Ballroom For The Dead

• Jainelle Propfe, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2015

Evelyn’s golden ball gown shimmered as she walked onto the marble steps, her long, brown hair was neatly pulled into a bun with two curls framing her face. Her blue eyes complimented her pale complexion, she could feel people stopping for a second glimpse of her. But this was not why she was here, and she knew that if she were to be distracted she might just jeopardize her entire task.
Word got around that demons had been hiding out in the Manhattan ballroom, and were attacking the innocent by midnight. Despite hating the clueless human race, Evelyn did feel sorry for them. They have no idea that there’s evil lurking their streets because they see them as one of their own, and that’s when Evelyn comes in; born with the blood of a hunter, Evelyn must dedicate her life to killing the evil that feed off of the good. And that’s how she got herself here.
When she finally reached the last step, she walked up to the entrance and passed the guard her invitation, after giving her a nod he opened the big wooden doors to reveal the ballroom. The walls were painted white and were draped with red material, fountains framed each doorway spilling out crystal clear water. Someone playing the piano filled the hall, and the sound of light chatter and laughter was more than obvious. She had to admit that the demons were talented in disguising themselves, but not talented enough to hide themselves from a very skilled hunter.
The men were dressed in black tuxedos and top hats, some were dancing with their partners and some were communicating with strangers at the buffet. The women wore big colourful gowns that had white lace as the trim, some wore gloves and scalpettes too. Evelyn realised that she was not being stared at because of her beauty, but because of how different her dress was to the others.
She began to casually stroll through the crowd, politely greeting herself to people as she passed by. When she found herself at the heart of the dance floor, she finally found what she came for. Black wings and horns sprouted from a variety of men and women dancing with people who did not share the same features. Their skin was cracked and their veins were black. One bared their fangs at Evelyn; but the humans only saw a smile. She choked and bit her lip as she felt her pulse fasten. The demons were clutching so hard onto the human's wrists as they danced to the piano, it made Evelyn feel sick to the stomach knowing that their grip will soon turn into the hands of murder.
She slowly gripped onto her dagger that was poisoned with holy water and threw it like a dart at one of the demons chest, black blood stained the marbled floor. This was only the beginning.