Demons Within (Open)

[¡мuş℮!]

Sleeplessness had overcome her. Dark heavy shadows enveloped the tan skin just below her beautiful hazel eyes. Something was bothering her. Something weighted heavily on her mind keeping her from getting even a wink of good night sleep. But she couldn’t help it. The recent activity of spirits had her senses in a uproar. And one in particular seemed to find it funny to torment her, filling her mind with sights of raging, gory battles between species. Creatures of all sorts being rip apart by this being whom had long ago lost the battle, but refused to give up the fight. Every time she closed her eyes, there his was with his wicked laughter and horrific tales that he insisted upon tell her. With such a gift as her’s it was not possible to funnel out the ones she did not wish to deal with.

Contrary to popular belief spirits haunted the living, without so much as a single being knowing what was really lurking in the shadows. It was not the ghouls or monsters you had to worry about. It was the unseen world that was the real problem. And from a young age Evangeline had been able to see past reality into this coexisting world. Normally she could help the soul move on, and continue to the land where souls could rest easy. But some, like the one haunting her now, refused to leave. Sometimes, if the spirit did not follow her to a new place she could leave, and leave that soul behind. But not this one.

Unable to stand the confined space of her apartment any longer, Angel found herself wondering around the park. What she was looking for she had not a clue. It was mostly a way to get fresh air, and attempt to push the horrible nightmares out of her mind. Long auburn hair hung loosely around her face, curtaining her features from anyone who might walk by. Blue jeans clung to her legs, and led down to the knee high moccasin boots that protected her feet from the cobbled path. A doe skin colored hoodie covered her torso, and the hood of the garment was pulled up. Though the temperature outside was not cold, due to lack of sleep and constant spiritual company she was freezing.

A dark evil laughter filled her thoughts and her whole body seemed to flinch as she tucked herself to the side of the walk way. But she forced herself to continue to walk.

“No more please.” She whispered in a pleading voice faintly to the soul, but to the outside world she seemed to be talking to herself. Her hands moved to cover her ears in an attempt to block out the sound, and she clenched her eyes tightly shut trying to protect her mind and her sanity from whatever this ghost was trying to push upon her.

“Just leave me alone.” Her words trembled, as she once again tried to command the spirit to leave. But with the state her mind was in not even the weakest of souls would listen to her. The Native was tired and scared, and feared that this presence was going to be the end of her. That is if he did not drive her insane first.

[Bucks23]

Though it was not that cold outside, Zach had the hood of his dark blue hoodie up as he sat on the park bench, leaning forward so that his elbows rested on his knees. He was once again counting the change he had managed to beg from people during the day and was contemplating whether it was worth blowing it on a coffee tonight or on a sandwich or something for breakfast tomorow. Zach was nineteen years old and had been living it rough for a while now. Occassionally he would be accepted into a hostel only to have to leave soon after when the fires started. They weren't his fault and he always protested as much but he always got the blame for them, probably because of the scars he carried. The left side of his face bore a terrible burn scar. He had more marks and burns that he kept hidden beneath his clothing. It sometimes worked to his advantage if some other youths came upon him in an alley or a park like this at night and were looking for trouble... they were usually afraid of him when they saw his face.

Zach had been a baby when he'd received his scars. A freak accident was what they called it. The freak accident killed his foster parents and left him barely alive as the house he had lived in went up in a great inferno. Zach had never had any trouble with fires again until he was sixteen and the school he had been attending burned to the ground one night. Since then it had become a constant occurance, where ever he lived or stayed for a while, fires would just start. Unable to explain what was happening around him, Zach had gone to the local library and had started reading a book on pyromancy. He had managed to finish a couple of chapters each time before security asked him to leave.

Zach sighed and stuffed the bits of change into his jeans pocket. He sat back and folded his arms as he gazed up at the stars. A clear night tonight. He thanked whatever gods that cared to listen that it wasn't raining. Suddenly he heard someone's voice, though he couldn't hear exactly what was said. It was a female voice and she sounded distressed. Perhaps a woman was being mugged somewhere in the park? His eyes wide and nervous, Zach's heart began to beat faster with a sudden adrenaline rush. Just ignore it, he told himself, you can't help her, it would just mean trouble for you as well. Then he heard her voice again, nearer this time and caught the wimper along with her words, 'Just leave me alone...'

