“You okay?” David asks, leaning down by my side. He places a hand on my shoulder, but he seems both tender in his touch and voice. He’s being very respectful after his team member, and even though he may not know, his brother tried to harm me.

I push myself up after some effort. I feel betrayed, I didn’t know them, I didn’t trust them, but nevertheless I feel betrayed. That I was willing to walk out and try the world, that I gave some sort of expectation to the first people to my closest friends to not treat me in the way I expected the world to treat me and they failed me. Yes, there are other people in the world that might not like me, but at least they weren’t given the opportunity to hurt me. These guys did and they grabbed the opportunity with gusto, destroying my knee, crushing my shoulder, tearing apart my lips and nose before leaving me broken and breathless on the ground.

“Please say something,” he murmurs.

I grind my teeth, I'm perhaps a little angry, mostly at myself. I could have fought back, in fact, I should have fought back. I left the Demon Plane to escape the pain and I could have blinded Rita and David in an instant. Perhaps before I would have felt disappointed, but this was ultimately preventable by me. I take a few deep breaths, rubbing my eyes with the back of my hand.

He places a hand on my injured shoulder and I yelp, pulling away from him and drawing myself across the ground. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” He yells. He has his hands up, displaying that he won’t touch me. He mumbles something, not even audible to me, but I can see him mouth the word sorry.

“If you were sorry, you would have held your friend back earlier,” I croak. Emotion has seeped into my voice. Bitterness, sadness and fear driving my voice. “What is wrong with you?”

He swallows and lowers his head, ashamed. “I can’t do anything to make it up to you. I wish I could, just, let me stick around to help you.” He raises his head again, his lower lip is quivering as if he’s about to cry and he’s shivering. His eyes are drifting to the side, he’s genuine, he’s trying to help. I’m in his hands right now and while I could attempt to walk on my own, I’m not sure I can without some sort of help.

“You’re right,” I mutter. I can’t help let some more bitterness slip out once again in spite of his attempts to placate me. “Help me head back. Just because you can’t pay me back doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to. If your friends can’t pay me back, then you should. That’s a lesson I learned from my brother.”

I reach out an arm and he drapes it over his shoulders, pulling me up with some effort. My knee protests and I lift my weight off it, preferring my other leg. He doesn’t seem all too phased after a while and he starts walking. For a moment, everything is silent before he takes some effort to converse. “What’s your brother like?”

“Incredibly greedy. You give him an inch and he’ll take a mile… Literally,” I explain. “It's lessons from those who exceed the normal understandings of sin that are the most valuable lessons to take.” It hurts to talk, but at the same time, it helps to have something to take my mind off of it.

“No offense but someone like that sounds unpleasant to live with.”

“He was. I don’t live with him anymore.”

“Too toxic of an environment?”

“You don’t even know the start of it.”

“I guess not,” he mumbles. It’s a fair enough conclusion. My brothers are the pinnacles of their sins. I’ve learned plenty of lessons, most of them are things to not do with them. A specific set of understandings, like not to insult Lucifer or to hide all things that Mammon might crave. It’s strange walking with this guy. It seems our knowledge on him walking through things wasn’t the only thing he could do. Well, it was, but he can bring friends too. At least, after a very shocking experience with a wall, he did exactly that. The feeling is almost like a jet of fresh wind for just a moment, it’s quite refreshing and it feels like something I’d want to do all day.

It takes a while at our pace to finally reach it, but when we do finally reach them, Tagert is standing there looking furious while Gates and Salvo are at his side. The rest are standing to attention, hands behind their backs, with relatively little marks on them with the exception of small marks showing where the blood ran from Hannah’s nose. He claps his hands. “Elmira, David, stand right fucking there,” he growls. He’s got the same tone of voice as that time when I met him the first time. “Let’s go through some really stupid things that you guys did. I actually have fewer problems with Hindsight right now than I have with Expedition. What kind of fucking hack group are you running, Salvo?” He opens his mouth to respond, but Tagert interjects. “Don’t answer that, it’s rhetorical, you dumb shit. Let me pose a question. What the hell did you do wrong, Gabbie?”

