Monster: Origins of Darkness #1 (On Hold)

Chapter 9 - Big Sister

Chapter 9 - Big Sister

The silence that followed Mikayla after she slammed her bedroom door behind her caused her to go to the window and steal a glance outside.  Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, she drew the curtains closed and went to her desk.

Her mind wandered as she set her homework out before her.

How many times before had Aiden been followed home from school by bullies?  How many times did they lay their hands on him?  Hurt him with their words?

She scoffed at herself.  Why should I care?

She closed her eyes and drew a deep breath to clear her mind.  She knew better than to get involved with the personal lives of others.  She couldn’t depend on others, nor could she allow others to depend on her.  She had only herself in this world and that was the way it had to be.

Turning her attention to her homework, she was working diligently for about ten minutes when her bedroom door flung open with a loud bang.

“You’re here!”

Mikayla’s heart jumped in her throat as she whirled around to see the nine-year-old girl skip in and flop herself on Mikayla’s bed. 

“I saw your motorcycle outside, and I thought—” she gasped for dramatic effect, “Mikayla’s home!”  She grinned, continuing her babble with excitement in her bright green eyes.  “So I ran upstairs, and here you are!  I’m so glad you’re home!  You never came home after school before, and I never got a chance to see you and spend time with you, so I’m really happy that you’re here now.”

Exhaling as she clutched her chest, Mikayla quickly recovered herself and glared at the girl.  “What do you want?  This is my room and I didn’t give you permission to enter,” she growled.

Gracie’s eyebrows drew together in confusion as her expression turned to a frown.  She studied Mikayla for a moment.  “But I thought we could do something together, like play a game or something?”

Mikayla twitched.  “What makes you think I want to do anything with you?  I’m busy, so go away.”

Mikayla didn’t wait for her to answer.  She turned her back to the girl in an attempt to brush her off by showing indifference.

She thought she had shut the child up when there was a pause and Gracie didn’t utter a word.  When it did come, it was a question Mikayla had not anticipated hearing from someone so young.

“Why do you do that?”

This should not be happening, Mikayla thought as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

It was easier to deal with others when her back was facing them.  They couldn’t see her struggling with what to say or do to keep them at bay.  She wished she could allow herself to get close to others, but what would that solve in the process?  It would just make things more complicated, messy, and painful in the end when she would have to leave.

And she had to leave.  She had no other option.  Last night was the slap in the face she needed to remind her not to get comfortable.  There was something out there, a sort of darkness, or force, and it wanted her.  Who could possible want her?  And why?  It made no sense at all.  No one knew about her secrets—not even the religious figures, of whom believed to have cured her.  Therefore, only one thing could be certain: whoever was after her, couldn’t have good intentions.  How would they know about her secrets, unless they were like her and could sense her the way she could sense them like a gravitational pull?

Mikayla did not want to get involved in anything—or with anyone—that would use her unnatural abilities against others.

Amá sání was wise to keep me locked inside her house, she thought, tapping her pencil idly on the paper at her desk.  She had to protect me from killing others, but also to protect me against them.