Jackson-Zombies of Mariesville

*This origin is underneath my folder titled “Zombies of Mariesville”. Gacha Club character designs are under my forum titled “My character designs<33 [2]”. Enjoy!*

Deep down in the woods, there lived the Lavein family, with their own lavender garden. The Lavein family was a family of witches who specialized in many spells and magical creations, one of the creations being the Vivus plant, a yellow C-shaped vegetable that was said to have the power to make the undead “living” again. It was what Mr. and Mrs. Lavein said to their children, Marie and Jackson, anyway.

The Lavein children didn’t know how true it was, but they knew a lot of other magical things, so they were supposed to be content about that.

They also knew of the existence of demons, but that was all. They didn’t know any dark magic, anything about summoning demons. Their parents forbid them from engaging in such activities. Marie was fine with not learning about that, but Jackson…

Jackson didn’t understand. Sure, their parents said that it was all dark magic, but did that mean that it was true? What if the demons had a story to tell that wasn’t heard of? What if they just wanted to be listened to? What if they knew more things than their parents did and wanted to share it all? What if?

Yet anytime Jackson would bring this idea up to his family, they’d shoot it down and glare at him, telling him that there was nothing good that demons could offer, that to try talking to one would only hurt everyone in the long run.

No matter what they said, Jackson was firm on his beliefs. There were more to demons, more to the world, than his family was letting on, so in 1939, when Jackson was ten years old, he set out into the woods.

Anything that was different from the small world of his family’s manor.

…………………………………………………………

1939-THE WOODS

Jackson wasn’t sure what he would find in the woods. He knew that there would be animals, that there would be plants. That much was a given. But he didn’t know if he’d get poisoned by any plants, if he’d get killed by any animals. He didn’t know, but that wasn’t a problem for him. He was a witch, after all. He could just heal himself.

Even though it wasn’t much of a problem, a chill of anxiety ran down his spine. He was leaving his family’s manor, going against what they would have wanted. Nobody yet knew that he slipped away from the manor in the afternoon, but they’d find out soon. They’d find out and then he’d have to go through another frustrating lecture that would turn into a screaming and yelling catastrophe, another night of not truly being listened to, a-

Jackson slipped over a twig and scratched his knee on a rock, the most pathetically common and foolish way to get injured. If his parents were around, they’d berate him for not being “more careful”.

But they weren’t, so Jackson could examine the bruise in peace. That’s all it was. A bruise. Well, it wasn’t exactly a bruise. It was a scraped knee that felt like it was burning, but nothing that he couldn’t fix!

Jackson hovered a hand over his knee, focusing on making the skin sew itself back together, on setting it all right again. It took only a few seconds for his knee to look completely normal again and then, he didn’t feel anything anymore! His skin was intact, no bloody cut in sight!

“Did you just heal yourself? With magic?” A boy’s voice asked.

Jackson looked up. Standing right before him was a boy who looked to be around Jackson’s age with deep green eyes dressed in dark gray and black clothes. His eyes seemed to widen in astonishment as he stared at Jackson.

“I…yes.” Jackson said as he stood up, unsure on what to say to the boy. He was taught to never reveal that part of himself to regular humans, but the boy saw him, so there was no use in denying it. Plus, altering the boy’s memory in any way felt cheap. Jackson just met the boy, maybe he wouldn’t be as bad as his parents said about humans.

“Really? That’s…that’s just…whoa. That’s amazing! I only ever read about that kind of stuff in fairytales, but I never thought that it would be real! I hope I don’t sound rude for asking, but uh…what are you?” The boy asked, a smile growing on his face.

Jackson found himself smiling as well. The boy wasn’t frightened of him, he just wanted to know more about Jackson! His curiosity was very sweet, so how could Jackson not grin back?

“I’m a witch.” Jackson said.

“You’re a witch? You don’t look like any witch I’ve heard of. You’re not…well-“

“An old wart-faced woman? Yes, we witches all look different, just like you. I mean, we are just humans who can perform magic. What’s your name? I’m Jackson.”

The boy blinked as though he were surprised, his smile falling away. It took all that Jackson had within him not to giggle, for goodness, the boy looked silly with that shocked expression on his face!

“You want to know my name?” The boy asked a little more quietly.

