The Evil Family

"Ouch!" I yelled as another foot with a cleat hit my arm.

"Oh did that hurt bitch?" yelled Jon. Jon is a big, built dude with no brain; he thinks that two plus two equals thirteen or something. He has brown hair and brown eyes. He is 6'2", and he is also part of the football team, who is beating the living tar out of me right now. They live to beat me up if he is not at school. Where is Alice when I need her the most? I should explain: Alice is my best friend; we've known each other since Kindergarten and I wouldn't have it any other way. And the hard thing about is that not only do her and my family have problems but, my family teaches me how to fight and I choose not to…It would be giving them what they want.

"Hey, Jon get off of her," said one of his other teammates.

"Why?" asked Jon. As if the question had an answer already.

"Oh shit, Alice is coming dude!" He yelled back.

"She is early today, Dena. You are very lucky." said Jon.

"Hey! What do you think you are doing? Get off of her now!" said Alice as she ran to my aid. Alice is very kind but people think just because she is emo that she is a freak like me. She is very smart and is about 5'4" of tough and mean skin if you hurt her friends. Add to the kind nature, but vengeful attitude towards people who cross her or her friends, Alice has the most piercing and hypnotic green eyes I've ever seen. Plus, her long black hair seems endless, and when in the sun, her blood red streaks look as if she painted her hair with real blood. Sometimes, I almost gag…Almost.

"We were just having some fun. Right Dena?" asked Jon.

"Is that what you call fun? Beating me up every day before and after school! Oh yea that is soo much fun Jon!" I say, my voice dripping with sarcasm. Jon and his friends really looked at me like I just told them that the WWE was not real…Which it's really not.

"Well if you put it that way yes we do, freak." said Jon.

"She is not a freak, Jon. You really need to stop this." Alice said as she helped me to my feet. Thank the gods that Alice is my friend and not one the people that hate my guts. Alice and I have been friends since Kindergarten. She's been emo since middle when something happened to her. She still won't tell me what. When I look at her, I feel like we're polar opposites. I have very pale white skin, very bright blue eyes, wear gothic clothes, and combat boots. I've dressed this way since my parents went "on the road," as they called it. I live with my old brothers and sister. Between Alice and I, we think that they want to kill me or something.

~3_3~

After more yelling between Alice and Jon, Alice and I head to my house. After two stop signs and a gravel drive way, we were at my house. It is an old house built in the 1700s. To the people of this town, it is a scary place, although I wonder if they are more scared of my brothers and sister than the actual house. Just then, my idiot older brother decides to come out of his bordello of doom…

"Hi, little sister! Who was that? Alice?" asked James. Oh great just to add to my pain a headache to match.

"Yes, that was Alice. And no, she is not staying for dinner or sleeping over, James. After what happened last week, might I add, she is not sleeping over ever again." I said as mad as I can get right then. See the last time Alice stayed over, well let's just say that she believes in ghosts now.

"Dena, you know me too well. So what are you cooking for us tonight?" he asks.

"Nothing! Look at me! I just got beat up by Jon and his goons again because he was not in school today!" I yelled at him.

"Oh. Dena, my loving baby sister I'm so sorry. Please forgive me I didn't know that he was not there today," said James.

The mysterious he is Jair. Jair is the captain of the football team and he has brown hair and the richest hazel eyes ever. I have had a "thing", as my sister says, for him since 5th grade…that is when my power came. I don't know why but I feel like we should be together it is so freaky.

"Dena you are home!" yelled my sister, Coralline from the top of the house cleaning the roof. I don't really know why she does that.

Coralline, along with my other brother, Mark has blond hair. I don't know how that is because both my mom and dad have black and brown hair. Coralline doesn't like me. I think she is the one who told Jon about him not being at school today.

"Look," I say to James, "tell Mark that I'll be working late tonight. The hospital is short on staff so they are calling me and two others in to help," I said. See, I work part time at the local hospital, St. John's. I get money but my brothers and sister take it from me once I get inside the house.

"Do you need the car?" said a deep sad voice.

"What the hell, Mark?" I yelled as I jumped back like 4 feet.

"Sorry, Dena. But do you need the car or not?" said Mark. Mark has sad eyes and a very sad voice.

"Yes. Thank you." I said. I have had my license since I'm sixteen. I go over to the car and begin to leave, but as I back out of the driveway, James comes running out of the house. "What is it James?" I asked.

"You also forgot this," he says, holding a pill jar.

"I don't need that. I have not needed one of those things since 7th after I learned how to keep my powers in order," I said.

"Ok, do not get into trouble," my brother retorts before going back inside.

"Ok, I won't," I said. See, the pills keep my power in my control, thankfully. When I arrive at the hospital, I'm glad it's on time. Thank the gods, because if I was late again they were going to kill me. I begin my rounds like normal and after I finish one of the older guests who is to walk in but Jair. "Mmmmm… Do you know where Ms. Jones room is?" he asked the nurse at the front desk.

