Strange and His Beast

Prologue

The day started off as normal, I woke up at precisely 5:00 o'clock, and I was out of the shower by 5:08 a.m., my thick black hair was dry by 5:43 a.m., and my clothes were on my curvy body by 5:47 a.m., and like clockwork my mother woke up at precisely 6:00 a.m. I helped her bathe and get dressed before we both went down to the graveyard to say our good morning to her husband and son, and my father and little brother. Afterwards, I said my goodbyes to mother at precisely 6:40 a.m., and after promising to treat her for dinner tonight, I was peeling out of our driveway in my car. His name was Bob when I was angry and Bobby every other time. He was a classic. A 1989 XJ6 Jaguar, Bobby was my pride and soul, red leather interior included. I cut off my music as I pulled into my own personal hell, at precisely 7:00a.m. I worked as a customer service representative, except instead of just talking on the phone with somebody without having to keep the corny smile on my face, I have to physically sit down in front of the person and listen to them complain about everything except what I can actually help them with. My little cubicle was bland, save for a few family photos of my father, my mother, my little brother, and I. It was such as shame that once happy memories were now tainted with blood and death and cruel jealousy. Tragedy tore my family down until all that I was left with was a shell of my once beautiful mother and the girl that I never wanted to be.

You see, my family had it all, the looks, the money, the loyalty, the love, the privilege, and the life. But, life has a funny way of both giving and taking. Everyday someone new is born, but everyday someone else dies. Despite being the loving and kind people that my parents were, they had many enemies that wished to see them fall. My mother and I had gone out of town to take care of my grandmother, soon after though the cancer got her, and she gave way to the beast. We didn't want to tell father by phone that his mother was no more, so we came home as soon as was possible, only to find our home burned to the ground and the bodies of my loving father and my dearest, sweetest little brother. But that day, I didn't just lose half of my family, I lost all of them. My mother's health derailed at a frightening rate, and I feared for her life, I couldn't lose her too. She was my world and all I had left. She was sickly, frail, and quiet. I used to love to catch a break from the noise, but I now crave it, because with the silence came the pain, and I wasn't strong enough to face that yet. That day, I lost a part of myself, I didn't associate with anyone anymore, I no longer smiled or laughed in public, I had been dubbed the ice princess. The only people that ever saw me smile, were the annoying customers at work that liked to test my patience to see how long I could hold it in place, as it turns out I would have made an excellent actress.

The day drug by slowly as it did every other day, and at precisely 8:00 p.m., I was pulling into my driveway beyond exhausted, but nonetheless, excited to hopefully see my mother smile. After curling her hair and primping her a little, we left at exactly 8:45 p.m., and as I pulled into the driveway of the best hole in the wall in this town, I glanced over at my mother to see if I could find a reaction, however, she looked to be deep in thought, from her expression it looked like she had come to terms with something. One thing about our family, I don't truly know the business that my father ran, but I never suspected anything even remotely illegal would be going on, regardless of the secrets, there was no way my sweet mother would ever approve of something like that, despite the whispers that passed my ears. I helped my mother out of Bobby and supported most of her weight, as we walked through the doors of the diner. I guided her to one of the few booths in the small restaurant. We ordered our usual, I got the BLT with sweet potato fries and a coke, whilst my mother got the farmhouse burger with a hash brown and some sweet tea. As I expected, I finished my meal way before my mother did. All of a sudden, my mother's beautiful emerald green eyes, so much like my own, widened dramatically, then several things happened at once in what felt like slow motion, as my mother's fork slipped from her hand and fell to her plate, several men in black ski masks wielding shot guns burst through the front and only door of the restaurant. As the room grew deathly quiet, their eyes searched around the room looking for someone in particular, I started to choke on my coke, as they locked eyes with my now neutral mother.

She then began to whisper to me very quickly, "I thought that we would have more time and that I could explain everything to you on your 18th birthday next week, but now I have no choice, you my dear are special, you were born for great things, your father and your brother's death were part of an ancient prophecy, my death will be the final key to truly unlock your powers. So, my daughter, this is my goodbye, and my message, look for what was never there, and you will find an invisible realm that only those like you can enter. Stay safe my lovely Mercury, and we love you always." It was the longest speech she had ever given me since that dreadful day, but it only served to make me even more confused than I was a few moments ago. Realization fell upon me like cold water on a sleeping form. These men were here to kill my mother and possibly myself, and she knew it. Before I could even blink, they had shot and killed her. They seemed to be taking their sweet time reloading the bullets, but as they went through those motions, I felt my bones begin to snap and it was the most agonizing thing I had ever felt. I let out a scream that seemed to make the ground shake, it was filled with fear, pain, and anger.

After my bones finished rearranging themselves, I felt larger, and stronger, but most of all I felt powerful, and very, very angry. I let loose with an earth-shattering roar. Surprising myself, but also not having time to think, the men regained their composure once more before opening fire on me, but the joke was on them because their bullets bounced off of my body like tiny rocks. They were trying to reload their bullets up, but I shook my seemingly large head slowly, it was my turn. In a matter of seconds all of the men, but one was dead, having either their head ripped off, or their body sliced in half by my claws. I still had yet to realize what I was. As I stalked towards his shaking form, my breathe blew out in a smoke. I let out a stream of fire, charring his body beyond recognition. Afterwards, I was both horrified and amazed at what I had down, without thinking, I flew straight up through the ceiling, guided by a slightly animalistic instinct, to look for what was never there.