Legacy Of The Gods Chapter 1

The Legacy Of The Gods:  Blood Ties
Chapter 1

De La Salle High School,
New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A:


On a bright, early Autumn day, the seats to the high school's soccer field was filled to the brim with spectators, cheering fiercely for the match. Families of the players all screamed and yelled their support while watching the girls all kick and dodge the black and white soccer ball across the grassy ground. But all eyes were soon on a particular player as she finally stole the ball away from a blonde girl on the opposing high school team.

Sweat pouring down her face and forcing herself to breath evenly, Billie expertly kicked and guided the ball towards the opposite side of the field. Her dark brown skin gleamed brightly in the sun while her brown eyes scanned for any openings. Her black hair was held up in a puffy afro pony-tail, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. The sweat was beginning to drip into her eyes, not an especially helpful thing, and so she shook her head quickly, sending the droplets of moisture flying from her curly black hair. Oh, how her mother had fought over that afro-puff! She had threatened, cajoled, even begged her to get her hair chemically straightened and styled. "Well at least put it in braids for the game!" she'd said.

But Billie was reluctant to change her look. It was more than a mere resistance to change. She said it was because she was comfortable in her skin and nothing was going to change that. Strangely, Billie sometimes felt there was something else keeping her from tampering with her hair, though she was never able to explain it. She loved how her hair was for some strange reason she couldn’t explain, and no one was going to change that.

But quickly she put that thought away and once more concentrated on the game, running a little faster. She dodged one player then another before making her way to her team’s goal. Then looking up, she saw a particularly large girl barreling her way towards her, her dark eyes narrowed and her beefy hands clenched.

Oh great, this might not end well! Billie thought annoyingly to herself. She was just about to see if she could dodge the behemoth girl when she heard her name being called from the left. It was another team mate, totally opened and waving her arms for Billie to kick the ball to her. “I’m open!” the girl shouted, her blue eyes wide with anticipation. Billie was so engrossed in the game, she could barely remember the girl’s name for a moment. Then it hit her; it was Erin, her best friend since grade school. How could she forget? She had just joined the team about a month or so ago after Billie convinced her she had skills of her own. Did she dare try and pass the ball or just go on? But she had to take a chance, their team was in the lead!

Billie nodded her head, then launched the ball with a powerful low side kick towards the nearly petite girl. To her relief, Billie watched Erin quickly catch the ball between her feet and rush off towards the goal. The beefed-up girl that nearly tackled Billie stopped dead in her tracks, only just realizing the very dark-skinned girl didn’t have the ball anymore. The girl grunted in annoyance and ran after Billie's team mate. Billie wasted no time in rushing after them. She had to make sure her Erin wasn’t crushed to death! Within seconds Billie was running alongside her with a few other players, doing their best to cover her.

The goal was finally in sight, and just as the big-boned girl was about to kick the ball away, the blue-eyed Erin nodded back at Billie and kicked it towards her. Unfazed, Billie quickly took control of the ball again. She then turned to the left so fast, it threw off the large girl coming after her momentarily. She tried to regain her balance, but in her momentum, she crashed right into the ground, taking a few of her players with her when they caught up and tried to help. Billie had to stifle her laugh at the comedic sight, because just in front of her was the goal. Without stopping, Billie took a deep breath, and with all her might kicked up the ball slightly with her toes. While the ball was still in the air, she jumped up, swung her leg sideways, and kicked the ball straight towards the goal.

The goalie in front desperately jumped forward to block the ball, but it was too fast and it smashed right into the net. The crowd went completely wild at the sight just, and the buzz sounded a second later, signifying the end of the game. The girls soccer team of De La Salle High School whooped and hollered, hugging and high-fiving each other. Their green, white, and gold uniforms was completely dirty, as it had rained last night and the field still muddy, but none of that mattered. They actually won their third game of the school year! They were on their way to qualifying for the semi-finals once more.

The team rushed over to Billie and lifted her high into the air. She laughed and waved her arms in victory. She was definitely the star of the team, helping them win most of their games since the beginning of the school year. She had never even thought about joining, all she knew was that one day she was watching the team practice from the benches, completely bored, and the ball happened to fall right beside her. When she was asked to throw the ball back, something compelled her to just kick it, and the captain as well as the coach looked on in shocked when they saw how far she kicked it out into the field. She was immediately begged to join. Since then, she had finally been able to make friends and just enjoy being in high school.

