Eternal Reality: Part One, Strangers from a Strange Land

A young woman finds her life turned upside down, by the barbarians that emerge from her closet.

Chapter 1 

     Sitting around the circular dinner table, the Wolfe family of four, conversed about their day. The youngest, Donald Wolfe, known to everyone just as Donnie, talked to the table about his teachers wedding, and how his whole class were invited. But nobody was listening, instead his mother and sister argued over who was, and who was not good for the young woman.

     Stephanie was a year from going to college, and her mother just wanted her to focus on her school work, and not get involved with boys. However, what her mother didn't know was that Stephanie had been seeing a collage freshman for almost a month, and tonight he was going to sneak over.

     With a smile on her face, she conceded and gave her mother time to gloat. However, Marilyn didn't gloat. Instead she was glad that Stephanie didn't put up too much of a fight. Putting her hand on top of her husband's, she smiled from ear to ear, and then turned her attention over to her son, who was still talking about his teacher's wedding. Trying to gather all the information about his teacher's wedding she then felt Sam's fingertips touch his.

     Moving his hand so that they held hands, Sam felt relieved that things were looking up. The cancerous tumours had taken so much from their family. They tore threw Marilyn's body, killing their unborn child, and devastating their chances of ever having any more. Nevertheless, life for the Wolfe family went on, and only recently began returning to normal.

     Once they had finished their evening meal, Marilyn and Donald retreated into the living room to watch television. While Sam and Stephanie did the washing up. It was their own way to force themselves to talk, and be around each other.

     Sam was always there when she was growing up, working from home, looking after her ever since she was a baby. Meanwhile, Marilyn was the main bread winner with a job that sometimes took her away and all across the country as a sales rep. Then just after Stephanie's eighth birthday Sam's job changed, he could no longer work from home and was gone for most of the time. She was then left in the care of sitters and her mother, while Sam was hard at work. Working hard enough to get a chance to work from home, this time there was nobody who needed him. Donald was just a short time away from high school and Stephanie was off to college. Then the cancer came and Sam had to return to work in the office, with Marilyn home sick they needed the extra pay. The once close Stephanie and Sam grew apart, but after she got the all clear from the doctors, Marilyn made sure that they would go back to the father daughter team that they once was. And getting them to work together on the washing up and other household chores was just the beginning.

     Standing over the sink, Sam washed and Stephanie dried standing beside him. The air had been silent ever since they began, only the sound of clinking plates and cutlery clanking vibrated the atmosphere. Then Sam decided to break the ice, knowing that he had to ask her about the boy,

     "Who is he?"

     "Who's Who," Stephanie asked as she looked coyly to her father trying not to give to much away.

     "The boy your dating," Sam replied as he handed her a washed pan.

     Stephanie didn't say a word, she took the pan from her father and began to dry it. How did he know, was it that obvious, she had to know. Therefore, she then asked,

     "If there was a boy, how did you find out?"

     She didn't fight with her mother, if there wasn't a boy then she would have fought with her mother. She would have fought for a boy who didn't exist, for a chance there was a collage boy out there, who was willing to date her. Nevertheless, he couldn't let her know it was that easy, and therefore he just looked at her while he dried his wet soapy hands and said,

     "Father's intuition."

     "Bullshit," Stephanie replied as she saw a slight cocky smile appear on her father's face.

     However, when his plan didn't work and she blatantly called him out on his lie, he wondered how he raised such a sharp witted and sharp tongued daughter. Then patting her on the back with a smile of pride. She smiled back at him and moved in for a hug from him. With pride, Sam hugged Stephanie warmly as he gave her the best and only advice he could,

     "Be safe and secure with whatever you choose to do."

     "Thanks, dad," Stephanie replied as she hugged her father a little more tighter.

     She may not know how much her father cared for her. But she was glad she was being treated like a adult. He then held her away from him and as he looked her in the eyes Sam made a pleading face as he kindly told her,

     "Please make sure you use protection. I am way to young to be a grandfather."

     Rolling her big ice blue eyes, she sighed with a jest that lead to a smile. Stephanie then slowly nodded as she looked up at her dad and said,

     "Your not to young to be a grandfather."

     With a smile, she playfully poked out her tongue and ran from Sam in a fit of giggles, disappearing into the living room. Grasping out for the overly childish late teen, Sam called out to her in his faux angry father voice,

     "Why I ought to... I am too young."

     "Too young for what," Marilyn asked as she walked into the kitchen, ready to make another cup of tea.

     Leaning against the sink, Sam watched his wife enter with a spring in her step and a smile on her face. However, when Sam did not answer her question, she gave him a stern look and a stare, trying to get the answer out of him. This caused Sam to shake the horny-teenager-cobwebs from his mind, and saunter over to her.

     "Go bold," Sam quickly replied, trying to keep his daughter's secret a secret.

     "I've seen pictures of your father when he was your age honey. And from that I can tell you that you are not too young."

