Inky Nebula

Chapter One

"You honestly don't want to know how it killed him, but..I could give you a clue"...And just like that, I woke up from the ongoing dream. Maybe I thought they were right to think I'd have the 'perfect' life, but really, it was just the beginning of an ocean of horrors.

The whole room was filled with a potpuorii fragrance. I was wearing a red and orange tee that matched perfectly with my black panties, and, of course, my yellow and green fleece socks (which made me look like some LGBTQ+ activist in the bedroom), I knew Mom was still sleeping when I heard her snores all the way from her room, Mauve was asleep too, and Cooper, our blue nose pitbull was already up and scratching on the new garden chair Mom was bought by her friend on her divorce party with Dad, trying to pounce on a thrush bird that didn't seem to care much about a puppy.

The silent flora-scented atmosphere brought a cold and thorny shiver up my spine, where it quickly became obvious that I actually wasn't at ease. I knew this meant something terrible was about to happen, because by then, I had learnt that 'with every good thing that comes my way, bad things happen instantly', and I was right, because from that silence, a muffled scream filled the quiet house.

Broken glass and a torn blanket surrounded Mauve's room, "It's getting worse Quill, pass me the towel over there" said Mom, her body trembling from when she heard her 11 year old daughter screaming from her room. And I just stood there, wondering when this whole nightmare would be over but deep down I knew it was my fault. That...THING wanted me, not her, it couldn't get to me because I knew what it was so it was trying to kill the one it knew I cared about, and that brutally stabbed me repeatedly because I didn't know how to destroy it.

"QUILL!! I said pass me the towel! Please, your sister..." she cried. "Oh, I'm sorry, here" then she cleaned her bruise with warm water and a liquid that I'd never seen before, it was blue, white and black, in that order, each color in it's own line and never dissolving into the water, "Feeling better sweetie?" "Yes Mommy".

That grey, windy morning, we had already organised Mauve's room and burnt or threw out stained or broken and torn things; from her fluffy blanket, to the mirror and glass stars in her room to her blood-stained clothes, apparently, she only cut her finger trying to run out of the room, and that's when she slipped and grabbed a piece of broken glass then tried to wipe the blood off and it stained her clothes, but it really wasn't as bad that we had to burn the clothes. I guess Mom was just panicking over the fact that it was the second time Mauve told her she saw a blue shadow making circles around her holding a flaming diamond with long, sharp egdes.

"So you wanna watch a movie? It's not very entertaining but I think it'll do for now", I shrugged looking at the bleak duo. "You really know how to bring the joy into the room, even when you clearly know it's not the time!", yelled Mom slurping her spicy chicken soup. "I wanna watch a movie Quillz" brightened up Mauve "As long as it's cartoons". Mom and I looked at each other and smiled for the first time in weeks then the both of us yelled "CARTOONS it is!"

...

The fact that I was hunted down by SOMETHING really stormed my mind for a couple of months ever since I got back home since I got lost in a peculiar forest (which I don't even want to think of how I ever got there). Thing is, I didn't know what this thing wanted from me even though I knew what it was and that it wanted me dead, but above all, I wasn't ready to die (like, who ever is?)
So I already knew that I'd have to face this demon...alone.

...

"Good morning beautiful" said a sexy, dark, hazel-eyed 24 year old guy whom I'd met seven months ago...Travis. "Hey Rav" I blushed "Mind if I walk with you?" "Yeah, sure but I'm just catching that morning breeze" I said, breathing in the misty morning air with a hint of baked chips from a nearby food truck, "Cool I was on my way to you and to my obvious luck, I found you" "What? Why, aren't you off to work today?" I blushed again "Well...yes but...I, I wanted to...ask you something, that's if it won't disturb your morning breeze stroll" he stuttered, "No it's fine really what did you want to say?" I smiled. "Um...you know last wee-" "Hey you two!!" interrupted Samara, a green-eyed brunette, with drop-dead gorgeous piercings along with a high school dropout rich b**** attitude.

