《The Purification Organization》 A Silent Prayer, A Silent Night Chapter 1: A Silent Prayer, A Silent Night The wilting grass twisted over each other, trying to find some sort of comfort from the wind. Raindrops hit each blade ferociously as they bob back and forth, trying to stand upright again. Gushes of wind assault the only car driving along the unkempt road as if it was their life¡¯s goal to push the used Ford into jagged potholes littering the asphalt. ¡°Did they restrict the area before we came down here?¡± The question laid thick in the air, waiting to be answered. A pregnant pause lingered before a woman¡¯s voice could be heard, ¡°The organization¡¯s task force reported that they did, but knowing how incompetent some of them are, it wouldn¡¯t surprise me if they didn''t,¡± she sighed, then continued, ¡°Hopefully no more innocent people pass through this town, the report they gave us mentioned them going missing.¡± A slow nod from the passenger seat ended that tense conversation. A pair of light browned hands, cuffed with the white fabric of her button-up collared shirt, squeezed the steering wheel, her knuckles turning a flash of white. Her dark, dreaded hair does not dare to fall over her shoulder as she drives, unlike her companion across from her. His light brown hair tumbles over his ears and forehead without one care in the world. An ID card with rounded edges peeked out from the pocket of his worn down jacket, displaying the name Peter P. Lavinski. Beneath that layer was an off-white unbuttoned polo shirt. His shirt clearly showed signs of just being bought, because the creases running down his chest did not match the rest of his sloppy attire along with the price tag still being connected to the sleeve of his shirt. ¡°You¡¯d think they¡¯d be willing to send someone to clean up the remnant corpse parts along the road,¡± she took a glance at Peter before turning her attention back to driving, ¡°but I guess they didn¡¯t want to risk sending anyone who wasn¡¯t qualified anywhere near this town.¡± Along the treeline, a faint set of buildings can be seen peeking out through the rain and leaves. Lightning strikes behind it, illuminating houses and power lines. Ten feet away, a raggedy sign barely holds up in the storm, faded and missing letters read a name, ¡°FieldFord, the home of National Geographic Appreciation¡±. Somewhere below it is a smudged number that¡¯s supposed to be the town¡¯s population, but if you look closely, you can make out the number 872. ¡°Remind me what exactly the higher-ups told you about this town-,¡± Peter waits for a response, but realizes it fell upon deaf ears as his partner makes no move to speak, ¡°Vivian? Are you even listening to me?¡± His eyes narrowed with slight annoyance as he repeated his question again. ¡°They didn¡¯t have much information. All they said was that several people went missing after entering the town. The loved ones of some of the people were able to figure out that their last location was around here. It¡¯s not certain whatever is causing the disappearances, but seeing how we are involved, it must mean it¡¯s related to the paranormal.¡± Peter¡¯s brow furrows slightly, not hiding the disdain on his face. His voice slightly rises an octave, ¡°Yes, but what do they expect us to do if we have no information about this case? Just go around town looking for clues, like Sherlock Holmes?¡± Vivian lets him finish before briefly responding, ¡°Yes, exactly, and you can blame your brother for that.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Vivian slows the car down after it passes the threshold of the town¡¯s entrance, the rainstorm finally coming to a complete halt. She scans the area, noticing that there seem to be people walking about, some of them soaked from the pouring sky, but the overall atmosphere is off. The car pushes forward until it finds a place to park on the side of an empty road. Peter leaves the car first, Vivian in pursuit, tucking the keys into her black slacks, stepping onto the wet ground below. Animals littered the streets, cats hissed and scratched clods of fur off each other, and dogs growled with the whites of their eyes showing. Yet the townies never spared a glance, they just idly walked by as if it was a normal sight to see in Fieldford. Vivian pulls out a gently used notebook and pen, she reads the faces of the people passing by the poor animals before scratching something down. ¡°How strange.¡± She walks forward and grabs an orange cat by its scruff, lifting it above the fight, which causes a pair of flea ridden cats, one seeming to be a kitten, and the other a random tuxedo. The little mewls from the baby makes the orange cat claw at Vivian¡¯s arm. It thrashes while yelping, seeming to never have had this sort of contact before. ¡°I wonder how you all ended up like this.