     After placing her cup on the side and tuning on the electric kettle, she walked up to Sam, and after looking in them, she looked above his brown eyes. Running her hands threw his thick light brown hair as his hands found a place on her hips, a hint of a smile, faded and she dryly said,

     "Yep, you're definitely going bold."

     "Am not," Sam replied giving his wife a loving playful tap on her hind quarters.

     Having to stand up on her tip toes, Marilyn threw her hands around Sam's neck before kissing him. She then let herself drop away from his lips before getting too carried away, and as she stood there looking up into his eyes she quickly had to pull herself away. Feeling hot and flustered, Marilyn would love to tear the clothes off Sam and do dirty things with him all over the kitchen. However, the kids were up and about so she and Sam could do nothing but kiss. Nevertheless, the feeling was there and the only thing Marilyn could do was stay away from him for now. Rushing off, she moved into the living room asking the children about their homework and any forms that needed signing.

     The kids had done every piece of homework, there were no pieces of paper that needed signing, and with that information Marilyn sat down on the sofa looking at the television. Donnie had changed the channel and while his mother had finished watching the evening lineup of sitcoms, the young man had found more. This made up the family's viewing for the next few hours until it was time for bed.

     Sat on one sofa was Sam and Marilyn, with him sat across it, and her sat between his legs led back on his torso, wrapped up in his arms. On the other Donnie and Stephanie had fought for domination till the bitter end, when Stephanie gave up and let her younger brother rest his feet on her lap. Looking at his watch, Sam saw that it was coming up to half ten and showed it to Marilyn, who nodded, pushed his hand down and looked over to the kids,

     "Time for bed."

     "Yay," Stephanie replied sarcastically, as she then pushed her brothers feet from her lap and stood up with a yawn.

     Rolling off the sofa, Donnie looked at his sister with a cold scornful gaze of confusion. He then gave his mother and father a nod, before moving out of the living room and ascending the stairs. Donnie had never been the same since his mother was diagnosed with cancer. He was never the play out and run around type of child, he preferred books, but when the news came he slowly acted less like himself and more like a moody teenager. Barely more than a few years from teenager hood, he seemed to have the look and attitude down.

     Following him up the stairs, Stephanie needed to make sure that her brother knew about her visitor, and not to let their mother find out. Cornering him next to the bathroom, which divided their and their parents bedrooms, she looked into his eyes and got that same strange feeling. Both her and Donnie had their mother's ice blue eyes, but not her red hair, their hair was clearly like their fathers. It was the only way they knew that they were related to him.

     The talk was clear and to the point, she was going to have a friend over and there might be noises. Donnie however wanted something for his keeping a secret from his mother, and all Stephanie could offer him was money. Howeve, he wanted something else, he wanted access to his sister's DVD collection, all those horror films his mother and father didn't let him see. It took a while for her to decide, but eventually she gave in, but only let him choose three from her collection.

     Once he had chosen his three, with Stephanie making sure he didn't choose ones that were too bad. Telling him that the gory raunchy ones were really bad, and he should choose ones that were just filled with jump scares and figures moving in shadows. Yes they were scary, but they weren't as bad as some that he could have chosen.

     Walking up the stairs, Sam saw the end of the deal between Donnie and Stephanie. Looking at them both he looked at his children and said,

     "Come on, off to bed you two."

     At which point they nodded and swiftly moved across and into their respective bedrooms. Then behind Sam, Marilyn slowly moved up the stairs and as she moved past him, the children poked their faces out of their bedroom doors to say good night in a awkward unintentional unison. They then gave each other a strange uncomfortable look before closing the doors.

     Looking to Sam for a straight answer to their children's odd behaviour, Marilyn asked him what it was all about. However, all Sam could do, was tell her, that when they were away in their bedroom she would get a straight answer.

     Going into their bedroom, Sam sat Marilyn on their bed and readied her for the news to come. He knew that he was being overly dramatic, but hoped that it would take some sting off the news,

     "Stephanie has a boyfriend."

     "Yes, and," Marilyn replied, getting up off the bed, leaving Sam a little confused as he asked,

     "You knew."

     "Of course I know, I am her mother," Marilyn snapped back, a little disappointed that Sam wouldn't have guessed that she would know.

     Nevertheless, Sam still had to ask,

     "But, how?"

     It was then that she gave an answer that made Sam answer her back swiftly, and instinctively,

     "Mother's intuition."

     "Bullshit."

     In that one moment of reenactment from his earlier conversation with Stephanie, he smiled to himself. They were more alike then he remembered. However, Marilyn did not know the joke and gave him a loving playful tap on the shoulder. Sam took the tap with a smile, and as he looked at the wall where the bathroom divided their side of the house with the kids.

     Inside her room, Stephanie prepared herself for the visitor she was expecting in around three hours. In the room beside hers, Donnie prepared himself for a night of horror films. But first he wanted to empty his bladder, and that was easy. Getting out of his bedroom, after hiding the DVD's he borrowed from his sister, Donnie swiftly moved for the bathroom. However, when he opened the door and reached in for light switch, it clicked but the light didn't turn on. It had happened again, the light had been playing up lately and now he had to call on his father.