"Room 214. There should be someone in there." said the nurse.

"Ok. Thank you." He said. My job was done so I walked out of the room. The door closed behind me. I stopped by the nurse's office to get my pay check for that week; after that I walked down the hall to the parking lot. When I got to my car Jair came out through the door.

"Hey are you on the clock?" He asked in a pained voice as if he had run after me.

"No, but what is it?" I said as I turned around.

"Wait, you work here?" he asked.

"Yes so what? Is there a problem?" I asked.

"It is my grandma. She is not moving!" he yelled at me.

"OK, I'm coming!" I yelled as I run up to the room. When I got there she was ok.

"She looks fine to me," I said.

"Are you the young woman who has been taking care of me?" she asked.

"Yes. Is there anything you need, miss? Your grandson came and got me saying that you were not moving. Are you ok?" I asked.

"Yes I am. Thank you so much for helping me. What is your name?" she asked.

"Dena. Dena Delacore." I said. She looked between me and Jair.

"She is the one" she said.

"What? What is the world are you talking about?" I said.

"I have been dead for a day now and they don't know. You and my grandson are the only people that can see. So you both have the power." She said.

"Dena why didn't you tell me?" he asked.

"Tell you what? That I have the same power, or even more than, your family and mine put together. Why? Because your "friends" would beat me up even more than they already do." I said. That was first time I said that to him. With that I ran out the door to my car and went home. I had a very bad dream that night about Jair being killed by my older brothers and sister. It was not till later that I know it was the future that I was seeing.

"Hi, Dena! What's up?" asked Alice as she walked up to me.

"Nothing much. Did you do Mr. B's project yet? That is due this week?" I asked. I still had last night event still in my head. I hardly got any sleep the night before. The look he gave me almost made me want to cry.

"No, and that is due this week?" asked Alice.

"Yes, he said that last Friday, Alice. Come on did you go to sleep in his class again?" I asked as we walked up the steps to the school.

"No! Maybe….yes! Stop with the questioning, Dena. BTW how is the job coming down at the hospital?" asked Alice.

"Fine!" I said but I think I sounded mad when I said it, because she backed up.

"Ok, no need to eat me for asking." She said.

"Sorry I had a bad day yesterday things went from bad to very bad. I had taken care of his grandma last night. She says she is dead but I know the difference," I said as we entered the school. Just as I walked inside something hit me the back of my head. I looked down and there was a note in a form of a paper ball. I opened it up a few minutes later beside my locker.

It said:

Things are going to different from now on. I told you to stay away from him but you did not listen to me! I have power that you do not even know, dear sister.

Love,

James, Mark, and Coralline

After I read the note Jair came by my locker. "Dena we need to talk now!" he said.

"What is up with this damn note that you put in my locker. Just because I scared you last night that doesn't give you the right…." His voice started to go off in a different place.

"What did it say?" I asked.

"Here!" he said as he walked out of the hall. It said:

Dear Jair,

I know that things have been rocky between you and me but you are going to die. I don't about last night or any of the time we spent together. I have other things to do so tell your friends to stop beating me up every day. Oh I almost forget I challenge you to a power fight.

Your Friend, Dena

I would never say nothing like this! I think it was one of my brothers or my sister that did this note. I hate how they can do this to me. More than that I have to tell Jair the truth about this note.

"Help! Help me someone!" yelled Jair. I look around and realize that sometime during my realization of who wrote the note, and my thoughts after, that Jair had disappeared. I curse under my breath.

"I'm coming!" I yelled back. When I got to Jair he had blood from head to toe. Someone attacked him! Someone that wanted him died.

"Hang on, Jair. I can help you." I said.

"Dena I know now that it was not you that wrote that note. It was a dude named James." he said as I started to heal him with my power.

"This is your power? It is really handy that you have this. You can heal anyone that you want to," he said as blood came out of his mouth. This is starting to get worse by the minute.

"Yea, but it takes more power then you know. Wizards like you have less power than me. I cannot heal myself, though, which is the only downfall," I said as the healing stopped and he was sitting on the floor. Today was going to go downhill I just know it.

"Look I have to go. This has my brothers and sister written all over it. James, the one that attracted you, he is my older brother. I'm so sorry that he did this to you, Jair." I said as I got up and started walking down the hallway. Sometimes I wish that I was the only kid, but that is what I get for having evil, powerful parents that hate me for being nice. My mom and dad have no nice bones in their bodies but I guess they had to have some because they loved James, Mark, and Coralline. They just hate me because I'm the nice part of them.

As I walk up the driveway to my house, having skipped school, a bright red car pulled up beside me I looked inside and saw….and saw….saw….

"Mom? Dad? What are you doing here?" I asked more to myself than my parents.

"James said that you have fallen in love with one of the wizards that was born to kill you, dear. If you did we will have to have a talk with that young man." said my mom.

"Yes that is right. Maybe we could have him for dinner," said my dad as he parked the car.