"Oh, hey Sam" we both said, then rolled my eyes "What is SHE doing here?" I mumbled to myself, "Hmm?" Samara asked, looking at me as if I was a lecturer, "Oh nothing Sam" I looked down to my phone pretending to text someone "Anyways, Travis I wanted to ask if you wanted to come to the Swallows Islands this weekend with me?" she asked as she grabbed his hand, "Oh, I'd love to, but I already had plans for these two weeks, you could go with Bobby and Louis, I'm sure they'd love to come plus they always have free schedules" Travis shrugged. "Oh no it's cool, we could go when you're free, I just wanted to treat you since I wasn't here for your birthday" she smiled, "Oh, well, thank you Samara, but-" "Relax, we can go when you're free" she repeated, kissed Travis's cheek looking at me with stabbing eyes then, walked away.

"Wow, Quillz, I'm really sorry, I don't know what came over Samara" " Huh? No I'm ok, why are you apologizing? I'd never get between two peeps" I awkwardly said, " Wait, you think me and Samara are a...? No, we're not TOGETHER she's just an old friend whom I'm trying to run away from all the time. I mean, you saw right?" he laughed. I paused, then laughed too "Yeah I did" "I really wouldn't be with a girl like her, she wouldn't even match up close to..." he then looked at me blushing, I blushed and looked away, "Uh, remember you wanted to ask me something?" " Oh yeah, um I wanted to know if you're free tomorrow" he ruffled his hair, shaking. "WHAT!!?" I thought to myself, "Yeah, of course, um...why?" "Just saw this flyer about the SixYaleNavy Band's concert this weekend, I know how much you love them...well I mean...I found myself buying two tickets and thou-" " I'd love to" I said, staring at his bright eyes then he said, "Whoa uh, then what time should I come pick you up?" "Three hours before it starts" I giggled, "Then One it is" he smiled...

"So, how've you been since the last INCIDENT, I was really devastated, I thought I'd lost you" "Well, I've been trying really hard to get it all together even though it all happened like it was a movie but, above all I'm fine really...thank you Rav" "No worries, just know I'm always here if you need me, ok?" he looked at me with a warm stare, "Yeah. Thanks" I looked down thinking of how alone I really was in all this, and how Rav and my family only knew that I was missing for a couple of weeks, but not the other half of this dark mystery.

Then all of a sudden, I felt the warmest hug that I wished it'd have lasted forever, "I'm here if you need me Quilla, always" and a single tear dropped from my eye. He then wiped it off and kissed my forehead, "thank you".

...

After Travis and I parted ways when I got a call from my cousin, River, I had to rush down to his house which was a fifteen minute walk from the park where Rav and I were chowing on some mini-burgers after we had a convo about how cute blow-dried cows look, "And all this talk about cows made me hungry for some beef" he laughed " Dude you're such a savage, how could you be thinking of munching on such a cute fluffy animal" I giggled before we went to get the burgers.
Then when I got to his house, that's when River told me about a shady forest where a person was found dead next to an oak tree with his whole skin carved with the words, "Mer Ek Nefer Sopdet ba"

...

"What does it mean?" he asked, "Wait. You're asking me?" I asked, confused at the fact of how I'm the one he'd call after he heard of such a tragedy. "Well you're the one who came back from God knows where when all of a sudden, there's bodies being found when you disappear!" "Oh My God River!! You seriously think that I have anything to do with this?? And how did you know I wasn't at home for sometime?" I asked, surprised at how he was so nosy because I knew my mom never had a relationship with his family. "Duh. Your mom came by to check if you were here and I told her you weren't, and that's when she called the police about you missing, plus I'm sorry for not coming to check up on you since you came back, I was scared of coming to your house and facing your mom since I know she doesn't like me. Anyways, I called you here because I know about the Shadow Quilla"