In response to his curious expression, she briefly paused to whisper, “My mother took this song from the humans and sang it to me in our language as a lullaby when I was very young. I thought you might enjoy hearing it.”
Michael nodded in response, laying back down on her to listen. He was surprised to discover how much he enjoyed having her sing to him. It was oddly comforting, and without intending to he had fallen asleep in her arms.
Chapter 9: Complications
Michael’s alarm clock didn’t wake him up in the morning. Instead, he found himself returning to consciousness from the warmth of someone gently caressing his cheek. He opened his eyes to see Miriam looking down at him endearingly. Her glowing red eyes were filled with affection.
“Good morning love.” She whispered softly.
“Morning?” He asked concerned. He glanced at his alarm clock to see it was already several minutes past having gone off. She must have turned it off before it had a chance to wake him. Groaning, he buried his head in her neck. “Can we just stay home today?” He pleaded.
Somber again, she responded quietly. “It’s safer right now for you to be around other humans, my love.”
Michael had forgotten that he was possibly in grave danger from the other demons. Sighing, he nodded and got up, climbing out of bed. Abruptly dizzy, he stumbled and would have fallen had Miriam not instantly appeared at his side to steady him. However, his vision was still fading fast from the lack of blood going to his head. “I need to sit down,” he said urgently.
She immediately helped him to the floor, cradling him in her arms. “Are you alright?” She asked concerned. “Is it because you’re sick?” She then paused as if registering something she had just noticed. “You do…smell funny.”
“I do?” Michael asked, feeling embarrassed. His head had stopped spinning and his vision was no longer dark. “I’ll take a shower.”
She shook her head. “That’s not what I mean. Are you sure you’ll get better on your own?”
He nodded in response. “Yeah, normally the flu lasts for a few days, although sometimes it might last a week or two. Still, I do need a shower.” He began standing up only to realize he might be leaving her for some time again. He rapidly turned his head to look at her. “Miriam, will you be at school today?”
She shook her head no. “You should be safe in school, but if something were to happen then it’s better for me to be unencumbered with worrying about others seeing me. In your room, I don’t have to be concerned about maintaining appearances, but there I would.”
Michael immediately looked down feeling depressed, but then he was struck with an idea. He looked at her excited. “Hey, can you make yourself look human, so I take your picture? That way I can see your face whenever I want.”
She tilted her head in confusion again, and he wondered if she even knew what a camera was. “Sure, but we need to hurry. Your sister is coming.”
Michael realized he still wasn’t wearing any clothes, so he quickly put his shorts on and turned to see a human Miriam standing next to his bed. With a grin, he grabbed his phone and snapped a picture just as there was a knock at the door.
“Michael?” Amelia called from the hallway.
Seeing that she was human in the image, he nodded to Miriam, indicating he had gotten what he wanted, and she vanished just as the door to his bedroom cracked open. He quickly stuck his phone in his pocket and tried to find the long sleeve shirt he had been wearing the previous day. He had it halfway on when Amelia saw him.
“Oh! Sorry!” She then paused as she examined him.
“What is it?” He asked, feeling paranoid again.
“The bruising. It just looks so bad. Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” Deep concern was evident on her face.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” he replied cheerfully. “Although, I just realized I need to take a shower.” He had grabbed his shirt from yesterday just to have something on to hide the new bruise on his forearm, but now he grabbed a fresh long-sleeve shirt and pants. As he began walking by, he saw that she seemed to be frozen with surprise from his good mood, so he decided to tease her. “Is that alright with you?”
Embarrassed, she replied. “Yes, of course! I’ll go make you breakfast.”
“Thanks,” he said sincerely. He then paused as he recalled her odd behavior the previous evening. “Oh, what were you doing reading by the stairs last night?”
She immediately looked away embarrassed again, causing him to be suspicious. “Oh, I was just trying out a new reading spot is all.”
Michael knew there was something more to the story, but he felt confidence there was no way she would be able to hear them in his room. His door was thick, which meant she would need to have her ear pressed right up against it to make out even normal conversation. Plus, Miriam appeared to be capable of detecting her even from his sister’s room.
Deciding to let it slide for now, he headed to the bathroom to take a much-welcomed shower. Afterwards, he got dressed, brushed his teeth, and then headed to the kitchen to take some medicine for his fever. He hadn’t even bothered taking his temperature since he knew he still had one.
Amelia was oddly quiet as she watched him eat, leaving her food untouched. Finally, he asked her about it. “Aren’t you going to eat?” She looked down apologetically and immediately began shoveling food in her mouth. Sighing, he addressed the weird behavior. “Is everything okay with you?”
“Yes,” she squeaked. She then cleared her throat. “I’m just worried is all. I was hoping you’d look better today, but if anything you look worse.”
“I do?” He asked surprised. “I actually feel a little better than yesterday.” He mentally did an internal check of himself and realized that it was his lessened anxiety that caused him to feel better. Physically, he still felt fatigued and sore. He sure hoped he would get over this flu soon, so everyone would stop worrying about him.
