Chapter 1 of 'Penemuea'
Chapter One:
Chapter One Evelyn stretched, groaning at the ache in her back. It’d been a long night and she was looking at a two hour class at the medical center before she’d be able to crawl into bed. At least she only had two more charts to make notes in and then she could run home for a much needed shower.
“You doing your civic duty and chatting with teens again tonight, Eve?”
Turning, Evelyn saw her coworker and friend. “Hey, Jess. How’s it going? Yeah, I’m working at Strawberry House again tonight. Two hours with the teen pregnancy group.”
Jess’ thousand watt smile lit up the room. “You’re so good for those girls.”
Evelyn grinned. “You should come out sometime. It’d do you good to see some of them turn their lives around.”
Her friend shook long, blonde hair away from her face. “Naw. I don’t have time, and you know I don’t do well with bratty teens.”
“Yeah, even when we were teens you didn’t deal well with others our age.”
Evelyn and Jessica had met in high school and become fast friends. They’d attended nursing school together and were both hired by Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia right after graduation. They were constantly being mixed up by co-workers. Their blonde hair, blue eyes and vivacious personalities were so similar they joked about being twins, separated at birth.
While they were nearly identical in looks, they completely differed in philosophies on life. Evelyn strove to help others whenever she could, softer in heart and soul. Jess had seen evil from a young age, experienced abuse at the hands of her parents and had become harder in heart to deal with the betrayal. She loved strongly and held onto anyone she cared for, but if you hurt her she’d strike back before walking away. Their personalities worked well together, balancing each other out.
“I’ll leave you to your charts. Have fun tonight and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
Jess pulled her in for a tight hug, a signature of the rougher woman. Evelyn soaked in the embrace and smiled. The reminder for the next day had a shot of enthusiasm burning some of the exhaustion away. The first Saturday of each month was their day together. Both made sure to have it off and never made other plans. They’d spend the entire day doing whatever together, reaffirming their friendship, hanging out and usually ending with buckets of ice cream being washed down with bottles of wine.
“I can’t wait until tomorrow.” Evelyn stepped back. “What’s the plan anyway? This month is yours, right?”
“You know damn well it’s mine, and I’m not sharing the plan. It’s a surprise. But you do need to be awake, so I’ll be over bright and early with donuts and coffee.”
“Mmm, donuts. Are you getting them from Mark’s?”
Jessica scoffed. “Of course. Like there’s another place in the city that makes better.”
The women grinned. They’d shared many a box of Mark’s donuts over the years. “I can’t wait. I need to get going though. See you in the morning.”
One final quick hug and Jess walked off to finish her rounds, leaving Evelyn with her last few pieces of paperwork. She rushed to finish.
“Ms. Matthews?”
Evelyn turned at the quiet voice. She’d been collecting the leftover materials from the evening’s childcare class. The small room had been packed with eighteen girls this time. The group was growing, which made her happy and sad in equal parts. These poor souls needed help and guidance but to have so many young women starting their lives at such a disadvantage was disheartening.
“Hey Beth. Did you have a question?”
Beth was a fourteen-year-old foster care child carrying her last foster father’s child. No one had known what was going on until the pregnancy was months into gestation. The girl was a mess but Evelyn knew there was good inside the small-framed body.
“Um. Can I ask you something?”
Evelyn’s heart stuttered. Beth attended every meeting, participated when asked but had yet to voice anything at all.
“Sure, sweetheart. You can ask me anything you want.”
“Do you believe that I’m being punished by God and that’s why all this has happened?” The girl pointed to her distended belly. “I mean, normal girls don’t get raped and left on doorsteps. So, I thought maybe it’s ’cause I was bad when I was little or something. You know?”
“Oh, hon. You are not being punished for anything.” Evelyn pulled the girl into her arms. “Listen to me. Bad things happen to those strong enough to handle them. This part of your life will strengthen you if you can just make it through.”
“Promise?”
As the sobs shook Beth’s small shoulders, Evelyn whispered against her head. “I promise. You can do it, I know you can.”
They stood together like that for a few moments. Evelyn kept patting Beth’s back, as the girl continued to cry quietly. Evelyn’s heart broke for the teen. No one should have to face this much horror, fear and anger at such a young age. If she could shelter all of them, she’d open her house to her entire group of girls.
“I don’t want this baby. But I couldn’t kill it either.”
The quiet mumble against her shoulder brought Evelyn from her thoughts. “You don’t have to raise it; there are hundreds of families looking to adopt. You know that, we’ve talked about it in class.”
Beth sniffled a few times, clinging to Evelyn’s back as if she was a life preserver on a tumultuous sea. “How do we know, though, if the family is going to be good? I thought my foster families would be good to me too, but they weren’t. How do I know someone will do better for this baby?”
How indeed. “Do you trust me enough to let me help you find a family for the baby? We can interview them together.”
Beth leaned back and wiped tears from her face. “I don’t know. I mean, meeting a bunch of families and watching them glare at me like I’m trash doesn’t sound like fun.”
“We’ll think of something. I promise. But know this.” Evelyn touched a finger to Beth’s cheek. “You are not alone, you are not bad, you are not being punished for anything. I know people, can feel their hearts, and yours, Bethany Dilmont, is pure and good.”
