Evil - Chapter 1
Bronard, Missouri wasn’t on my list of top 10,000 cities in the world to visit, and yet that was where I found myself, sitting across from a magical pixie, a mere twenty-four hours after a crazy monst
This is a portal fantasy series with mythological roots and action-adventure tendencies. You can search through all my work on my website.
It's not easy being the Antichrist.
Anjelica’s mother never told her that she was a demon. Now, all she wants is her old life back, but that’s not possible for her. Not after what she’s seen.
Anjelica used to be a popular cheerleader with an awesome life, but that was before an evil cult of demons tried to use her blood to open a portal to Hell and start the Apocalypse.
She was rescued from that fate, barely, and because of the imminent threat to her life, her saviors ripped her from Los Angeles and brought her to a safe house in the middle of nowhere.
They said it was for her own good, but she would rather be dead than stuck in boring, old Bronard, Missouri. She was from the big city, so a sleepy, rural life wasn’t for her.
She longed for excitement.
So, when she met a young witch with a mysterious past who promised to show her everything she knew about opening portals and traveling between distant lands, they bonded immediately
I mean, what’s the worst that could happen, right?
It’s not like they would open an intergalactic gateway to another planet and get thrown into a brand, new world with no way to get back to Earth, right?
Join Anjelica in her own solo adventure and find out what happened to her immediately after the events in Magic.
Bronard, Missouri wasn’t on my list of top 10,000 cities in the world to visit, and yet that was where I found myself, sitting across from a magical pixie, a mere twenty-four hours after a crazy monster had tried to use my blood to start the Apocalypse…all because I was a demon.
No, I wasn’t just a demon. I was the antichrist. Actually, that’s not right, either. I’m an antichrist. One of dozens, hundreds, thousands. I had no idea how many little demon babies were growing up around the world waiting to explode and cause the Apocalypse, just that I wasn’t the only one. According to Kimberly, whatever crazy potion I drank last night had diffused the part of my blood that was capable of ending the world…but that only neutralized the antichrist part of me.
I was still a demon and would be for the rest of my hopefully rather long life. On top of that, demons and other evil creatures would continue to pop out of the woodwork and cause trouble for me if I stayed in Los Angeles.
Which meant I was a danger to myself and my mother until I figured out how to control my powers and could defend myself at least, and that fact brought me to Bronard, Missouri, a small town in the middle of nowhere, hours outside of St. Louis, where cows outnumbered people ten to one—according to a proud sign outside of town.
“You’re not eating,” Kimberly said to me with a small smile. “This isn’t going to suck any less with an empty stomach.”
How was she my age? She wasn’t big, but she commanded a room with confidence and poise. Even with half the diner staring daggers at her, she didn’t cower or fold to them. Bronard wasn’t the kind of place that welcomed dark-skinned teenagers. Or maybe they were wary of her because there was a very good chance she could kill everybody in this restaurant all at one time with both hands tied behind her back and not break a sweat.
“I’m not hungry.” That was strange in and of itself. I was always hungry.
Kimberly reached over and pulled a fry from my plate. “That’s too bad. If there’s one thing Bronard does well, it’s diner food. This town runs on pancakes and ribs.” She popped the whole fry in her mouth and smiled at me. After a few seconds, her face fell. “They’re nice people. You’ll see.”
She was talking about my new “parents,” Carl and Junebug. “I’m sure they are, but like, I just wanna go home.”
“If you go home, you’re putting everyone in danger, including your mother. I can’t protect you in Los Angeles. I can protect you here.”
“But you really aren’t protecting me, are you?” My eyes narrowed. “You’re dumping me here and leaving so that Junebug and Carl can protect me.”
Kimberly leaned forward. “There’s a lot of fairy-folk in this town, and they look out for each other. I’m leaving you in the best hands I can, given the circumstances.”
After I’d said goodbye to my savior Ollie and left the coast of Hawaii with Kimberly, I was filled with excited adrenaline, ready for a new challenge, thrilled to start a fresh adventure. However, in the hours that followed, that excitement drained from me, and I realized the ramifications of my decision. I was relegated to a small-town life, cut off from everything I ever knew, and I would have to build from nothing again.
“I don’t want to seem ungrateful,” I started. “But—”
“You can stop there. Nobody has ever looked good after they started a sentence like that.” She shook her head. “Listen, this is your decision. I can tell Junebug you had a change of heart and take you back to Los Angeles right now, let you fend for yourself. We both know how well that worked last time.”
“Hey!” I said. “I survived.”
“You survived because you lucked into finding Ollie, and that somehow Ollie knew Phil, and Phil contacted me. If any of those things didn’t happen, you would be dead, and you know it.”
I started to argue but stopped. She was right, of course, and any argument I formulated seemed stupid in comparison. “I do appreciate it.”
Kimberly yawned. We had been up for over a day now, and it was wearing on both of us. “You could do a better job showing it, but like I said, I know this sucks.”
I popped a fry in my mouth. I had to admit, they were really good. Just the right amount of salt. I thought for a second, chewing slowly before I finally looked at her again. “Why did it have to happen to me?”
“I don’t know,” Kimberly said as if she expected the question. “Life sucks. Did I ever tell you how I was kidnapped by a banshee when I was eight?”
I shook my head. “No, I would have remembered that kind of story.”
“Well, it happened,” she said. “It brought me to Hell, like real-life Hell, and I was rescued by my mentor, Julia, who I watched die in front of me some years later.”
“That sucks.”
“Yeah, and I go to bed most nights wondering why all this happened to me. I just want to play soccer, graduate, and go to college. Here I am, helping you instead. Do you know I have an exam today? Like, a hard one, too. I am woefully underprepared.”