     Knocking as he opened up his parents bedroom door, Sam caught a glimpse of his underwear clad mother move off his topless father's lap. They were laughing and gigging with each other, and that disappeared once Donnie entered the room. Covering up a little, Marilyn smiled at her son, and as he removed his socks Sam asked,

     "Can I help you?"

     "The bathroom lights broken again," Donnie replied as he then sulked out of his parents bedroom, waiting for his father to follow him.

     Grabbing the emergency torch from his night stand, Sam walked from his bedroom and ruffled Donnie's hair as he moved to the bathroom. Turning the torch on, and looking inside, Sam was sure that the bulb should be working, but if it was something else then it would have to wait until daytime. Therefore he handed Donnie the torch and told him,

     "Do your thing."

     "Sure thing," the young boy replied, as he took the torch from his father, before he walked into the bathroom and locked the door behind him.

     Knowing that Donnie wouldn't tell his sister, Sam took it upon himself to inform the girl. Walking over to her bedroom door, he knocked on it with force, and called out to her. When there was no reply, Sam knocked harder waited for a second and then opened up the door. Looking in the room, he saw his daughter prancing around the room, dancing to music only she could hear on her headphones. Not wanting to disturb her fun, Sam leant on the door frame and just watched her. She had always loved to dance, it seemed that it was one of those things she was never going to grow out of. Then when she saw him she stopped, and slid the headphones so they hung around her neck and in a sarcastic tone commented,

     "Your an old pervert you know."

     "I'm just here to tell you that the light in the bathroom isn't working. Nothing perverse about it," Sam replied honestly as he then asked, "have you got your emergency flashlight?"

     Moving to her side table, Stephanie opened up the draw and pulled out her torch. Turning it on, she shone it at her father's face. Covering over his eyes, Sam said his goodnight and she in turn replied with a cocky,

     "I will."

     Sam chose to ignore the comment, and left her room, closing the door behind him. As he walked away he heard Stephanie laughing from behind the door, and passed his son leaving the toilet. However there was no sound of the flush, so turning his son around, he remarked about not flushing the toilet. To which his son replied something under his breath, as he was marched back inside the dark bathroom Then once he was finished making sure Donnie had flushed, Sam left him to go back to bed as he did the same.

     With everyone back in their bedrooms, Marilyn and Sam watched some television, Donnie began his marathon of horror films, and Stephanie continued to prepare for her boyfriend.

     Stephanie lay on top of her bed with a big grin on her face, she hoped that this boy would be the one. Francis "Frank" Whittington was a average, and sometimes above average collage student. However, when he met Stephanie he began to soar in classes, he once remarked to her, "being with you makes me a better person." Little did he know how true that was, as his grades soared as some of her intelligence rubbed off on him. But he couldn't see that, he just wanted to sleep with her, make her another notch on his bedpost. For him, she was just one in a long line of girls, he wanted to make longer before collage was over, and he started a new proper life building a family of his own.

Chapter 2

     Within seconds of nodding off, a muffled bang come from somewhere in the house. Sitting up, Sam knew that there was something wrong and quickly moved out of bed. It was when the sound of screaming came that Marilyn sat up and wondered what was going on. When Sam heard the sounds of screaming from across the house, he reached out for the first thing he could find, which just happened to be the hat rack next to tbedroomdoor.

     Before he could take it with him, Marilyn walked up beside him and tried to stay by his side. However, Sam stopped her, and pointing back to the bed, he told her to wait there. She reluctantly moved back to the bed, and checked the time, it was coming up to almost midnight. Dragging the hat rack, with the hats still on it, Sam could hear the screams, knowing that they were coming from Stephanie's room. Hoping and wishing that he didn't walk in on his daughter with someone, Sam knocked on the door first. It was then that he heard his daughter call out to him, screaming out at the top of her lungs,

     "Daddy, oh god, daddy please help."

     The sound of pleading and need in her voice caused Sam to quickly open the door. However, as he turned the handle it did nothing but rotate in his hand, and the screaming from the other side became frantic. Stepping away from the wooden door, Sam then kicked the section next to the handle and broke it open. As the door flung open with bits of the frame flying into the room, Sam was shocked silent and frozen stiff with fear with what he saw inside the bedroom.

     Moments ago from out of the closet, as the door smashed open, burst a blinding light and from that blinding light came three big hulking figures, with faces like wild animals. They were dressed in furs and animal skins wielding large metal cleaver like swords. With Frank on top of Stephanie, they both looked at the closet on the other side of the bedroom.

     At first the beastly looking wild men moved into the bedroom as confused as the current ocupents, then with guttural growls the blood-lust and butchery began. Frank tried to act intimidating, knelt on the bed, with the sheets wrapped around him, he flexed his muscles, but the monstrous looking men were not intimidated. Pulling the college boy, from Stephanie's bed he fought back, and she started screaming for her father. Holding tightly to her bed covers, she was terrified as a light from inside her closet lit up her room.

