The Djinn's Spell

This week's Flash Fiction challenge is about 5 words... Chuck's got a list at his Terrible Minds blog... I picked out Topaz, Foxglove, Acid, Djinn and Hermit... and look what happened to those words in this story below!

“I don’t remember much, just …” I looked out the window, “…it was complicated.”

The cop opened his notebook, “Try to remember what he looked like.”

I closed my eyes and images of all kinds of things flickered across my vision, making me feel sick and I opened them again, catching my breath, “I’m sorry, I can’t right now.” I took in a deep breath and could have sworn I smelled sewer, and yet I was sitting in a hospital bed.

“Okay, no problems.” He smiled, closed his book and walked out.

I sniffed again and the awful smell of sewage was stronger.  I covered my mouth, “Oh, god… that’s awful.” As I blinked, my world flickered and was replaced by a darkened warehouse where I was being held captive by a man.  He walked down a hallway near me just out of sight.  I remember he had a Topaz ring on his right hand. I swallow thickly, “Help me…” dammit I’m weak!

His tattooed face was in mine as his hand is raised, his voice murmured, “Sleep.”

I’m back at the hospital and it’s morning and the nurses had just brought in breakfast.  They are nice and saying I’ll be leaving to go home.

What the hell did I just see?  I didn’t say anything about it otherwise they’d keep me here.

When I arrived home, I found Foxgloves in our garden in bloom.  They were so pretty. As I walked past them, I stared at them. I never remembered them being grown here… or ever seeing anything like them flower in our garden before.

“Hey, you okay, Symone?” Mum asked from the front door, “They’re just Foxgloves, we’ve had them since you were born.”

I touched the flowers and nodded, but it wasn’t all right, “I’ll be inside in a minute… the hospital gave me cabin fever.”

“Okay.” She smiled taking my bag inside.

I looked across the road and saw a man.  He appeared out of place here… as though he knew something about my place here.

That it was wrong.

The moment we made eye contact, I could smell that warehouse again, and I began to walk towards him, as he did toward me. A car went by and he disappeared… and I was left standing looking at nothing on the footpath.

I was in the wrong world… brought on by something creepy.  If this was an acid trip, it was a horrible one and I wanted off.

I wanted out and off of this acid trip now.

Somehow I end up places and have no memory of how I get there.  One minute I’m at home, the next I’m at uni.  Even though I’ve never been to uni – as it was one of my dreams and I never had the scores, I’m there with friends.  They’re all laughing and I’m sitting there feeling unusual… and some of them know it.

“Hey, listen, Symone, we know you’ve been out of it, but you’ll be okay.” They keep telling me this.  I don’t believe them.

It’s time to find out what the hell’s going on… and who was that man?

Time passes and I’ve noticed that my clothes are never clean.  I’m not sure why this is.  It just seems that the world is moving on without me and I’m stuck in the same outfit of a pair of jeans, Bruce Springsteen Concert t-shirt and sneakers; which is just getting torn and filthy.  And even when my world shifts around and I’ve gone to the library at the university, I have often found myself back at home.

Whatever this thing is doesn’t want me knowing what it is or where I really am.

“You’re Symone, right?” his voice asked.

I look up from the park bench.  It’s him – the man I spotted across the road from my house.  My voice got stuck for a moment, “Yes.”

“You’re stuck in a place that’s not your own?”

“Who are you?”

He looked around, “I’m trying to remember… but I …” tears fill his eyes, “I only know who you are.”

“You’ve been looking for me, right?”

“Yes.” He nodded.

“Then, help me.” I reached out to him as he did to me, but he flickered and vanished… a whimper escapes my throat, “No… please don’t leave me.”

Robert showed up at the warehouse.  Yep, this the was the place his sister vanished after a Bruce Springsteen concert three days ago.  He recognised her car not far away.

He walked inside with his silver blade dipped in lamb’s blood at the ready.  He had to save his sister and another dude who had been missing for the same length of time as her… actually the other guy was a dude she had begun dating.

He found them both side by side.  Hands tied above their heads by the wrists; and IV pushed into their corroded artery.  They didn’t look good at all, “Oh fuck.”

Then, he smelled it – Foxgloves.  The damned thing was around… and very close.

He spun and caught the Djinn in the chest with the blade, shoving it hard through the ribs, hearing them break and crack as he used his body weight to throw the demon to the floor and watch the icy blueness fade from its eyes and tattoo that had unfurled itself around its arms disappear, as though it had never existed.  Robert twisted the knife hard to make sure it was dead, “Now…” he turned as he stood and a hand with a bright blue light engulfed his vision, “What the…”

“Sleep.” A female voice whispered.

Symone sat in the park as Robert approached her and sat next to him, “I tried sis… but they have me too.”

Tears blurred her vision, “We’re just hermits in our own little world then?”

