CHAPTER THREE - Demons

   

Sitting in my line of vision was a creature.... A winged creature. It's skin glowing black with a few heated red highlights on the cracks of shed skin. Bone wings sprawled around in a twisted way and ripped at the tips.

It was big, at least in size of a graphic drawing. The large pawns digging at the soil with long black ink demonic fingers. Then the eyes. They looked vaguely familiar. Large blood red eyes with a crumbled scar across the left one. It's mouth hung wide open showing a display of huge canines like razors ready to destroy.

We all stared at the paper. I didn't get the point Faye was trying to make by showing me this.

So...

It's a picture of a red eyed demon, probably from an old fairy tail considering how old and rusty the book was.

"Faye what does this have to do with anything? "Ming chimed.

'Oh thank God it didn't have to be me.'

"I don't know if you remember but this was the exact creature that I saw that night I swear. "she was looking at me now. "I remember how terrified I was just by looking at it but it didn't even bother me, almost like it didn't notice I was standing there at all, but it did" she went on "and the moment you stepped in that room there was this empty void and flow of darkness, that's when I blacked out." She flipped unto the next page. "look here ".

I followed my eyes to the area she was pointing at.

"Lilith. The first wife of Adam, mother of all demons and the third in line to the throne of abyss "

It's settled, Faynelle is loosing her mind. But I'm not going to tell her that.

She paused to look at me then at Ming then back at me.

"I'm not crazy Dianna. I know what I saw "it was like she could read my mind. She looked so serious, and it scared me, the Faye I know is all on fun she never really gets serious except the time her boyfriend Rick dumped her for someone else because he didn't take her seriously. Not to mention she called me by my full name.

Now I'm really worried. She's taking some fictional fairy tail into reality with too much seriousness and what hurts the most is that she had abandoned her dreams to become a graphical artist for this! And it was all my fault, if I hadn't ended up in that accident and landed my self in a coma, she wouldn't have been so depressed and started obsessing over nothing.

"Oh don't you dare give me that look Dian! "she was clearly annoyed, I could see it.

"What look? "

"The one where you start to pity someone and have a sting of guilt to it".

"I'm not giving you that look ".

"Yes you are!"

"You are probably obsessing over nothing Faye, I'm sure it was just some wolf that got lost somewhere out in the forest " Her face was red and she was trying so hard to mask her anger.

"It wasn't a wolf Dianna! For the love of God. Ming had to move out because of the damage that thing caused at her house. Have you been there since you woke up? A wolf can't have the foot print bigger than that of a papa bear!" her hands went flying in the air as she let her frustration out. "I've already been through with the cops when they were investigating your case, and then with my parents, please don't let me go through this with you too" she pleaded.

I honestly didn't know what to say. I didn't want to hurt her feelings by telling her she's walking on a load of false belief and that maybe it was the trauma after the incident that was making her act like the way she did. So I just kept shut.

She looked at me like she was just betrayed and then all emotion vanished from her face. And she just stared down at her already cold cup of latte.

I have to admit myself I didn't really think whatever it was, was part of the ordinary, but what Faye was saying was a bit too much. She can't possibly expect me to believe that I got attacked by a demon on the night of my birthday, two minutes before I was actually born.

"You know what, let's forget about all of this and have fun." Ming finally made her presence known since the beginning of this conversation. "like old times".

Before we even got the chance to reply _there was some sort of noise in the diner and everyone had their attention on the small TV screen on the wall just above the window, so we wanted to see what was fascinating about it.

It was on a news channel and the reporter was talking about some mystery death discovered this morning in the woods and how the woman's abdomen had been cut open and she had been rid of her gentile organs.

My hand quickly went to cover my mouth as I gaped. Why would someone do such a thing?

But then they showed a picture of the woman lying dead on her back with her stomach open in the middle of the woods. A place I recognized almost immediately. The same place I found myself in just a few hours ago.

I froze.

That woman. All memories about everything that happened in the morning had disappeared between just the little time I spent with Damon but now it hit me like a train. Panic began to swerve through me.

I had her blood on me. I was covered in her blood. The blood I spent minutes scrubbing in my bathroom sink terrified after sneaking into the house early in the morning, just before the sun set.