¡± The animals scatter when Peter approaches, Vivian drops the cat and it follows suit. ¡°Something isn¡¯t right, everyone¡¯s acting like zombies. Kinda scary if I¡¯m being honest. The report didn¡¯t say anything about this.¡± Peter points towards a middle-aged man with a shiny bald head, behind him is a small boy wearing a child harness who obediently follows. They both stumble forward as if they just learned to walk, moving forward without paying any mind to their surroundings. Vivian¡¯s demeanor changes. ¡°Good to see some people still know how to parent their children. Kids these days are too soft.¡± ¡°No offense, but if you really think that, then your parents must¡¯ve been pricks.¡± ¡°Nonsense, they were good people.¡± She pursed her lips then continued. ¡°Most of the time, anyway.¡± ¡°Should we report all this back to the organization?¡± Peter said in a worried voice. ¡°No, not yet. We¡¯re not supposed to update the high-ups until the end of the day. For now, we need to gather more information. Activate your ability and use it to follow the residents to gather more clues on what¡¯s going on with them.¡± Peter squeezes his eyes shut and inhales deeply, a small blue jay-like bird appears before him, he establishes meaningful eye contact with it. Wordlessly, the bird flies away and trails the people in town. Vivian nods, then motions for them to continue walking. The town around them looks like it has aged poorly, the upkeep of it is nonexistent. An old courthouse with cracked concrete pillars had become the home of feral cats. The bushes and grass spill over the sidewalk, it causes the two to be overly conscious of their steps. A couple feet away from the old courthouse is a corner shop littered with old posters that clearly dated years ago. Peter glances at the glass window before gasping. ¡°Is that a Foo Fighters poster?¡± Peter says as he slightly jogs towards the curb to get a closer look at the dirty glass windows. ¡°My brother loves that band. It¡¯s all he listens to.¡± He begins to start humming the lyrics. ¡°Before I left for the mission, my brother was playing one of their songs nonstop, he even gave me his Foo Fighters jacket right off his back.¡± Peter begins to chuckle. ¡°I think he bought a new denim one.¡± ¡°You better have washed it before you started wearing it.¡± Vivian¡¯s nose scrunches in disgust. ¡°Knowing him, after he gave it to you, he probably started wearing that one black shirt with the ketchup stain on it.¡± She points at Peter¡¯s scuffed Adidas and then at his unbutton collar, ¡°You two are definitely related. Both siblings don¡¯t care about looking presentable.¡± Vivian reaches out to brush imaginary dust off the front of her button-up shirt, threatening war on any crease that dares to ruin her pristine attire. Peter shrugs unaffected, ¡°Hakuna matata.¡± A thud is heard somewhere inside the store, glass bottles shatter against the dirty tiled floor, it startles the brunette. Another bang shakes the two out of their semi daze, Vivian stands on guard, her hands are placed out in front of her. Her eyes narrow, focused on the rattling building. She approaches the double doors and looks inside, in search of the cause of the noise. Intensely, she stares at the employee behind the chipped, wooden counter. She mentally studies the employee¡¯s every movement, or lack thereof. Peter cautiously walks behind her, ready to follow any instruction his mentor gives. Even with the sudden intrusion, the corner store employee barely moves their attention towards the duo. Instead, they blankly stare at the shards of dusty and discolored broken glass in front of them. Vivian trails her eyes between the mess and the worker. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Her tone now serious, the complete opposite of the earlier conversation. ¡°Do you need some help cleaning that up?¡± She asked with slight concern in her voice. Silence falls in the air before a lifeless voice can be heard speaking to no one in particular. ¡°It was an accident, just an accident¡ª I¡¯ll clean it.¡± Their eyes linger on the shattered shards, never turning their gaze towards Vivian. But as soon as Peter steps near the dusty shelves, they finally turn their body from behind the counter, they stop and kneel in front of the glass. ¡°I¡¯ll clean it.¡± They shove their hands into the pile of glass, carelessly grabbing fists full of jagged shards. Vivian tenses, she slowly creeps towards the figure. ¡°What are you doing? Can¡¯t you feel the glass impaling you?¡± Her voice raises loudly, somewhat agitated. Peter on the other hand takes large strides towards the bloody mess, forcefully gripping the wrist of the corner store worker. ¡°Would you like something, young man?¡± They say before turning to Peter with punctured hands full of glass. They extend their hand towards Peter, then proceed to fling the blood and shards in his direction. Vivian¡¯s eyes widen in alert as she immediately reacts to the unexpected attack on her pupil by grabbing him by the back of his collar and yanking his body behind her before the glass ever has a chance of harming him. The glass and blood falls to the ground with a quiet plop, failing to hit their target. ¡°What the hell did you do that for?!