“Yeah… until they kill us,” he looked up at the sky, “, well out in the real world that is.  Then, it’s a matter of time before the authorities find our bodies.” He comforted his sister, “Where’s that guy you were dating?”

“I haven’t seen him in a while.” She sniffed against his shoulder, “What does that mean?”

“It means …” he sighed, “He’s dead, sis.”

“But my clothes are clean now.”

He looked at her, “That means you are too.”

Ten Little Chapters

Ten little chapters is what Chuck Wendig is asking us to do this week... and this is what I've done.  My Dad and I are looking for a car for me.  And so I thought to write about a creepy car.  I wouldn't want this car following me around anywhere.

Chapter One

My life changed the day I met her.  I fell in love.

She was my soul mate and I was hers.  We hung out and enjoyed the same places the same ways.  I bought her presents, and she loved me for what I did for her.  It was just how our love affair affected everyone around us that concerned me.

Everyone thought I was obsessed with my sweetheart.

They thought I was spending far too much time with her.

They wanted to break us up, but I made sure it didn’t happen… so did she.

Chapter Two

Lissa was the first person who claimed my soul mate hated her; and I had known Lissa since primary school – not much could come between us… not even a soul mate.  We swore to this.

“She tried to kill me.” The brunette sobbed into my shoulder in my kitchen, “Please, you have to stop it with her.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” I promised.  I saw her to her house down the street and walked home slowly, trying to think of way around this.  Trying to find a way to find an equal ground.

But by daybreak, Lissa was dead.

Chapter Three

I had more friends tell me that my relationship with my soul mate was becoming lethal within weeks of Lissa’s funeral.  And I was finding that she was keeping secrets from me – secrets I found around the place – like the odd garment with what looked like paint on it, but it was blood.

I didn’t have the stomach to ask if she had been out ‘dealing’ with my friends her own way.

Stupidly, I chose to ignore it.

Chapter Four

Even when I moved, my problems with my soul mate moved with me… so knew it wasn’t something my old friends did.

It was something about her.

She was the jealous type; and I should have seen this in her after the first month.  But I didn’t, and wouldn’t, see it.

I started to drink, so I didn’t have to go out with her.

Chapter Five

I got to a point where I had to sneak out to go anywhere, but my soul mate found me more times than not.  I’d walk out of a club with some people and there’d she be across the road under the street light staring at me.

Shit it felt like she was stalking me just to see where I was going… I think it was.  So, I reported her to the police, and they laughed at me, just as I thought they would.

I hated myself for doing it and drank more.

Chapter Six

It was hard living with something like this.

My friends were in danger of me ever speaking to them.

My family couldn’t visit without her intimidating them.

I noticed that, within a few months of moving into my new house, the neighbours were crossing the road to make sure they didn’t have to speak to me.

My soul mate was getting bored with me – I could tell.

She went out without me a lot and came home in the early hours of the morning… I’d hear the garage door close and the alarm switch on.

Chapter Seven

Pretty soon, I was hearing news reports of mystery where men were found dead at the local make-out places.  A certain type would frequent there every other night and leave at around 4am, leaving a body nearby.

This was something I was afraid of that she’d do.

It was time to move again.

Damn.

This time, I had to leave her behind.  I had to move without telling her anything… but how would I do it?

Chapter Eight

Within the week, I found a new place.  I had searched at work, explaining to my boss that my jealous ex-girlfriend couldn’t know where I was moving to and if it was okay to use my workplace as storage until the big move.

He understood perfectly, “Of course.  Sorry to see you go so soon.  Enjoy working in the San Fran office.”

Over the next month, I moved my stuff into boxes and to the office with a friend’s car.  Then, my moving day arrived on the last Friday of the month.

Chapter Nine

I had left my soul mate without so much as a goodbye.

I didn’t miss her.

I felt relief.

It was so good to be away from her.  I felt so free. 

San Francisco’s beautiful views and the bay were just lovely.  Within a few weeks, I met my neighbours and we all got along really well.  Parties were had on the roof and I enjoyed the gorgeous bookstores in the city.

But one day, I sat in the park, and could swear I saw my soul mate down near the water.  I shaded my eyes…

Chapter Ten

... and by the time I focused on the road along the water, I saw nothing but parked cars and other people.

But I was still spooked just a little.

“Hey, you okay?” Brian asked from the gazebo, “Who are you looking for?  We’re all here.”

“Yeah, I thought I saw an old friend from another city… somebody I broke up with.”

“Oooh… stalker.” He teased.

But I couldn’t shake my feeling.

That night, I opened my window to let in the warm Summer air.  I looked down to the street to find her parked… the bitch on wheels… my 1987 Toyota Celica Liftback

The Giver

I’m one of the last around my area.

Humans that is.

Yep, the vampires have taken over the Earth and there’s nothing that could be done about it.  Hunters like me simply gave up or were killed for trying.

