to hide. Pushing aside scorched, prickly pine needles, her hands brushed against mountains of hummingbirds with snapped necks and broken wings. She was exhausted, more emotionally than physically.

  Luxor stifled back the urge to throw up, tucking her knees to her chest, becoming rigid. Not long now she would wake up. It couldn’t change the game that much.

  Silence.

  Another round of laughs, this time darker with not a hint of a song. Luxor shivered and scratched her arms, chilled to her bone, but not because of the weather. Peering down, mosquitoes had nibbled at her skin creating navy blue spots before being glued on with her blood.

  “The game has just begun,” the crows cawed out in a high pitched screeched, their beaks peeking the eyes of the wise owl. “And you better get ready.”

  Luxor bolted upright and clutched her chest, a wild booming thrashing behind her ribs. Back in the confines of her bedroom, rays of sunlight crept through, violent and harsh. She heaved in gulps, her mouth starved of precious invisible vapour, and she panted laboriously.

  The air thickened, a new and unseen cloud suffocating her. Splinters of air were injected into her lungs and her coming out in spurts.

  Curled in a foetal position, Luxor shivered, sweat drenching her forehead, from the back of her neck down her body. Strands of hair tangled within her fingers in fistfuls and she grabbed at the roots, her mind convincing her she was dying. Each intake of breath was a struggle on its own. She was paralysed with fear, and naked. Not in the literal sense, but parts of herself were being pulled away. If her terrors refused to cease, and the man wasn't eradicated, without a doubt nothing would be left to salvage.

  Go away, go away, go away.

  Luxor leaned against the bed frame, her hands circling her neck, and she heaved heavily as if someone had punched her in the throat. She propped back against the pillows with a bit of a struggle, plastering her head against her thighs and begged the seared image to disappear. Time ticked on but there was no reprieve and he continued to chase.

  Air, I need air.

  A series of banging sounds stilled Luxor. The aroma of the forest permeated and spread around from the balcony door, which swung from the gusts of wind.

  The kitten cuddled up into the crook of her elbow, its wide orange eyes looking up at her earnestly, and meowed. Luxor shifted, and kitten pounced to the floor.

  Luxor wiped the splatters of saliva that had dribbled down the side of her mouth and gingerly stood on her tender feet. Bits and pieces of pretty tulle above the canopy suffocated her, just as the forest had tried. Her knees buckled, and she cried out as moist and sticky blue blood oozed from underneath her soles. From the head to the base of the bed she bounced from one side to another and shredded the material until all that was left was a handful of scraps. It wasn’t enough though, she needed space as well and like the tulle, she bundled up the blankets and threw them around the room.

  Oh, my God! I’m having a complete meltdown.

  “What are you doing?” Meredith shrieked at the doorway, her eyes widening at the state of the room. Luxor opened her mouth to respond, to give her best lame excuse, but Meredith cut her off with her signature hand up. “Never mind, I can’t deal with this right now. Get dressed. You have ten minutes to get ready for school.” She left the room mumbling curses and asking herself what she had done to deserve such bad luck.

  Once in the shower Luxor turned the knob all the way as the strong stream of water did a lousy job of calming her down. She cradled her head against the cold, hard tiles and heaved and trying to think of fluffy bunnies and unicorns to calm her nerves, any happy thoughts to eradicate the bad. The nightmare had shaken her nerves and created more than a heavy toll on her mind. This time is was different. This time it felt too real.

  When the thoughts faded, and she was strong enough, she pried her eyes open and glanced down at her feet. As expected, they had gone back to normal. No blood, no scrapes, no bruising. The evidence had disappeared, as if conjured up in her head. It always happened that way. Only she could feel or see the pain she endured during the vivid nightmares.

  As she dried out of the shower, she dressed in the first clothes she found in the box, and tied her hair back in a messy ponytail. Unlike her old self, where makeup was a must, the bag remained untouched.

  Wow, my school routine had gone from an hour to eight minutes, a new record. Meh, as long as I brush my teeth, it’ll have to do.

  If Luxor made herself vomit, would Meredith be lenient enough to let her stay home, even for a day to get settled in? Heading downstairs into the kitchen, her question was quickly answered as soon as she saw Meredith in her powder blue uniform. Sick or not, Luxor could not put off the inevitable.