¡± Vivian yells while seething and frustrated towards the shopkeeper. ¡°All he did was try and help and you tried to attack him!¡± She continues on as her brown, formal loafers steps heavily against the cracking glass. Without hesitation, she grabs the thinned fabric of their shirt, forcefully pulling their limp body upwards. The worker¡¯s knees hang off the ground while their feet drag. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t be too hard on them. They don¡¯t seem all right up there.¡± Peter voices shakily as he mentally composes himself. ¡°If we can ask them some questions, maybe we can get an idea of what¡¯s going on in this town.¡± Vivian deeply inhales, causing her nostrils to flare, she stares into the empty void of the employee''s eyes in search of some type of emotion. ¡°You¡¯re right, but we have to restrain them first. Remember this, if they attack once, they¡¯ll attack again.¡± The worker¡¯s body hits the ground with a thud while Vivian twists their arms around their back, incapacitating them, yet there is still no sound from them. ¡°Go be helpful and find me something to tie their wrists with.¡± Peter stumbles past the two quickly, knocking dusty items off the shelves in the process. He spots a small section that has faded bright colors, a toy aisle. ¡°I don¡¯t know if this is helpful, but I found a pair of toy handcuffs,¡± he shouts from the back of the store. Vivian gives his direction a disappointed stare and sighs, but nonetheless she contemplates the usefulness of the toy and relents. ¡°Bring them here. I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll try resisting anyway,¡± she mumbles under her breath quietly, ¡°Paradise really owes me for this.¡± Peter grabs the cuffs, then scrambles back to aid Vivian. He passes her the plastic cuffs which are met with a sigh, but regardless, she uses them to restrict the employee. She stands up, glowering at them¨C waiting for a reaction. When she receives nothing of the sort, she decides it¡¯s time to interrogate. As if second nature, she pulls out her gently used notebook from earlier, scribbling the location and time. ¡°I¡¯ll let you ask the first questions so you can practice, don¡¯t worry if you don¡¯t get any useful information because I will question them after you.¡± She speaks to Peter, but doesn¡¯t turn to look at him, her eyes remaining on the failed attacker. Peter walks to face the figure, but hesitates to get any closer, remembering the earlier attempt against him. He vouches it will be safer to keep his distance as he crouches to be eye level with his assailant. ¡°Hey¨C,¡± Peter stumbles over his words, cutting himself off before going through with his original thought,¡°what¡¯s your name, age, and how long have you been working here?¡± Through the cracked windows, the setting sun starts to shower the trio in evening darkness. Vivian watches her pupil from her standing position. Instead of giving the clumsy interrogator a response, a guttural voice hums from within the worker. Eyes full of hatred, glares soullessly at Peter, smirking. ¡°You¡¯re not supposed to be here, boy.¡± The employee giggles, the first time since interacting with them, the figure¡¯s face scrunches and creases. ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± Peter responds hesitantly, fearful in his questioning. Vivian inches forward, alarmed and cautious. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Little boy, why don¡¯t cha¡¯ stay the night? If you do, maybe the both of us can have a little fun.¡± Peter looks at Vivian, his face petrified. Vivian decides enough is enough and lays a hand reassuringly on his shoulder. Her face hardens as she pushes Peter slightly, indicating for him to back up. ¡°Tell me why the whole town is filled with people, yet seems to be abandoned, or else you won¡¯t like the way I¡¯ll be forced to make you answer me.¡± Her eyes meet the thrilled shopkeeper''s as they chuckle; spit drools down their chin like they¡¯re foaming at the mouth, escalating into a maniacal laugh. ¡°If I wanted to be threatened by a bitch I would¡¯ve stayed with my mother.¡± ¡°Thought so. Let¡¯s get things heated up.¡± Her finger twitches as she exhales heavily. Her palms start glowing faintly as she outstretches her arm in front of her, rotating her hand up with two fingers pointed towards the laughing figure, a flame igniting. Her brows furrowed in concentration, the flame in her hand threatening to blaze brighter, basking the corner store in her light. ¡°Last chance to tell us what we need to know, or else I¡¯ll give you something that burns every time you think about me.