Worthy (Complete)

Chapter 1

Three gruesome figures inched their way through the fading orange sky over the small town of Green Hill, Kentucky. Their mission not too far off in the distance. 

Dark, leathery wings folded up behind them as they quietly landed in the top of one of the tall oak trees that surrounded their destination. They peered through the roof of the small wooden structure that had been standing for what easily looked like a hundred years. Specks of brown  peeked out through the chipped white paint that had once completely covered the house. The roof above the porch was sagging in the middle from the rotten wood that had not been replaced since the house had been built. The  gutter was held on by two screws, one at each end of the house. The only real color was the small red rose bushes that lined the front of the house under the dining room window. 

A long menacing cackle exited from between Latar's rows of jagged teeth. He was the largest demon of the three, standing a foot over his companions, Melti and Ackmen. Large, red, circular eyes sat just above a very human-like nose. Raven colored skin clung to the defined  muscles beneath it, leaving no question to the demon's strength. He tilted his head to the side. A grin threatened to overtake his thin lips as he watched the small lizard-like spirits of Strife, Confusion, and Pride tear apart the family inside.

"There's no more time to waste. I want her on our side. We need her on our side," Latar hissed. A putrid green mist mingled with his words and swirled out in front of them with the motion of the wind.

"We will visit Cara tonight," responded Melti.

Ackmen's thin top lip snarled up and he shook his head in agreement. "Yes, tonight," he said as he curled his long, dark appendages in an eerie manner. 

Melti honed in on the girl sitting at the table as she listened to another one of her parents' arguments. Her once vibrant green eyes that held true peace, true happiness, were now dull, tired and full of worry. Clouded by the pain within her.

"Her family has always been easy for us to control and manipulate. Do you think she'll cause any delays with her stubborn pride?" Melti questioned his superior.

"No. Her stubbornness and pride, are just what we need to work with," Latar answered. "Come, we must go."

Katelyn fought against the tears that demanded to be released, and let her mind wander from her unpleasant situation to that of her boyfriend - Trevor. Even though her heart ached when she thought of the bond the Holcomb's had with one another, it was something else, anything else to help escape what was in front of her. 

What holds them together? She'd asked herself that question many times, and never came up with a suitable answer. Sure, there was the belief in their unseen God, but that couldn't be it. God wasn't real anyway, the best she figure. Yet, real or not, she couldn't argue the fact that Trevor's family had an abundance of what what her family seemed to lack - love. 

What she had with Trevor gave her some hope, though she wasn't sure she could ever let him completely in her heart. Show him who she really eas inside. Did anybody? Besides, rejection was not her friend. She'd had enough of that from the two people that stood in front of her, with their voices raised and arms flapping through the air. Each one failing miserably at trying to get their point across. 

Trevor wasn't like the guys she dated before, and she had dated a lot. That wasn't something she was proud of, but the truth nonetheless. So much of herself compromised, lost, given away for the brief moments of freedom from a messed up home life. She wondered if it was worth it. If her sanity had been worth it. If she had been worth it.

"Mom, Dad," Katelyn took the rare moment of silence to question her parents, "Why do we have to go through this same song and dance every night? You both act like I'm not even in the same room with you. Like I can't hear what you're sayin. Do my feelings matter to you? Does my opinion matter?"

Her patents' silence only added to her frustrations. "I guess not. You know, I thought once I got older we'd be able to work out this whole issue concerning Aunt Cara. I figured wrong I guess." She sighed.

As far back as Katelyn could remember her mother never got along with her aunt. The reason why still kept itself hidden behind close mouths and deadly stares from all involved. She shook her head. Cara was such a lighthearted person. So much so, that sometimes her bubbly, carefree nature passed right through the walls of those around her bringing life to what was moments before a closed off and guarded heart.

"Katelyn, honey, I just have this to say, If you knew who Cara was on the inside, you wouldn't like her. If you could see what she'd hiding from you, you'd run away. Please, please listen to me Katelyn."

Her mother's pleas touched her at her core, but not enough to sever the ties that had grown so strong between her and her aunt.

Katelyn's father interrupted, "Keep quiet, Leah. Now is not the time," he demanded. 

"I've kept quiet, Brice. For too many years, I've kept your family's secrets. Do you really want to see your only daughter go down the same path as your grandmother, your mother - your sister?"

Katelyn sighed. "I can see I'm not getting anywhere with either of you. I haven't for all these years, so I'm not surprised that I'm not now."

Her mother cupped her face in her hands, the kissed her on the forehead. "Your father and I have been talking about this day for a while now. I've chosen to move out, Katelyn. I can't live like this anymore. I'm asking you to forget Cara and come with me."

Katelyn stepped back under the weight of her mother's words. She sought out some type of understanding in her father's eyes, but they were cold, hard - empty.

"You can't be serious?"

"I am."

"You know what, we all need to calm down. Sleep on things. Start over in the morning."

"There will be no starting over this time, Katelyn. But I see you've  made your choice. I'll be in touch soon." Leah grabbed her suitcase and nodded towards her husband, "Goodbye, Brice."

Katelyn went to call out but her tongue betrayed her. Her lips defied her.

The unseen gray spirit of rejection, small as it was, still held a mighty force of power in his webbed-like hands. It whispered of past hurts as it encircled the black haired girl standing in the middle of the room. An anger from deep within began to surface. An anger that was rooted in rejection. The rejection of a mother's love. The rejection of a mother's concern.

She turned to leave, fighting off the heaviness that had come upon her. It made it harder and harder for her to turn away from her father and towards her room.

"Katelyn wait." The warmth of her father's calloused fingers gently wrapped around her arm only fueled her irritation. 

"Wait, wait for what, Dad? Mom's gone. She just walked out that door, and you...you didn't even bother to try and stop her."

Katelyn turned and without looking back pulled her arm from his grasp and let it aimlessly fall to her side.