Moving off the bench and along the path, Zach took slow, cautious steps until he passed through a copse of trees and saw the girl on the other side. Eyes closed, she had her hands planted firmly over her ears. She was alone as far as he could tell.
"Uh... hello?" Zach called, nervously wetting his lips. It had been a while since he had had to speak with anyone. He kept his hood up so the shadow hid most of the scar on his face. He didn't want to scare the woman anymore than she had obviously already been. His big brown eyes gleamed in the darkness. "Are you hurt?"

[¡мuş℮!]

Images flashed through her thoughts like a bad horror film bouncing from death to corpse to the spirit’s evil façade. She was pushing her mind to the limit trying to force him out, but the once firm barriers were now feeble and worn with stress and exhaustion. ‘Just go! Just go!’ she mentally told the creature but the laughter continued. Evangeline was so absorbed within her own mind that she had not been too aware of her surroundings. It was hard to pay attention to the real world when the ghostly realm was so demanding.

That’s when she heard the sound of another breaking through the nightmares. It startled her back to reality as she seemed to jump out of her own skin. Her hands flew to her hood pulling it tighter around her face. She was trying to protect herself. Her mind mostly, who knows what creatures were roaming around in the night. She did not was to end up under some sort of vampiric spell because she was distracted.

“Ye-Yes… I’m fine.” Her voice stumbled over the words. Trying to regain her composure she let her hands fall down to her side and took a few deep breaths. The evil hackling continued within the darker parts of her mind. He was there lurking waiting for another chance to drag her into his world. Angel reached her mind out towards the voice. Trying to figure weather it was friend or foe. But so far there was not major threat that seemed present.

The dark haired woman allowed herself to lift her head and look towards the direction where the voice had come from. Finding nothing threatening at the moment, she figured it was okay to allow eye contact. Restlessness made her body sway ever so slightly in a circular motion. Her mind was trying to fight off sleep, but her body desperately pleading for it.

“Wh-Who’s there.” The girl’s words still seemed to tremble and sounded uneasy. She just could not quiet shake it.

[Bucks23]

Zach watched the woman swaying almost drunkenly on the spot and peering straight towards him but not really seeing. She seemed to be under some sort of trance... or hallucinating on drugs. Zach felt sudden desire gnaw at his gut like a frosted knife thrust into his midsection. If she was high she was a user... perhaps she had drugs on her? He had somehow managed to kick the habbit a few months back, but he would give anything for a fix right now. He stuck his hands in the pockets of his dark blue hoodie and felt the switchblade knife he kept there, perhaps all he would have to do is show it to her, he probably wouldn't even have to threaten her.
Shame suddenly overcame his momentary relapse and he let go of the knife in his pocket. Composing himself as best he could he stepped forward into the illuminated patch created by an overheard street lamp. though his hood would hide most of his face in shadow, he hoped the girl could see enough of him to know he wasn't a threat. He had a disehelled appearance about him from his dirty sneakers to his jeans that were ripped at the knees.

"I was just passin' and heard you talkin' to someone. I was wonderin' if you was okay?" He chewed his lower lip and asked nervously. "You haven't got any spare change have you?"

[¡мuş℮!]

All she could do was watch the shadows for the moment. The gentle voice had not made himself appear yet. But as far as she could tell he was mostly human. No demon procession, no curse, and defiantly not a blood thirsty creature. She was semi-safe. Angel let out a sigh, thanking the heavens for keeping her safe in the real world. That’s when the dark haired Native heard foot steps and he stepped forward into the lamp light.

The way the shine darkened the shadow from his hood did not bother her too much. Even she was trying to keep her face hidden to hold her composure. She was not one to judge, after all for years she was considered insane. It would be hypocritical for her to make first judgments on mere appearance. But she did have to admit. He looked somewhat disheveled. Like a good place to sleep and eat had been something not found often.

“Yes yes I’m…fine.” She stated, ‘For the most part’ she thought mentally to herself. Then she heard his small request.

