The New World (Book 1)

Chapter One: The Truth

I screamed as I saw a ghostly face, and tried to move back, and found my way blocked by a wall, a bloody wall. "Come! Come, Darling!" The Thing hissed. I felt the air around me turn cold, it was like it was sucking up all the warmth. I whimpered, scared, and looked right at it's bloodthirsty eyes. The Thing smiled, it was crooked and looked evil. It moved closer, and suddenly, like a snake, it struck my stomach. I moaned in pain as blood gushed out and started to make a puddle on the ground. My feet buckled beneath me and I fell at the foot of the Thing. "Die in pain! Die in Pain, Darling! We need blood! We need blood, Darling!" The Thing hissed at me. The Thing was repeating the phrases, almost like a poem. I moaned again, putting pressure on the wound, but nothing could stop how much blood flowed out. Something like a blue with pink polka dot tongue came out of the Thing, and it started to slurp the blood that was on the ground. I writhed in pain as I hit my head against the bloody wall. The Thing was going to strike again, going to give the final blow that would kill me forever. I gasped in fright and sat up on my bed, breathing heavily. Beads of sweat clung to my forehead and I tried to silent myself. "It was just a dream...It was just a dream...It was just a dream."I repeated that line until I calmed myself. The dream had seemed so real, and when I had woken up, the pain was still there but had quickly faded away. I opened my window curtain and saw it was dawn. Checking the time on my Samsung phone, I realized it was 3:57. "Mom would be awake by now." I thought. I got off my bed, going to get ready for school when I realized it was Saturday and the first day of summer break. I immediately jumped happily and ran to the restroom. 30 minutes later, I had taken a warm bath, brushed my teeth, and had dressed. I had red hair up to my waist, and today I tied it into a ponytail. I was tan and had soft turquoise eyes. The doctors didn't know why I was born with such an unusual eye color, though it looked good for me. I walked down the stairs to find my mom cooking pancakes, the warm smell filled my nose and the remaining traces of my dream vanished like mist on a sunny day. I jumped down the last two stairs and ran to hug my mom. My mom smiled and kissed my forehead, asking, "Neya, sweety, have you had a good night? You had slept late, and it's a wonder how you woke up so early!" I cringed, and suddenly, the dream flooded back to me. I told the whole dream to my mom, and when I finished, my mom looked panicked, like there was something she hadn't told me, but realizing I was watching her, she turned to me and told me, "Oh darling, I'm so sorry you had a bad night. Maybe some pancakes would help you feel better!" I nodded and numbly sat at the kitchen seat. I hated how my mom had used the word "darling", it reminded me of the Thing. How it struck as fast as a snake and made me die slowly, with pain. My heart quickened and I took a deep breath to calm myself. It was the first day of summer, and I was already panicking. Just great. Then a thought dawned on me, since it was summer, why was my mom wearing full sleeves? I turned to my mom, she had always worn full sleeves, and now that I think about it, it seems so weird. I decided I was going to ask my mom. "Er-mom? Uh, I just wanted to ask you.....whydoyouwearfullsleevesallthetime?" My mom blinked at me, sadness enveloping in her gaze, and she let out a long sad sigh. "Oh, Neya, how I wish you hadn't asked me that question. But I know it is time for the truth." She whispered to me. I blinked at her, confused. This was truly not what I was expecting. She beckoned me to follow her, and I did, she led me to her bedroom, and slowly pulled up her sleeves. I gasped in horror at what I saw, my mom's arms had long scars all over. "What happened Mom?" I breathed out. She looked at me helplessly, then sat on her bed. I climbed on her bed and sat next to her. "Don't be mad at me Neya, I only kept this secret so I could protect you from the burden. Long ago, just when I married your father, there was darkness, the people were scared and unhappy. It was all because of the Shadow. The Shadow is the creature you saw in your dream, Neya, that is why I was so panicked. The Shadow sucked all the warmth and love with it's strak, the blue with pink polka dot tongue on the Shadow where they suck blood, and...almost anything they wanted. But your dad and I beat the darkness because we loved each other so much. The Shadow could not use us. You see, the Shadow basically was the most powerful creature in the world, and it was evil. Pure evil...not even a pindot of mercy. We made a secret group with some people who also were unharmed by the Shadow. We called ourselves, 'The Killers of the Shadow, TKS'. You see Neya, the only creature that was the equal strength of the Shadow was the Ehash. But Ehash are hard to spot and catch. You will need a lot of patience and strength, but even then, you would truly be lucky if you had even seen one. The Shadow was smart, and again and again it tracked and snuck up on the Ehash, killing them one by one. But one day, our group was standing on a hill, when a Ehash came to us. It was asking for protection. Only one of the members could do that because he only had the power. But he was killed the next day, so we all planned to wait and protect the Ehash with our life. The Shadow soon knew where the last Ehash was, but it did not sense us, so the Ehash and 'The Killers of the Shadow' fought with the Shadow, and we finally killed it, but, the last second, before it was going to die, it was going to strike the Ehash with it's barbarous tail, but your brave father sprang in between them and saved the Ehash with his life, the Shadow died, but it wasn't like we won, it was like we lost. We lost so many people in our attempt to save the world. But Neya, the Shadow must have been a woman, so it must have given birth. The world is in danger again, and I don't mean our world Neya, I mean another world that no one knows about. The truth is, this is not 'our world', our world is supposed to be Lumenosity, well, that's the village you were born in. That is where your destiny and jobs lie." My mom finished talking with a hesitant smile. I just blinked back, thoughts swarming in my head like a bee in a honeycomb. I understood why my mom hid it from me, and I wasn't mad at her. "Can I go to the world?" I asked her. My mom blinked at me in surprise, then sighed. "I'm afraid you have to go whether you like it or not." she murmured. Then she took hold of my hand and gazed at me seriously, "Neya, you must promise me you cannot tell this to anyone in this world. Promise me, Neya, promise me!" I blinked in surprise at how strong my mom sounded, but said, "I promise mom, as long as I am alive, I will not tell anyone from this world." I sighed, and asked, "Mom? If I go to that world......can I ever come back? I mean... I know that this is not my home, and it never actually felt like it, but I would really miss my friends!" My mother's eyes softened as she looked at me, and murmured, "Oh my sweet sweet Neya, I am so sorry to place this burden on you. You cannot come back to this world. It will not be safe for you the moment you step into Lumenosity. It is not the law, you can come back if you really want, I am saying this because I am your mom, and it is my job to protect you. Please listen to me!"

