Unkillable (Monsters Series #1) (Wattys2014)

Chapter 11: Of Lullabies and Transformations

I was having the best time. I was killing every Holy Man in sight, and Angel was right beside me. You know what they say; the couple that kills together stays together.

I could hear the cannons and the screams of all the dying soldiers. I was covered in the blood of every man I’ve killed.

Suddenly, it was only me and Angel versus my father and brother, Deacon and Damien. We fought back to back as I heard a familiar song playing in the distance. It was a song my mother used to sing to me when I was little. I had grown to despise it as I discovered and understood its deeper meaning.

Min kjære sønn,

la meg holde deg.

Min kjære sønn,

Jeg skal beskytte deg mot skade.

Kjære sønn,

Jeg vil ikke la deg bli et uhyre.

Min kjære sønn,

Hør på meg.

Min kjære sønn,

bare holde seg borte.

Kjære sønn,

Jeg vil ikke la deg krysse grensen.

The next verse I heard wasn't familiar to me. I had never heard it until that moment.

Min kjære sønn,

hva gjorde jeg fortelle deg?

Min kjære sønn,

avslutte med dette barnslig fasen.

Min kjære sønn,

forlate monsteret til å dø.

Kjære sønn,

dit er fortsatt håp for deg.

Kjære sønn,

bare kommer tilbake til det Hellige Land.

After the fourth line, I drowned out the evil lullaby completely. When I finally pinned my father down so I could stab his cold, unfeeling heart, Angel snapped Damien's neck, just like in my dream.

I completely disregarded the lost verse of my familiar lullaby, and I stabbed my father's chest with a golden, ornately carved dagger.

~

I awoke with a start. I sat up so fast I almost got whiplash. Angel stirred beside me and opened his eyes slowly, like a kitten content with his resting place.

"What happened, ma vie?" Angel whispered as soon as he saw my expression.

"It was just a...weird dream" I reassured.

Angel took a strand of my hair that fell in my face and pulled it behind my ear. His palm cupped my cheek, and my hand rested on his. He gently kissed my forehead.

"I love you." he whispered passionately.

I looked into his soft, obsidian eyes in bewilderment. That was the first time he ever said ‘I love you’ first. His eyes melted into magma as he looked at me.

"I love you too." I replied just as passionately.

Then, Angel passionately kissed my lips; I felt like the world finally made sense. Every moment of my life was merely the drumroll that lead up to meeting my Angel. Every bullet shot at me, every shove to the ground given by every boy that I told I liked, every moment spent crying in my room, my sanctuary, over them was all worth it; I had finally found where I belonged. My happily ever after was so close that I could taste it.

I belonged in my savior’s arms, and nothing and no one was going to tear us apart.

I fell asleep in Angel’s arms, his beating heart a calming lullaby.

~

I had seen every crook and cranny of the Holy Minnesota territory, but I had never seen anything like this.

I was walking along a black, tar-paved street in a small, unfamiliar town. None of the buildings were rubble. I was standing in front of a large building made of red bricks; it said Byron Middle School all along the top. There were planes flying overhead, but none of them were dropping bombs. All of the two-floor housed were perfectly lined up one by one. There were barely any cars driving along the road, but I heard sirens wailing in the distance.

I suddenly stopped to gaze upon a spectacle that seemed more familiar to me. There was yellow police tape surrounding an area where I had guessed an accident took place. A middle-aged woman with glasses was strapped to a gurney and hauled into an ambulance. There was someone else on the scene, laying on the ground.

It was sweet little Beth, motionless. I felt a single tear fall slowly down my cheek. Her eyes were frozen closed, but they were the color of mud after a violent rainstorm. I kneeled at her side and embraced her as the tears fell from my eyes violently.

Suddenly, I heard a clap of thunder. Blinding swirls of silver and gold came from nowhere and engulfed her in the light. It entered her body every way that it could. Beth rose higher and higher into the air. After a few moments, she was let down gently back onto the black tar road, and the light had either vanished completely or was absorbed into her. Beth’s eyes opened with a flash. They were no longer muddy brown.

One was lily pad green, and the other was gunmetal blue, as mine had once been.

~

It was a dark, starry night. The sound of the chirping birds drifted through the air. The tall pine trees overshadowed the clearing I was standing in. The smell of the pines assaulted my senses.

I stepped in the middle of the clearing. I breathed heavily, harnessing all my energy. I began the chanting quietly. It's very hard to move the stars when you're actually trying. The chanting was progressively louder and louder until I stopped and opened my eyes.

A star was hovering over my hands.

Angel stood before me, his face in breathless awe. I motioned for the star to bounce over into my Angel's hands.

"Call to me." I whispered, "Call to me when the pretender comes.”

That's when everything went black.

~

I awoke in Angel’s arms at sunrise. His hair was sticking up in all directions, and his face was flushed like the antique china dolls I had always wanted but never gotten, because, according to my dad, they were “girl’s toys.” I only stared at his face for a long time, afraid to wake him. He looked so peaceful.

Suddenly, there was a knock on our door. I slowly slid from the covers and out of bed and tiptoed to the door. I opened the door and saw a hooded figure standing before me.

“Hello, Jesse.” a familiar voice sneered.

The hooded figure brought her hands up and pulled down her hood. The hooded figure was my mother in her blonde, snooty glory.