The New Tempest

An seventeen year old girl is plagued by nightmares and haunted by a white cat in her waking life.

I stepped out of the dark alleyway shadows onto a deserted street in the middle of a market square. "Where the hell am I?" I thought to myself. The square was entirely unfamiliar and I looked down and noticed my clothes were torn, just shreds of a dirty dress or maybe robes. The snow was stained with blood as I walked along the streets. All I could hear was the wind whipping past me. Not a single soul was around, but the scent of death and fear lingered in the atmosphere.

The streets seemed to never end as I walked aimlessly in the abandoned maze. It was a bizarre sight - big brown wooden doors were left standing open, clothes still hung from their lines and personal belongings were thrown all over the streets; baskets of food, swords and shields, worn clothing and goods to trade at the market. It was as if whoever had inhabited this place was completely stripped down to the flesh and carried somewhere else.

I gave up on finding a way out and sat on a nearby stoop. As soon as I was consumed with my thoughts, something appeared in my peripheral vision. "A cat!" I thought, as an unquenchable desire overcame me to follow the little thing. Its' eyes were piercing blue and his body was a crisp clean shade of white. I ran full speed through the streets once more, leaving bloody footprints behind me. "Have I been bleeding this whole time?"

The cat had lead me to an exit out onto a countryside road, and I saw a distant fire deeper into the woods. Part of me wanted to run towards the fire, to see who was still alive and finally figure out where I was and how I ended up here. But my eyes met with the cats. It felt like they were piercing into my very being and were telling me to run quickly in the opposite direction. I followed the cat once more through an open field until we reached the other side of the woods. I heard a faint meow as the little cat disappeared.

Rain started to make a light mist around me. I followed a path deep into the trees, but my legs started buckling and I was overcome by a gruesome sensation. "How long have I been in pain?" Every part of my body immediately wanted to stop working, but the rain started falling harder and I knew that I couldn't. Standing at the foot of a hill was much less scary than the actual climb. The sweat and rain were mixing and running into my eyes. Blood from wounds I didn't know I had on my face was dripping into my mouth, and they burned as the sweat and tears met with them. My legs eventually gave out from the pain that only intensified the closer I got to the top of the hill. I pulled my self the rest of the way with my arms.

When I finally stood on top of the hill, I closed my eyes and raised my arms to the sky and let the rain pour down all around me. I felt the little cat reappear suddenly as it rubbed against my legs. I opened my eyes for the first time since I reached the top and my legs immediately buckled from the horror of what I saw. My stomach reacted next as I vomited all over my dress. The sight was so unbearable, I'd choose death before witnessing it. I knew I'd made a mistake following the cat and wanted nothing more than to turn back and run as fast as I could towards the fire that was now miles away.

Children, women and men alike lay lifeless in piles. They'd been thrown aside like old ragdolls. Thousands of other bodies remained surrounded by pits of fire and horrible black creatures. "Hell walks on Earth," was all I heard through the ringing in my ears.

The creatures were so unhuman and so disgusting, it was hard to look at. They were to tall, their bodies to long. They lacked a face of any kind, but had giant black wings and tails covered in spikes. My vision was starting to blur, and I felt panic rise in my chest. I couldn't comprehend the evil I felt enveloping me. A breeze blew, and the smell of sulfur filled my nose as the sky whipped into a torrent of darkness. A sudden crack of thunder struck two feet away. Before I could even move, long black fingers grasped my shoulders.

________________________________________________________________________

Edan sat straight up in bed, breathing heavily. Sweat poured down her face and her heart raced uncontrollably.

"That's the third time you've woken up screaming this week, young lady!" Cathy, Edan's mom, burst through her bedroom door.

"Thanks for the knock, Cathy," Edan grumbled.

"Firstly, I'm not Cathy. I'm your mother. Secondly, I think you need to stop eating before bed and watching all those

ridiculous horror movies. Clearly, you're having problems Edan," Cathy said coldly. Edan looked her mother over, with her clean cut black pencil skirt and plain white button up shirt. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a tight bun and her black kitten heeled shoes showed not a speck of dirt or a sign of creasing. She looked so proper, and so opposite from Edan.

"Whatever Cathy," Edan murmured.

"Excuse me, Edan?" Cathy's eyes widened.

"Nothing, mum."

"That's what I thought. Now get up, get ready. Go to school today Edan," Cathy turned towards the door and changed her mind. "And try to wear something nice today, or maybe just brush your hair."

Cathy left the room and Edan laid back down and stared up at the ceiling. The nightmare had been plaguing her sleep for days now, and she couldn't quite shake the images from her head. She rolled over onto her side as she heard a car door slam outside, and the garage door shut.

Slowly, Edan walked to the mirror in the corner of her room. She looked herself over carefully. Black eyeliner was thick below her eyes, and her long black hair was stringy and disheveled, but her bangs fell perfectly straight across her forehead. Her skin was pale, and her frame was thin. She smiled as she grabbed her favorite wine red lipstick and pulled up a pair of ripped jeans she found on the floor. She grabbed the brush next to her nightstand and sighed as she worked it through her hair.