  “Is that what you’re wearing?” Meredith said in a way of hello and turned her nose up. “Not a good first impression.”

  “For you or me?” Luxor grabbed an apple of the bench and held her backpack to her chest on the way out to the car, grateful Meredith ignored her reply. She wasn’t in a mood to start an argument this morning.

  The car rattled and churned as it travelled down a long straight road lined with suburban houses, each on a generous block of land. After a swift left at the end of the street, they had arrived at Brighton Falls High.

  Meredith parked right in front of the red brick building hidden behind tall trees guarding the gates. “I’ve spoken to the principal and you are to report to him before you start. A meet and greet kind of thing I’m assuming.”

  And no doubt to read me the riot act.

  “You not coming in?”

  Meredith averted her eyes to the dashboard, and gripped the steering wheel, one hand firmly on the gear stick, most likely ready to bolt. She reared her neck to face Luxor, her hazel eyes wide. They showed what Luxor feared the most, Meredith was scared of her. Or what she may do. Luxor didn’t know whether to be relieved or disturbed. It was as if she was being dropped off like a defected, unwanted possession for someone else to play with.

  Deep down all Luxor wanted was for Meredith to wish her luck and to tell her everything would be fine. She lifted her hood and reached for the door handle and yelped.

  Meredith had yanked Luxor by the back of her neck and twisted her around. “Hoodlum. That’s what you look like. Keep it down and be presentable.”

  Luxor glared. “I’ll take that as a no.”

  Meredith schooled her features into a neutral expression. “Be good. It’s a simple task.” The edge of her tone became subdued.

  “I’ll try not to destroy anything on my first day.” Luxor exited, slamming the door with a thunk and stomped off.

  Just breathe.

  Relax.

  Everything will be okay.

  Here goes nothing, or everything, Luxor thought. She was physically ready for her first day at Brighton Falls High. She had all the books, and everything a high school student needed, but mentally she was a complete and utter wreck. And last night’s night terror didn’t help. For a month, she psyched herself up, convincing herself she would be fine, and that she had dealt with worse problems.

  Like being branded a freak.

  But she was wrong. Very, very, wrong.

  When she pushed through the heavy wooden doors, the first thing that caught Luxor's eyes was something she never wanted to see. Above the reception window, a huge, golden crucifix was nailed to the wall.

  And she wanted to bolt.

  Luxor gulped. She couldn't put her finger on it, but religion never sat well w
ith her. All of her life, it had been that way. She wasn't for or against the notion, but strangely being in front of anything holy made her physically ill. Her stomach churned, most likely the crucifix picked up on the vibe.

  There were two options, both unappealing.

  Turn around and get the hell out of the room and face the sweltering heat again, or suck it up like a bubble gum slushie and face her demons. The problem was if she ran, there would be a risk seeing Meredith, who most likely was still in the car and who would drag her back in by the hair and make a scene in the process.

  Not surprisingly she chose the second option.

  As Luxor ventured further in, she noted her surroundings in deep detail. The reception was small and dingy room with low-set ceilings, the deep mustard coloured walls showed through the sagging striped wallpaper, which had once been in fashion. It had an aura of depression and neglect, a feeling she could relate to. The hollowness within was always there. The walls closed in on her, almost sucking the air out of her lungs as her claustrophobia set in.

  Before she could move any further, an elbow nudged Luxor in the ribs. She coughed and took a gulp of air. It was all she needed to jolt herself and get her breathing back to normal.

  A group of girls in shorts and singlets sideswiped her to get to their friends, they jumped around and hugged, comparing tan lines after the summer holidays. Others argued with a plump woman behind the counter who huffed and puffed at them like she’d had enough. Her expression said it all. She would rather be anywhere but there. Luxor experienced the sentiment with the poor lady.

  And it was only eight am.

  Marsol Grammar, her past school, was fancy, equivalent to an Ivy League for high schools. It was spacious with state-of-the-art facilities and for the tuition fees, it shouldn't have had anything but the best. Their janitors' room was classier than this room. If this was any sign of what the rest of the school was like, Luxor would have major adjustment issues.