Chapter 5

The pungent stench of rot hit Dannie as the dust-filled breeze ripped around her. She held up a hand to defend herself not only of the smell but the dust. It stung her eyes, making them water, and filled her nose and mouth with grit. When the breeze died Dannie lowered her hand and looked around. She wasn’t in her bedroom anymore but in a dull, red-hued landscape. If Dannie had to guess what Mars would look like this would be it.

She stood on a cliff with patches of dry, dead grass peeking through dust and rocks. Out on the horizon jagged, broken mountains stabbed at the clay-colored clouds. At the foot of the mountains, dead trees reached up to that same sky, as if it could save them from their death throes. With a step towards the end of the cliff Dannie peered down into the valley, or perhaps a crater was the better word choice. The sheer drop had to go down hundreds of feet until it reached a dark, thick mist, hiding anything below it.

She swallowed. Vertigo tugged at the edges of her mind. With a step back to safety or what could pass for safety in a place like this, a strange familiarity washed over Dannie. She knew this place, despite the nagging sensation this wasn’t any place on Earth. Dannie licked her lips, tasting the foul dust that filled the air. With a resolved sadness she stared out at the landscape. Though like everything else in this place, Dannie didn’t understand where the emotion was coming from.

Suddenly the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. She turned to face and expansive sea of dust and sand among jagged hills. Shimmering into existence like a mirage, strange creatures appeared before Dannie and around her, trapping her against the edge of the cliff. Sharp, disjointed angles and shapes, the creatures looked like shadows splayed out on the floor and wall at the same time. They were shapes with no discernable features in their faces or bodies, except for a mouth. A large splitting mouth too full of razor-sharp teeth serrated like a shark’s.

Their fingers were crooked like claws. Claws used to tear and rip into each other. The wet sounds of rending flesh rose and echoed through the silence. The only notable competition was the sounds of others eating the fallen with veracity, black tongues lapping up what their teeth missed, and the frantic grunts and moans of others copulating. Some were even doing all three at once.

Disgust filled Dannie and she took a step back, the softness of the ground alerting her she was dangerously close to the edge. Recognition hit her. Deabru. These creatures were the deabru. They were the malignant counterpart to the wolf spirits. Whereas the wolves bound themselves to a human in a symbiotic joining that benefited both, the deabru were all parasite. They fed off a human’s soul and body until there was nothing left.

They plagued Earth, hundreds of years ago when humans were just emerging from the primordial goo. Thanks to the deabru, humanity almost died out before they had even begun a decent start. That drastic decline caused the Great War where ultimately, humans and the wolf spirits pushed back the deabru into their original dimension known as Iztal. Yet, like all parasites, you could still find them on occasion, but the wolves hunt them down when they’re discovered.

Humans eventually forgot about the war, but in every human culture are remnants and legends of the deabru. To Hindus they are the Pishachas, Islam the Shayateen, the Japanese call them Oni, and to the Christians they are demons.

Dannie took another step back as they seemed to come closer, tightening the half-circle. Her foot slipped as the sandy rocks gave way and she struggled to keep her balance. Dannie was trapped there with them. Panic seared through her and her heart raced wildly. They got closer and closer. This was just a nightmare. “Stop. Go away,” Dannie screamed, her voice shrill and almost unrecognizable to her own ears. She fell to her knees. Dannie’s eyes slammed shut and she covered her ears. She didn’t want to see them. She didn’t want to hear them. “Go Away!”

Dannie was still screaming as she shot up from the bed, her heart pounding painfully in her chest. She blinked several times until she recognized the familiar walls of her childhood bedroom. Lilac walls, with black walnut molding and windows. A few old posters from her favorite movies, bands, or celebrity crushes from her teenage years decorated the walls. Across from Dannie sat a rocking chair next to a large bookcase filled with books ranging from Goosebumps, Dear God, it’s me, Margaret, to The Chronicles of Narnia.

