The Demon On My Chest: Waking Up

by Dan Farris

  Corny muthafucka. Maybe he ain’t the Devil. Maybe all the shit he saying...is fo’ real. This shit crazy.

  Chapter 7-Samael

  Samael stood in the empty void of space, in the remains of the galaxy he had just destroyed.

  No more stars, planets, creatures. Countless creatures. All exterminated by the command of their creator. Now only darkness. Are you happy now, Father? Gabriel appeared next to Samael. “Well done, brother, I see you haven’t lost your touch. No one can destroy or conquer like you.”

  “Go tell Father I have done what he has asked. Tell him to not ask me to do this again; I have proven my loyalty once and for all.”

  “That’s not why I’m here.”

  “Then why are you here?”

  Gabriel sighed deeply. “You are not the only one who harbors memories of the past. We may not be as strong as you, but many agree with you.”

  “Speak your mind; you know I hate riddles.”

  “I always followed Father’s commands, without asking questions. We spent eons conquering the other powers, for Father. Sending him their essence. It was what we were made for. Then, I fought against my brother, my best friend. I loved Lucifer even more than I loved you. I helped banish him and our other brothers into Hell, and for what? Father betrayed us.” Gabriel was crying; his tears looked like exploding stars, pure energy.

  “Why didn’t you leave Heaven with me? We could have done something.” “What could we have done? He is our Father, the Creator. Rebel like Lucifer? I had no choice!”

  “You had a choice; we all did. There is always a choice.”

  “You let your passion, your anger clouded your judgment, but not me. If I had left, other brothers would have followed. Father needed me. I couldn’t abandon him. But, I was wrong.”

  “What are you saying, Gabriel?”

  “I’m saying ‘join me.’ We are not alone. The majority of our brothers in Heaven agree with us. They remember our glorious past, and grow weary of sitting around, watching his humans. We can take Heaven and mold this space to our image! We can start going back into the other spaces, conquering like we were made to do. Each of us can be powers in our own right, more powerful than Father ever dreamed of. Father is weaker than ever; he can’t even create a new brother.”

  “Why now?”

  “Seeing you again, and being witness to what you just did. The time has come to take back what we lost, and so much more.”

  No. Zethera.

  “I can’t.”

  “What?! We need you, brother. I need you.”

  “Where do Michael, Uriel, and Raphael stand?”

  “They are with us, except Michael. Even though he lost the most in the rebellion, he follows with blind loyalty.”

  “Then no. And you underestimate Father. He has not ruled this long for nothing. He won the rebellion, even though most of our brothers rebelled.”

  “He won because of us! Me, you, Michael, and the other commanders. Join me.”

  “My anger with Father will never cease. But I cannot join you. Return to Heaven, get this thought out of your mind, and hope Father will eventually remember why he created us and all that we have done for him. That is my advice to you.”

  Gabriel lowered his head. “You disappoint me, brother. Back to Heaven, then, back to watching Father’s pets. If you change your mind, we are ready. Ready for you to lead us.” Gabriel vanished.

  Don’t do anything stupid, Gabriel.

  Samael returned to where Lidethera should have been and the planet, its’ sun, and its’ two moons were gone.

  No, no, it can’t be. Zethera, no! Father, you will pay for this!

  Samael sensed the presence of three beings, angels: Kerubiel, Lassuarium, and Muriel. They each rivaled Samael in height and girth, and Muriel was slightly larger than Samael. They each wore golden robes that covered their heads. “Brother, we need you to come with us to Heaven. Father demands it,” said Kerubiel in the Angelic language.

  “What happened here?” Asked Samael.

  “Father grew tired of your disobedience. We are commanded to remain in Heaven. We are forbidden to interact with these creatures. We are forbidden to procreate,” said Muriel before Samael interrupted him.

  “Enough! Where is she? Where is Zethera?”

  “That creature no longer concerns you. She ceases to exist. Now come with us,” said Lassuarium.

  Damn him, damn him. Zethera, no, why didn’t she call for me?

  “No, you took her from me! Each of you shall be destroyed.”

