by A. Griffin
Zelia pulled into Adam and John’s apartment complex and parked. She turned around and looked at Adam. “Do you know why he’s doing this?”
“I don’t know. All I know is that this is all just a game to him. The fact of the matter is that humanity is now just a Tinkertoy.”
Adam and John got out of the car. John scratched the back of his neck and said, “This is all like a bad dream.”
Adam gave a sigh. “I wish it were a dream.”
“What can we do?” Zelia asked. She was still clenching the wheel.
Before walking to his apartment, Adam turned back around to face Zelia. In a deadpan voice he said, “You know how to pray, don’t you?”
CHAPTER 11
The air was crisp outside, and gave the promise of winter. The demon referenced Adam’s thoughts and found Adam’s school in no time. Rolmar ruminated on what sort of form he would take and finally decided to take the form of a fifty-year-old man. He pictured in his mind what appropriate attire for a day like this would be. Hmm, perhaps a suit and an overcoat would do. This should help me to fit in nicely with the earthlings.
The demon wasn’t entirely disappointed by the appearance of the campus; it had some sprawling acreage and in general had an interesting layout from above. Many of the buildings were contemporary in design and had obviously been built after the dorms, which had a more gothic feel to them.
A large oak tree provided ample coverage for the demon who alighted gently in an invisible state. He peered invisibly from behind the tree at the many students who went about their way, hustling and bustling through the main quad. After a few moments, he transformed into his new guise.
At first he walked the campus aimlessly and took in all the sights. The way everyone moved about fascinated him. They seem to be in such a hurry. This is so much different from the way Pentarians behave. Our lives are much slower in pace. He likened the movement of the people to scurrying ants.
The demon walked toward the math and science building and paused when he saw a young man near the entrance. The youth was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt and was obviously regretting his choice of clothing on that morning. He rubbed his hands together briskly and then pulled a cigarette from his pocket.
The student addressed Rolmar, “Hey, do you have a light?”
Rolmar was slightly puzzled by the question at first. Then he referenced Adam’s thoughts again and was able to understand. “Sure,” the demon replied. He conjured a lighter inside his pocket, removed the object, and handed it to the young man.
“Thanks,” the young man said. “Sure is cold outside. Wish I had worn a coat today.” He handed the lighter back to Rolmar and then took a long drag of his cigarette.
What a strange habit. How disgusting.
“Are you new here?” the youth asked.
“You could say that I’m new to this place.”
“Just hired, huh? What do you teach?”
“Advanced Math,” he replied.
“Wow, I guess I won’t be in any of your classes this semester. I’m only a freshman.”
“How fresh are you?” the demon inquired, not understanding what the term meant.
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Nothing,” Rolmar replied.
“Well, I gotta go. See ya.”
The demon could only utter, “Hmm.”
As the student walked away he thought, What a strange, old man. I’m glad I don’t have any classes with him. Rolmar read his mind and became infuriated.
You’ll probably die from cancer in fifty years. Why not get it over with now? Hmm, maybe I should just kill them all. Why should I spare any of them? They all have such short life spans anyway. The student went to douse his cigarette in a public ashtray, but the demon made it fly into the air.
The guy was surprised. “What? Whoa.”
The cigarette landed on some papers that someone had carelessly left on the grass. The paper went up in flames immediately.
“Oh no!” the youth shouted and ran to try to put it out. The fire grew very large in a matter of seconds. He backed away quickly, and turned to run. Rolmar watched and smiled slightly. The demon turned invisible and made the fire spread to the math and science building. The flames moved at an unnatural pace and engulfed the entire building.
People began to evacuate and were running to safety outside the building. The demon thought that the people looked like ants more than ever. Rolmar smiled again and went inside the structure to further torment the students. Inside, the hallways blazed, and the stairs were blocked by fire as well. A woman stood at the bottom of the stairs and tried to reach for her small daughter who was standing halfway up the stairs. They must have been visiting the campus today. Rolmar watched for a time and felt pity for the creatures. Why should I feel anything for them? Just destroy them. But something made him pause. The woman reminded him of Linda in some way, and he couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.
She called out to her daughter, “You’ll have to jump!”
The child began to cry and yelled, “I can’t!”
Tears streamed down the woman’s face as she yelled, “It’s the only way!”
Rolmar looked on for a moment longer and then made the fire die down on the steps so the child could walk down them.
The mother ran to her daughter, grabbed her hand, and ran from the building. Rolmar felt strange inside. Why did I do that? He grew angry with himself. This is not right. He held his hands to his head, which ached for some unknown reason. Blaring sirens could be heard in the distance. The fire department arrived and assessed the scene. They were able to help all of the people escape the building, so no one was hurt. After seeing that his plot had been thwarted, Rolmar decided to leave—but not before erasing the memories of those who witnessed.
CHAPTER 12
Nightfall had come and Rolmar wandered the streets near the college campus. His new incarnation was a twenty-year-old, Asian—American man. “At least this body doesn’t ache like the last one did,” he sighed. A drop fell on his head and he looked up. The rain began to come down lightly at first, but then steadily picked up. Rolmar walked down the street and conjured a hooded sweatshirt, which he quickly put on.
