Silent Dawn

The blood eclipse was the last thing in my mind today, though I should've feared everything about it. Today also happened to be my twenty first birthday, normally a time of celebration and drunken foolishness. Not for me however, no. My birthday consisted of darkness, the sickness and one birthday gift that would change the entire world.

Party goers poured into my house without a care in the world, drawn in by greeting cards my parents likely sent out ages ago in a over abundance of love. I was way to old for this kind of thing, but I endured figuring it to be one of few I had left with my parents not knowing this would in fact be my last I bounded down the stairs from my bedroom painting on a fake smile greeting aunts, uncles, and cousin's from all over. The Alabama heat smacked me in the face as I pried open the sliding glass door to the lush greenery outside. My name's Ashley Grace and this is my story.

As usual my parents had tables lined up against the wooden privacy fence and had covered said tables in bright pink table clothes as though I was five again. "I haven't liked the color pink since I was a toddler" I mumbled to myself still smiling like nothing at all was wrong. My mom greeted me at the poolside, "I'm sorry about all this hunny, you know how your dad gets" she sighed sympathetically. "I know, i'll grit through it" I bared my teeth in a mocking smile causing my mom to snort slightly. "well you'll have the night with your friends at least. Uncle Tom offered for us to take a trip to the cabin and stay the night. Your dad didn't want to but I took him up on the offer to drag your dad away for a minute" She chuckled while looking at dad managing the grill. "I appreciate that, I'll tell Uncle Tom thanks as well" I said drifting away to go mingle.

"Thanks for getting dad away for the night Uncle Tom" I whispered as I hugged him so dad wouldn't hear. "Mhm, nice to see you too hun" he replied trying to stay discreet while standing next to dad. "Ashley, hunny, did you thank everyone for coming?" Dad spoke up while glaring at a burnt burger, he really was a horrible cook. "yeah dad, I welcomed everyone and said how much I appreciated coming for such a great meal" I snickered watching him play with the cremated meat. "Your supposed to cook the food dad, not turn it into hockey pucks!" I laughed some more. "Hardy Har-Har kiddo, Happy Birthday" He grinned sheepishly. "Look at your present table though kiddo! its completly packed!" He said while sweeping his hand towards a vast pile of presents in every shape and color. "I believe Grandma even sent you something from wherever she's at right now" my grandmother was an anthropologist doing important research all over the world. Right now she was studying the ruins in some long forgotten city in Bangladesh.

I couldn't wait to open that present because I knew it was going to be something unique. I mingled for a few more hours, helped my mother order pizza since my father had managed to reduce our remaining burgers to charcoal. The cake my parents ordered was amazing, a three tier sheet cake to fill everyone up who showed, the marbled butter cream frosting was to die for. My cousin had made it in her bakery, the only one still in our small town, but it meant a lot to me. I had plans to move away after college, and I graduate this year. So I knew I didn't have many of these moments left. My eye's kept flicking back and forth to my present table, something there was beckoning to me, I could feel an almost primal call to whatever it was. I had never been excited for material objects until now for somewhere in that massive pile was a one of a kind object.

Present time finally came around and I nearly tripped over everything to get to my spot in front of the pile. The first few gifts were of varying importance from clothes to a new laptop to a flight to Boca for summer break and the end of my school year. Finally my father handed me a gift still in the mailing box it came in. "This one is from your grandmother, it just arrived this morning otherwise we would've changed the wrapping" he sighed, it almost seemed to hurt him that it wasn't packaged to his liking. "It's okay dad, it's what's inside that counts." I laughed half-heartedly trying to make a joke. Energy surged through my hands as I carefully unboxed this simple but mysterious gift. It could be anything from a tiger's tooth to a piece of pottery. As I removed the item from its cardboard prison I could feel it was wooden whatever it was. I carefully removed the cloth wrappings that had held this precious cargo to reveal an intricately detailed wooden box with silver accents. A card with a note was alongside it which read "Dearest Ashley, I hope this present finds you before your birthday comes to pass. It's a three thousand year old artifact that shows how old and how deep my love is for you. I was given permission and a certificate of authenticity for you to have it. I'm sorry I can't be with you on this day but know I am with you always. Love forever, Grandma." My eyes watered as tears fought for the right to flood my face. I missed my grandmother more than anything but she always knew just what I needed.

I slowly opened the box revealing a heart shaped locket with carvings similar to those on the outside of the box. I quickly removed it from its black velvet perch and snapped it on with ease. The silver chain accentuating the delicate curves of my neck, the ruby accents within the silver making my strawberry red hair blaze even brighter and complimenting my emerald green eyes perfectly. Within the locket was a picture of my grandmother and myself on one side and a golden tiger's eye stone on the other. Commonly tiger's eye stones are used for protection in many cultures. I, however, didn't think much of it at the time. The energy of the party slowly started to die down as guests slowly left and my parents packed up to leave for the night.

"Be careful tonight hun, it's a blood moon tonight so I don't doubt some real weirdo's will be out tonight" My dad chuckled his warning trying to sound at ease. "I'll be fine, I'm just going out with a couple of friends, I'm not even going to drink" I said rolling my eyes. I wasn't a what anyone would call a partier. In fact my friend's call me the grandma of the group. I wave goodbye to them just as my friends pull up for us to go to a bar down the road. Melissa, my longest friend, peaks her head out of the back window "You ready grandma or do you need to find your dentures again?" she belted out. She was already two shots of tequila in along with several beers and mix drinks of various makings. "I'm ready if you are" I said slipping in next to her on the other side.

Night fell as we were leaving the bar, as promised I hadn't had a drink, however Melissa was already passed out and being dragged out of the bar by our friends Michael and Mathew. The blood moon was high in the sky and causing it to turn a sickening redish black. I turned my face to the sky and took a deep breath. That's when I heard it and I instantly had a feeling it had something to do with the locket and the box. It was a sound I'd never forget and one that haunts me to this day. It was a scream but none like I'd ever heard before nor since. It was a gutteral half growl half scream. Mathew dropped like a sack of potatoes and where this sound seemed to have been coming from, I rushed to his side while he seized uncontrollably, his eyes turned white. I begged Michael to call an ambulance for him as something was very wrong.

As I was yelling at him to call he dropped as well and started the same thing as Mathew and it seemed Melissa was doing the same. The sound was louder than it should have been from just my three friends, but as I looked back towards the bar there was several people outside doing the same thing. I fumbled with my phone quickly trying to dial 911 through the tears and fear. I tried to calm myself good enough to explain to the operator what was going on and what I needed. She dispatched all the available ambulances within the area to our location. As I got off the phone with the operator my mother called, I shouldn't have answered, I knew better. She was crying saying my father wasn't doing well and went on to explain what I just witnessed my friends go through. It was the start of the end of the world, and it was all my fault.