WiSP




Everyone was mourning except Dion. He could see a womano s makeup flowing down her face, just like her tears. Dion thought she looked a bit like a clown. Then something caught his attention, something up front. Behind the man at the podium, who at the time, unaware to Dion, was talking, the earth around the casket quickly started to erupt, like a fiery volcano.




o Are you ready to go D-man?o asked Diono s mother. Her thundering voice reflected her dark olive skin, black clothes and stocky form, with authoritarian personality.


o Yup,o replied Dion halfheartedly and annoyed with that awful nickname.


o Alright then meet me in the car,o she replied, striding across the black and white kitchen floor plucking Diono s traveling backpack off of an elegant oak chair.


o Remember to take that hat off!o she barked as she was walking out the door.




So Dion took his striped hat off revealing his bulbous afro. Dion hopped off a chair adjacent to the one that previously housed his backpack. He lumbered out of the house and over to his momo s car. He popped open the door and jumped into the front seat. He loved the feel of the leathery, soft seats in his momo s minivan. His mom already in the seat next to him turned the key, floored the accelerator, and they were off to his great uncleo s funeral, in Detroit, MA. Dion started to wonder how long this trans national journey would take, as Detroit is 6 states away from Tarboro.




o At least a day...What would I do for a day in this car?o he thought. To keep himself busy, he quietly snapped his fingers noticing how dreadful his outfit looked, all drab and black, with black and white pinstriped pants. He thought that it didn't reflect his mischievous personality at all. Then Dion wondered, who exactly was this uncle he had never met.




o Whoo s this funeral for anyway?o Dion inquired.


o He was your great uncle, his name was something silly, I think it was Vladymere Trikhovskiio said his mother.




o He was some sort of Russian physicisto she added


o Well how come we never knew them, how come I never talked to them?o Dion asked.


o Io m pretty sure he was part of some super-secret operation, the founder probably didno t want him to leak any informationo his mother said.


o Too risky I guess,o she added.


o Oh, okayo Dion shrugged not caring enough to inquire anymore.




He leaned his head to the left a bit to glance at the clock, it read: 9:43.


It was only 9:43? Dion was surprised. Realizing he had lots and lots of time to waste, so he lay his head back and dozed off.






Some unimportant amount of time later Dion awoke. He assumed he wasno t asleep for long, because they were just leaving a neighboring town of Tarboro. He looked toward the windshield and saw a sleek, black plane. He thought it looked a bit like the spy planes that fly around his neighborhood all the time. Dion thought they looked real cool. He looked down again, then looked back up, and the plane was gone. o Oh well,o he thought.





Dion sat for a while, just studying everything outside the window. He saw deer prancing, turkeys gobbling, people chasing, and many other interesting scenes. He sat there for a long while, and when he looked over at the clock, it was 5:00, so he went to sleep.




o HONK!o sounded the car horn and Dion awoke with a start. o W-w-w-where are we?o Dion stuttered half-awake. o Maryland at 2:00 in the morning. I dono t like getting robbed, so get a move on. o she ordered. Dion pushed open his door and slid off the seat onto the cracked sidewalk below. His mom got out one her side, slithered around the front of the car, onto the sidewalk, and walked forward with Dion. The gas station they were at appeared very mediocre, some gas pumps in the front, and a simple rectangle building with glass doors. When they got inside Dion noticed it reeked of some scent, to him it smelled like a combo of a hoagie and public restroom. Dion parted with his mom, scavenged a multitude of junk food from the metal shelves, and then met her at the counter, where a miserable looking man scanned the bar-codes on the bags. They went back out to the car, hopped in, and took off once again. After sitting for a while Dion started to munch down on some Doritos. He heard a faint buzz, so he looked out toward the windshield, then he saw it. It was the same plane he had seen earlier, except now it had red lights underneath ito s wings.




o How odd,o he thought o Maybe thereo s something going ono he expected. He turned his head swiftly to the left to ask his mom about this mysterious plane's whereabouts, but then he remembered what happened earlier that day. Dion quickly reversed the movement looking towards the windshield again, but the plane was gone. Dion, too tired to inquire about this plane went back to sleep.




When he woke back up, he saw the o Welcome to Detroito sign pass by. After a few minutes he realized they were now in the heart of the city. Dion saw homeless people scattered throughout the city like sprinkles on an ice cream cone. He then noticed how different the two cities of Tarboro and Detroit are. He didno t see kids searching for salamanders by the creek here, and he never saw people leaning out windows of filthy row homes and smoking cigarettes in Tarboro .




He lay his head back in his seat, and in a few minutes they were pulling into o St. Valentines Cathedralo . Once they came to a stop they both got out of the car, stumbling a bit, legs still stiff from the long journey. Dion and his mom walked a few steps down the long, smooth driveway, and looked up towards the magnificent church. It was made of polished marble, and towered hundreds of feet high. It also had massive stained glass windows, with a steeple that seemed to poke the heavens.




o Wow,o muttered Dion in amazement.


o Wow is right,o his mom mimicked.





Once out of the trance of the amazing church, he looked around to see who else had attended his mysterious great uncle's funeral. He saw a few familiar faces walking around, trying to figure out which seat to sit in. He saw his uncle Bryce, brown haired and chubby, wearing black clothes similar to Diono s. Trailing behind his Uncle Bryce, who just sat down in an cold uncomfortable church pew, was his Aunt Loretta and their son, Jake. Other than that, he just saw hundreds of odd, unfamiliar faces. Dion then started to walk towards the pew where his Aunt and Uncle were sitting, and sat down next to them with his mom. In front of the church stood a tall podium, behind that podium was what he thought to be a priest. He had a black robe, a white tuft in the middle of his collar. And he had saggy, pale skin with short, white hair and a small, thin mustache above his lip. Then Dion heard a faint buzz, o Ito s the plane again, oh well,o he thought. o Ahem!o boomed the priest's voice. o Friendo s and family who have all gathered here today to give our last respects and celebrate the great life of this wonderful man, Vladmere-o ...




Suddenly, the casket resting behind the priest quickly erupted into the air and landed on him, knocking him out cold. Then, a ominous black wisp shot into the air, and zoomed around the funeral-goers. Screams tore through the crowd, the black wisp(which Dion later named Craig) split into 3 more, and started flying into people, as if to possess them.




o RUUUN!o screamed Diono s mom, sprinting out of the church and to her car. Dion was quickly trailing behind her. They got in, his mother slammed the gas pedal to the floor, speeding as fast as she could away from the haunted church. Dion looked back and 2 of the black wisps were chasing after them. Soon, one of them gained speed and it sort of o rammedo into the car, pushing it sideways, causing it to tumble over. Then the other wisp zoomed forward and shot through the windows, shattering both. Dion and his mom were screaming in terror the whole time. The first wisp then shot under the car sending it flying through the air. Surprisingly, it landed upright and with quite the struggle, Diono s mom drove away from the Wisps.




After about thirty minutes of driving, Dion askedo o What were those things?o


o Io m not sure, and I DO NOT want to know,o she stated.


o Where are we going?o he asked.


o To your cousin Jake's to spend the weekend, I can't drive for two days after this catastrophe!o his mother exclaimed.


o Alright theno said Dion.




When they got there around 9:00 pm, Dion went right to bed and so did his mom. They were all safe and sound. They slept there for two more days, and on the last night Diono s deep sleep was interrupted by a faint buzzing overhead.