Chapter Seven
Day two I am awake I am still here. This is not a dream. I am out of the void. I am surrounded by witches and I am sleeping above a frog green bar. Strange how everything has happened, one day I am rotting in the void and then I am here seeking something so familiar to me.
I am here and I will do my job. I will find my brother. Every person here has so much faith in me. I have no faith in myself. Yes, I know I am perdition. I am the one to stop it all. I am trying to wrap my head around all this and I can’t seem to focus.
For now, I will focus on getting out of bed and meeting this Ryan person. He knows how to find Damnation. He is the one they need to be thanking not me. They all seem to think I am the savior of their world. I am just a girl with daddy issues and a crazy brother and evidently a psycho mother. I am not sure if I can focus beyond the day. I am just going to get through the day. I will meet Ryan to see how he can help and find my brother.
I am dressed. I am standing on this busy street waiting for a guy I do not know to pick me up and take me to somewhere I have never been. I am terrified.
As I wait here comes Camilla Dawn chipper as ever. How can one person be that happy? She is an angel, well maybe not an angel. She is amazing. I have never had anyone like her in my life. My life has been surrounded by the tormented ones or the souls serving my father.
As I stand here admiring Camilla I hear a loud noise coming from the street, what in the hell is that?
“Perdition, its JJ.” She said. She is waving her arm.
“Camilla he knows we are here,” I speak sharply to her. I should not have done that. But I did and now it’s over, maybe I should apologize.
JJ pulls up in his truck. It’s a 1975 Chevy. I only know this because I have seen one in the void. My outdated information comes in handy sometimes.
He gets out of this big orange monstrosity. He walks up to me and Camilla Dawn
“Girls are you ready?” This man grabbed us up before we could even answer.
“Yes,” I screamed as he picked me up and sat me in the seat.
The floorboard is orange. What have I gotten myself into? All I know is somebody better know where to find my brother? Camilla is sitting beside me smiling as usual. This chipper personality is starting to get to me. Here we go off to meet Ryan leaving the green pub heading off in a big orange monstrosity. This thing we are in will hopefully get us where we are going.
I have never seen anything like this. It is so beautiful. As we ride along in this big orange going to Ryan’s house all I can think of is my dad. I miss my dad. I miss KoKo. I did not get to mourn his death. I can’t wrap my head around everything that has happened. I have lost everyone in my life. I am now surrounded by this amazing family. Maybe today will be a good day. It will be a good day. I am perdition.
We ride along. I find myself lost in the amazing scenery. I was not prepared for everything that has happened to me. I am going to survive everything that is going on. JJ rides in silence. I think he knows what is to come. Honestly, I am terrified as I take this ride. I am scared. I should not be but I am. I keep reminding myself I am perdition.
I can feel every single rock on this long winding dirt road. There is a small home at the end. I can see the top of it as we drive up. Guys are working on the fence. They stop as we drive by. They are staring at me.
It makes me so uncomfortable when they do that. I know everyone means well, but I am still trying to figure all this out.
JJ hits a huge rock. I bump my head on the headliner. “Ouch,” I screamed. He hits the brakes.
“Are you okay Perdition?” He looks terrified.
“I am fine. Can we continue?” I smile.
He looks like something is wrong. I am scared. “Is there something you are leaving out? You seem distracted JJ.” I ask.
He keeps staring at the road ahead. He doesn't answer. Something is wrong here. I close my eyes and try to listen in on my surrounding.
His hand touches me “We are here. No worries Perdition.” I believe him. I know something is wrong but I believe I am safe.
Camilla Dawn bounces out of the truck. “Hey, guys.”
We have a live one here. I swear she is pure energy. Her perfect blond ponytail bounces as she walks to the house. Several dogs run up to greet her. A lady and man come out of the house.
“Big mama! Mayhem” She screams and runs toward them. People do not typically get out of the void and get to return to their homes. She deserves to see them.
“Where is Ryan?” I could hear her asking Big Mama. Camilla Dawn falls to the ground.
JJ jumps out of the truck. “Stay here Perdition” He takes off after Camilla Dawn.
“Do not upset her. We cannot have her falling back into the void.” He scolds them.
“JJ! They took Ryan. They took him.” JJ picks her up and takes her into the house.
Everyone looks at me. I am still in Big Orange. I am not sure if I should get out. Okay, deep breath in and I am going to get out of this truck and find out what is going on. 1..2…3.
JJ is at my door when I open my eyes. “Come on let’s get you inside,” JJ says.
I get out of the truck. I cannot stop staring at everything. The white house, the white fence, the trucks, the hay, this is my first time on a farm and all I can feel is fear. Everyone is afraid. I step upon the porch. I am two steps behind JJ.
“Perdition this is Big Mama and her son Mayhem. They are descendants.”
Big Mama hugs me “Are you hungry Darling?” she asks.
Mayhem looks in my eyes. I am at peace almost immediately “Mama I am going to take her around the farm. We need to talk.” He said. “Perdition come with me.”
