Half Alive

Chapter One

The sun set, hiding itself from the world I now live in. A world where dark creatures lurk the night; a world filled with fear and bloodshed. I watched as the day ceased and the night began. I watched as chaos began to spill in the darkest alleys. I heard the screams no other human would hear. I heard the pleading for lives. I heard it all, yet I did absolutely nothing to help or stop it. I wasn't supposed to be aware of this second world. I was supposed to be immune to it. I shouldn't be able to see or hear them. But I do. All because of my father Luke. A typical guy he was, my mother claimed. I thought him to be nothing other than human, she added. So she became terrified when I began to see the hidden world she tried so hard for me to be concealed from. She did almost anything to keep me from this world. Yet, here I stand, still aware of it. A terrible world of fae, demons, witches, and hunters. A world concealed from a mundane's naked eye. A world that survives and exists within our own world. 

I strolled the night cloaked streets, avoiding total darkness. I hear little dark fae's walk around me, craving my blood. I feel it vibe off their tiny scaly grey bodies. The desire for blood is strong. I ignore their presence, as I'm supposed to do, and continue on walking down my street. Soon, they'll begin to reach for me. But they'll never be able to touch me. Nothing from the dark world can touch me. I guess it’s a little gift I inherited from my so called father. The dark fae dove for me, aiming for the back of my ankle. The moment it reached about a foot from me, it was shocked back. I suppressed a smile. The other dark fae began to try again. And again. And again. They tried until they got bored and left. I sighed lightly. 

Half an hour of walking, I strolled casually through the gate of our house at the end of the street. I reached through the railings and unlocked the gate. The ebony gate made a soft squeal as I pushed it open. Closing the gates, I reached inside the brown cross-body bag I had and got my house keys. As I entered the house, my mother, five feet tall of red hair emerged from the kitchen, wearing a white apron and a smile against her crimson full lips. Her jade green eyes shimmered in relief, I knew, as she saw me approach her. "You're late," She scolded. 

"I'm just twenty minutes late, mom," I sighed as I hung my bag on the coat rack. 

"Our deal was before sundown." She said, her voice stern. "You know exactly what lurks in the dark." She whispered.

"Mom, I'm safe, I'm home, so there's really nothing to worry about." I sighed, sitting down on one of the stools by the counter. "And I'm not afraid of the dark." I added.

Grabbing a plateful of spaghetti, my mom replied, "You should be." 

~

Later that night, I lay in my bed, reading. All the lights were turned off in the house, it was pitched black. The light on my phone was the only thing that remained. My mom would have scolded me more if she knew I was up this late, reading. But she doesn't understand. I need this. This is my escape from the horrid world out there. This is one of the only places where I can be me. Where I don't have to pretend to be immune to the Other World. I was just about to lock my phone when a shrilling scream came from outside my window, prickling the hairs on my arms. I sat up, and ran towards my window, my heart in my throat. I got there in time to see a man, in flames fall from the sky. I dropped my phone on the floor by window and using all my strength, I sprinted out my room, down the hallways and out the door, still careful to not wake my mother. I looked around my front lawn and saw the man lying there, struggling to breathe. The flames had died down. And now he's left with tattered clothing and ash all over his body. I ran to him, quickly kneeling down by his side. 

"Are you alright?!" I panicked. "I'll go call an ambulance." I croaked and began to get up and head back in the house.

"N-no.." The man groaned, grabbing my wrist. His eyes were pure blue, it reminded my of the ocean. It was so vast and so exquisite. "I-it's too late." He whispered. 

"What do you mean? They can save you!" I exclaimed. 

"N-no… no one can…" He croaked and forced a smile. "I at least got  to see an angel before hell took hold of me." 

"What?" I asked, confused. His grip on me loosened and soon, those beautiful blue eyes turned into black coal.