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chapter zero, monster on cherry creek lane
" A monster, a monster I've turned into a monster A monster, a monster And it keeps getting stronger "
MONSTER ━━ imagine dragons
JULIET HARMON WAS NO SAINT. But then again, who was?
From the moment she was born, there was something odd about her. Fourteen years younger than her elder sister, she had come as a shock to the Harmon family. And when they had her, they wanted to try for something more. That's where it had all gone wrong from the Harmons. They got something more, only for it to be taken away. But then of course, Juliet couldn't remember that. She couldn't remember how broken her family was. She hardly had any concrete memories of her parents, or her sister. None of the house she grew up in or of what happened. It was as if she never had a family to begin with.
Juliet was destined to bounce from foster home to foster home it seemed, no one willing to take a girl who carried the devil with her. Even for the families who weren't as religious, they knew something was off about the girl. Things would mysteriously float or break depending on her mood. She would sleepwalk all the way onto a fridge. Truly a strange girl.
Her newest foster parents had seemed to have had enough. They weren't very religious people to begin with, but there was nothing else to explain little Juliet Harmon. Only a demon had slithered itself inside her and now possessed her. It may not be causing havoc now, but it would eventually. And they were right. And not about the demon part.
Juliet Harmon was shaking in her skin, eyes still wide in fear as she stared at the opposite wall of her room. She had no idea what possessed her, but she couldn't tear her eyes from the scene before her. The truly horrible scene. It was too much for the sixteen year old to bear. And no matter how much she wished it would, the scene wouldn't change.
The doorknob was shaking as her foster parents tried opening the door having heard the commotion. They had locked it as instructed by the Priest. And now, it wouldn't open as they screamed at each other, desperately trying to open it. And yet it wouldn't budge. Not for another few minutes at least.
The aforementioned Priest was now opposite Juliet, a look of terror still resting upon his disfigured face. Cuts marked it as well as his freshly pressed clothes but the real attraction was the two large pieces of glass, one caught in his throat and the other in his chest, piercing his investing heart. That wasn't the only attraction though. At the edge of his pants a fire had started, sparking to life. It was put out by now, but the smell of burning flesh still lingered in the room.
Dead.
Killed.
Killed by the girl who had gone no where near him. Who had hardly moved from her spot. Not laying a finger on him. And her, despite all the evidence pointing to the fact it was a freak accident or something and she couldn't be the culprit, the whole town would know by tomorrow that she was a demon sent from the fiery depths of hell. Even if she wasn't. Even if there was no evidence. Even if she was remorseful.
And they'd be right, for the most part that was.
Word went around quick in a small, superstitious town like hers ( could she call it her town? She'd only been there for four months ). Everyone would know that the strange girl on Cherry Creek Lane was nothing less than a monster. A monster who killed an innocent man.
Juliet wouldn't know if her foster parents or even the police tried to stop them when she heard shouting that night. She wouldn't know whether or not if her parents purposefully left the front door open. Wouldn't know if they had started the mob that came knocking on her front door that night, ready to take her away even if she went struggling.
Funny how when she was in fatal danger her mysterious powers didn't seem to work. What the hell was the point of them if they could kill an innocent man but not save herself. Perhaps she was a demon's child, she would never know.
She had screamed and kicked and struggled, and nothing seemed to deter the mob ( who weren't carrying torches or pitchforks like in the movies which Juliet would later be disappointed about ). She didn't remember most of the journey. They had simply tied her hands and legs and hid her in the trunk of a car, although no one cared, proven by how the neighbors stood out to watch.
She didn't know where they went. They just kept heading out of town, farther in farther. Juliet supposed they must've prepared a spot specifically for her ( how wonderful ). Time didn't seem real as the sky remained dark, no one coming to help as she shrieked for help that wouldn't come. Not when they tied her to a wood pole, not when they poured gasoline on her, not when the woman lit the match, illuminating her smug face. And if Juliet tried hard enough, she could almost imagine the woman dressing in the same clothing as the Salem Witch trials.
That's what this was.
Only this time it was actually true.
Death came for Juliet Harmon that fateful night, her screams only being silenced when her heart stopped beating as the fire overtook her, only leaving the smell of gasoline and burning flesh in its wake as the townsfolk left to go home and peacefully sleep in their beds, guilt a foreign feeling at the time. Only a sense of accomplishment hung in the air as they slept peacefully in their beds, only one bed belonging to the sixteen year old was vacant.
However, as the smell of smoke faded into the crisp night air, and the sounds of screams gave way to the sounds of crickets chirping, death would end up leaving Juliet Harmon's doorstep, Juliet blowing a kiss goodbye.
Because as the towns people had left, Tripp Woods had taken the time to approach. He'd heard the screams of the young girl, had witnessed the fire take her as the citizens watched Ashe had been. Only, he didn't plan on leaving her to die. Instead Beckham Woods had walked forward after the townspeople had left, finding a piling of ash around a severely burned girl, who was no doubt dead.
Beckham Woods was no stranger to magic. He had studied it for years along with his caretaker. He knew it well. And so it seemed like a simple thing to bring life back to the girl without her knowing what had happened. Somehow Beckham Woods managed to close the wounds that decorated her body, and she was back to looking her young, beautiful self image again.
No words were to be exchanged between the two that night.
Instead, Cordelia Foxx would be there in the boy's place, having heard of a girl who possessed magic killing someone. Word traveled fast after all. She had feared she'd be too late, and she had. But somehow she'd been given a second chance.
And this time, she'd take it.
( a / n ) : here we go. also, i prewrote the entire first act so i'll be doubling updating for a while.
