Sunsets Rise

Fresh Starts

Rated: Teen

For the past few days both Ethan and Benny were in this, phase… The Seer, mourning the loss of his one and only girlfriend, vampire bestie, in turn, the wizard was mourning the loss of his Grandmother. Benny stood at her grave, next to his parents. He sighed then knelt next to it on one knee, his hand rested at the tombstone itself. “Grandma…" He began, "The dreams, they’re becoming more and more real. I don’t know what to do… Ethan needs me, at least, I hope he does. After you well, died, I felt this new power surge through me so I researched. I spent hours locked up in my room reading anything magical I could get my hands on so I could figure out what was happening to my powers.” The teen sighed, “I guess what I’m trying to say is thank you. You are - were - the best  caregiver I could’ve asked for. If I’d moved in with Uncle Luke like the cops wanted I never would’ve found out about the vampires, or my powers. I love you grandma, you’re the best woman ever. I hope you’re happy, wherever you are.” Then he dug in his back-pack for something, “I found this,” he produced a chain with a strange symbol on it, it was a pentagram, he made it into a charm necklace by adding a loose necklace chain from his Aunt, who moved in to care for him after his grandma died. Benny placed it near the foot of the grave, “I know it means protection, against what, I don’t know yet. Maybe if you were still alive you would be able to tell me what it really means.” A girl’s voice spoke from behind him,

“It’s for protection against demon possession.” Benny jumped in surprise then he turned around. The girl wore an old jean jacket, black jeans, and black combat boots. Her hair was in a messy pony-tail and her face looked like she just ran a mile. “I’m Elizabeth, my friends call me El.” Benny nodded then responded,

“Benny, Weir, Benny Weir.” She looked at the grave marking his grandmother’s final resting place.

“Did you know her?” She asked pointing to the stone. He nodded,

“She was my grandmother.” The girl, El’s, eyes flashed a quick expression of confusion then covered it up faster than the blink of an eye. Elizabeth said,

“Meredith helped my family out of a few tight spots. I’m sorry she’s dead.” Benny nodded again, then stared at the grave. “Can I ask, how did she die?” He flinched, but Elizabeth didn’t miss the look of blame he wore before he replaced his mask. Benny said,

“Yeah, she was in a car crash.” At least, that was the story Ethan and he were going with, it’s not like they could go to the police and say vampires were real. “It was pretty bad, the car got so smashed up you couldn’t differ the hood to the trunk.” Her eyes narrowed as if she could tell he was lying, but she let it slide. Instead she said,

“My brothers and I are moving into town, you know any good hang-out spots?” Benny nodded then she said, “great, cause I’m going to have to avoid them.” He frowned, but before he was able to question her she turned around and walked  towards the Impala in the parking lot. He squinted as something in her hand reflected off of the moonlight then realized she was holding a lighter. Sighing he picked up his bag, placed his hand on the gravestones marking his loved ones, than he walked in the direction of the house, mentally preparing himself for a night of nightmares and torment.

Benny stared at his hometown, it was engulfed in flames. New fires started up randomly as the flames spread. His breathing quickened, he raced through the town to look for Ethan, the Morgans, and his own Aunt. As he reached town square he realized the town itself was quieter than normal. He slowed his pace, not wanting to attract attention to himself. The wizard began to look into store windows to find another person, but there wasn’t anybody else. He reached his street, all of the houses were literal piles of ashes, all except his and Ethans. The dynamic duo’s houses were in ruins, not quite ashes yet. No. He thought, Benny ran into the Seer’s house in hopes of finding him. No one was there, not even Jane was hiding under her bed, or in her closet. He raced back to town square, as he neared it he smelled the smell of something burning, meat, and the river of blood flowed thicker. He kept trying to shake thoughts out of his head, but they managed to sneak through the cracks. The teenager finally reached the center of town square only to be met with the pile of dead bodies. His eyes welled up, but he refused to cry. Instead he ran to the nearest body, maybe someone was still alive… As he dug through the pile of his dead friends and family he saw Mr. and Mrs. Morgan, teachers from school… He even saw Elizabeth, the new girl from the cemetry, and two guys he’s never met before. Finally he reached the bottom of dead bodies to find his one and only friend. Drops of water  hit the pavement as he held his friend close to his chest. Benny cried as his nightmare became a reality, all of his friends, everyone and everything he knew was destroyed. Benny squeezed Ethan’s arm in a poor attempt to get a reaction from him. The Seer’s face was half covered in scars and burn marks. His knuckles were bloodied and his nose was broken. Whoever killed Ethan…  the teen went down fighting. Benny screamed.