ONE The best way to describe Kristen’s relationship with her sister Jennifer now one year later after becoming best friends with Amanda Hansen; and close friends with Nicole, Haley, Gillian, and Heather was like having a noose strangling her neck. All thanks to her sister, Kristen’s life was going straight to hell. Jennifer wasn’t even human anymore, but a psychotic zombie who relished in tormenting her at every turn, and there wasn’t a thing she could do about it. Entering the gymnasium, dressed in her red and blue one-piece cheerleader uniform, Kristen shook away thinking about Jennifer further. She needed to as so she could concentrate on one of the things she loved and cherished most in life, cheerleading. Continuing forward over the tan floorboards it was just seconds before she was standing side by side with her best friend Amanda Hansen. Tall and slender like her, aside from their faces, they looked exactly alike. “So all ready to tell Lauris and Samantha we’ve decided on letting them become Tigresses Amanda?”
“Sorry Kris, I talked it over with the rest of the squad, and given the rumors going around school about them being witches...” “It’s just a rumor,” Kristen said, cutting her best friend off in mid-sentence. “Sorry Kris, with discussing it, as well as also taking a vote, the entire squad, save you, me included all want Chloe and Alexa over Lauris and Samantha despite you being co-captain, you’re overruled.” “But that’s not fair Amanda you didn’t even give me a chance to vote! Besides, you know Lauris and Samantha are one hundred times better than Alexa and Chloe!” “I’m sorry Kris, but you’re just one person.” “Yeah sure, thanks a lot my so-called best friend,” Kristen said, feeling the rise of disappointment. Glancing all about, this feeling grew even larger with Lauris and Samantha’s arrival. Okay Kris time to go break the bad news to them. “So Kristen, are we Tigresses or not?” Lauris asked; hope building up on her face as she reached the pair.
“I’m sorry Lauris; the rest of the squad chose Alexa and Chloe over you and Samantha,” Kristen answered. “Oh come on Kris you can’t just stand there and not admit Samantha and me don’t have what it takes to be the squad!” “I’m sorry Lauris but Amanda and the rest of the squad outvoted me on choosing you and Samantha over Chloe and Alexa. There’s nothing I can do about it.” “But Samantha and I tried so hard!” “Look I’m sorry Lauris, but there’s nothing I can do about it.” “But that’s not fair! Oh forget it; we’re just wasting our time trying to argue the point with you. Come on Samantha let’s get out of here.” “Thanks a lot Kristen,” Samantha said, her voice strong with disappointment as she headed after her best friend. “Lauris, Samantha, I’m sorry!” Kristen called out after them, the disappointment growing worse than ever in her. I swear to you Kristen Flemings, you and your friends are going to get yours, and soon I swear, Lauris thought in anger as she and Samantha made their departure.
“Kris I’m sorry,” Amanda said as Kristen started heading back towards her. “Just save it Amanda,” Kristen replied, not bothering to stop. “You all disgust me so much I’m not even going to bother practicing today.” “Kris, I said I was sorry!” “I said save it Amanda, it’s starting to sound like a broken record!” **** Why me? Kristen thought as she changed back into her everyday street clothes; the depression over ruining Lauris and Samantha’s dream of being Tigress cheerleaders overwhelming in her. What Kristen always dreaded in coming home was her older sister Jennifer. The thing Kristen could always expect with arriving home, being tortured and terrorized in some painful way or another at the hands of Jennifer. Stepping from her red sports car, Kristen stood there, wondering if she should dare go in. No, this was her house as well, and maybe by some miracle, Jennifer had decided to turn over a new leaf. No who was she kidding; her older sister would never do something like that. Not anymore anyway. It was like the Devil himself was masquerading as her sister, and the charming,
sweet natured Jennifer she used to know, was being hidden away somewhere, from her and the rest of the world. Moving forward with caution to her steps, it was less than a minute before Kristen reached the porch steps which would take her up to the front door. Again, the feeling of dread of entering her home and probably having to face some sort of painful torture at the hands of her demented sister took over, preventing her from taking another step further. What Kristen wasn’t expecting not even seeing Jennifer in the house; and then out of nowhere, her older sister was behind her; and suddenly wrapping her arm around her neck in a tight chokehold, starting to cut off her air. “How was school today little bitch-brat?” Jennifer whispered into her ear. “Please Jennifer stop, let go, I can’t breathe!” “But don’t you love your big sister Kris?” Jennifer taunted. “Now let’s get inside and spend some quality time together.” The next thing Kristen knew, once Jennifer managed to get the front door unlocked and opened, she was roughly forced inside, the sound of it being slammed shut like thunder going off in her ears. “You know little bitch-brat, I can’t help but notice how you’re developing into a beautiful
young woman,” Jennifer said, pushing Kristen down onto the sofa with a hard shove. “It brings me to think about how good you’ll taste when I’m biting into your perfect skin, and how mouthwatering it’ll be. Now stand the hell back up, and get those clothes off, I want to be left with a lasting visual before I start tearing you to shreds.” “Jennifer please, you don’t have to do this!” Kristen cried, her face rapidly filling out with pure terror. “Is there something wrong with your hearing??” Jennifer screamed. “I said get your ass up and undressed!” Being alone and having no one around to protect her, given their parents were still at work, and not wanting to make Jennifer angry, Kristen had no choice but to do what her older sister ordered. “Everything?” Kristen asked, rising to her feet, a genuine look of fear dominating her face. “I didn’t stutter did I?” Why me? Kristen wondered as she began stripping off her clothes to appease her demented sister’s mad, crazy demand. All the while wondering how it would feel to have Jennifer burying her teeth into her flesh.
