Second Place Short Fiction: Light in the Dark by Dezmynd Johnson, Boonville

Second Place: Fiction Light in the Dark Dezmynd Johnson, Boonville

The darkness grows ever so slightly, the world grows into a ball of splintering flames, and I resist the urge to change it for the better. I cause chaos in the hopes of making the world change itself. This is my outlook on the world. My name is Allucard Reyes, originally H. Tepes, but the modern world would call me “Phantom.” I come from a powerful lineage. My father, big surprise, is Dracula Tepes. My mother, well, her name is too much for the mortal mind to comprehend. She happens to be the child of a demon and an angel, and not just any demon or angel, but two of the most powerful, the archangel Michael and the demon herself, Satan. I grew up alone and I’ve had a lot expected of me, but I ran when the time got tough. I discovered most of my power after escaping. Don’t get me wrong, they were good parents, but it was too much for me to handle. That was centuries ago. This story is a rather compelling one about being the child prodigy of a powerful couple and the outcast of the world. It all starts centuries after I was born and years after leaving home. The world, as you would say, sees me as the enemy, but I see myself as more of an inspiring figure. I’m hated because of my father and because of my vision, or it may be my actions. I’ll never know and I will never care. I don’t see myself as the one they should be afraid of. I teach the mortals that they are the ones they should be afraid of. My name is Allucard, but you can call me Phantom. It’s what the rest of the world calls me. Onto the story...I killed the woman I loved, I put her down as if she were an animal. See, it all happened so fast. She betrayed me to the mortals, and I could never forgive. I was attacked by the people. They stormed my manor and burned my home. I could not sit back and let this happen, so I revolted. I used my abilities, my control over the darkness, and cast them all into an endless abyss of suffering. Ever since that day the mortals fear me and tell their children to be wary of me. They tell stories and sing songs about me. My favorite, however, is the one about kidnapping children and making them my slaves, which I have never done. But I guess that is what happens when you defend yourself. I can see the future, and it doesn’t look good for the mortals. We’ll convene later.