writing Immortals

[HopeFul 122]

This is a story I started writing in the 7th grade. It's an old one, but one I enjoyed writing. Don't get immortals confused with vampires. My immortals are no body glittered, blood sucking vamps.

 

*Note: I couldn't hit tab, so I separated my paragraphs via the enter button.

 

 

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Chapter 1

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“No!” Sara screamed as she reached out for the house that barely stood in front of her. It was engulfed by flames. Police held her back as firemen struggled put out the fire. She fought and strained to get free until the few firemen came out carrying the bodies, the bodies of her mother, father, and 3 year old baby brother. One of the men removed his helmet with a frown, and Sara knew that they were gone. The police let go of their hold on her, and slowly, she approached the charred bodies of her family, tears held in her hazel eyes. Her mother was still wearing her apron, and her brother, her always eager to see her little brother, was still clinging to a piece of that apron. Tears streamed down her cheeks and held on to her dirty blonde hair which stuck to her face from the sweat that covered her body like a blanket. Her family was gone, and she was alone. With no other loving family members, and no friends, she was truly and deeply alone.

 

---

 

The scene played through Sara’s mind as she gazed out the window of the bus. Sara was eighteen and could live on her own, but she loved her family beyond all things. All she wanted was to be with them. She had just started the 12th grade, the 12th year in school without friends. Her family was all she really had. Never did she imagine that all she had, however, would vanish in front of her. Tears streamed down her face again as she held back the sobs and slouched down in the seat.

 

"I should have died with them," she thought as she gazed out the bus window into the woods. "At least then I wouldn't be so alone."

 

Even as a child, Sara had been all by herself. Though she tried to make friends in school, everyone seemed to dislike her and turn away. The teachers half the time would avoid having anything to do with her, and other than her parents and little brother, not even her family seemed to like her. Everyone always seemed to turn their heads in disgust. At least there had always been love at home, but it didn't matter anymore. They were gone, leaving Sara to take care of herself in the pit of dark loneliness. She lifted her eyes to the window and gazed into the woods beside the bus.

 

Suddenly she noticed a blur through the trees moving the same speed as the bus. She sat up, and leaned towards the window, her breath fogging up part of the window. After wiping the tears from her eyes and wiping the window off, she noticed that the blur was a person. Not able to say or think anything from the shock, she just stared as the man ran along side the bus at the exact same speed. Sara’s breath remained held in her lungs.

 

The man was brilliant. He had white hair that went just a few inches below the shoulders. He wore a white torn shirt and blue jeans. She could see how pale he was even from the bus, and from a distance he looked only 20 years old or so. Just as she started to squint to try to see more detail of the man, he turned and noticed her. He turned back, and then turned to look at her again. A look of shock went across his face. He pulled his arm up, pressed a button, and spoke into something on his arm. Not quite certain about it, it appeared to Sara that the man was glaring at her.

 

Never had Sara seen anything this strange in her life, and with curiosity, she looked around to see if anyone else noticed this incredible man. People were staring out the window, but none of them seemed to see him. Her eyes drifted back to the woods beside the bus, craving to see the strange man again, only to find that he was no longer running beside the bus. He was gone. An abnormal mix of feelings entered her heart, a mix of confusion, sorrow, and loneliness.

 

"Was it all just my imagination?"  She thought as she frowned. Remembering to breathe, her gaze fell to the floor of the bus. There was something about that man, real or imaginary, that made her feel as if she was no longer alone in life. In her heart, she longed to see him again. It terrified her though, this longing, only confusing her even more. "Maybe," she thought, it was because of the fact that he saw her. The man noticed her.

 

Buried in her thoughts, Sara almost forgot what it was she was doing. Her eyes caught sight of a cemetery, and her mind drifted back out of her thoughts of the man and her confusion.

 

“Excuse me, sir.” Sara said, “This is my stop.”

 

The driver of the bus nodded and pulled over. Almost tripping down the stairs over her own two feet, Sara stepped off of the bus. Turning to look back, she gazed towards the woods one last time before walking towards the tombstones of her departed family.

