• Chapter 2 The Monster in the Wardrobe I

    Angelica stepped in to the classroom. Her sisters came after her. The teacher looked at them as they stepped inside.
    “Oh, you’re here?” she asked. Angelica nodded. She sat down on a bench and looked at the paper she had in front of her.
    “I want you to take a moment and look at the test. It won’t take a long time. Then, after everyone’s finished I am starting the test. You have two hours to complete it.” The teacher looked down at the papers. Angelica looked around her. Everyone stared in to the paper.
    Angelica was nervous. With one hand shaking, she turned page after page. It was more than five pages! How could they manage to do all that in two hours!? Angelica raised her hand. The teacher looked up.
    “Um… How are we supposed to finish this in the amount of two hours? It’s more than five pages” she said.
    “We’ve split this test in two parts. You can do the second part tomorrow. And actually, it’s ten pages” the teacher smiled lightly. Then she put up a clock. It counted down two hours.
    Angelica looked at the first question. She smiled. It felt like a hammer had hit her in the head. She was wide awake and all the things she remembered from all her studying was back. She took the pen and started writing.

    Angelica left the room around lunch-time. Her sister Mary came after her.
    “So, how did you do on the test?” she asked. Angelica looked at Mary and smiled. The corridor they were in was empty. It was spooky. It sent shivers down Angelica’s spine.
    “I did great! How did you do it?” Angelica asked.
    “I answered all the questions I had time to ask. I left some of them blank though…” Mary blushed.
    “I hope everyone else did as good as we did” Angelica said.

    They sat outside on the park benches. It was a sunny day. However, dark clouds were shown on the east.
    “Think it’s going to be a storm?” Stephanie asked.
    “Not sure… I read the headlines from grandpa’s paper. The worst storm of the year will probably hit Florida” Angelica said. They were eating the sandwiches they had gotten earlier that morning.
    “Oh…” Sabrina looked down for a couple of minutes.
    “Do you think our parents knows about it?” Sabrina asked.
    “No, I don’t think so. But they’re strong. And besides, our house have survived strong storms. Remember that time when our car had flew and crashed to a tree? And all the other houses were destroyed but our was still standing?” Mary said.
    Angelica smiled.
    “I’m sure they’ll be okay “ she said. But she couldn’t stop thinking about it when the school bus once again drove out to the I-35 once again.

    Angelica woke up. Thunder roared once again. This time it sounded more like a bomb than a gun shot. Angelica twisted around, trying everything to get some sleep. She heard something that tried to get free. Something… Suddenly, she could see the wardrobe moving. Angelica squealed in surprise. She looked at the clock. 4.50 AM. Angelica decided to sit and study for a while when she had the time free. She tried to ignore the wardrobe too, but it was hard.
    A big lighting struck the sky.
    “Whoa!” Angelica said. Thunder roared again. Mary came in to Angelica’s room. She was shaking. Had she been that scared? Angelica wondered.
    “I…Is it okay if I stay here with you tonight?” Mary asked. Angelica hugged Mary.
    “Why didn’t you tell me you were that scared?” Angelica asked.
    “Well, I was afraid the others would laugh…” Mary said. Angelica looked at Mary for a couple of seconds. Then the phone rang. Who in heaven would call this early!? Angelica thought.
    Angelica went to her desk and answered.
    “Yes, it’s Angelica. Who is this?” Angelica asked.
    “It’s…” Then everything went quiet for several seconds. The voice started talking again. Angelica jumped in surprise. Mary stood and listened. Another lighting struck. Mary squealed in both fear and surprise.
    “It’s Michael” the voice said. Angelica giggled.
    “Who is it?” Mary asked. Her voice was shaking, like the rest of her body. The rain poured down heavily on the window. The wind gave out its usual sighs.
    “And what on Earth are you doing at this hour!? You should be in bed” Angelica said.
    “And so would you. But I couldn’t sleep. Something has been bugging me lately. Something… Well, I’m just going to ask straight out now. Do you have some free time tomorrow? You know, it’s Friday and all the cinemas will open early… Maybe you want to go to a movie or something?” the voice asked. Everything went quiet for a couple of seconds. She could hear the small thumping of the rain on the other side of the line.
    “Sure!” Angelica said. Mary started to giggle.
    “Well, I have to go now. Bye!” Angelica said and hung up the phone. Angelica and Mary looked at each other for a while. Then they burst in to a great laughter. It took more than ten minutes for them to stop the attack. Another lighting struck from the sky.
    “Did he really ask you out?” Mary asked.
    “Yeah” Angelica said. then she burst in to a great laughter.
    “We have a little problem though…” Mary looked at Angelica. Angelica looked back. She was so serious .What was it about?
    “What is it?” Angelica asked. Mary hit the palm of her hand on her face.
    “Sabrina is in love with Michael…” Mary said. Angelica closed her eyes. What started to feel like fire spun around in Angelica’s head.
    “****!” she yelled. Mary nodded to agree.
    “What the hell are we supposed to do?” Angelica asked.
    “I dislike her, but now she’s going to hate me!” Angelica cried. Mary hugged Angelica.
    “We have to discuss what to do. We can’t just dump him, can we?” Mary asked.
    “First of all, it’s just me and Michael. You are not involved. Second, we can’t do anything.” Angelica said.

