The Pre-God
It was just evening and the air was fresh. There were people waiting outside of Alison's house. They waited to escort her and her parents across town. She didn't know why though: there are many things her parents did that she was never told about. It was for her own good, they say. She was looking out the window, staring at the strange men and women outside her home. They stood outside of their black luxury cars with the doors wide open. They all wore black and some of them even had black sunglasses on… even though it was dark outside. Their skin was awfully pale. Her mother had told her that it was because of the lack of sunlight. She was told that some of them actually lived underground. They didn't like the light. Whoever they were, they were important to her parents. Alison could hear her mother's clapping shoes running around in the hallway upstairs. Her parents were not ready to leave just yet. They liked to look their best when dealing with these people. Her parents were rich: something about a family heritage passed along for the last few generations. It didn't really matter. He parents never spent anything. She was an only child and her life was rather dull. She had no friends and very few toys. All she had were books. Books weren't all that interesting for a twelve-year-old girl… Not the ones her parents let her read anyway. She spent most of her time thinking to herself, and when she could, she spent her time with her mum and dad.
She finally heard someone coming down the stairs.
"Alison honey, it's time to go." Her father said.
"I know dad. I'm ready. I just have to put my shoes on." Alison said as she walked into the large threshold and reached down to grab her sneakers.
"No, honey put the other ones on. We want to look good tonight." Her father said softly while pointing to her chic black slippers.
"Who's going to look at my feet anyway? For once I'd like to be comfortable when I walk." the young girl sighed.
"Just for tonight honey." Her dad whispered.
"Dear, I really don't think it's going to rain… but just in case: I think I'll bring our coats… which one did you say you wanted to wear?" He said loudly while looking up the stairs. He could see his wife finally ready to descend.
"Just take the nearest one and ask our friends to throw it in the back seat." Alison's mother said as she walked carefully down the stairs.
"Can we go now?" Alison asked impatiently.
"Are you in a hurry to get somewhere honey?" Her mother said sarcastically.
"No. I just don't like waiting all the time." Alison said.
"I'm ready. I'm ready." Her mother replied. Alison's father opened the door and held Alison's hand in his own. Her mother followed closely behind.
"I still don't understand why we have to do this." Alison sighed as she sat in the back seat of the large black Mercedes-Benz.
"You will one day honey; but not today." Her father replied as he sat next to her and placed the coats on the seat in between them.
"Come on dad, I'm twelve years old. I'm not a baby anymore." Alison said honestly.
"I know Alison. You're a smart young woman but it isn't time yet. We told you all you needed to know for now." Her father said as he reached over to the front seat to kiss his wife on the neck.
"Listen to your father honey. There are thing you are best not knowing." Her mother said.
"I know I know." Alison sighed and looked out of the car window. She took a whiff of the air as a tall pale man with sunglasses closed the door on the other side of the car. She could tell it was about to rain from all the moisture in the air. The tall man entered the driver's seat and closed the door at the same time as turning on the engine.
"You know, you should wear your seatbelt." Alison teased the tall silent man. The man turned around and gave her a half-smile. Alison knew they hardly ever spoke… Not when she was around anyway. She liked to tease them though. Some of them seemed to have a sense of humor. The cars in front of the one she was in started moving. Their driver engaged the car into drive. They followed the first two cars slowly. They were in the last car of a convoy. In front of the three black cars, there was a truck leading the pack. It had full tainted windows and from what Alison saw, there were many people riding in it.
She didn't like the neighborhood and this night, the streets were too quiet. The streetlights were very dim. She visited many parts of the United Kingdom and thought everything looked the same. She didn't like it very much. It was far too smelly and compact. She asked her parents if they would be willing to move away but they kept telling her this country was too important to leave just yet. Her parents were busy people. Sometimes it seemed they spent more time with these pale people than with her. Though their work was important to them, they always gave her the attention she needed. Unless it was when she asked too many questions, they were there for her. Her parents were all she had in the world. She didn't go to school because she was very smart and could easily learn everything on her own. She was doing home school but never spent much time learning stupid things she would never need. Her parents didn't force her to either.
