Nekturna

Five

Inside the Veil

Squeak's room was the smallest in the Veil. It had a small wooden rocking chair in the corner next to a few stacks of tattered old books. She liked to read in her free time and when she was sent to hunt she usually swiped some books from some poor soul. The only other furniture in her room was her small twin-sized bed. She refused to sleep in a coffin like the others did.

She spent the majority of her time in her room. She still hadn't fully accepted her new life in the Veil. Truthfully she was angry about it. She resented Piper for turning her. She didn't mind the others most of the time but as soon as Piper shows up she begins to fume.

The night she was turned was still fresh in her mind despite being almost a century ago.

She walked over to her desk and pulled a small golden locket out of a drawer on the side of it. She opened it and as usual, the right half housed a perfect picture of her late husband, Jameson, with his name etched under it. The left half housed a picture of her, but the face was blurry along with her name. She never understood why she couldn't see it because the locket wasn't broken. She thought about asking the crew if they could see it, but she didn't want to show them any vulnerability. They were all monsters.

She closed her eyes and drifted into a vivid recollection of that night.

She was eating dinner with Jameson. He was a beautiful man only a few years older than her. He was muscular and had really well-kept short brown hair. She wore a beautiful red dress he had bought for her. She could remember the happiness in his ocean-blue eyes as they walked hand and hand to the theatre. He had bought them tickets for a new play that had come to Nekturna and it was a short walk from their house. They lived in the northwestern section about a mile from the Shadowhunt chapel. It was a nice quiet neighborhood where the upper middle-class population lived. All the houses were brick and symmetrical. The streets were kept clean so the cobblestone was a brilliant white color and the lamp posts were shiny brass.

They were close to the theatre when he stopped her and pulled her in for a kiss. She could remember his minty breath and the thought of it still sent shivers down her spine. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the gold locket.

"Squeak, the last few years have been the happiest of my life. You've given me everything in this world I could ever ask for. I want you to have this," he whispered putting the locket around her neck, "I never want you to forget how much I love you."

Squeak began to tear up. She was overwhelmed with how much she loved this man. She had never imagined her life being so perfect. She was at a loss for words. All she could manage was another kiss, and a smile.

They continued heading toward the theater but were stopped when a giant green explosion burst from the theater. Rubble flew out in every direction and people in the streets began to scramble around looking for cover. Jameson pulled Squeak into an alleyway and began to lead her away from the chaos.

They turned right at the end of the alley and were both thrown to the ground. Something had crashed into them from behind. Squeak looked up and saw two figures rolling across the pavement tearing and punching at each other. One of them looked human but the other looked...different.

Squeak scrambled to her feet frantically looking for Jameson. He landed a few feet ahead of her and was crawling behind a dumpster to hide. She ran to him and tried to help him up.

"My leg is broken Squeak," he winced. She looked down and saw his leg twisted around with the bone sticking out. She was bleeding from her head.

"I'll help you we can get out of here," she started trying to drag him away from the fight.