    That night, Angelica didn’t dream at all.

    Angelica sat and looked out the window. She took a quick look at the watch. It was 6 AM. She decided to get up and make some coffee. Her eyes hurt. She and Mary had tried to discuss what to do, then they came to the conclusion that it would be best to leave things to be right now. Angelica was just worried that Sabrina would have one of her emotional explosion again.
    She put on the coffee and sat down on the table and waited.
    “Hey, Angelica! You’re awake already?” Julie asked. She ran down the stairs.
    “Jesus Christ, would you at least turn on the lights?” Julie asked.
    “Nah, I can see good in light too…” Angelica said.
    “Well, some of us can’t” Julie said. Angelica sighed, then she got up from her chair and turned on the lights. Julie looked at Angelica. Her brown eyes pierced through Angelica, almost like if she was looking right through her mind
    (it couldn’t be)
    quit it! Angelica said quietly to herself.
    “Huh?” Julie asked.
    “Oh, nothing… It’s just…Ha, ha…” Angelica stuttered.


    They sat in the school bus once again. They drove in to the I-35 again. There was something about that road that made it sent shivers down Angelica’s spine. The sun started shining on the sky. The clouds started disappearing from the sky.
    “What’s the matter?” Sabrina asked. Angelica turned her head around.
    “It’s nothing…” Angelica said.
    “Come on… Hit it! I know you and Mary talked about something last night…” Sabrina said. Angelica started feeling bad. Her stomach was twisting around. Why now? She was stuck with a sister she didn’t like, OR cared about either, for that matter
    (quit it)
    and had never given Sabrina a single thought
    (I know you have)
    and also
    (shut it!).
    Angelica walked out the school bus and let the thick air fill her lunges. She had another problem to deal with. The second part of the test.


    Chapter 2 The Monster in the Wardrobe II



    Angelica sat and studied. It was almost 8 PM and her stomach was aching. She hadn’t eaten anything in the whole day. The hunger hadn’t taken her until today. The wardrobe shook. Angelica looked back. The wardrobe had moved. It shook once again. Angelica slowly approached the wardrobe. Her hands started shaking. She slowly opened the wardrobe door. A black creature walked out. It was a shadow.
    “At last, I’m free…” The shadow said. It laughed. It had a dark, yet soft voice. It sent shivers down Angelica’s spine.
    “Who are you? And most importantly, why are you here?” Angelica asked.
    “Who I am? I am nothing, yet everything. And you don’t have anything to do why I’m here. Besides, only you can see me here” the shadow said. It made a gesture in a try to shake Angelica’s hand. Angelica didn’t return the favor.
    “Are you afraid?” it asked.
    “I know what you are thinking. You feel a little bit like you are dreaming, but if it was a reality, you would accept it. You would accept it because you knew that it wasn’t really reality, because you know you are going to wake up sitting in front of your desk.” The shadow smiled. It had red eyes and vampire-like teeth.
    “So if you are everything and nothing, then what are you made of?” Angelica asked.
    “You ask many questions little girl…” the shadow said.
    “You call me little?” Angelica snickered and tried to sound braver than she actually was.
    “I’m older than you. Ancient, in your case. I’m three thousand years old. Yes, my lady, I’ve seen a lot…” the shadow said. He smiled at Angelica’s face.
    “You said you were old, didn’t you? I thought you were going to accept it, because you know you aren’t going to return to THIS reality. “ The shadow laughed again.
    “We’ll meet again. But until that times arrives… Farewell…” The shadow vanished into thin air. Angelica looked around.
    “That was weird…” She said. Then she decided to sit down and continue to study.