The First found out who we were, where we lived and put tracking devices on us.  These damned things aren’t easy to remove either.  They were markers in our blood… and seeing it’s the 1970’s it’s not easy to find a scientist who isn’t a vamp now, who won’t go back to their Sire to dob us in.

So, the few humans who are left are turned into Givers.  We are paid to allow the vampires to chow down on us. 

Sometimes they’re good.

Most times, they’re not.

I have plenty of dead man’s blood in my car and on my person in case they get rude and take more than they’re allowed.  I also have a whopping big knife on me in case that doesn’t stop the bastard; and I end up chopping their damned head off.

Yeah, the Hunter in me is still hot and burning.

I hate the arseholes; probably as much as they hate me… why?

Well, by trade, I’m the absolute bitch of Vampire Hunters… I’m the one and only true blood line of Van Helsing; and they know it.

My name?  Tessa Van Helsing.

Tonight, I’m driving my Datsun Sunny to a place rife with vampires.  But I’m only there to feed one.  I hope I don’t get jumped on the way into their place; as they can hear our heartbeat from miles away.

I try to keep my nerves from being frayed, but it’s hard as the neighbourhood looks like it’s all hands on deck.  They’re walking around as though it’s daytime… as though this is all normal.

Some of them just want to be left alone to lead their lives as normal as possible, while others are just absolute dicks and will kill anything with a pulse and human DNA…and they’re the most dangerous ones around because you don’t know how rabid they are, not until they run at you.  Because it’s the calm ones that really do all the damage… they are too quiet.

I pull into a driveway where there’s a gate.  Before I get the window down, it opens from the middle just enough for my car to get in, and closes immediately to keep out anyone.  The walls are immensely high… I wonder if I’m getting outa here as the rest of the world is shut out.

Pulling up outside the front doors of the house, I get out of the car, feel for the three large syringes of dead man’s blood in the secret compartments in my jacket and the knife in hidden around near the small of my back and then pull my long jacket down, lock up the car and pocket my keys in my blue jeans. 

The front door opens and I climb the two or three steps to walk inside where He is waiting for me with his back to me staring at the blazing fireplace.

“So, you’re the Giver.” His voice is almost a whisper, “Could swear you’re a Hunter …”

“You’re the First.” I said.

He turns from it smiling, showing his hunger, “How smart you are.”

I want to kill him.  It’s in my blood after all, but I don’t, “Well, you called me here.”

Within a few quick strides, he had me against the wall, “Yes.  And nothing you do to me will rid me of this world.” Closing his eyes, he inhaled, “Not even those three syringes of dead man’s blood will help you Tessa.” His hand reached around my body and disarmed me of my weapon, showing it to me, “Or this.”

“What do you want?”

“You’re a relative of Van Helsing, you figure it out.” He stepped away as he handed my weapon back to me.

I didn’t know… honestly I didn’t.

“And don’t say you don’t know… you do.” He turned and looked at me, “You have the knowledge that I do, Tessa.  Where do you think your bloodline came from?”

“Germany.”

“No.”

“Holland.”

He smiled, almost laughing, “Nowhere near it.  Why do you think you’re the last one left?”

“I’m not the last one left.”

“Yes you are.” He nodded, “You have all the weapons and imagination to kill us off, and yet you don’t.” he offered me a seat by the fire and I took it, “Why is that?”

“I was trying to find you.”

“And instead it was I who found you.” He sat down across from me, “You don’t understand why nobody had tried to kill you lately?”

I was stunned as I started to think over what had happened over the recent weeks.  I had been a Hunter all my life.  All my friends and family were dead.  Every person outside my house were vampires and I had killed over two hundred in the last year, and still they kept on coming, and yet nobody had contacted me via mail or telephone… I looked at him, “Why am I the last one left?”

He smiled, “Because there are none left to kill for any humans.”

My gut turned, “What?”

“Where do you get the dead man’s blood?”

 I pulled one of the syringes from my jacket, and didn’t have a clue where I had gotten it from… then I realised I did.  A corpse in my house – a human I had attacked when they …

“Jesus,” I dropped the syringe and it bounced on the rug next to the chair, “Why don’t I remember?”

“Feeding does that.” He smiled, “Sometimes when you need it so badly, you block it out.”

My eyes flicker open, and I’m on a table.

“Damn, she woke up.” He swore under his mask, “You told me the vamp was properly asleep.”

“I’m sorry… I thought she was.  They need a lot of the shit to keep them under because they’re the undead.” A voice panicked.

I look around the lab struggling to get out.  I’m so damned hungry I can smell their blood.  Their human, delicious blood…

“Trying to find out how she came to think of herself as a Hunter – as something that doesn’t exist – is beyond us.” The doctor said, “But how she got turned into this creature which doesn’t exist…”

I break the restraints easily and grab his arm, “Don’t you go anywhere until you tell me something.”

He turned to look at me as he pulled the mask down showing a clean-shaven man, “What is it?”

“Exactly what year is it?”