Part 1
Inspirations:
“You Make Me Sick” –Egypt Central
She Thinks I Don’t Know
My name is Kevin Conary. I am 14 years old, and I live in a run-down old house with my father, George Conary, my mother, my younger sister, and youngest brother. My father is an alcoholic, and sometimes beats us. He doesn’t beat me anymore, but he said that it’s because when I got in a fight in school when I was 12, I proved myself ‘worthy’, whatever that means. But he still beats my younger brother and sister, and even beats my mom. The only reason my mom doesn’t do anything about it is because she’s too afraid. We’re all too afraid to do anything. I still don’t understand why my mom married him. She makes up excuses for him, saying things like ‘It’s because of what happened to him during the war’ and ‘It’s just a one-time thing. He’s not going to do this again, I promise.’
I hear him pop the cap off a beer bottle, drink it, and then sigh. He slams the door closed and goes back to the couch to watch TV. The TV blares all throughout the ‘house’, if you could even call it that. I clench my fists tightly out of anger and frustration, but my fingernails are sharp and uncut, and I end up cutting my palm. As the blood seeps through my finger tips, I contemplate and plan what I would do if I could make him stop.
Creeeek. “Kevin?” my little sister pokes her head through my door after carefully creaking it open.
“What’s wrong Melona?” I respond.
“Can I sit with you?” She answers, “I was gonna sit in the family room, but dad’s in there.”
“Come on,” I said, patting the bed.
She walked over and reached her little arms out in a ‘help me up’ gesture. I pulled her up onto my bed and sat her next to me. She had her favorite pink blanket and stuffed bear with her, and she hugged them tight as she rested her head on my shoulder.
“Why does he do this?” she asked, “Why does he drink the way he does?”
“I don’t know Melona,” I responded, “I just don’t know.”
I looked down at her and saw she was asleep. I decided to follow her lead and also try and get some rest.
“AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!” my mom screamed.
I jolted awake. “Mom?!” I yelled.
I looked next to me and saw Melona was no longer by my side. I ran out into the hallway to see what was going on. When I got out there and looked down the hall towards the family room, I saw my father standing there, a blood covered knife in his hand, and the dead body of Melona lying on the floor in front of him. I got in the hallway just in time to see him stab my mother.
I backwards onto the floor, and backed against the wall. Then, the rage hit me. I stood up, prepare to strike him, when I heard a voice calling to me.
‘You’re not going to be able to do it’ the voice said, ‘At least, not without me’
I turned to look into my parents’ bedroom, where the voice was coming from. Ignoring my mother’s cries for help, I ventured into the room, and saw on the dresser a ring the color of ice. It was surrounded by a dry ice-like fog.
‘That’s right’ the voice said, ‘Come on now. I won’t bite. Just pick me up, put me on, and I’ll help you’
And then, I blacked out.
When I regained consciousness, my father was standing in front of me, mouth gaping open, and blood flowing out of it. I looked down at his chest and saw that there was a giant ice spike stabbing him. I followed the spike to its source, and saw it was coming from the ring, which was now on my hand. I quickly pulled the spike away and out of my father’s chest, and the ice immediately disappeared. My father went tumbling onto the now blood stained floor, next to my mother and sister.
‘I’ve killed him’ I thought to myself, ‘what have I done? They’re dead.’
“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!” I heard from the room down the hall.
“Josh,” I said to myself. I started to walk towards him, but stopped dead in my tracks.
‘No,’ I thought, ‘I can’t. I have to run away.’
I ran out the door without a second thought. I didn’t know where exactly I was going, I just knew I was going.
Part 2
Inspirations:
“Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked” –Cage the Elephant
MANY MONTHS LATER
If there's one thing I should have known, it’s that there are no second chances in life. Once you’ve done something, it’s done, and it cannot be erased or forgotten. Instead you just have to try to get over it, move on with your life, and hope things get better.
But I didn’t know that, and I had to figure it out the hard way. By losing my family and all I held dear to me. By becoming a beast of a man. By running from my former life and living out on the streets alone. I had just about given up on life until one day, a man walked up to me and said, “Are you Kevin Conary?”
I was sitting on the sidewalk, laying against the brick wall of some building, too starved to stay alive. “Y-yes”, I managed to say.
He then kneeled in front of me and put his hands on my shoulders and said, “My name is Alex. I served with your father during the war.”
At the mention of my father, I immediately clenched my fists in rage and fury. “Shut up,” I said.
“I’m sorry?”
“I SAID SHUT UP!” I yelled louder now, “I don’t want to hear a god damn thing about that man.”
“Look,” he said, grabbing the sides of my head with both hands, “I know what you did. I know you killed him. But I don’t give a shit. He may have been my comrade during the war, but that didn’t mean I liked him. I just want to help you.
“What you have here,” he said pulling up my hand to display the ring I had on it that was once my father’s, “Is a very dangerous power, and those who don’t know how to use it, but use it anyways, will nine times out of ten end up killing everyone around them. I just want to help.” With this, his grip on me loosened, and he sat next to me against the wall.
“Y’know kid, I used to be just like you. Confused, angry, hurt, angsty, etc. But then I met this girl. She later turned out to be the love of my life, and later we got married. Now, we have two adopted children, and have been living happily for hundreds of years,” he said.
“Hundreds of years?!?!” I yelled in astonishment.
“That’s right, kid. I’m immortal. And so is the rest of my crew. And just about every other Holder there’s ever been. But,” he continued, “Most Holders don’t survive on their own. In fact, chances are, you’ll die in a few days.
“Unless,” he said, standing up now and reaching out his hand, “You join my crew.”
I hesitated and stared at his hand. Then, I grabbed it, he pulled me up, and we shook hands.
“So,” he said, “We got a deal?”
“Yeah,” I said, “We got a deal.”
TO BE CONTINUED