¡± The shopkeeper''s face switches back into the blank state from earlier at the sound of the threat. ¡°Actions speak louder than words, you flaming bitch. If you were really going to do it, you would¡¯ve done it by now. All bark, no bite, just like the other little bitches who came to this place before you. They all came here with the same attitude, and they all met the same fate. Dead meat within our stomachs.¡± Vivian stares deeply at them with disgust on her face and turns to face Peter. ¡°It¡¯s no longer human, this body is possessed. We¡¯re taking it with us so we can get it to speak, and to put this poor soul to peace.¡± She pauses and continues, ¡°Use your camera and start taking pictures. After you¡¯re done with that, go pull the car up, and then we¡¯ll take our leave.¡± Vivian reaches into the front pocket of her slacks and tosses Peter the keys. He nods in compliance. He takes the polaroid camera out of his jacket pocket, his camera is decorated with stickers from various bands, cartoons, and slogans. He walks back and forth of aisles, out of curiosity, he picks up a can of green beans and reads the expiration date, 1956. He takes a picture of that, his polaroid flashing briefly, making a whirring noise before spitting out a square picture. Peter shakes it a couple of times, the image clearing. Once he finishes combing through the aisles, he makes his way behind the counter and cash register where the possessed body originally stood. The register drawer had a key dangling from it, with one crank of the key, the register pops open with a chattering noise. Inside laid a couple pennies and lint. It looked to be empty. Before he closes the drawer back, something tan catches his eye; a yellowed piece of lined paper was crumbled between the tray and metal of the register. Peter reaches his hand inside it, his knuckles scraping against the top of the box as he retrieves the paper. His camera is placed on top of the counter as he uncrinkles the sheet, it reads: August 12th, 1951 Register: $105.53 Remind JoAnne to count the change drawer next time she closes. Peter takes a picture of that as well before folding the note into his jacket pocket. While Peter followed Vivian¡¯s orders, she was pressing the demon hard against the splintered floor. ¡°Great, now stay still. This¡¯ll burn more than your time in hell.¡± Her hands grip the fake handcuffs, a snap of the plastic rings loud. The handcuffs start to melt beneath her palms, the plastic bubbling from the sheer heat of her wrath before burning into a crisp and igniting. The unlucky body under possession doesn¡¯t even flinch, her flames bring no harm to it, instead she mentions, ¡°I imbued these cuffs with soul severing fire. That toy cuff was just used to restrain that lost body you stole, but these cuffs are made specifically for you.¡± She removes her hands from its wrist, showing a rope like flame binding the being. ¡° If you struggle against them, they¡¯ll burn away at your soul¨C ¡±, She spits to the side of them as if to cleanse her mouth, ¡°Demon.¡± Peter pulls the janky car into the weed-filled parking lot, praying that any animal hiding in the weeds scurry away before he hits them. The lot is so faded that there are no parking spaces visible for him to see, so he opts to just park the Ford directly onto the sidewalk in front of the store, knocking the front of the bumper into the curb. He lightly presses down onto the steering wheel, blaring the horn. Cats screech from their hiding spots in the grass, running their usual escape routes, and Mutts can be heard howling to the tune, but Vivian just looks irked by the sudden noise. ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing? Are you trying to alert every demon within our radius that we¡¯re here?¡± Vivian opens the door to the back seat and shoves the grunting demon in as it giggles wickedly to itself. Peter relents his hand from the horn, apologizing. Her gaze turns towards the creature, scowling before slamming the door shut. ¡°I¡¯m sure they already know that we¡¯re here, but even so, we should try to lie low.¡± The boy nods and reaches his hand to rest behind the head of the passenger seat as he looks through the back window to reverse onto the street. Gravel crackles beneath the weight of the tires as he pulls off. His attention stays forward as he asks, ¡°So, do you know where we¡¯re staying? Or like, how to get there?¡± Vivian opens her notebook up, the pages fluttering beneath her kempt fingers as she searches their contents. She lands on a page scribbled with an address, ¡°Yes, we¡¯re staying at this motel a couple blocks from here, just keep straight, and I¡¯ll let you know when to turn.¡± The ride went as smooth as it could possibly go on a hole riddled road. Peter made a wrong turn, but to his credit, he somehow managed to end up at their destination within a timely manner. He did receive a complaint from his mentor, and taunts from the demon in the backseat. The Motel looked shady, the parking lot was covered in patches of grass, and even shrubs. The pavement was weathered and littered with trash and various types of animal waste. ¡°This is where we¡¯ll be staying. You''ll use your birds to keep watch outside, and if anyone comes close, they¡¯ll wake us up, and we¡¯ll deal with them.