Huntress-Chapter 1

I walked down the steps of our castle. I still question why my father chose to buy this place. The castle has always reminded me a lot of Dracula’s castle. It’s gothic inside and out. Medieval. And when you live in New York, medieval is the least thing that you’d expect to see. The outside is layers of huge black blocks and the inside is dark and gothic. It was just good that our family didn’t follow the style.

Our family is quite big, but the castle is still millions of times bigger. There are twelve children total. My brothers are Michael, Markus, Nick, Shane, Xavier, and Bruce. My sisters are Whitney, Dakota, Carmen, Hope, and Rebecca. And my father cares for all of us by himself. Our mother died when Hope was born because she bled to death. I was fourteen when this happened.

I remember that my mom had long red hair, a sweet smile, and pretty blue eyes. She had been so loving and caring. The perfect mom.

The whole family had different styles, but I was the one who stood out among them. At school they fit in and I didn’t. This was because I was classified as the “Goth” of the family. People always looked at me like I was a freak for dressing differently. Though, they don’t realize that styles mean much more than fashion. It’s a description of one’s activities. Preps cheerlead, for instance. Goths are isolated, to put it simple.

My footsteps echoed throughout the empty halls. I was wearing black boots, black skinny jeans, and a black tank top. I was wearing thick black eyeliner that stretched at the corner like the Egyptian make up, which was called ‘cat eye,’ and I was wearing thick fake eyelashes. My hair was straightened and half of my bang covered half of my face while the other part of the bang was cut short to brush my right eye. My hair was dyed black and the roots were bright red.

I walked through the hallway where the armor of two knights stood with swords. The walls were gray and the floor was black carpet. I was headed for a wooden door that led into the kitchen, where I was sure an empty room waited.

The kitchen was big, like every other room in the house. It was the only thing that wasn’t gothic in this place. It was white and orange. There were two refrigerators because to feed such a large family, you need a large amount of food. Half of the room was taken up by a table where we ate breakfast.

I walked in and I saw that my brothers and sisters were there. The only one missing was Markus, my twenty year old brother, who had moved away to South Dakota to attend college. Carmen, my eldest sister had light mahogany colored hair and sage green eyes just like everyone else in the room, and was wearing a blue strapless shirt and black skinny jeans. Dakota was wearing shorts and a white spaghetti strap. Shane and Michael, the twins, were dressed identically, for the first time in ten years. They were dressed in jeans and Lil Wayne shirts from last night’s concert. Nick was wearing skinny jeans and a graphic t-shirt. Nick was a year older than my twelve year old sister, Rebecca. Rebecca was dressed in a nice blouse and a jeans skirt. Whitney was wearing Capri’s and a flower shirt. Xavier was wearing a simple shirt and basketball shorts. Bruce was dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt. And Hope was in her high chair, dressed in a pretty purple dress.

I stared at them oddly. It was seven in the morning on a Sunday. My siblings were known for sleeping in until noon on weekends, so I was surprised to see them all up at this hour. And I was especially concerned about Hope, who was looking like she was a little pissed off at her bowl of Lucky Charms cereal.

I shook off my confusion and headed for the second refrigerator. I looked over the stuffed shelves and closed the door. I walked over to the table where everyone was seated at and stole a grape from Michael’s plate. He shot me a dirty look and I ignored him.

“Why are you all up so early?” I asked Dakota as I took my seat in between her and Bruce, my six year old brother. She looked over at me and smiled. I frowned and then realized what they were doing. “Oh, God, you didn’t.”

Her smile grew wider. “I'm sorry.” I doubted that she was. “Carmen, she knows!”

Carmen looked over at us and smiled. She stood up and headed for the fridge. I noticed that the room had grown quiet. I looked around the table. Everyone was smiling.

“Why are you doing this to me?” I moaned, running my hands through my hair.

“Oh, stop being such party pooper, Echo,” Carmen nagged. She was putting back the unnecessary objects she had taken from the first refrigerator. She then lit a match. “It’s only once a year.”

