• Emily Cresant Light and Dark
    “Find me the girl, find her and bring her to me.” the man’s red eyes stared straight at me, and his mouth opened to a set of bloody teeth and a serpents toungue.
    That’s when I woke up, sweating and gasping for breath. The large birthmark on my back burned, my hands shook and all I could see was the man. I shook him from my mind and reached for my water taking a large gulp.
    My alarm clock showed 2:00 but my head said 7:00 it hoped that It would be 7:00 so I could get up and get ready without a second look, but I couldn’t, I mentally and physically couldn’t.
    I reached over to my bed stand and turned my lamp on. I quickly grabbed my sketchbook and drew the face so I could show my friend at school later that day. I was a big art freak. I could draw you a butterfly so well it would look like I took a picture of it. All my teachers stare at my book with disbelief. I was 13 and I could go to any art school in the world, or sell my pictures for millions, but I didn’t. I liked it here in my small town, the small town of Warren, Montana. I’ve lived here for well, ever. I was, and still am Emily Cresent. Black hair, pale face, green eyes, I looke nothing like my parents, but that’s what’s to be expected when you were adopted. Marie and Kevin Cresent were my adoptive parents, but I didn’t care for all I knew for the first 9 years of my life they were my parents they are my parents and nothing would change that.
    I continued drawing, the bloodshot eyes, the pointed ears, everything about this man was scary. Adding the man’s tongue was disturbing, it was so vivid, it was familiar. I shuddered at the thought of it being familiar. Carefully coloring the drawing in I sighed. I had no idea why I was doing this, but I knew there was a good reason. I heard my mom’s alarm clock ring, she would come in to check up on me, that was good. I popped my Ipod into my ears and turned on Miranda Lambert’s Gunpowder and Lead. One of my favorite songs. As I continued drawing I felt my birthmark burn again, especially when the lyrics said “I’m gonna show him what a little girl’s made of gunpowder and lead” my shoulders tensed. The birthmark kept burning. It was strange, it always was uncomfortable, but it never burned like this. If you saw my birthmark you’d scream it looked like an arrow with a snake twisted around it. It was very detailed too, but the doctors confirmed that it was only a birthmark.
    “Emily?” my mom’s tired and worried face looked at me, “Whats wrong?” she always knew something was wrong when I had my sketchbook and my ipod out.
    “Just a bad dream mom its nothing.” I smiled, I tried to smile, but it started burning again.My face screwed up in pain.
    “Emily Marie, I know when something’s wrong, is-is it something about a boy?” I looked at her my eyes locked into a dead stare.
    “Mom!” I snapped then I sighed, “This is what’s bothering me,” I held up the half colored picture.
    “Oh honey.” She whispered. “Was this man in your dream?” I merely nodded as the snake burned again. I winced, and her face was extremely worried. “Emily?”
    “My-birthmark.” I gasped as I saw another face, it looked a lot like the first one but its hair was extremely long and disgustingly greasy. The one before was clean and short cut.
    I fell into another dream.
    It was black all around me, a fire light the cave around me just enough to see the men in front of me. The greasy haired man and the one from my dream before. They stood in front of the fire their hands deep inside the fire. They didn’t yell they weren’t being burnt, they were talking as if they didn’t have their hands in the fire.
    “Hashim,” the man with little hair said, “The girl is getting older. She is getting more powerful by the day.”
    “Chetwin, I know this, but I cannot get her while they are around.” Hashim hissed. “As she grows more powerful they tighten their defenses.”
    “Then we must make her come to us.” Chetwin laughed and withdrew his hands from the fire. “She’s a girl we know what makes a girl weak especially a teenage girl.” Hashim smiled with Chetwin.
    “I’m getting bord now that we’ve got a plan. I’m going to find something to do.” The gleam in his eye was frightening.
    I felt my heart pounding as a creature came into the cavern in shackles. My eyes opened at the sound of my name. People were standing around me, I was in a white room with little flowers around the edges.
    “Um, hi?” the people around me didn’t pay attention they were paying attention to the machines around me, which were attached to me.
    “Hello? I’m obviously the patient so anyone wanna check up on me?” the man closest to me turned around.
    “Oh my, you’re, wow, I’m going to, yeah.” I looked at this idiot who was a man named Dr. Smith.
    “Okay Dr. Smith.” I said confused.
    He walked out the door and spoke to a doctor right outside the door, he nodded scratching his small scraggley beard. The older doctor said something and Dr. Smith nodded and left. Walking in limping slightly, the old doctor threw his thumb over his shoulder when the nurses (I took a wild guess) looked to him.
    “Well, well look who’s awake.” He smiled at me, his blue eyes bright and friendly. “How are you feeling?” he took a light out of his breast pocket and shone it in my eyes. I squinted, the light was blinding.
    “I’d be feeling better if you’d get your light out of my eye.” I said a little bit of a snap to my voice. He ignored me, and kept asking questions.
    “When’s your birthday?”
    “If you must know its July 4th.” I said turning my head away from the light to prevent permenant eye damage.
    “Look at me,” he ordered more fire in his voice than a doctor should have. I glared at him. “Good, now how old are you.”
    “13.” I looked away again.
    “Do you know what’s happened to you?” his eyes flashed for a moment and I thought they looked red.
    “No I had a bad dream and my birthmark burned then I fell asleep again and had another dream. Now is it my turn to ask the questions?” he smiled, and shook his head.
    “What of this birthmark?” I glared at him again.
    “Its on my back, shoulder actually.” He scrutinized my face, he seemed to be trying to detect a lie in my eyes.
    “May I see it?” I shrugged and moved my hospital gown so he could see it. It burned slightly but it was bearable. “Amazing,” he breathed. “Are you positive it’s a birthmark?” I nodded.
