The Demon On My Chest: Waking Up

by Dan Farris

  “They want to acquire the power that they think you have. And as for your dead girlfriend, it’s only a matter of time before they find out about her too.”

  “Can’t you stop them? They killed an innocent family. They sold their souls. They’re evil.”

  “I could, but I can’t. Angels are not in the business of killing humans, even the wicked ones. It’s against the rules.”

  “Screw your rules! You said you have no idea what’s happening to me, right? Maybe it’s time for you to break the rules.”

  Aadon was silent for a moment. “I would still have to get the authorization to do something like that, to exterminate every coven all the planet. The scale of it… A few humans here and there is one thing, but this would bring attention.”

  “So what? I’m supposed to run like a hunted animal until you get the authorization? And what about Mary Ann? She doesn’t have anything to do with this.”

  “Why do you care about what happens to her? She’s destined to go to Hell; it’s just a matter of time. She’s damned.”

  “No, she’s not! I want her to be safe, do you understand me? No matter what, I want her to be safe!”

  “Okay, kid, I’ll buy us some time until we figure out what you are. I’ll do something to keep your dead girlfriend safe and not bring too much attention on us.”

  “Sean, can I talk to you in private?” asked Mary Ann.

  “I can take a hint,” said Aadon. “I’ll be right outside. Be quick though. They probably know where you live by now. We have to leave. They’re coming.” Aadon vanished.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I don’t trust the angel. They don’t care about humans or dead souls. He’s only here because you’re special.”

  “But angels are the good guys, right?”

  “How do you know he hasn’t been commanded to kill you and send your soul to Hell the moment he realizes what you really are? Whatever that may be.”

  “I haven’t thought about that.”

  “I care about you. We barely know each other, and first I just wanted to bang you, but now I care about you, even though I’m already damned.”

  “Don’t say that, you’re not damned. Come here, I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.” Sean and Mary Ann hugged. They left his bedroom and went into his living room, where Aadon was waiting for them.

  “How can you protect Mary Ann?” Asked Sean.

  “The humans that are after you have some powerful magic. But not that powerful. I can keep your dead girlfriend warded off, so she can’t be detected.”

  “And me?”

  “For some reason, I can’t ward you off. My powers don’t seem to work on you. That means that they’ll always be able to track you. You get where I’m going with this, kid?”

  I don’t want to lose her.

  “After you ward her off, where will you hide her?”

  “A place where even if they’re able to bypass my magic, it’ll be hard to find her: the darkness.”

  “No, no, I’m not going back in there! The demons will catch me!”

  “Don’t be so dramatic. Once I ward you off, demons, jinn, and other dead humans won’t be able to sense you. You’ll be able to go and come as you please. You’ll be invisible to them, like you are to the living.”

  “Are you one hundred percent certain she’ll be safe?”

  “You have my word.”

  Aadon’s wings appeared. They were made of fire, and he opened a portal to the darkness. Sean looked inside, it was pitch black.

  Sean hugged Mary Ann. “Don’t forget about me, handsome.”

  “Never. Don’t worry, you’ll be safe. As soon as I figure this out, I’ll come for you.”

  Mary Ann walked in the portal, and it closed behind her.

  “I know I probably shouldn’t threaten an angel, but if you let anything happen to her…”

  “Understood. You love her, don’t you?”

  “I’ve only known her a few days.”

  “I loved someone too, a long time ago, but she was… doesn’t matter.”

  “Before I start packing, tell me where we’re going.”

  “Do you have a passport? When was the last time you visited Brazil?”

  “Never. And why would I need a passport? Couldn’t you just teleport us there?”

  “It’s better if I don’t use my powers for a while. I’m just supposed to watch and report, remember? We’re going to have to travel the way you humans do: too long and expensive.”

  “Why Brazil?”

  “The one creature that may be able to tell us what you are. Don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner. I think she’s in Brazil. She moves around, but I think she’s been there the last few thousand earth years.”