“I-uh think I have some.” She tucked her hair behind her ear and looked down at her down at her pocket so her shaking hand knew exactly where to go. Tucking the fingers into the fabric she felt around for the round pieces of silver. Wrapping her hand around two quarters and a couple dimes, and pull them out. But just as she was going to walk over and hand them to him, the creature struck again.

Her eyes darted open, and the change jingled to the ground. Her knees buckled as she fell to land upon them. Hands flew towards the side of her head, as if trying to support it. The laughter echoed through her mind, as the horror film continued. Normally she liked horror stories, but this was one a completely different level. She ran her fingers through her hair knocking the hood from her head.

“It won’t leave….It won’t leave.” She her voice sounded almost pleading, as if begging the gods to help her. This demon found it funny to torment the living, and probably had been doing it for a long time. Finding any feeble mind and turning it inside out. He had grown in power to the point where he was able to drag down a physic such as herself. Evangeline had thought she could handle it, but apparently she was wrong.

[Bucks23]

He took a few wary, tentative steps towards the girl as she rooted through her pocket for some money, his dark brown eyes following her hands. He felt no shame or embarassment at asking for hand outs, he had long since become accustomed to begging for a living. She withdrew what change she had and was about to hand it to him when she suddenly suffered some kind of episode and called out, her voice filled with terror and revulsion. She made Zach jump out of his skin as she clawed her hood back and her long dark hair streamed out into the evening breeze.
Before he knew what he was doing -and he had never considered himself a very heroic sort of person- he quickly went to her side and made to grab her arm to stop her from falling over. At the moment his hand caught hold of her hoodie sleeve and they made physical contact, a sudden feeling of dread kicked him in the stomach and he could feel a terrible sense of foreboding about the girl. He didn't know exactly how he knew but he could sense that she wasn't truly alone. Not inside her mind atleast. He felt the heat start up in his chest, behind his ribs. Sweat beaded on his forehead despite the cool air and he felt the heat inside him like a flaming torch waiting to burn free. Not now! He silently begged himself, please god not now! He took a deep breath and squeesed his eyes shut. Steam started to rise from his clothes as he fought back the urge to release the flame. As quickly as the feeling had overcame him, it suddenly subsided. Whatever was inside the girl it had kickstarted his defense mechanism. It usually took alot to do that and only usually got started up when he was very highly strung, scared or angry.

Still holding her arm, Zach shook the girl to try and ground her back in reality. "Hey! C'mon lady, wake up!" He pushed back his own hood and his short dark matted hair shined in the lamp light. Sweat glued tendrils of his short fringe to his forehead. Seeing no other option, he raised his other hand and slapped her across her face, hoping to jar her back in reality and from whatever nightmare she was getting lost in...

[¡мuş℮!]

She was lost, being dragged through a series of violent scenes. She could tell that the young man had moved closer, and felt his presences on her sleeve. But that was it, until the spot where he was touching became extremely warm. But the ghoul was not letting go just yet. The dark haired vixen hoped that he would grow tired of her. She hoped that soon he would leave, or hoped that there was someone who could help her be rid of him.

That’s when she felt the sting of the slap across her face. Angel snapped back dropping one hand and placing the other on her cheek where his hand had struck. A shocked look was plastered upon her face as sleep deprived eyes slowly moved to stare up at him. It was the first time she got a good look at him. He was handsome, in way. Other than the red scar covering his left eye and left side of his forehead.

She was not angered, nor taken aback at the fact that he had hit her. Her eyes once again dropped to the ground. Her hand slid down to fall in her lap, a slightly pink spot glowing against her tanned skin.

“Thank you.” Evangeline stated in a quiet tone. “I’m so sorry.” The girl apologized; she knew that she’d probably caused him fright.

[Bucks23]

He let out a shaky breath of relief when it seemed his decisive action had paid off and calmed the girl down. "It's alright." Zach told her when she apologised and averted her eyes to her feet. He was glad she wasn't p1ssed at him for striking her.

Slowly, he let go of her arm when he was convinced she could stand on her own, he hoped in the dark she wouldn't notice the slight scorch mark on her clothing where he'd been gripping her.
He became suddenly aware of how close they were stood together, a few inches apart at best. If she moved forward any further the top of her head would have fit almost neatly under his jaw.
He moved back slightly to give her some personal space. His movements were slow as not to make her feel like he was recoiling from her. He dropped his eyes shyly to ground at his own feet.