The memory played in my mind like a torture knife. Yes, it had to be a coincidence. Nothing more. That was me soothing myself, but it wasn't enough to block the nagging voice at the back of my mind telling me otherwise.

I felt a pang of nausea, and I know I couldn't sit there anymore unless the girls might notice my change of mood.

"Be back a second" I quickly said to the girls as I rushed into the washroom, immediately gagging out all the contents in my stomach.

I felt sick. That woman had been murdered in the worse possible way ever.

What if....

No Dian! You're thinking this too hard, it was just a mare coincidence that's all. I took in deep breaths as I tried to steady myself.

I looked up into the mirror after putting myself back together. But what I saw had me jumping back in seconds.

I can't be mistaken. My heart was racing frantically. I saw her. The woman from my dream this morning. She was standing right behind me when I looked into the mirror but the moment I turned back she was gone.

What was that?

I turned back to the mirror again and she was there.

"Christ!" I exclaimed and looked back again. She was gone.

I was confused my head spinning. I looked around the room trying to make sure I wasn't hallucinating but there was still no one. I sucked in a heavy breath and slowly let it out.

It's in your head Dee, it's just in your head.

"Don't be silly, I'm not in your head I'm very much real" a deep feminine voice spoke the moment I turned back to the mirror.

She was standing right behind me with a burning gaze and red eyes.

My hands were shaking as a griped on tightly to the sink. Forcing myself to breathe normal. But it wasn't working, my entire body was shaking.

"No, you are just in my head" my voice came out in desperate conviction not liking the idea of speaking to a fragment of my imagination.

"Is that so?" she stalked closer slowly curling her long red finger nails around my arm. "Does that feel like it's in your head?" she teased, squeezed and scratched.

No.

But I didn't reply.

Now up close I took my time to study her features clearly.

She had a darker tone to her skin, wore the same black dress I saw her on this morning in my dream. Her raven hair slipping down straight to the length of her waist. Her eye lashes were very long just like I had remembered. Lips a dark shade of red, and her eyes the one that freaked the hell out of me from the beginning. Red irises piercing deep holes at the back of my head. A long deep scar stretching from above her eyebrows to the top of her left cheeks.

"Who are you?" I asked for the second time today, suddenly feeling the heat rise up my body again by her touch.

"I am you now, and you are me now." she smiled coolly, bending to whisper darkly in my ear " we are the same, you and me " she pulled away playing with my dark hair and eyeing my body in an accessive way that made my skin crawl "That is, until I have no use for you anymore ".

"What do you want from me!" i spat.

She just fluttered her eyes at me with that menacing smile. That wicked smile i was becoming quite familiar with.

"You'll see" her voice very low merely a whisper. And then the door flew open revealing a very worried Ming.

"Dian! "she sighed in relief when she saw me.

The rapid beating of my chest never reduced, in fact it increased now knowing my best friend was standing in the same room as the strange looking woman in the same place.

"Thank God! We've been worried. "she stepped in.

No please don't!

I turned back to the mirror but she was gone. Hanging my head down, I let out a heavy sigh of relief and lucked slowly back up.

"Are you okay?" My best friend asked putting a hand on my shoulder "you seem...lost"

I just flashed her a faint smile and shrugged.

"I'm fine "she didn't seem to believe me though, but she didn't press forward which i was very grateful for. If it were Faye she'll force every detail out of me and I'm not ready for any of that yet. 

In true honesty, I feel like I'm going to pass out. Again.

What has my life become?

******

I'm getting sick. They just keep going with the same questions over and over. I can't even hear what they are saying anymore.

"Miss Keith! " I can't really make out the voice, my mind is busy elsewhere, like my drowning paranoia on the possibility that I could have something to do with this. "Miss Keith! "

"Dian! " My mothers furious but yet concerned voice snapped me back to reality.

This was something serious and she knows how badly it affects me considering the fact that i just woke up from a life and death experience just two days ago and now I'm begin surrounded by cops because they found my supposed watch on a crime scene, and me being uncooperative and absent minded was not helping at all.

The man was staring at me like i had grown something on my head or my face was covered in tart mud. I can tell he was annoyed with my silence but was trying not to show it.