In less than two minutes, Kristen got herself stripped down to her underwear. Just as she prepared to remove this as well, Jennifer yelled out a sudden, “all right, stop, that’s good enough.” Jennifer’s starting to head toward her to make good on her threat, Kristen felt absolute misery. There was no doubt now in her mind, this probably was going to be the end for her. Amanda would lose her best friend; the Tigresses would lose one of their co-captains. Jennifer and her parents would lose both their daughters, given, by definition; her older sister was already dead. No! Kristen couldn’t allow it to happen! Hurrying to the stairs and starting to rush up them like her life depended on it. This did her little good however, as in seconds, Jennifer caught up to her. Pinning her down, shoving her face hard into the rug covered steps. “You do that again, I won’t have any problem breaking your twig neck!” Jennifer screamed in anger. “Jennifer please, I’m sorry, you’re hurting me!” “You should have never tried to escape from me then little bitch-brat!” The next thing Kristen knew she was being yanked up by her hair and dragged up the remaining stairs. In her bedroom, Jennifer flung her roughly onto her bed.
“You’re lucky I’m feeling kind of tired little bitch-brat,” Jennifer said, turning and starting to depart the bedroom. “Otherwise, you’d be dead.” “I hate you Jennifer, and can’t wait for the day you die!” Kristen screamed out after her departing sister. Jennifer’s leaving allowed Kristen to curl herself out on her bed in a fetal position, and within five minutes, sleep came. But just for a minute. Opening her eyes back up, what Kristen saw, much to her surprise, Jennifer lying beside her. Not the evil psychotic version of her sister, but the way she would have been, had she not been infected by whatever transformed her into her present vile state. Just how Kristen realized this was not the monster version of her sister, her hair not dyed black, but its natural shade, the same as hers. “Hey Kris,” Jennifer said. “I just thought I’d come apologize for the way I treated you earlier. Hey, look, I even washed out the black dye out of my hair.” Kristen wasn’t buying it for an instant. “Sorry Jennifer this just is just a dream, the Jennifer you are is gone forever, replaced by that psycho head case masquerading as my sister.”
“If you say so,” Jennifer said with a simple shrug of her shoulders. “I just want to let you know that even though that version of me doesn’t show it, deep down inside her somewhere, she still loves you.” “Yeah well, it must be buried thousands of feet down.” “Kris before you wake up from this dream, there’s something I want you to know. Even though I, the evil thing disguised as me I mean, I want to apologize for whatever she does to you from this moment on.” Within twenty seconds of hearing this, Kristen felt tears forming in her eyes and spill down her cheeks. “I wish you were the one still around, and not that twisted freak.” “Yeah so do I,” Jennifer said with a smile.