On the way to school, Amelia kept the conversation light-hearted, which was a nice change of pace. She spoke of the general things going on in her life, such as tests she had coming up or the funny video she had seen online recently. Michael was surprised she didn’t ask if he had seen Miriam last night but was glad to not feel like he was being interrogated for once.
When they arrived at school, they left each other on a good note to go to their respective classes. It was almost like things were back to normal again.
In his first period study hall, Michael mentioned to Mr. Crawford that Miriam was still sick, knowing that he would be asked anyway once class started. His teacher seemed to have no problem believing him, since Michael himself looked extremely ill.
However, he had to lie to shut down the comments about seeing the nurse, saying he’d already seen the doctor and wasn’t contagious. Finally, after a brief conversation and suggesting he wanted to sleep, he sat down by himself hoping that the day would go by quickly.
At least he had a picture of Miriam this time that he could look at occasionally. He still wasn’t sure how she could make clothes appear out of thin air or hide her horns. Wanting to see her face, he pulled out his phone and loaded the image.
His heart stopped.
The image he had captured in his room this morning wasn’t one of a human like he had thought – it was of a demon. He flipped to the next image, wondering if he had accidentally take more than one, but this was the only picture. He knew for a fact that the image he had captured was of her human form – he had made sure of it – yet unmistakably the picture he now was looking at was one of Miriam’s demonic appearance that she had only revealed to him when they were alone.
Michael quickly glanced around the room, to make sure on one could see, before staring at the image again. He knew he had to delete it, but he still couldn’t understand what he was seeing. Why had he seen her human form on the camera? How was that possible?
Unless…unless it really was an illusion…an illusion that only affected the human mind.
Suddenly
it hit him. He had already figured out that her horns and wings could be felt, even when they couldn’t be seen. It was all just an illusion, even the clothes. The camera had captured her true form all along, but now that Miriam was no longer present to project the illusion to his mind, he saw the image as it really was. He wasn’t sure how she did it – created the illusion – but he knew demons could see into the minds of humans, so it wasn’t too far of stretch to imagine they made themselves appear like humans in a similar manner.
However, obviously it was slightly different, since Miriam couldn’t see into his mind. He imagined that it might be like looking through a one-way window. He could see out – she couldn’t see in. However, she could still hold up a filter to the window to change what he saw through it.
But that meant cameras wouldn’t be fooled, such as the ones the school had at the entrances. If she had entered the school at a normal human pace, then the security footage would show a demon coming inside instead of a human student.
Michael’s chest immediately tightened with panic. Miriam didn’t know. She didn’t even know about the flu or the internet, so of course she didn’t know about how cameras worked. Probably none of the demons knew.
Up until the last century, human technology had been extremely primitive. They likely had no idea just how advanced humanity had become. The demons didn’t know of the hidden dangers that might expose their existence.
Feeling stressed, Michael deleted the picture, set his phone down, and then rested his head in his hands. He had no way to contact her. It’s not like he could call her. He would have to wait until she came to see him after school. He just hoped that it wasn’t too late to cover her tracks. Hopefully no one monitored the school’s security cameras too closely.
Michael briefly considered trying to delete the footage himself, but he had no idea where it was kept and would only bring attention to it when he inevitably got caught. Sighing, he tried to think of how he might contact her. She had excellent hearing, and as far as he knew she was watching over him…he decided to give it a try.
Whispering very quietly, he spoke. “Miriam…or Miriam’s brother…the cameras – they aren’t fooled by your illusion. They see your true form.”
He doubted they had heard him, but it was the best he could do for now. Laying his head down on the desk, he tried to consider what other human technology might pose a threat to them.
However, his thinking felt too murky to really come up with anything. Part of the problem is that he didn’t understand anything about how their abilities worked. He didn’t know how they flew with wings that lacked membranes, nor did he understand how their mental capabilities functioned. It was like something out of a movie that defied logic, yet he knew there must be a logical way it all happened.
When the bell rang, he headed off to his second class of the day, hoping it would go by fast so he could at least see Grayson. Being around familiar faces was always comforting when he felt unwell, and he hoped his friend would be acting more normal like his sister had been.
When he did arrive to his third class, Grayson seemed more concerned about why Amelia was mad at him than the ongoing issue with Riley.
“Did she say anything?” He wondered.
“No, she wouldn’t tell me,” Michael answered honestly. “But she seems to be in a better mood today.”
Grayson sat back in his seat as the bell rang for class to start. He had a navy-blue shirt on today that was probably too small, given his muscle size. Just six months ago, this same shirt had fit him fine. Grayson ran his fingers through his blonde hair as he sighed, hiding his brown eyes briefly as he did so. “Jeez, I really don’t know what I did. I’ve never seen her get mad at anyone. She’s always so level headed and non-confrontational.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean.” Michael whispered as the teacher got everyone’s attention.
