Jayhawk+ by Nick Venom (short novels in english txt) 📕

Her eyes slowly drifted to sleep. Her heart rate slowed down as her breaths worked on a set interval. Her muscles retracted as her head sunk into her pillow. She rested comfortably on her bed for a few moments before she jerked up. Her palms began collecting sweat like a bucket left out in the rain. Her face was drenched and her heart rate skyrocketed. She had a painstaking face, staring down at her palms. 

“They’re getting more violent,” she remarked, staring at her quivering palms. A small cut was on her right palm, going from the tip of her thumb to half an inch below. She wiped away the blood, looking around to see if her siblings---older sister Meadow or younger brother Andy---noticed her. She then stood up and went to the nearby window, looking out at the full moon. Unbeknownst to her, a figure was watching her from the forests, directly underneath the full moon. She never once looked at it.

The small town of Westhill was hidden by stretches of forests, extending as far as the eye could see. It was buried deep with only one long straight road connecting Westhill to the outside world. Besides its placement, the wooden town was also built in a strange shape, resembling a crescent. Then to add insult to injury, the town had a dwindling population due to the mayor’s xenophobic ways. It drove outsiders away from the dying town. Even so, the town was extremely safe, even if it was because of a lack of people. 

Holly Brooks---the child of an outsider---lived on the edge of Westhill, far away from the people who were born in the town. She was a petite brunette who wasted the days by joining the other kids in the town’s only elementary school before hiding herself in her favorite spot in the desolate forest. 

Aside from Holly was her outsider parents, Kieran and Alyah Brooks. Her parents were teachers, teaching an elementary school. However, they were treated differently by the kids and their parents. Every word spoken directed to them was filled with malicious intent. These same words were also directed towards Holly and her siblings. Her parents were, unfortunately, unable to help in the verbal abuse. The abuse got so bad that Holly was pushed away from others, choosing to head into the forest. In the forest, she found a small clearing that allowed her to rest on the grass, as she struggled to keep her eyes open. She fought back, but her fatigue got the best of her. She then drifted to sleep. 

She shot up a few moments later, grabbing at her neck. Her hands were trembling, holding onto a cut on her neck. It felt like her neck was being held hostage. However, after a few moments, the pressure was gone as quickly as it arrived. She stared intensely at her hands, seeing them stained with black goo. She quickly stood up, wiping her hands on the tree’s bark. The black goo that was on her hands was gone. It wasn’t on the bark or her hands, disappearing like magic. 

“What is happening? It’s still daylight, I have time.” She remarked, staring at her wavering fingers. She gripped one hand with the other, trying to stop the trembling but to no avail.

Unbethonest to her, a figure stood thirty feet from her, observing her. The figure was made of a strange black goo that crawled on its own. The figure was frail and at a towering height of seven feet, lacking the facial features of a human. Its face was a blank-state and its thoughts unknown. The figure was shaped like a lanky black adult, watching Holly from afar without its aim being revealed. 

As it's side was a miniature being. The being didn’t resemble any known realistic creatures. Instead, it had the size of a dwarf and the characteristics of a demon. It was a short demon by the side of the almost Slenderman looking creature; the only things it lacked were a tuxedo and its ghost-white face. 

Meanwhile, Holly shook the fear out of her system. She glanced around her surroundings, not seeing anybody except for herself. She then decided it was time to leave, heading in the direction towards Westhill. However, the being wouldn’t allow that. It brought its arm up and pointed a strangely long finger at her. 

Holly collapsed to the floor, suddenly. Her body began retracting and her sweat poured out in liters. Her eyes rolled into the back of her mind as her arms twitched. She was having difficulties with breathing, gasping for air. She struggled to open her mouth, croaking, “h-he-he-help m-m-me!”

The being disappeared, but the demon at its side lingered behind. It didn’t follow its master, instead choosing to go after Holly. It neared her now-unconscious body and reached out to grab her when a male’s voice startled it. The demon noticed a boy around Holly’s age, racing down to meet her. Angered but not wanting to disrupt its master’s plans, the demon fled and disappeared as the boy reached Holly, shaking her body in an attempt of waking her up.

TBC…

The boy shook Holly in an attempt to wake her up. His action would’ve killed her, but somehow it worked. Holly woke up from her unconscious state. The boy laid her against a tree as she regained her breathing. She breathed in a fresh breath of oxygen, panting until her lungs were filled. As she slowly regained her functions, she glanced at the boy that helped her. 

“W-Who ar-are y-you?” She croaked. 