    All the thoughts about the shadow had vanished from her mind. Not until she heard rumors about a shadow that was walking around near the school area. Angelica started sweating because she got nervous every time she had heard something about him. Julie always looked at Angelica every time she started talking about something else when the subject about the shadow appeared. Then, what Angelica had feared most, was the day when the shadow would return had come. Angelica sat in her room and studied. She felt that something approached her. Angelica turned around and saw the shadow facing her. The shadow smiled it’s usual toothless smile.
    “How have you been?” the shadow asked.
    “Bad, because you are still alive” Angelica said, trying to sound braver than she actually was.
    “That’s not a very nice thing to say. I’m asking for your assistance. I want you to help me with my mission. To complete it” the shadow said. Angelica stared at the shadow.
    “What kind of mission?” she asked. The shadow handed Angelica a glass with a black liquid.
    Angelica looked at it. The shadow stared impatiently.
    “Well, what are you waiting for!? Drink it!” the shadow said. Angelica drank it.
    “Hurry, Hurry! I don’t have the whole day on my shoulders!” the shadow yelled.
    Angelica coughed when she swallowed it. Everything went cold. Then, everything turned in to fire.
    “What’s happening to me?” she asked. The shadow smiled.
    “Now, that’s it, little girl.” The shadow said. The shadow transformed into a human shape. Then, Angelica changed shape with the shadow.
    Angelica felt it all happen and she was scared.
    “N-No… You can’t do this! I have a date on Sunday!” she yelled. The shadow laughed.
    “Well, since nobody can hear you, why can’t you just keep quiet for a little while?” the shadow asked.
    “I want you to avenge my friends…” The shadow said.
    “Well, can’t you avenge them yourself?” Angelica asked.
    “Now, turn be back in to human shape!” she said.
    “Hold on, little girl. It’s not as simple as you think it might be!” the shadow said,
    “I need you to do this. I’m cursed. I don’t have a long time left, and I can’t run around in this human world too long. When we changed shapes right now, you helped me gain a little more time” the shadow said.
    “So how exactly do I do it?” Angelica asked.
    “It’s so very simple… Kill your enemies…” The shadow whispered the last three words.
    “My enemies!? This is about your freaking brothers!” Angelica said.
    “And I can’t just kill…” a spear appeared in Angelica’s hand.
    “What exactly do I do with this?” Angelica asked. The shadow nodded on the spear. Angelica looked at it. The spear started glowing and an emblem appeared on it.
    “What Is this?” Angelica asked.
    “T’hanla….” The shadow said.
    ”What is T’hanla?” Angelica asked.
    “The holy god that once swore to protect us but died when he tried to save us” the shadow said.
    “A god that actually have existed?” Angelica said a bit skeptically.
    “Yes. Surprised, aren’t you?” the shadow asked and laughed.
    “We have many gods. That god was just a tool for the higher powers” the shadow said.
    “Well, you know what to do now, don’t you?” The shadow asked and vanished. Angelica stood there with the spear in her hand, hoping that none of this had actually happened.

    Angelica woke up the next morning. It felt like it all was unreal. She looked at herself in the mirror. She had returned to her normal self! Maybe it just was a dream. Angelica looked down. She didn’t have a shadow of her own. She walked down to the kitchen.
    “Oh, Hi Angelica! You look a might pale! Has something happened to you?” Julie asked. Angelica looked away for a brief moment before returning to reality.
    “Oh, yeah. Sorry, I’m not really myself today…” Angelica said.
    The bus drove out on the 1-38. Angelica had her face once again pressed towards the window. Everyone around her talked but she kept quiet all the time, careful not to answer any questions. The day went on. A strange rumor waged around the school. It was about a shadow that moved around. No one had really seen a person. Angelica was scared that it was the same shadow from yesterday.

    That night, Angelica dreamt badly. She twisted and turned around in several hours before deciding to sit down and read something. Suddenly, she heard the wind whispering. Strange… She thought. She didn’t have any windows open. Then what could it have been? Angelica glanced from her back. The shadow appeared once again. He was smiling his usual toothless smile. Angelica looked at him for a couple of seconds, then she nodded.
    “It’s you again. What do you want?” she asked.
    “I have a work for you” the shadow said.
    “Look out the window” he said after Angelica had looked at him for a couple of seconds.
    A happy couple was walking outside. It was 4 AM.
    “What do you want me to do with them?” Angelica asked.
    “Take out your sword” the shadow whispered. He was standing so close; she could feel every breath he was breathing. Angelica took her hand and made a gesture to the air as if she was holding something. Suddenly, the sword appeared.
    “What do you want me to do?” Angelica asked.
    “Look out the window. Aim with it like if it was a gun” the shadow said. Angelica did as she was told to.
    “Now, aim at the couple. Breath slowly. In, out, in and out…” the shadow said. Angelica was aiming. The sword started shining red.
    “What’s happening?” Angelica asked. The shadow just smiled lightly.
    “Nothing. Just relax and keep aiming…” the shadow said. The sword went from green to red and then, a huge fireball blast out of the end of the sword. It hit the happy couple that was walking down the street.
    The guy’s head was cut off. Blood was running down to the sewers. The girl’s left arm was gone. Blood ran down it. Both of her eyes were gone. The shadow laughed. Angelica turned around, but it was already gone. She sat down on the floor and started crying.