Danny did not know how much he would have to wait for the demon to show up. This was the first time he was summoning the creature, so he had no prior knowledge about such details.

If not for the less-than-ideal circumstances, Danny might have the frame of mind to calmly analyze every little thing he could perceive during the process in order to deduce more about the demon and his own situation later. However, the fact that he was too close to his friends for comfort while dealing with this entity made Danny wish to be done as soon as possible. Every second of waiting, every moment that passed was another chance for something to go wrong.

And so, it inevitably did.

Knock, Knock.

Not even a couple of minutes had passed since he placed the dark chalice filled with blood down, when Danny turned around startled at the sound of the door-knocking. As soon as he heard the knocks on the door, he realized that things had just taken a turn for worse, and most likely Chris could not sit around without checking up on him after seeing him ill.

His assumption proved correct an instant later. “Hey Danny, it’s me Carl. Chris said he was worried about you and that you weren’t feeling too good. I am coming inside, okay?”

“Just a second Carl!” Hearing the calm but firm tone of Carl, Danny knew that there was no way to make him go away without at least entering the room and seeing Danny’s face, so he carefully but swiftly took the black cup and hid it under the bed without spilling a single drop of blood.

After more than a week of living together, Danny already had a pretty good grasp on everyone’s own individual nature and tendencies. Carl could be said to be a straightforward and stubborn person. Whenever Carl decided to do something, it was hard for anyone to prevent him from doing so. Unless someone managed to convince him of the merit of a different approach, Carl rarely gave up on his decided path. Even when someone did manage to make a compelling case, it had to be Carl himself to make the decision, otherwise he simply would not stand down.

Another notable point, but maybe an even more important one, was that Carl did not trust Danny. It was not that Carl thought that Danny was out to get him or something like doubting Danny’s motive for his actions, but something more on the lines of skeptical curiosity.

Thus, it was hard for Danny to gauge in that split-second if Carl was there just because of an unlucky coincidence, or if he was actively suspicious of something and was trying to pry covering it up as a simple altruistic concern for the wellbeing of his friend.

Nonetheless, Danny did not even try to dissuade him from entering the room. No matter the real reason Carl had decided to come here, any attempts of turning him away would only manage to make Carl doubtful, so Danny simply discarded that course of action. Moreover, the room he secluded himself in unfortunately could not be locked from the inside. Danny had completely forgotten about this detail as he hurriedly rushed inside, but there was no point in crying over spilt milk now.

“I am coming in!” After waiting for a bit – as Carl did not intend to be rude towards Danny – he exclaimed in a voice just loud enough to make sure Danny heard from the other side of the door and entered.

Carl took notice of the room and saw Danny covered in a light blanket lying on the bed. He did not notice anything suspicious about it either, just his companion apparently taking a nap.

“How are you feeling Danny? Chris said you were looking quite a bit pale. Can I get you anything?” Carl said in a concerned tone.

Despite Danny’s misgivings about Carl’s reason for being there, Carl really was just checking up on him without any ulterior motives in response to what Chris had told him. He just wanted to be nice, even though it was the most terrible time to act like that in Danny’s opinion.

It was true that Carl was still unsure about this helpful friend, but that was just the result of Danny refusing to open up to them, added by the fact that Danny seemed to have adapted much better to this apocalyptic scenario than the others. There was no jealously or inherent ill will involved, only a cautious attitude towards the unknown that was Danny.

“I am fine Carl. I just need some rest and I will be as good as I can be. But can you tell the others to keep away just in case I got something? Some peace and quiet would be appreciated as well.” Danny said, framing his words in a way that would dispel any further interruptions. No one would want to get sick in those circumstances after all.

“No problem. I will tell everyone to be particularly careful about the noise today to avoid disturbing you. I hope you feel better soon.” Carl responded.

“Thanks Carl. I am sure I will.” Danny smiled and waved at his departing friend’s silhouette.

“You are welco- WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!” Carl already had his hand on the handle of the door and was saying his goodbye’s when suddenly he stared wide-eyed at a corner of the room and shouted pointing at it, completely forgetting his promise to keep the noise down.

Danny did not need to turn around to know that he was fucked. Seeing Carl’s reaction, there could only be one logical explanation: the demon had arrived.

Danny could not even turn his head to confirm his guess before he heard Tutu’s voice. “Well, well, well, Danny. I was not expecting company!” The jackal faced spider said while giggling sinisterly and staring hungrily at Carl, making the poor man almost piss himself there and then.

Bad turned to worse as the demon carelessly revealed his connection with Danny after being noticed by Carl. As the creature’s words resounded in the small room, Danny could almost see the gears turning into his companion’s head as he reached horrifying conclusions about Danny’s secrets and his relationship with the monster in the shadows.

Carl gave one last terrified glance in Danny’s direction before bolting out of the room, his running steps echoing in the hallway as Danny slowly got up from the bed. There was no point in hurrying as he definitely would not be able to catch up to the scared man, neither he knew what he would do even if he did reach Carl before he got to the others, which was where he presumed Carl was heading to.

As Danny got up on his feet, he let a tired sigh escape from his lips. He knew that probably there would be no salvaging this situation. Danny would still try to go after Carl and explain himself, but Tutu had made any kind of reconciliation almost impossible. Who would believe that the shadowy and monstrous entity wouldn’t tear them apart given the chance? The walking corpses outside looked like puppies by comparison. If someone tried to convince Danny that a talking jackal-faced spider with the size of a bull was harmless, he would definitely think that person was trying to insult his intelligence.

Danny, gave Tutu a heavy and weighing look, who, in turn, merely chuckled amusedly in response. The timing of those events had been way too damning for Danny. There was no doubt in his mind that this outcome was by design.

Danny had no idea why Tutu would want to reveal their relationship the way he did, and what was in it for him; whether there was a tangible benefit Danny could not see yet, or if the demon was just messing with him for the sake of it. Either way, Danny just had been royally screwed.

Even then, what could he do about it other than grit his teeth and endure it? These events were no different than the ones in his past. Just the latest instance of the demon trampling over Danny’s life and plans.

Apparently, not much has changed after all. Danny thought he had regained a semblance of control of his life, but it appeared he had been wrong all along.

Danny’s eyes suddenly shined in the dimly lit room with regained clarity as he shook his head fiercely from side to side to chase away the depressing thoughts. He would not let himself to be shaken by those setbacks.

So what if things did not go his way? He could try again! So what if the demon could still mess around with his life undeterred? He would learn from this mistake and prepare better countermeasures for the next time the demon tried something like that! So what if things get messy with his companions? As long as there was hope to fix the situation, he would try his best! And even if it ended up being hopeless, so what? He wanted to believe in his mother’s wisdom: so long as he kept living and moving forward, some day he would find something that made all the pain meaningful. In the end, all suffering was temporary.

“I will keep my promise mom. I will never give up!” Danny thought with newfound vigor.

After recomposing himself. Danny gave one last look to the demon who was skittering on the walls as if he was preparing himself to watch a show. This time, Danny’s eyes were calm and determined. He didn’t say anything against the demon though, he only had himself to blame for making the wrong choices. Expecting any more understanding from Tutu would be a fool’s dream.

In the end, Danny only turned around and marched outside, ready to face the fallout of the demon’s machinations with discipline and composure. That was the best he could do.

“Good, good. I like those eyes of yours Danny-boy”. The formless creature mumbled at Danny’s back after he was out of earshot range.