Off to the side, Erin gave her a thumbs up and a grin. Billie waved back at her and just reveled in the celebration. Soon, the coach came over and told them that there would be a celebration of ice-cream at a restaurant not too far from here. Once again the team broke out in cheers. Billie was finally set down and they did the tradition of congratulating the other team for doing a great job. The other team congratulated back, but Billie could have sworn she saw the large, muscular girl give her a death glare before turning away.

Billie blinked, but then shrugged it off. No matter, there was a celebration to get to! She rushed over to her parents, and after they congratulated her many times, informed them that she and the rest of the team were off to celebrate with ice-cream. “I’ll meet you home later, okay?” Billie said after hugging her mother once more.

“Just don’t stay out too long, okay honey?” her mother Clara said in her deep, New Orleans accent. “I’m thinking about making some beignets. It’ll be the bee’s knees!”

Billie chuckled when she saw New York native father roll his eyes and shake his head, trying to hide an affectionate smile. For as long as he has been living here, he still found the deep Southern accent and sayings of Louisiana something very hard to get used to. But he loved it deep down, and Billie knew he wouldn’t have it any other way. After waving goodbye to her parents, Billie rushed off and joined her team mates, gathering together and heading towards the school bus for the ride to the celebration.

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Later on that night, after taking a relaxing bath, Billie sauntered tiredly into her room. When she finished drying off and dressing in her comfortable pajamas, she plopped down heavily on her bed. She had a ball with her team mates and practically inhaled the many flavors of ice-cream in the restaurant. Everyone started the celebration by singing the school song, with Billie singing the loudest. Then it was ice-cream time, and Billie tasted flavors she had never heard of before, loving every minute.

But despite the fun time, Billie couldn’t help feeling that something was different, or at least going to be different. She just couldn’t explain it any better than that. She thought back to the strange dreams she’d been having for the past few days. It was very quick, almost too quick to remember, but it had something to do with strange, African music, drums, and very tall people wearing fancy, traditional robes standing before her in shadows. She couldn’t see their faces, but they had glowing white eyes filled with compassion. They spoke in whispers in a language she had never heard before, but somehow she knew, deep in her heart, they were talking to her, almost as if they were asking her something. But she didn’t know what and couldn't understand what they were saying. Everything was so dark and muffled around her in the dream.

When she tried to ask them what they wanted and what was going on, she would wake up in a cold sweat. The last thing she remembered was an image of a man with his face painted like a skull, his eyes glowing orange. Then it was gone, leaving behind a quick feeling of fear. Billie didn’t know what any of this meant, but hopefully she would be able to talk to her parents about it. Perhaps it was an omen of things to come, or a great change soon. In a city like New Orleans, Billie had learned that almost anything can happen, especially when it comes to strange stuff like voodoo and weird dreams.

With that, Billie rolled over and closed her eyes, willing herself to sleep after pulling her covers over her. But unknown to her, outside of her room in the house she lived in, a solitary figure floated outside her window. It was transparent, but still the presence fairly glowed, and her eyes shown bright under the half moonlight, as though protecting her.

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Gates Of Prayer Cemetery #2,

New Orleans, Louisiana:

Just as midnight struck with the half-moon high overhead, a lone figure hastily climbed over the high iron fences of the most famous cemetery of New Orleans and dropped onto the ground. He straightened up and looked around, making sure no one else was in sight. The young man, looking to be no more than 30 years old, walked on, feeling anticipation flow through him. There had been a funeral of a famous senator here earlier in the day, and with any luck, he could break in and see if he could find anything of value on the body that he could sell. He had done it before, certainly there was no reason he couldn’t do it now.

But for some reason, tonight seemed different. There was more of a deep somberness here, much more than usual for a cemetery. But the man did he best to shrug it off as he wiped the sweat from his dark-colored face. He kept his mind on what riches he would find as he walked on past other long-forgotten tombs. Each bared the names, dates of birth, and deaths of those inside. Dirt and grime clung to the tombs, as well as spider webs, but that still didn’t put him off.

Finally, he came to the freshly made and recently closed tomb, small flags and flowers still surrounding it. After looking around one last time to make sure no one was around, the man took out his crowbar from inside his jacket and began working on trying to open it. He grunted and groaned, but only managed to finally open the seal just slightly after a few long minutes. After pausing to catch his breath, he set to work again.

