Book 1 of Our Brother Chronicles
It had started as a bright sunny day; the wind was barely blowing through the trees, as Jenny jumped rope on the sidewalk. For the first time in seven years Halloween was on a Friday. And on that day the denizen of the neighborhood of Brotherly Woods would dress up and get candy from the neighbors. It was Halloween!
"Cinderella, dess'd in yella went up stairs to kiss a fella by mistake she kissed a snake! How many doctors did it take, one…. Two… three…--" she hit the jump rope and stumbled forward towards the cement pavement. When two huge arms enveloped her, saving her soft seven year old face from pain. "Thank you Magic Man!" And she was back to jumping rope.
Kevin was walking home he was trying to avoid the bullies from the subdivision over. They always showed up on the 5th block four minutes after five. It was 5:10, and Kevin was just approaching the corner of the 4th block. A gust of wind blew through his dirty blond hair it was already disheveled. Kevin Tessler was a 8th grader at the area middle school. He was in all of the honors classes, and bullied because of that. Looking up, he sees the five young boys that usually gave him a beating.
"Hey, look here! It's shrimpy Kevin; I heard he likes Cynthia now. Oooooh, no chance of that!" All of the bullies started laughing. Kevin's face turned a beet red. There was no way, that the son of an Emir could ever have been teased, or bullied back home. Now, in America, he was teased because of race, and his religion.
Shadows crept across the sidewalk; the boys were approaching Kevin, slowly but surely snickering all the way. What was different with the 4th or 5th block, the 5th block was not apart of Brotherly Woods, and instead Rolling Hills. He had stopped walking, and waited for the first punch. Closing his eyes he stopped breathing, nothing happened. No punch, slowly he opened his eyes.
"Thanks Magic Man, I owe ya one." He murmured, he almost heard.
"So does everyone…."
Camilla couldn't take it anymore. Her life was super stressed, boyfriend, school, and her family. They were all pressuring her all were too stately. She had begun to sequester herself in her room. No one could get to her; she was tired of her mendacious friends. Tonight they were going to wish they had been more felicitous towards her. She held the knife to her throat. Life wasn't getting any better.
"Camille, Camille. Don't ruin your life I like your pretty face. It keeps me going. Don't upset your big brother. I protect us. I protect us all."
It was 7 pm, and all of the children of Brotherly Woods were getting dressed. They had all pilfered through their parent's wardrobe to find costumes. Somehow, they always knew to dress up as their parents, each and every year. While Jenny was in her parent's bedroom. The wind brushed through her hair,
"Put on the dress, the pearls and you will be just like herrr." The voice sang sweetly in her ear. Smiling, she grabbed the shimmering long wedding dress, and draped the pearls around her neck, for being so small. The dress was not big on her.
"The sweetest moment, when the sister gets married…" she knew he would always watch over her, he was her big brother. Jenny smiled sweetly in a sadistic way, knowing quite well all that was planned.
7:30 pm Kevin was pacing in his room. He was dressed as his father, who had cloths from his grandfather who still lived back home. No one talked about it, home was here. Brotherly Woods, home, home, home. He began sobbing, sliding to the floor. How could he wear this!? He, he was committing treason if he wore these cloths! He'd be apart of the old insurgency, the old ones coming back. Oh No Magic Man wouldn't like that at all. Kevin ran back into his parent's room and changed into a business suit and tie. Just like last year.
"Good choice my brother. Very marvelous choice."
Camille stood in front of the mirror, she loved her big brother, and he kept her from going over the edge. He reeled her back in, soothing voice, soft touch. Everything, so she was going to make sure, this year was like the one seven years prior. She was sixteen, seven years ago she had been nine. The first member… Camille believed that, thinking about her being first was being a braggadocio. And tried not to rub it in the younger children's faces. Holding the mourning gown, she took out the black gloves and mourning hat. Laying them on the bed she smiled to herself. Magic man, her brother would be so pleased with her.
At nine she had worn the wedding dress, connecting herself with the magic man, every young one who was conscripted had to dress as if they were unsoiled products, as in unmarried, or nude. Now, since she was the oldest she went as a mourner as if she had to expiate for her sins against her beloved.
All the children of the neighborhood walked to the center of the long street that went all the way through the neighborhood. A huge rostrum had been built and carried out into the center so the chosen ones could preach. The larger boys of the neighborhood coerced the younger ones to behave and stay silent, unless told to repeat certain lines.
The wind began to pick up, the skies darkening. It was now 8:30, Kevin walked out from his house, his parents sound asleep. He wore war paint under his eyes, like every other year. His suit looked brand new, as if he had just bought it. But in truth it was five years old. He walked very orotund, children would make way for him. This was where he was respected, in Brotherly Woods. Because siblings respected one an other.
Camille, slowly took a step out the door. One leg at a time, slowly bending the knee she swung her hips over to the platform. She too was wearing war paint, only white. Contrasting her raven black hair and her black mourning dress, her body was mimetic to that of a model not of a young, innocent girl.
The wind was picking up, blowing at about 60 mph. That of a small hurricane, but the children stood their unfazed, even though the gowns and veils oscillated in the 'breeze'. Jenny almost sprinted from her house on the corner to the developing crowd. Her wedding dress fit perfectly, no curves on her age-defied body. Her hair in tight ringlets down to the small of her back, blood red war paint under her turquoise eyes. She dashed down to the stage, huffing and puffing when she got there.
When all three of the children reached the growing crowd there was a boy, about ten years old standing on the platform. There is a rule, written in stone, it is never stand on the platform unless the big brother chooses you. This boy was not wearing any paint on him. Nor was he wearing appropriate cloths. He stood there, in a dinosaur outfit, hollering about the magic man not being real, that this, this gathering was poppycock. Along with the garbage he was talking he was prevaricating to the young inducible minds. Kevin, upon hearing the treasonous words rushed upon the stage and tackled the boy. Camille stepped up graciously and rose her dainty gloved hand to the audience.
"My brothers and sisters. Why do you listen to this discordant boy?! He spreads lies about our protector, our big brother who watches over us always. Who saves us from the old ways? The ancient ones? Our brother does, let us excoriate this boy, throw him out." And then proceeded to vaunt about the magic man. How amazing he was, and that he was such an amazing over seer.
At such a volatile rate the wind had taken the boy and thrown him off the platform. Then continued to push him down the street, winds picking up faster and faster, the boy rolling down the street, a sinuous path. Blood beginning to spill from his face and tears in his skin. This was a deviation from the normal, no one had ever seen someone killed. Except for three of them.
"Our…. Sister is correct. Why, why doubt me? I have protected you and saved you from everything and every person ever since you've lived here. Never forget that, you owe me your allegiance." And with that the magic man disappeared, of course he was never there. Only his voice was heard.
Suddenly the children around the stage were ablaze. First their feet, singed to the bone, screams of terror and agony filled the windy silence. Then their legs were engulfed in the white blaze of hate. The screams grew louder and more pained. Finally their whole body was consumed by an inferno. Skin melting from muscle, muscle crisping and coming off the bone. Bone becoming dust. Dust, being blown away by the wind.
All that was left was, Kevin, Camille, and Jenny. Standing on the rostrum, they smiled at each other. Licking her lips Jenny glanced around her.
"Oooh, lets catch the dust in our jars to make the paste for next year, soon more children shall come. The promise of safety can never be turned down." Her eyes hungrily searching for charred flesh.
"Whoever says when hell freezes over, will have to wait a long time. Because sooner than later brother will help us turn their world into ours." And the three children scurried off, they were hungry and little children are always the healthiest choice on Halloween.