 

Though she was in a cemetery, Sara had always loved the place. What captured her attention the most was how it resembled one of the beautiful European cemeteries with the Mary and angel statues that looked as though it belonged to a story book. There was always some sort of comfort for her when she sat under the forever dead trees by the graves and read novels full of romance and happy endings, and she always liked to look at the worn names on the 1800's tombstones. Her mother had always let her bring a whole bunch of clovers to put one on each unreadable or unnamed grave. Sara always thought that even though it wasn't a flower, it was always respectful to bring something to put on a grave. Placing clovers one by one on each grave, she arrived to her family’s tombstones, the readable among the unreadable stones. She placed a handful of clover onto the graves and fell to her knees.

 

“Mother, Father, Brother, I'm sorry I don’t have anything good right now. I’ll bring flowers next time.” She wiped the tears away. “Although knowing you guys, you probably like the clover better than anything.” She folded her arms on her legs, placed her head on her knees, and wept.

 

Interrupting Sara’s moment of grief was a laughter that roared from behind her. “You humans are so pathetic!” A male voice said through the laughs.

 

“What?” Sara said turning, and she gasped. The man laughing at her was the same one she saw running. He had one pink colored eye, the right one, and a black eye patch over the left eye, and he looked way cuter up close, especially for an albino with an eye patch. “You!”

 

“So you DID see me.” He said. Scowling now instead of laughing, he grabbed the collar of her shirt. “How!? How did you see me!?” He sniffed her face. “You’re definitely human. You reek of their scent.”

 

“I just looked out the window! I promise! I looked, and I saw you running! You looked at me and talked into--” She looked and saw a watch on his arm. “You talked into that watch!” Sara said in a panic.

 

“Hmm…” He put Sara down gently. “See, this poses a problem. Humans aren't supposed to be able to see us through our shields.”

 

“Shields?” Sara asked.

 

He rolled his eyes and sat down with his legs crossed. “Yes, shields. They don’t actually protect us from being attacked. They’re more like a cloaking device.” He jumped back up with a look of realization. “Wait! Why the hell am I explaining this to you! Pathetic human!” A look of frustration and confusion crossed his face.

 

“Why do you keep calling me human? You're human too, and do you seriously think that I believe this crap about,” She made quotation marks with her fingers, “cloaking shields?”

 

Sara paused for a moment, wondering why she was arguing with a stranger about cloaking shields when he was running at the speed of bus.

 

“It doesn't matter.” He said. “You won’t be a problem much longer.”

 

“What are you saying?” She asked.

 

“We don’t need pitiful humans like you going off and gossiping about what you saw. Most likely, people wouldn't believe you, but see, there are those few who may be willing to listen. I don’t want to take that chance, so,” He held her chin and sneered. “I’m going to kill you.”

 

Sara looked at him without fear. “I have no reason to tell people what I saw, but if you want to kill me, then fine. I have no family, no friends. Death doesn't frighten me anymore!"

 

The man’s expression changed to anger. “Stupid girl. Stop your pointless ranting. Shut up and let me kill you in peace.”

 

She glared up at him and laughed. “Ha! You can’t do any more damage to me then anyone else already has. You’d actually be doing me a favor.”

 

He frowned and looked over Sara’s shoulder. “Crow, what do you want?”

 

“I came to check out the babe.” A voice from behind said.

 

Sara turned around and saw a male with a leather coat and baggy black pants. He had short wild black hair, and quite a few facial piercings. “Great.” She said as she rolled her eyes. “Another one.”

 

“Wow,” Crow said. “You mean you actually haven’t killed her yet. You like her, don’t you, Night?” He grinned and nudged Night with his elbow.

 

“No.” Night said. Again, frustration and confusion was expressed on his face.

 

“But just yesterday you demolished a ten story building in the blink of an eye. Why is it taking you so long to kill her?” Crow said.

 

Night let out a growl of a noise. “You kill her.” He pushed her back, causing her to stumble into Crow, and walked off without a glance back.

 

Crow looked at Sara as she got her balance back and dusted off her jeans. “I’m not going to kill you. I think you’re cute, and if you could see past Rem’s cloaking shields, then you have to be something special, plus…well…you’re hot.”

 

Sara frowned. “You must be more blind than your friend.”

 

“We may be evil,” Crow said, ignoring what Sara said, “but you’ll find us to be fun and kind-hearted to our own allies. Night is cold to everyone, but we still look up to him.”

