The Terrors In The Night

Chapter Two

Thankfully, during to his fast driving, it didn't take long for us to stop. I slowly climbed out of the car and made sure I wouldn't vomit, before standing up and looking at the house. It looked like a simplish place from the front, like all the others on the street. Avyanna and Pietro walked up to the door, unlocked it and walked in. It was huge on the inside, going further back than you could see. Avyanna led the way to the lounge room, then to a door just off of it. She unlocked that one and there were stairs descending into darkness below.
"You go first," she instructed and I hurried to go down the steps. I could hear something that sounded like people chanting. It grew bigger the further down I went. I came to another door, so I pushed it open and took in the sight in front of me. It was a giant cavern underground and people were all standing around something in the middle of the room. Lights lined where the roof met the wall, giving an eerie glow to everything. I listened closer and they were all chanting "New, bie" so I knew this had something to do with my initiation. A man who must be in his thirties saw me and came over.
"You must be the newbie," he greeted.
"Yeah, that's me," I replied. He put his finger in his mouth and let off a whistle, silencing everyone.
"She's arrived," the guy announced and everyone cheered. He led me to the middle, where I finally saw what they were crowding around. It was a little boy, who couldn't have been no older than 10, tied to a chair. He had tears streaming down his face and he looked very scared. When he saw me, he looked at me with hope.
"Please help me," he whispered.
"What do I have to do?" I asked the older man. He looked down to the knife that I still clung in my hand and I realized what he meant. I walked up to the boy and stood in front of him.
"It's going to be alright. I'm going to help you. You're going to be free," I told him and he smiled, misinterpreting my message. "You will finally know the beauty of the darkness," I hissed, as I raised my knife and slit his throat. He had a look of shock on his face, before he closed his eyes and went limp. I reached my hand out and smeared my hand on his neck, covering it in blood. I looked at it, smelt it and felt empowered. I was finally who I was meant to be. I raised my hand high above my hand so everyone could see the blood and they all cheered happily. I smiled and cheered too, because I finally belonged somewhere. The man from before came up to me and I assumed he was the leader.
"You now get the option to take a new name. Pick carefully, because you will be stuck with it," he stated and I nodded. I thought about all the names I'd thought of through the years and found one that I liked.
"My name is Malise," I said and he nodded.
"What does the name mean?" he asked.
"Black or dark," I answered. The people around me started chanting my new name and I liked it. I finally lowered my hood and they all stopped, staring at me. It was mostly likely my hair and eyes, because that's what everyone stared at. I had gone through the effort of dying my hair so it looked like it was fire months ago, but something had gone wrong and it wouldn't come out, not that it mattered. Amy took me to a hair specialist and determined that the chemicals in the dye had gone into my scalp and my hair would always look like this. Amy was annoyed, while I didn't mind. I really liked my hair and how it suited me. My eyes, on the other hand, were black, so you couldn't tell the difference between my pupil and my iris. It freaked most people out.
"Wow," Avyanna commented and everyone started complimenting me. Not many people did, so I just thanked everyone and took it all in. Then everyone when silent again and was looking towards the doorway.
"I take it we have a new initiate?" a gruff male voice questioned.
"Yes Rikard," someone answered and they sounded fearful.
"Then let me see them," he boomed. I now get the feeling that he was the overall boss of everything. The man from before, who I still didn't know the name of, led me quickly towards the doorway. Once there, I saw why everyone was scared. He was huge, length wise and bulk wise. His size alone would have been intimidating. But the look in his eyes was so intense. It told you not to mess with him, because he could crush me like a bug should he want to. I stood in front of him, my shoulders back and radiating confidence. I was not a bug and he didn't scare me. "What is your name girl?" he said, crossing my arms.
"My name is Malise. And I am no girl," I replied and everyone gasped. It seemed no one had stood up to him like this before. He made a noise of amusement and intensified his gaze.
"Malise, you have the nerve to speak like that to me?" he stated and I crossed my arms too.
"I'm not afraid of you," I told him and I thought I saw the side of his mouth twitch, hiding a smile.
"It seems so. You'll do well here," he finished and I knew from the tone of his voice that I shouldn't say anymore as he turned to walk back up the stairs.
"What does your name mean?" I questioned and he stopped.