"Ah... I guess it will rain after all." Alison's dad said as he looked out from the window on his side. The rain poured down just as he said it. The driver set his window wipers to rotate at the maximum speed and kept his eyes on the road. They stopped at a red light next to an old public library. Alison looked ahead of them and saw a sixteen-wheeler truck crawl past the lights and suddenly stop in their way. There was a loud popping noise coming from the hood of their car. Alison looked out the window and inspected the library carefully. Suddenly there was a second popping noise coming from her window just a she saw some kind of spark bounce off of it. The driver knew what was going on. Alison looked ahead of her and noticed the doors of the black truck that was leading their convoy swing open. Half a dozen men and woman carrying large rifles jumped out in a flash. At the same time, the driver shifted the car in reverse and floored the pedal. Before Alison could even say anything, she was forced against the rear seat as an enemy car slammed into them at high speed. The rear of the car was crushed.
"Are you all right honey?" Her father screamed in panic. Alison lifted herself from the seat and looked at herself. She could see she was okay but she was in shock. Not one word came out of her. The driver exited the car and pulled out a large caliber pistol and joined his friends in the battle. Alison could see that there were people hiding behind the large pillars that supported the old roof of the large library. They moved around like shadows. They shot at the cars and vanished before anyone could return fire. Her parents' friends could also move around like they did. They were very fast and stealthy.
"The glass is bulletproof. Stay in the car honey. You should be safe here." Her father said before he opened the door and exited the car. Her mother did the same. Alison wanted to scream and tell them to stay but she was still in shock. She couldn't even whisper. She could see her parents crouching next to the car and run to the next car ahead of them. Suddenly there was a large boom as the roof of the car crumbled down towards the young woman. Alison crouched and crawled forward to the front seats where the roof was still holding. She looked out of the windshield and saw two men jumping down on the hood of the car. They pointed guns at her parents.
"Mum! DAD!" Alison was able to yell before she could hear shots being fired. She opened her eyes and saw that her parents were still okay. The two men that were on the hood fell down to the ground. She looked passed them and saw her parents' friends coming to aid. They dragged her parents into a dark alley and one of them waved for Alison to follow them. Alison hesitated and then opened the door, grabbed the coats, and ran to them. One of her father's friends handed over a gun to her father and a knife to her mother.
"Get behind the dumpster and stay down." He father ordered. Alison did what she was told. She ran to the green metal canister and crouched into a ball, covering herself with the coats. She looked back down the alley and tried to listen to what her parents were saying.
"We have to get to Stray. Without him, even his father wouldn't be able to stop the war. We have to get him to safety at all costs." She heard parts of what her father was saying.
"He's pinned down at the truck. We were caught completely by surprise… I don't think we can make it out of this one." One of the men said.
"That's why Stray will need all the help he can get." Her father said.
"Stick with me. When the time comes, we need to rush to his aid and surprise the enemy. They won't expect us to rejoin the battle." Her father said.
"That's because you're too important to our cause sir. You should stay with your family. We can make it out if we leave now." A woman said.
"No, we've worked too long and too hard to see the beginning of a war we may lose. If we help Stray here and now we can postpone this war for a few more years. We stay." Her father said defensively. He looked past the edge of the alley to where the truck was. It was stuck between the sixteen-wheeler and the building to the right. All the people that were aboard it were either dead or still fighting to protect its passenger. There were only two people left standing behind it and it wasn't long before they were overrun by half a dozen enemies. Their guns blazed for a while and then the two of them collapsed to the floor. Alison's father was about to act but he heard an automatic gun fire holes through the truck from the inside. The people who were swarming around it were hit several times each as the large bullets whistled past the layers of the truck's rear doors. They all dropped to the ground. The doors blasted open and a man with long black hair exited out of it. Smoke that came out of the truck. It came from the tip of a machinegun that was installed just in the middle of the small truck. The man took out two pistols and fired at anything that moved. There was some return fire and one of the bullets hit him in the arm. The man didn't even flinch.
"Now! Go!" Alison's father screamed. His friends and wife followed him. They stood beside the man with the two pistols and provided cover.