“I figured that since we are having a conversation right now then yes, I’d like to know your name. Besides, I only know my family anyway.” Jackson said with a shrug.

The boy boy blinked again and then he said:

“I’m Elvis.”

Elvis! Elvis! Maybe Elvis was what Jackson was looking for! Maybe Elvis could be Jackson’s friend! Maybe Jackson could teach Elvis everything there was to know about witches and then he could be truly honest with Elvis, share with Elvis everything that his family didn’t want to hear from him!

“Elvis! That’s a cool name. Come with me! Meet my family!” Jackson said.

Maybe if his family met Elvis, then they wouldn’t be so wary about humans. Maybe if Elvis met his family, then Jackson could teach him more about magic! After all, he never had anyone to talk about magic with before.

“Are you sure? I only just met you.” Elvis asked uncertainly.

“Yes, of course I’m sure! Nobody is going to hurt you! Come on, let’s go!” Jackson said.

If Elvis was ever a little terrified, just a little bit, then it was overcome by his desire to see real witches, because every second that Jackson looked behind, Elvis was following him. He wasn’t going to be alone after all.

Jackson would finally have a friend!

…………………………………………………………

The year was 1943. Marie was fifteen, Jackson was thirteen. Jackson had taken Elvis to see his family in 1939 and though his family was a little skeptical of him, they deemed Elvis to be okay enough.

So, Jackson began visiting Elvis in his house that was a little bit further down from his own, so that they could talk about many things together and so that Jackson could teach him magic without having to worry about what his family would think or say. Sure, his family was fine with Elvis, but Jackson liked going to Elvis’ house better because Elvis’ parents weren’t magical, they wouldn’t pester Jackson about what kind of magic he should or shouldn’t use and what was more was that Jackson could talk about demons with Elvis freely, for Jackson read plenty of books about demons, so he just had to share his knowledge with someone who would understand, someone who was fascinated with him, even.

That was why one day in 1943, Jackson invited Elvis over to his house. He felt that summoning a demon in his house would be better than doing it at Elvis’ house because the Lavein house was a house where witches lived and the energy of their power would be enough to contain a demon.

“Watch, Elvis. I’m going to summon Helena Blackrose, the nightmare demon. Legend has it that she manifested from a little girl’s nightmares, and she now roams the streets, searching for children to take.” Jackson said with a mischievous grin. From the moment he first read about Helena, he wondered what it would be like to control her, to use her power for himself. Maybe he could somehow find a way to take away Elvis’ nightmares with her power, if Elvis had any.

“Remind me why you want to summon this supposed demon?” Elvis asked, hints of fear in his voice.

No, no! Elvis shouldn’t be afraid! Jackson was there! Jackson would help protect him! Besides, there were a bunch of Jackson’s old stuffed animals still on the shelf. Summoning a demon wouldn’t be scary with Jackson’s old toys around.

“I’m a witch, Elvis. I can control what else is out there. You have nothing to fear, because I’ll keep you safe.” Jackson grinned as he wrapped an arm around Elvis’ shoulders. Jackson would be there to protect him if anything bad happened and what was more was that his family didn’t know that Jackson wanted to summon a demon, so they wouldn’t be there to interfere and make Elvis scared about things that might not even happen.

“Yeah, right.” Elvis laughed as he nudged Jackson away.

At least Elvis was making light of it, that made Jackson a little more hopeful. Maybe he’d realize that Jackson had everything under control, that he would see to it that Helena wouldn’t do any harm.

With that, Jackson sat criss-crossed on the ground and recited the spell he found in the demon book:

“Oh Helena, demon of the mind.

Creature of the shadows.

I call upon thee to come here tonight.

Show us thou might, bring thine greatest fury.

Bring all thy misery, it’s mine against thine.

Come forth, show what thou can.”

“This sounds wrong.” Elvis said worriedly.

“It sounds evil, I know. But that’s what I have to say to summon her.” Jackson said. The spell sounded scary, but that was what had to be said in order to summon Helena. After the summoning, everything would be fine.

Jackson crawled over to Elvis and took a hold of his hand, so that Elvis would feel safer with him and said softly, in a tone that he was sure would calm Elvis down:

“I’ve never hurt you before. You’re still here, in my room. You know that I’m going to make sure nothing happens. Don’t let the fear get to you, it’s your worst enemy.”

