Celeste and the Eyes of the Demon (Part One), by Kevin Lazarus
(Excerpt From: Celeste and the Eyes of the Demon – by Kevin Lazarus)
NOTE from the author: Wednesday and Monday I’m sharing with you excerpts from my latest short story. Friday, we’ll have another guest blog about writing or the entertainment industry. Thanks and enjoy! K. Lazarus
The moon hung low on the horizon–enormous and bright. Moonbeams so brilliant they lit up the darkness–casting shadows as the noonday.
A single house on a large estate stood solitary in the magical glow–frost forming on the neatly manicured lawn. A Victorian porch, tidy and elegant, sat quiet as the night. Shadows through the railings–flowing down from pillars and posts–appeared stark and twisted against the siding of the house. A calico cat nestled in a white rocker slept as the chair gently teetered in an autumn breeze, its runners clicking against the wooden slats on the porch.
As if mist was gathering, a curious shadow gradually appeared against the porch stairs, slowly rising with each step–at first blending with other shadows on the porch. Then, passing from post shadow to post shadow, as if it were longing for darkness, it stood directly before the front door.
A bony hand, leathery and pale, holding a small box wrapped in brown wrapping paper, gently placed it on the stoop. With a friendly tap of the finger on the box, the shadowy figure stood and quietly disappeared with the next gust of autumn air.
As Carol Chandler left her home, she didn’t have time to notice the incredible snow capped panorama surrounding her Denver estate. She was late for work. As she fumbled with her car keys and her briefcase in one hand, and a cup of coffee in the other–an overly stuffed file folder tightly under her arm–she nearly crushed the obscure package. With growing frustration, she set down her coffee cup and picked up the box.
From the address it was apparent that it was in the right place. Seeing that it was for her daughter Celeste only made her more frustrated. She placed it on the table near the front door. Then, retrieved a folded piece of paper from the burgeoning heap under her arm and set it next to the box. In a moment of anxious consideration, she then picked up the small package and set it on top of the paper. The front door shook the front porch as she slammed it. Nearly halfway down the steps, she realized she was missing something. In an angry dither she spun around, hurried back to the front door, opened it, retrieved her coffee cup and then slammed the door even harder as she left for the second time. “Good grief!” she said. “Why am I always picking up after that girl? She’s such a mess!” She sorted through her keys, looking for the right one. “She must have walked right over the top of that!”
***
The banner hanging near the top of the high school entrance read: “Buccaneers Halloween Dance 7pm October 31st”; dangling from that was another banner, smaller: “Tonight!!”
The hallways were packed with monsters, goblins and creatures of every kind–dressed in mostly homemade costumes. One kid walked around in a cardboard box that said “Cheerios” on the side of it. Another was dressed up to look like Frankenstein with foam bolts sticking out of his neck. Reams of kids dragging and scrapping their feet, pale skin, sunken eyes with lots of blood, meandered about acting like Zombies. Pirates, some with plastic sword and others with duct tape swords were plentiful. Only a handful of students, mostly girls dressed in black–with somewhat revealing outfits–had fangs. A small cluster of them paraded about hissing at the other students and then laughing hysterically when someone jumped–cheerleaders.
Standing near her locker a young girl fumbled through her things. Not because she was nervous, but because her costume was so cumbersome. With the exception of her face, she was wrapped up like a mummy–her wrapped hands making it impossible to handle anything. From behind her someone squealed.
As she turned to see who it was, every line in her face fell as she frowned. A small band of cheerleaders dressed like vampires, were pointing at her. One of them, a tall slender beauty, perfect make-up, perfect hair, perfect name–Celeste–clearly the leader spoke. “You look great!” she said. Celeste smiled wryly as did the rest of her cheerleader friends.
The girl stuttered a little as she spoke. “Do-do-you really think so?”
Celeste flung her long blond hair about trying to act sophisticated as she gave her friends a glance and a wink. She walked up to the young girl and leaned in real close, and with all the arrogance she could exhibit she said: “Are you serious–do you know how stupid you look Davin?”
Celeste’s friends began laughing as Davin frowned again, her face becoming flush.
“You brainiacs should just give up,” Celeste said, with obvious disdain.
Davin minced her lips tightly, clearly angry. Her eyes became cold. “Gee—thank you Celeste, you’re such a–wonderful friend–why would I ever need enemies?” Davin slammed the door to her locker. “And to think, we were once friends–” She gave Celeste another cold glance. “Then you got pretty–”
Celeste, a little surprised at what appeared to be a compliment, began to smile until Davin finished her sentence.
“–and stupid!” The line of Davin’s mouth straightened as she gave Celeste a dirty look.
The cheerleader’s mouth dropped open. And with every ounce of anger she could gather she started spitting and sputtering. “You–you little–”
At that point Davin said nothing else, she just turned her back to Celeste, picked up her books and walked away–trying not to appear hurt. She gave Celeste another spiteful glance and then hurried out of site. (CONTINUED)
Read the rest of the story FREE on Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/128033
Copyright 2012 Kevin Lazarus/DreamStream Productions Inc.
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