 

“What is with all the talk of cloaks and me being a stupid human? Are you guys vampires or something? Also, why don't you want to kill me? …Wait!” Her eyes narrowed. “Do you have some evil plan to rape me!?” She pulled out a bottle of perfume and pointed it towards Crow. “I have pepper spray!”

 

“Well, as much as I’m terrified of perfume,” He said after he was finished laughing and lowering her perfume bottle with his hand, “it is tempting.” Crow said, giving Sara a whistle.

 

“Stay back!” She said while backing away.

 

“Oh, lighten up. I’m not serious. I hate rapists.” He looked dead serious and even angry for a moment.

 

“Well…Isn't that comforting?” She said. After a short pause, she slowly put the perfume bottle away. Her body was trembling. “If you’ll excuse me,” Sara said, “I need to go now.”

 

“I’ll see you later then.” Crow said with a grin.

 

“…How do you know if you will?” Sara asked with suspicion.

 

“I dropped a tracker down your pants when you were talking to Night.” He said.

 

Sara’s eyes grew wide as she grabbed her butt. “What!?”

 

Crow almost fell over as he laughed. “I’m just kidding.”

 

“Not funny.” Sara said, but she was smiling, something she hadn't done in a while. As rude, weird, and creepy as he was, she had never held a conversation with someone this long before.

 

“I have to see you again.” Crow said. “You’ll have to come back here at some point. I’ll just wait here until I see you again.” He sat down, crossed his legs, and nodded.

 

“That’s a pretty creepy,” Sara responded.

 

“How did you know my name was Creepy?” Crow asked then frowned. “I wish it was. It sure beats the hell out of my actual name.”

 

“What’s your actual name?” Sara asked.

 

“That’s for me to know and for no one else to find out. I absolutely HATE my name.” Crow said. He smiled again. “So everyone just calls me Crow since I’m big on the color black, my hair is jet black, and I love Crows. It's my second favorite animal, plus, who doesn't want a kick ass nickname like Crow?”

 

Sara stuck her bottom lip out. “You won’t even tell me?” She asked.

 

Crow got serious. “No. If I told you my name, it would ring in your ears until it drove you to insanity. Then you’d kill yourself unless the guys with the white coat get to you first.”

 

Sara laughed. “That bad, huh?”

 

“Yes.” He said as he looked at her completely serious.

 

“Thank you.” Sara said.

 

“For what?” Crow asked.

 

“For making me feel better.” She said. “I haven’t smiled since my family died.”

 

“Don’t you have any other family, or friends?” Crow asked, giving Sara a look of sympathy.

 

“No. I’m alone.” She looked at the ground. “In a way, I've always been alone.”

 

“Well, you’re not alone now!” Crow said as he stood up, went over to Sara, and pat her on the back with a grin. “I’m your new best friend.”

 

Sara smiled. “I don’t know if that’s good or bad.”

 

Crow’s hand and head dropped. “Aww. Am I THAT bad?”

 

“I’m just kidding.” Sara said. She turned around and started to walk off. “I've gotta go now. I guess…I’ll see you later?” She asked, confused that she did. “Just don’t stay here all the time. Make sure you go home to eat and sleep every now and then.”

 

“You bet!” Crow said jumping up and giving her a thumbs up. He watched as she walked off then turned and walked off in the direction Night went.

 

---

 

Sara walked down the road for an hour or so, thinking hard about all she saw, wondering if she was having some strange dream until another bus came by. She flagged it down, and it stopped. The doors opened, and a chubby man who was obviously going bald looked at her with a smile.

 

“Need a ride?” He asked.

 

“Yes. Thank you.” She said as she stepped onto the bus.

 

“Well, I was just about to drive this thing back and go home, but since you need a ride, I’ll be nice.” He said.

 

Sara noticed that the seats were empty. “I’m sorry.” She said.

 

“Oh, it’s no problem.” He said.

 

She sat down behind him. “So where are you going?” He asked.

 

“Um…Sorry for causing you trouble, but could you take me to the fire department? I need to stop there to get some things.” She asked.

 

“Sure," the driver said as he closed the bus door.

 

Sara pulled out an almost empty wallet. “How much will it cost me?” She asked.

 

“Nothing.” He said. “I’m off now. I’m doing this out of the kindness of my heart.”

 

“But you must take some money. I’d feel bad if you didn't.” She said.

 

“No. I’d feel bad if I did take it.” He said.

