Hominis Nocturna (Damnation)

Chapter 1: Birth By Sleep

"Tank!" My dad yelled from downstairs. I laid staring at the stained ceiling contemplating whether I should get out of bed, or wait until he came and literally dragged me downstairs. My eyes couldnt help but wander to the fading purple smudge there, where the neighbors son had thrown his half eaten pb&j onto the ceiling in an attempt to have it fall on to his sister's head. I smiled at the memory rolling on to my left side to stare out the circular window that took up almost the entire right side of my room.

The design on the window was in the shape of a 5 pointed star, or what my father called a Devil's Trap. It sounds silly I know,but he seemed to believe that nothing evil could pass through as long as the star stayed in tact. I personally didn't see the logic in it,but I suppose as a child it definitely kept the nightmares away.

The window was in the place where the balcony on the original model of the house used to be, but after me falling out of it at age 6 my dad saw it best to have it removed. My hand drifted to the crescent shaped scar remaining from the surgery the doctors performed to fix my hip. "What the hell was I doing?" I thought to myself remembering that the balcony had a guard rail I couldn't even see over until I was 9. My thoughts were interrupted by a bullhorn blasting the most irritating song ever written ,Cupids chokehold.

Irritated I pulled my pillow over my head, and rolled over and right off the side of my bed! I shut my eyes tightly waiting for the sting that would follow with my hitting the floor, but to my surprise it didn't come. I opened my eyes slowly and saw i was floating inches above the floor! I gasped and then hit the floor ( pretty hard too ).

I sat up and looked around, not really sure what I was looking for. "I could have just imagined it" I thought turning back to face the door, Sonya Johnson, my soon to be step mother was standing in the doorway watching me intently. "Everything okay?" She asked slowly with just a hint of concern and the thought of telling her what had just happened crossed my mind. I shook the thought off figuring telling her would only get me a spot next to her in a psychiatric hospital "Im fine" I reassured her "I just lost my favorite pick for my guitar." She smiled and opened her palm revealing a glint of silver, I stepped over and removed the Triangular pick from her hand.

"Thanks. Where'd you find it?" I said placing it on the ivory dresser and glancing up at the mirror. I winced at the sight of my hair and looked away. "It was on the patio as usual" Sonya answered "and I'll do your hair when you finish getting dressed." She laughed turning to leave the room.

I turned back to face the mirror hearing her steps as she walked back down the stairs, and sat there staring at my reflection. My eyes were a light shade of brown and my hair all sat up on top of my head. I rummaged through my dresser drawers to find my clothes throwing them on the bed, and then moving back to the mirror. I pulled two of the dark brown strands removing some lint from my pillow before grabbing the brush and forcing my hair to lay flat. Satisfied I got up and walked over to my closet to retrieve my guitar when a glint of red on my night stand caught my eye. I turned towards the stand and there sat a ruby pendant enclosed in what appeared to be wings.

There was an ominous glow emitting from the ruby, and as I studied it the ruby seemed to glow brighter. Hesitantly I picked up the pendant, and felt an adrenaline rush as the pendant shined brightly in my palm. Curiosity overcame my fear and I slowly put the pendant around my neck. There was no hook, or any type of clamp to hold the pendant around my neck, but a part of me somehow knew there was no need for one. It was as if the pendant was asking to be worn, and as crazy as that sounds sure enough, as the ends of the chain touched the pendant locked securely. When the ruby touched my skin, the glow it was emitting grew to a fiery red, and the pendant grew dead cold. The wings enclosing the ruby slowly opened and the pendant went dim.