But not long after, the unease grew inside the thief, and he stopped and looked around once more, his eyes wide. He shook his head to clear it and went back to work. What was he thinking? There was no one here and he had to work fast! Another few minutes passed, but the uneasiness continued to grow. Finally, he stopped again, this time breathing hard and wildly looking around. But there was still no one there, just the high half-moon and bats fluttering by.

Then suddenly, without warning, the wind began to pick up and blow all around, picking up leaves, sticks, and branches from nearby. The man stood transfixed, feeling the wind grow stronger and stronger all around him and dust and debris flying. Just then, there was a small rumbling in the ground, making him nearly lose balance. He dropped his crowbar and prepared to run, but suddenly, it seemed as if the ground split opened before him, creating a deep crack that seemed to go on and on in the old cemetery

Now the man was truly frightened and he tried to dash away to safety, but the rumbling continued and he clumsily tripped over the crack just as he ran over it. The gigantic crack began to widened, like a hungry mouth to food and causing several tombs to collapse. Deep in the crack, a red glow began to emerge, resembling lava erupting from a volcano. Then the red glow suddenly exploded in the air, causing the man to scream in confusion and fear. The glow subsided just slightly as a white-gloved hand reached out from it, right near where the unfortunate thief was laying, unable to move with fright.

Another hand reached out, followed by a head with a black-top hat on top of it. With eyes wide and frightened, the thief watched a tall, muscular figure climb ominously out of the deep gorge. When it was out, the figure straightened up and looked around, scanning the area with narrowed, glowing orange eyes. He wore a long, black trench coat that fluttered in the blowing wind. His face was covered in white paint to resemble a human skull, but instead of empty sockets, his orange eyes stared out, gleaming. Tiny crosses encircled the tall part of the black hat. Beneath his trench coat he wore a black-tie suit that would have been the envy of any man, complete with black shoes that seem to be made of leather.

The dark figure blinked, and with a flick of his hand, he called forth his tall cane with a silver skull on top. It appeared in a bright flash and he gripped it tightly. He then turned to the man still lying on the ground before him while the large crack in the ground he came out of slowly began to close.

“You dare try to steal from the dead?” the very tall man said in a deep, baritone voice. He stepped forward, his eyes glowing a bit brighter.

“Who the hell are you?” the unfortunate man said, scrambling backwards away and breathing hard. “Stay away from me!”

“Who am I?” the dark man said incredulously. He swung his cane forward to point it at the man. “I am the King of the Dead, I am the Loa of Resurrection. I am Baron Samedi. You dare not know how I am?” He slammed bottom of the cane to the ground. “I am one who will make sure your body rots in the ground. I am one who can claim your worthless soul and turn you into a walking dead for eternity.”

“NO!” The thief got up and ran, desperate for his life. But the Baron swung his can once more, transforming it into a large, sharp silver scythe. In a lightning flash, Baron Samedi caught up to the man just as he was about to reach the black fence and climb over it. With an enraged cry, the tall god of the dead slashed down. He nearly sliced the man’s body in two, and blood splattered in large spurts across other tombs and the ground. A last, strangled cry escaped the man’s dying throat, then he fell crumpled to the ground, blood still pouring out.

When it was done, Baron Samedi swung his scythe up and twirled it around his head, transforming it back into the cane in a bright flash. He walked forward, his arms spread out as he looked up into the sky. “Your seal has weakened, and I am once more free! You will never be able to stop what I am about to unleash," he called out in his deep voice. "You will all pay for trying to seal me. You and those whom you seek. You will ALL pay!” Throwing his head back, the Baron let out a long and deep, booming laugh, frightening and scattering some more bats and making them fly up into the sky in a huge, dark cloud. He laughed more and watched dark storm clouds begin to gather in the distance, as if they came at his bidding.

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Billie sighed in annoyance, rushing through the pouring rain. Where had this storm suddenly come from? The news said it was supposed to be beautiful at the end of the week. Then all of a sudden, it was like someone snapped a finger and the storm was turned on late last night. And it was still raining and thundering today! It had stopped for just a while during the night, but started up all over again. What a way to end the school week. When school had let out, Billie had wanted to go to a small local jazz club with a few of the girls, but the sudden storm just cut her mood. She just wanted to go home and warm up from the sudden, slight chill with some hot chocolate.