He takes me by the hand and leads me off the porch. “I guess you've never been anywhere like this before.” He says with a smile.
He is beautiful. “I have lived in the underworld since I was a baby. I was trapped in the void for a while. So No I have never experienced anything like this. It is amazing.” I replied as we walked.
“Mayhem where is Ryan? I was told he could help find my brother?” I inquired.
Mayhem stopped. “There is a lot to tell you and little time to explain everything. So I am going to give you as much information as I can.” He put his hands on my arms and looked in my eyes.
“I understand,” I say to him.
He let go of my arms as we walk toward the barn. “Come on Perdition. We got work to do.” He says.
I followed him to the barn. This place has a peaceful feeling. I have felt anguish my entire life but here I feel a strange peace. I feel connected.
“You are connected Perdition. You are connected to me.” He said as he opened the door to allow me to walk in front of him.
“I am connected to you. I do not understand.” I say as I walk into the barn.
I turn to look at him but the people in the barn catch my eye. “Oh my Hell. What is going on here?” I say aloud.
I look at every inch of the inside of the barn. I can’t believe what is in front of me. There are people from the void. There are a lot of people from the void.
“What happened? How did all of you get out?” I scream. I can’t believe what I am seeing. How can this be?
“Perdition you left the door open? We followed you out.” A small voice said.
“That is great. I think.” I say.
“You saved us all Perdition.” I hear a young woman say.
“We are going to help you defeat Venus. We have to save the topside. We can help you.” The voices are starting to overwhelm me.
I pulled myself out of the void. I pulled all these people out too.
“What are all of you doing now that you are out? Why are you here?” I sit down on the ground. I can’t stop staring at everyone. “Can someone please explain to me what it is going on?”
Mayhem takes me by the hand. “I wanted you to see this before I tell you everything.”He says calmly.
I believe him. I am not sure why he is so important to me or why I feel completely safe with him, but I do. We continue to walk.
“Are you hungry Perdition? Is there anything you need right now?” He asks me as he sits down on a concrete picnic table. I sit down beside him.
“I just need to know where my brother is. I feel like everyone is avoiding the answer. Where is he? Where is Ryan? How did or why did all these people follow me out of the void?”I ask.
I stop and look him in the eye waiting for answers. He takes his big strong tanned hand and places it on top of mine.
“Perdition, they followed you because you needed them. They feel loyal to you because you were always there for them. Now they feel like they need to be there for you. You were the only person trying to help them when they landed in the void for various reasons. You came every day. You talked to them. You helped them work out their issues so they could leave the void. You opened the door. You never judged them. You were just there for them.” He says,
“Do you understand the complications of what has happened?” I ask him.
“Do you understand the void should not be there? Those people were trapped in the void because they are descendants? They committed no crimes but were banned from the golden city.” Mayhem says.
His voice gets louder with every single word. He is telling me the truth. No lies with Mayhem only honesty. I have never had anyone be completely honest with me until now.
“Tell me the rest. Let’s get this over with?” I inquire.
“It is not that simple Perdition. Honey your story is a long one. You know your mother is alive. Do you know everything surrounding her life?” he asks me.
“KoKo was murdered for the lies he told about my mother being dead. My father killed him. I know enough. I know I was born to serve the garden.”I scream at him.
I jump to my feet and immediately fall to the ground. The topside is too complicated for me.
“The garden is out of balance. It needs a twin. We do not need to get into all that now. We need to focus on Isaac and Damnation. Isaac is bitter and he wants to end life on earth. He needs Damnation to do it. They are going to release Venus. She is not the angel she once was. She is fallen and evil. She is hellfire. She will destroy the topside. The descendants have some powers. We can get you there. We can help you in battle but you are the only one that can defeat her. I am sorry Perdition but it’s up to you.” Mayhem says,
He stops to let me process everything he is telling me. I stare into his eyes. I just can’t stop looking into his eyes. He is so familiar to me. His voice, His eyes, and his touch, but I know he is leaving out something. What is he not telling me? I wonder.
“What about Ryan?” I ask
“Ryan knows how to find Damnation. Of course, they knew how to find him.” Mayhem responds.
Mayhem touches my arm. I can feel the golden city. I see my mother. I see my brother. It stops when he releases me.
“What happened?”I ask as I slowly fall back to the ground. I hear muffled noises and distant voices but I can’t make them out.
I feel myself fall. I feel the void and I hear the voices in the distance. I am not sure what is going on. Am I going back in the void? “No no no” I scream.
Mayhem is sitting in a chair beside the bed. I am in the farmhouse.
“Did you dream of the void?” He asks.
“I did. How did you know?” I ask him.
I am on a floral bed in a floral room. It is so comfy.
“I know because I have been there. You saved me too Perdition. I was trapped for many years in that hell. You came to me so many times. You gave me the courage to walk out of the void.” Mayhem says,
“I can’t remember. I am sorry. I remember every person I have ever visited in the void. Why can I not remember you Mayhem?” I ask him as I look in his eyes looking for answers.