A small smile played around Beth’s mouth. “You’re weird, Ms. Matthews, but I like you anyway.”
Watching the young girl wander away with the ever present bulge under her shirt hurt Evelyn’s heart. If she could’ve done anything at all to save Beth and the rest of the girls the pain and suffering they’d already endured she would. The one skill she did possess that could make a difference was the one she couldn’t exactly explain to others. The ability to read people and tell if they were good or had bad intentions was Evelyn’s dirty little secret. One of them anyway. The other she didn’t even like to think about, let alone try to use.
A shiver raced down her spine and the hairs on the back of her neck stood. Thinking about them wasn’t a good idea, especially at night when she’d be walking to her car alone. They scared the shit out of her. And being the only one that could see them scared her even more.
Stop right there, missy. Don’t go there. You know it’ll just freak you out and you’ll be sleeping with all the lights on again.
Rubbing the last of the goose bumps off her arms, Evelyn tried to concentrate on picking up the last of the papers and garbage from their meeting. It’d been a good one this time. Two of her girls had given birth since the last one and had brought their babies in. It helped bring some much needed reality to a few of the more immature teens.
Checking her watch had Evelyn rushing to get home. Already ten-thirty, and with the forty minute drive home she’d be crawling into bed way too late. Especially if Jess was showing up at the crack of dawn with donuts. A yawn stretched her mouth and had her jaw cracking. It’d been a long week and a longer night.
Time to head home.
Locking up the room in the basement of the Strawberry House Medical Center gave her a minute to study the night through large windows at the top of the hallway. The building was situated outside Philadelphia, in an older part of the city. The surrounding structures were rundown and most had been converted into low-rent, subsidized apartments. During the day it looked shabby at best, at night it took on an ominous feel that had nothing to do with the age of the stones used to create the buildings.
Evelyn had tried to describe what she’d felt once to Jess. The other woman smiled and nodded along but hadn’t really heard the words. But Evelyn didn’t blame her. How do you explain or listen to someone talking about phantom evil or ghostly darkness? No one really wanted to believe in those types of things. Creatures crawling through the night, unseen and unheard, were the stuff of nightmares.
But, to Evelyn, there were just times when her surroundings felt as if something had crawled out of the gutters, out of the shadows, and was stalking the quiet for unsuspecting prey. During those moments, if she stood very still, she could hear the unmistakable sound of dragging feet or scuffling. Those were always accompanied by the weak sounds of nails grating on chalkboards, screams of anguish, haunting moans. After the first few times of being bombarded by those noises she didn’t stand around and listen. She hummed, clicked her tongue, anything to keep the eerie sounds from invading her mind.
She’d experienced the overwhelming desire to run every single time she’d been in the vicinity of the medical center at night. Her instincts kicked in the moment she exited the building or her car. Adrenaline surged through her body, forcing her heart to race, her muscles to bunch, ready for whatever she’d come in contact with. The creepy crawlies didn’t leave her until she drove four or five blocks, leaving behind the dark and dank section of town. It was always a sudden and oily feeling, like she’d crawled out of a swimming pool of lukewarm motor oil. ‘Slimy’ wasn’t quite the tactile texture of what slid along her mind, but it was close.
Now she needed to walk out there again and fight the urge to run to her car. If she didn’t love her group and her girls so much, she’d find another center to work in. But this part of the city was rampant with teen moms, children having children. She needed to continue to be there to guide as many as she could onto a better path, or give them places they could turn when they were ready to really face the coming changes in their lives. The few moments of unpleasantness she experienced walking to and from her vehicle weren’t enough to drive her away. She’d deal with the icky feelings if it meant she could save or help more girls like Beth.
Pep talk finished and her keys safely in her pocket, Evelyn stepped through the door and took her first deep breath of the heavy summer air. It held notes of dust and debris, undertones of garbage too long left in muck-infested puddles, and the bouquet of vehicle exhaust, warmed and perfumed by bad mufflers and burning oil.
Just like every other time, the first step from the building nearly brought her to her knees. Darkness pressed down on her head, bowing it. Her heart beat ever faster. The slick slide of danger brushed against the hairs of her neck.
This is new. Usually the rolling of her stomach and the urge to vomit what little she’d eaten would fade quickly once she took a few steps toward her car. Not this time. Now everything intensified. Fear, black and thick, covered her, suffocated her. Breathing became difficult, even while her heart raced to send oxygen to every muscle cell as they tensed for flight. Fingers of icy dread strummed her nerves and prickled her skin with sharp scrapes of anticipation.
Hunkering down into herself, she tried to speed up her feet, to quickly get to the safety, real or imagined, of her car. She’d parked two blocks from the health center in the only guarded ramp. Now she second guessed that decision when it forced her to push through the increased discomfort and slimy fear.
You know these streets. You know the neighborhood. You can do this.
Sure she could, but she didn’t want to. Even after a few moments of walking nothing had changed. She could feel someone—something—watching her. Felt it deep in her bones and like the slide of sharp claws along her spine. Every nerve was attuned to her surroundings, heightening the fear, the urge to sprint the rest of the way. Her ragged breaths sawing in and out of her lungs, hidden eyes followed her movements as whatever it was focused sharply on her alone. Chills raced through her body. Goose bumps followed, causing the hairs on her arms and neck to stand at attention. It watched and reveled in her fear, the monster toying with her as a cat would a stunned mouse. She knew this time she’d be coming face to face with the evil, just like she knew she wasn’t going to escape its intentions this time.
