Come To Light

.3.

After Jerrald and I spoke, he pulled me into his chest and whispered sweet nothings into my hair, after which he pulled me into the house. We took the room where we saw the creature. The room, although cleaned and sanitized by the cleaning service granddad often hired, felt cold, damp, and smelt of mold.

"Alright. It seems only we can see this thing, and you, somehow have a connection to it or the house." Jerry said, "So I need you to tell me if and when you have a vision so I can help you.". I nodded my head. I walked over to my bag pulled out a spear blanket and spread it on the bed; Jerrald walked over to me, took out his blanket, and laid down, pulling me onto his chest and pulling the blanket over us. I closed my eyes as his heart sang a sweet lullaby. I opened my eyes to be met with darkness, I heard a woman crying and looked to see a replica of myself cast her gaze up to me from the ground.

"Who are you?" I asked

"Let me show you," she said, walking out into the hall. Feeling I was compelled to follow behind her, I did. She walked from my room, down the hall and stairs, and out the door. I followed and what I saw to my utter horror was thousands upon thousands of slaves being beaten and r***d, men, women, and children alike. The woman ran out and held the arm of a man who was about to strike a slave.

"Hadden stop!" she yelled. He turned and struck her across the face.

"Have you fallen for these low lives Heather?" the man sneered. These people looked and felt so familiar to me.

"Go back to your room! Father will be along with your betrothed soon.". The woman rose to her feet, looked at the man on the floor, and turned her back. The man yelled at the slaves to resume their work. That night, Heather snuck out of her room and met with the man from earlier.

"Amari!" she gasped running into his arms, "Are you alright?"

"I am fine my beloved, how is the baby?"

"The baby is fine, but we must leave before they find out.". Amari shook his head, I cannot leave my people. Tears fell from Heather's eyes. I watched for the next couple of months as her stomach grew, on the night she gave birth to two children, both female.

"Aberash and Abeba," she said looking at the two tanned girls in her arms. My eyes widened as I realized who she was, she was my great-great-grandmother, Heather-Marrebella. The matriarch of my family. She had kept her daughters hidden for eight years, until one faithful night, her brother had found them. He was snooping in her room and found them in her closet, they had beaten her and forced her to watch as they r***d her daughters again and again, then all of a sudden, she snapped. The scene changed and the house and plantation were set ablaze, and in the midst of the fire stood the creature from before, but this time, it looked sad. A mournful howl left its lips. I pitched from my dream caked in sweat. Jerry was holding me as I shivered from the feelings the dream had left me with. Sensing another presence, I looked up, and low and behold, it stood there looking at me with its bloodshot eyes. Only now, it had a more greyish hue than the black I had seen earlier.

"What did you do?" I whispered. Jerry continued to hold me close to him.

"What did you do!" I demanded a bit louder. Before I could get a response out of it, a shrill cry caught my ear, Jerry and I bolted for the door only to be met with a sight that I wished I could erase from my memory. There with its claw embedded in my sister was a creature similar to the one in my bedroom, the only difference was that this one had white-ish grey skin and longer limbs. I froze, unsure of what to do, the visions I had from the funeral becoming my worst nightmare. Jerry lunged at it and Celestia was flung into the air I rushed forward and jumped to meet her halfway, falling back to the ground Jarrell snatched her from me as Jerry snatched my hands and barreled down the stairs.

"What the hell was that thing!" Jarrell yelled holding a bleeding Celestia in his arms. I put my hands up to my head, covering my ears as I could still hear the cries of the burning slaves and the mournful howls of the creature.

Selene, what was that thing?" He asked again, but still, there was no answer. I shivered as cries wrecked my body. Jerry held me against his chest.

"Let's get Tia cleaned up then we will tell you," Jerry said.

"Where's Slade?" Tech asked. We looked around, but he was nowhere in sight.

"Tech, patch up Tia, I'll find Slade," Jarrell said

"No!" I yelled. Everyone looked at me.

"Jerry and I will go," I whispered.

"What?" both he and Jarrell said in unison. My vision, still blurred by my tears watched as the creature that had plunged its hand into Celeste was being chastised by the one from my bedroom as they walked toward the door, vanishing. I could still hear them and decided to follow where their voices went. Jerry looked at me, completely confused until I looked at him and he understood without me having to say so that the others wouldn't worry. We walked out of the house, calling for Slade.

"Why did you want to look for Slade suddenly?" he asked as we got out of hearing range of the others.

"It mistook Tia for me." I replied, "The one that hurt Tia was smaller, with longer more taunt and rigid limbs."