Introduction

 

Salamor hovered over a sleeping homeless man in the street.  He never understood how the primates never took care of each other if they were supposed to be full of love for their God.  He could smell the odor of urine-soaked clothes.  Even though he was a Demon Myst, the smell made him sick.  He fully understood why Vandor was dedicated to the Dark to regain control of the primates.  They didn't know how to handle themselves.  The Dark would rule over them, keep them in line, make them work with a purpose and then continue to understand that power once their mortal life was distinguished.

Salamor was scouting looking for just the right person for Vandor.  He had some time before he needed someone with the right heart, but he liked to keep one in mind just in case.   They seemed to be harder and harder to come by.  Salamor continued to go person to person to find for consumption.  He sniffed a primate whore who was working on a male who was obviously married.  Salamor thought he would have some fun with her so he whispered in her ear for a moment until she had a sense of hopelessness he could pounce on, but she quickly regained her focus to continue her work.  Salamor got frustrated but came across a couple who were fighting in their apartment.  He floated through the window to sense the feel of despair.  It was not coming from the adult primates, but someone else.  This feeling was in no doubt something he could pass the time with. 

He floated into the room in the shadows where he saw a young teenage girl crying into her pillow while listening to music.  She was trying to drown out the yelling from the older primates.  He floated next to her bed and studied her face.  He never really studied the features of a primate up close before.  He really didn’t see what the big deal was.  He guessed she was attractive by primate standards but that was no matter.  He leaned close to her ear, “do it.”  The girl continued to cry.  He changed the approach and floated to her other ear, “no one will miss you.”  The girl got out of bed.  She wiped the tears from her face as she looked at old pictures of her family.  “You’d be better off,” he continued hovering over her.  The girl opened the drawer to her desk where there was a bottle of pills next to a Bible.  Salamor cringed at the thought of her opening that book.  But she grabbed the pills instead, she read them and then she looked to the door where she heard her parents fighting.  “Show them,” Salamor whispered to her. 

The young, teenage girl opened the bottle.  She took all the pills, washing them down with a hidden bottle of alcohol she had hid in her closet.  There was no turning back now.  Salamor took advantage of the situation, “The window.”  The little girl stumbled to the window and pushed out the screen.  Salamor looked down at the distance; he knew the fall would end this young girl’s life.  “One step,” he said.  The little girl got onto the ledge of the window.  Salamor floated outside of the window where he motioned for her to come to him as his demon’s eyes flashed. “Do it.”  The little girl took one last drink from her bottle as she stepped forward.  She fell to the ground, breaking her mortal body.  Salamor was pleased with his accomplishment.  He soared down to the girl lying on the pavement below.  The open eyes of the lifeless body just stared at him as he studied her.  A feeling of accomplishment consummated over himself. 

Then a light caught Salamor’s attention as a skinny girl with a pale face came running up to the girl with fists glowing blue.  Accompanied her was a massive creature on four legs running up to him.  He flew back to the wall to watch from shadows where he was most comfortable.  He watched as the Lite Sentry examined the body.  He could see her open her communication device as she was calling, asking someone for help. 

Salamor heard the scream of a woman coming from up above.  He looked to see a woman screaming for her child as the father tried holding her back.  Salamor snickered.  He went to gaze upon the lifeless body in front but he was met with the Lite Sentry face to face.

“Why?” She asked him. 

Salamor watched as her colossal companion joined her side growling.  He just stared back at her.  “Why not?” he questioned back.  “How does it feel to know you are failing?”  Her eyes flashed as she swung at Salamor.  Her fists went through him like a land machine through fog.  “You are a fool as much as you are a failure.   You are worthless.  No one is to love you.”

She regained her bearings.  “You need to leave, or I will find a way to kill you.”  She straightened up her outfit.  The purple creature growled at Salamor and then turned to join his master’s side. 

Salamor floated off into the darkness of the alley as he hollered back at her, “No one, Sentry.”

