The Temple of the Demons

Chapter 1: Allie

NOTE: Votes and comments on every chapter are much appreciated! They motivate me to keep or improve the story. Thank you. *salute*

                                                   xXxXxXxXxXxXx

I hate school day mornings for two reasons. One, I almost always wake up to the smell of whiskey assaulting my nose, and two, because I have to drag myself to a prison slash asylum called high school.

"Get up, you useless piece of trash!"

That's another reason too. My mom's loving call every morning. It varies depending on how much alcohol she has consumed. That one just now? It's one of her milder tones.

"Good morning to you too, Mom," I grumbled as I got out of bed.

Mornings at the Sanders are never peachy. If ever, it just feels like happy thoughts avoid being near my house. Even my room chose to be gloomy, taking minimalism to the goth side. Not that I am goth or anything. I just didn't have the drive to be creative about it. I don't spend much time there anyway.

My breakfast consisted of scrambled eggs, a piece of day-old bread, strong coffee, and Mom's never-ending rants about how Dad should rot in hell many times over for getting himself killed during a shoot-out. He was a cop. Yeah, some ten years ago when I was just an all-smiles seven-year-old. That incident just changed everything. Especially my mom. She used to be so happy, so full of life, and beautiful but she managed to destroy that image. Looking at her now gives me mixed emotions. Hatred, anger, pity, regret, longing. They all just swamped me. But when Mom starts attacking me, hate and anger just pile up. 

I finished my meal quickly and left the house as fast as I could before she gets to her sixth glass of alcohol. That's usually when she starts to become really messed up. Slinging my backpack, I walked my way to the bus stop and waited for my ride to hell.

Whoever said that it's a jungle out there must have been to my high school. The kids there are animals. There are snakes, wild bears and boars, lions, and some undiscovered species of pests and bacteria. And of course, what's a high school campus without a bitch or two gracing its halls? Walking down the corridors is already a trial to undertake especially when the queen bee and her entourage of idiots are blocking the way to my locker and it continues to boggle my mind why they would choose that very spot to display their plastic beauties.

"Bad day, weirdo?" Samantha Lewis, a.k.a Sam, a.k.a the queen bee, a.k.a. the queen bitch, asked with a smirk. Her evil minions, of course, would laugh because they somehow found her words funny. 

I ignored her and tried to walk past them.

"It wouldn't take a genius to see that, Sam." Meredith Decker, Sam's BFF, added, giggling. "She always looks like that. Ewww.. why would you pierce your nose, Allie? It's just repulsive." The look of disgust on her face was just too cute. Barf! But I am surprise she actually knows what repulsive meant.

"You're so mean, Mer!" Sam squealed, her fakeness exploding.

Meredith laughed, waving her hand. "Oh please, Sam. It's not like you're a saint."

My grip on my bag's straps tightened as I gave them an all-out smile. "Yeah, it's not like you're a saint, Sam. I just bet hidden in that carefully moussed big hair of yours are cute shiny pink horns."

Sam's hands automatically went to her head. "Pink horns? Are there such things?" It sounded like she believed me. Poor soul. After feeling her head, she must have realized she looked ridiculous, trying to find something pointy. Man, I really want to laugh and my face probably showed that because she huffed quite loudly. Not very lady-like, I tell you. She stood straight from leaning against the lockers. In that position, she got a full five inches on me. "Watch it, you little bitch."

I've heard that threat from her since the sixth grade so I'm quite immune to it already. The worst she had done to me so far after the threat was locking me up in the school's janitor closet which lasted for an entire afternoon.

"Ms. Dawson is coming this way," one of her minions said in a low voice.

The queen bee immediately took a step away from me and prepared her million-dollar smile to our drama teacher. I could only roll my eyes as I walk away from that scene and I still have eight months to deal with those.

Morning classes dragged on. Two boring teachers almost lulled me to sleep. But because I have to keep my grades up, I have no choice but to force myself to listen and participate. Regardless of what the kids in my school are like, some of my teachers are actually okay. They don't judge me. I think. Even if they teach really boring subjects.

When the bell rang for lunchbreak, my only friend in school was already waiting for me at our usual table at the cafeteria. To see Blake's braces glinting from afar was already soothing for me. Why do we have to be in different classes?

"Economics?" He asked first thing, probably gauging my mood as I settled on the chair fronting him on the table.

"Sam and her evil legion."

He laughed, patting the back of my hand. "Why do you let them bother you? They're just jealous, Allie."

"They're just idiots. Dude, I just can't wait to get out of this hellhole."

"We'll get there; don't worry." He was all smiles. How can he be like that? So optimistic and sunshiny. I know he's having a hard time dealing with some jerks from the basketball team. "Heard the big news?"

"What? I didn't get to watch TV last night. Mom was home early."

"Not TV-worthy news. I was talking about two new students in school."

I wasn't really surprised. Even if they were big-shot celebrities, I wouldn't be jumping for joy even if they sat next to me. "How is that big news?"

Blake shrugged and started eating.

"Have you seen them?"

"Just the girl."

I waited for him to say more but apparently, he won't unless I urge him. "And?"

"She's one pretty little thing." He actually blushed. Blake Logan, our high school's chess champion, actually blushed.

"And you're crushing on her already." I actually found it cute. Blake is your typical geek minus the thick-rimmed glasses. He got the glinty braces and perpetual acne scattered on his face. A little taller than me but with a really bad posture. His Friday and weekend activities include a part-time job at the bowling alley and an all-nighter on World of Warcraft. So this blushing action is new.

"I just think she's really pretty."

"Uh-huh. Any idea what grade she might be?"

He shrugged again. "Not sure. Rumor has it that she's a senior."

I guess I'll get a chance to see this pretty little thing. I'm quite curious about her. I wonder what she's like. I saw Sam's group gathered in the best table in the place. What else is new? Looking at them is really painful. They're like Barbie dolls come to life. Creepy. I wonder if this new girl will be like.... What the...? It suddenly went cold. I looked at Blake but he seemed to be oblivious to it. I turned to the others, even back to the mean girls who were wearing short skirts, but they all seem to be going about their lives normally. I started to shiver. It felt like being buried naked under a huge pile of snow on a cold December night. My teeth were chattering and the hair on my arms and nape stood. I looked around me again, squirming, trying to figure out what was happening. And just when I was about to say something to Blake, the cold was already gone.