"Stray! We found a way out through the alley. Quick!" Her father yelled to the man as he covered their retreat. The group followed back into the alley and Stray reloaded his pistols. Before they reached Alison, there were men and women that quite literally fell from the sky and landed all around the group. Before one of them could even stand up, Stray unloaded a clip into the man in front of him. Then everyone started to fire shots. Alison's parents and friends were surrounded and outnumbered but their enemies died quicker. Stray was excellent with his two pistols. His followers were also skilled. Before Alison could see anything else, the alley fell silent. She looked carefully again. There were five people left standing. Stray, her parents and two enemies. They all seemed to have run out of ammunition at the same time. Stray let his two empty clips fall to the ground and, before he could load in new ones, one of his enemies kicked him hard in the chest and made him fall back. Alison's father tried fighting back to defend Stray but he was quickly overpowered by one of the enemy men. Two white fangs grew out of the man's mouth and pierced into her father's shoulder and neck flesh. Before the man could suck out some blood, Alison's mother stabbed him in the back with her blade. She just missed his heart. The man swung his arm around and hit the woman in the head. Alison's mother dropped the knife and collapsed to the ground. Her father placed his hand on his shoulder to stop the bleeding and punched back as hard as he could but the impact had no effect. The man took the blade from the ground and thrust it up into Alison's father. Alison was paralyzed in her spot. She looked at the battle in horror. She could see that Stray had finally won against the foe that dropped him to the floor. Soon his hands were around her father's attacker's head. Stray pulled back as hard as he could and the man's neck snapped backwards. He let the dead man fall to the ground and held Alison's wounded father against the wall. He took out the knife that was sticking out of his ribcage and let him slide gently down to the floor. He was dying or dead but he was definitely not conscious anymore. Stray stood up straight in sadness. He looked up into the sky to see if there were more enemies lurking about the roofs of the buildings but saw nothing. Stray turned his attention back down at Alison's mother. He crouched down to checked for a pulse but found nothing. His head dropped down sadly and he got back up. He could hear some sobbing come from the dark alley. He looked at the trash canister and noticed Alison's head peeking out from the back of it. Stray walked over slowly to her and looked her in the eyes. Alison was trembling and cried softly. She looked back into the pale man's eyes. Stray kept staring into her beautiful brown eyes but didn't say anything. He finally extended his arm and pulled the girl up from the floor. He held her hand and walked down the alley to the other end. Suddenly a black car pulled at the entrance of the alley and the doors opened.
"Stray what happened?" A passenger called out from the window.
"An ambush. We are the only ones that made it. We have to get out of here now." Stray ordered as he led Alison to the back seat and followed in with her.
"Is that the Duke's daughter?" The driver asked as he looked at the crying girl.
"Yes. Both her parents are dead…" Stray confirmed.
"Shit." The driver said as he started driving away.
"Do you have any other relatives or friends you could go to Alison?" Stray asked. Alison shook her head in silence.
"Bring her to the hotel. Call the others. Organize a funeral for her parents tomorrow night. I want the city cleaned up by morning." Stray ordered.
"What will happen now that the Duke and his wife are dead?" The passenger in the front seat asked.
"Hopefully someone will take their place… If not, we should prepare for war. My father and I will try and keep things together for as long as we can but we will eventually fail." Stray said sadly.
"What about the girl?" The driver asked. Stray looked at the sad girl and then looked back at the driver and passenger.
"She will decide tomorrow. For now she needs to rest. I want guards posted around her room, understood?" Stray ordered.
"Yes my lord." The passenger said as he picked up his cellular phone dialed in a number.
"We are coming. Have a room ready, we have a guest. Extra protection." The passenger said over the phone and then closed it.
"My lord, Should I call your father?" The passenger asked.
"No, I will speak to him directly after we drop off the girl. We should call the rest of the Coven though, and have them show at tomorrow's funeral." Stray said. The car pulled to the side of the hotel and two men escorted Alison to her room. It was a large and luxurious suite. Alison collapsed on the bed and shut her eyes. She wished it was all a dream but the rain outside and the dampness of her long black hair reminded her that it wasn't. She left the light on and tried to sleep. She knew, this night, she would have nightmares.
