The Shadows Within Us

Tag-a-Long

Thrash!

A tattered kitchen chair flew through the air, smashing into the adjacent window.

The room vibrated, utensils levitating into the air.

The vocalist released her frustrations, her furiously screamed lyrics transforming the oxygen into a toxic red smog that pulsed in thick, heavy waves to the beat of the music.

Each breath whipped through the space like a violent tornado, tearing apart the home that kept chained thousands of horrible memories.

The climax had begun, the decrepit room rocking and churning, as though the small house were a boat, sails caught in the midst of a raging hurricane.

Gasp! The singer inhaled sharply, preparing to unleash the fullest extent of their vocal power into the galactic cosmos-

Eden felt an abrupt tug remove the bulky headphones from atop her skull, the device slipping from the messy carmine of her hair and into the hands of her annoying older brother, Elliot.
The teen stood like a statue, not bothering to face the nuisance. Aggravation arose as her expression turned sour. The room was still, every piece of furniture just where it belonged. In fact, nearly everything was in its place considering she had almost finished slave duty for the evening. The girl released her grip on the final empty bottle, dropping it into the large, nearly bursting bag of garbage.

With a frustrated sigh, Eden glanced over her shoulder at the already assumed culprit. "Ellie, do you want to die today?" She bopped her palm against the center of her older brother's forehead, forcing him to stumble back a step or two.

"Ouch." He whined in response, pressing a hand against the point of impact. "Why are you always so violent to me!?" The less mature sibling pouted, offended though he really should have anticipated her reaction.

"You killed my vibe." Eden could be seen raising an eyebrow beneath her elongated, messy bangs, arms folded with a heavy discontent. Her frown assured that this was a serious matter.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure you were having a blast." The older brother dismissed, beginning to glance around as though he had lost something. "Have you seen my delicates? You know, like, the pink one that's all lacey?" The Incubus squinted, Eden's face scrunching with a sour repulsion.

"Key dared me to wear it to town today but I-."

"You're hanging with Key?" The petite redhead quickly interrupted; her dull maroon orbs lighting up with life. Elliot's expression contorted, as if he were genuinely offended at the abrupt shifting of topics.

"Yes, and some others." He hesitantly responded, with a little more than a hint of sarcasm. "Anyways, you do the laundry so where'd ya put them?" In an instantaneous blur of motion, the demon had managed to travel atop the recently disinfected kitchen counter, emerging behind his unsuspecting little sister. "You panty thief." He accused, with bold sherbet eyes.
Eden gasped, and before she had time to face her accuser, felt Elliot's thin fingers brush past her conjoined knots of hair. She tightened her fists, shoeing him away as she spun to face the older sibling. "I don't want your panties!" The fledgling fumed, immediately holding out expectant hands.

"Give me my headphones. They're my only escape from this reality, and if I have to spend it with you, I need to at least be able to block you out." She ordered in an alarmingly threatening tone, despite her voice always sounding softer than a pillow. Elliot developed a weary expression, cautiously dropping the technology back into the hands of its rightful owner.

"I'm coming with you and Key." Eden denounced, placing the headphones loosely around her neck. In these moments, she resembled a sort of dictator—somebody of authority. It was something that made Elliot ponder whether their mother had been anything like that. He could barely even remember the features on her face...

Snap, Snap

"Yo." Eden's fingers emerged out of the absent memory, snapping in the face of her dissociating brother "What're you staring at?" Her eyebrows raised as she studied the Incubus' features. "Are you on something again?"

Elliot huffed, hastily redirecting his attention to a taped window above the kitchen sink. "Damn, I was just thinking about what a pain it's gonna be dragging you along." His tone was petty as he adjusted himself, pulling his legs up to his chest much like a small child. He was pretty dainty for a half-demon, then again, Incubi came in all different shapes and sizes.

"Y'know, Simone's gonna be there." Her brother suddenly declared, secretly hoping that would be enough to make the bothersome sibling change her mind.

"Gross." Eden grimaced, turning around and beginning to tie up the bag of garbage. "Can you tell him I'm infected with some sort of super contagious disease?" She hefted the bag up into her arms, beginning to carry it out towards the backyard, where the rest of the non-burnable trash sat decaying.

"Mmn nah, we told him that last time, remember?" Elliot tapped his chin, beginning to head back in the direction of his bedroom.

"Damnit." Eden mumbled, her voice muffled as she haphazardly fought to open the back door with her foot, the trash threatening to crush her tiny form.

"Alrighty-tighty, OH- speaking of tight things, find my thongs, kay?" The half blooded demon pointed at Eden as he removed himself from the room. "Those babies are gonna be your ticket to the cool kids club." His voice faded into the distance, followed by the cracking of his closing door. The aperture would likely be busted forever, but still, Eden envied him. At least he got the privilege of having a door.

Eden heaved the massive bag as far into the waste-pit as she could, nearly passing out as she recovered against the frame. The smell of deteriorating garbage wafted in with a dry breeze, the girl forcing herself back up to quickly seal the door.

She thought for a moment about what Elliot had said, about the lacey delicates and Key's dare.

I really hope he isn't going to just be wearing those...