Evil Rises, Darkness Falls

Chapter 1

Mandy tossed and turned in bed, remembering. Dreaming about that night fifteen years earlier. The night she lost her last tooth.

"Don't peek!" Her friend Megan had warned her.

Megan had lost her last tooth that day too. Megan and Mandy did everything together, and because of this, their "firsts" and "lasts" always seemed to coincide; first kisses, first boyfriends, first dates, and then there were last days of school, last time having baby-ish birthday parties, everything came down to that last tooth.

As she slept, Megan could hear that gargling as though it was right in the room with he as she slept. There was a shriek in the real world that shattered the silence of the house, but in her dream, she heard it too. Just as it echoed through her head, that ghastly white mask appeared in her mind.

She sat up in bed, sweating right through her tank top and panting as her heart raced. Down the hallway, she could hear her little sister screaming. With a quick glance at the clock that read 3:30 AM, she stood up and headed down the hallway, turning on all the lights as she went.

Mandy slept with the lights on. When she was younger, she discovered that light was the only thing that kept it away. After she saw it, it was only light that could save her.

"Mae!" She sat on the side of her sister's bed," Honey, what's wrong?" She asked, as Mae threw her arms around her and broke down into tears against her chest," Honey, talk to me. Tell me what's wrong."

Mae had been having nightmares for weeks now. She'd cry when Mandy put her in bed and beg her to stay until she fell asleep to keep "her" away. Whatever it was that she was afraid of, Mandy seemed to keep it away.

"She was here!" Mae exclaimed through her tears, clinging to her older sister, knowing that only she could protect her.

"Darling, who was it?" You've been talking abou tthis person for weeks now. Who is she?"

Mae stopped crying abruptly and sat back, away from Mandy. She looked up at her; little girl's blue eyes glaring into her older sister's.

"You know who she is." Mae whispered before jolting backwards, out of nowhere. She began convulsing violently, her eyeballs rolling back in her head, and a spitty foam coming out of her mouth.

"Oh my God! Mae! Mae!"

Mandy remembered back in school when they had talked about seizures in Health. You weren't supposed to touch the person, or try to make them stop having a seizure. Mandy knew just to sit there with her until it was over. Mae was flailing around and spitting one minute before she abruptly stopped. She looked right into Mandy's eyes and snarled," She's... here..."

Mandy let the tears fall from her eyes as she looked down t her now passed out sister. She knew that she had to get her to the hospital. She checked her pulse, which was beating steadily, and then lifted her small body into her arms. She turned on all the lights as she went, and once outside, she ran for the car, and turned on the lights in that too. Mandy never went out at night, but tonight she had to.

"We're going to get to the bottom of this, ok?" She assured both herself and Mae, even though Mae was passed out and couldn't hear her," I promise. We're going to figure this out."

"Mum. Dad. Call me back. I realize that because of your busy schedules you can't take interest in your children, but I need you here. It's Mae. Look, whatever you're doing there, it needs to be put on hold. Catch the next flight to Australia please." She hung up, and began pacing back and forth. The doctors hadn't come out yet, and she wondered how bad Mae was. Something was seriously wrong, and she knew that.

She sighed heavily and pulled more money out of her wallet. She dropped it into the phone, and dialed another number. The phone rang and rang, and she wondered if anyone would pick up. Finally, after what seemed like ages, a male voice picked up on the other end.

"Yo." He said, sounding blazed.

"Hi, um... is Roxie there?" She asked, hearing laughter and rock music blaring in the background.

"Hold." He replied in that same dull, tired tone. Then all of a sudden, he was exclaiming," Hey! Would the sexiest red headed Australian rock star in the room stand up!"

"Woo!" All the voices yelled.

She heard her younger sister's laughter through the phone, and then her voice saying," Speak now or forever hold your peace. Who the fuck is this?"

Mandy sighed and replied," It's me."

"Me? Who's me?" Roxie asked, her voice slurred.

"Mandy. Your sister." Mandy squeezed the bridge of her nose, and continued," You need to come home. I need you here."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Roxie exclaimed," Mandy, I'm not going anywhere. I just started playing in this club here, and they love me. I'll bet I can get a record deal. And the weed? Australian weed is shit compared to this stuff. They have a drinking age, which sucks, but hey... one more year, eh? Besides the guys usually just bring it, and we party all night long."
There were more cheers as she said this, and she started laughing again.

"Rox..."

"And my accent is so popular over here! It's like a dude magnet!" Roxie interrupted her, not even having heard her begin to speak in the first place.

"Roxie! That's all very well, but I need you to come home! It's Mae."

"Who's on the phone?" A male voice asked.

"My average looking sister."

"Oh." The guy replied, sounding disappointed.

"I'm kidding! She's hot, she just doesn't know it."

"Ha ha, Roxie. Look, unlike you, I don't have time to strut around in cute outfits and show off my boobs and ass, ok? I have to play mother to our sister. Not that I mind. Oh, all of this is irrelevant! Just come home!"

"Why?" Roxie whined," I love it here! Why are you trying to drag me away?!"

"Because I need you here! Mae is in the hospital!"

"So call Mum and Dad? Where are the hippies anyway?"

"Hopefully being raped and pillaged in a third world country so they stop thinking that the world is such a hunky-dory place."

"That was so harsh, Mandy! I've never heard you talk like that."

"I didn't mean it! Please just get on a plane and I'll see you in a day!"

"I don't wanna!" Roxie continued whining. There was a snorting sound, and Mandy rolled her eyes.

"Could you stop snorting for five seconds and listen to what I'm saying to you? Mae... is in the hospital. I... need you here." She said, speaking slowly so she could understand," Are you grasping all of this?"

"Yes!"

"Mae is having seizures and nightmares. She thinks she sees something coming for her."

"So? She's three years old, she has an active imagination."

Mandy laughed in annoyance at that, and squeezed the bridge of her nose, It's her. Roxie. The tooth fairy."

There was a clang on the other end, and then Roxie came back, whispering in terror," I am going to need like, ten lines of cocaine if you are going to talk about her."

"You'd be dead if you snorted ten lines of cocaine, sweet pea." Mandy replied sarcastically.

"Exactly!" Roxie whispered back fearfully," Don't fucking talk about her, Mandy! If you don't talk about her, she'll stay away! She hasn't found us since we moved halfway across the world. God, now I do want to get out of the US. That's where she was. When we lived in Darkness Falls... Darkness Falls is in the US."

"Aww, thanks. I didn't know that." She replied, still being sarcastic.

"Mandy, don't you remember what she did? Do you remember Megan?!"

"Of course I remember Megan!" Mandy exclaimed in a loud whisper as tears threatened to fall from her eyes," I remember more than you do! I feel it more than you do! Megan peeked and didn't move into the light fast enough. She didn't realize that the thing wouldn't come into the light."

"Neither did we."

"It was a chance. And I've never been in the dark since. I'm still alive. What about you?"

"Uh-uh. After that night when I lost my last tooth, and you made me sleep in the bathroom with the light on, and I saw her anyway... I'll never be in the dark again. You know, try explaining that to those guys who like to fuck with just candles lit!"

"That is so irrelevant, Roxie. I have to stop this. I have to stop her before she hurts Mae. No one is going to hurt Mae. If it's the last thing I'll do, I'm going to protect her. She's coming for Mae, and I have to stop her."

Roxie was silent for a long time, and Mandy wondered if she had hung up the phone.

"I'll be there as soon as I can. God, I pray you're wrong, Mandy. But if you're not, how are we going to handle this?"

Mandy sighed again, and shook her head," I don't know. Just get here, please. Just come home."