Aurora

    My little toes grace the mossy earth as I walk along the river, the moon above me washing the forest in it's brilliance. Fireflies dance in the air around me as a waterfall rushes in the distance. An owl calls from my far right, spooking me slightly. Confusion begins to bloom as I question where I am, a gentle breeze blows through my hair. From the looks of it, I'm a child again. I don't remember myself at this age, or what I'm seeing. Padding through the moss, I continue into the endless woods, searching for a destination I don't even know myself. After walking aimlessly, I climb over a large tree root in my path. Once on the other side, I turn to recognize I am now at the base of a waterfall. The water rushes violently down into a beautiful lake below. Two figures sit on land in the middle of the lake, one kneeling as the other stands above. To my right lies the figure of a woman in the tall grass. I approach her, trying my best to see if I recognize her. But, no matter how close I get to her, she remains blurry and featureless. My breath hitches in my throat, utterly confused with my situation.Walking towards the two figures, I notice now the standing one is saying something. It comes to my ears as nothing but mumbles. As I move closer, the standing figure begins to raise one arm into the air above it's head. I stop in my tracks, the sudden sensation of dread as ice runs through my veins. "You are at the mercy of my blood, bow to me", the figure states. The other figure continues to stare at the standing one, as if in defiance. A lowly chuckle sends chills down my spine as sharp points erupt from the tip of the standing figure's hand. Within an instant, the standing figure brings the sharp points down on the kneeling figure's neck, decapitating them. The kneeling figure falls forward as a gush on blood spurts into the air. "Now, you bow to me", the standing figure says to itself before erupting in maniacal laughter.  I gasp, sitting up straight in a cold sweat. Wincing from the shine, I turn to the blinding light of the blue moon. "Stupid blue moon, it's like you're always giving me nightmares", I mutter as I lay back down. Sighing deeply, I let sleep overtake me once again.                                                                                                                 *   A loud alarm startles me from sleep, nearly causing me to jump off my bed. Angrily, I swipe the dismiss button on my ePeach smartphone and groan. It' 3am on another stupid day on this crappy planet, I thought to myself. Repeating my usual morning routine, I get up for the day. Morning chores to keep the Miss happy, breakfast prep with the kitchen staff, a shower, then off to school. I always aim to leave before 6am, avoiding the Adams is high on my priority list. The Adams are the wealthiest family in this country's Mortal District. They adopted me from the group home as a preteen, I thought I found a loving family. Turns out I'm just means to look good at charity events and help the kitchen staff. The parents barely acknowledge my existence aside from when I need new clothes or hygiene items. They insist I refer to them as, "Miss and Sir." Their son and daughter, however, treat me as if I'm vile. They're both so spoiled that they have their own brand new vehicles. So they tend to sleep in and drive to school late, hence why I make my exit by 6am. Dawn reaches over the tree line as I walk to school, thinking about making a pit stop at the convenience store. "Boo", sounds out suddenly by my ear, making me jump. I turn to see Thea behind me, laughing so hard she's silently crying. I shoot her that Are-You-Kidding-Me glare before pivoting on my heel, returning to my walk. "Minnie wait, noo, I'm sorry", she whines as she trails behind me. "It was just too easy, I had to take it you've gotta understand", she fake pleads, pouting. Looking over to her, I say, " Mhm, whatever you have to tell yourself." She laughs, then I do, too. We continue our walk to school while we chat, dropping by Chirp Stop on the way. Eventually, we make our way through the front doors of our high school, greeted by kids going wild about upcoming Senior Week. This year's destination was chosen by popular vote and tallied to be Rocky Hill Beach, a common species location. Common species locations are areas all the species can congregate freely.  "Why are they so loud this early?", I groan. "Don't be so sour", Thea laughs, "Aren't you excited, too?" "I don't know, I don't think I really want to go. All everyone does there is get drunk, get high, have s*x, or all three. Haven't tried any of it and don't think I really want to." Thea pouts, "I can understand that but, please promise me you'll think it over? We can rent a cabin together with Milly and Joe, it'll be so fun!", Thea pleads. Rolling my eyes, I give in to her demands and she squeals with glee. She begins to go on about what we'll do, where we'll sight see, and even started searching for cabins on Owl.com. What did I get myself in to.                                                                                                             *   The end day bell rings and I let out a breath of relief. School is mental torture to me, I'm ready to be free of it tomorrow. Our grad ceremony is in a week. I wasn't planning to go since they'd just mail the diploma to me but, as always, Thea begged and bribed me with food. Slinging my bag over my shoulder, I begin to leave the classroom before stopping abruptly at the doorway. Confused, I try to move my foot across the threshold with no luck. It's as if there's an invisible barrier blocking my way. A feeling blooms in my gut as the thought, Don't walk through that door yet, flashes through my mind. Weird things like this happens to me sometimes, usually for a good reason. When I was 8, I was walking home from primary school before I was stopped I my tracks a foot away from the sidewalk when I was trying to cross the street. Something told me the street was dangerous. Just a moment later, a drunk driver slides through the crosswalk I would have been walking in, slamming into oncoming traffic. He killed 6 people that day, including himself; I could've been one of them. Also, when I was 11, I was over at Thea's house. Her great-great-great grandfather was involved in the war, they had a few relics he saved from combat. One was a beautifully intricate dagger carved from oak, a weapon I assumed used against the vampires. I touched it and it was like my mind was show a series of clips. Disturbing, gorey clips of vampires being slaughtered in the war. I was seeing deaths this dagger had caused, spooking me enough to let go and run away from it. Thea told me I was imagining things and that it's not something I should think about. I just chalked it up to having a really weird sixth sense. I watch out of the classroom door, trying to eye what my gut is telling me to avoid. Tara, Jessie, and Martha round the corner of the hallway, passing by my classroom. I guess that's what my gut was telling me to avoid. Those three have been determined to torture me since Jessie's secondary school boyfriend had a crush on me. They were already nasty before because I'm an orphan, it just made it worse. The year after that they dumped an entire jar of glue paste and glitter into my full backpack a week before class finals. They ruined every class note and textbook I had, I almost failed the year. Now that they're out of sight, it's time to make it to my part-time job.                                                                                                                *    "Welcome to The Shooting Star, what can I get you to drink?", I ask the customer.  "Whiskey on the rocks, doll. Pour that hot blonde over there as cosmo if you could be so kind", he says with a wink. I pour out his two drinks, add it to his tab, and continue on shining the glasses. The legal drinking age of this district is 18. My 18th birthday is just a little over a week away, during senior week, so my boss looked the other way and hired me. The money is decent, it's enough to have a little spending money to myself. The bell at the entrance dings, signaling a new customer. I look up to see a hooded figure approach the bar. It's hard to tell if it's a man or a woman, as the hood shields the top half of their face. That gut feeling begins to bloom once again as they get closer, a stronger instinct to flee with every step they take. Despite my irrational dread, I attempt to handle them as a customer. With the best I can muster, I force out, "What can I get for you?" The figure is quiet for a moment before they speak, "I'll take red wine, your darkest bottle, please", they say, their voice coarse and dry. I nod and swiftly make my way to the cellar, thankful to be away from them. Taking my sweet time checking the racks, I find an aged bottle of R.Y. Joux, the only deeply red wine we carry. I take a deep breath before heading back to the counter, that feeling quickly settling back in it's place. Doing my best to avoid shaking, I pour them a glass. "Are you paying now?, I ask, hopeful they say yes.  The person smirks, taking the glass of wine before requesting to open a tab. I grit my teeth as I enter their order for the tab, praying they're a quick drinker. I look towards the other end of the bar, searching for something to do that will get me away from this person. Eyeing that ice is low, I opted to fill it from the back cooler. Just as I begin to walk away, the person speaks again.  "Not so fast, Minerva. Where are you going so soon?"  My heart stops for a moment when they speak and I freeze in my tracks, how do they know my name?