 

 

Chapter 1

 

Anne had managed to shut off her alarm before it was set to wake her up.  She didn’t want to wake Kale up from his sleep.  He was getting little as of late.  He was tossing and turning a lot lately these past couple of months.  The size of the dorm beds was not conducive for two people, so the movement was really noticeable.  It didn’t really matter though, because she enjoyed lying next to him. Anne nestled closer to him as he squeezed his arm around her stomach.  She could not help but to smile.  Anne peeked over at his roommate who was sleeping soundly in the bed on the other side of the room.  Kameron was a nice guy, but she didn’t know too much about him as he pretty much kept to himself.  She managed to slowly move Kale’s arm from around her as she picked up her shoes.  She grabbed her keys for the car, trying not to make any sounds.  It was a half hour drive before she got home, and she had to get ready for her advanced class on religious history.

She leaned over and kissed Kale on the forehead, “I gotta go.”

Kale murmured, “Do you have to?  What time is it?”

“5:30 in the morning.  I have my early class today,” Anne answered.  “I will call you when I get done.” 

Kale winced as he rolled over.  He opened his eyes and smiled.  He ran his fingers through her wavy brown hair.  “Dinner tonight?”  He playfully pushed on the center of her glasses. 

She kissed his hands, “I will pick you up at five.”  She smiled at him as he returned in kind. 

“Can’t wait.” He tried to get up to kiss Anne, but she pushed him down.

“No, no, you stay down,” Anne bent over to kiss him instead.  The two kissed as she had a hard time saying good-bye.  She giggled as he tried to keep her close to him, “I really need to go.”

 

***

 

Mole smiled at Anne because she was cute as a button as she tried not to disturb his roommate with her leaving.  He still got a tingling rush as she blew him a kiss goodbye, giggling.  He knew she had to go to class.  It still didn’t make watching her leave any easier.  She quietly shut the door and he laid in bed debating if he would start trying to get up.  He had the energy; the problem was every morning it was getting more and more painful for him to get out of bed. His back was completely stiff, and it hurt him to walk until his back got warmed up a bit. He heard his roommate start to roll over as he turned off his alarm.  Mole liked Kameron as far as he knew of him.  He just did his thing.  He went to the gym, class, gym, studying, and bed, that’s all he knew of him.  That, and the fact he was from a small town north of New York.  Kameron got up and gave a nod as he got into his bathrobe and headed to the community bathroom. 

Mole tried to get up, but a sharp pain shot from his back.  He continued to lie in bed waiting for the pain to subside before he attempted to get out again.  He rolled over to his side so he could swing his legs onto the floor.  He took a moment for more pain to leave.  Once the sensation dissipated, he limped over to his desk where he grabbed some pain medication.   He took the dosage prescribed as he stretched his back out.  It took a bit for him to warm up his back before he could walk normally, but he really needed to be careful not to overdo it throughout the day.

He put on his bathrobe which Anne had put over his chair at his desk.  She must have used it when she took a shower last night as Mole was sleeping.  He really appreciated the sacrifices she was making to keep their relationship going.  At least once during the week she would spend the night over in his dorm room and meet up four to five times a week for dinner, studying together, or just to hang out. 

The door opened and Kameron came in as Mole walked to the bathroom.  The sound of a door opening down the hall caught Mole’s attention.  A blonde girl who was obviously wearing the same clothes she wore last night was sneaking out of the room.  She gave him a quick embarrassed smile as she walked barefoot down the hallway, holding her high heels.  Mole smiled in return and continued to get ready for his day.

 

***

 

Alex walked into her shared apartment with Komptin at her side.  She was sure to be quiet because she didn’t know if Anne and Brenda were sleeping or not.  Brenda was a roommate who had answered an ad Anne placed in the student lounge at her school.  Alex didn’t really care for her too much; she was nice but not too smart.  Brenda reminded Alex of a typical California Valley Girl.  She talked like a ditz and she looked down at people she didn’t think were up to her standard.  

Anne offered the master bedroom of the house to Alex so she would have enough room for Komptin.  Alex used her skills to quietly sneak past the two other rooms.  The door squeaked when Alex opened it.  Komptin jumped on the bed and got comfortable.  Alex thought it was ironic because her side effect from being a Lite Sentry was in full swing.  She hadn’t slept for two years, but her furry companion over there could sleep at a drop of a hat.  She actually missed the feeling of being tired and falling asleep in a nice, warm bed.  The only time Alex got into the bed was to read or if she hooked up with someone for the night.  Other than that, Komptin had it made, and he was not shy about taking advantage of it. 