“Yeah, once a year times thirteen,” I snapped.

She rolled her eyes and went to turn off the lights. She then carried the birthday cake to my seat while they all sang Happy Birthday. I impatiently waited for them to finish singing and blew the candles out. They clapped when I was done and I rolled my eyes.

“Bite!” they chorused. “Bite! Bite! Bite!”

“You’re pushing it,” I argued.

I wasn’t going to stick my head in the cake and take a bite like they did for their birthdays. I looked back down at the chocolate cake before me. I started picking out the seventeen candles that were neatly placed around the edge. Suddenly my chin was stuck in the pastry. I pulled up instantly and stood up, looking for who had pushed my face into my cake.

I saw Markus standing next to Dakota, laughing. “I'm gonna really kill you now,” I hissed as I pushed back my hair from my face. Markus stuck his tongue out at me and then made a run for the living room. I chased after him a second after.

The living room was large and covered in dark blue and black sofas. A coffee table was at the center of the room in front of a plasma TV which was as large as the wall. I looked around. Markus wasn’t there and I hadn't heard a door slam shut. I looked over at the little table at the corner of the room. He wasn’t there either. Suddenly I was tackled to the floor.

I responded defensively and struggled. I finally kicked him off of me. I jumped up and reached for my back pocket. I stopped myself before I could do anything else. I stared at Markus, who was rubbing the back of his head. I noticed now that when I had kicked him off, he had hit the wall.

“Seventeen years and I'm still stronger than the quarterback,” I joked as I relaxed.

Markus was had gotten a scholarship to go play football in South Dakota. He had always made the teams when he was in school. I had always teased him about the way he could never beat me at anything when it came to strength contests.

“D****t, Echo,” Markus said. “That one really hurt.” He squeezed his eyes shut and then blinked twice. “But I guess I deserved it.”

I pointed at my face. “Ya think?” I wiped some frosting off my chin and smeared it on his nose. “I'm glad you’re back, but you have to stop doing stuff like this. You could end up in the hospital one day.”

His eyes narrowed. “You’re calling me weak!” he accused as he ate the frosting on his face.

“Like always,” I snickered. “Markus, name one time when you were able to take me on.”

He shot me a dirty look. “Arm wrestling tonight. Since you aren't having a party, then you won’t mind going head to head with your big bro.”

“Deal,” I agreed. “What are you even doing here?”

“It’s your B-Day, sis.” He messed up my hair and I raised an eyebrow challengingly. “I'm not gonna miss you turning seventeen any less than I'm gonna miss Hope turning four or any one else’s birthday.”

“But you still shouldn’t do that to me,” I argued, walking back into the kitchen. I looked at them and shook my head. “I made him dumber again,” I said.

They laughed. I walked over to the sink and washed my face. Damn. My pale lipstick is brown now.

“I swear, if he hits his head one more time, he’s gonna need to get some stitches,” Nick laughed. “I mean, really. How many times has he hit his head because of Echo?”

“Fifty times counting,” Carmen said.

“Hey!” Markus complained as he took his seat at the head of the table. “She’s gotten her fair of hits!”

“Yeah, sure she has,” Whitney teased as she took a bite out of her piece of chocolate cake. “Face it, Markus; Echo has been kicking your butt ever since I was a baby.”

“Butt, arm, head, kidney,” Shane said. “She hasn’t lost a fight since she was born!”

“Okay, enough of Echo’s win. Let’s get the presents,” Carmen said, leaving the room before I could get a word in.

I cursed under my breath and went to sit back down. I picked up my fork and took a large bite of my cake. I wrinkled my nose and put the fork back down.

“What’s wrong?” Dakota asked. “You’ve never been miserable on your birthday.”

I chewed on my lip and shrugged. “It’s just that in the club, when you turn seventeen, you have to do something.” The club was a club that I had been part of since I could walk. It was a part of my daily routine and I loved it. But I wasn’t too thrilled of what happened this year.

“What is it?” Markus asked. “And, would you please explain what you even do in that place? I mean, you’re the only one who’s a member and you never even tell us what it’s about.”

