Lean On Me

Prologue: The Beginning

} A YEAR EARLIER {

That's day started out as any other day. It was a Sunday so it was Sunday dinner day. Manda joins her mom and two sisters at their house to have their weekly family meal. Since Manda lives her own life thus is the only time she gets to sit and relax with her family. She works at an old country bar on the outskirts of their small town. She loved her job and her bar. Even loved the crazy old drunks that come in. What interest her the most was how there's always a group meet up and they always talking about weird stuff like demons or demonic forces. Even spirits or vampires. She even sat and talk with them about it. They didnt mind. They knew she wouldn't talk. She loved her life but something was missing in it. But three things she loved the most besides her family is her old rock music. Her black '65 shelby mustang GT. And her blue nose Pit bull name Blaze.

She loaded Blaze up in her car and headed towards her mothers house. Not knowing today was going to be the last. S he parked her car behind her mothers vehiclLin we and got out. She took blaze out back to the fence in back yard. Opening the door she walked in to see her middle sister Jacky on the laptop watching YouTube. Her baby sister was on the couch watching TV.

"What's ugghup family?" She shut the door behind her. Her mother walked out of the kitchen and just looked at her once and then spoke.

"Manda I wish you learn what clothes are and what modesty was." She just at her.

"Mom it's a crop top. I brought my plaid shirt to go over it." Manda rolled her eyes. Her mom couldn't help but smile at her. She loved aggregating her daughter. Manda sat down next to Emily and they got in a heavy conversation about Pretty little liars. Apparently Manda was not up with the times on the popular shows. She shook her head and looked down at her dirty white converses and dark jeans. They all sat their in quiet for theblongest till they heard the noise. The sound of a glass platter hit the floor. They rushed into the kitchen and seen the mess. On the floor was the Chicken. Chuck of it laid around it and the glass platter shattered and pieces all over the floor. But what had them shocked was their mom wasn't there. They looked at each other. They turned to search the house the for her. It was a big house so she would had been easy to find. Manda walked back into the kitchen to see if she went out back to give Blaze some food. The door was locked and Blaze was asleepvin the grass. She went to walk out but saw something on the floor. In midst of the shatter mess was a symbol. She reached out to touch it. It was burned into the wooden floor it look like. She brought out her phone and took a picture if it. It was three lines parallel to one another with circles at the ends of each one. She stood up. And walked into the living room. She looked at her sisters. Jacky was on the verge of tears and Emily was holding everything in. She was blank. She was worried about her sisters. She was scared. She didn't know what to do next. All she know was she wanted to know what happen. She was angry. But deep in her mind she knew her mother would want her to step up and take responsibility for her siblings. So she did what her mother would had wanted. She told her sisters to load up in her car. She went to her mothers purse and grabbed the house key. She walked out and unlocked the gate. Whistling to signal Blaze. Everyone was loaded up and she pulled off speeding to the only place that she knew would give her answeres.

"How come we didn't call the cops?"

"And say what Jax? 'Oh hey I would like to report a missing person. Yeah our mother was in the kitcheem one second and proof gone the next.' That's not gonna go over so well."
"Dont yell at me!"

"I'm not yelling I'm stressed!"

"Y'all just shut up okay?!" Emily yelled from the backseat. They all sat in quiet. No one saying nothing. The was all thinking the samething. What were they gonna do now? And what exactly happen? It was so hard to belive. Manda knew no one was going to believe them. She sat up and took her plaid off and threw it in the backseat. She was tapping her fingers on the steering wheel thinking.

Later she pulled up to her bar 'Haven'. She parked around back and everyone got out. They entered through the back. Her sisters followed her to the front. She led them to a booth off to the cornor.

"Y'all want anything to eat?" They shook their head no. "Drink?" Jax wanted a Dr. Pepper and Emily asked for a coke. Manda walked off to get their drinks. She also grabbed a plate of fries for each and cheeseburgers for just in case. Putting the items on a waiting tray she brought it over to them.

"I brought food just in case you get hungry. There's not gonna be many people coming in since it's in the muddle of the day. But if you get bored. We have an arcade and I can give y'all money to play." She went to walk off but Emily spoke up.

"Your really working while our mama is missing?" She turned to look at her baby sister. Saw the tears starting pool in her eyes. She wanted to reach out and hug her sister but when Emily is like this it's best not to. Instead she sigh and then spoke.

"No Em I'm not. I'm going to go find some men with information. But i need y'all to sit in this booth."

"No!" Jax shouted. "We want to find out as well. We don't want to be stuck in the dark!" Manda just looked at her sisters. They were so young. She wish they didn't have to go through this but she knew Jax was right. Even though Mia will kill her if she found out the Manda was letting them get invovled. But Manda knew her sisters.

"Fine. But until I start getting something good. Y'all stay here. No wondering off or going outside. No talking to strangers. I can see y'all no matter where I am in the bar. Now eat." With that Manda walked off to find who she was looking for. She went behind the bar and poured herself a shot. The burning whiskey washed down her throat. Oh man she needed that. How was she going to do this. Shebloved her sisters to death but the only other person she had to care about was blaze her dog. Speaking of him she needs to feed him. She turned to see him laying on his mat with an empty water and food bowl. She picked up the bowls and took them to the back to fill up.

She set them down in front of him and scratched his head. She started wiping the counters when a man walked in. He was wearing a trucker hat, plaid shirt with a winter vest on. He went to sit at a table off to the side. He pulled out his backpack and dug through it. He set a book on the table. She walked over with the tray.

"Would you like anything mister?"

"The names Bobby. And maybe a beer if you don't mind." Manda agreed with a sure and walked off getting him a cold bottle beer. She looked over to see the girls eating and had on her phone while Emily was in the laptop. She walked back over to Bobby and set his beer down. He was reading in the book. Looked more like a journal of some sort. Manda sat down and he looked up at her. Manda grabbed her phone out and pulled up the picture to show him. His eyes widen.

"Where did you see this at?"

"In my mom's kitchen moments after she poofed." Manda explained to him the rest of the story. Then he spoke.

"You have yourself a demon. But a weird kind. It's a collector type of demon. It kidnaps humans to add to its collections."

"What does it do with them?"

"Well what does anyone do with their collections. Store em" He spoke matter of factly. Manda just nod.

"So does it kill them? Harm them? I basically need to know what it's doing to my mom."

"Well honestly nothing. Mostly if they are weak minded then it turns them into his Minions but if they are strong will then they ot leaves them alone. Just stores them." He schrugged his shoulders. The next question out of Manda's mouth gets Bobby.

"Will you train my sisters and I?" Bobby didn't want to at first but after Manda explain that there's no other way then he sighed and agreed. Manda knew it was gonna be hard but the look of determination in her sisters eyes let her know that she wasn't alone. But she felt alone. She now had the whole world on her shoulders. But she wasn't going to rest till she rescue her mother. She honestly rather have her sisters with her so she can protect them herself and watch out for them. She couldn't bare the thought of leaving them Behind. She knew they needed her as much as she needed them.