  “Who is she?”

  “She’s very old, to you humans. Use that smart phone to book two plane tickets to Brazil.” Just as Sean was about to take his phone out, his doorbell rang.

  When Sean opened the door, it was Persephone. “You caught me at a bad time. Can we talk later? I need to take care of some things.”

  “No, Sean, we need to talk now.” Persephone had a serious look on her face.

  Aadon had a fake smile. “Kid, we really don’t have time for booty calls.”

  “Come in. What is it? Are you okay? Has anyone been following you?”

  “No, no one has been following me…. Ask the angel.” Aadon and Sean stared at Persephone.

  “You know about him?”

  “I can spot an angel from a mile away. Besides, his lust was a dead giveaway. Angels are notoriously lustful.”

  “What the hell is going on? Are you a demon? A witch?”

  “No.”

  “Then what are you?”

  “Maybe the angel can answer a question I have. Why does God favor humans over his other creations? When humans die, they don’t cease to exist. You have something eternal--a soul. For the rest of the creatures in the universe, when we die, there is nothing else. Why did he make us, then? Merely to live, breed, and die, with no higher purpose. Doesn’t he love us?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You wouldn’t understand. You have a soul.”

  “So do you.”

  “No…I don’t. I’m not born of this world, Sean.”

  Chapter 19-Sean

  Sean stared at Persephone, open-mouthed. Of all the strange things he’d experienced so far, somehow this shocked him the most.

  “You’re...you’re…you’re an alien? All this time…what the hell do you want?”

  “I wanted you to fall in love with me, but seems the dead human beat me to the punch. She’s cute.”

  “You could see her the whole time?”

  “Yes.”

  “Don’t act so surprised, kid, nothing special about aliens,” said Aadon. “Life is quite prevalent throughout this galaxy, and certainly this space.”

  Aadon directed his gaze at Persephone. “And you, I knew it was something about you I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Now answer the kid’s question: what do you want? More importantly, how are you on this planet? It’s off limits to the rest of the creatures in this space.”

  “I guess you can say we made a deal with a devil,” said Persephone.

  “Is that how I wasn’t able to see that you weren’t human?” Asked Aadon.

  “You can say that, but let me clarify: it wasn’t Lucifer we made a deal with.”

  “Then who?” Asked Aadon.

  “That’s my business. Maybe I’ll tell you one day.”

  “You’ll tell me now, or the kid will have to clean up alien carcass from his floor.” Aadon reached for Persephone, and he was instantly thrown back.

  Persephone’s eyes were gleaming. “Careful, angel. You and Sean aren’t the only ones with power.”

  “I don’t care how she got here; what do you want?”

  “I represent countless planets. A federation. They sent us to get answers.”

  “There’s more of
you?”

  “Yes, we’re everywhere. We couldn’t prove it with scientific data, but we long suspected there was some higher power who created this universe. Things don’t just occur out of nothing. There has to be some catalyst. But, for millions of years, despite efforts, our best minds could not find any evidence of a higher power. Our civilizations accepted the reality that we could never prove the existence of one. Imagine our amazement when a demon contacted us and told us about the Creator and his favorite creations: humans. So, we came, and we watched to discover why the Creator favored your kind so.”

  “How long have you been here?” Asked Aadon.

  “The federation has been here since humans were hunter-gatherers. But I’ve only been here a couple hundred years.”

  “How come we didn’t know about you?” Asked Aadon.

  “What can I say? Either you have bad intel, or we have a really powerful demon helping us.”

  “What do you want with me?” Asked Sean.

  “We are always on the lookout for special humans. Plane travelers--humans with the ability to sense spirits and demons.”

  “That’s why you joined the group?”

  “Yes, though I had no idea it would lead me to you.”

  “The others, they’re all dead. Are you working with the demon that I sent to Hell?”

  “I had nothing to do with that.”

  “I don’t believe you. And why tell me the truth now?”