    “Very well, my examination is done, I wish to keep you here for a few days to make sure you’re in tip top shape.” He left before I could say anything else.
    I looked at my room for the first time. There was no window, only a door that was closed. The machines were unhooked and I got up to stretch my feet. The ground was cold, the white tile was creepy. It was perfectly clean, there was no dresser only a bed and some machines. No way for me to contact the outside world.
    I was confused, my mom worked at the hospital I would be taken to, but she wasn’t here and this was not her hospital, I was positive of that much. I walked over to the door and looked through the small window. Outside it looked like a cave, not a hospital a cave, with Stalagmites and stalactites. Creatures from the deepest depths of my nightmares walked around. I turned around and slid down the door. The Doctor was back, and he was hissing, slowly and rather disgustingly changing from the doctor to Chetwin, and Dr. Smith was next to him, changing into Heshwin.
    “You shouldn’t have done that Catori.” Heshwin hissed, “Now you know our secret. Now you must be punished.” Chetwin laughed as he lunged towards me. I jumped out of the way only to find Heshwin in my way. I ran and clawed at the door. It opened and I ran barefoot down the cavern hall. I followed the breeze, I ran through the monsters and the stalactites.
    “Get out of the way!” the two yelled, “She’s escaping Catori is escaping!” I had no idea why they were calling me Catori but I knew I had to get away. I escaped the cave and dove into the forest with unkown grace. I didn’t know where to go I just put one foot in front of the other as fast as I could, dodging the trees and the bushes.
    Feeling the cuts on my feet tears started falling. They stung I was scared and It was dark out. And being chased by two demonic snakes was not helping at all. The trees got thicker as I continued on with unknown stamina.
    I ran as fast as I could as well as I could. I could hear the snaps of the limbs behined me, I could see their faces in my mind, it distracted me and I tripped. I fell to the ground, rolling a few times before hitting a tree. I was bleeding from too many places to count, my head hurt and any strength I had was being sucked away by my tears.
    Through my sobbing I heard the snapping of branches and roots behined me. This made me sob harder.
    “Catori, what a shameful thing to do, running from your masters.” Chetwin sniggered at Heshwin’s words.
    “You don’t own me.” I managed to grumble, I winced as the words hurt.
    “Oh that’s what you think.” Chetwin reached for me, and picked me up, holding me up to his face, I smelled what I thought was rotting flesh between his teeth.
    “I said you don’t own me, now put me down and leave me alone.” I said between teeth that were clenched in anger, frustration, and pain. They laughed and I got angrier. My pain started changing to anger, which converted to the energy that I needed.
    “Maybe I need to repeat myself boys, I am NOT yours, you are monsters, and you, you don’t need me.” Chetwin screamed and dropped me to the ground, I felt the seven foot drop in my bones but I ignored it. “And one more thing, I am not Catori.” The men were cowering before me, their bloody faces alive with fear.
    “Heshwin, Chetwin, you pathetic monsters, leave I shall deal with you later.” A voice boomed from behind me. I felt hot air on the back of my neck, I smelled unthinkable stenches. My strength once again left me.
    “I knew it; you’re merely a pathetic girl. The monster picked me up. A fresh wave of the rotting flesh smell erupted over me. I felt pathetic. I felt like curling up in a ball and crying. Pain erupted from the birthmark on my shoulder, as something moist touched it. “But you are the Catori girl we’ve been waiting for.”
    “Let go of me,” I sobbed, “please.”
    “No way girl, not until we suck all of your power out.” I winced at the thought, I didn’t know why but I did. I didn’t know why, but I felt like I had let so many people down.
    That’s when I saw her, the beautiful maiden, her dress was white and a white light illuminated the forest around us.
    “Coal, you know the choice is hers.” She said her voice just a whisper.
    “Yes, now she chooses, us!” he laughed.
    “No,” I whispered my voice weak. “I don’t choose you, I chose her, you took me from my family, you put me in this situation and now, you die.” I quickly regained my strength and I turned in his claws and hit him.
    “No!” He wailed, there was a golden shower of sparks as I hit him again. This time he dropped me and the woman came down to me.
    “You did well, I am proud of you Catori; no I’m proud of Emily. Without Emily Catori wouldn’t be the way she is today.” She smiled; tears appeared at the corners of her eyes. “I am proud of you, my daughter.”
    That’s when I again fainted, passed out. I remember waking up in a man’s arms a strong man’s arms. His voice was quiet and calm as he spoke to the paramedics. Through the next few days, I drifted in and out of consciousness I saw my mom, my dad and a real hospital. I finally woke up at 2:00 pm on a Saturday.
    “Mom?” I rasped my throat dry. She looked at me, tears welling up in her eyes.
    “Emily, my baby!” she cried, my dad ran in, the lines of worry that I saw earlier erased when he saw my open eyes. He said nothing, only patted my head, our little secret way of saying, I love you.
    Apparently I had fallen back to sleep, and my mom went to work, in that time I was abducted and barley escaped with my life. A mountain man had found me and called 911 from his cabin. I spent two weeks in the hospital, drifting in and out of a coma.
    But I knew no one would believe my story so I write it here, in case any Catori or spirit girl needs it, to escape from the clutches of her captor. I am only one in the line of women who have been through this, my mother my grandmother and so on all had to chose, chose between the darkness and the light. I hope that my daughter makes the right decision, and chooses what they believe is right, and hopefully she doesn’t have to go through what I did. The pain and the suffering of being taken by the darkness and being returned by the light is unbearable, but it doesn’t kill you.
    Now I am learning to be the leader of the light, to guide the good and protect them from the darkness, but not to overpower it balance is needed in the world, light and dark are just a small part of the grand scheme of things.
    What is the grand scheme? No one can be sure, but I know we all play a part in it no matter how small.