“We should have set up better plans and at least stuck in groups of two. That way we could have responded to any strategy Expedition had in place. We would have been ready to slug it out if needed and we would have had the numbers to search for hostages too. We also put a lot of the workload on Elmira.” She looks at me with eyes filled with sympathy, but she can’t approach me at all.

“Good job. Now, Expedition. What did you do wrong.”

“More things than I can even begin to list,” David responds, his voice is shaking.

“Bingo, cuntwaffle. Junior team Expedition won the training exercise, you would have eventually found the last few hostages so we gave them to you. But that said it was marginal, Team Hindsight got 14 points, while Team Expedition got 18 points. Revel in that victory for a few moments.”

“What’s the problem?” James asks.

“Oh, cut the bullshit, James!” Tagert hisses. “One more word out of that mouth and I’ll make you look like Elmira here.” James visually swallows. “Now. That victory was as hollow as they come. You didn’t even listen to me from the beginning. Tell me what I said, David.”

“Search and rescue,” he mutters.

“That’s right. Why the hell did you let your team go on a search and eliminate mission?”

“They overruled me…” He whispers.

“You’re a fucking leader! You can’t be overruled! Pull up your pants and tell them what to do, I don’t care if your brother doesn’t like it, but frankly your brother is a piece of dirt!”

“Hey!”

“Shut up!” Tagert roars. “Now that was a small issue. You didn’t do the right thing and with someone like Elmira who- at one stage set a trap for you and eliminated James off that single trap, you can see the problem I had with such a stupid use of your opportunity.”

“Oh, shit,” Rita gasps.

“That’s right, I’m gunning for you, Rita. I did indeed see everything that went on in that training zone. And oh, boy do I have some news for you. We, here at the CPO don’t like housing criminals, and what you did just there, should you have done it outside this area would have resulted in us leaving you to the dogs to be put in a VEC. Team Expedition is hereby suspended indefinitely with both James and Rita taking reconditioning courses, during which you will offer Elmira a full apology and, if in the future Elmira requests it, she will be allowed to duel you.”

Rita grins, “Bring it on.”

I see Gates grin to the side, but considering her character, it doesn’t seem like a normal grin, more like a sneer. Tagert looks unimpressed. “I’m considering putting you up against Gates right now just to make you shut the fuck up. You know, I’ve dealt with insubordination by Gates and even shortly by Elmira here, but at least I learned shit from it. You guys are just toxic, I learn fuck all from you. I just lose any sort of respect I have for the Human race, which isn’t very much from my station as director. The fact you’re so proud in the face of such a punishment may mean you’re suited for a life in a VEC. Get your shit together, Rita or I’m sending Team Hindsight after you as some sort of retribution. I’m sure they won’t take kindly to you roughing up one of their team members.”

At this she finally goes pale, her previous thoughts of confidence are dashed simply by Tagert who has plenty of dealings with people like Rita. Maybe it struck her that maybe she could take each of us on our own, but when it came to taking us together, it would be too difficult. I rub my face with the back of my hand, I’m still bleeding, but it seems to have lessened by a fair amount.

“We’re done here. We’ll talk about how we’ll recondition you for your missions outside, but for now, you’re all dismissed, as for Elmira, Diane, can you please take care of her injuries? Ah, also, dump your vests here.”

He turns around and everyone starts removing their jackets. Once they're all removed they start leaving with the exception of Kai, Walter, and Gabbie. James still offers me a shoulder to lean on while we wait for Diane to approach. Behind where they were standing there are a few hostages waiting. Diane stands up, scratching her neck and yawning. She approaches. She doesn’t exactly rush over so Kai, Gabbie, and Walter reach me first.

“You look like shit,” Walter says, it’s his attempt at a hollow joke, but I don’t think he believes it. Gabbie punches him on the shoulder. “Sorry,” he grunts. “How’re feeling?”

I shake my head. I feel miserable and bringing attention to the feeling isn’t helping at all. Gabbie looks agitated. She’s usually quite lively, but this time, she looks responsible. She might be going through a lot of things in her head right now, just like Kai, who has returned to his silent self. Kai has a bunch of complex emotions burning on his face, but he can’t even open his mouth.

“Sorry,” Walter grumbles. “It’s just- I fucked up. I should’ve stuck with you. We shouldn’t have split apart, I should’ve known that you would be hurt by someone, that you’d be targeted because of how you-” he trails off. The others don’t seem to talk much, but the usually deliberate wording from Walter gets thrown to the wayside, instead he rambles.