Elvis seemed to be heavily considering Jackson’s words, then he got a look on his face like he was collecting himself, like he was realizing the truth.

“You’re right. This spell isn’t going to harm a soul, you know what you’re doing.” Elvis said, his tone more confident than before.

For a moment, there was nothing, but then, black smoke rose up from the ground and after the smoke cleared, there stood a pale woman with long, black hair wearing a black dress that swooped and swayed with her every movement.

Jackson got up from the ground to greet Helena, but still held onto Jackson’s hand so that he would not be afraid.

“Helena Blackrose! Tis I’, Jackson Lavein, the witch who has called you forth. I hereby bind you to my will, you will proceed with only my commands.” Jackson declared, making sure to speak as loudly and powerfully as possible, just like the books said.

He summoned up a bit of energy inside of him and used his free hand to let it flow out of his fingertips in golden streaks, intending to bind Helena with his magic.

But Helena pushed aside the golden streaks with her claw and a puff of black smoke as though they were nothing more than mere annoyances. Immediately, Jackson felt the searing, screeching pain that felt like his hand was being cut off. It wasn’t, but it sure did feel like it.

“Small child, you have not secured your spell. You know nothing, you are an inexperienced brat. Now, you must pay your debt. Give me the human, I need his soul.” Helena seethed, her black eyes flickering with malice.

Helena reached out towards Elvis with a claw that seemed to grow every second, Jackson let go of Elvis’ hand and stood in front of him, his head swarming with panic. He knew that Helena was a demon, but he didn’t think it would all start to backfire, that she would want to take his friend’s soul!

“Why can’t you just take mine? I have magic, you could use that to your benefit. I’m the one who summoned you.” Jackson pleaded, tears rimming his eyes, but none slipping out. Wasn’t he the witch? Wasn’t he supposed to be the one in power?

Helena made a tsk noise with her mouth and shook her head, just like his parents did whenever he mentioned demons and doing anything differently.

“You won’t do me any good. Only human souls sustain me. I need him, give him to me and I’ll be on my way.” Helena said, her voice seeming to be weaved with more impatience than before.

There must have been something extra uncanny in her eyes that brought Elvis to jump onto Jackson and wrap his arms around Jackson’s neck, his head facing away from the monster, because once she said those words in that tone, Elvis couldn’t seem to take it much longer.

Neither could Jackson. Who was she to threaten his friend? To talk of stealing his soul? No, Jackson was a witch, so he should start acting like it.

“Not a chance, demon. I’ll see to it that you’ll be controlled, just you wait.” Jackson said in a controlled, even tone, like how he imagined the heroes in fairy tales to speak.

His sorrow had boiled into fury and from one hand that wasn’t holding Elvis, golden flames of smoke burst, crackling on the ground and burning Helena. Burning Helena! Just like that, Helena was dying! It was that easy! Why didn’t Jackson think of it before?

Elvis sunk his head deep into Jackson’s shoulder so that he wouldn’t have to see Helena dying, but it would be alright. It would be over soon. It-

Helena was rising up from the flames. Black smoke was billowing from her body. The gold was being overtaken by the black and then, Jackson felt his power ripped, snatched away from him seconds before he saw it disappear in a flash.

“The magic of an insolent kid. No more games, it’s quite repetitive.” Helena said.

Repetitive? Repetitive? She thought that he was being repetitive? With what? His words or his magic? Or both? What did she mean by that? That all his actions were the same kind of annoyance to her? That she dealt with that kind of thing before? Jackson didn’t want to think about how she may have acted towards other people, he didn’t want-

Other people?! What about Elvis?! Helena had grabbed onto Elvis with her black smoke magic, he was no longer in Jackson’s grip. Jackson tried to grab Elvis himself, but Helena was quick. Her black smoke had wrapped around his wrists and ankles, he could not move. He couldn’t even let the magic within him flow out. He couldn’t feel any magic inside of him, only the black smoke coiled around his limbs like shiny, harsh chains.

“Tell you what, kid. I’ll give your friend back if you give me all the humans in this town. Give them to me, and you’ll be with him again.” Helena said, her voice completely serene, so different from when she was absolutely livid.

