Dark Paradise

Chapter 1: Our Mornings~

Chapter 1: Our Mornings~

I ran as fast as I could. I didn't know how long this could keep up for, but I knew that I had to hold out as long as possible. My mind raced with a million thoughts as I dodged every tree and brush. Dogs barked behind me, men's voices circled me. But still, I continued to run. I had to, or else I may never stay alive. I understood just well the issue at hand.

These men wanted me dead. For whatever reason, they had captured me, and I had escaped. I'd been able to outrun them, but I knew it couldn't last forever. Sooner or later, my stamina would be depleted, and I'd have to stop. I continued on running. It was the thing I knew how to do best.

My lungs ached for air. The adrenaline kept me going strong, but it wasn't going to last long. My bare feet felt raw against the rough ground, and they felt like they were bleeding.

I felt something run over my foot. In an instant, I was on the ground. My nose was bleeding. I wiped the blood away and got up, staring it the root that tripped me for a moment before taking off again. I heard the men's dogs chasing after me, and I tried not to trip again. I couldn't risk it.

I found a large tree and scaled it. The dogs ran right under me, and I sighed a breath of relief. My feet stung like crazy, and they were in fact bleeding. I wiped my jacket sleeve under my nose, revealing a good amount of blood. I sniffled, and flipped my long, brown hair over my shoulder. "Finally, they're gone..." I whispered.

"Chasity." a voice huffed in my ear. I screamed and lost my balance, suddenly plummeting to the ground, a good thirty to forty feet below me.

~~~~~~

I felt a pressure in my chest as I bolted upright out of my not so peaceful slumber. I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair, looking at the clock, which read 4:18 A.M.

"Chase?" I turned to look at my best friend, Genevieve, laying flat on her back, her eyes looking straight at the ceiling. "Genevieve." I said, looking straight at her. She had a special ability to talk to the dead and see spirits. She was one of the toughest people I knew. "Gen, what do you see? Who's here?"

"Malevolence." she said flatly, her left arm slowly raising up to point in front of her. "A bad spirit is in here. Malevolent, indeed." I looked up at the ceiling and then turned my head back to her. "Let me see, Gen." I told her. Her right arm shot out and grabbed my shoulder. I closed my eyes and opened them three seconds later. My eyes shot up to the ceiling again.

The spirit sat there, dangling over the bed like the chandelier right next to it. I looked at it, my dream reflecting in it like a camera playing back a movie. "You're the cause of my dream tonight, huh?" I asked it. The spirit responded by fogging up the vanity mirror in front of my bed and writing "YES." in the fog.

"Stop communicating with it." Genevieve huffed, struggling to speak. "It's latching itself." I moved her hand off of my shoulder, and she immendiately got up out of bed and walked over to my small makeup mirror, and drew a devil's trap on it with my old red lipstick I had used for All Hallows Eve a few weeks ago. With a swift movement, she swung it upwards and said,

"Regna terrae, cantate Deo, psallite Domino' qui fertis super caelum caeli ad Orientem Ecce dabit voci Suae vocem virtutis, tribuite virtutem Deo. Deus caeli, Deus terrae, humiliter majestati gloriae Tuae supplicamus ut ab omni infernalium spirituum potestate, laqueo, deceptione et nequitia, omnis fallaciae, libera nos, Domine. Vade, Satana, inventor et magister omnis fallaciae, hostis humanae salutis. Humiliare sub potenti manu Dei--"

The devil's trap began to glow a dim red, and then diminished as qickly as it came. I watched as Genevieve ran to the window, drew it open, and threw the mirror against the tree. She bagan to gasp for air, and I rushed to her side, my friend collapsing in my arms.