“We,” Gabbie corrects.

Diane clears her throat interjecting. “Do you need to continue wasting my patient’s time? You should only regret your choices if she’s dying and from what I can see, Miss… Elmira isn’t dying. If you have to so apologize in such a way, save that for when she is on her deathbed.”

“You can rebuild her?”

“Yes, we can rebuild her,” Diane snickers. “Better than she was before- Actually, I can’t promise that. Now, David, if you please, I’ll take charge of her here, you go back to your team and figure out how to actually become a leader.”

David transitions my weight over to Diane’s shoulder and she gasps for a moment. David stands, shrugging his shoulders a few times before stretching. He clears his throat. “Sorry,” he mutters. It’s meant only for me, but I can’t do more than just nod. He stands there for a moment transitioning from foot to foot as if considering something. “I can-”

“Go, David.” He turns away and starts walking before transitioning into a jog. I can see him look back as he runs, giving the others a quick, apologetic look before disappearing amongst the trees. “As for you three, head back to your rooms. I won’t help her unless there’s no-one within earshot.”

“Huh?” Kai finally asks. “Why?”

“Well, I’m going to be looking at her personal information and this is some stuff that should be only available to Elmira and me, her doctor. So if you would please start heading back, I will return Elmira to you in maybe a half an hour or more.”

“Oh,” he mutters.

“Alright, let’s get going,” Gabbie mutters. She grabs Kai and Walter by their wrists, forcefully pulling them along. Soon afterward large amounts of robots start streaming out from the training zone, robots that Kai uses. They fly past and join the three of them in the distance and I can see Gabbie’s frantic pace increase. I can imagine the feeling of fear she has right now.

Diane shifts a little and I feel myself sink a little. “You’re pretty damn heavy.” I nod my head, she’s right. I’ve probably gotten heavier since all the changes.

I’m not exactly short and I’m putting on weight from the new food, the horns, and my tail. I’m not fat, not like some people I’ve seen, tall and muscled, perhaps. Before coming here, I was tall and waiflike, it strikes me how much has changed in the first few weeks, but I’ve been getting a lot more exercise than I got in the Demon Plane.

“You’re supposed to deny it. You’re supposed to grow irate,” she laughs. “At least most girls your age seem to get angry.” She’s an odd one, which isn’t unwelcome, she’s distracting me from my pain while she’s walking me through a set of trees. I can still feel the pain, but it’s easier to ignore it while Diane is talking.

She leads me into a clearing with a table sitting there, waiting. There’re a lot of plastic boxes and metal instruments as well as a tablet. She helps me onto a bench and she grabs the tablet raising it in front of her.

She clears her throat and then she whistles. “Elmira, you have very little information written here. Elmira, no second name or surname, born in unknown and raised in unknown. This is the most sparse medical record I have ever seen in my life.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well. I’m a vigor, my ability is, like everyone else’s very special. I increase the speed of myself and others I touch. Thing is, there are some negatives to my power too. For example, if you’re going through puberty, then it can mess up the speed you go through puberty or if you have cancer it can spread cancer to the rest of your body. That’s why I always make sure to check people’s medical records. Thing is, I don’t even know your age, let alone your medical record.”

“I think I’m twenty-one, as for where I’m born-” I shrug. “I used to live in the Demon Plane, though.”

“You’re a demon?” She gasps.

“No!” I yell, almost too fast. My knee and shoulder aches in the sudden flexing of my muscles, but I take a few moments to explain my situation. “I discovered my abilities at an early age and I threw myself into the Demon Plane. It took too long to free myself, though.”

She seems to relax, her face slackening and she paces for a few moments. “What about cancer?”

I shake my head. “What’s cancer?”

She flinches. “I’ll just put no. And last is, are you growing? It’s not particularly a problem if I heal you while you’re growing, but you might find yourself gaining a half an inch in height if you are.” I shake my head slowly. I am, but I doubt it will be affected by her power. My growth is based on the effects from outside of this world. The channeling of the powers in the Demon Plane. It might affect me, but in the case it does, it will quicken my growth, which might assist me instead of harm me. “Great.” She places the tablet down on the table then she comes up to me and wraps her two hands around my right hand. “Alrighty. Tell me when you’re ready.”

