In The Beginning: Chapter 1

 “In the beginning, there was Nyx. In the end, there will be Nyx,” Mary stated to her daughter. Mary’s eyes glistened a silver and her short hair was a deep brown that always seems to have other colors flirting through it. She sat in the beautiful maroon loveseat, her daughter sitting next to her. Cassandra felt right at home on the loveseat in their 1 story home. She was turned towards her mother with her knees drawn up to her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs. At 14 she was beautiful, going through the stages of becoming a woman. Her hair brushed her middle back. Her skin was golden from days running in the sun carelessly and her eyes sparkled an innocent watery blue.

“Why do you believe in a Goddess of night? Why not Zeus or God or some power that is just the supposed God of everything?” She asked as she scoffed at her mother, going through the teenage phase of not believing in much of anything as she discovered herself. Her mother smiled gently, already understanding her daughter’s question as Mary’s son asked the same thing years earlier.

“Did you know that even Zeus fears and respects Nyx? I do believe in more Gods, but from Nyx many of the other Gods are born from.”

“At school all my friends are Christian. Some of them get angry at me because you believe in a Goddess,” Cassandra states. Her mother smiled and nodded. She reached forward and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling Cassie closer to her.

“Some people do not understand that there will always be different beliefs and want to punish those that believe differently. Do not become one of those people, Cass. Be open to everyone’s beliefs. Everyone has something that is different about them and you need to be accepting of everyone’s differences.” Cassandra heard her mother accentuate the differences part but did not understand.

“How are you different, mom?” She asked as she heard the phone ring and her brother pick it up in the other room. Mary smiled more widely.

“Someday I will tell you. You won’t believe me but you will learn just like your brother has learned. I promise, when you are 16.” Cassandra rolled her eyes again as she stood up. Her jeans sagged on her body and her shirt was baggy, showing it was obviously once her older brother’s. Her 18 year old brother came out from his room and hung up the phone back into its cradle.

“Mom, I am going to stay at a friend’s tonight,” he stated nonchalant. Cassie noticed the look her gave their mother and watched as her mother nodded briskly.

“Fine. Take care of yourself,” she stated sternly and he nodded in response.

“Aiden!” Cassandra wined. Her brother smiled at her. His short brown hair and blue eyes similar to hers. He was taller than her and she felt small next to her brother. “Please take me with you! I am bored and don’t want to be stuck at home tonight!” He shook his head before she even completed her sentence.

“Not tonight, Cassie. We have homework to do tonight. Maybe next time. I will talk to Kris to see if it is okay for next time.” Cassie moaned angrily.

“We don’t hang out anymore. Ever since you spent that week at Kris’s I never see you and you are always blowing me off!”

“Cassandra, that is enough! Go to your room and let your brother be with his friend!” Cassie jumped at her mother’s reprimand and stomped back into her bedroom and slammed the door. She pressed her ear against the door and then huffed when her mother and brother were speaking too softly for her to hear. She heard the front door open and close and then silence.

Cassie flopped onto her bed and pulled out her iPod, plugging the headphones into her ears. She laid back and closed her eyes. The heavy rock music soothed her anger and soon she fell asleep.

She jolted awake at the heavy pounding. Her headphones fell from her ears in her sleep and her room was dark from the night outside. She looked around in a daze, trying to place the noise that woke her when the pounding started again. She realized someone was banging on the front door. Cassie stood and silently opened her bedroom door and walked into the hallway. She heard the front door slam against the wall and her mother was yelling. 

A dark haze filled the house and choked some of the light out of the room. Cassie came out of the hall and stared in awe at the stranger who was exuding darkness and her mother screaming at him to leave. He was taller than her mother and was wearing a dark suit, but the darkness suffocated any other details. Cassie stared at the ceiling where the smoke seemed to just hang in the air. It changed the whole room, adding a dark tone to all. Her mothers yellow shirt seemed to be a dark gray instead, the carpet gray, the walls gray.

“I said get out! I am done talking to you about this!” Mary screamed at the man. The man stalked into the room and slammed the front door behind him. Cassie grabbed the house phone that sat in the cradle next to the hallway and quietly dialed the police. She crouched down behind the couch so she wasn’t seen and just held the phone in her hand so they could trace the call.

“You are making a big mistake, Mary. She won’t be ready. She will be a danger if you do it your way.” His voice was low and rumbling and made Cassie’s heart tremble. “You and your useless group of hunters can not do the impossible. Give me time and I will do it myself.”

“Get out! Get out of my house!” Her screams were demanding but Cassie could detect the shiver of fear hidden in there. The man stepped towards her mother threateningly. Cassie dropped the phone and ran towards them, standing in front of her mother.

“No!” She choked out as she put her arms out to protect her mother. The man stopped and stared down at Cassie. She could barely make out the awe in his eyes as he took her in. Before she could blink, she was across the room, pinned against a wall with the man towering over her. She trembled as she stared up at him. She heard her mother scream something as the man swiped the back of his hand down her cheek in a loving caress.

