Take Back the World – Collaboration Fiction

~

Four hours later, Anika arrived in the neighborhood of her childhood home. At the stop sign, she let the truck idle for a moment, eyeing the neighborhood for a moment. She recognized the police van immediately. An unmarked white van parked at the corner of the street.

She reached for the cell phone in her purse, but stopped, remembering she turned it off. While there were probably many ways for her to be followed, she didn’t want to risk it. Not to mention, she didn’t want to hear from Jasper. Not yet, anyways.

She took a breath and made a left turn, away from her home and away from the van that waited for her. She needed to get to closer, but needed to avoid those prying eyes.

As she passed the creek that cut across the neighborhood, and had an idea. Sneaking in and out as a teenager without getting caught would finally pay off.

~

30 minutes later, she managed to make her way through the creek and into her own backyard with mud caked on her shoes and bottom of her jeans. As she crouched behind the bush that hid the broken fence she knew so well, she listened a moment for any extra noise. A noise that would reveal who truly watched the house.

She heard the backdoor of the house open and the door slam. She gasped softly and recognized her father standing on the porch and facing the backyard. Aged by several years now, he looked just like he did the day she left home. She took her own life and her parents in her hands, but she grabbed a small stone from the ground and threw it out onto the grass.

The soft thump noise was enough to catch his attention. His eyebrows furrowed and he searched across the yard. His eyes stopped right where she sat. His eyes crinkled with a smile and quickly faded as he realized the danger of the situation. He stepped onto the grass and acted like he was eyeballing the growth of his plants. He even squatted and felt the leaves.

Finally, he got close enough to her.

“What are you doing here? You could get yourself killed. Don’t you know who is watching the house? – “

“Dad, not now. Save the lecture. Where’s….” She’d known of its existence nearly her whole life. How could she just ask about it, like it was…”the amulet? I need it.”

He stood from his squatting position and inhaled sharply. “I don’t know.” She had stared at that face her whole life and knew when he was lying.

“Dad…”

“No, Anika.”

“Dad…”

“Anika…”

“It’s my life or theirs. You choose…”

“I promised. Them…I never…why did you have to get involved with those people?” His eyes drifted off. “I fought for you to live a normal life. Then you got into your teen years…stupid rebellion and found those…people to hang around. It wasn’t long before they realized you weren’t going to follow the rules.”

“The rules?”

He squatted back near her. “The rules that had been created to keep the Vampyres from the humans. The stupid rebellion you joined was created just so those lines could be blurred. Why do you think that Jasper created this.”

“And the police?”

“Know about it. Always have known about it. And work very hard to make sure those lines are never destroyed. But then the Vampyres realized how much they would like for those barriers destroyed too.”

“Dad, I need the amulet.”

“I can’t give it to you.”

“Dad….”

“Do you know what will happen if this ends up in the wrong hands? It destroys everything.”

“Destroys everything? Jasper says the amulet protects – “

He scoffed. “Jasper says…what else did he tell you so you would get involved?” He reached into his shirt and pulled out the necklace he kept hidden underneath. A large jewel – very similar to the one she thought she stole – hung on the end of it.

She gasped. “The amulet.”

He held in his hands and gazed into it. “I was entrusted to protect it. To make sure it never ends up in the wrong hands.”

“And what would the right hands do with it?”

He took it off his neck and handed it to her. “I think you can figure it out.”

~

By the time she returned to her truck, the sun was almost gone from the sky. The old truck provided little protection against the Vampyres she feared were just outside and waiting for her. Her initial plans had been changed just a bit. She hadn’t expected to have this in her hands so soon. Even more she didn’t realize she wouldn’t want to return with it.

Figure it out? She thought of her father’s words. Something within this amulet needed to be activated. The top of the amulet looked like the lid you may find on a perfume bottle. As if with one twist, and…

Silently, she said a prayer. A prayer to…she wasn’t sure what exactly.

And twisted.

~

A flash of light. Screeches and cries as if bodies burning alive yelled into the night. Her voice among them.

~

….is she awake…


….how did she know…


….it’s all over….


~

When she woke up, she wasn’t sure where she was exactly. Butterfly prints on the wall. A familiar window. She was home. In her own bedroom. She looked around and there he was resting in the rocking chair by her closet.

Xav.

“What are you doing here? What happened?”

Xav’s eyes blinked open and smiled. “You did it. Why do you even ask?”

“What did I do?”

“The amulet…” Xav stood up and maneuvered to the bed and sat down at the edge of her bed. The one with cloud prints. “…you know the energy that the Vampyres take from the humans?”

She nodded.

“The amulet protects it. The energy has been sealed again.”

 She looked away and smiled. And then a thought…”And Jasper?”

Xav shook his head. “He left…no idea what happened to him…”

~

And somewhere in the darkness someone watched and waited. The seal had returned. The protection strengthened. But one day…they would have their chance and take back the world they once thought might be theirs.