She woke up late in the morning. She was surprised she didn't have nightmares. Or perhaps she did but didn't wake up from them. She was still dressed in formal clothes and she was in a strange room. All the memories of the previous night rushed back into her mind and she closed her eyes again. She crossed her arms and legs as she lay on the bed. She wished she had died along with her parents that night. She had nothing left anymore; nothing but people she didn't even know. They were all that was left of her parents. Alison lied down all day and waited on her bed. She waited for someone to explain to her what happened that night. She wanted to know why her parents died. She waited for someone to tell her everything would be all right. No one came. The day was even quieter than the night. Alison didn't eat or move an inch from her spot. She stood there all day until finally, early in the evening, there was someone knocking at the door. She realized her face was a mess but she didn't care. She opened the door and looked at the man who stood in front of her.
"Come with me." He said. Alison nodded and followed him to the car. After an hour of driving, the driver finally pulled over to a dark cemetery on top of a hill. There were many people already there. She didn't know any of them except for Stray. Perhaps she had seen some before but she could never place a name to any of their faces. Her driver opened the door for her and let her exit the car. When she was out, he stood cross-armed at the door and waited. Alison stepped forward up to the gates of the cemetery and looked at the people who were there. There was a brand-new large tombstone set at their feet. No doubt her parents were already buried underneath them. She just stood back and watched as the ceremony was being conducted. There were torches lit here and there but otherwise the lighting was very poor. No doubt to accustom those that only came out at night. They all gathered around the tombstone in a square. Alison could hardly see what they were doing. One of the men set off a flame on the ground. They were burning some kind of ink they spilt on the grass. The flames burnt red and in a crescent-shape symbol. Later, she was told it was the symbol of immortality. People watched as the red flames burnt the new grass that covered the burial ground. When the flames died out they had left their marks. The symbol was imprinted in the earth, just above her parents' bodies. Their friends lined up and kissed the tombstone one by one. The ceremony was complete and only a few of them stayed behind. They were their leaders. Stray was theirs. They lingered near the tomb looking down at the crescent. Then, Stray led his group to the young woman. Alison stood very still. She looked at the people who came towards her in sadness.
"Do you know who we are Alison?" Stray asked her. The young girl looked down and nodded.
"Your parents were very important to us." Stray continued.
"And you were very important to them." Alison confirmed.
"Alison, we and your parents worked together to make things better for both of our people. Without people like them there would be chaos. We have enemies. And some of them didn't agree with your parents. They don't agree with our way of things. Your parents died to defend what they believed in; to defend what we believe in. I fear things will become more and more dangerous around here from now on. It isn't safe for you here anymore. This country isn't safe anymore." Stray kneeled down and looked up at the little girl.
"Is there any other place you can go?" He said softly. Alison shook her head slowly.
"You are the closest thing that I have to a family…" She whispered. The man sighed.
"Do you wish to become one of us?" He finally asked. Alison hesitated and then nodded.
"I want to be strong. I want to be one of you. I want to help you defend what my parents died for." She said honestly.
"Alison… there is a chance you may never become one of us… there is a chance you may not survive the two-year sleep…" He started.
"I don't care. I don't belong anywhere else." She said hastily. Stray thought for a moment and then nodded. He stood up straight and introduced one of his colleagues:
"This is Jax. He is in charge of a zone we control in North America… it's some place in Canada. Do you know where that is?" Alison nodded.
"He will take you there and perform the necessary rituals… the first step to becoming one of us. You will live amongst us… you will have a home, a family… you will meet many new people like yourself." Stray said.
"Will I go to school?" Alison asked.
"If you wish. You can do whatever you like until your two-year sleep. You can arrange all of that with Jax. He can place you in a home near whatever school you like." He said. Alison nodded. And then looked up at Jax and bowed politely.
"I'm sure you will become one of us one day. Until then, you should prepare yourself. We will be waiting for you here, in this country, for your return. I can't wait to see what you will become." Stray said as he set his hand on her shoulder.
"Go with Jax now. He will watch over you." Stray said before he left with the rest of his colleagues. Jax and Alison were alone now.
"You look strong already. I'm sure you will make us proud." Jax complimented her and led her to the car.