Hearing Light: Chapter 11

I walked upstairs to find Charlie, Stephanie, and Anair laughing with each other. I looked at them and asked, "Ha, hey, what's so funny, guys?" They both looked at me and Charlie smiled broadly, "Chris and I are back together." I looked at her and smiled, "Oh my gosh! Are you serious?" they both nodded and I looked around the room.

"Where'd he go?" I asked confused. They both looked at the window where the ladder was.

"He had to take the ladder, so he left via window." Anair laughed. I nodded and I grabbed a book by my window. It was called "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark." I walked over and Stephanie and she frowned, "I think I've had enough scary stories for one night. I want to go to sleep." Stephanie fell on her sleeping bag and fell fast asleep. I laughed and put the book down.

"Hey, do you know what they broke?" I asked. Anair and Charlie glanced at one another, "They broke that whiteboard with that incredibly good picture on it..." My heart lurched a bit before running over to the corner where my picture had been. The heart was split in two, and the only side remaining was the one half heart with the full picture of the girl and the dark haired boy. I clenched the pieces in my arms before putting them back down.

"Hm, seems like someone's got a little crush on Vinny and Q." Anair teased evilly. I could feel the blood rush to my head.

"N-No! It's not them!" I stuttered. They all began to laugh.

"You're so red Naomi!" said Charlie holding Stephanie's turtle. I shook my head and felt my cheeks.

"I am not!" I shouted embarrassed. They continue on the wave of giggles until I sat down pouting. I looked at Stephanie who rolled over in her sleep. Geez, she was a heavy sleeper!

"I think Steph has the right idea." I chuckled. I walked over to my light and clicked it off. Anair and Charlie went over to their sleeping bags and lay down. We were all asleep as the clock changed to three.
***
Falling asleep isn't as easy as I thought it would be. I woke up at around 4:00 before giving up and sneaking outside to get some fresh air. I sat outside with my iPod playing and tried to relax. The air outside was cold and crisp as the winters in California were. A rustle in the bushes were heard as a boy stepped out. In his hand was a glistening knife. He walked menacingly towards me and he was frowning. His hair was a light yellow-brown and he was about 5 feet, 5 inches tall and he had the lightest blue eyes.

"Ha, I can't believe how childish you are. You didn't listen to anything Vincent said when he was right." I stood up quickly out of my seat.

"You...you're that kid. The one that attacked me that night. What do you want from me? Why are you trying to kill me?!" I began to panic. He took in a deep breath before replying.

"The reason for my madness?" He chuckled a bit, "I'll tell you the method to my madness if you want." I looked at him bewildered
.
"Why would you tell me what you're doing?" I chuckled, "For a killer you sure are different. Giving away your reason to kill me?"

"Aren't we all a bit crazy?" he retaliated, "But crazy people can sometimes be the best people, and crazy times are the ones you'll remember for the rest of your life." he replied, "And yes, I am going to tell you. There's a reason behind all of this. You won't live to tell the tale of Lorenzo Leon." He ran quickly towards me and blocked the door to my house before I could react. That guy was Quinn's older brother...the one Vincent had warned me about. Does that mean I would really die? What would happen to my family? They would be grief stricken...

"Hey-" He said as he interrupted my thoughts, "I will tell you my reason for killing people. I will tell you once and no more."

He slowly stalked closer to me, "Quinton is my younger brother. Always the favorite always treated special. Got every girl who would ever come to like him." He pushed a long strand of blonde hair out of his face, "But one day he crossed the line. I had a girlfriend who was a year younger than me. She was kind and the only girl whoever would love me...and you know what he did?" I shook my head out of fright 'no'. His tone became colder and he shouted, "WELL DO YOU?!" I shook my head and screamed, "No...no I don't know!"

I felt water begin to pool in my eyes. My whole body seemed to quiver as I looked at him.

"He fell in love with her, and took her away from me! Then after a few months, he broke up with her just for kicks!" he swallowed a bit before looking at me coldly,"She committed suicide a week later. I never even got the chance to comfort her. Ever since then, I swore that if Quinton ever kisses a girl, she would be the next to die. He doesn't deserve anyone after what he put me through!" I looked up at my window. All the lights were still off. They were still asleep.

Lorenzo was scratching intensely at his hand, drawing blood that was in the pattern of a star, but with several strange glyphs along the outside. "I've already succeeded at the murder of 3 women, and I was put in a mental hospital. But they can't keep in someone like me for long." He extended his arm and the glyphs glowed faintly. As the glow became brighter I had reflexively moved my hand over my eyes.

'Surely Charlie, Anair, and Stephanie would see this bright light...maybe Vincent will come to help me...' my mind flowed and tears ran down my cheek, '...or maybe he'll let me stay here to die. To prove a stupid point...'

The bright light died down and a figure rested next to Lorenzo. A small girl with long blonde hair and a white dress. She had frail hands and feet and looked as pale as a cloud on a sunny day. All she did was hug Lorenzo, as if he were the last person left in the world. He sat down in front of the door with her.

"This here is the method to my grand success. The spirit of Ann. Or as some people called her, 'Witch Ann.'" He placed a hand gently on her head and stroked her hair lightly, "She was killed in this very house on account of a false claim of witchcraft. All she wanted was the house to be alone, so she's scared away everyone whoever lived her. Slowly tormenting them with mental images and physical things until they would go mad and leave. Ann was betrayed by a loved one, just like me. So she's been helping me on my quest to kill you."