     Dragged into the middle of the room, Frank flailed around with his free hand, and felt it strike them, but they didn't react to it. Getting a few swings in, with only one hit to the muscular group, each grabbed a limb, leaving one of his legs to freely kick as he angrily screamed profanities at them. They then raised their weapons and started counting down in grunts. Then when the grunts ended they all swiped down together, dismembering the poor collage student. It was at this point that Sam knocked on the bedroom door. And while Stephanie screamed and called out to her father, the beastly men looked at the boy as he bled out all over the carpeted floor. Laughing and mocking him, the wild men pretend to cry as they looked down at him, it was then that as Frank called out for his mother he died. The wild men then took the freshly hacked limbs, and began to eat the skin and muscle upon it. Around this time, Sam kicked open the wooden bedroom door, and gazed upon the three beast-men feasting on the freshly hacked limbs.

     In the bright light that still emitted from the closset, Sam could see clearly into his daughters bedroom. Their long sharp teeth tore chunks of human skin and flesh from the blood stained bone, and all Sam could do was stand there and stare. With her father in sight, Stephanie stopped calling out for him, and instead she just cried and reached out to the frozen figure at her bedroom door. Then from behind him, the sound of his wife's shriek made him move. Marilyn had come to see what was going on and when she saw the monsters lurking in her daughter's room all she could do was yelp from fear and shock. Comming alive from the sound of his beloved, Sam lunged across one side of the room. With his eyes fixed on the animals feasting on the naked boy close to the foot of the bed. Sam grabbed his daughter's arm and guided it behind him, running naked from the room into Marilyn's embrace, she wrapped herself in her mother's nightgown.

     With his headphones on and his eyes fixed to the small portable TV, Donnie had no idea what was going on. Knowing that his sister had a freind over, he ignored it when his sister screamed, thinking it was just girls being girls. But then when his mother let out a high pitch scream, which happened when the eery silence set the stage for the next jump scare. He knew that there was something not right, and therefore he took off his earphones and listened to the sounds of crying coming from the hallway outside the bedrooms.

     Making his way out of his bedroom, Donnie looked to his mother and sister. Turning on the landing light, he walked over to the gathering at the end of the hall and remembered the last gathering like this was due to a spider his sister saw crawling on her bedroom floor. Therefore, referencing the past incident he asked in the most smart arsed way possible,

     "Does Stephanie have a spider in her room again?"

     Standing next to Marilyn and Stephanie, Donnie looked into his sister's bedroom to see his father, hat rack in hands, facing three large muscular strange man shaped creatures. In the silence from the Wolfe family that commenced after Marilyn's burst of horror, they all slowly backed from the bedroom. As he glanced back to see if he was heading for the door, Sam looked at Marilyn and mouthed for her to call the police. Whisking herself and the children away to the closest phone, which was in her bedroom they left Sam to the mercy of the preoccupied wild men.

     On the phone reporting a home invasion, not telling the operator that the strange facts of the crime, the operator went threw the motions. Asking questions of who, what, why, when, and where. Then once she mentioned that her daughter's boyfriend had been killed by the invaders, the operator wanted to know everything, all over again. Luckily though the operator told Marilyn that a patrol car was on the way, and then hung up on the distressed woman. Looking to her children, Marilyn smiled warmly to them trying to be as reassuring as she told them to stay put and went to see her husband.

     Walking from her bedroom, she walked beside Sam, and looking into her daughter's bedroom she saw that the beasts had almost finished eating the corpse of the young man. Whispering to him she quietly and quickly spoke,

     "The police are on their way."

     Sam nodded, with a sigh of relief. He had been watching them and saw how they worked, the only comparison he could think of was that of cavemen or neanderthals. At one point they tried to make a fire in the room, breaking apart a chest of drawers, but decided to just eat the raw human meat.

     The wild men stopped their feast and turned their attention to Sam and Marilyn. Slowly Sam moved himself in front of his wife, and with the hat rack in his hands, he faced off against the three men. Easily the first wild man used his cleaver like sword to cut threw the wooden hat rack. It was at that point, Sam knew he would have to fight for the safety of his family. Swinging at the beastly men, with the two pieces of wood, Marilyn watched as her husband stood his ground. But he didn't last long, and the wild men cut him down swiftly and brutally. A large cleaver cut down on his shoulder before another cleaver like blade came in and took his head.

     Screaming at the sight of Sam's decapitation, Marilyn turned and ran for her children. However, a wild man was on her before she could get too far. Grabbing her from behind, she kicked and screamed as the big hairy muscular arm around her midsection dragged her backwards into her daughter's bedroom.