Before, on a visceral level, she’d known she wasn’t a target. Before she’d just felt something there in the darkness and it’d been preying on others. But it hadn’t been focused on her. The response her body had to the proximity of the entity had been as one would have watching a crash happen.
Whatever hellspawn now had her in its sights hadn’t ever looked her way before. Now that it was focused on her the darkness, blackness of its evil, was so much more potent. It wound around her soul, tugging and peeking to find a chink in her armor. Heavy energy circled her, sliding maliciously across her skin. She shuddered as she picked up the pace toward the parking garage and her car.
“Leave me alone,” she whispered, her voice harsh and raspy with fear. “Leave me alone. I’m not what you hunt for.”
Why she’d spoken at all was a mystery, but the fact that she acknowledged the thing seemed to bring its interest more into focus on her. Her flesh rippled again with goose bumps at the frigid touch of its thoughts.
By the time she’d reached the end of the first block her skin was coated in a fine sheen of clammy sweat. Disbelief still plagued her, but Evelyn had seen enough in her life to know that even if no one else could see or feel these things, they were definitely real.
She’d fought the urge to look over her shoulder, knowing she’d see nothing at all or, worse, see the evil stalking her. As she made it across a side street, she took a single moment to peek. Was it to satisfy a part of her that hoped she was hallucinating? Was it a piece of her that wanted to see the creature that might end up killing her before she was in its jaws?
Nearly falling as she stumbled up onto the next section of sidewalk helped rip her eyes from the greedy, glowing gaze hovering behind her. No form at all kept the eyes from falling through the gray, oozing smoke, but they never wavered. Their intent was squarely on her, boring into her skull from the moment she’d turned and caught her first glimpse.
A shriek seized in her throat as the beast—creature--thing surged forward, wrapping her in a sickly, gauze-like haze. It dragged her, silent and struggling, into the alley. Her strength was sucked from her by the icy touch of liquid evil oozing from its formless body. Her mind was frozen along with her limbs. It wasn’t real. Couldn’t be. But it was, and whatever had her was dragging her deeper into the darkness between the two buildings.
Fight, damn it. How, though? She struggled more within its grasp, but nothing worked. It didn’t have a body or even arms to battle against. The thing was smoke and illusion. How did you break free from something that didn’t have shape? Maybe fighting wasn’t the solution.
Evelyn’s lungs ached with the swallowed scream, her muscles shook with adrenaline and the need to flee, but she fought herself and her body’s response to the danger. Instead of trying to break free she relaxed into its grasp, letting her breath out in a single, even exhale. She closed her eyes and willed her body to go limp, to sag within whatever bound her to the wispy monster.
Nothing happened at first but, after a moment, she felt the slightest decrease in pressure around her arms. Another slow breath found her falling through the smoky body. Elation was followed quickly by pain as her ass slammed onto the concrete below her. Before she could triumph in at least a reprieve from the creature’s grip, another shot of chilly dread worked across her nerves.
She groaned and looked up. Another one. And this one had a solid form, although she couldn’t decide if having no form or one of a monster from some horror film was better. At least if the creature with form wanted to touch her she could try to fight back.
At first Evelyn wasn’t sure the thing spoke real words but, after it made the same noises twice more, she figured out it was speaking to her.
“You see us.”
It seemed to be waiting for her to respond and, as it wasn’t actively trying to kill her, she decided to answer. “Yes.”
“How? No one but the Watchers see us.”
She didn’t know what a Watcher was, nor how she was seeing the thing standing over her. But again, talking with it meant she wasn’t being eaten, so she answered. “I don’t know.”
“What are you?”
What was she? Really? “Human.”
“No. Humans cannot see our kind. Only Watchers see us.”
Again the term ‘Watcher.’ She was at a loss with how to continue. She was fairly sure she was human but didn’t know how to explain why or how she could see the creature. “I don’t know. What are you?”
Anger, strong and choking, oozed off the smoking creature who’d positioned itself in the shadows behind Evelyn. It made a sort of hissing cackle. Its voice made her skin crawl.
“What am I? What am I? I am Nephilim.”
Nephilim. A spark of something in her brain said she’d at least read the word before. An image of a cherub came to mind, but this creature was no small, adorable angel. She shook her head. “I don’t know what that means.”
“Nephilim are of the fallen. We are the offspring they all fear.”
“I still… I still don’t understand.”
“Humans are so stupid. How the heavenly ones thought to give this world to you instead of us is beyond my comprehension. You will understand. I will turn you Nephilim. You will see what arrogant pigs infest the Earth. You will see.”
The smoke behind her thickened. “Thirssst.”
“You won’t be feeding from this one. It sees us. I’ll turn her so she may see more, understand what we are.”
The smoke creature made another grating vocalization and Eve barely kept from clapping her hands over her ears. This sound had been angry and alarmed.
The monster in front of her growled something she didn’t understand and she was amazed at the cringing fear she felt from Smokey. It seemed that even in the realm of monsters there was a hierarchy, and Smokey didn’t rank real high.