¡± The entrance of the building is mostly clear, except for a few items scattered about the entryway. Fortunately, the old doors are left ajar from whoever left last, making easy access to the next people who decide to stay. Eerily, there are scratch marks reaching from within the wall of the building, to the outside of the door frame. The marks are bloodied and too wide and long for any animal to make, Peter shudders. The demon cackles in Vivian''s grip, almost barreling over from the sheer force of its laughter. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, little boy? First time you ever seen some real fun?! I remember that guy, he was a real blast to play with, and now that I¡¯m thinking of it, you sure do remind me of him, a pathetic bitch.¡± Vivian shakes the demon straight, but it continues, ¡°Back in my day, women weren¡¯t allowed to wear pants, but seeing how much of a pussy you are, I¡¯m she''s the man here.¡± Peter tightens his fist, his face flusters in humiliation, he attempts to turn to confront the demon, to redeem himself, but an impact on his back flings him onto his knees inside the entrance of the motel. An ear-splitting howl is heard from the beast as a wall of light basks the night in warmth. Vivian¡¯s flames scorch the demon, the body staggering from the pain as its soul is forcefully connected to the body it¡¯s inhabiting. Experiencing a tremendous amount of pain as both the body and soul start to burn and flicker in flames, Vivian¡¯s powers activate as she promised it would. ¡°Here¡¯s another lesson. Don¡¯t let their antagonizing get to you. They can kill you way faster than you can kill them, and the reason why they don¡¯t kill on sight is because they underestimate humans. They love toying with people who they perceive as weak.¡± Vivian pauses, but harshly states, ¡°And you proved it right just now. Now that it knows that it can get to you, it¡¯ll keep trying until it dies¡± The demon cries in pain, unfamiliar with this type of agony, its body thrashes against the restraint, ignorantly causing the flames to consume more of it, her grip tightens. Her attention turns back to the beast, ¡°Let this be my only warning for you, never lay a hand on my student again, it¡¯ll end in you thrashing in pain until I burn you inside out, ceasing you from existing on earth and in hell.¡± Peter silently stands, his body tense with emotion. He doesn¡¯t wait to hear orders, he just trudges into the building, searching for a decently kept room. Footsteps follow his suit, but pass by him in the option of a room a couple doors down. She gathers her flames, focusing it into her fingertips, and then slowly opens the door to her room, scouting the entire area before even considering entering. When she finally makes sure the room is safe. She throws the possessed body onto the floor and extinguishes her fire. She decides to pull out her notebook from earlier to study the demon, writing down its behavior, appearance, and any relevant information she can think of. She mentally makes a note of the lack of answers to her questions from earlier that evening. When she lowers her gaze back to the demon, she finds its eyes bloodshot, staring into her being with utter hatred. Vivian is undeterred by its presence, continuing her train of thought. ¡°Peter, get in here. I¡¯m going to show you how to exercise a demon.¡± Her attention makes its way back to the demon, directing her next words to it. ¡°Make sure you cherish your last moments here before I send you to a realm worse than hell.¡± Unrelenting, the demon stares into Vivian''s eyes, trying to reach her soul, its body flinching from the agony of even trying to catch a glimpse of it. Peter enters the room, his face cold. ¡°Did you think of a way to use your power to exorcize demons yet?¡± Vivian asks. ¡°I want to separate the soul of the person who owns the body and the demon. I want to save them. I know I probably can¡¯t do it on the first try, but no matter how long it takes, I still want to try and save this person.¡± Vivian sighs and sternly tells Peter, ¡°That won¡¯t be possible. Do you really think you¡¯re the first to attempt that? You¡¯re being too optimistic.¡± His face crinkles up and his voice gets low and agitated. ¡°How is it being too optimistic to try and save their life? If anything, you of all people should be helping me try and do it, isn¡¯t that your job? The entire purpose of mentoring me? Or are you just doing it because my brother told you to?