The Darkness Series: Book one, The Beginning

Chapter 8: Broken Wood and Hearts

        Ashley sat in her bed holding my fathers and my hand breathing deeply, one minute left.          

“I love you all very much, you know that right?” Her voice was harsh and raspy her eyes no longer had the sparkle and her hair was a mess. Her death will either be painful or really quick, for her sake I hope it is a quick one. Ashley looked up to Sassy and lifted her hand from mine and placed it on her cheek. “Watch over him, promise me that you will.” Sassy nodded to her and looked at me, did Ashley know we were together or could she just see the way we acted around each other.

          “Thirty seconds…” My mother spoke up looking at her pocket watch and Ashley closed her eyes. Seconds dragged on and time felt like it was burning. Some deaths happen instantly and some drag on. They could have a heart attack or something could happen so they are crushed or they loose air. You cannot cheat death; it is something that is impossible. Creak something in the floor made us move from the bed, a creak is never a good sign when it is time for a person to die.           “Ten seconds.” She spoke up again.          

“I love you all.” Ashley whimpered out and wrapped her arms around the sheets and then it happened. Eleven nineteen was the time of death. Ashley’s floor had broken and she had fallen to her death, we were on the second floor and she had fallen to the first floor and landed on the stairs. She didn’t even flinch or scream maybe she had a heart attack on the way down, I hope she did. My mother held onto my father, and Sassy clung to me her head tucked in the crease of my neck. Jagged pieces of wood and nails stuck out of the second floor. I tried not to let my emotions escape me but all I could do was gasp, I have seen way to much death in these few days. My vision started to fog over then a few tears fell onto my cheeks. My parents started to walk out of the room, my mother sobbing and my father not showing any emotion. As the seconds dragged on it seemed like the only good memory of my childhood has just been sucked away.            

It was my tenth birthday and my parents just took me out of school, school is way to long! Three days of school, and having to go until you are sixteen is just murder! I had just finished SecondSchool and I was going into the ThirdSchool. We only have three schools as you know, First, Second, and Third. You go to First school from the time you are four to six, Second school from the time you are seven to ten, and Third from the time you are eleven to sixteen. I had just graduated from Second school and it was summer break, also my birthday. The day was soft and warm and the sun was just bright enough to make the area glow. Ashley seemed much younger then and that time I didn’t know about the way of life, I thought that everyone lived forever. I guess I was wrong about that. Ashley took me downstairs to the dining room where she sat me down at my fathers chair and he sat at mine across from my mother. His chair was larger than mine and all the others, Ashley and our two other maids brought out my favorite breakfast food, bacon, eggs, and hash browns and grits. My mother came in intertwined with my Father and they sat down next to me.           “Happy Birthday Darling, I love you.” She kissed my head and sat down once again, she then placed a silk napkin in her lap.          

“Happy Birthday bud.” My father started to shove a fork of eggs into his mouth.     

      “Thanks.” I had such a high voice back then, well most guys did. I scooped up a piece of bacon and took a bite, crunchy and a little burnt just the way I like it. Ashley knew how to cook that’s for sure. She had a silver tint to her hair and she was thin but still weighed enough to not pull to the door when I wanted to go to the park on Walters street. Ashley and Shaun brought a few boxes into the room colored in Red, silver, gold, and black. All of them were for me! I couldn’t believe it ten presents just for me. I tried to eat as fast as I could but my mother shot me a glare so I knew that I should slow down.          

“First present Ashley.” My father wiped his mouth and scooted back to make room for the other servants to clean up the table. Ashley brought the smallest of the gifts forward and sat it in front of me. I quickly starting tearing at the packaging and slid the covering off the white box that showed a silver pocket watch on the inside with a matching chain. It looked just like fathers, but his was gold. I held the watch in my hand and clicked the button on the top and watched it swing open. The black numbers lined up around the edge and under them was an eagle with ribbons hanging from its beak.          

“I love it, its just like yours.” I smiled up to him and tucked it into my jacket pocket and laid the box and wrapping paper in the floor and waited for the next box. Ashley placed a silver box with gold ribbons in front of me and she handed me a small note with it. Inside the letter was one hundred dollars.          

“Thank you guys; I am having a wonderful birthday.” I tucked the money into my pocket and started to unwrap the paper and inside was a bottle of men’s perfume, several actually, the expensive kind. Oak Wood, Silverlining, and a few others that I have seen in one of the shops my mother takes me to. I picked up the small bottle and unwound the cap and sprayed far too much in the air, one of the other servants started coughing. Present after present after present! Each gift was beautiful and thought about for a while and the last came in front of me. It was larger than any of the others and it was wrapped in white paper with a golden ribbon. I tossed the wrappings off and slid off the box top. A small scale hotel was inside with the name Shadow Hotel on the front of it.   

I reopened my eyes and looked over Ashley who lay motionless on the floor as the sky began to darken. Sassy grasped my hand once more and my mother was crying into my father’s chest. Pieces of wood and nail poked from the ceiling as dust and other small things floated to the ground. The bed was taking up most of the room on the stairs; it just left enough walking distance for us to get past. The once beautiful mansion now in ruins and in despair, flowers were wilting, dust covered some of the shelves, and the fireplaces didn’t even have a spark. This was to much for all of us we had to leave the house and get back to the hotel. Father called a funeral home and arranged for a hearse to pick up Ashley’s body.          

“Axel…” Sassy sat next to me in the limo as my mother wept my fathers shoulder. Mother was kind to everyone and she loved Ashley just like she loved her own family.          

“Yes Sassy?” I peered over to her and she ran a finger over my hand, she might be the only person to get me through this hard time.          

“Im...Im sorry.” She rested her head on my shoulder and the cold mansion disappeared behind the trees. We were on the way back to the hotel. I nodded and rested my head on hers. Sassy made me feel complete and I already loved her, she was amazing! I just need a hand to hold for a while, someone to help me get through, to stop the pain.          

We pulled into the hotels parking place and we exited quickly and I pulled Sassy along to the lobby where I sat her down on a red couch with a fire going in the middle. Benjamin and Pinky were at the other end of the room.          

“Ben! Pinky come here!” I called to them and sat up in the chair. I needed to talk the plan over with them.          

“What’s up Axel?” Pinky said to me her black hair swooping over her face.          

“How we should get rid of the claws, we kill their leader.”          

“What?! Are you crazy?” Benjamin yelled and widened his eyes, “How could a bunch of teenagers kill someone as powerful as the claw leader?”          

“Im not sure…but we are going to do it.”  

(I am so sorry that this is a short chapter and it took such a long time to upload, it has major writers block-Nathan)