Dark Passion Play

Chapter 1
(Zena PoV)

“Zacky push me higher!” I squealed from the swing set I was on. My brother stopped the swing, brought it all the way back and gave me one big push. “Whee! Again Zacky! Do it again!” I kept giggling happily. Zacky obeyed my shrill commands and he pushed me higher. The swing I was on went up so high I thought it would go all the way over. I started to scream and cry and Zacky stopped it immediately. He picked me up off of it and held me as I cried.

“That was so scary!” I yelled and he calmed me down.

“Im sorry Zeen, you said higher.” He said laughing a bit and I pouted. It wasn’t funny…

“It’s not funny, stupid.” I said grumbling. He put me down and held my hand, bringing me over to the colorful twisting tubes of slides. My wet eyes lit up and I wiped the extra tears off of my face. I pulled away from his hand and climbed up the big blocks to go to the monkey bars. Zacky stood watching me with his arms crossed occasionally pulling out his phone. I saw the biggest slide ever and I scrambled up the bars to the top.

“Zacky, you hafta to go down the slide!” I yelled and he raised his eyebrow at me.

“ Do I have to? It’s snowy!” He yelled. And I nodded feverishly. He sighed, laughing as he tried to get into the smaller places. He looks so funny ducking and trying to fit in the play place.

“This not for me…” I he grumbled finally going over to me.

“We gotsta go down the slide together though!” I said and I went down, sliding through the curves and ending in the woodchips, and the snow that covered them. I looked up to see Zacky, and he was pushing himself down the slide because he wouldn’t slide down by himself. He looked like he was trying to row a boat or something.

“You suck at sliding…” I said and he just mocked me trying to get himself out of the thing.

“That was the worst slide ever…My ass is wet.” Zacky said looking down at me at the same time I said,

“That was the awesomest slide Zacky and you know it!” And he just shook his head. While he looked at his phone I picked up a handful of snow and threw it at his back and he whipped around pointing at me.

“You!” He yelled scooping up a handful and I ran away. He still got me and I giggled as the snow sprayed all over.

“You’re in trouble Zack!” I yelled carrying like ten snowballs in my shirt and throwing them all at him so he couldn’t fight back.

“Okay! Okay I surrender!” He said laughing, holding his septum for a second.

“Z, we gotta go.” He said looking at his phone. I tapped his shoulders and he bent down so I could hop on his back.

“You’re the best.” I said as we walked out of the park. I kissed his chubby cheek and he smiled.

“I know.” As we walked home we passed an Ice Cream shop on Main Street, and Zacky stopped putting me down.

“You want some?” He asked pointing to the store and I nodded.

“But its cold and snowy.” I said and he just shrugged unphazed by it. I just went along with it because I would not pass up a chance for ice cream…ever.
I went inside ahead of him and looked inside the freezer. There were so many colors, and swirly ice creams!

“Which one do you want?”

“Cake mix.” I said still staring at the sprinkles, and the fudge and all of the yummy toppings. He walked up and ordered the ice cream, getting one for himself also. He handed me my cone and grabbed my hand as we continued the walk home. We saw four other people and Zacky stopped to talk to them. One of them was super tall, and had crazy blonde hair sticking up everywhere. He was wearing a Metallica shirt and long basketball shorts, the other was the shortest, he had a nose ring and a brown mohawk and a cigarette behind his ear. The other one was the second tallest, and he was kind of buff. He had lots of tattoos on his arms and he had a lip ring and cap. The last one scared me. He had dark eyes and longish hair that went about past his ears. He wore all black with a belt and nikes.

“Sup Z…and sister?” The buff one said to Zacky and he nodded.

“Zena say hi.” Zacky coaxed but they scared me. They looked so different and imposing. Especially the dark eyed one.

“Hi.” I squeaked getting closer to Zacky.

“She’s adorable!” The tallest one said and I cracked a tiny smile.

“See! She smiles!” He said and I giggled a bit. He was funny, I liked him so far.

"Im gonna tell you a secret." He said bending down to my level.

"Zacky thinks that he's my best friend, but we cant tell him that he's been replaced by the less chubby Baker." He said looking suspiciously at Zach. And i laughed out loud

"Rev why are you corrupting my sister?" Zacky asked and I he just looked shocked.

"I was not. I was just talking to my new best friend." He said laughing and standing up to full height.

I didn’t pay attention to the rest that they were saying, mainly because I didn’t know what they were talking about, and also because I had my ice cream in front of me, and the sprinkles hypnotized me.

“Alright, see you later Zack. Nice meeting you Zena.” The dark eyed said smirking a little, and the tallest one offered me a high five. Of course I gave him one and he got all excited. They left and Zacky and I got home five minutes later. My face and hands were all sticky so I ran into the bathroom to wash them

“Zena, how was the park?” My mom came In and asked me and I nodded.

“It was awesome! Zacky and I had lotsa fun! And we saw his friends, they're nice.” I said and she smiled, pulling me into a hug.

“Okay sweetie, you should go take a nap you must be tired from all that fun you two had.” She said and she scurried me upstairs.

---

When I woke up, I looked out of my window and it was dark outside. It had also started to snow again. I heard a noise coming from the third floor, as If things were falling down all over the place. I got up out of bed and walked upstairs to where Zacky’s room was.
His was covered in ‘keep out’ stickers, photos of bands, guitars, and video games and a pirate skull. My small hands wrapped around the doorknob and turned it.

His room looked like he had turned it upside down. The mirror was broken and pieces of glass were all over the dresser and the floor. Clothes and guitars were lain around, the bookshelf looked like it was ripped straight from the wall
Zacky was leaning on the window sill, his arms supporting him. His eyes were downcast to the scene outside, the snow falling from the sky. He looked about ready to jump out.