I nodded, then immediately asked a question, "Mom, can we start packing now? I want to reach as fast as possible." When I looked into my mom's eyes, I saw sympathy, but why? The news she gave me surprised me and made an ache so deep in my chest, I thought it would never go away. "You are going alone, Neya, I will not come with you."

"But why!?" I cry out

Taking a deep breath, she whispered "Because my time to protect the world is gone, it is now your turn. There is nothing there for me, and there are still things I want to accomplish here."

Tears filled my eyes and leaked down my cheek, "No!"I whispered. My mom looked at me sadly, then gave me a weird, but comfortable cloth for me to wear. It was a black cloak, and under that, I wore a simple red gown, black leggings and an old time vintage boot. "These are the clothes girls wear there, wear this and go now," she took a deep breath, burying her sadness, then gave me a small doll made from cotton, "this will remind you of me... in case anything happens." She finished with a hug. I hugged my mom, never wanting to let go, but she pried herself away from me, opened her wardrobe I was never allowed to open, and she told me to go through the clothing, I looked at her, thinking how to say goodbye for the last time, but she understood and kissing me on my forehead, she whispered, "There will be a boy over there named Sinc, you can trust him. Show no mercy to those creatures, avenge your father's death Neya. Goodbye my beautiful daughter, may you go in peace." She looked at me the last time, love and pride filling her eyes, then closed the wardrobe once I had stepped in. I was pulled into a swirly foggy mist, unable to see anything that awaited me.