She stifled a snort. It wouldn’t do to have either of them think she was laughing at them, not when she knew it would take nothing for them to kill her. Maybe she was losing it, too overwhelmed with panic to add any more information to her addled brain? Something had changed. She was still scared but there was an edge of relief tickling her gut. It felt like taking that first gasping breath of air after diving too deep in a pond. Her body shook with fear and dread, but something made her feel like she’d survive.
“Thirssst. Mine.”
Smokey hissed his declaration, puffing up and darkening, even as the other thing growled. Both tensed a moment, eyeing each other like two feral cats over a bowl of cream. With amazed detachment Evelyn watched the two Nephilim jump across the alley at each other. The clash produced a visible wave of power. It washed over her, spurring her to action. With the two battling it out over her very existence, perhaps it’d be prudent for her to get her ass moving.
Evelyn kept her eyes focused on the strange fight going on in front of her while she scrambled toward the front of the alley. Tiny stones dug into her palms and she knew her jeans would be ruined, but it’d take too much energy to stand and run.
*****
Penemuae sat on the roof top of some rundown building in a non-descript neighborhood in Philadelphia. He hadn’t tried to learn the street names, or those given to buildings. There was no reason to. He used to. Used to use the information to connect himself to the century, the humans he protected from the evils they couldn’t see.
Now? He didn’t care about the humans. Why care when they all just passed on to where he couldn’t go, their lives a blink of time? Caring for them, getting to know them, did nothing but strip him of more soul, marring his heart with pain. Now he protected them but only as a symptom of his greater plan. His kind, the Watchers, created the evil; delved into the madness of love and lust and brought the scourge to Earth. As penance, restitution, and pleas to be heard, the fallen and forsaken watched over the world they were damned to inhabit. Not out of love or even enjoyment. They did their newest duties out of loyalty to each other and to the hope that one day they’d be forgiven.
Lights glowed faintly below him. The yellowed haze permeated some areas better than others. From atop the buildings, he could tell which neighborhoods were affluent and well cared for by the city. Those shone brightly in the night, the light white and pure. It was the darker places, the dimly-lit streets where his prey hunted, which drew his attention. Shadows deepened in those places giving the predators cover from which to hunt. No one cared how dark it was, or that so many of the streetlights weren’t working.
It was into those areas the Nephilim congregated, feasting off humans. The evil creatures would either strip their meals of soul and flesh, or turn them into something so much worse than a corpse. A human attacked and left with their lives intact became corrupted, blackened in soul and spirit. Humans called the creatures demons, vampires, zombies. The darker the soul was before being attacked by the Nephilim, the more monster-like the being became.
After being turned, the once-human lived to do the deeds of its creator. Death and destruction were their calling cards. Humans anywhere near became nothing but prey; hunted, killed, mauled or tortured for the pure insane pleasure of the Nephilim and their offspring.
Instinctively Penemuae felt the pull of a Nephilim as it found the prey it wanted. A shiver went down his spine at the same moment he turned his head toward the presence. From the evil energy pouring into the night he knew it was an old one, practiced and smart. The tracking and fight would require all of his skills. Chuckling deep in his chest sent a promise into the night. He was ready to take on his enemy and win once again.
Standing, Penemuae shook out his duster, pleased that the worn brown leather moved silently. One of the few things that did seem to improve over time was the clothing available. No longer did he wear braided straw sandals or rough wool pants. Now he selected denim, soft and durable, for his legs, and cotton t-shirts that allowed for absolute flexibility. His jeans were black as pitch, as was the rest of his outfit. His rubber-soled combat boots thudded loudly on the metal roof, the leather squeaking slightly as he flexed in preparation for tracking down his opponent.
Under the supple leather duster he wore the traditional sword of his brothers. Each weapon had been forged and named by Gadreel for the Watcher who wore it; each blade was beautifully crafted, unique, created to fit only one warrior, and the most effective way to dispatch the Nephilim stalking the world. Pen’s blade was part of him. It reacted to his wants and needs, sometimes seeming to accomplish feats without his aid.
Without the sword strapped to his back or the daggers belted around his waist, he knew his appearance would be movie star-like. His hair was close cropped now instead of being long and braided as in the centuries before, but it still shone blue-black in the sunlight. He’d taken to getting tattoos, usually when he’d lost the drive to continue, marking time on the only surface sure to exist beyond the end of days. The few times he’d allowed a human to see his real look he’d been propositioned by both sexes. His height, musculature and face seemed to stand the test of time. It didn’t matter if he was in the New World on the streets of Vegas, or before the tracking of time. His looks plagued him as surely as his punishment.
Penemuae was shaken from his morose thoughts by a second ping of Nephilim along his spine. Shit. Two of them were out stalking the night in his city? A feral grin split his lips until the breeze brushed coldly over his gums. A guttural growl vibrated his chest.
With a quick turn he launched himself from the roof, falling quickly to the ground and cushioning his landing with bent knees. He didn’t worry about humans noticing; they couldn’t see him unless he wanted them to. Sprinting into the night, he shouted his anger to the skies. His senses led him deeper into the city, through the darkening night into evil-soaked streets. He’d take out these two that dared touch his streets, along with any humans they’d defiled.