     Watching his mother get dragged away, Donnie swiftly ran for her, Stephanie tried to stop him reaching out for him she wasn't quick enough. Standing in her parents bedroom doorway, she was frozen stiff with fear and although she wanted to help part of her was a coward, and couldn't do anything. Hearing her mother's teary cries pleading for help, and the sound of her little brother trying to get them to stop. Stephanie gripped onto the wooden door frame, and pulled herself threw it, forcing her legs to go forward along the hallway. It was as she continued to force herself along the way, that she heard her mother cry out and then saw her brother fly out of the room bouncing across the floor. No longer did she have to force herself, running to her brother's side, she lifted up his upper torso, only to see his head hang limp with a crunching sound coming from his neck. Donnie was clearly dead, with his neck broken.

     Turning to look into the room, Stephanie saw the three wild men corner her mother. Quickly and quietly, she moved back into her room and with one hand over her mouth, and tears forming in her eyes, she grabbed the cleaver like sword from her father's decapitated body. She then turned towards the three beasts as they fought over who would be the first to have their way with her mother. But Stephanie was going to bring a end to that. She knew the basics of fighting, don't get hit, strike hard and fast, and always have the upper hand.

     In the corner of the room, sat beside and in the in bloody remains of her daughter's boyfriend, Marilyn looked up at the wild men. She saw them grab at her, only to be put in their place by one of the others. Clearly arguing over her, Marilyn didn't know what to do, and every time she tried to escape, the men would shove her back in her place with their feet. Then out of nowhere Stephanie swung her sword into the neck of one of the wild men. Falling to the foor like a sack of potatoes, the dead wild man let out a raspy death rattle. Using a two handed grip, she pulled her sword back out from the wild man's neck, and then hopped back waiting for retaliation from the others. Watching in awe, Marilyn saw her daughter fight the two remaining beast men. Then at her feet she felt something grasp at her feet, and looking down she saw the gravely wounded man crawling up to her, holding onto the wound on his neck.

     Holding her own, Stephanie fought well against the two wild men and even got a couple of good hits in, before getting overwhelmed by their brutal style of fighting. Knocking the blade from her hands, she was then kicked to the floor, and then from the closet in the corner of the room came a flash of blue light. It was with the flash of blue light that two figures in black walked in the room. Looking at them the wild men screamed at them and charged in for the attack. Without weapons the two figures dressed in black killed the two wild men, countering their attacks and breaking their necks. The two then turned their attention to the last wild man, who had climbed his way up Marilyn's body and choked her with his last bit of strength before he himself died. Pulling his body of the woman bellow him, they made sure he was dead for sure by breaking his neck, they then slung his body with the others. Walking up to her mother, Stephanie didn't know what to do and seeing the awful look on her dead face made her gasp with horror.

     Throwing the dead bodies of the wild men back through the portal in the closet, the two darkly dressed figures seemed oblivious to Stephanie. But when she confronted them, they tried to ignore her and remove any evidence of the wild men throwing it through the portal. Therefore, Stephanie stood before one of the dark characters, and blocking their way, she asked,

     "What is this?"

     "A fatal accident. I am sorry for your loss," replied the clearly male voice as he looked at Stephanie.

     "Who are you?"

     "We are just here to clean up," he replied as he continued to look directly at her and her alone.

     Stephanie felt weak and powerless, and therefore she looked around at the chaos in the bedroom and asked,

     "What am I supposed to do now?"

     "Forget what you have seen, and get on with your life."

     Hearing the man's words, Stephanie didn't know what to do, she felt as if she had nothing else. Her family and boyfriend were all dead, and she felt helpless, and with that she suddenly looked to both of the darkly dressed figures and asked,

     "Take me with you. Can you please take me with you?"

     Shaking his head, he just wanted to get all the evidence from the house and go back, but it was not that easy. The man walked around the teenager before him and looking to the other he said,

     "Your turn, Lilith."

     Walking up to her, Lilith tipped her large brim hat back and looking to the girl before her she felt something, and asked,

     "Are you the one that put a slice in one of their throats?"

     "Yes," Stephanie replied with a stern voice.

     Lilith looked her up and down, trying to figure out what had happened and why she got that feeling from this one girl. It was a feeling of power without the possibility of corruption, and of so much potential. With that Lilith looked to her partner, Samael and in a strong commanding voice said,

     "We're taking her with us."

     "Lilith," Samael asked with a confused look on his face.

     She looked at him with a nod and then moved Stephanie towards the portal in the closet. Looking into it, she saw the white fire that had lit up the room since it first appeared. Then as she gazed deeper, something called to her, in a unfamiliar voice and language. Behind her, Lilith placed a hand gently on her shoulder and walked her into the portal, with Samael by her side. They walked into the light and was sucked into it, they then traveled so far away from Stephanie's home.

     Ariving on the scene, Detectives Donnington and Stevenson were called in once the first responding officers called in what they had come across. The bloody crime scene was something horrific to behold, but to the veteran detectives it was just another crime scene.

     Without the light from the portal, the police had to use their flashlights, and that made the experience more than what it was. The horrible crime scene now looked like a scene from a horror movie, and as the detectives walked around they spoke out their thoughts on the crime. The first to speak was the older of the pair, Stevenson who was seven years older than Donnington and yet not his superior. With his torches light moving around the upstairs floor, he talked calmly about his theory,

     "Teen girl, invites her boyfriend over, they do some drugs their trip is bad."