“Why are you doing it then?” I asked.
“Because we all gotta deal with our lot in life. We can’t run from it. Destiny doesn’t care what we want.”
“Sure you could, you could run away.”
“Then you would be dead,” she replied. “I can’t have that on my conscience. I have these powers for a reason, and it’s my responsibility to use them to help people. Especially because everything else in the world is working to hurt them.”
“Crud,” I replied. “When you put it like that, I guess I should just shut my mouth.”
Kimberly took another fry. “That was my polite way of saying as much. Now, if you’re done having a pity party, finish eating so I can introduce you to your adopted parents.”
I swallowed my sadness and dug into the food. The salty, deep-fried chicken sandwich made me feel better. It really was some amazing diner food. Kimberly was right about that, even if I had my doubts about everything else.
***
After stuffing ourselves with a second helping of fries, Kimberly and I left the diner and began walking down the street. It was mid-morning, and the sun beat down, protecting us from the winter cold.
“Why don’t we just flash directly to the house? I mean, you can literally teleport from one place to another at will.”
“I can,” she replied. “As long as I know exactly where I’m going. Otherwise, I’ll get lost in the ether, and I absolutely do not want that.”
“No, I imagine you wouldn’t.” The rocky ground crunched under our feet as we walked. “Doesn’t walking seem boring by comparison, though?”
She kicked a rock through the white fence next to us, and we watched it skid into a thatch of corn stalks. “Honestly, no. When you can flash anywhere you want, walking is a luxury. Besides, another reason we’re walking is for you to get a sense of the town—your town.” She pointed to a big silo painted to look like Big Bird. “That’s the Henson Silo. Aside from the water tower, it’s the highest place in town, so you get your bearings if you need it. Sun sets right over the silo from your house.” She pointed over to the other side of the road, where a big blue water tower loomed over everything else. “That’s the Bronard water tower, tallest structure in town. Sun rises behind it, directly east.”
“A silo and a water tower are my two biggest landmarks. Jesus Christ, what did I sign up for?”
“It’s not like Los Angeles has a lot of big buildings, either.”
“No, but it has more than here.”
“Fair enough.” She laughed. “Small-town life takes getting used to, but there’s a calmness to it. You’re not going to get a lot of high-profile celebrities rolling through, but everyone will know your name. For our purposes, that’s important.” We reached a stop sign, and she pointed to the right. “This way.”
“What if I hate it?” I said, following her. “This is a big change for me.”
She thought for a moment. “Did you like Los Angeles?”
I nodded. “Of course. What’s not to like?”
“So much stuff.” Kimberly kicked another rock off the side of the road. “I mean, it’s dirty. The people…suck. Plus, everything costs a ton of money. It smells like smoke everywhere you go…did I mention the people suck?”
“I’m from Los Angeles. So is Ollie. Do we suck?”
“Ollie most definitely sucks,” she said playfully. “But you’re okay, I guess. I’m just saying, this place has its charm if you let yourself see it. It’s not as progressive as the big city, but it’s beautiful country. You can actually smell the freshness in the air.”
That I couldn’t deny. As we walked, the sun glimmered in gold, orange, and yellow over the wheat fields, rippling from the wind. There was a tranquility to it that I never had in Los Angeles. I loved LA, but the city felt slapped together in a hurry. Even “new” roads felt a hundred years old and taking a stroll without a destination just didn’t happen there, not unless you had a death wish.
After a twenty-minute walk, with the water tower behind us in the distance, we turned down a dirt road. “Here we are.”
A rusted shed sat offset to the right of the driveway. An old tractor rested inside, covered by a dirty, rusted, metal overhang. Some farm equipment stood against the wall of the shed. I recognized a hoe and a shovel, but the rest were foreign to me. Wild grass grew in thick patches and several large trees arched over the road. At the end of it was a big white house with a pick-up out front. Two rocking chairs sat on the porch, and on them, a Black man and white woman sat, drinking from coffee cups.
When Kimberly saw them, she smiled. “Hi, Carl! Junebug!”
“There she is,” Carl said, standing. “We thought you had a change of heart, girl. Where you been?”
“Took her to Cheryl’s for breakfast.”
“Last supper,” Junebug said with a smile. “Just kidding, kid. Cheryl’s is pretty good for an out-of-towner. You must be Anjelica.”
I nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Good manners,” Carl said. “Better than the last one you brought ‘round.”
“The last one?” I asked, confused.
June set her cup down and walked toward me. I placed my hand out to shake hers, but she wasn’t interested in my hand. Instead, she wrapped me in a big hug. “Don’t you worry about that none. All you gotta know is that you’re safe here.”
I wanted to protest, but something about her energy made me collapse into her bosom, and suddenly all the pain of the last day, everything that I had been through, burst out of me. I fell into her, crying.
“It’s okay, child,” Junebug said. “You let it all out. There’s no shame in crying. None at all.”
“Kimberly,” Carl said, waving her forward. “Why don’t you come inside for some coffee. Leave those two outside for a moment.”
Kimberly patted me on the back as she walked past. The weight of my legs became too heavy a burden to carry, and I slid to the ground. Junebug came with me, settling onto her knees. I collapsed into her lap and cried, and cried, and cried, for my mother, for myself, and for the life that I left behind.
This is a portal fantasy series with mythological roots and action-adventure tendencies. You can search through all my work on my website.
Your story is a wild, imaginative ride that blends supernatural twists with heartfelt emotion, pulling readers into a richly textured world of demons, destiny, and small-town secrets. I really liked your story and see too much potential in it the way you intertwine suspense with deeply personal journeys makes it both engaging and memorable. Plus, I have an idea for your story and would love to collaborate with you to take these magical elements even further!