  Muriel rushed toward Samael and punched him in the face with all his might. Samael, unmoved, grabbed him by the throat and released a burst of energy from his hand. Muriel was gone, destroyed. Samael turned his attention to Kerubiel and Lassuarium, who both now had wide-eyed looks of fear.

  “You destroyed him. That’s not possible. Father gave us the power to subdue you,” said Lassuarium.

  “Fools, have you forgotten who I am? You two could never subdue me. Now say goodbye to existence.” Samael stretched his arms forward and released a burst of energy that burned like an exploding star. When he put his arms down, both Kerubiel and Lassuarium were gone.

  Father, I will see Heaven burn to the ground for this. Everything you hold dear will be destroyed.

  Zethera, I should never have left you. I said I’d always protect you, but I failed. Father, I’ll make you beg for mercy.

  As Samael mourned, Gabriel appeared next to him. “I’m sorry. I came here soon as I heard what Father had done.” Samael punched Gabriel in his face, and Gabriel bled from his nose. His blood looked like rays of light. His wound quickly healed.

  “Did you know about this, Gabriel? His ‘sign of loyalty’ was only a ruse to get me to leave to her!”

  “I didn’t know. On the memory of my companion and offspring, I didn’t know.”

  “She’s gone, she’s gone.”

  Gabriel placed his hand on Samael’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, I should have known. You told me not to underestimate Father; he used me. When he sent me here, he had already planned to destroy her. He didn’t tell me, you have to believe that. He doesn’t trust me anymore.”

  “It is he who can’t be trusted. He who has taken everything from us. This is the last time that I let Father hurt me. The last time that I ever put faith in him. Hear me now: I declare war on Father.”

  Gabriel beamed with joy. “I’m with you. The time has come.”

  “How many will join us?”

  “Nearly every one of our brothers in Heaven, save a few. I’m sure more will join once they hear the mighty Samael leads us.”

  “How many commanders?”

  “I, you, Raphael, Uriel, Saraguel, Reagul, Remeil, Metatron, Raziel, Tzaphkiel, Khamael, and Haniel.”

  “And Michael?”

  “Despite everything that Father has done, Michael is still loyal to him.”

  “So are Sandalphon and Khamael then. So goes Michael, so go they.”

  “Yes.”

  “No matter, Heaven will fall. By the way, I’m sorry about this.”

  “Sorry? Sorry about what?”

  Samael punched Gabriel several times in his face and ribs, then released a burst of energy from his hands. Gabriel was seriously wounded and yelled in pain.

  “There, it’ll take some time for those to heal.”

  “What are you doing? I told you I didn’t know!”

  “I believe you. Return to Heaven. Tell Father you tried to convince me to return, but I refused. That should gain you Father’s trust back. In the meantime, you discreetly recruit more brothers to join us.”

  “Why didn’t I think of that? I just got a brilliant idea. There’s a way to recruit even more of our brothers.”

  “No, I won’t do that. They’re the reason Father betrayed us in the first place. You would trust them?”

  “The humans have a saying: sometimes it’s better the devil you know. Well, we know him personally, don’t we? We know they can’t be trust
ed, and after we conquer Heaven, we’ll deal with them next. Unlike Father, we won’t send them back to Hell, we’ll erase them from existence. Are you with me?”

  Zethera. She’s gone, forever. I won’t let you get away with this. Not this time, Father. Your reign is about to come to an end.

  Suddenly, two wings made of fire emerged from Samael’s upper shoulders, and a portal, in the shape of circle, ripped in space. “To hell!”

  Chapter 8-Sean

  Sean drove down the road, headed toward Diana’s house. A few days had passed since he had met her and the others. Sean’s phone was vibrating, Misty had texted him:

  “I haven’t been able to reach you since our ‘date.’ I had a great time, would love to see you again. I can’t stop thinking about you.”

  I could tell she’s too clingy; no wonder she’s still single.

  Sean pulled his car in front of Diana’s home. The sun was going down. It was a nice house, located in a gated community. Several cars were already parked in Diana’s driveway. Wonder if Persephone is here, thought Sean as he exited his car and walked to the front door.

