The Celestial

Retribution

7 YEARS AGO

The occasional loud clapping of thunder and the sound of heavy rainfall outside was not enough to drown the sobbing of 11 year-old Jenny as she sat on a bench facing the matron of the orphanage Sister Cynthia.

" I didn't do it Sister. I swear to god. I don't know what happened to Ava. I am so...so sorry", sobbed Jenny.

"Oh no no no child. It wasn't your fault at all," said the nun, hugging her. "Whatever happened to Ava, may the lord have mercy on her soul, was caused by a disruption of the natural order by diabolical forces beyond the comprehension of mankind. It was in no way your fault Jenny. But you need to tell me clearly what you saw honey. I know Ava was your best friend and this will be hard to talk about but we need to know the truth"

" We....we were playing sister," said Jenny, still sobbing. "While all the other kids stayed on the cliff, Ava and I went down to the stream of the waterfall. I was chasing her. But then, I...I saw it. The air by the rock was different almost like the air was glowing. There was some mist there too. I knew there was something bad about it. I stopped. But Ava seemed to not even notice it. She was running towards it. I screamed to her but she wouldn't listen..She ran right into it. And then......

Jenny started sobbing horribly at this point. Sister Cynthia hugger her tighter. She didn't press her further. She had already recounted what had happened earlier and there was no need to make her go through that again. An inhuman hand and appeared out of nowhere and dragged a screaming Ava into seeming nothingness. Only her backpack remained at the spot.

"What was it Sister Cynthia," weeped Jenny. "What took her. What was in the spot by the rock"

"As I said, they are diabolical forces that don't belong to our world. Child, you have been born with a special ability, one that is both a curse and a gift. You are a Celestial, born one in a million, who can see the rifts, the portals through which these forces pass over to our world. There is an unseen fabric that separates our realm from realms of evil. Some points in our world experience tears in the fabric and open up doorways to the other side. Celestials are able to see these doorways honey. And you, I am afraid are one of them. You are one in a million"

"I don't want to. I don't want this"

"You can't get rid of this curse child. But know this, because of this curse, the things on the other side will always be drawn to you. I don't want you to always live in fear Jenny and that's why I will teach you how to survive, teach you about the 'in between' and how to use it against these creatures. You must be ready as when these things realize you can see the gateways that they use, they will always come for you. The "in between" is the only way to destroy them. There is more information in the book of Necronomicon and I can show you. Will you trust me on this? Will you let me teach you," said Sister Cynthia.

Jenny stopped sobbing. There was a loud thunderclap outside and the lights of the orphanage flickered with it. For a few moments, Jenny didn't speak. Then she wiped off her tears, hardened her expressions and said

"They took away Ava from me. I will destroy them. I will turn my curse into a gift, lure them out of their gateways, let them feed on my fear and then destroy them. Teach me Sister Cynthia. Teach me about the "in between"





BACK IN THE PRESENT

With her homemade gateway now destroyed, Jenny quickly closed her front door and locked it behind her. She retrieved her dustpan and brush from the kitchen and knelt to begin clearing up the mess she had made.

" You took my only friend away from me years back . I have destroyed many of you and I will destroy any of you that follow me to my world," she said as the small shards of mirror scraped against the floor while she brushed them into the pan.

For a split second, Jenny thought she saw a flash of red in the sparkle of a particularly large shard, but it was gone as soon as she blinked. She stared at the rest of the broken mirror for a while longer, but saw nothing more and so continued to clean it away.

THE END.