Class began as usual until a voice on the intercom interrupted. Mrs. Hayes had been writing on the blackboard but then paused, lowering her chalk, as the principal addressed the entire school.
“Attention students and teachers. The police are here to do a search of the premises. Teachers, please keep all students in their current locations until notified otherwise. Furthermore students, random drug tests are being performed as well. If you are selected for drug testing, please follow the officer’s instructions as they escort you to the designated testing location. Thank you for your cooperation.”
Immediately, the entire class blew up with noise as students began reacting to the announcement. For some students, this was an exciting break from the norm, since it meant teachers basically had to put a hold on class for the day. For others, those few who might be legitimate drug users, they appeared concerned that they might be found out.
However, what was unusual was that even Mrs. Hayes seemed surprised. It appeared this unexpected drug sweep really had been kept a secret from everyone.
Michael began making small talk with Grayson when a police officer knocked on the door and entered their room. Everyone felt silent immediately, even without the cop requesting it. He asked the teacher to come outside the class with him, speaking to her briefly in the hall, before reappearing at the door. Mrs. Hayes entered the room behind him and scanned the students before calling Michael’s name.
“Michael Thorpe, if you would, please go with Officer Smidsky.”
He looked at her confused, wondering if he was being selected for the drug testing. In the past, students were selected randomly by ID numbers, so it was odd that this seemed more…intentional. The officer didn’t appear to have any kind of list with him.
“Umm, sure,” he said as he got up from his seat. He felt embarrassed when he had to steady himself for a second, feeling dizzy again. He could feel everyone’s eyes on him, possibly assuming he was drugs just because he was a little wobbly.
“Are you alright Michael?” Mrs. Hayes asked, stepping forward.
“Yeah, I’ve just been sick for the last few days and feel really lightheaded.” Having gotten his bearings, he began walking up to the front of the class. “I’m fine now though.”
She nodded and motioned for him to follow Mr. Smidsky. The man seemed nice enough, walking with him side-by-side down the hallway instead of acting like he was a criminal. Michael interpreted his approachability as an opportunity to find out what was going on.
“So, is this for the drug testing?” He asked tentatively.
The officer nodded. “They’ll tell you more about it. I’m just here to collect students and drop them off.”
“Oh, okay.” He wasn’t sure what else to say. A simple drug test wouldn’t be a problem. All he had to do was pee in a cup, and the only thing he had taken recently was medicine for his fever, which wasn’t even something they tested for. His results would show up clean without a doubt.
As they rounded a corner, Michael saw that there were several students already lined up against the wall outside the entrance to the administrative office. None of them looked nervous or otherwise suspicious, although it did appear they all had something in common – they all looked at least mildly unwell.
There were two police officers standing at either end of the line of students, just casually looking around. It was as if everything was business as usual.
A tall man in a black business suit, with graying hair, was just stepping out of the office with the principal, saying, “And these are the only students missing today? This list is pretty small.”
The principal was a short man with dark skin and white hair. Today he was wearing a navy-blue suit, although he had been known to wear odd colors occasionally. He immediately responded to the question. “Yes, well, the flu season hasn’t really hit our school yet, so attendance has been relatively high.”
Officer Smidsky directed Michael to take a place in line before he headed off to visit another class. The girl next to him coughed into her hand, sounding like she probably should have just stayed home today. He wondered why she hadn’t,
but then just one look at her made him suspect she was exceptionally studious who took attendance extra seriously.
The guy in the black suit had moved to talking to another guy dressed in business casual attire. He had a nametag on him that indicated to Michael that he wasn’t a faculty member. He was wearing a red button-up shirt and dark brown pants. The only thing abnormal about him was the fact that he was holding an odd device that was bright yellow and had a hazard symbol on it. He suspected it must be some sort of meter, although he wasn’t sure what it measured.
All the students were quiet, except for the occasionally coughing or sniffling, while the man in the suit continued his conversation quietly with tech guy. After a few more students arrived, he heard the two men get louder briefly before they both turned towards the line of students. The guy with the meter spoke to the group.
“Hello everyone. I’m Dr. Whitmore. This here is Detective Branson.” He motioned towards the guy in the black suit. “We’ve recently had some folks getting sick due to a hazardous waste leak and we’re here to see if any of the students have been affected by it. It’s some pretty nasty stuff and can even be lethal under large exposures, so we just want to ensure no one needs medical attention.”
Surprised, Michael wondered what hazardous material had been leaked. At least now he knew why he had been selected – it was obvious he looked sick. One of the students in line raised their hands, speaking when Dr. Whitmore motioned for them to go ahead. “This isn’t a drug test?”
“Well…” Dr. Whitmore began. “Not in a traditional sense. No one here’s in trouble, we just want to make sure you aren’t sick with something that needs immediate medical attention.” He then held up the meter he was holding. “This device will allow me to detect if you’ve been exposed. All I need to do is wave it in front of you, so no need to worry. Just stand still for me and it will all be over soon.”
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