He stood up and left Ann sitting on the porch. Lorenzo strode close to me.

"She's spied on you ever since you first kissed Quinton. Ann here is like my own camera. I've come to your house every night until the perfect time came. Do you remember that night, Naomi?"

My eyes grew wide and I looked at him, "But...how were you able to see Ann? This doesn't make much sense."

"I asked you if you remembered or not idiot."

I nodded. "I remember."

"Okay, now we're getting somewhere." He rolled his eyes. "Ann sensed my grief and showed herself to me the first time I visited your home. Slowly I gained her trust. Now she trusts me completely, and has agreed to help me kill you."

Ann chuckled evilly from the side as she ran towards me and hugged me, "Big sister, let's play! The games called 'Killer and Victim.' You'll be the victim.." Lorenzo grinned broadly as he picked up the large knife to his side and prepared to swing, "And Renzo will be the killer!"

I screamed as I knew what would be coming. Pain, blood, torture, and death. The palms on my hand were sweating and my face was soaked from tears. He swung back and brought the knife down quickly. I closed my eyes and screamed an ear shattering scream.

"Huh?" Ann squeaked. I opened my eyes slowly to see Ann holding me, but her eyes were twice their size. I wasn't dead, and the knife had not struck. The killer's hand was grabbed by another. He was dressed in black and he had black nail polish on. On his face was a crooked smile.

"You won't kill her so easily Lorenzo." He said.

Christopher growled. "Vincent Shiori...what do you want?"

Vincent chuckled, "You not to kill her."

Ann jumped up from her grasp on me and charged at Vincent. His left hand moved quickly and kept Ann from attacking. She then began to frown and she faded slightly.

Ann looked at me and cursed, "You were always meant to go to hel...hell you damned..."

I looked up to see a bright light next to me. I was suddenly calmed and relaxed. My tears dried and I stopped quivering completely.

My guardian angel...

The light engulfed Ann in light. She morphed from the shape of the little girl into a demon. Her face was wrinkled and pulled back tightly. Her eyes dissolved leaving nothing but the eye sockets and her lips were ripped off leaving sagging skin and her teeth showing, yellow and spiky. The skin slowly turned red as she screamed in agony. She disappeared leaving no trace of her. Vincent squinted his eyes at the bright light.

At this, Lorenzo struggled out of Vincent's grasp and lunged for him. He swung fiercely at Vincent, who blocked the blow with his arm. Lorenzo dropped the knife and began to hit Vincent as much a humanly possible. Vincent grabbed his arms and flung him off him. They struggled standing up for quite some time before I stood up and tried to run inside. Behind the screen door I watched destiny unveil itself. Vincent ran towards the tree and as fast as he could towards Lorenzo. Lorenzo picked up his fallen knife and ran towards Vincent as well. Vincent took a swing with his fist and his opponent with his knife. The knife stabbed Vincent in the arm and Vincent hit Lorenzo in the back of the head so hard you could hear a large SNAP.

Lorenzo choked a bit before coughing and staggering forward, falling on the grass harshly. The knife was stabbed through Vincent's upper arm. He made a small hitching noise out of pain and pulled the knife out before going on one knee. I ran towards Vincent and he said, "I told you Naomi...I'd rather have you broken-hearted than dead."

"Move! Get in the yard!"

"Go, go, go!" someone else shouted. The fence was kicked down and police officers ran through followed by Stephanie, Charlie, and Anair. I hugged Vincent and tried to keep him upright. The police officers went straight to Christopher who lay unconscious on the ground and two went over to help Vincent and me. The arms of the officers pulled us up and kept up both steady. Vincent held his arm and I had kept my hand on his other shoulder. His black hair covered his face and the painful expression he had on.
"Naomi!" Anair shouted. Tears were running down her face as well as Charlie and Stephanie's. They hugged me tightly and they were sobbing as much as I was.

"Oh my God...we heard that guy yelling...and you screamed bloody hell...we called the police and...and..." said Charlie scared and shaking.

"Thank God you're alive Naomi!" Stephanie shouted. A police officer tapped my shoulder and motioned for me to follow. He asked me a few questions about Christopher. What was his intention? How did he almost kill me? I answered them all while staying calm surprisingly. The police officer smiled comfortingly and asked, "How were you able to stay calm in all of this?"

I smiled sadly as I saw Vincent being placed in the ambulance. He looked at me from the stretcher and smiled before they closed the door and drove him to the hospital. I looked at the police office and replied, "Well...I believe it was my guardian angel. She was as bright as a star and protected me. I think I heard it say something to me...'I will protect you no matter what. I love you.'"

The police officer looked confused. He scratched the top of his head and looked at me, "How can that be possible?"

I simply smiled and said to him, "Everything's possible, even if it seems impossible. It was just like hearing light, with the light of my angel protecting me, and it comforting me at a time near death."

I turned towards the street where Vincent's ambulance was, "And tonight, I had two guardian angels watching over me." I began to cry a bit, but not tears of sadness, but tears of joy. Joy that was suppressed inside of me for the longest time, and that joy was what lead me to hear light.