“Shhh, Cassandra. You will be fine,” he said gently as he noticed her shake. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to the top of her head and an overwhelming sound of blood rushing to her head filled her ears. A pressure filled her head and she moaned in pain. She closed her eyes as the pressure grew slowly. Bringing up her hands to her head, she grasped her head in her hands and tried to even the pressure out. Suddenly, the pressure was gone with a pop. She opened her eyes and looked up at the man and he smiled, his white teeth showing through the darkness that surrounded him.

Staring up at him, Cassie felt drawn to him. There was something about him that made her want to listen to anything he had to say to her and obey. She stared at him unblinkingly until the sound of the room rushed back at her and her mother yelling at her started to register.

“Cassandra, go to your room! Leave now!” Cassie blinked and broke eye contact with him and noticed she was still pinned against the wall. Her body began to tremble in fear again and he weaved his fingers into her hair, gripping and forcing her to look up at him.

“Sleep, little one,” he crooned. Darkness swarmed her vision and she felt her legs give out under her. He caught her and lowered her to the ground as her eyes began to feel heavy. She heard her mother screaming her name as she touched the floor and was propped against the wall. Her eyes were just slivers and she watched through her lashes as Mary began to run at her.

The man turned and he was blur as he suddenly was in front of Mary. She placed her hands out in front of her and opened her mouth to say something and he shoved her hard enough that she flew across the room. She slammed into the wall across the room and slid to the floor, leaving an indent in the wall. He walked up to her slowly. He stood in front of her and leaned down, fisting his hand in her hair, not as gently as he was with Cassie. Cassie struggled to stay awake as watched him lift her mother off the ground. He bent his head and chomped on her neck. Mary gurgled a scream. Slowly, Cassie watched the light drain out of her mother’s eyes before the man released her. She crumpled to the ground in a heap.

A tear slid down Cassie’s face as the man turned, blood running from his mouth and down his chest. That was the last she saw as her eyes closed of their own accord fully and she drifted off.

Cassie opened her eyes to a dim room. She moaned as her head began to pound and she placed a hand on her head. She sat up slowly in the bed and looked around the unfamiliar area. A sink was against a wall and the walls were white with white tile flooring. She looked down to the thin blanket that covered her and the ugly gown that was in exchange of her normal clothing. Confusion sat in as she looked around until she saw someone sitting in a chair next to her bed.

A small gasp escaped her mouth as her heart began to beat harder as she looked at the strange person sitting in the chair. She stared hard but couldn’t make out anything about them in the dim light except for the light colored hair that seemed to be an inch or two long.

She wondered what happened as slowly flashbacks came to her. Darkness. Suit. Mom. “Sleep, little one.” Blood. Like a sledgehammer it came back to her and tears flooded her eyes as she stared at the sleeping person next to her bed. A whimper escaped her mouth and the figure’s head jerked up, staring at her.

“Cass?” He said in a scratchy, sleep filled voice. A sob broke free of her throat and he was instantly up and sat on the edge of the bed. He grabbed her and pulled her against him in a strong embrace. Words failed her as she sobbed against him, frightened. “Shh, Cass. You are safe now I promise. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

“Kris?” She asked, her voice nothing more than a squeak. He tightened briefly his hold on her.

“Yeah, honey. It’s me. Your brother will be back soon. I stayed to look after you.”

Cassie nodded as she sobbed harder into his chest. The knowledge that her mother was dead sunk in fully and she cried with despair that she didn’t stop the unknown man covered in darkness.

She felt Kris shift for a moment before hugging her firmly again. A few seconds later the door to the room opened and a nurse bustled in. She was young with golden hair and green eyes that were an unsettling emerald.

“You are awake!” She burst out as she shooed Kris out of the way. Kris stood up and Cassie reached out to grab him again but the nurse placed a cuff on her arm to take blood pressure. She also placed her fingers on the inside of her other wrist as the machine automatically took her blood pressure. She counted her heart beats and Cassie felt overwhelmed as tears rushed to her eyes again.

“Cass, I will be right back, okay? I am going to go call Aiden,” Kris said softly and turned, walking out of the room before he could see her shake her head in a panic at the thought of him leaving. She felt her voice clog in her throat as he closed the door behind her, leaving her with the nurse who was rattling off questions faster than she could even think to respond.

“Any dizziness?” She waiting for a moment before placing her hand against Cassie’s forehead. “Fever?” She looked in Cassie’s eyes and nodded. “Your pupils seem fine but we will wait for the doctor to make that diagnosis of no head trauma.”

Cassie stared at the door, willing Kris to come back. She started to sob again and the nurse shushed her gently, wrapping her arms around her. She embraced her in a blanket of a hug and cooed gently at her.

“You are safe. We have you. Everything will be okay,” the nurse gently cooed.