Great Ray and Sue are going to kill the boy that is going to save me from them! This is just peachy! I have to get to of this before something happens. I have to find a way out of this and fast before them…

"Look who I found outside, Dena. Jair is here for the dinner party." Said James as he walked in holding Jair by his neck. His shirt still had blood on it from the fight at school. This is not how I pictured him at the house. James walked over to where I was at and dropped Jair at my feet.

"What, got nothing to say? I had to do it Dena or he would have taken you away from me. Away from us. We are your family you are a part of us." said James.

"I'm nothing like you! I would never hurt my sister's friends! Make the boys beat her up or anything that you guys do to me! I am the only one around that cares about the word family and you are not it!" I yelled as I picked Jair off the floor. The room was silent the only thing that you can hear is the breathing of the other people in the room.

"Are you ok? Did he hurt you again?" I asked has we headed for the door.

"No. I think I broke a rib or two other than that I'm fine." he said as we went out the back door to the forest. I have to get him away and fast! They would get over the yelling in a minute or two.

"Look I know a place where we can go and they do not know about but you have to believe in me ok?" I said as we began to run away from the house and my killer family inside it. I know that I wouldn't be able to come back here without being killed. I would have to keep running and don't look back. I know that I'm not going to see Alice again for a very long time. This is what I have to do to keep him safe from them.

"This is all my doing. I should have known that this would happen if I got to know you, Dena." said Jair before he fell asleep. It took about a good hour before we got to the hiding place of mine. A few hours later I hear him moving around and getting up.

"You are awake. That is great! I thought that I didn't get to you in time." I said as Jair walked into the next room.

"Is this the place you were telling me about before I was out of it?"

"Yes. I used to come here when my family tried to get me to do something that I did not want to do. This is my home away from home." I said.

"So this is where you go when they did their magic? I had to go away from my mom and dad too. They said that your family was evil but you are not like them are you?" he said as I cooked some food on the oven in the small rundown kitchen. This is how we are going to live for now.

"Yes and I didn't go away from them I taught myself what to do. No I'm not like them at all. If your mom and dad thought that from even a minute they are so wrong." I said. Ok so maybe I was in bad mood or something. Then there was a knock at the door. I went to go answer it then stopped.

"Run! Now! They are here and they are mad!" I yelled as we ran to the back door.

"What how did they find us so fast?" Jair asked.

"I think that they used the tracking spell with black magic. That is the only way they could have found this place." I said as we ran through the woods to the road. This is soo not what I planned to happen this year of school. I really hate doing this but it is the only to keep Jair save.

As we ran through the woods something came at us and we had to hit the ground. Lucky for us it was not a tracking one. This is going to be a big battle for us.

"Keep on running I'll take care of them." I said as one tried to hit me in the back.

"No I'm not go anywhere without you! I love you too much!" Jair yelled as I pushed him to the ground.

"Dena you have been a very bad girl. You need to be in timeout for good." yelled James somewhere in the woods but he sounded too close to us for me to feel safe.

"Look, I have seen James kill people it is not a very good place to be. If you don't go now, you will die right here! I love you too, but if you die…all our hard work getting here would be down the tube! I can take James and the rest. It is my mom and dad that will kill you. They don't care about life not one bit!" I said as we got up to our feet.

"Ok I'll go, but you have to be here than I get back with help." Jair said as he started to run away from the house.

Ok so the fight was short. I had more power than they had. I could not kill them because they are my family, evil but still my family. After one spell they were going to be out for a while. I had to find Jair and fast. My mom and dad were still out here somewhere.

I found Jair out cold on the ground about to be killed by my mom who had a knife that was really, really big to me. It was a machete with a long handle.

"Stop it now!" I yelled. Time stopped in mid- kill. I had to get the machete away from my mom and make both of them go to sleep. As I did this Jair, started to wake up and he looked at me. I think he didn't know that I had this much magic in me. He got up and started to the road. I put my parents in stone so they couldn't follow or hurt my friends; I did the same with my older brothers and sister.

~3_3~

It has been a five years now and I'm living with Jair and his family till I can find a place away from here and take Jair with me. I had a dream last night; it was about a girl who lived in Bunn, North Carolina. I think we are heading there next to find more witches and wizards like us. I have no home to go back to. I burned down the house with everything in it, except a spell book that was given to me by my family before they did this to me.

If only time were not going by so slow. Jair left a few minutes ago with his parents to go shopping. Such a human and simple thing to do, but for people like us…It was a risk we took each day. I miss my friend, Alice, and wonder whatever became of her. Did she graduate? Is she in college? Is she happy finally? I ponder these thoughts until Jair returns. After that, we work on some more spells until neither of us can stand upright. We go to bed afterwards and sleep until the morning.

I still have my night terrors, but I've learned to control them somewhat. I don't wake up screaming anymore…I just gasp and wake up in a cold sweat. If only Alice were here, so I could talk to her about these dreams. I've often thought about calling her, or emailing her, but at the last minute, I chicken out. Oh, how I wish I could just see her once more. I hope she is all right…