Chapter One:
Chapter One Evelyn stretched, groaning at the ache in her back. It’d been a long night and she was looking at a two hour class at the medical center before she’d be able to crawl into bed. At least she only had two more charts to make notes in and then she could run home for a much needed shower.
“You doing your civic duty and chatting with teens again tonight, Eve?”
Turning, Evelyn saw her coworker and friend. “Hey, Jess. How’s it going? Yeah, I’m working at Strawberry House again tonight. Two hours with the teen pregnancy group.”
Jess’ thousand watt smile lit up the room. “You’re so good for those girls.”
Evelyn grinned. “You should come out sometime. It’d do you good to see some of them turn their lives around.”
Her friend shook long, blonde hair away from her face. “Naw. I don’t have time, and you know I don’t do well with bratty teens.”
“Yeah, even when we were teens you didn’t deal well with others our age.”
Evelyn and Jessica had met in high school and become fast friends. They’d attended nursing school together and were both hired by Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia right after graduation. They were constantly being mixed up by co-workers. Their blonde hair, blue eyes and vivacious personalities were so similar they joked about being twins, separated at birth.
While they were nearly identical in looks, they completely differed in philosophies on life. Evelyn strove to help others whenever she could, softer in heart and soul. Jess had seen evil from a young age, experienced abuse at the hands of her parents and had become harder in heart to deal with the betrayal. She loved strongly and held onto anyone she cared for, but if you hurt her she’d strike back before walking away. Their personalities worked well together, balancing each other out.
“I’ll leave you to your charts. Have fun tonight and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
Jess pulled her in for a tight hug, a signature of the rougher woman. Evelyn soaked in the embrace and smiled. The reminder for the next day had a shot of enthusiasm burning some of the exhaustion away. The first Saturday of each month was their day together. Both made sure to have it off and never made other plans. They’d spend the entire day doing whatever together, reaffirming their friendship, hanging out and usually ending with buckets of ice cream being washed down with bottles of wine.
“I can’t wait until tomorrow.” Evelyn stepped back. “What’s the plan anyway? This month is yours, right?”
“You know damn well it’s mine, and I’m not sharing the plan. It’s a surprise. But you do need to be awake, so I’ll be over bright and early with donuts and coffee.”
“Mmm, donuts. Are you getting them from Mark’s?”
Jessica scoffed. “Of course. Like there’s another place in the city that makes better.”
The women grinned. They’d shared many a box of Mark’s donuts over the years. “I can’t wait. I need to get going though. See you in the morning.”
One final quick hug and Jess walked off to finish her rounds, leaving Evelyn with her last few pieces of paperwork. She rushed to finish.
“Ms. Matthews?”
Evelyn turned at the quiet voice. She’d been collecting the leftover materials from the evening’s childcare class. The small room had been packed with eighteen girls this time. The group was growing, which made her happy and sad in equal parts. These poor souls needed help and guidance but to have so many young women starting their lives at such a disadvantage was disheartening.
“Hey Beth. Did you have a question?”
Beth was a fourteen-year-old foster care child carrying her last foster father’s child. No one had known what was going on until the pregnancy was months into gestation. The girl was a mess but Evelyn knew there was good inside the small-framed body.
“Um. Can I ask you something?”
Evelyn’s heart stuttered. Beth attended every meeting, participated when asked but had yet to voice anything at all.
“Sure, sweetheart. You can ask me anything you want.”
“Do you believe that I’m being punished by God and that’s why all this has happened?” The girl pointed to her distended belly. “I mean, normal girls don’t get raped and left on doorsteps. So, I thought maybe it’s ’cause I was bad when I was little or something. You know?”
“Oh, hon. You are not being punished for anything.” Evelyn pulled the girl into her arms. “Listen to me. Bad things happen to those strong enough to handle them. This part of your life will strengthen you if you can just make it through.”
“Promise?”
As the sobs shook Beth’s small shoulders, Evelyn whispered against her head. “I promise. You can do it, I know you can.”
They stood together like that for a few moments. Evelyn kept patting Beth’s back, as the girl continued to cry quietly. Evelyn’s heart broke for the teen. No one should have to face this much horror, fear and anger at such a young age. If she could shelter all of them, she’d open her house to her entire group of girls.
“I don’t want this baby. But I couldn’t kill it either.”
The quiet mumble against her shoulder brought Evelyn from her thoughts. “You don’t have to raise it; there are hundreds of families looking to adopt. You know that, we’ve talked about it in class.”
Beth sniffled a few times, clinging to Evelyn’s back as if she was a life preserver on a tumultuous sea. “How do we know, though, if the family is going to be good? I thought my foster families would be good to me too, but they weren’t. How do I know someone will do better for this baby?”
How indeed. “Do you trust me enough to let me help you find a family for the baby? We can interview them together.”
Beth leaned back and wiped tears from her face. “I don’t know. I mean, meeting a bunch of families and watching them glare at me like I’m trash doesn’t sound like fun.”
“We’ll think of something. I promise. But know this.” Evelyn touched a finger to Beth’s cheek. “You are not alone, you are not bad, you are not being punished for anything. I know people, can feel their hearts, and yours, Bethany Dilmont, is pure and good.”
