The sunlight caressed the face of the sleeping girl, dancing among the strands of her long blond hair, running along the lines of her body. The girl's eyes fluttered lightly, hinting at the start of her day, and she rolled over onto her back, her arm splayed over the side of the small bed. The sounds of her mother busy in the kitchen echoed in the house, slowly followed by the wafting scent of breakfast.
With a loud thud, the girl fell out of her bed, slamming onto the hard wooden floors, shaking the old wooden boards. Slowly struggling out of the blankets and sheets that had become tangled in an unrestful sleep the girl emerged from the mess, blinking her eyes to the harsh light. Staggering towards the dresser, she threw on the first clothes she managed to get her hands on in a haphazard manner and staggered down the groaning stairs.
"Sit down Charlotte! We need to get some food into you," Charlotte's mother, Lila, explained, hurrying a plate full of eggs, toast, and sausage in front of Charlotte quickly followed by a cold glass of orange juice. Charlotte slowly dug into the food, her eyes barely managing to stay open, while her mother frittered around her, hurrying her up.
"Eat fast Charlotte! We're going to be late, your dad needs us there to support him!" Lila exclaimed, directing her out of the kitchen and up the stairs, Charlotte slowly shuffled into the bathroom, turning the shower on full blast, letting steam slowly fill the room. As Charlotte stepped into the shower, the scalding water burned the sleep from her body. As Charlotte showered she enjoyed the relaxing feeling of the pulsing water, trying to put off the feelings of dread she knew were going to be associated with this day.
"Power of the witches rise, Course unseen across the skies, Come to us who call you near, Come to us and settle here," a disembodied voice chanted drifting around in the bathroom. Charlotte stopped moving and listened for anything more.
"Mom…..?" she called out tentatively, convinced she had heard her mother, but no one answered back. Slightly creeped out, Charlotte turned back to her shower and continued her shower. Finishing up Charlotte hurried into her room, the sounds of her mother rushing around the house speeding Charlotte up. Slipping into a sundress and running a brush through her hair, Charlotte jogged down the stairs, the old wood creaking after her.
Reaching the landing right outside the front door, her mom guided Charlotte outside and into her behemoth SUV, a black hulking thing lurking in the driveway. Charlotte heaved herself into the machine just in time to close the door when her mother whipped out of the driveway backwards, putting it into drive in one swift, harsh movement. Speeding through the small town, Lila took harsh turns and drove a speed slightly under insane, but Charlotte was huddled in a small worn-out paperback she had pulled out from under the seat, used to the maniacal maneuvers of her mother.
Looking over at her daughter, Lila shook her head, in a mix of awe and almost shame, having no idea how her daughter had come about. Both Lila and her husband were image centered, their perfectly coordinated outfits were devoid of any wrinkles and their closets knew no such thing as clashing colors, but their daughter wore a progression of T-shirts from thrift shops with no apparent regard for fashion. Lila always wondered why her daughter never showed off her long, endless legs or the blonde hair that fell from Charlotte's heads in careless rings, usually being swept behind her shoulders.
Reaching a opulent gate, with graceful black bars connecting the posts in elegant lines the hulking SUV slowed to a stop as Lila reached out a punched a quick code into a gleaming number pad. Slowly, but with no creaks or groans, the gates swept open in a graceful path and once open wide enough the SUV gunned it. Speeding through a series of winding roads up a hill the SUV finally emerged from the tree lined road to a series of utter chaos.
In front of the mother and daughter was a imposing mansion-turned-country-club, but its decadence was no longer the forefront of its design, rather the flames rising in the blue sky and licking out of the windows, desperate for air, had taken the attention. People ran around the building like ants, screaming in clothes riddled with burn marks. Charlotte and Lila looked on in abject horror, the SUV idling on the edge of the forested road.
"Blood to blood, I summon thee. Blood to blood, return to me," the same disembodied voice chanted again. Charlotte swiveled her head quickly, peering at her mother.
"What was that? What did you say?" Charlotte demanded in a panicked voice.
"I…. I, uh, didn't say anything," Lila replied, still staring at the scene unfolding before them, tugging Charlotte back to it as well.
Charlotte, hearing a somewhat familiar scream, turned away from her mother and before she knew it she wrenched the door open and flung herself out of the car and into the chaos that was consuming everything.
"Dad! Dad!" Charlotte screeched, desperately searching for familiarity in the faces that ran passed her. Trying to run into the mansion she was met by a wall of pure heat, rolling out in ever increasing waves. Turning around she ran into a set of strong arms enveloping her and picking her up with no struggle. Looking up, Charlotte stared into the face of a middle aged man she had never seen before, running her way from the fire.
"You're running the wrong way, you need to get out of here," he barked in a gruff voice, still carrying her away. Screaming, Charlotte began to beat at his chest, trying to wrench herself from his grip, but sensing that he wasn't letting go she broke into rolling sobs, soaking the man's chest.
"Don't worry Charlotte, I'll take you home."