“Do you get stronger in there, because Markus could join,” Shane snickered.

“You can't join. You have to have started when I did. They don’t accept any later recruits.”

“Recruits?” Whitney exclaimed. “So you are getting stronger in there!”

“Yeah, is that what it’s about?” Xavier asked.

“It’s about nothing, okay? Don’t go butting in that section, because you’ll get hurt.” I looked over at the door just as Carmen came back with Xavier’s red wagon full of presents. “Oh, good God.” I stared at the stack. It was twice as big as ever.

“Don’t argue with us,” Carmen said. “This is all family. Just wait until you see what Jared got you.”  She stopped at the door. “It’s like mom when she was pregnant with Shane and Michael.”

I snickered.

“Hey! Don’t you argue with me!” Jared said, appearing at the door with a present in his hand.

Jared Cross was my boyfriend from the club. He and I had started dating when I was thirteen. It’s our fourth year together and I am still annoyed by his gifts. Jared was as tall as Carmen and had curly brown hair with a green strand and sparkling green eyes. He had a large smile and a pinched face.

Jared took the wagon from Carmen and brought it in effortlessly. He stopped by me and kissed my cheek.

He frowned. “Why do you taste like chocolate?” he asked.

“My fault,” Markus admitted.

Jared’s eyebrow arched. “Did she throw you against a wall again?” Markus ignored him and ate his cake silently. Jared laughed. “Didn’t you learn your lesson when she threw you at the TV?”

“Dad was mad,” Rebecca agreed, high fiving Jared from across the table. “He grounded Echo and froze Markus’s account for like a month.”

“Yeah, and I barely survived then,” Markus added. “So let’s not try and get me killed again. And I'm not just talking about the butt kicking, Echo.”

“You’re always in a near death moment when you’re fighting me,” I said snobbishly.

“Happy birthday,” Jared said. He kneed down and handed me a present. Then he whispered, “Are you ready?”

I grimaced. I didn’t want to think about the club right then. I took the present and opened it. There was a little jar inside. The glass was blacked out and hung on a chain. I stared at it emotionlessly.

So much for not thinking about the club, I thought dryly.

“What’s that?” Bruce asked.

“It’s a special type of powder,” Jared said. “It comes from a rare flower called a kadupul flower. The petals and nectar of the flower are mixed with some blood and hearts and then become that stuff in there. Not many are made because it’s not something easy to make. But there are some places that make it.”

They all stared at him wide-eyed. “Why did you give Echo that then?” Michael asked. “It’s bloody and disgusting. Who gives a girl that?”

“I'm giving her this because she is going to need it,” Jared said, his eyes distant. “Won’t you, Echo?”

I looked up at him from the glass I was holding. My face was emotionless. “No comment.” I slid it into my front pocket. “Next.”

“Wait. Why do you need it, Echo?” Nick asked. “It’s like something a murderer would have.”

“I'm not going to need it,” I argued smoothly. “Jared is just an idiot who’s trying to scare you.”

“But isn’t that what you do?”

“That’s different.” I kicked Jared under the table. He flinched, but didn’t show any more emotion. “I'm family.”

I received my gifts gracefully. I didn’t touch the ones from Jared, though. Those, I suspected, were meant for later. I was glad that the rest of my gifts were normal. I was given a camera, a bass guitar, electric guitar, and acoustic guitar; a drum set and then imported clothes. As soon as I was done with the presents from my family, I excused myself and dragged Jared and his presents along with me to the other side of the castle.

“Why did you tell them what it was?” I demanded. I was looking at the glass of powder Jared had given me.

“Echo, you can tell them that,” he argued, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

“But you know that they’re going to think strangely about me. I mean, why didn’t you leave out the blood and heart part?” I put my hands on my hips. “You could have said it was water.”

“True,” he shrugged. “I'm sorry.”

“But, still, you’ve been trained to keep secrets and you spill this one? To my family?”