Those eyes are so familiar to me. I know the answers are in those eyes. He knows why I can’t remember him, but he isn’t telling me. He is protecting me. I don’t know why but I am important to him. There is so much more to him.
Perdition had little time to get everyone safe. She wasn’t sure how she would handle Sam. She planned to get Angie and Mrs. Bee as far away from New Orleans as possible with the newborns. She also had to deal with Mayhem, Tiffany, JJ, and Chaos. She planned to use Chaos to distract Jaza. She wasn’t sure how much she could depend on him. Jaza had to die. She knew there would be hell to pay, but it had to be done. What was the worst they could do to her? Send her to the void. She wasn’t afraid, and there was no one as powerful as her. Not even her brother could come close to her power. She could feel it growing every day. Now she just had to figure out exactly how to use it to save her friends. Her powers were strong but raw. She still had difficulty focusing on just using her power and not it taking over. She knew she needed to focu
Jaza was no fool. Whatever Perdition was planning, he was prepared. He was on guard. He had sent word to every watcher hiding on earth to be ready. Perdition had contacted Labith and told her to bring Jaza to the inn tonight. Perdition was ready to give up Camilla Dawn in exchange Jaza would leave Sam alone and not interfere with the babies. Labith knew there was no way Perdition would just quietly hand over Camilla Dawn. She knew she was up to something. Labith had raised the once sweet girl. She knew her better than anyone. “What do you think she is up to?” Jaza asked Labith. Labith walked into Jaza’s chamber. It is such a dark and menacing place. Labith did not like being in closed spaces with him. “I honestly cannot say Jaza,” Labith answered him.“She is unique, isn’t she?” Jaza says as he moves closer to Labith
“Because we are from yesterday.” Camilla Dawn says. Key stops what she is doing and runs to her side.“What? What are you saying?” Key says.“Because we are from yesterday and we know nothing because our days on earth are like a shadow.” Camilla Dawn says.“I do not understand,” Key says. Camilla Dawn opens her eyes. She stares into Key’s eyes.“I am scared.” Camilla Dawn says. Camilla Dawn closes her eyes and goes back to sleep.Camilla Dawn slips into a deep sleep. Her mind is reliving her past. It’s slow torture for her. She has tried to pay for her past. There is no way to make it right unless she gives in to the watchers.As vivid images flash before her, she knows what she must do. She must submit to Jaza. She cannot let anyone else get hurt. The image of Sam being stabbed plays for her over and over. “No!” She screams.Key watc
Sam was a little drunk when he entered his room. He knew how Mrs. Bee felt about smoking in the rooms, but he desperately needed one. He almost smoked in the room, then he remembered how mean Bee could be if she felt disrespected. He decided it was best if he stepped outside his room. He turned the radio on to his favorite New Orleans station.“Sweet Jazz.” He said out loud. “Nothing like it.” Sam stood outside his room smoking. As the rain fell in New Orleans, the sweet rain and sounds of Jazz coming out of his radio he could only think of Angie.“I was so stupid.” He said.“Yes, you were and still are idiotic.” A soft voice said.It was Angie. She looked amazing standing there. “I’m sorry I brought her here. I am sorry I hurt you and mostly I am just sorry.” He sa
Perdition wanted to check on Camilla Dawn and the babies. Key was with her.“Is she ok?” Perdition asks. Key shakes her head. “I do not know what is wrong with her. Mrs. Bee thinks it has something to do with the black magic, and honestly, I do too. I think she is drained.” Key says.“I think I can wake her.” Perdition says.“Why did Sam bring her here?” Perdition asks as Sam enters the room with Angie.“I thought she would be safe here.” He says.“Well, I am not so sure about that.” Perdition says. Perdition keeps staring at Sam. “You’re not being truthful, Sam. Why are you really here?” she asks him.Sam looks out the door of Camilla Dawn's room. He sees Mayhem waiting patiently.“Look, this all happened fast. We got word where Camilla Dawn was and where Mayhems kids were and we just … well, we just ended up here.
JJ sat in his room at the B&B contemplating what he should do. He didn’t want to go out into the city and leave the girls without someone close by. He wanted to go look for Perdition, but he felt that could wait at least one more day. Besides, as soon as Perdition and Chaos figured out they were in the city, the two would probably seek them out. He hoped they would anyway. He hoped he could talk to her and maybe reason with her.First, he needed Chaos out of the way. How in the hell would he get him out of the way? He thought about knocking him out cold. He figured it wouldn’t be that hard. The thought brought a smile to his face. The winds were blowing hard, and the rain was coming in. JJ opened his door.Rain in New Orleans was different. It was a spiritual experience. JJ had a deep love for New Orleans. Something he and Sam had in common. Sam would’ve never left New Orleans if Camilla Dawn would’ve just stayed away. He could&r