A small smile played around Beth’s mouth. “You’re weird, Ms. Matthews, but I like you anyway.”
Watching the young girl wander away with the ever present bulge under her shirt hurt Evelyn’s heart. If she could’ve done anything at all to save Beth and the rest of the girls the pain and suffering they’d already endured she would. The one skill she did possess that could make a difference was the one she couldn’t exactly explain to others. The ability to read people and tell if they were good or had bad intentions was Evelyn’s dirty little secret. One of them anyway. The other she didn’t even like to think about, let alone try to use.
A shiver raced down her spine and the hairs on the back of her neck stood. Thinking about them wasn’t a good idea, especially at night when she’d be walking to her car alone. They scared the shit out of her. And being the only one that could see them scared her even more.
Stop right there, missy. Don’t go there. You know it’ll just freak you out and you’ll be sleeping with all the lights on again.
Rubbing the last of the goose bumps off her arms, Evelyn tried to concentrate on picking up the last of the papers and garbage from their meeting. It’d been a good one this time. Two of her girls had given birth since the last one and had brought their babies in. It helped bring some much needed reality to a few of the more immature teens.
Checking her watch had Evelyn rushing to get home. Already ten-thirty, and with the forty minute drive home she’d be crawling into bed way too late. Especially if Jess was showing up at the crack of dawn with donuts. A yawn stretched her mouth and had her jaw cracking. It’d been a long week and a longer night.
Time to head home.
Locking up the room in the basement of the Strawberry House Medical Center gave her a minute to study the night through large windows at the top of the hallway. The building was situated outside Philadelphia, in an older part of the city. The surrounding structures were rundown and most had been converted into low-rent, subsidized apartments. During the day it looked shabby at best, at night it took on an ominous feel that had nothing to do with the age of the stones used to create the buildings.
Evelyn had tried to describe what she’d felt once to Jess. The other woman smiled and nodded along but hadn’t really heard the words. But Evelyn didn’t blame her. How do you explain or listen to someone talking about phantom evil or ghostly darkness? No one really wanted to believe in those types of things. Creatures crawling through the night, unseen and unheard, were the stuff of nightmares.
But, to Evelyn, there were just times when her surroundings felt as if something had crawled out of the gutters, out of the shadows, and was stalking the quiet for unsuspecting prey. During those moments, if she stood very still, she could hear the unmistakable sound of dragging feet or scuffling. Those were always accompanied by the weak sounds of nails grating on chalkboards, screams of anguish, haunting moans. After the first few times of being bombarded by those noises she didn’t stand around and listen. She hummed, clicked her tongue, anything to keep the eerie sounds from invading her mind.
She’d experienced the overwhelming desire to run every single time she’d been in the vicinity of the medical center at night. Her instincts kicked in the moment she exited the building or her car. Adrenaline surged through her body, forcing her heart to race, her muscles to bunch, ready for whatever she’d come in contact with. The creepy crawlies didn’t leave her until she drove four or five blocks, leaving behind the dark and dank section of town. It was always a sudden and oily feeling, like she’d crawled out of a swimming pool of lukewarm motor oil. ‘Slimy’ wasn’t quite the tactile texture of what slid along her mind, but it was close.
Now she needed to walk out there again and fight the urge to run to her car. If she didn’t love her group and her girls so much, she’d find another center to work in. But this part of the city was rampant with teen moms, children having children. She needed to continue to be there to guide as many as she could onto a better path, or give them places they could turn when they were ready to really face the coming changes in their lives. The few moments of unpleasantness she experienced walking to and from her vehicle weren’t enough to drive her away. She’d deal with the icky feelings if it meant she could save or help more girls like Beth.
Pep talk finished and her keys safely in her pocket, Evelyn stepped through the door and took her first deep breath of the heavy summer air. It held notes of dust and debris, undertones of garbage too long left in muck-infested puddles, and the bouquet of vehicle exhaust, warmed and perfumed by bad mufflers and burning oil.
Just like every other time, the first step from the building nearly brought her to her knees. Darkness pressed down on her head, bowing it. Her heart beat ever faster. The slick slide of danger brushed against the hairs of her neck.
This is new. Usually the rolling of her stomach and the urge to vomit what little she’d eaten would fade quickly once she took a few steps toward her car. Not this time. Now everything intensified. Fear, black and thick, covered her, suffocated her. Breathing became difficult, even while her heart raced to send oxygen to every muscle cell as they tensed for flight. Fingers of icy dread strummed her nerves and prickled her skin with sharp scrapes of anticipation.
Hunkering down into herself, she tried to speed up her feet, to quickly get to the safety, real or imagined, of her car. She’d parked two blocks from the health center in the only guarded ramp. Now she second guessed that decision when it forced her to push through the increased discomfort and slimy fear.
You know these streets. You know the neighborhood. You can do this.
Sure she could, but she didn’t want to. Even after a few moments of walking nothing had changed. She could feel someone—something—watching her. Felt it deep in her bones and like the slide of sharp claws along her spine. Every nerve was attuned to her surroundings, heightening the fear, the urge to sprint the rest of the way. Her ragged breaths sawing in and out of her lungs, hidden eyes followed her movements as whatever it was focused sharply on her alone. Chills raced through her body. Goose bumps followed, causing the hairs on her arms and neck to stand at attention. It watched and reveled in her fear, the monster toying with her as a cat would a stunned mouse. She knew this time she’d be coming face to face with the evil, just like she knew she wasn’t going to escape its intentions this time.