  After knocking on the door a few times, Diana opened it and immediately hugged Sean. “Sean, Sean, thank goodness you’re here. Oh, you have such a good spirit, so many good vibes coming from you. The others are already here. Follow me to the living room.”

  “You have a nice house.”

  “Thank you. My husband passed away several years ago. We bought the land and built this home from the ground up.”

  Sean followed Dianna into her living room, and the house was furnished with religious paintings and trinkets. Ancient symbols, buddhas, crosses, and other things that Sean did not recognize. I’m getting a bad feeling about this. Maybe I should turn back. When Sean entered the living room, he saw everyone seated on the floor on top of large rug.

  “Sorry about the other night, kid. That Jack got ahold of me,” said Kevin.

  “No worries man.”

  “Here, Sean, you seat right next to me,” said Diana. Sean sat down between Diana and April. Like the first time Sean met her, April was dressed very professional and she still looked uncomfortable.

  “I think Sean wants to move,” said Persephone.

  Forgive me in advance, God, but I’m so gonna fuck this chick.

  “No, no, no, Sean is sitting by me. Host rules,” said Diana.

  “Luke, how you holding up? Are you over your ex yet?” Asked Sean.

  “I wish. I called her recently, and she didn’t answer. Then I called again, and I think she finally blocked me.” Poor guy, he needs to get laid.

  “Can we get started? I told my husband I would be home soon,” said April.

  “Yes, yes. Would you like anything before we get started, Sean?” Asked Diana.

  “I’m fine, thank you.”

  “We all know why we’re here. Each of us have had what they called ‘night terrors’ or ‘sleep paralysis’ from childhood. Even though every ancient civilization has documented such events, modern doctors claim it is simply a malfunction in the sleep process. They claim there is a disconnect when we sleep that causes part of us to awake, but our brain is not fully aware of what is going on, so we see things. That is what they say. I’m sure each of you have done your own research. I do not believe we suffer from a disorder. I believe that we, and others like us, have a gift. A gift from the other beings.”

  “A gift from God?” Asked April.

  “I do not believe in the Judeo-Christian God. I believe in sprits, other planes, other beings, higher beings.”

  Blasphemy. This is wrong. I should leave.

  “My attempts to make contact have failed thus far, but with all of you here, I know this will work.”

  “What you are saying sounds like witchcraft. And we’re not blind. All of these false idols in your house. This is evil,” said April.

  “Not evil. I’m a truth seeker. Isn’t that why you’re here? You have questions. Has your Judeo-Christian God answered them? Has he stopped you from being tormented every night? Feeling like you’re about to die every night? Did he stop the dark figure from touching you?”

  Sean interrupted her. “Stop, that’s enough. You’ve made your point. What do we have to do?”

  “The only time the spirits reach out to us is when we attempt to sleep. So, I propose that we all gradually allow ourselves to fall asleep right here, and we should able to make contact.”

  “That’s your grand plan? A sleep-over? It sounds stupid,” said April.

  “Do you have a better idea? There’s no harm in trying. There is power in numbers. We may be able to communicate with the other beings,” said Diana.

  “But I ain’t sleepy. Maybe if I had a bottle of Jack, or two,” said Kevin.

  “I don’t think that will be necessary. Are we all in agreement?” Asked Diana.

  Everyone agreed.

  “Good. Now all of you lie down and close your eyes. Don’t think about anything else, just sleep. Sleep. Listen to the sound of my voice. Relax, relax. Feel your body getting tired. Your body wants to sleep. Let go, let go. Don’t fight it, don’t fight it. Relax, relax.”

  Father, forgive me if this is wrong. Sean felt himself falling asleep.

  After a few minutes, Sean awoke but could not move. Fuck, fuck, it’s happening. “Someone help me! Holy shit, I can talk! Someone help me!” Screamed Sean.

  All the others, except Diana, began to shout. “Help, help! I feel it, I can’t move. Someone help me. God, I can’t move, I can’t move.”