In the far left corner of the room, was a full-length mirror, wood painted black. Dannie saw her reflection and grimaced. Sweaty and pale, she looked worn out. Turning from the mirror, Dannie looked over at the chest of drawers. Made of grayed wood, it held pictures of her family and extended family, minus her grandmother. Dannie’s grandmother was still angry at her mom’s stint as a wanted murder. Dannie supposed she couldn’t blame her since well, her mom did commit the murders and all that, but Cass and her? They didn’t do anything to be snubbed, or at least, Cass hadn’t. Dannie had a feeling her grandma wouldn’t approve of her creepiness much.

Throwing back the covers, she set her feet on the hardwood flooring. “Son of a bitch, “Dannie said in a sigh. She rested her forearms on her knees. With a slow, deep breath she waited until her heart finally caught on to the fact there was no danger. It was only a nightmare. Another fucking nightmare. As long as Dannie could remember, she had them. On a typical week, Dannie would suffer three to five nightmares. They were all similar in theme: death, mayhem, and suffering— all the good stuff. Though, she never actually had a nightmare with the deabru before. Usually, her nightmares were vague concepts and seemingly symbolic.

The only time Dannie stopped having nightmares was when she was away from home. It was the negative energy thrown at her in this place, she was sure of it. Even after three years of being on her own and no longer caring about fitting in, this place still had power over her. Dannie couldn’t wait to leave. Standing, she went to take a shower and wash off the dirtiness of the nightmare. She needed to find her mother, get the injections, and get the hell out of dodge.

She showered quickly, keeping the water cool. In a fresh change of clothes and feeling much better, Dannie plodded down the steps of the wide staircase leading to the ground floor and took the right hallway going passed the kitchen towards the gym. If her mom was back from the festival, she would most likely be in the gym. The sounds of someone giving one of the punching bags a beating of a lifetime reached Dannie’s ears before she even got to the room. Sure enough, her mom was dancing around a bag, beating the crap right out of it.

“I’m sure whatever it did, the bag is sorry,” Dannie said, announcing herself as she entered the sleek and modern room. Everything was white, gray, or had a metal finish on it. Mirrors covered one wall and several large windows covered the other. The room had several different kinds of machines, weights, and punching bags in all shapes and sizes, practice weapons, and sparring mats.

Her mom snapped off a jab, making the bag jerk on the thick chain that held it then turned to Dannie, grinning. “Better safe than sorry.” She picked up a towel, wiping her face. “What can I do for you?”

“My shift suppressants. Dad said they be ready.”

As soon as her mother cringed Dannie knew whatever her mother was going to say she wasn’t going to like. “I’ve been too busy with the festival so I asked Sara to take care of it.”

Dannie gave her a tight smile, sighing inwardly. “And she has them ready, right?”

Her mom shrugged. “You would have to ask her.”

“Really?” Dannie said, crossing her arms. “You all knew about this a week ago. A week.”

Her mother put her hands on her hips and gave Dannie a pointed look. “I don’t know if she has them ready. Go ask her. Now look, I get it. You need them, but enough of the attitude. We all have lives too. We can’t just drop everything because you’ve dropped in and need them now. You should’ve given us more than a week to prepare. That stuff isn’t exactly easy to make.”

Dannie uncrossed her arms and stuffed her hands in the pockets of her jeans, looking at her feet now with guilt. Her mom was right. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound like a prep princess.”

Her mother grinned and slapped her on the shoulder. “All good.”

Dannie winced, rubbing her shoulder half for show and half because it did hurt. “Thanks, I’ll go talk to Sara and try not to put my foot in my mouth...again.”

“Good luck,” her mom said with a laugh and returned to punching the bag. Dannie was almost out of the gym when she called her back. With a look of earnest, her mom said, “It’s nice to have you home. Just so you know.”

“Yeah, wish I could stay longer, but work you know,” Dannie lied with a shrug.

“You’re a terrible liar.”

It was Dannie’s turn to laugh. “We all have our talents, right?” she replied. That was what her mother would always tell her when Dannie noticed she wasn’t like the others. With a final wave, she left the room for the infirmary.