  “Witches, warlocks, demons, and angels can sense your power. I had to act soon, before the angel killed you.”

  Sean looked at Aadon. “He…he wouldn’t kill me. He’s been authorized to watch, but he’s helped me. He’s good, he’s an angel.”

  “Sean, you’re really smart, but you’re blinded by your religious fanaticism. Use your lawyer logic. You sent a demon to Hell, without the power of the Creator. What exactly are you? If the Creator knew about you, you’d already be dead, and your soul would either be in Hell or some dungeon in Heaven. The only reason why that hasn’t happened yet is because this angel has cast some type of warding-off spell on you. It’s working, barely, but it’s getting weaker. Your power can’t be concealed for too long. He hasn’t told anyone else about you because he wants to use you for his own advantage.”

  “Is this true?” Sean asked Aadon.

  “She’s lying; you can’t trust her anything she says. You just found out she’s not even human. I’m the good guy, remember?”

  “I don’t know how I know this, but I know she’s telling me the truth about you.”

  “Starting to figure out your powers, huh? Yeah, kid, it’s true. I haven’t told anyone else about you. I was just lucky enough to be on patrol when that jinn got stupid.”

  “Mary Ann. Is she safe? Is she?”

  “She is. I was telling you the truth about that. No other creature can sense her, I promise you.”

  “Your word means shit now. I want to see her! Aadon’s wings appeared, and he opened a portal to The Darkness. Mary Ann was walking alone.

  “There, happy?” The portal closed.

  “Why did you lie to me?”

  “Because, kid, I’ve been a worker bee since I was created. Always given orders, do this, do that. I want more than that. Besides, I’ve lost so much, my comp…you’re my ticket to bigger things. Let me keep helping you. I can keep your dead girlfriend safe and keep you protected. My warding-off spell may not last long on you, but once you figure your powers out, you won’t need to hide from anyone. I don’t know how you got your power or what you are, but it’s true about Mother Earth. She’ll have answers.”

  “Mother Earth?” Asked Persephone.

  “I see Ms. ET doesn’t know everything. We’re going to see someone who can give us answers to who or what the kid is.”

  “Let me come with you, Sean. I can help you. Unlike the angel, I’m telling you right now that I’ll do my best to keep you protected, because we need you.”

  “Why do you need me? I can’t help you.”

  “Your powers. You may hold the answers to everything.”

  Demons, angels, witches, warlocks, jinn, now aliens-- they all want to use me. And I still don’t know what I am. These two, I can’t trust either of them. What demon is helping her? They want to use me. Fine, I’ll use them until I figure out what I am. God, please keep watching over me.

  “You can come with us.” Said Sean.

  “Come on kid, we don’t need her.”

  “I said she’s coming with us!”

  Aadon shrugged.

  “Great, where are we going?” Asked Peresphone.

  “Aadon?”

  “Vale Do Javari, Brazil.”

  Chapter 20-Samael

  Samael was by the shorelines of the lake of fire, surrounded by nothing but the screams of the damned. Hearing the torment of God’s supposed ‘favorite creations’ brought him comfort. His eyes closed, and arms crossed, his sole thought was on vengeance against God. A portal appeared close to him, and Gabriel emerged.

  “Forgot how terrible this place is,” said Gabriel.

  “You’ve been in Hell before?”

  “Father sent me here when we first cast them out. To report back to him. Never thought I’d return. Has Lucifer agreed to join us?”

  “You can say that. They’ve all agreed to join us, except for Pursan.”

  “What does he have to do with anything? What did Lucifer say?”

  “Lucifer commands only a portion of Hell. Before I arrived, Hell had five kings: Lucifer, Beelzebub, Zerith, Salikethal, and Pursan.”

  “Pursan is not even a commander. He wasn’t even a warrior,” said Gabriel.

  “Doesn’t matter. ‘Pursan the cunning,’ they call him, is the most powerful king in Hell. Well, he was before I arrived. Now, I’m the sole king of Hell.”