What…what? How would Jackson even do that? Would she want them alive or dead? Would it really help to free his friend? Would it even matter? He was a witch, yes, but he couldn’t pull out any magic within him. Not one speck.

He used quite a bit of his power before. Maybe it was all drained out for the day.

“That’s all?” Jackson asked with tears in his eyes.

He was certain that there was more to what Helena was saying, but seeing Elvis struggle against the bonds of her magic, he didn’t care. If he had to do something drastic to save Elvis, then he would. It was his fault Elvis got into the mess with Helena anyway. The least Jackson could do to save Elvis was anything.

“That’s all.” Helena said, her voice smooth and assured with finality.

Helena slowly faded away into black smoke, but the bonds on Jackson stayed until Helena and Elvis were gone, the only remainder of Elvis left being a spectral image of him being held down by red, bloody tubes, bloody like…like veins? Veins that had been cut open? Jackson had seen such horrible imagery before in a book, he knew that demons would create images of loved ones having their vitality taken away only to terrify other people around that may have seen them, but he never realized just how morbid it would be until it happened to him. He knew that the image would fade away, but it would stay forever ingrained in his mind. Not only that, but the image being gone didn’t take away from the fact that Elvis was still being harmed in real life.

Jackson couldn’t take it anymore. With a shaking voice that was on the verge of full-out bawling, he did the one thing that he deemed reasonable and:

“Marie!”

Jackson sat on the ground, letting the tears fall from his eyes, letting the result of his actions weigh on him. Even when Marie showed up and wrapped an arm around him, he still wouldn’t let himself be happy. Why should he? He was the one who summoned Helena, who got Elvis taken away.

“I just wanted to show him all what we could do. I wanted him to be impressed. I didn’t think that I…that I wouldn’t have enough control…that a demon would have more power…that…it’s…it’s all…it’s all…my fault…it’s…” Jackson said through his tears. Why, of course Helena would have more power than him! Why didn’t he think of that before? Why did he ever think that he could have the ability to control a demon? Goodness, he didn’t think at all, did he? No, no. He just went ahead and summoned Helena.

Marie put her free hand on the ground and took a deep breath. From her fingertips, there were lavender-colored streaks of light that flowed in the cracks of the floor and on the wall. Jackson guessed that it was a trapping spell, used to trap entities within places and he didn’t like it, not one bit.

Why didn’t Marie kill Helena? Was Helena too strong for that?

“She’s trapped for now. I used up a lot of my energy to keep her in this house, but I don’t know how long it will hold. I think she’ll be here for many years, though. I looked at the book. I learned how to trap demons from the book.” Marie said, her voice strong and authoritarian, just like their parents.

Speaking of which, their parents would sense a demon trapped in the house and then Jackson would have to tell them. Jackson would have to tell them that he summoned a demon, that he put Elvis in danger, that-

“We’ll just say that a demon broke through the magic barrier of our house and that I trapped it. We won’t tell them that you summoned the demon. They’ll believe me because even the toughest magical barriers can break from a demon’s touch.” Marie said.

But then, how would he get Elvis back? Surely, he wouldn’t have to do what Helena said…right?

“Is there a way to get Elvis back? To save him?” Jackson asked, hating how weak his own voice sounded. He wished that he could talk more assertively like his family, but there was no use hiding it. He always had no strength, deep down. He just didn’t realize it until that moment.

“I haven’t read about people being able to save others from demons, but I’ll look for a way. I’ll help you get him back. I promise.” Marie said.

Marie then used her other arm to hug Jackson completely in an attempt to comfort him. Jackson was grateful for her love and compassion, but he still didn’t feel better. He didn’t have enough magic within him to kill Helena. Marie couldn’t even kill Helena and she was better with magic than him! Maybe he’d try to find his own way to kill Helena and find Elvis, but if it didn’t work, then he might just have to do what she said.

As the last flickers of Elvis’ image faded away, Jackson pushed down the congested sobs, the salty aftertaste of tears in his mouth. He wouldn’t tell Marie about all of his doubts, about what Helena wanted to do. It wouldn’t fix anything to tell her.

Jackson would try to fix it himself.