TWO
The one thing Lauris Gemini, daughter of Mary Catherford detested about coming home was her fourteen year old half-sister, Sarah. The reason behind them being siblings, all thanks to her father James marrying an ordinary human woman named Amy Morgans. Lauris hated them both. The cause for the hatred of them was her own mother no longer a part of her life. Well in her flesh and blood body anyway. As for her spirit, well, it was still lurking around in this house, unable to communicate with anyone but Samantha and her, thanks to her best friend and her being witches. But Mary’s is being disembodied would not remain so for long. Samantha and she were planning on performing a human sacrifice to get Mary back her body. The only problem was, neither of them had humans to sacrifice. What the sacrifice needed to be performed correctly, the deaths of four living, breathing people. She and Samantha had considered just using homeless bums to get the job done, but from Lauris’ point of view, her mother deserved so much better lives to bring her back as a flesh and blood person. What caused Mary’s death her trying to combat
some equally powerful seventeen year old witch named Marisa Sterlings a few years ago? The reason, Marisa, a disgustingly pure good witch, had attempted to destroy Mary, considered evil in her eyes. As result of the battle between them, both died within days of it, both Mary and Marisa’s bodies crumbling to a fine white dust. “Don’t worry Lauris I’m sure we’ll find the perfect humans to sacrifice sooner rather than later.” “Yeah I sure hope so Samantha.” The moment of Samantha’s and her stepping into the living room, disgust filled Lauris, as she saw her half- sister Sarah seated on the sofa, her entire attention watching television. Stupid, ordinary human, I wish you’d just take your lame, ordinary, non-witch mother and go away, Lauris thought in anger as she saw Sarah. At first Lauris had nothing but respect for Sarah, but as time wore on and months passed past, this respect turned to hatred, as often times, she had found Sarah snooping around in her bedroom. “Hey, I don’t go snooping around in your bedroom do I?” Lauris informed her younger adopted sister whenever she caught Sarah doing so. “N…No,” Sarah stammered out nervously.
“Well show me the same respect, and stay the hell out of mine!” Lauris yelled grabbing Sarah by the right arm and forcibly shoving her from her bedroom. But yet for some reason this didn’t resonate with Sarah anything, as time after time, she continued doing so, angering Lauris even more. “What is the matter with you, are you retarded or something?” Lauris shouted out each and every time she found Sarah lurking in her room from that moment on. “Oh come on Lauris!” Sarah said in a pleading voice. “We’re supposed to be sisters, and share everything together!” “We are not real flesh and blood sisters,” Lauris continued to shout, eyes flashing with anger. “And the only reason I put up with you, is because my father is in love with that loser mother of yours.” “My Mother is not a loser!” “She could have fooled me, now get the heck out of my room!” Once again grabbing Sarah by the right arm, and shoving her out. **** The response Lauris received from her father for her treatment of Sarah, just a light, “it
wouldn’t hurt for you and Sarah to get along as real sisters.” Sorry Dad, that’s not going to happen, Lauris thought with being told this. “This sure is a surprise,” Lauris informed Sarah with seeing her. “For once, you’re not up in my bedroom, invading my privacy.” “Lauris can’t we ever get along as real sisters?” Sarah asked. “Yeah, you wish that would happen, come on Samantha let’s head up to my room.” **** “I can’t believe after all the effort we put in and the rest of those pathetic bitches had the nerve to force Kristen to inform us we weren’t chosen to become part of their stupid squad,” Lauris said, a bit of anger present in her voice. The pair gathered in her bedroom, facing each other seated on the bed furnishing it, a navy blue blanket covering it; feet touching down onto bare, uncarpeted floorboards. Despite being the daughter of a witch, Lauris wasn’t different than any other teenage girl her age; she had posters of her favorite boy bands covering the majority of the white walls.
“Yeah save Kristen, I hate them so much,” Samantha admitted. “Kristen’s not so innocent,” Lauris said. “Sure she nominated us to become Tigresses, but other than that, she’s no better than the rest of them.” “You do have a point Lauris. If there was just some way we could pay them back, it’ll make me feel so much better.” “Are you serious about that?” “Uh-huh I sure am. It’s just too bad murder will get us lengthy prison sentences.” “We don’t have to resort to murder for a measure of revenge Lauris. There are other ways to bring them down.” “Okay what do you suggest we do Samantha?” “Oh wake up Lauris!” Samantha said. “Mary needs a new body! We both hate Kristen and the Tigresses, what better way to show them that anger by using some of them to perform the sacrifice?” “You know Samantha, you’re an genius,” Lauris replied. “It’s an idea never in a million years would I have thought up. The question now is, which ones should we choose for it?” “So I guess that means you’re interested in doing it?” Samantha asked. “Uh-huh, absolutely Samantha,” Lauris replied, an evil grin filling out her face. “Now come on,
let’s decide on which other ones besides Kristen, we want to nominate to be sacrificed.” “That shouldn’t be too hard to come up with, given we just need three more to bring Mary back to life,” Samantha said. And then, with thinking about this just a couple seconds, “Amanda should be our second choice, after all, she is Kristen’s best friend, and she’s made it clear on more than one occasion, she’s nothing without her.” “There’s our second choice, and while we’re on the subject of friends, how about Nicole as well?” “Yeah sure okay, she’s perfect for our third choice. “And with choosing Nicole, we have to make Haley our fourth and final nominee.” “It was almost too easy coming up with our four choices,” Lauris admitted.