¡± Vivian¡¯s head turns harshly, a sickening silence falling in the space between them. Her eyes narrow sharply at Peter¡¯s tone, daring him to say more. She closes her eyes, and exhales quietly, her eye twitches. Her figure is recomposing once again. ¡°Peter, maybe I should¡¯ve rephrased my wording. It¡¯s not that no one wants to save the body and soul of the possessed, it¡¯s that it is an ongoing experiment because it¡¯s risky. The longer the demon is in the body, the harder it is to differentiate between the human soul and the demon. They start to fuse together. If this body here was only possessed for a couple of days, hell¨C even a week, then it would¡¯ve been possible. But you and I know that this has been years. You saw the state of that store,¡± she breathes, ¡°Like you stated, I of all people should be onboard with separating their souls. I¡¯ve tried countless times and I¡¯ve failed. After the first failure I was still hopeful, after the fifth, I still had some determination, but after the twelfth I stopped. I¡¯m sorry, Peter, but it¡¯s just not possible at the moment. Either we exorcize them now and they both go to hell in hopes of some chance at living again, or we gamble with their soul and they both shatter.¡± ¡°Even so, I want to try.¡± Peter musters forth his consciousness, splitting pieces of it into a physical form. A blob emerges, and it morphs into the shape of a blue crow with luminescent feathers. He gives Vivian a meaningful look. ¡°Please just let me try for myself.¡± She sighs once again, ¡°See if that bird of yours can find the seam of where the demon soul begins and untangle it from the human¡¯s.¡± He nods and casts it forward, beckoning it to land on the disheveled demon sprawled on the floor. The bird lands square onto its chest, its talons digging in to find perch. Its head leans back before digging its beak through the fabric of the shirt, passing the skin, muscle, and bones until its body is wedged into the soul of the possessed. It opens its mouth wide, screeching, rattling the space around it. The crows wings spread, fluttering in search of the merging souls. Once spotted, it pecks away at the very seams, ripping apart the hold of the demon, even at the expense of ripping part of the human. From the outside, the body groans, clawing at its skin, ripping its shirt in the process. It heaves, spitting and gasping for air. ¡°The pain¨C damn you, the pain.¡± It kicks widely, lodging its heels into the splitting floor. A second voice appears, ¡°Please, oh god, please.¡± Vivian frowns, he''s tearing that soul apart. ¡°You bastard, you will die, a grueling death, you will pay, they will hunt you down like dogs, H????????????????E???????????????????????? will engulf your soul and make you suffer until your soul is only a grain, you will die and I will be watching, waiting for you to come visit, my sweet little pussyboy¡± the demon gurgles its words, foaming at the mouth. Suddenly, everything stops. The crow¡¯s beak peeks through the hole it originally came from, squirming its head, and then its body until it''s standing on the limp corpse. A piece of a faded substance lies in its mouth. Peter calls, ¡°Come here.¡± The bird flies towards its master, following his command. He holds his hand out towards the bird, catching the fragment in his palm. The scavenging birds dissipate into micro pieces as the pieces of consciousness return back to Peter. ¡°Did you learn anything?¡± Vivian solemnly presses her lips together. ¡°Do you understand what you¡¯re holding?¡± Peter¡¯s shoulders shake slightly, his breathing quickens, before he mutely nods. ¡°Yes¡­ I understand.¡± Vivian walks towards him, laying a gentle hand across his shoulder. ¡°You did good. You tried your best, you might¡¯ve failed, but at least you tried. The body is still intact, you managed to keep the body whole. I am sure that soul in your hand is grateful for all that you''ve done. Now, let¡¯s send it off to rest.¡± Her hand falls off his shoulder, pressing against the small of his back, guiding him to the body on the floor. Peter places the speck of soul on the flesh, watching it be absorbed. He lifts the corpse, and follows Vivian to the second floor of the motel, and into a room that has the best conditions. The body is placed onto a bed full of mildew, and it lays, resting in eternal peace. Peter swears he sees a faint smile form on the face of the victim, but when he focuses his vision, the figure is lifeless. The bedroom is dark. The night sky creeps into the dirty window, stealing any form of light it can find. Vivian sits reluctantly on a bed, grimacing at the thought of the dirt on her clothes. Peter sits on a chair across from her, his body slouched. A tap on the window startles Vivian slightly, but she immediately unlocks and slides the glass pane up, allowing the little bird to enter. As soon as it is in, she latches the window closed, pulling the blinds shut in an act of privacy from the prying eyes of the night. The little bird lands on top of Peter¡¯s head, nesting in his hair before shattering into pieces of consciousness like the crow from earlier. ¡°What did your bird see?