  “Relax, everyone. None of us can move now. Relax. Do you feel the spirits here?” Asked Diana.

  This is really happening.

  “Hello, hello,” said an unknown voice. It sounded like a kind whisper in the sweetest voice Sean had ever heard.

  “Who said that? Who said that?” Yelled Luke.

  “It worked, it worked. We made contact! Hello, kind sprit, my name is Diana. We are friends. Who are you?”

  “I am a friend too,” said the voice.

  “Are you the one that torments us?” Asked Persephone.

  God, this can’t be happening.

  “I am a friend. I felt you all here. Would you like to come with me?”

  “Yes, yes, take us with you. Take me to my Paul,” said Diana.

  “No, you are a devil! Guys, don’t you feel it? This creature is evil. It is Satan!” Yelled April.

  “She’s right. Whatever this is, it’s evil. This was a big mistake,” said Sean.

  “You’re wrong, both of you. Take us with you, kind spirit. Take me to my Paul. Is he with you?” Asked Diana.

  “Yes, I can take you to Paul. Each of you just say yes…wait.” The unseen voiced turned from sounding sweet to sounding shocked and amazed. “There is something here, something old… older than me. A power that I haven’t felt before. Such power, such power. Which one of you? Such power. I’ve never felt such power.”

  Sean felt a pull from within, it felt like his soul was being ripped out.

  “Yes, yes, take us with you. Take us with you,” said Diana.

  “It’s killing us, it’s killing us,” cried April.

  God, forgive me for my sins and please accept me into your kingdom.

  All of a sudden, the pain stopped, and each of them could move.

  April jumped on top of Diana and started punching her. “You bitch, you witch. That was a demon, you bitch, you bitch.”

  “Beat the bitch, beat the bitch. Crazy bitch,” said Kevin.

  Sean and Luke pulled April off of Diana. Diana’s face was bloody and bruised.

  “Do you all realize what happened? We made contact. It spoke to us. It wasn’t evil, it was just confused. It was going to take us with it, to my Paul. We must do it again. Each of you, lie back down.

  “If you want to see your dead husband, why don’t you kill yourself!” Screamed April.

  “This was wrong. Whatever that thing was, it was evil. We all felt it. I’m never doing this again. No
ne of us should,” said Sean.

  “Witch, next time you want to go to Hell, don’t try to take anyone with you,” said April. April stormed out of the house, followed by Sean and the others. Persephone was shaking her head in disbelief as she exited the house.

  “No, please come back. Please, come back. It was good, it was good, I know it was good. I can’t make contact without you. Please, I want to see my Paul again,” cried Diana.

  As Sean neared his car, he was stopped by Persephone. “I’m not sure what just happened, but I’m scared,” said Persephone.

  “I’m scared too. You can crash at my place, if you want,” said Sean.

  “Thank you, I’ll follow you home.”

  When they arrived at Sean’s house, they went inside and sat on his couch.

  “That was a demon back there, wasn’t it?” Asked Persephone.

  “I’m not sure, but whatever it was, it was evil. I felt it, and you heard how its voice changed.”

  “At least we know we’re not crazy.”

  “Yes, and that God is real. I’ve always had faith, but it’s no doubt now. If there is supernatural evil, logic dictates there must be supernatural good.”

  “Why do you think God has allowed this to happen to us? To be tormented by evil all these years?” Asked Persephone.

  “I don’t know, and after tonight, maybe we will never know the answer to that.”

  “I don’t think I can go to sleep tonight. I don’t think I can ever go to sleep again.”

  “I share the sentiment. The only thing we can do is to make sure our souls are right with God, or that evil will drag us to wherever it came from. I’ve made so many mistakes all these years; I need to get it right with God. I don’t want to go to Hell.”

  “Me neither,” said Persephone.

  “Something that thing said, about old and powerful. What did it mean?”

  “I don’t know, Sean.”

  “You like Netflix?” Asked Sean.

  “I love Netflix!”

  “Let’s start with something light then, like a Disney movie. Nothing like a good Disney movie to make you feel better.”