     "His is a little worse than hers, and her trip is so bad that she feasts on him," Donnington added, knowing that on some drugs, like PCP, the trip can cause serious mental issues.

     Stevenson then had to figure out how the rest of her family had come into her bedroom and so he made a guess at this,

     "The family hear the commotion of the bad trip and stumbles in on her feast, and she kills them, in shame, fear, or just plain insanity."

     But where was she now, they wondered, all the doors and windows were all closed and locked from the inside. When they arrived at the Wolfe house, the police knew that there had been a call and a possible home invasion. Therefore the first officers on the scene broke open the front door and entered that way. But there was no sign of the girl and that left the detectives confused at what had happened. Donnington then looked at his partner and with a smile on his face he said,

     "She's still in the house."

     A smile then crept upon Stevenson's face as he let out a bit of a laugh before saying,

     "Man hunt, hell yeah."

     The pair of them loved the thrill of a hunt, using their wits to track down their suspect. It was one of the few things that the pair had in common, and any time they could do this they pulled out all the stops and turned it into a game. However, this hunt would not go their way, because the suspect they are chasing is no longer in that house, or that town, or that country, or even any part of that world. She has travelled so far from home and has no idea what she has chosen to do with her existence.

Chapter 3

     Once she stepped into the bright light that filled up her closet, Stephanie tried her hardest not to be afraid, but the most she could do was stare at it. Lilith then grabbed Stephanie under her arm and dragged her deeper into the light.

     It seemed endless as she found herself having to close her eyes hiding them from the brightness. Floating and yet walking in the light, Lilith guided Stephanie along as she tried her best to explain this new experience to her. She was told that the portal between the worlds, were a natural random occurrence, and that a scientist from Stephanie's world, or one like it, claimed that in Lilith's world physics were wrong.

     When Stephanie heard this she wondered what she was going to witness when they arrived in Lilith's world. Closing her eyes, she was sure that this might not have been the best idea, and that perhaps she should have stayed home. However, the butterflies of nervousness, which lingered in her stomach, slowly disappeared when the floating feeling stopped. Then she felt a cold breeze on her face, and body, which was still only covered by her mother's nightgown. Slowly Stephanie opened her eyes and uncovered them to witness the sun setting creating a fire in the sky over a vast dark ocean. Standing either side of her, Lilith and Samael looked around making sure that the area was clear.

     At their feet the dead bodies of the wild men who had invaded Stephanie's home remained, and Lilith strongly pushed them off the edge of the cliff. As she did so, she seemed to say some words for them under her breath when each body fell onto the rocks and into the water bellow. As Samael expanded his search area, she moved crosser to Stephanie and began to talk to her with arms crossed and a stern locked jaw,

      "What's your name?"

     "Stephanie, Stephanie Wolfe," she replied with a reflection of Lilith's stern nature.

     Shaking her head, Lilith knew that name would draw some attention to them, therefore she looked the young woman in the eyes and saw that power again. It was like looking into the eyes of a wild animal, and that made her feel like Stephanie had some great potential. With arms still crossed she knew that Stephanie needed a new name, and as a bit of a smile moved over her face. But part of her wondered if she had made the right choice, nevertheless the girl was there and her responsibility. She then realised she already had another name as part as her name, and then said,

     "Your new name is just Wolf, not short for miss Stephanie Wolfe, or anything like that. This is not a bit of advice this is something that you must do."

     "I can do that," Stephanie replied trying to understand what was going on, and just agreeing to Lilith's advice.

     Shaking her head, Lilith needed her to understand that this was not just for around others. With her hand placed upon her shoulder Lilith told her plain and simply, but with a fierce look on her face,

     "There is a law in this land, where the name of any royal used by a commoner is punished by death, you can no longer be Stephanie... Ever again."

     With a truly understanding nod, Wolf put her hand on Lilith's shoulder, so they were mirrored and smiled as she said,

     "I'm okay, I can handle this."

     With a nod the two were then interrupted by Samael who pointed out to the horizon and complained about the falling sun and the oncoming night. It was then that Wolf saw the first traces of emotion on Lilith's face, as shock and fear crept over her face, and then it disappeared just as fast as it appeared when she went around the cliff top. Moving in a semicircle around Wolf, Samael and Lilith pulled handfuls of something from their bags on their belts. Dropping the strange collection of matter over the dry and brown grassy clifftop, Wolf was told to stay still, as the pair went over each other's tracks filling in the gaps.

     Imprisoned with the cliff behind her and the matter around her, Lilith and Samael walked around collecting anything that could burn. Looking towards the half circle that seemed to glint in the sunlight, they walked back into the half circle, making sure not to step on the trail that they had left around. As they gathered inside the area, Wolf had to ask them,

     "What's that stuff you put on the ground?"