Downstairs her little brother, Edward, sat on the couch eating cereal and staring blankly into his phone.

"Hey ugly, you taking me to school today?" he said without looking up.

"F**k you," Edan grabbed her black backpack and purse and headed for her car. Edward followed her. "Get away from me, creep," she spat.

"You're a real b***h, Edan," he spat back.

"Yeah, and you're a little dickhead," she sat down in the drivers seat of her old 1997 Chevrolet Impala. She lit a cigarette and tried to turn the radio on, but only static sounded from the speakers. "Piece of s**t."

Edward sat down in the passengers seat, and Edan glared at him. He was a typical fifteen year old kid, dressed from head to toe in the latest mall fashion. The only unique thing about him was the scar, shaped like an 'x', that sat right below his left eye.

"You know, I'm real surprised you're even going to school today," Edward eyed her.

"I'm not," Edan stated, as she pulled out of the driveway. She passed rows of identical houses and lawns, all perfectly neat and in order. Everyone's grass was green, and they waved to each other as they passed. "We live in the middle of God damn suburbia, Edward."

"Better than the middle of God damn nowhere," Edward said plainly, he continued to stair blankly into his phone as Edan drove past more identical houses. In the rearview mirror Edan spotted a plain white cat sitting in the middle of the road behind her. She immediately slammed on her breaks. "WHAT THE ACTUAL F**K, EDAN?" Edward yelled loudly as he smacked his head on the dashboard.

"Put your seatbelt on, dumbass!" Edan yelled. She looked back, and there was nothing in the road. She inhaled deeply, and took off again.

"You've got some serious issues, Edan."

Edan pulled up to the curb of Lancaster High School. "F*****g hell," she murmured as she watched kids cross the street and laugh with their friends. "This place is hell."

"Aren't you coming?" Edward asked.

"I already told you, no. Now get out."

"Mom's gonna be pissed, Edan-"

"I took you all the way here, now goodbye."

Edward got out of the car slowly, "E, I don't know what the f**k's been wrong with you - I know you've been having those weird dreams and you talk in your sleep. But s**t-"

"I talk in my sleep?"

"Yeah, you're weird as hell." Edward said, as he closed the door. She watched a group of boys move towards Edward and sighed again as she watched him walk into school with friends.

She pulled around the school, to the student parking lot and groaned loudly as she watched kids sitting on cars and running around before class started. She parked as far away from everyone as possible and lit another cigarette.

A small, red-head ran through the crowd and up to Edan's car.

"E, is that you? Are you alive?" Riley's face lit up with excitement.

"Hey, Ry." Edan smiled as small, and rather insincere smile.

"I've been so worried! I texted you, like, a million times. Where the hell have you been?"

"Around."

The warning bell sounded and slowly kids starting moving towards the doors for class.

"Will you sit with me at lunch?"

"Yeah," Edan murmured.

She watched as Riley ran to the doors and into the building. Slowly, she got out of her car and headed towards the doors herself. She turned back, hesitating. As she looked around the deserted parking lot, she could have sworn she saw a white cat sitting on the hood of her car. She blinked, and the cat was gone. ~

________________________________________________________________________

"What a pleasure! Miss DuVall has decided to grace us with her presence," Mr. Witacker said coldly as Edan headed for the back of the classroom. "Late, as usual, but at least your here," he said as he laid a tiny pink detention slip on her desk.

"Now see, this is why I don't come to class," Edan said.

Mr. Witacker glared at her and returned to the front of the classroom. "For those of us who have been in class, you all know that we are reading a Shakespeare story of our choice and then producing a re-telling of that same play for the class. Get creative with it people, you can use the book, you can use the movies - draw a picture. I don't care, just make it interesting and accurate. For those of us who have not been in class," he said looking directly at Edan, "you will read the Tempest and you will write a full ten page paper, topic to be announced later in the week - so please be in class. We have about forty minutes of open time, use it wisely." Mr. Witacker walked to the back of the room and laid a copy of The Tempest on Edan's desk. "I would suggest you get to reading."

Author's Note

A new idea for a book I'm playing around with. CRITISCIM AND IDEAS ARE WELCOME!!!

Reviews

[Marztothemoon]

This is great writing! The descriptions are so chilling and it really makes me want to read more!
There were a few times in the story that I got confused with the transition from one paragraph to the next. For example, if her legs were so weak from climbing the hill that she could only use her arms the rest of the way, then how is she standing in the next paragraph? If there was maybe a sentence or two that tie each instance together, I'm sure it will be much easier for the reader to understand. I would also suggest sometimes putting the action before the speech. It can really help in some instances so that the reader can truly understand the order in which things are happening. For example, '"WHAT THE ACTUAL F**K, EDAN?" Edward yelled loudly as he smacked his head on the dashboard."' This sentence could be a little confusing. Did he yell before he hit his head? After? If it was before, why doesn't he do anything after he hits his head? To make it a little more clear, we could rewrite the sentence like this; Edward plunged forward in his seat and smacked his head hard on the dashboard. "WHAT THE ACTUAL F**K, EDAN?" He yelled, pulling himself up and rubbing his forehead to soothe the pain.

All in all I really loved the story so far! Please keep writing!