I steel myself, flexing my muscles once again, causing pain to radiate through my wounds. “Go,” I grunt. I feel a wave of energy run up my arm, almost like the pain I’ve had for weeks is just fading and leaving me with brand new limbs. Slowly it extends to my wounds, the effect slows as it focuses on those areas.

I feel pins and needles and I struggle to not stamp my feet and fight back against her, but it eventually fades and works its way up and down my body. It happens in multiple locations, my knee feels like it's on fire for only a few seconds and my nose feels like it’s been held in a blast of freezing cold water and it too stops in a few seconds. In only two or three minutes my entire body feels fresher than it’s ever felt before like I’ve gotten a fantastic rest and that I can take on the world by myself.

She pulls away and she whistles to herself, flexing her hands. “God damn. I’ve had some horrible cases come to me, but you’re one of the worst. I mean, there was today, which was bad enough, but you remind me of a normal abuse victim. Countless healed compound fractures, damaged muscles, and contusions. Exactly what happened to you?”

I swallow and I shake my head, once again not willing to divulge my past. The torture I’ve had to endure at the hands of my Father. Of course, there would be some parts of me that would take a while to heal but I’m thankful for the fact she did heal me. “Thank you.” It’s all I can say. “I didn’t know that there would- still be marks from the past.”

“Abuse lasts for an incredibly long time, in some cases, it never heals. With my vigor power, I can heal wounds that would never heal. I wish you had come to me sooner, the pain might have resulted in you at times getting night terrors or insomnia.” I severely doubt that this will solve my nightmare problem, but it’s appreciated. “Also, it came as a surprise to me that the horns on your head and tail growing out of your tailbone are part of your biology. Is this part of being from the Demon Plane?”

“No, from being a channeler warlock. It’s still going to grow.”

“Wait. So you are actually growing, why didn’t you warn me and secondarily, why didn’t my vigor power affect you?”

“Magic,” I mutter.

“That’s a load of bullcrap. Magic is the worst. I never know how it works. It strikes me how often people explain away some miracle with 'its magic' and the fact we just accept it. I prefer the biological details but something tells me I’m not going to get them.” I shake my head and she exhales. She retrieves her tablet, spending a few moments filling out any information that she just garnered from me. “Fantastic. From now on, if you’re feeling any sort of pain, have your team guide you to me I’ll have it solved in a jiffy.”

“Uh, thanks. Thanks for the help.” I pull off my vest before I forget and I lay it on the table in front of her.

“No problem. You can head off now if you want. I imagine you want to shower and get clean after all that activity.” I nod. She waves her hands, motioning me to head back and I turn and walk away, only to take a glimpse back to see her collecting her stuff.

“Do you want me to help?” I call back.

“No. Go back to your room!”

I smirk at her response. She seems somewhat normal amongst oddities in this world. A distinct lack of eccentricity. I’m glad for that, for if she was someone like Gates or even Janus, I think I’d want to bash my head against a wall. I would like more people like Dennis, but I feel like I’m not going to get that chance all too often. I make my way back to the main building and make my way up the tower and back into the apartment.

Gabbie, Walter, and Kai are waiting, to my surprise. They're all still dressed in what they were wearing during the training exercise. To my surprise, they're not alone, Janus is with them sipping on a cup of coffee. His glasses have misted up and he seems pale, in spite of the attention his with. It seems the entire situation grows relaxed with my arrival. Janus smiles at me while the others seem to have the color return to their faces too.

“Took you long enough,” Walter pipes up, taking a lead in the conversation. It reminds me of what Janus said. How he said Walter was the popular one. Perhaps he takes the lead in situations like this, he passes them off as normal and it’s more comforting to him.

“You were worried just as much as everyone else, Walter,” Janus said. “I swear, you guys were giving me a migraine, and I just wanted to speak to Elmira. How are you feeling?”

I shrug at the question, then I transition to shaking my head. “Actually. Pretty good.”

“Great, Mend helped you. Just as a side note, she gives amazing massages. Really puts new life into your body.”

“Who don’t you know?” Gabbie asks. “You speak about everyone in the CPO like their close friends of yours.”