In the awkward moments of silence that followed Zach was able to steal a couple of glances at her and noticed that despite her fragile, worn-out look, she was very beautiful. It felt weird to be having to make conversation with a pretty girl who didn't treat him like scum from the get-go. He felt more self concious suddenly than he had done in years. He wanted nothing more than to hide his face with his hood again but she had already seen his burn and not been too put off by it.

"So uh... you gave me a pretty good scare then." He spoke atlast, a thin smile on his lips, trying to ease the tension. He peered at her face and noticed the slight pink to her otherwise tanned complexion where he had hit her. "Sh1t... uh... I'm really sorry about that." He said and reached out to brush a couple of strands of her hair that the breeze had blown over away from her face. He was suprised by how soft her hair felt in his fingers. Not something he was used to. It felt good.
"What was happening to you just then?" He asked suddenly. He burned with the desire to know what it was that had nearly made him erupt into flame. She either had alot of power or something powerful was affecting her.

He quickly removed his fingers from her hair and stuck them in his hoodie pockets as he waited for her to reply...

[¡мuş℮!]

Angel still seemed in a somewhat dazed state when he backed away from her. She had not mind the closeness, it was something human and something real her mind could wrap itself around. It had her relax even though it was just a tad, it was better than nothing. Her hazel eyes stared at the shadows across the pathway seeming glazed almost in a trance. But even though she had not been looking directly at him she could feel where the young man was and his movements.

She heard him and understood his words, and his apology. Then she felt his gentle touch as he moved the strands of hair out from her face. That’s when she forced herself to move her gaze slowly to look at him.

“Do not apologize. It helped.” She gave a half-hearted smile. But then he questioned the reasoning behind her episode, and her white teeth nibbled gently upon her bottom lip. Unsure if it was a good idea to tell him. But seeing as he was so intrigued, she figured that if she told him the worse he would do is run off.

“Visions…voices…” Evangeline’s voice trailed off slightly as she glanced away. “I hear two worlds, the living and the dead. Spirits roam every inch of this city, whether people see them or not they are there. I’m the bridge between these two worlds.” She paused in her explanation as she shuffled her weight from one foot to the other.

The Native could feel the spiritual being slithering around the edges of her mind. The creature had been slick enough to keep out of her true sight; just making it feel like her was within her own thoughts. He had yet to show himself. And truthfully Angel was glad of that. If he was this powerful in thought, she could not imagine how he would be if he manifested.

“This Thing has been following me… Haunting me. I do not know who or what it is. But so far it has only made my life a living hell.” A few tears formed at the corners of her eyes. “And no matter what I do. It won’t leave….It won’t.” The last statement was spoken as a controlled sob. She knew that unless by some chance this creature was not going away, and she was beginning to lose the battle.

[Bucks23]

Zach found himself desperately wanting to help the girl, but his eyes shined wetly in his anguish at being so helpless to save her from her own demons. Like him she seemed to be a partly supernatural creature, but unlike the vampires, werewolves and other demons that lurked out there, they were cursed with their mortality and their powers were less controllable and they suffered them as if cursed by them.
He wanted to hold her, comfort her and tell her everything would be alright. Those petty words of reassurance he had never heard spoken to him once in his life. He decided she deserved more than comforting lies.

"What does it want?" He asked her quietly. He wet his lips and raised his voice above the whisper he had just spoken. "Well... if you are the bridge and this thing knows that, it's hauntin' you for a reason right? What does it want?"

[¡мuş℮!]

She peered up at him as if he had said something in a different language. Wide eyed and confused. That was the only problem. The creature never talked, never said a word. Just laughed and forced her to watch the horrors he had caused so long ago. In the beginning he was not a violent as he was now. She had tried speaking to it. But there was never an answer, or a thought about answering her questions.

“It won’t say.” She stated flatly. She bent her head slightly as her voice dipped a little to a depressed tone. “Probably whatever malevolent soul wants… To be free again, free to continue its chaotic wrath.” She shrugged.