  “Of course, who could resist the persuasiveness of the mighty Samael?” Gabriel laughed.

  “Soon, Pursan will join us, and all of Hell will be under my command. And why didn’t you tell me about the jinn? I’m trying to conquer Heaven; you didn’t think that’s something I needed to know?”

  “They are nothing but monsters. They’re nearly extinct anyhow. We don’t need them. They are mistakes that should be redacted.”

  “Agreed. After we conquer Heaven. Until then, I’ve given orders to bring them to Hell. I’ll think of some way to use them in this war. How goes your plans? Have you gotten more brothers to join us? Are you sure that Father doesn’t know about your undertakings?”

  “Our support is far more prevalent than I anticipated. Once I told them that Samael has joined us, they didn’t need to hear anything else. And don’t worry about Father finding out. You know he can’t see what us commanders are doing.”

  “Unless someone tells him.”

  “No one will tell him. I’ve been careful. You know how I operate.”

  “I recall, unlike myself and the other commanders, you build support behind the enemy lines and cause an eventual collapse from within.”

  “Exactly. Trust me, brother. Soon, Father will pay for what he did to us.”

  “I’ll return to Heaven to garner more support. The next time I see you, we’ll be ready to launch our attack.” Gabriel’s wings appeared. They were made of fire, like all angels and demons. He opened a portal and disappeared.

  Zethera, how I miss you. Whatever it takes, Father will pay for what he did to you.

  A short time later, several jinn appeared before Samael. The Madrid: they were big, all blue, and the lower half of their bodies was smoke. The Ifrit: they had human shapes but were made of fire and had large wings. The Hinn: they looked like giant dogs. The Nasnas: they looked like human-animal hybrids. The Sila: they looked like beautiful women. Their hair was long, and they were the only jinn who had on any clothes; all were dressed in dark long dresses. They were the tallest of the jinn, nearly tall as Samael. The Ghoul: they looked like zombies. All the jinn were in chains and were kneeling. In front of them stood a man wit
h a long beard.

  Samael looked at the man with contempt. “Furcas. Still an errand boy, I see.”

  “We’re not all strong as you. Some of us have to follow orders. Lucifer tasked me with rounding up the last of the creatures; we got most of them, but a few got away. What do you want me to do with them?”

  “I want you to be quiet; the sound of your voice upsets me.” Samael walked to the jinn, one by one.

  “Creatures, jinn, you are my father’s mistake. He doesn’t love you and he has allowed my brothers to exterminate you at will. I could exterminate you all right now, if I saw fit. But I have a better idea. How would you like to pay our father a visit? How would you like to make him feel pain and suffer like each of you have suffered? Answer me! Who speaks for you? Stand up, now.”

  One of the female jinn, The Sila, stood up. She had a regal dignity and grace about her, she held her head high. She stared at Samael. They don’t all look like monsters.

  “Are you giving us a choice?”

  “What is your name, creature? Where are your kings?”

  “A’isha. And we have no kings, angel. Your kind exterminated them long ago.”

  “I was not a part of that. What do you say of my offer?”

  “Offer? You mean your command? We’re still in chains.” Samael snapped his fingers, and the chains on the jinn were gone. They all stood before him.

  “Samael!” Screamed Furcas. A handful of the jinn started to run, but Samael snapped his fingers again, and they were vanished from existence. “Anyone else want to try to leave? You’re right, A’isha, this is a command. Either you submit to me, or you can join your kings.”

  “Do it! Rather that than submitting to the rule of an angel,” cried some of the jinn.

  “You would choose non-existence over obeying me? I’ll get creative then.”

  All the jinn who spoke out against Samael felt unspeakable pain.

  “Stop, make it stop, make it stop,” cried the jinn.

  “I will, but now you see my power over you. Obey me, or the pain you just felt will last an eternity. Do each of you understand me? A’isha, do you understand me?”

  “Yes, my king.” A’isha kneeled before Samael, and all the other jinn followed.