     With a armful of twigs, branches, and dry grass, Samael walked towards her as he explained,

     "That my dear, is broken glass, mixed with some steel and silver caltrops, with a collection of herbs and spices."

     Looking at the two, Wolf wondered what and who those two were and blatantly asked them,

     "What do you two do?"

     "Witch Hunters," Lilith replied as she put her collection of wood onto the ground with Samael.

     "As in you hunt witch's," asked Wolf trying to confirm what she was hearing.

     Samael then tried to explain their situation to Wolf, as he an Lilith made a campfire. They were from a clan of Witches, Samael was the only child from his family branch, and because he was a man he couldn't use magic. It was because of this he had to become a Witch Hunter until he married a witch, and then he would become a normal member of his wife's Clan.

     As a Witch Hunter, their main job was hunting monsters but that was a unofficial use of their skills. They were supposed to hunting the evil Witches who misused their powers, and because of the blood in his veins their magic didn't work on him.

     Samael explained that the Witches powers although not scientific, had a set of rules and limitations. This included not being able to use their psychic or physical power on other Witches. Lilith explained to Wolf that it's like trying to put two pole ends of magnets together they repel off each other.

     Then after a little bit of a push from Samael, Lilith opened up and began to explain her story. Born without the power of the rest of her Witch blood line, she was given a choice, exile from the clan, because she was seen as a liability, or she could live with the unmarried men and become a hunter. To Lilith, family is everything, and therefore the twelve year old Lilith chose to live with, and become one of the Clan's hunter's.

     With the camp fire roaring, the pair of hunters reached in their packs and handed out a bit of precooked meat and bread around the group. Each one took some of it, and went around making sure they had a fare share. As they began to eat their small meals, Wolf saw something in the dark, away from the fire, moving in the night. Trying not to look directly at the shadowy figure, she realised there were others around the area outside the marked semicircle. As she looked at the fire, he held her breath that was until Wolf felt that she had to tell someone,

     "There are people in the dark."

     "They ain't people," replied a bitter sounding Samael, as he then received a look from Lilith that then made him add, "at least not any more."

     Seeing the scared look on Wolf's face, Lilith knew she had to keep her calm and revealed to her the truth about the Shadow Figures. Grabbing a flaming branch from the camp fire, Lilith then grabbed Wolf's hand with her other. Walking to the edge of the barrier, Lilith held up the torch of fire and moved it out of the semicircle. It was then that Wolf saw the figures move towards the light, but then disappear once they touched the light. Stood behind Lilith with her wrist in Lilith's firm grip, Wolf looked at the Shadow Figures as the light made them invisible. Trying to figure out the nature of these strange somber frightening creatures, Wolf made an educated statement,

     "They're attracted to the light, like moths."

     "No," replied Lilith as she then tossed the fire out into the darkness, making sure she was still inside the barrier.

     The Shadow Figures then continued towards Lilith and Wolf, stopping at the edge of the semicircle. Hiding behind her, Wolf looked up at Lilith when she continued her last words,

     "They're attracted to us."

     While shaking his head, Samael then walked past Lilith as he then said,

     "Don't force your fears on the poor girl."

     Walking out of the circle, Samael walked amongst the Shadow Figures, as he looked at Wolf he smiled and said,

     "They are just another force of nature, like a thunderstorm."

     The Shadow Figures swarmed around him, but they just moved and swirled around his body, like smoke or wind. Wolf had to ask them the one question she wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer for,

     "Are they ghosts?"

     Both Lilith and Samael shook thier heads, then as he slowly walked back towards the semicircle he looked to Wolf with a calm smile. Samael then stopped when he felt a cold breath on the back of his neck, and then his gaze moved from Wolf towards Lilith, and his expression changed to one of dread,

     "There's lightning in this thunderstorm."

     Not quite sure what he was talking about, Samael flashed her a smile, and then leapt toward the semicircle, but something grabbed his leg. Reaching out for his hand, Lilith tried to stay in the guarded area, but just as their hands touched, Samael disappeared backwards into the darkness. With the Shadow Figures moving around to block her view of him, Lilith knew what she had to do. Swiftly turning around, she moved to the fire where she grabbed onto another flaming branch and forced one into Wolf's hand.

     After ordering Wolf to hold her fire high, she then stormed off into the darkness softly calling out Samael's name. Wolf followed Lilith to the edge of the semicircle, but was too scared to continue. So much had happened already today, and she just wanted some peace so she could rest, and figgure out what to do. Her life was not what it was supposed to be, and the more she thought about it, the less her choice of coming here made sense.

     Then, as she watched the fire of Lilith's torch move out over the grassy planes, she disappeared behind Shadow Figures, out of sight, but not out of mind. Holding up the torch, Wolf noticed that the Shadow Figures no longer seemed to be interested in her and now realised what they meant by the Shadow Figures being attracted to them.