Why did I spare that mother and child? This makes no sense. I’m going to destroy this world in a week. I spared their lives, yet if the planet is destroyed they’ll die anyway.
Rolmar slammed his fist against a brick wall. Why is this happening to me?
I’m not myself anymore. Something inside of me has changed. Was it pity that I felt before? Did I actually experience compassion? Maybe this has something to do with Linda.
As he walked, he came to an abandoned street and heard raised voices.
“Give me your money!” a stocky man said to an older gentleman.
“I don’t have anything on me,” the old man replied.
“You’re lying old man.”
“I’m not. Please let me go.”
“What should we do, Lloyd?” the man said to his skinny accomplice.
“I don’t know, Rick. I guess the usual.” “Right,” Rick replied.
Rick pulled a gun from his back pocket. “On your knees, old man!”
“Please! I don’t have anything.” Rolmar paused for a moment. Why are they tormenting this elderly man? The elderly are treated with respect on Pentar. Should I intercede? Rolmar turned the corner.
The two criminals looked up.
Rick said, “Oh great, now we’ll have to kill this loser too. Can’t have any witnesses.”
Rick raised his gun to Rolmar. The demon smiled and laughed a little. Then he made time stop. The two thugs stood frozen, but the old man was unaffected.
Rolmar addressed the old man, “You should go now.”
The old man was a little stunned, “What happened to them?”
“I stopped time for them.”
“How could you?”
“Don’t worry about that. You should run away now.”
“T
hank you, whoever you are.” The man took off down the street.
After several minutes Rolmar started time again, and his eyes began to glow. He faced the two criminals. I should kill them. But Linda wouldn’t like it if I did. He decided to make them pass out. They crumpled to the ground.
Immediately Rolmar doubled over in pain. I must be ill from residing in human form for too long. He changed back into his demonic form and bent down on one knee. He still suffered from some pain.
I think there’s compassion inside of me now. Perhaps I won’t find the change so disagreeable in time. This change may not encompass my entire being. If it does, my mission will be compromised.
He shielded his head from the rain with his great wings and thought, I wish Linda were here.
CHAPTER 13
Rain buffeted the cold streets of New York City. A girl who was ten and a boy who couldn’t have been more than six stood under a poorly constructed awning with little more than train fare in their threadbare pockets. The boy had unruly, corn-silk locks and wore an oversized turtleneck and jeans. The girl was African American and wore denim overalls with a pink shirt. The turtleneck stretched a little above the boy’s nose and was a good garment to possess in this kind of weather.
“What do we do now?” the boy said.
“I don’t know. Running away is harder than it sounds.”
“Hey look, the sun is out,” he said. His large, azure eyes stared up at her.
“Let’s start walking again.”
The boy began hopping over puddles. “Hey, haven’t you ever played this game before? It’s like that game where you try to avoid the cracks in the sidewalk. See, I’m a leapfrog.” The boy paused and made a ribbit sound.
“Hey, maybe I have enough money to buy us a treat.” She let her hand rustle through the loose change in her pocket. “Two-fifty,” she said.
“How do you do that? Count the change like that in your pocket?”
“I just feel the different coins in my pocket and add them up that way. Haven’t you ever done that?”
“Not really. I just count them in my palm,” he said.
The bakery was a veritable beacon on a rainy day. In the failing daylight, its softly lit windows gave the promise of a warm escape from a world that seemed interminably dreary. The aroma of its freshly made confections traveled for much longer than expected—or at least the children thought so.
The door swung open, and a small bell announced the arrival of the wet pair. The shop—redolent with the scent of dozens of sugary treats—made the children forget about the wet weather, which immediately became a dim memory.
“Wow, so much to choose from!” The boy immediately ran to the display case and pressed his nose against the glass. Hailey stood admiring the display and rubbing her hands together. The boy pointed silently to the cookie he wanted, an oversized variety with randomly placed candies. The attendant removed the cookie from the display case, wrapped it in paper, and handed it to the boy.
“There you go. That’ll be a dollar,” she said.
Hailey handed her four quarters.
“What about you?” he said in between bites.
“I think we should save the rest for later,” she answered. The boy shrugged, broke off a large piece, and handed it to Hailey.
“Thanks,” she said.
“Hey, let’s sit at the table by the window,” Nat said.
“Sure, why not?” Hailey sat down on the wrought iron-filigree chair and scooted herself up to the table.
Nat climbed into a chair, and after situating himself said, “What’s wrong?”
“I’m trying to think of a plan. We can’t go back to the foster home.”
Nat shook his head furiously.
“They were always arguing. I guess they tried to be good parents. It just wasn’t a good fit for us,” Hailey said.
Nat nodded while he munched.
“Sometimes a kid has to take matters into her own hands.” She looked out the window at the dreary city. “I’m never going back,” she said.
Nat finished his treat and stood. He shrugged his shoulders. “What now?”
“I guess we’ll just keep walking for a while. Let’s hit the road, soldier.”
“You bet.”
The store’s bell chimed as they exited.