“Look, I'm not going to tell them about the club and neither are you. Because we both swore, and you know that if they found out that we’ve been sharing secrets"” Jared stopped himself. “Anyways, you should be thanking me.”

“Why?”

“Well, ‘cause I'm an awesome boyfriend,” he said, smiling sweetly at me. “And because every single one of my gifts will help you out today.”

“How are you so sure? They change it every year.”

He snorted. “Cause Master is my dad. He likes you, you know?” Jared’s eyes were distant again. “He’s glad that you’re with us.”

“Cause I'm kick a*s?” I suggested.

He laughed. “Yes.”

“They’re all saying that I'm the reincarnation of Shadow,” I said. I twirled a strand of hair around in one finger. “But I just think that they’re plain messing with me. It would be a first.”

“Echo,” Jared said disapprovingly. “We don’t joke about anything.”

I shrugged. “I know. They’re all too serious. They need to loosen up once in a while. They need to just be people once in a while.”

“That isn’t what we do. We do what we do so that normal people can loosen up once in a while. So that everyone can be happy and alive, frankly.”

I nodded. “Yes, but you and Master are treating us like we’re machines. We need to rest every once in a while. We can't keep going twenty-four seven. And c’mon, Jared. Talk to your dad. I’ve seen you on night duty. You’re miserable because you’re exhausted. He’ll understand if you just tell him.”

“No he won’t.” He sighed. “Echo, you’ve been with us for a while, so you must understand that my dad is an unreasonable, emotionless b*****d.”

I rolled my eyes. “Forget it.”

“Now, you’ve been slacking the past couple of days.”

I shrugged. “I’ve been distracted. It happens to everyone every once in a while.”

“Echo, you know that you can't afford that. None of us can. If something were to happen and we were to be put in danger, you know that we’d try, but it’s not a"”

“I know. It’s not your job. You’d have to escape and never look back. I know.”

“Do you?”

“Jared! I'm a hundred times better than any of Master’s agents! Do you really think that if I was put in that situation I would slack off? Do you really think that I wouldn’t understand if you had to flee and leave me behind?”

“Prove it then.” Jared stared at his hand. “Don’t forget what your mission is. Don’t keep slacking off. Keep your head in the game. That way"”

“Wait. Is this about that?” I exclaimed, walking up to him and grabbing the hand he was staring at. “Is it about this? Your scar?” I pointed at Jared’s arm. There was a large scar that looked like teeth. On his hand there was pink skin that covered most of his palm. “It’s not going to happen to me.”

“Nobody thinks that anything will happen to them until it does. I was just lucky that I had this.” He picked up the glass jar that hung around my neck. “This present isn’t for the test today. It’s so that you won’t end up in a situation like the one I was in.”

I gave him a dirty look and then went to grab another present. “What’s this?” I shook it. “For the test or a situation like yours?”

“God, Echo! Don’t get mad at me! I'm just trying to help!”

“Why? Don’t think I can handle the real world?”

“It’s not that!” he exclaimed, throwing his hands up. “You have to remember that you’re just a person. You aren't indestructible. You have to realize that even Shadow was killed.”

“Don’t throw that old legend in my face like Master does when he’s mad at me! I'm not Shadow and therefore I am not indestructible. I know. But I'm not a wimp either, so don’t treat me like I don’t know what I'm doing.” I put the box down. “I'm a freaking level sixteen. That’s higher than Master, so don’t patronize me about surviving an attack.”

“I know that you’re talented. We all do.” Jared leaned back against the wall.

“Do you? Or do you just think that I get away because I always have a spare weapon?” I asked, pulling out a knife from my back pocket.

“You wouldn’t be a level sixteen if you weren’t talented, so just stop, okay?” He grabbed something from his pocket and threw it at me. I caught it reflectively. “This is your present.”

I looked down at my hand. It was a charm bracelet with a heart charm. It was one of those pendants that opened. I looked inside. A picture of us at Disney last year.

“A charm bracelet?” I asked. “You know that I'm gonna lose this eventually.”