“No,” she choked. “It isn't okay! I couldn't stop him!” Cassie flung her arms around the nurse and buried her head against her shoulder as her body was wreaked with harsh, choking sobs. The nurse didn't say anything as she pet the scared girl's hair.

There was a knock on the door before it swung open, a man and a woman walking in. Cassie unraveled her arms from around the nurse and she stood back up and continued running tests. Both of the people who walked in were dressed professionally with holsters at their sides. The woman had her brown hair pulled into a tight ponytail and looked at Cassie with somber eyes while the man was nothing but brisk as he pulled out a pad of paper.

“Hello, Miss Cassandra. My name is Detective Hank Rogers, this is Detective Lisa Frank. We came to ask you some questions, if that is okay?” He paused and looked at her. She stared at him as if he grew a third head and kept her lips sealed. Too much was going on and she felt suddenly tired. She didn’t want to answer any questions and found herself not even able to. He bristled in irritation. “Miss, we understand that you went through a traumatic event but we need to get answers.”

“Hank! Lisa!” An angry growl filled the room. They all turned their heads to look at Aiden who had his fists clenched to his sides, his hair messed up. Kris stood behind him with a similar angry look on his face. “She just woke up after a traumatic event. Give my sister a f*****g day!” Cassie was grateful her brother was putting a stop to the questions even as the confusion that he knew them personally set in. Lisa bowed her head at him regretfully but Hank didn’t make a single motion.

“Aiden, your sister saw what happened. The sooner she can talk about it, the sooner we can find who did this and move past it.” Suddenly all noise was sucked out of the room as even the nurse went silent. Aiden strode up to Hank and punched him hard. Hank dropped like a sack of rocks and slowly sat up, holding his face.

“Move past it? My mother was murdered and my sister attacked. There isn’t just ‘moving past it’, a*****e,” Aiden grumbled. He stepped past Hank on the floor and wrapped Cassie in his arms, holding her close. She buried her face into his shoulder and breathed in his clean scent, feeling safe. Tears soaked his shirt as she clung onto his desperately, afraid he would disappear.

“Aiden, I understand you don’t want to hurt your sister any more but we need to find this monster, fast. What if she was just the first victim?” Lisa’s voice was soft and Cassie clung onto Aiden harder, attempting to convey her unwillingness to talk about the happenings. A few silent beats passed in the room before Aiden released her and stared into her tear filled eyes. He nodded almost to himself before turning to Lisa.

“You can ask her questions, not Hank.” Lisa nodded and smiled softly at Cassie. Cassie instantly cast her eyes downwards. Aiden put a hand on her shoulder in a show of support but Cassie felt as if it was useless to speak about the crime committed against her family.

“Cassandra? Can you tell me what happened?” Cassie shook her head vigorously. There was silence in the room. “Can you tell me why you can’t tell me?” Lisa’s voice was soft and insistent. Cassie shook her head again.

“Cass, Lisa and Hank are friends of mine. They are only here to help. You can trust them,” Aiden said softly as he faced her, placing both of his hands on her shoulders. Tears streamed down her face as she refused to look Aiden in the face. She stared at the floor even as they started to speak about her as if she wasn’t in the same room. Her long brown hair covered her face as she hid behind it.

“Does she normally act this way?” Lisa asked.

“No, usually she is very open and talkative. I don’t know what to do to open her up,” Aiden replied with worry in his tone.

“She obviously doesn’t understand the importance of what we are asking her!” Hank growled.

“Shut up! She went through it, of course she understands! She isn’t dumb!” Aiden yelled at Hank. Cassie brought her hands up to her ears and pressed against them, attempting to block out Aiden and Hank yelling back and forth at each other to no avail.

“Enough!” Kris boomed. The room went silent as Kris gently pried Cassie’s hand from her ears. He brushed back her hair from her face and she looked up at him. He smiled gently at her before turning to face Aiden and Hank. “She is traumatized. She can’t speak of what happened because the events ripped a hole in her. She needs time, not you yelling at each other to make the situation worse. Shame on you both, you should know better!” Kris frowned at them and Aiden swiped a hand down his face as he came closer to Cassie.

“Cass?” She looked up at her brother and saw the pain and worry in his eyes. “Do you want the detectives to leave?”

Cassie hesitated only a moment before nodding slowly. The detectives turned and walked out, Aiden walking with them to speak to them in the hall. She heard the room go silent except for her and Kris’s breathing before he sighed.

“Cass, why don’t you lay back and get some more sleep. You need to rest.” The nurse finally came to life in the corner of the room, coming forward to drag the blankets up on Cassie as she laid back in the bed. Kris turned to walk out and she fired out her arm and snatched his wrist before he could walk far. He looked at her in surprise and stared into her eyes, seeing the begging a desperation she wouldn’t speak in her eyes. He nodded and smiled softly before she released him and watched him fold himself into the nearby chair again. She watched him for a moment before finally closing her eyes.