“I’m Leon Eas-” He cut himself short, glancing around before continuing. “-twell. Anyways, are you okay, I was nearby when I saw you collapse. Was it a seizure?” He asked. 

“I-I’m fine,” She remarked. She stood up and took a step forward. Her balance was off-put, nearly dropping her to the ground but Leon managed to grab her before she fell. He held her in his arms, holding an awkward look with her before releasing his grip on her. She nodded at him---thanking him for saving her---before taking a few steps forward. This time, she didn’t fall but she was staggering. 

Leon led her out of the forest and towards town. Unfortunately for them, the mayor was nearby. He noticed them pop out of the forest, Leon half-carrying Holly out of it. He was furious, stomping up to them. Leon noticed him first, slightly flinching in his presence. Holly, on the other hand, was too dazed to understand the predicament they were in. 

“Leon! What are you doing with that ugly descendent of an outsider!” He shouted, slapping Leon across the face. Leon turned away from his father---Frazer Eastwell---and looked down in shame, but still held onto Holly. 

“What are you doing? What did you do to her? Don’t tell me that you… He took a step backward, imagining the worst. 

Leon turned to face his father, shaking his head. “I did nothing to her. I noticed her in the forest, collapsed and unconscious.” He told him. However, his father didn’t trust him. Instead, he grabbed Leon by the arm, pulling him off of Holly and letting her stagger forward, nearly faceplanting. By this time, other citizens noticed the confrontation, and Holly’s parents were alerted. They rushed to scoop up their daughter. Kieran---her father---argued with Frazer over Holly while Alyah---her mother---took her away from the situation. 

After a few moments, he let Kieran walk away freely with no consequences. He rushed off to talk with Holly, leaving the mayor and a few others behind. Once Kieran left, Frazer broke the crowd that formed around him, apart. Only one person stayed behind, being the police chief of Westhill, Azarel Verupt. Azarel, a bulky African-American man, rose from deputy to chief over a span of three years. His fast rise was credited to him for preventing a gang from stationing themselves in Westhill. He drove them out through force. 

The young man was in his thirties, his hair in dreads that extended to his waist. He wore a sheriff's outfit, his name embedded in the top right corner, over his heart. Aside from his normal sheriff outfit, he had a gun in his pocket holster while a knife could be found in his belt along with pepper spray and his other tools. 

Azarel stood forward, beckoning Frazer closer to himself. He listened, walking up to him. Azarel then leaned in, whispering, “we found a body in the forest. My deputy saw the kids near the corpse.”

“Have you identified the body? Or the cause of death?” Frazer asked. 

“The body belongs to Angelica Hollins. According to my deputy, she suffocated. And not just that.” He took out photos from his pocket, showing them to Frazer. “She looked to be strangled and there are fingerprints, but…” His voice trailed off. 

“But what?”

“The fingerprints belonged to her. She strangled herself.”

Frazer then shook his head, dismissing the case. “Suicide then,” He remarked. 

Azarel shook his head, pushing the photos towards Frazer. “Witnesses claim that she looked to be in a daze, constantly tripping on herself.” He then pointed in the direction that the Brooks family headed towards. “That little girl could be in the same boat. She was near the body and has the same symptoms. Could it be that your son found her before she could strangle herself?”

“So what are you saying, Azarel?” Frazer asked, looking him in the eye.

“Something’s strange is happening. Either its drugs or the work of monsters.” Azarel told him. 

Frazer’s eyes widened as he put his finger to Azarel’s lips. “Don’t you dare say that!” He whispered-shouted.

“The Whitegarden Explosion released demons and other types of monsters into our world. Who knows if one of the monsters made it here? We’re not that far from Whitegarden, only a hop and a skip away.” He explained. However, Frazer did not want to hear it. He dismissed Azarel, returning home where he found his son laying in bed. His son noticed him, looking away. An already irritated Frazer saw this moment as rebellious, walking up to his son with a belt in hand. 

Meanwhile, Holly had recovered from the weird spell she was under. She no longer felt dizzy and everything about her body returned to normal; almost as if nothing ever happened. However, something did happen to Holly in the forest and she understood that. Something was wrong, terribly wrong. Holly could feel it.

TBC… 

Author’s Note: As you could tell, Frazer does physically/emotionally/mentally abuse his son. However, I did not wish to paint the physical abuse scene, so I left it at him brandishing his belt. I did not add the abuse to make light out of it, instead, the opposite. Frazer is nowhere close to getting the ‘Best Dad’ award. His fits of anger and abuse are important to his character as it shows that he is not somebody you should be cheering for nor be sympathetic to. He is a monster like the one lurking in the forest. 

Until next time, I bid you all a good day.