     Dragged away from the safety of the fire, Samael tried to dig his fingertips into the dusty dry dirt. Around his ankle the icy cold grasp of something gripped him tightly, with the cold seeping past his clothes and deep into his skin. Looking towards the fire, he could see Lilith turn away just as the Shadow Figures blocked his view. He then looked down his own body, towards the one dragging him along the ground. It was then he saw that it was a tall man in a long cloak and wide brimmed hat dragging him along. There seemed to be nothing abnormal about the figure, but then Samael saw the hand gripped around his ankle. It was not one of a living human, in fact the hand was that of a walking rotten corpse. There where white bones held together with dead pieces of hand holding them together.

     Rushing after Samael, Lilith put her own fears behind her as she held the fire high and walked into the Shadow Figure filled darkness. She knew he couldn't have gone far, as she called out in a quiet calm tone trying not to attract the attention of anything other than her partner. Then she passed into a thick group of Shadow Figures, and saw Samael being dragged along. She then called out to him in the same way and saw him arch his neck back to look at her. Holding out his hand for her, she ran up to him, bent down and grabbed his hand, Samael then grabbed onto Lilith and pulled himself free from the corpses grasp. Stumbling to a stop, Samael freed himself from the tall man's grasp, which also caused the tall man to turn around.

     Standing beside each other, they sized up the walking corpse in the now familiar clothing. His coat and hat in the fire light were clearly visible as Witch Hunter gear, and when the corpse faced them they may not have recognised the face under the hat. Nevertheless, they were going to give it the same respect as if he were alive and give him a final passing. He seemed not to know what to do as he stood frozen still, as the two people dressed the same, walked around.

     Together they calmly walked before the tall figure and Lilith tossed her burning branch, and then they went about undoing their long dark coats. Reaching down their coats they flipped the one side behind their legs, they then moved their hands down to their right thighs, and went about unwrapping their silver chains from around their family grimiors. Then with the silver chain wrapped around their right hand like a rosary, they held their open black leather bound grimiors in their left hands and moved amongst the pages to the spells on final passings and funeral rites. Having trouble reading in the poor light, the two bowed down and used the burning branch to see the writing in their grimoirs. There among the proper rituals, and the cleansing rites, Samael and Lilith found what they were each looking for and spoke out, but their spells were not the same.

     "May the Lord of the Dead, take this wayward son..."

     "Those who rule, reign, and watch over us, take this forgotten one into your house..."

     The standing corpse of the Witch Hunter, slowly knelt as if he knew what was going to happen, and had accepted his fate. Stepping closer to the Witch Hunter, Lilith and Samael continued their indervidual incantations and words of power. As they tried their hardest to focus on the words that also drew the Shadow Figures closer.

     Standing in the growing cold, Wolf felt as if she had been alone for almost a hour. Wrapping the soft dressing gown, she grabbed the front in her fists and tightly wrapped it tighter, and forced out some of her mother's smell. She didn't want to remember her mother how she last saw her but that was all she could see when she thought back to her family. The feeling of her brother's broken body in her hands, the sight of her decapitated father, and choked mother. It was then Wolf heard a call on the wind and raising up her flaming branch above the Shadow Figures that slowly gathered around. Then from within the darkness, Wolf saw the pair of Witch Hunters appear from behind a thick group of Shadow Figures. They then entered the safe semicircle, and throwing her flaming branch onto the fire, Lilith looked at Wolf and asked,

     "Are you okay?"

     "Yeah, just missing my family," Wolf answered truthfully as she sat next to the fire.

     Samael walked up to Wolf holding a set of clothes that looked like their's and holding them out to her he said,

     "You can have these, but I would give them a wash first."

     After they had given the dead Witch Hunter, his last rite, his body had turned to dust and Samael stripped his clothes off while trying to figure out who he was and what Clan he was from. After not being able to find his family grimoir, Lilith gave up on searching his remains, but Samael continued. However, when they looked at his legal papers, kept on a scroll, in his coat's inside pocket, they found a long dead Clan name within his registered family name. It was due to this one fact, that Lilith and Samael knew something evil was a foot. Only a witch of considerable power would know how to raise the dead, let alone raise a Witch Hunter, knowing that you would have to drain the body of blood. But what witch would raise a Witch Hunter to hunt his own kind. As everyone settled down to sleep, Lilith and Samael looked at each other knowing what they did they were concerned. Not only about their own safety but also the safety of Wolf, who had found her way to resting her head on Lilith's thigh as she drifted off to sleep. Like a mother, Lilith found her hand stroking Wolf's hair, as Samael gave her another grin as his eyes closed and he fell asleep. With their heads resting on their coats, rolled up into makeshift pillows, they lay around the fire.

     As the fire slowly died, the Shadow Figures quickly moved away and Lilith knew that it was only a few hours before the sun would start to rise beyond the mountains. As Lilith rest her head down deep into her coat, with her hand still playing with Wolf's hair, she watched and listened to the two around her fall into a deep sleep. Trying to fall asleep herself, she closed her eyes and began to dream about home.

Author's Note

First time writer, trying something new.