Komptin went immediately to bed and started to snore.  Alex got undressed and put her bathrobe on to get ready to jump in the shower.  She sat down at the foot of the bed so Komptin could put his head on her lap.  She scratched her faithful companion behind the ears.  He slowly opened his eyes into a sad stare.  Alex got up to see what he was looking at so intently through the window.  The fall months kept the mornings dark and the stars out later.  Alex gazed upon the purple star shining bright for only her and Komptin to see.  “I miss him too,” Alex said.  She sat back down on the bench at the foot of the bed and hugged her dog.  “I hope I am doing him proud.”  Komptin licked Alex on the cheek.  Alex laughed.  “Gross.”  She ruffled him up a bit and Komptin playfully tried to bite her hands.  “I gotta get ready for class.”  She got up to take a shower.  She got undressed and stared at herself in the mirror.  She looked at the scar on the side of her neck. An infiltrator had possessed Sara’s dad, making him into a demon.  Alex hunted him down and during their fight he dug his claw into her neck.  Then she looked over some of the other scars.  Most of them were faint but one or two were quite noticeable.  She wondered how anybody would accept her as a Sentry. 

 

***

 

Anne got out of her car and buttoned up her coat.  The fall mornings were cold; she was more of a heat girl.  The warm weather made her feel comfortable.  She didn’t like the cold.  She locked her car and walked into the apartment.  She heard Alex in her room getting ready for the day.  She didn’t know if Brenda was up or not, so she wanted to keep quiet as she put her keys down on the table next to the door.  She looked through the mail and she saw nothing really of importance to her.  It was mainly bills and pamphlets.  Being this close to multiple colleges caused a lot of junk mail to come to their house.  Environmental pamphlets, political pamphlets, drug legalization pamphlets; Anne just found them annoying.  The only thing of interest was a package for Alex.

She opened the internet bill and then the utility bill.  She was fortunate in her situation. Her dad had bought the apartment as an investment.  Anne didn’t have to pay anything as long as she was responsible, Alex lucked out as the church paid for her bills, and Brenda was irresponsible in some ways, but she always paid her share of the food and bills.  Anne grabbed the junk mail she collected and walked into the kitchen to throw it in the recycle bin.  She was hungry so she went back to her usual quick meal, English Muffin with peanut butter and honey.  Kale had introduced her to this quick breakfast, and she fell in love with it.  She had it pretty much every morning with a cup of coffee and some sort of fruit.  She sat down and started to read some of her notes for her class. 

Alex came into the kitchen wearing her school uniform minus the blazer.  Anne always found it amusing seeing her wear a Catholic school uniform with her long, black woven hair and dark make up. 

“Morning,” Alex said, grabbing an Apollo drink out of the refrigerator.

Anne replied back with a pleasant, “Good morning, how was your night?”

“Weird,” Alex said.  “I ran into a creature I hadn’t seen since high school.”

Anne’s heart stopped, she immediately thought of Roger and that night where he had almost killed Kale and probably herself as well.  If it wasn’t for Alex and Komptin, Anne and Kale would not be here today.

Alex recognized the fear in Anne’s eyes. “Relax,” she said.  “It wasn’t Roger—not even an infiltrator.”  Alex grabbed a bowl and some kiddie sugary cereal.  “It was that weird, misty thing that hung around Vandor.” 

Anne just watched Alex eat her cereal as she read the back of the cereal box.  “You don’t seem too worried about it.”

“I’ve learned not to worry about such things, otherwise I drive myself insane,” she said. 

Anne could see that.  A person must live their life, otherwise focusing on the bad will just drive a person over the edge.  “You have always had a strong viewpoint on life.  By the way, there’s a package by the door.  I saw it when I came home from Kale’s dorm room.”

“Oh, goody.  I ordered these new sets of vacuuming seal bags.  It’s going to save a ton of room.