“I don’t have many close friends, sadly. Just associates and I’m an associate of pretty much everyone in the tower just because I have such an important job. There’s a lot of use for a psychic like me. Thing is, not many people like to spend time with a mind reader.”

Gabbie gasps. “Why not?”

“You’re a great liar, you know that, Gabbie? If I wasn’t around, no-one would have been able to tell you were lying. If you’re lying to me, then you already know the answer. There is one person I can think of as a close friend, though at times I wonder if they think the same.” For a moment, I think he glances at me. “On a completely unrelated note. Elmira, I want to show you some more of the city, if you’re interested.”

“Uh, yeah. Just let me shower and change.”

“Yeah. I don’t mind waiting. Not sure about the others,” he laughs. The others do look a bit uncomfortable, especially Gabbie. She keeps looking at Kai and even I can read what’s going through her mind at that point. How do you deal with this guy?

I retreat back to my bedroom to get showered and changed and it isn’t long before the blood, dust and stones are wiped from my skin and I’m freshly dressed in clean jeans and a warm jacket. After everything I feel like a new demon, or a new person as they might say here. I feel absolutely fantastic if Lucifer told me that this was what was waiting for me here instead of scaring me with the hatred between both races I might’ve been more interested in coming here.

I head out to meet Janus. He seems to be waiting impatiently by the door. There’s no-one else, which leads me to think that they’ve left him alone. It’s the first time I’ve seen them being discourteous to others, though I understand the fear of Janus. I don’t really understand what it’s like to have my every thought followed, but he’s admitted that he can feel my emotions which is still quite disconcerting.

He doesn’t seem all too annoyed by the fact he’s been left alone when he sees me, a smile spreads across his face. “Let’s head out.” He opens the door for me, joining me a second later after. The door closes with a click behind us and we approach the elevator. He clears his throat. “You seem the happiest I’ve ever seen you.”

“You mean felt?” I suggest. “You can feel my emotions, right?”

He exhales. “I mean both. I can see and feel.” He presses the button to call the elevator. “It’s important to me that you grow more comfortable out here, in the Mortal Plane.” The elevator slides open and we step inside, as the door closes he raises his hands in a shrugging gesture. “What’s more. It’s easier for me. People are uncomfortable with me. Just a moment before I mentioned it, no-one really wants to be friends with me, just associates and even if they did, I wouldn’t be comfortable knowing all their secrets while concealing mine.”

“Is there no way to just turn off your mind reading thing?”

He shakes his head. “Not quite. I wish, just as much as my psychic powers have helped me make my way through life, it’s also been a curse. The only person whose mind remains theirs is you, so it’s comforting to talk to you rather than anyone else.”

“So the person you were talking about who you consider to be a close friend-”

“The only person I can’t read,” he nods. “As I said. I wondered if you noticed. Yes, I consider you my only close friend. Secrets are important in friendships, and it strikes me how you are the only one with any sorts of secrets that you keep from me.”

“A friend-?” I mutter. I know what he means, I know he considers me as someone close to him. In fact, I didn’t even know that he thought of me like that. Does that mean Gabbie, Walter, and Kai are friends? “Like-”

“Probably like Gabbie, Walter, and Kai. At least they think of you in the same way.” The elevator opens and we step out into the garage. “I owe you for that- you know all the work you’ve done for Kai. He’s never really had anyone.”

“Neither did I. My brothers and Father have always been distanced from me. They’ve been brothers, but it seems by relation only.”

“It’s the same for me and Kai,” he says as we come up to the car. “It’s always been like that. I know my powers have made it difficult for him, so I was forced to distance myself. It strikes me how little that did to help him, or to help me. I love Kai, but it’s difficult to give him the privacy he needs without completely ignoring him.”

“And you? Isn’t this whole privacy thing causing problems for you too?”

He nods. He pulls open the front door and I go around my side, sitting in the passenger seat. “It’s a shit show. My life’s a shit show, your life’s a shit show. Everyone’s life is a shit show. Thing is, people band together to give themselves solidarity. A shoulder to cry on. When I read people’s minds in their moment of need, they always think about the people they most care about.”

“And- you can feel their emotions, their thoughts?”

