Nicolette Croga- Origins

This is just a short series of stories about how Nicolette Croga came to  be :)

The door opened with a quick twist of the key, just like it always did. Easily and without effort. Gently, I crooked the handle, opening the door and peering into the house. Bare dark scenery stared back at me, barely visible in the dim light. I guess it had been to much to hope that her parents would be home. I walked into the house fully, throwing my heavy rucksack carelessly at the wall, glad to have relieved my shoulders from its constant weight, before pressing the door back into place and pocketing my keys.

With my hands now unoccupied I shot her arm out against the wall and fumbled blindly with my hand for the light switch. I slipped my shoes off with my feet as I tried to find the switch and when I did the lights flickered into life, reflecting light off the wooden floor and changing the grey colour of the stairs carpet to a lush light brown. I was only thirteen years old but I seemed so much more mature then most thirteen year old children. I guess that was because I was always expected to be mature. I had never been allowed outside with other children, my parents would never be around as they constantly worked and they were to scared that their 'little girl' might be taken.

Like they would notice. I had been forced to mature quickly, multiple lessons ranging from cooking to physical activities like dance, climbing and Martial arts. Kids at school envied me. When I told them tales of my lessons they would swoon in admiration, wishing they could have the life of the little rich brunette in front of them. But all the little brunette wanted was their life. Sure I loved the skills I had been taught but all I really wanted was to have friends, I wished my parents would come home before I fell asleep and stay at the house before I woke. If it wasn't for the fact I would fall asleep on the sofa and wake up in my room I would of doubted I had any parents at all. To be completely honest I just wanted a family.

Stalking into the sitting room I smiled, the fire was already lit meaning the room was already warm. Normally I would have to start a fire by myself and wait a grueling long half hour for the room to enter non subzero temperatures. Walking over to the sofa, I flipped the switch for the TV and as I snuggled into the soft fabric the TV whirred to life. My hand moved to the coffee table subconsciously for the remote but instead my fingers wrapped themselves around paper. Frowning I turned my full attention to the object and brought it to my face. On the back of the paper was a name.

To Miss Nicole

I unfolded the crumbled paper and a smell of old pine washed over my senses, the note smelled old as if it had been written years ago but obviously it couldn't of been or I would of received it years ago, it must of been aged paper.

Nicolette if you are reading this then you are obviously at home, I don't know what time your opening this but if you head straight for the TV it shouldn't be long after 3. I just wanted to let you know that something has come up in mine and your fathers business and we wont be home for a few days, I have contacted your nan and she should be at the house before 7oclock, regards Amelie.

Regards? Her mother had written regards? This wasn't some business letter! I crumbled up the paper annoyed and tossed it effortlessly into the open fire, they could give me all these skills but they couldn't give me any love, they couldn't even write about it. Why did they even bother having me in the first place if they had planned all along to ignore me. I stared up at the TV completely turned off by the idea of watching the same continuous programs I usually did and instead used the remote to switch off the TV. After I set the remote back down and laid on my back, watching the fire as I up against the back of the sofa. The fire seemed so active and alive compared to everything else in the room which way grey and unmoving in contrast. It seemed sad to think that the fire was normally the only 'living' thing I ever really had contact with at home.

Time passed and I don't know how long I spelt curled up in a sulk, it could of been 1 minute or one day considering how entranced I had been. However even though my parents weren't here to break me out of the trance my nan was and to remind me of that a ring echoed from the door. I blinked rapidly before sitting up the right way and allowing my hair to fall over my face, to tired to really do anything about it.

I always day dreamed, and when ever I stopped I always felt so tired, as if I was stumbling through a blurry reality that shifted around me, well at least that's what it felt like as I moved from the sofa and headed to the door. The room seemed to ripple at the edges and the shadows around the door seemed to flicker up the walls, changing positions even though the object outside that was casting the shadow was unmoving.

I should really of checked for the door but at this late and in this state it never really crossed my mind. It was so unlike me, so against everything my parents and teachers had hammered into my head, but I did it anyway and as soon as I pushed the handle down to unlatch the door the shadows crushed in around me, holding me in place as I black figure stepped threw the door.

Suddenly I was wide awake as a cold blast of air whipped me in the face from outside, however the cold was the least of my problems right now as I was unable to move meaning I couldn't stop the dark figure in the door way from entering.

If I hadn't been frozen still by the shadows the fear would of frozen me anyway. The figure clearly wasn't my nan and all I wanted to do was run, every instinct in me screamed at me to run but I was physically unable to. I just didn't want them to come near me, didn't want them to touch me. So when they bent down to my eye level and looked at me straight in the eyes I looked away only to have my eyes smacked back into place as the figure clutched there icy hand around my cheek.

Their eyes skimming over my face as if they was searching for something, I don't know what they were looking for but a cruel smile across their hardened face confirmed they had found it. Before I could even cry out the shadows thrashed my body against the wall and I fell to the floor unconscious...