Angel placed her hand upon her shoulder and ran her hand down her sleeve, as if trying to wipe away the tired and lost feeling. That’s when her fingers hit the singed spot and her fingers froze. That was not there before. She did not smoke, nor had been near a source of flame. Her eyes drifted to inspect the charred place. It was in the perfect shape of a hand. She pulled her hand away and glanced up at him, as if confused.

“Pyro?” She whispered. She did not use a disgusted tone. It was more questioning than scared or hurt.

[Bucks23]

Zach followed her gaze to the burn on her hoodie sleeve.
"Uh... yeah. Kind of." He answered when she asked about his ability, then added in a suddenly defensive tone "So?"
Another moment of awkward silence descended upon them and Zach pulled his hood back up over his head, hiding his face back in comfortable shadow. He sighed and kicked a small stone. "Look maybe you could just give it what it wants?" Zach suggested. "Try and free it. Who cares if it creates more chaos? Atleast It won't be your problem anymore."

[¡мuş℮!]

She shrugged off his ‘so’. It was only an observation. But then her attention turned back to him at his next comment. Let it free? Let it go? Was he serious? Her jaw tightened in slight annoyance. Her already dark circled eyes narrowed.

“I cannot. Let it free.” She almost growled. Letting something like that back into the living world, was not an option for her. Angel was not going to use black magic.

“In order to set him free, you’d need a blood sacrifice. So unless you’re volunteering, I’m not going down that route.” Even if someone were to volunteer to be a sacrifice Evangeline would not go through with it. She had remembered from the time when she was little. Someone in her tribe had tried to use black magic to seek revenge upon another being. It did not turn out to pretty. And she refused to get caught up in the mess.

“The way our world and his world works are completely different. It’s almost impossible for a spirit to be released back as blood and flesh. And he does not want to stay a ghastly form. He wants to be what he once was. I’m not going to be the one to bring him back. It’s dangerous. I’d rather go insane than do that to humanity. We humans have enough to deal with without having more beings released back into the world.”

Closing her eyes she put a hand to the side of her face as her head began to feeling like it was spinning. Exhaustion was catching up to her. She could feel that it would not be long till her body would collapse. Did she have time to make it home? The vixen did not even know what time it was, let alone how long it would take her to walk back to her apartment.

[Bucks23]

Zach looked at the ground at his feet, feeling like a chastised infant as the woman snapped at him incredulously about his suggestion.
He shrugged when she finished and stuck his hands in his jeans pockets. "All I'm sayin' is, it seems like a pretty big burden for one person to have." He muttered. Truth be told he couldn't give a damn about what humanity had to deal with, society hadn't fared so well for him so why should he care? He didn't say that however, he could tell she had a stronger sense of wrong and right then he did. His short miserable years had made him prematurely bitter.

He raised his gaze to look at her again and saw that she had her eyes closed and was struggling to stand, like she was unbearably tired. He crouched down and picked up the change she had dropped earlier. "You look like you could use some caffine." He said. "THere's an all night diner close by if you wanna get some coffee or something? Um... if not that's cool. You want help gettin' anywhere?"

[¡мuş℮!]

A burden indeed, but Evangeline would not want someone else to go through the things she’s seen. She had a feeling most people wouldn’t not have the stomach, or the knowledge to do what she does. Not saying that she was the perfect one for the job. It was just something that she would not want someone else to go through. Until now she had thought she was strong enough to handle anything. Her mental barriers were strong and sturdy, until recently that is. ‘I wouldn’t have it any other way.’ She thought to herself.

The tension in her face eased as she opened to eyes to look at him. She could feel the demon still lingering around her thoughts. But having another being here seemed to keep him at a little safer distance than while she had herself isolated in her apartment. It would take her a while to figure out how to rid her mind of this creature. Sighing she let her hand fall down to her side.

“Coffee sounds great.” Angel said with a smile. The thought of the warm smooth liquid sliding down her throat almost had her brain saying ‘ahhhh’ already. She stuck out her hand to him, while her mind was still thinking clearly.

“By the way, I’m Angel.” She knew they hadn’t exchanged names. But in her mind she liked to know whom she was sitting and having a late night snack with.