He nods, looking depressed, he starts the car. “Yeah. Their thoughts, everything, it hurts like hell. And sometimes, they think about that person, and right by their feet, that person is, by their side, but their shoulder will never be warm again. They’ll never be there to wrap their arm around them. They’re dead and I have to be the new shoulder. Do you understand?”

I swallow past a lump in my throat, and I shake my head. “I can’t even begin to imagine.”

He nods. “Yeah. It’s difficult to comprehend, but you feel pity for me, which is important to build understanding. Thing is, I voluntarily cast away my life. I’m hoping my brother can build his life and I’m hoping people who know me can build their own friendships. I just grew to accept that there wouldn’t be a shoulder for me.”

I didn’t notice that we’d left the garage. The heavy subject just has me concentrating more on the subject matter than the world outside my head. “And?”

He half-shrugs. “I’ll let you guess. Turns out, I can’t mind read demons. Tagert probably would think that makes me less useful, but for me, I’m ecstatic. I just like being around you, whether you want to reciprocate my desire to become friends or not, I don’t mind, your existence does a lot for my psyche.”

I conceal perhaps a small smile with my hand. I’m honored to be thought as a sort of shining light. In such a way that Humans might not consider me. However, my response is very different. “You’re pretty manipulative, you know?”

“Of course, I do, I don’t suppose that’s messes with my chances.”

“Not really. You’ve helped me when I need it. Even though I doubt I can help you. I can try.”

His shoulders slacken as if he’s incredibly relieved to hear that from me. Which I imagine he is. He was there for me when I first arrived here, he helped me with Gates and my nightmares even though he might have been agonizing over everything at the time and he showed patience with what many would not have expressed patience for. Even if many people don’t like him because he can steal a glimpse into their mind, right now, with all he’s been doing for me, I can trust him more than I can trust anyone else.

The car grinds to a halt. I look out of the window and find us in an area with painted white lines, similar to the ones in the garage. Beyond the area is a completely new area. There’s a lot of open grass, with greenery bordering the field. A few large trees with some bushes and a well-managed, paved walkways. Large buildings seem to border the park, and it seems to almost interrupt the flow of city life.

Janus removes the keys and flicks them into his hand, grinning at me. “Let’s go for a bit of a walk. I feel like this place a little more sights and sounds than the reserve outside the CPO.” He shoves the keys into his jacket pocket and steps out of the car, leaving me alone inside. I quickly free myself from the seatbelt, then step out of the car. I’m nervous going out in front of a lot of people, but considering I haven’t had any troubles with the people in the CPO, I can assume others won’t cause issues and even if they do I’m pretty sure that Janus can defuse any potentially dangerous scenarios.

I join him on the path, walking along the outside of the large field, past a few bushes. The sun is out, but it’s cold, I blow out into my hands where a mist collects. For a while we walk in silence, it seems a bit strange after such a long and difficult conversation in the car ride here, but it’s appreciated just to absorb it all.

Just like the field, the pathway is very busy, with groups of people walking together or just solo joggers, running with earpieces stuffed in their ears. Most people pay me no mind, while some double-take, but choose to ignore me. It’s a nice change of pace, knowing that I can blend in without having to try to blend in. It isn’t long before the path turns onto a walkway that borders a large lake, there are boats within the lake, though they're hard to make out in the distance. I finally interrupt the silence, “Janus-”

“It’s Matt, in fact, call me Mattie. The name Janus sounds like you don’t know me. It’s a publication name and that’s all,” he interjects.

“Umm- Mattie.” It sounds awkward on my tongue, a foreign name that I’ve heard, yet haven’t had the pleasure of saying. “What is this place?”

“Center Park. Funny name for this place. It’s not even in the center of the city. It’s probably the biggest park in the city too. It’s incredibly popular, but it doesn’t seem so bad today. Probably because it’s a bit later on a Sunday.” He wraps his hand around my wrist as I’m about to walk past him and he pulls me back, pulling me onto a bench.

The bench overlooks the lake and he exhales loudly, leaning back on the bench, placing his hands behind his head. His eyes are somewhat unfocused as if he’s concentrating on something in the distance.

“It’s quiet here, at least on Sundays. Only voices are the ones who run past.” He exhales, turning his head slightly. He looks at me for just a moment, then he clears his throat. “There’s actually another reason why we’ve come out here. There are some demons that have been popping up around the city.”

