Power of the Tribrid - The Awakening

Chapter 2

Olivia

“Mom!” I called out. I walked through the house flicking on the lights as I entered each room. “Mom!” I called again. Nothing but silence greeted me. There was no sign of her downstairs or of her being in the house for that matter. It was spotless. No laundry in the basket waiting to be washed, nothing in the machine or dryer, no dirty dishes, bins emptied.

The thought of going upstairs created a pit in my stomach. I didn’t know if it was because it was the final place to look or because of the figure I saw standing in the window when I arrived but, I needed to find mom. I gripped the hand rail to steady myself as I slowly ascended th stairs. Reaching the top felt like I had walked into one of those restaurant walk in freezers I could see my breath in front of me as I began to shiver. “M Mom?” I called out as I entered the bathroom. Nothing. Bedroom number one, nothing. Bedroom number two, nothing. Bedroom number 3, mom’s room. I entered the room and looked around. Nothing was out of place, all her clothes were still in her closet. That just left my room.

If my heart were to beat ay harder, it would come out of my chest. I twisted the knob and pushed the door open. My eye’s locked onto the shadowy figure standing next to my bed.

“Olivia,” it whispered. It was like a sound on the wind. I stopped moving. My eyes wandered down to a sleeping figure on my bed, mom.

“W, who are y you?” I stuttered.

“You will know soon enough, young one,” I could sense the smirk in his voice. He quickly disappeared and as soon as he did, I rushed over to my mother’s sleeping figure on the bed in th hope that she was just sleeping.

Tears pricked my eyes as I checked for a pulse. Nothing. Her body was cold to the touch. My tears now ran freely. “Mom,” I called out to her, hoping that it wasn’t true. With shaking hands, I pulled out my phone and dialled 9-1-1.

“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?” the operator’s voice came, breaking the silence.

“Hello, my name’s Olivia Murphy. I received a call from my mother’s neighbour regarding her welfare.”

“Ok.”

“I hav come over to the house and found her unresponsive.”

“Ok, you’re doing great, Olivia. What’s your address?”

“1427 Majestic Way.”

“Thank you, the paramedics have been dispatched and should be with you shortly. Can you make sure that the door is open for them when they arrive.” I headed downstairs to unlock the front door. I could see Mrs Peters in her window, waiting for answers. I shook my head and I could see the tears fall as she placed her hand over her mouth to capture her sobs.

“The door’s open,” i said to the operator.

“That’s good, thank you. Can you tell me your mom’s name?”

“Faye.”

“You mentioned that she was old to the touch. Can you describe that for me?”

“She’s freezing. Like she’s ben put into a refrigerator,” I explained.

“How long has it been since she was seen last?”

“Her neighbour told me that it’s been just over a week.”

“Hello! Fire department!” a man’s voice rang from downstairs.

“They’re here,” I advised the operator. “Upstairs,’ I called back.

“Ok. Thank you for letting me know and Olivia, I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you,” I said as I disconnected the call.

"Hi, Olivia, is it?" the medic asked as he entered the room. "How long?"

"Neighbour said she was seen just over a week ago," he nodded and walked over to my mom's body. He checked her vitals but, we all knew that there was nothing that could be done.

"I'm sorry, Olivia. There is nothing that can be done," I just nodded with my eyes closed, hoping to push back the tears long enough for them to leave. I had always believed that crying in front of others showed weakness. "We will take her body to the hospital for the coroner to create his report. You will be notified once the body is ready for release," he said as he placed a hand on my shoulder in sympathy.

I stood out on the porch watching them leave with her. I was officially an orphan. Dad had died quite suddenly when I was 16. His cause of death was listed as natural causes but I didn't believe that and no one would listen to me. I had a feeling that this was going to be the same for mom.

"Come on, Livie. Let's go in the warm," Mrs Peters said with her arm around my shoulders. I nodded in agreement. I knew that if I spoke, the damns woud burst. She locked up the house and then escorted me over to hers.

I don't know how long I was sat there, staring nto space when the scent of mint invaded my nostrils "Here, drink this. It will help," Mrs Peters said as she passed me the cup of mint tea.

"Thank you, Mrs Peters."

"You are most welcome, sweetheart. You can stay here tonight and we will see what needs to be done in the morning. Hopefully, this rain would've stopped by then." A small smile graced my lips.

"Thank you, Mrs Peters. I don't know what I would do without you." She cupped my face with her free hand and smiled a warm, motherly smile.