Before, on a visceral level, she’d known she wasn’t a target. Before she’d just felt something there in the darkness and it’d been preying on others. But it hadn’t been focused on her. The response her body had to the proximity of the entity had been as one would have watching a crash happen.
Whatever hellspawn now had her in its sights hadn’t ever looked her way before. Now that it was focused on her the darkness, blackness of its evil, was so much more potent. It wound around her soul, tugging and peeking to find a chink in her armor. Heavy energy circled her, sliding maliciously across her skin. She shuddered as she picked up the pace toward the parking garage and her car.
“Leave me alone,” she whispered, her voice harsh and raspy with fear. “Leave me alone. I’m not what you hunt for.”
Why she’d spoken at all was a mystery, but the fact that she acknowledged the thing seemed to bring its interest more into focus on her. Her flesh rippled again with goose bumps at the frigid touch of its thoughts.
By the time she’d reached the end of the first block her skin was coated in a fine sheen of clammy sweat. Disbelief still plagued her, but Evelyn had seen enough in her life to know that even if no one else could see or feel these things, they were definitely real.
She’d fought the urge to look over her shoulder, knowing she’d see nothing at all or, worse, see the evil stalking her. As she made it across a side street, she took a single moment to peek. Was it to satisfy a part of her that hoped she was hallucinating? Was it a piece of her that wanted to see the creature that might end up killing her before she was in its jaws?
Nearly falling as she stumbled up onto the next section of sidewalk helped rip her eyes from the greedy, glowing gaze hovering behind her. No form at all kept the eyes from falling through the gray, oozing smoke, but they never wavered. Their intent was squarely on her, boring into her skull from the moment she’d turned and caught her first glimpse.
A shriek seized in her throat as the beast—creature--thing surged forward, wrapping her in a sickly, gauze-like haze. It dragged her, silent and struggling, into the alley. Her strength was sucked from her by the icy touch of liquid evil oozing from its formless body. Her mind was frozen along with her limbs. It wasn’t real. Couldn’t be. But it was, and whatever had her was dragging her deeper into the darkness between the two buildings.
Fight, damn it. How, though? She struggled more within its grasp, but nothing worked. It didn’t have a body or even arms to battle against. The thing was smoke and illusion. How did you break free from something that didn’t have shape? Maybe fighting wasn’t the solution.
Evelyn’s lungs ached with the swallowed scream, her muscles shook with adrenaline and the need to flee, but she fought herself and her body’s response to the danger. Instead of trying to break free she relaxed into its grasp, letting her breath out in a single, even exhale. She closed her eyes and willed her body to go limp, to sag within whatever bound her to the wispy monster.
Nothing happened at first but, after a moment, she felt the slightest decrease in pressure around her arms. Another slow breath found her falling through the smoky body. Elation was followed quickly by pain as her ass slammed onto the concrete below her. Before she could triumph in at least a reprieve from the creature’s grip, another shot of chilly dread worked across her nerves.
She groaned and looked up. Another one. And this one had a solid form, although she couldn’t decide if having no form or one of a monster from some horror film was better. At least if the creature with form wanted to touch her she could try to fight back.
At first Evelyn wasn’t sure the thing spoke real words but, after it made the same noises twice more, she figured out it was speaking to her.
“You see us.”
It seemed to be waiting for her to respond and, as it wasn’t actively trying to kill her, she decided to answer. “Yes.”
“How? No one but the Watchers see us.”
She didn’t know what a Watcher was, nor how she was seeing the thing standing over her. But again, talking with it meant she wasn’t being eaten, so she answered. “I don’t know.”
“What are you?”
What was she? Really? “Human.”
“No. Humans cannot see our kind. Only Watchers see us.”
Again the term ‘Watcher.’ She was at a loss with how to continue. She was fairly sure she was human but didn’t know how to explain why or how she could see the creature. “I don’t know. What are you?”
Anger, strong and choking, oozed off the smoking creature who’d positioned itself in the shadows behind Evelyn. It made a sort of hissing cackle. Its voice made her skin crawl.
“What am I? What am I? I am Nephilim.”
Nephilim. A spark of something in her brain said she’d at least read the word before. An image of a cherub came to mind, but this creature was no small, adorable angel. She shook her head. “I don’t know what that means.”
“Nephilim are of the fallen. We are the offspring they all fear.”
“I still… I still don’t understand.”
“Humans are so stupid. How the heavenly ones thought to give this world to you instead of us is beyond my comprehension. You will understand. I will turn you Nephilim. You will see what arrogant pigs infest the Earth. You will see.”
The smoke behind her thickened. “Thirssst.”
“You won’t be feeding from this one. It sees us. I’ll turn her so she may see more, understand what we are.”
The smoke creature made another grating vocalization and Eve barely kept from clapping her hands over her ears. This sound had been angry and alarmed.
The monster in front of her growled something she didn’t understand and she was amazed at the cringing fear she felt from Smokey. It seemed that even in the realm of monsters there was a hierarchy, and Smokey didn’t rank real high.