After looking both ways, she crossed the busy street. She held on hard to her umbrella, trying to keep her clothes from getting more drenched than it already was. She sighed again and just about gave up. She walked on, hoping to reach the bus stop in time for the city bus. But just as she turned the corner down the very long block, she saw it zooming by, nearly spraying her with water.

“Oh great!” Billie growled out, clenched her hand into a fist. Deciding to walk the long way home rather than waiting almost an hour for the next one, Billie moved on. She then stopped. That would mean she would have to walk pass that creepy cemetery she’s always heard about and passed a few times in her parents’ car. Could she take that chance?  

“Oh great!” Billie growled out, clenched her hand into a fist. Deciding to walk the long way home rather than waiting almost an hour for the next one, Billie moved on. She then stopped. That would mean she would have to walk pass that creepy cemetery she’s always heard about and passed a few times in her parents’ car. Could she take that chance?

It was sure to be alright. Although the school was just a bit far from where she lived, her parents had insisted she attend. When she asked why, they answered it was not just because it was where her mother went, but because of the reputation of high standards the school often received. It was a bit of an inconvenience, but Billie didn't mind too much.

It was still daytime at least, although the sun would begin to set soon. There should be people still around. And she wouldn’t be actually going INSIDE of it. There shouldn’t be anything to be afraid of. Taking a deep breath, Billie walked on, hoping beyond hope that the rain would let up soon.

After a little while, the rain did let up and the lightning flashes became less and less. Finally after what seemed like forever, she saw the large infamous Gates Of Prayer Cemetery, dreary and looking just like what the locals called it; a small city for the dead. Billie gulped and walked on. A little further up, she came near a part of the sidewalk and cemetery that was sectioned off by the familiar yellow police tape. Blinking her eyes, Billie became curious. The rain had just about stopped, so there was no real rush. What had happened here? After quickly looking around, the dark-skinned girl rushed forward, ducked under the tape, and slipped through an opened gate into the cemetery.

She went under another yellow ticker tape and walked along the black fence and looked around, closing her umbrella. She walked up a little until finally, she came across what she knew was the reason for this section of the cemetery being closed off; a few tombs were crumbled to the ground, and off to the side right at the fence, there was what she was sure was some blood splatter. What in the world went on here? Billie didn’t know, but she certainly didn’t want to wait around and find out. As a daring, curious, and a bit of a tomboy she was, even she knew when to stay away from spooky stuff, especially in New Orleans!

She suddenly saw movement from the corner of her eye, and thinking it was a police officer to tell her to move on, Billie was just about to yell out she was leaving, but when she turned, there was no one there.

She turned around to look after seeing another shadow fly by, making her blink. No one was walking around. Finally deciding that it was time to go after a feeling of unease began growing in her, Billie turned to leave, making for the open gate at the end. She was just about to reach it when she suddenly felt a presence behind her, like a darkness that was about to engulf her entirely. Billie turned around with a gasp, but there was nothing there. What was going on? Blinking her eyes, she then saw a flickering of movement to her right side. Against her better judgment, the dark-skinned girl turned and moved towards a dark, shadowy figure, somehow drawn to it.

Just as she reached it, the darkness then seemed to solidify more and more, then more darkness began to gather around that, swirling around and around, nearly making Billie dizzy. Bigger and bigger the darkness grew, until it began to form into the figure of a very tall man in a black trench coat and wearing a black top hat. Gasping, Billie watched as the man turned to face her, his eyes glowing a deep orange. His face was white with paint, made to look like a skull. A flash of familiarity flowed through her, but it was quickly replaced with fear as the man stepped towards her, a cane flashing into existence in his clenched hand.

“Well, well,” said the strange-looking man, looking Billie up and down. He paused and closed his eyes, as though trying to sense or feel something from her. He snapped opened his eyes and stared deep into her own wide, frightened ones, coming closer.

“It looks like this is going to be a little easier than I thought,” His voice was rich and deep, but it filled Billie with a rush of fear she had never felt before. Who was this, and what was he talking about? Her body shaking, Billie backed away from him, gulping hard and praying that she would be able to get away.


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To Be Continued….