Anne just smiled at her.

“How’s Kale?” Alex continued to read the back of the cereal box.

“He’s fine,” Anne answered.  “I still think he is trying too hard and he wants to go back to where he was in high school.  I can see sometimes his back and knees hurt him more than he tries to let on.”  Anne just shook her head.

Alex bit into her cereal, “Do you think I should tell him?”  She continued to look at the back of the box.

“Tell who what?” Brenda asked, coming into the kitchen wearing skimpy pajama bottoms and a tank top. 

“Telling Mole, I broke his sunglasses,” Alex quickly covered herself.  She was finishing up her cereal.  She looked at her watch. “I need to get going.”  She put her bowl into the dishwasher and grabbed a piece of cooked steak from the fridge.  Alex could see Brenda was looking at her.  “It’s for Komptin.” 

Anne heard Alex call for Komptin and the two of them left for school.  Brenda grabbed the cereal still left on the table.  “You know, I just don’t know how like that girl can eat like she does and maintain being so skinny,” Brenda commented.  She put the cereal away and took an apple and yogurt and sat down across from Anne. 

“Some people just have that ability,” Anne said.  She turned the page on her notes.  Her phone chimed letting her know a message came in from Kale.  She opened it to a picture of him in the shower covering his “Little Mole,” as he liked to call it, with a bar of soap.  Anne could feel her face turn red.

“What?” Brenda asked. 

“Just a message from Kale,” Anne said quickly, closing the picture.

“You know, Anne, he is, like, a real keeper.  You better keep a tight rein on that one,” she said, dipping her apple in her yogurt.

“We’ve been together since high school,” Anne pointed out. 

“Exactly my point,” Brenda said.  “You don’t think being around those other girls over there got him tempted in straying?”

“Nope,” Anne said in confidence as she turned the page of her notes. 

“Like, don’t ya think all men are the same?” Brenda asked her as she took a spoonful of yogurt. “I’m just saying none of them can be trusted.”

Anne took her comments with a grain of salt.  Brenda had a habit of picking the typical jock cliché.  Those guys would hook up with her because she was an attractive girl, but really naïve.  Anne believed the guys would get tired of her and then leave or cheat.  At times, Anne really felt sorry for her.

“I need to get going to class,” Anne said.  “Have a good day.”

 

***

 

Alex put the service dog harness on Komptin.  She knew he hated it.  It was necessary for him to wear it.  The church pushed it through that he was her service dog.  Alex never knew the justification they used, but she just told people she was severely anxious from an attack she had been in.  It wasn’t a total lie; she had been attacked numerous times.  People normally didn’t push because she had the scars to prove it.  She clipped the leash on him. “Sorry,” she scratched his ears.

They walked into the school building where she ran into one of the priests.  “Alexandria.”

“Father,” Alex replied.  Alex was not really in mood for a confrontation.  Father Carl was not a fan of Alex.  She never understood why.  Alex maintained a “B” average, she was never late for any of her classes, and she was, for the most part, being good. 

Father Carl just looked at Komptin.  Alex could tell he was refraining from voicing his personal feeling about the dog being in the school.  “I’m keeping tabs on you.”

Alex was shocked, “Me?  What did I do?”

“I don’t know…yet. But I would like to talk to you after your first class,” Father Carl told her. 

Alex gave him a sarcastic smile back, “Can’t wait.” 

“And watch that attitude young lady,” he told her.  “It’s not the type of behavior we are known for or will accept if you ever want to graduate from this well-known prestigious school.”

The first thing Alex thought of was, “I wonder if I’m on sacred ground?” She felt a small tingle in her arm as she could generate Lite.  “Good to know,” she said out loud.

“Excuse me?” Father Carl turned around.

“I said it was good to know that you think I have an attitude problem,” she said to him.  “Nice to know where I stand.”

“We’ll talk about this in my office after your first class,” he said walking away, inspecting the hallway for cleanliness. 

Alex looked up at the ceiling, “Just one time?” She lifted her finger in the air and lit it up.  She playfully looked around for a sign of permission.  “Didn’t think so.”