She stifled a snort. It wouldn’t do to have either of them think she was laughing at them, not when she knew it would take nothing for them to kill her. Maybe she was losing it, too overwhelmed with panic to add any more information to her addled brain? Something had changed. She was still scared but there was an edge of relief tickling her gut. It felt like taking that first gasping breath of air after diving too deep in a pond. Her body shook with fear and dread, but something made her feel like she’d survive.
“Thirssst. Mine.”
Smokey hissed his declaration, puffing up and darkening, even as the other thing growled. Both tensed a moment, eyeing each other like two feral cats over a bowl of cream. With amazed detachment Evelyn watched the two Nephilim jump across the alley at each other. The clash produced a visible wave of power. It washed over her, spurring her to action. With the two battling it out over her very existence, perhaps it’d be prudent for her to get her ass moving.
Evelyn kept her eyes focused on the strange fight going on in front of her while she scrambled toward the front of the alley. Tiny stones dug into her palms and she knew her jeans would be ruined, but it’d take too much energy to stand and run.
*****
Penemuae sat on the roof top of some rundown building in a non-descript neighborhood in Philadelphia. He hadn’t tried to learn the street names, or those given to buildings. There was no reason to. He used to. Used to use the information to connect himself to the century, the humans he protected from the evils they couldn’t see.
Now? He didn’t care about the humans. Why care when they all just passed on to where he couldn’t go, their lives a blink of time? Caring for them, getting to know them, did nothing but strip him of more soul, marring his heart with pain. Now he protected them but only as a symptom of his greater plan. His kind, the Watchers, created the evil; delved into the madness of love and lust and brought the scourge to Earth. As penance, restitution, and pleas to be heard, the fallen and forsaken watched over the world they were damned to inhabit. Not out of love or even enjoyment. They did their newest duties out of loyalty to each other and to the hope that one day they’d be forgiven.
Lights glowed faintly below him. The yellowed haze permeated some areas better than others. From atop the buildings, he could tell which neighborhoods were affluent and well cared for by the city. Those shone brightly in the night, the light white and pure. It was the darker places, the dimly-lit streets where his prey hunted, which drew his attention. Shadows deepened in those places giving the predators cover from which to hunt. No one cared how dark it was, or that so many of the streetlights weren’t working.
It was into those areas the Nephilim congregated, feasting off humans. The evil creatures would either strip their meals of soul and flesh, or turn them into something so much worse than a corpse. A human attacked and left with their lives intact became corrupted, blackened in soul and spirit. Humans called the creatures demons, vampires, zombies. The darker the soul was before being attacked by the Nephilim, the more monster-like the being became.
After being turned, the once-human lived to do the deeds of its creator. Death and destruction were their calling cards. Humans anywhere near became nothing but prey; hunted, killed, mauled or tortured for the pure insane pleasure of the Nephilim and their offspring.
Instinctively Penemuae felt the pull of a Nephilim as it found the prey it wanted. A shiver went down his spine at the same moment he turned his head toward the presence. From the evil energy pouring into the night he knew it was an old one, practiced and smart. The tracking and fight would require all of his skills. Chuckling deep in his chest sent a promise into the night. He was ready to take on his enemy and win once again.
Standing, Penemuae shook out his duster, pleased that the worn brown leather moved silently. One of the few things that did seem to improve over time was the clothing available. No longer did he wear braided straw sandals or rough wool pants. Now he selected denim, soft and durable, for his legs, and cotton t-shirts that allowed for absolute flexibility. His jeans were black as pitch, as was the rest of his outfit. His rubber-soled combat boots thudded loudly on the metal roof, the leather squeaking slightly as he flexed in preparation for tracking down his opponent.
Under the supple leather duster he wore the traditional sword of his brothers. Each weapon had been forged and named by Gadreel for the Watcher who wore it; each blade was beautifully crafted, unique, created to fit only one warrior, and the most effective way to dispatch the Nephilim stalking the world. Pen’s blade was part of him. It reacted to his wants and needs, sometimes seeming to accomplish feats without his aid.
Without the sword strapped to his back or the daggers belted around his waist, he knew his appearance would be movie star-like. His hair was close cropped now instead of being long and braided as in the centuries before, but it still shone blue-black in the sunlight. He’d taken to getting tattoos, usually when he’d lost the drive to continue, marking time on the only surface sure to exist beyond the end of days. The few times he’d allowed a human to see his real look he’d been propositioned by both sexes. His height, musculature and face seemed to stand the test of time. It didn’t matter if he was in the New World on the streets of Vegas, or before the tracking of time. His looks plagued him as surely as his punishment.
Penemuae was shaken from his morose thoughts by a second ping of Nephilim along his spine. Shit. Two of them were out stalking the night in his city? A feral grin split his lips until the breeze brushed coldly over his gums. A guttural growl vibrated his chest.
With a quick turn he launched himself from the roof, falling quickly to the ground and cushioning his landing with bent knees. He didn’t worry about humans noticing; they couldn’t see him unless he wanted them to. Sprinting into the night, he shouted his anger to the skies. His senses led him deeper into the city, through the darkening night into evil-soaked streets. He’d take out these two that dared touch his streets, along with any humans they’d defiled.