“Zacky where are you going?” My small voice stopped him and he looked at me. The green eyes that we once shared looked electric green, and they glowed in the dark. He pushed away form the ledge and walked towards me. He knelt down in front of me and put his hand on my shoulder.

“Zena I have to go...” He said calmly, but with a saddened face. He looked like he was struggling to tell me something.

“But why, Zacky? Where are you going? When are you coming back?” I asked confused, I’d never seen him do anything remotely close to this. My tiny voice began to crack. Tears pushed against my eyes as I continued to watch my brother. He was struggling to say something; I could read it on his face.

“Zena…I’m not coming home.” He said sadly. Tears began to fly down my face and I started sobbing. I wrapped my small arms around his neck and cried into him. He wrapped his arms around me and held me tight.

“Zacky you can’t leave!” I cried and he rubbed my back.

“Shh, don’t cry Zeen, I’m so sorry. I love you so much but I have to leave. Ill see you again one day.” he said and I nodded.

“When?”

“Maybe when you’re grown up. But until then ill be looking out for you forever.” He said smiling at me.

“How long is forever Zack?” I asked my shiny green ones staring into his.

“It’s a long time.” He smiled, making me smile.

“Do you pwomise Zacky?” I asked holding out my tiny pinky and he smiled and intertwined his bigger one with mine.

“I promise Zeen.” He kissed my cheek before he walked back over to the window. He gave me one last look.

“I love you Zena, be good for me okay?” I nodded, more tears pushing their way out, and blurring my vision. He smiled and nodded before he looked towards the window with pure determination. He took one big step before he jumped out of it, diving through. I could have imagined I’d seen a glimpse of black fuzz, but my vision was so blurry through all the tears.

“Bye, big brother…”

I thought nothing could tear Zacky and me apart… I was at the age where I thought everything was forever. The 17th of December, a wintry night in 1998 when I learned that forever was a long time. Maybe I was too young to understand, but I wasn’t young enough to forget.

After that, I’ve never seen him. Mom and Dad thought he was dead or missing.
Mom was a mess, and she had a nervous breakdown. Dad couldn’t take the stress or my mother’s insanity so he took up drinking.

They called a search for him. The search went on for months, Zacky and the friends he hung out with had all disappeared the same night. They closed the search eventually for Matthew Sanders, Jonathan Seward, Brian Haner Jr. James Sullivan, and Zachary Baker. They were presumed dead, but I knew Zacky was out there somewhere. He promised me forever.

Occasionally I had seen a grey, brown and black puppy running around the parks when I went. I used to play with it sometimes, but eventually it stopped coming around. I spent the rest of my childhood and teenage years without him. And every December 17th reminds me of the worst day of my life. Now it’s December 16th 2009, and Zacky’s 28th birthday was 5 days ago and I'm dreading tomorrow. I still live in Huntington Beach, but I live closer to the park, where we used to go all the time.

I live there with my boyfriend of 3 years Logan and my German shepherd Logan named Rocky. That name doesn’t fit her; she’s sweet as sugar, but what can I do now she likes it.

“Baby it’s your turn to walk Rocky” He Logan called coming down the stairs grinning. He pulled me into a hug before kissing my lips. “Good morning Lo.” I say before calling Rocky. I put her on a leach and walked her to the door.

“See you later babe, we’re going to central.” I yelled before closing the door. When we got to Central Park, I took the roads that wound around the park and I passed the playground that brought back so many good memories.

Higher Zacky!

I smiled and went over to one of the swings and I tied Rocky down to one of the poles nearby and I sat down on the seat. I looked around staring at the trees and watching the children playing. The breeze whipped my hair around in my face and I pushed it out of the way. Suddenly I felt two big, heavy paws on my back for a moment and I turned around. I saw the grey, brown and black dog that I always used to see there 10 years ago. It was a hell of a lot bigger now, bigger than Rocky. It was the size of a wolf.

“Hey! I remember you!” I began ruffling its fur and it licked my face causing me to giggle.

“I haven’t seen you since I was 12” I cooed and it howled. Wow it was loud.

“I got to finish walking Rocky, wanna come?” I asked it and it barked twice. I got up and untied Rocky. She kept barking at the dog and once the wolf barked once and Rocky shut up, that made me laugh. The dog was almost past my waist and it rubbed its face against my hand and I scratched its fur.

“You know what tomorrow is, right Rocky?” She barked at her name.

“Yep, it’s the 17th. Wow it’s the same snowy weather too. Damn it’s going to suck.” I laughed and the wolf howled again before letting its tongue lazily hang from its mouth. We turned around and I began to walk back home. On the way, the wolf saw a squirrel and ran off chasing it, I laughed because that squirrel was screwed.

When I saw my house eventually in the distance. I unhooked Rocky’s collar and let her run towards the house and then wait on the porch to wait for me to open the door I turned the knob and she ran inside barking.

“Good walk?” Logan asked looking up from the TV and I nodded.

“Yeah, we saw this giant wolf- dog thing, and it followed us on the trail. It looked so familiar, but then it had this ADD moment and ran to chase a squirrel.” I said laughing and he chuckled.

“So what did you do in my absence?” I asked sitting down on the couch.

“I was watching, and still am watching 1000 ways to die.”

“Awesome, that show is kickass.” I said curling up closer to him. He put his arm around my shoulder and i smiled.

“Babe what are you gonna do about tomorrow?” He asked.

“I’m gonna go back to the park. To the swings first.” I said laughing.

“That’s my girl, I hate seeing you sad.” He kissed my lips again and I kissed back softly.

“I know Lo…but there is always something that reminds me…”

You promised me forever Zacky. Im still waiting...