CHAPTER 14
Once Nat and Hailey stepped outside the bakery, they saw the storm had abated. It was getting late; the sun had started to set. Hailey wondered where they would sleep that night. She hadn’t planned that far ahead. The sun streamed down the empty streets, making them appear golden.
Hailey looked around. “Where did everybody go?” she asked.
Nat clung to her side. “I don’t know.”
They didn’t see a soul anywhere. The cars were still and looked as if all the people had just abandoned them in the streets. The storefronts appeared to be vacant. Frozen was an appropriate word—the whole scene was reminiscent of an old photograph. After a while the tenseness in the air became palpable—a feeling that both children found very disagreeable. How could anyone feel real in this frozen world—a world devoid of people? The children felt this way for the entirety of sixteen minutes until a golden eagle flew by. Finally, movement! Life was back again, at least the life that they had come to understand.
The bird alighted in front of them and stretched its wings before speaking.
“I am Rolmar, high demon of Pentar,” he said. Hearing these words from a bird almost made them fall backward. Hailey’s light-brown eyes grew wide, and Nat moved behind her.
Nat was shocked by the creature; after all, the children had never seen a talking bird before. He decided, however, that perhaps they should listen to the bird because there was no one else around. The eagle looked up at them. “Why are you running away?” he asked.
Hailey spoke up: “We can’t go back to foster care. It was horrible there. They didn’t hurt us or anything, but they were always yelling and fighting. We wanted to escape. How did you know that we were running away?”
“I flew above you as you walked in the rain.”
“So you spied on us!” Nat said.
“In a manner of speaking.”
Hailey said, “I hope I’m not imagining this whole thing.”
Rolmar replied, “I can assure you this is no joke. Follow me if you want to live.”
Nat looked up at Hailey. “I’m scared,” he said. Then the children asked, “Where are we going?”
Rolmar took to the air and replied, “You’ll just have to wait and see.”
CHAPTER 15
I takir perched on a telephone pole in the rain in front of Adam’s apartment. He briefly sniffed the rain-scented air and then cast a dome spell to keep himself dry. Itakir had been secretly following Rolmar and so he was aware of Adam’s whereabouts. He smiled to himself as he entertained thoughts of wreaking havoc on Adam. This reconnaissance is so much fun. If only Pentar was as much fun as Earth.
Adam and John slept peacefully in their beds. Itakir made himself invisible and slipped through the front door of Adam’s apartment. He found his way to the kitchen and immediately began searching through the cupboards. There must be something in here that I can use to create disorder. He almost giggled with delight, but stifled it quickly. After all, why ruin my fun by waking them up too soon. These things mustn’t be rushed. Ah, the refrigerator, there must be something in there. He peered into the fridge and removed a carton of milk. This will do nicely. Itakir began to pour the milk all over the floor. Once the entire contents of the container had been emptied, he tossed it aside. Then he carefully took every pot, pan, dish, and the like and placed them on the floor. This is perfect. He did this very quietly and meticulously, as if there were a method to creating the mess. After dusting his hands off, he said: “Well, my work is pretty much done here. There’s only one thing left to do.” With that, he promptly breathed fire on the floor. The fire spread quickly to the cabinets and a wooden table.
Itakir f
ound a perfect vantage point on a tall cabinet in the dining room so he could watch everything unfold. “Now, I just have to wait.” He didn’t have to wait very long, because the fire alarm sounded off shortly after he perched.
Adam sat straight up in bed, and John actually fell out of his bed. After shaking his groggy head a few times, Adam ran through the apartment to find the source of the fire. When he saw smoke coming from the kitchen he immediately rushed in, slipped, and fell onto the floor. He thought briefly, why is everything on the floor? His mind quickly pushed the thought away. As it turned out, he fell next to a large bowl. He picked it up, ran to the sink, and filled it hastily. Adam threw the water onto the fire hoping it would be enough. Just then, John ran into the kitchen with a fire extinguisher and put an end to the fire. Itakir laughed silently as he watched the two react to the smoke and flames.
“Well, time to fly,” he said. Making himself visible as he passed Adam and John, Itakir exited through the window. On his way through the kitchen, he made a few more pots hit the floor. Adam and John turned to look and were shocked at what they saw. They ran to the window to get a better look at the creature that had flown past. But when they reached the window, nothing was outside—although they did hear laughter coming from an unknown source.
“What was that?” John asked.
“I don’t know, but I’m glad it’s gone,” Adam replied.
“Well, at least the fire is out,” John said sleepily. “But the place is a wreck.”
“Yeah, I’ll start with the dishes. Why don’t you grab a mop,” Adam suggested.
John began to mop up the milk-covered floor. “This is going to be a long night.”
CHAPTER 16
The bird flapped its wings hastily, and the children followed it up the upward-sloping sidewalk. Hailey and Nat paused at the top of the hill.
“I don’t believe it. What’s going on, Hailey…is this real?” Nat whispered.
Before them stood fifty acres of lush grass, just waiting for someone to run across it—and of course the children wished to do just that. But this beautiful scene had to be an illusion, which gave them pause.