"I apologize for her behavior sir. But I don't think we have anything else to say, that watch could be just about anyone's. As you can see my daughter just woke up from a coma two days ago and she's not yet used to being interrogated" mom spoke trying to get them to leave as fast as possible noticing my discomfort.

The cop simply nodded and brought out a card from his pocket "you're right but if you find out anything that can help. Don't hesitate to contact me."

"I'm sure I won't need to" she brushed him a smile and led him and the other guy out.

Finally I was able to breathe again. That watch! That was the watch my dad got me on my fourteenth birthday. I know it, it had to be it. I remember carving two thick lines at the back of it in case it ever got lost. I didn't ever want to loose it because that would mean I lost him forever. I remember wearing it every day of my life and I never took it off except I had to take a bath. I remember waking up in that hospital with it strapped around my wrist.

And looking at that same wrist I couldn't help the hot tears that started to fill the brink of my eyes. Just a little blink and they will come running down.

What if I actually... Oh God! That woman lost her gentile organs and i might be...

I swallowed hard and kept on try to convince myself that all of this was just some kind of misunderstanding, it has nothing to do with me, and that creepy woman I kept seeing in my head is just a hallucination probably because my brain hasn't fully recovered and is somehow adding mixed emotions into something else.

"Are you okay?" Mom walked up to me, concern written all over her face.

"I'm fine" I said it anyway trying not to show that I'd been fighting tears.

I mean, I can't just tell her I'm very certain that watch was mine, What would that make me? The police would definitely tag me as their number one suspect even though I have no idea what is really going on.

"Want to talk about it? "

"No... I-I'm just going to take a nap." I felt the heat creep up on me again, I was hot it felt like i was burning from inside out.

Just as I was about find my way back to my room she pulled me into a hug. Quickly I retracted out of reflex and pulled her away.

She was cold, too cold and it disturbed me. I hate cold.

Looking at me with shocked eyes, she adjusted herself and dropped her eyes to the ground. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were not comfortable with it."

"No, no mom! It's not that it's just... You are so -cold, too cold "

Ever since i got back she's been so careful with me. It's like she's walking on eggshells whenever she is around me, trying not to let me crack. It's almost like she didn't know how to act around me some times. like any little mistake could trigger something that could affect me mentally.

She had a crease in between her brows "hold on sweetie, let me get a thermometer "she said and found her way out coming back not even a little long later, placing the small stick under my armpit and waiting for two minutes to hear the beep.

"You know you can tell me anything right?" she suddenly blurted.

"I know "

"You don't have to deal with this alone dear, I'm worried about you "

"I know mom" I forced a smile trying to make it seem genuine "I'm fine okay, I promise" lying to her was never something I liked to do but right now I could not find myself at any other option.

She pulled out the termo and I watched as her face paled.

"Oh my God!" her hands were hanging over her mouth "how is this -"

I pulled it out of her hand staring at the 59° right in my face.

"I think it's broken" I said, not believing what i was looking at.

"It's not Dian, i just got it yesterday."

This is not good! This is terrible!

"We have to see Dr Brewer!" she was panicking.

"I'm really tired mum i need to rest maybe tomorrow."

"But this is serious Dian! What if something happens..."

"Nothing is going to happen to me mum. Please, i really need this "

A heavy sigh escaped her lips. She looked reluctant and kept on chewing at her bottom lip "if anything happens call me okay?"

"Okay" and with that, I found my way up to my room.

***

I spent a couple hours one the phone with the girls. They found out about the visit with the cops and got worried.

I couldn't tell them about the how i woke up in the middle of the woods and somehow left my watch in the same place that happens to be a crime scene. I couldn't, not until I've figured it out myself.

Why would someone kill a person and cut out their gentiles? That's just sick.

I thought i was going to lose my mind but when i heard Damon's voice, i immediately calmed.

I know that our relationship is not going to be exactly the way it used to be because of his schooling and my own medical issues. But i still love him and I'm waiting to see how far we can work this. At least he's still here in town. That's something to start on.

And a simple 'goodnight' from him was all it took to put that bright smile on my face and drift me off to wonder land, or maybe even abyss, Who knows.

But I'm guessing the latter because even in my dreams I still could not have a peace of mind, judging from the darkness that awaits me.