“And you thought it was a good idea to bring me outside?” I grumble.

“I thought it was a good idea to keep you moving rather than in one location. There have been some demons, but from what I’ve been told, they’ve been looking for places where a lost girl might hide.”

“From what you’ve been told.” That sounds suspicious.

“Okay, from what I’ve mind read,” he admits. “Anyway, they’ve been searching the roofs and the inside of buildings as well as a few condemned buildings. They have been completely ignoring the people inside the buildings and then when a team confronts them, they immediately escape through a portal.”

“Scouts- let me guess, they’re black, leathery skinned demons with a somewhat misty form and long, sharp tails as well as white scaled demons with large horns and massive wings.”

“Yes, how did you know?”

I roll my eyes. “Demon Lord. I know the best scouters in the Demon Plane. Lucifer’s and Beelzebub’s ilk. Lucifer’s ilk will travel around during the day while Beelzebub’s ilk will travel and night. Luckily enough, this is opportune timing for where neither would have an easy time remaining concealed.”

“What times would they not be around then?”

“Between 5 am and 7 am as well as 4 pm and 7 pm.” I look up at the sky, exhaling loudly. “It seems, even though my Father seems to think that he’s just ignoring me, he’s doing anything but. He’s been trying to capture me as soon as possible, I think I know why.”

“Okay. Shoot, tell me why.”

I scratch my chin. “Well- I can’t be sure. Demon Lords have never hit their metamorphosis stage in the Mortal Plane. But it’s what ties them to a Plane, in other words, it’s where their power gets distributed and where their power has the smallest effect on the psyche of the denizens.”

“Hold on- What’s metamorphosis?”

I click my tongue, trying to find a way to explain it. “Essentially, in the early stages of my life, I’m completely Human, at least I look mostly Human right now. Metamorphosis is expelling my mortal shell and reforming a body that is completely structured on what power I will be receiving. Right now, logically, I’m twenty-one years old, probably older, but I look, to Humans, like a juvenile, which in the Demon Plane, I am. Once my septagram completes, I should look older.”

“I- I see- well- that’s lying. It’s very different to the growth of Humans and I just want to see what happens when you complete your metamorphosis. I swear, right now I’m just as interested as Gates might be. I’m just a little worried-”

“About?”

“The fact you might have to leave us at that point.”

“I’m just as worried as you, but there must be a reason my Father is sc-” There’s a flash of wings in the sky. My heart jumps into my throat and I immediately shoot to my feet. There’s the loud beat of wings and a group of birds descends down in front of us. I grab my chest, feeling my heart calm a little. Just pigeons, I drop back into the bench.

Mattie is laughing. “Wow, I’ve never seen anyone so afraid of pigeons. What were you expecting, didn’t you say that they probably weren’t going to show at this time?”

“I don’t know- I’m perhaps a little on my toes-”

“It’s best that you’re on your toes. You need to constantly remain vigilant. Yet, in your haste to justify why the demons might not come after you, you forgot the things that make both Lucifer and Beelzebub’s demons so effective in scouting,” a deep voice growls from behind me. I spin around and the birds scatter, making for the sky. Mattie jumps up, his hand dropping to his belt, where it struggles to find something. He steps in front of me, blocking my sight of the one who interrupted us.

Mattie’s hands are extended as if forming a wall to protect me from the demon. “I’m sorry,” he whispers. “I thought this place would be safe.”

“It was safe,” the voice says. “I’ve been searching since you disappeared, Elmira.” I move to the right, just being able to catch the sight of the demon. He has dark leathery skin, with large white horns and wings, stretched across his back. He’s wearing a pinstripe suit, with a thin, sharp tail pokes out beneath the jacket. He has a wooden box in his outstretched claw-like hand, holding it so tightly that I can hear the wood protesting. “We meet once again, Elmira.”

Author's Notes

Ever since I started writing, I've had regular readers that have really hated cliffhangers, to the point where they make it very known in the writing. Such writing I might post here in the future if some of you are interested in seeing it. But this is one such event where I decided to go back to my roots, to return to writing cliffhangers for the sake of hooking more readers. Whether you hate them or not, you have to admit one thing, they make people amusingly irate. Looks like you'll have to wait till tomorrow.