“I hope you won’t.” He took the bracelet and put it on my wrist. “If you don’t lose your knife when you’re on a mission, then you shouldn’t lose this.”

“Better hope. This looks expensive.”

“Good. Because to keep up with you I have to go to extremes,” he teased.

I stuck my tongue out at him. “You shouldn’t try. I don’t want any more gifts. From anyone.” I sighed. “When’s the test?”

“In a few hours. But, you do realize that they’re going to give you presents.” Jared brushed back my hair. “You can't escape Master’s orders.”

“Wish I could. At least when you take over you’ll cut me some slack,” I said.

“You know that it’s not the family’s club. You have to be elected. And so far, it seems that you’re the first choice for pretty much everyone.”

“I wouldn’t be a good leader,” I argued, playing with the bracelet. “I'm not that good a cutthroat.” He looked at me like I was stupid. “Okay, maybe I am, but I'm not as cruel as your dad.”

“It’s not about being cruel, it’s about being strict. If you don’t keep a firm hand on them, then they’ll become rebels at the moment they see an opportunity.”

I sighed. “Why do I have to be the leader of them though?”

“Because you’re kick a*s,” he said. He pulled me closer and kissed me. I pulled away. He laughed. “And no offense, but you really need to wash up. You stink of chocolate.”

“Shut up,” I complained, rubbing my chin. I grabbed his hand and led him to my room.

My room was another gothic room in this castle. The walls and carpet were black. The windows were blacked out and the curtains were dark gray. The queen sized black bed was at the center of the room between two side tables. On the walls were rows and rows of guitars of all kinds. There was a drum set on one side of the room and an electric and bass guitar on guitar stands. A microphone was in front of the instruments. There was a piano near the drums and an electric violin. My room was basically a recording studio. There were a few sofas and a plasma screen hanging on the wall.

I wasn’t sure, but my suspicion was that this room was the largest next to the master bedroom. It had its own bathroom and small terrace which faced a cemetery. At first it had freaked me out to have dead people out my window, but as I grew up I became more accustomed to it and even learned to like it. I remember that when I was younger I had dreams that I talked to the ghosts.

I left Jared in the room and went to clean my face in the bathroom. I put on my make up again and fixed my hair so that it didn’t have any more chocolate in it. When I finished paling my lips, I came out and sat down on the bed with Jared where we examined my birthday presents.

“This is?” I asked, holding up a wooden flower. Jared smiled. He took it from me and threw it across the room. There was an explosion. The smoke cleared up and I saw that everything was in one piece. “Bomb,” I declared. I went to pick up the flower that was sitting unharmed around a million little pieces of wood. I slid it into a hidden pocket in my boot.

“Yup. And then you have your swords, guns, and poison,” Jared said, looking over the unwrapped presents.

“Awesome.” I sat down on the floor, around all the little pieces of wood.

“Can you fit it all on your little belt?”

“Yeah, I suppose. Though the shot gun might be a problem.”

“I can hide it. As long as you can manage everything else.”

 “Okay, but will I really need all of this for today.”

“You got it, babe.” Jared threw a silver knife back and forth in his hands. “You’ll need most of it and then some. The tests might not require every little piece of equipment, but there’s no being too careful.”

“Especially in this business,” I added. He ignored me and stood up.

“Time to go. Load up.” He threw me the gun.

I caught it and stuffed it under the black hoodie that I had just put on. When I was sure it was securely in place, I went to get the remainder of my weapons.

Jared waited for me. “Hurry up.”

“The hunters are waiting,” I agreed, running to his side. He put an arm around my shoulder as we walked through the castle rooms.

Reviews

[TearsDontCompute]

I think her tips are bright red, the roots are the end of the hair that comes from the scalp?

[Francesca]

I like your story, its very gothic and interesting

[Chirinos20]

First of all. I want to say that this piece of writing is so wonderful. It has comedy, love and all the essential ingredients to keep the reader going. I laugh at many of the things that "echo" did to her big brother. You do have a few mistakes here in there. Over all, you did a wonderful job on this piece!!!keep writing!!!