 

“…Okay.” Sara said. She placed the wallet back into her pocket, stunned by the man's kindness. She thought to herself, "Maybe my luck is turning around."

 

---

 

Crow walked through the door into the kitchen. Night was waiting at the table. “Well, did you kill her?” He asked.

 

“Nope.” Crow answered.

 

“Why not?” Night asked with an attempted look of anger.

 

“Same reason you didn't kill her.” Crow said before he started walking around whistling.

 

Night glared at Crow for a second, stood up and walked off.

 

A grin spread across Crow’s face. With a mix of boredom and curiosity, he turned out the door with the decision to go find Sara and make sure she got home okay.

 

---

 

Sara stood up as the bus stopped in front of the fire department. “Thank you.” She said.

 

“Oh, no probl-” he started to say until his cell phone rang. “Hello?” He answered it. “Already!? …Okay, I’ll be right there!” He turned and looked at Sara with a hint of worry. “Will you be okay without a ride home? My wife just got rushed to the hospital. She’s about to have our baby.”

 

Sara nodded uneasily. “Uh…Yeah. I’ll be…fine.”

 

“I’m sorry to leave you like this." He said with a nod of thanks.

 

“It’s okay. You go on ahead.” Sara stepped off the bus. “Thanks for what you've done though.”

 

“You’re welcome.” He said. With a wave farewell, he closed the doors of the bus and zoomed off.

 

Sara watched the bus shrink in the distance. A chill ran up her spine when she heard a familiar voice speak behind her.

 

“Hello, Sara. I was hoping you’d stop by here.” A voice said behind her.

 

Sara turned, tired of hearing voices behind her, to see a fireman standing about five feet away. He had a good sized body and short blonde hair. Sara started to tremble as the man took a step forward.

 

It was the fireman who approached Sara after the death of her parents offering her a place to stay without even giving his name. She had declined, naturally distrusting due to the dark gleam in his eyes, but fate forced her to go to the department he worked at to pick up her mother and father's wedding bands.

 

“I would stay with me if I were you. Where would you go, a homeless shelter? The best place to stay is with me.” His expression was like a lion cornering its prey.

 

"You have no friends, no loving family. Wasn't that what you were sobbing out there beside those bodies?"

 

Crow had joked earlier with her, but this was no joke. "I'm ugly," Sara thought, "I'm nothing special! Why me!? Why this!?" Panic flooded her thoughts.

 

“N-no! Stay back!” Sara said out loud, taking a few quick steps back.

 

He walked towards her with a laugh. "I'm the only one here right now, and all of the other buildings around are closed down for the day."

 

Sara turned and started to run only to hear a laugh of amusement behind her. "You have nowhere to go to and no one to miss you."

 

---

 

Crow frowned as he stopped in an alley. “I should have asked her where she lived.” He said to himself.

 

Just as he was about to turn and run, something ran into him from behind. He turned around to see Sara with a look of fear.

 

“Sara! There you are!" Crow said, beaming with delight. "…Wait…What are you doing running around in an alley this late at night?” He asked with confusion and a small bit of humor.

 

“Crow, you have to help me!” She said throwing her arms around Crow.

 

“Well, I understand you've suddenly fallen for me, but-” He started jokingly then stopped when he saw the man heading towards them. Crow’s face grew serious as he moved Sara behind him.

 

“I’m sorry.” The man said. “You see, that’s my daughter, and she ran away from home. I’m just trying to take her back.”

 

“Oh, is that right?” Crow asked, his body growing tense as he glared at the man.

 

“Yes, so if you would just be so kind to give me my daughter.” The man said.

 

“Funny. When I met Sara, she was at her family’s graves. That includes her father.” Crow took a step towards the man.

 

“Well, it seems I should have used another lie. That’s okay. You’re no threat to me anyway.” The man said as he stepped towards Crow. “You’re scrawny. Someone like you couldn't-”

 

Crow ran at the guy, moving in a blur, and punched him in the gut. The man looked shocked as Crow's fist sent him flying back. Landing on his back, the man was knocked out.

 

“Piece of cake. Easy as pie. I’m hungry.” He turned towards a shocked Sara, rubbing his stomach with a grin. “So I’m guessing that you have no place to stay?”

