Excerpt: Ayala Audra Montegrove

As I shut my eyes I could hear Ryan talking to me in a soothing voice and I found myself going into a trance. Soon the darkness of my eyelids began to change again, but this time it was a more coherent scene.

There were three kids, twin boys and a little girl, playing by a river. The boys looked to be a little younger than ten years old, and the girl couldn’t be over the age of seven. I could see myself watching the scene, I was standing there watching, not just a viewer like at a movie. The girl was chasing the boys, and all three were covered in mud. She slipped in a mud puddle and I quickly ran over to help her up, but as I knelt down my hand passed right through her arm. She got right back up and kept running after the boys and I got back up and blinked. Apparently I was just a spectator for all of this.

“Tobi! I found that frog fair and square! Mom will never let you keep it!” The girl jumped on one of the boys, tackling him to the ground. As they hit the ground a large green frog bounced out of the little boys hands and right back into the river.

“Aw man! Look what you did now,” the boy grumbled as he pushed the girl off and got back up. The boys twin walked over and helped the girl up. While the little girl had bright blonde hair, the boys both had light brown hair, but all three appeared to be siblings.

“Well, that’s what you get,” the little girl huffed and crossed her arms. She suddenly ran over and started to splash Tobi with river water, giggling.

“Water fight! Leo! I need help!” Tobi laughed and ran into the river to get more water than his sister. The other boy smirked and ran into the water then turned and started to splash Tobi. The girl shrieked with laughter.

“Mom and Dad are going to murder you three.” All three kids, and myself, turned to gaze upon the new comer. He had to have been an older brother, because he looked almost exactly like the twins, only with darker hair, and he looked to be just entering his teens. “You’d better get inside and take a bath before they see you.” He was definitely an older brother, taking charge of his three younger siblings right away, and with experience on his side.

There was some grumbling and they all shuffled inside. The little girl turned and quickly rubbed some stray mud into Tobi’s face, then took off running, giggling the whole way inside.

The scene changed and I found myself inside of this house this time, inside of a bedroom. It must have been the parents bedroom. There was a large King sized bed dressed in solid colored sheets and blankets, and there weren’t any kids toys lying around. Across from the bed there was a vanity with a large mirror, and sitting in front of it was who must have been the mother of the four kids. She was brushing out her long like brown hair, hair that no doubt reached her waist, a little longer than my own hair.

I turned when I heard little feet run and the little girl from before ran into the bedroom. She seemed to be a year or two older and the woman turned and smiled. She picked the girl up and put her in her lap. “Did your father make lunch?”

“Uh huh!” The little girl nodded happily. “He made us some mac and cheese, with his special apple sauce that isn’t apple sauce.” Her mother chuckled lightly and nodded, using the brush to start brushing her daughter’s hair.

“And where did your brother runs off to today?” She smiled as the little girl reached forward to look at a necklace that was sitting on her vanity.

“I dunno,” she shrugged as she inspected the vanity counter. “I think Liam went up to his room, and Leo and Tobi went outside to play by the river. Liam spends a lot of time in his room, and whenever I walk by I see him reading books. But they aren’t the good books that I read, the ones with the princesses, and the warriors and pixies!”

“Oh no, Liam’s books wouldn’t be very good to you, I’m afraid.” Her mother smiled and finished brushing her hair. She grabbed a small hair clip from the Vanity and with the skill of a mother swept up the little girls hair and clipped it securely to the back of her head. She then took the necklace that the little girl was eyeing and secured it around her daughters neck. “There you go, all set.”

“I almost look like you now!” The girl giggled and turned in her mothers lap to hug her. When she pulled away my eyes widened at the necklace that the little girl was now wearing. It looked almost exactly like mine, only hers didn’t have jewel.

As my hands went up to my own necklace the scene changed once again. It was a different room, their library with books lining the wall, but it was the same house. The mother herded two of the boys, Leo and Liam, into the corner farthest away from the door while her husband followed her in quickly.

“Kim, we have to leave,” the man spoke softly but with urgency. “If we stay any longer he’ll find us.”

“I’m not leaving without all of my children, Jonathan.” She turned to look at him with fear and determination in her eyes.

“I’ll find them, I promise, I just need you to leave with the boys. Please, Kimberly.” He took her hand and looked at her, his own fear for his family starting to show.

“Find them, Jon, find our angels.” Jonathan nodded and squeezed her hands before letting go of them. He turned around towards the door and froze, then stepped in front of his family. I quickly turned towards the door and my eyes widened.

A cloaked figure stood in the doorway, eyes glowing red, a smirk on his face with fangs protruding from underneath his top lip, with darkened tanned skin. He started to laugh and I felt several shivers run down my back. He was pure evil, I could feel it. I could also feel his power radiating from him, and this wasn’t even happening in present time.

“Thank you for making it just that much easier for me to find the family.” His voice was low and gravely. “Now, unless my count is off, there are two of you missing. Oh wait, I meant one.” His arm swiftly swept part of his cloak away from his side, revealing Tobi. I heard Kimberly’s gasp as my own breath seemed to falter. He was lying on his side, and on closer look one would see the little trail of blood that dripped form his mouth.