 

Sara looked down and started to cry. “No. I stayed in a motel for a few nights, but...but...” She started to sob.

 

Crow walked over to her. “Sara.” He placed his arm around her neck. “We've got plenty of space where Night, Rem, and I live. How could you keep this from your best friend?”

 

“I just met you, Crow.” She said, an almost laugh escaping her lips.

 

“Which means it’s time for the moving in stage.” Crow said as he lifted Sara up in his arms. “We've got extra rooms. You can stay in one of them until you have another place to stay.”

 

“Won’t Night kill me?” Sara asked, pointing out what seemed like the obvious.

 

“Of course not. He spends most of his time brooding.” Crow smiled at her. “Don’t worry. He’s really cool once you get to know him.”

 

Sara smiled uneasily. “If you say so…best friend.”

 

“You really mean that?” Crow asked.

 

“Of course.” She said, letting everything sink in. “You saved me twice, and now you’re giving me a place to stay.”

 

Crow took a running step forward. Sara noticed everything grow blurry around her, and turned her head towards Crow to turn away from the pressure of the wind. “What’s going on?”

 

“I’m taking you to your new home.” Crow said, confused that she was asking.

 

“No. That's not what I mean.” She asked as she started to squirm around in Crow’s arms.

 

“Oh. We’re moving at about 90 miles per hour.” Crow said.

 

“90 miles per hour!?” Sara almost jumped out of Crow’s arms out of shock, but the air pressure forced her against Crow.

 

“Yep.” He grinned. “I’m the fastest of the immortals.”

 

“Wait a minute. Immortals?” Sara’s head started to spin. She had wondered if they were some form of vampire.

 

Crow screeched to a halt, tearing up grass and dirt. “Yeah.” He said. “Want me to prove it?”

 

“I don’t know.” Sara said as Crow put her down.

 

She watched as Crow pulled out a gun and put it to his head.

 

“No! Wait!” She screamed.

 

Crow pulled the trigger, but stood there smiling. Sara stared in horror as Crow pulled the bullet out of his skull. Slowly his skull started to look good as new, and new skin, even new hair covered where the bullet hit.

 

“It’s a good thing I've got a hard head.” Crow said.

 

Sara fell to her knees without a word. Crow walked over and waved his hand in front of her face. “Anyone there?” He asked.

 

Finally, she spoke. “Must be hard to cut your hair.” She said, not knowing what to say.

 

“Not really. My body remembers how it was before and repairs itself to look that way. If I cut my hair, my body doesn't see it as a wound, so it won’t try to repair it, but if I take a wound to the head, it’ll grow my hair as long as it remembers it being.” Crow nodded when he was through. “I think that was what Rem said. I dunno. He’s really good with all of the explaining.”

 

“How do you do that?” She asked.

 

“I dunno. If you want a scientific explanation, ask Rem when you meet him. I can’t explain it all.” Crow said.

 

“Can you learn something like that?” Sara asked. She stood up.

 

“Learn what?” Crow asked.

 

“Learn to be immortal.” Sara answered.

 

Crow fell to the ground, laughing. “Learn to be immortal? No.” Finally he stopped and stood up. “Immortals aren't part of the human race. We’re born to be immortal. Once we suffer a wound bad enough to kill a human, we die, come back to life, and remain that age forever as immortals. Do NOT get us confused with vampires.” Crow stuck his tongue out in disgust. "Drinking blood...yuck..."

 

“So are you like…an alien?” Sara asked, dizzy from taking all of this in.

 

He laughed. “I guess you could say that. I was born on Earth, but my father came from another planet. I feel like we’re playing the twenty questions game.”

 

“I still have a few more.” Sara said.

 

Crow picked her up and started to run. “Ask away, princess.”

 

“Is that your real body?” She knocked on his chest like a door.

 

Crow started to laugh so hard, he almost dropped Sara. “Of course it is! Many humans came from our kind actually. Some immortals have human children, but that’s basically giving birth to a whole different race.”

 

“How?”

 

“If they haven’t been reborn yet, and they have children, then that child is born human. Some live on another planet, some live here. It’s a real long history thing, so I’m not going to explain it. If I do, I’ll fall asleep from boredom while running at high speeds. That wouldn't be a good experience for you unless you like the thought of getting an extreme permanent grass stain.” Crow slowed to a stop. “And we’re here.”