¡± Vivian sits back onto the bed, sinking slightly into the mattress. ¡°Just more of what we saw earlier. They¡¯re all just walking around, going to school, work, even doing hobbies, but they¡¯re expressionless, unbothered from the surrounding decay. They only become erratic once something out of their control happens to make them. . .just like the shopkeeper. However, they do seem more active at night, they seem full of life when it¡¯s dark. They run, they jump, they start fighting and clawing at each other. What are they? Demons? Ghosts?¡± Peter frowns, clenching his eyes as he recalls every single thing that his bird saw. ¡°They¡¯re demons. Worse than ghosts, but not top of the food chain. The one you just exorcized, along with most of the town from what we¡¯ve seen, are weak demons. Usually, when there¡¯s a concentrated cluster of demons in one area, that means there¡¯s a devil around. Devil¡¯s are worshiped by demons, and the worst thing about them is that they¡¯re clever. They know how to trick you, outsmart you, then control you. They can do anything from pretending to be your deceased loved ones to acting like a fellow neighbor. They mimic God.¡± She takes in a breath in order to stabilize herself, then continues. ¡°Once you kill the devil, the demons no longer have a leader, so they start fighting against each other in order to take over as the new king.¡± ¡°So, is the current situation hopeless?¡± Peter questions in a worried tone. ¡°Not at all, I¡¯ve exorcized several devils in my time with the organization. We just need to report back our findings to the higher-ups about our current situation, then remain vigilant until they send reinforcement. Usually, there wouldn¡¯t be a huge need to report back to the organization so hastily, however, this is the biggest group of demons I¡¯ve ever seen. Us two by ourselves aren¡¯t enough to finish this job, especially since your powers are still developing. Once we tell them the situation, hopefully they''ll send more people like Paradise or other branch leaders.¡± Vivian remains calm, her face stoic, encouraging Peter to do the same. ¡°Rest assured, your brother will not allow any harm to come our way.¡± ¡°Shadows from the past wander and pierce the light of the present, your ally is your foe, and your enemy is your comrade, along the darkness we will recite a silent prayer, to break the silent night.¡± Peter hums slowly, almost exactly as he¡¯s heard a dozen times before. ¡°The last words my brother said to me before I arrived here. I figured it¡¯s a premonition, all his poems are.¡± Vivian¡¯s eyes soften, a smile plays on her lips, ¡°Yes, he would say it just like that.¡± The night was once cold, freezing the air, but the warmth from the words exchanged between the two made the room comfortable. FieldFord almost seemed normal, making Vivian forget briefly the task at hand. ¡°Go find a shower, you may talk like your brother, but I refuse to allow you to smell like him,¡± she recalls, ¡°Once you¡¯re done, sleep here after summoning your birds to survey the area while we rest.¡± Her knees pop as she stands, revealing her age. Her footsteps are light, very skillful. Peter sits quietly before sneakily raising his arm to smell his armpit. ¡°She¡¯s right. I¡¯ll be done in five.¡± He mutters to himself while walking into the hallway, in search of a bathroom. He didn''t know that Vivian could hear his every word. ¡°If you come back in less than thirty minutes, I¡¯m feeding you to them.¡± Her disgust is evident. Nothing stirs under Vivian¡¯s watch, she likes that. It leaves her time to reminisce on her disciples'' older brother, Paradise. He was the reason she was in this mess in the first place. He was originally assigned this mission, he complained about it a week straight while he was supposed to be researching, but instead Vivian found him scribbling all sorts of poems, hence why the duo knows so little about the town. She was fine with taking the extra mission, she needed the money, what she didn¡¯t know was that it would involve Peter, the younger brother who had no experience besides whatever Paradise felt like teaching him, she knows he took upon himself to teach him Crystal Formation, or something like Foreseeing, which is all his abilities that has little to nothing to do with Peter¡¯s. Vivian sighs, she recalls how she had to explain the organization¡¯s terminology to Peter literally on the car ride here. But, she must admit that she enjoys the company of him. She never found it in herself to teach someone her line of work before, well, she thought of it once, a couple of years ago. Her train of thought breaks as Peter walks loudly down the hall, ¡°I summoned some of my birds already, you can shower, I left you some hot water. I¡¯m honestly surprised that there is still running water in this town.¡± ¡°Good, after I finish up, we will send our information back to the organization using one of your birds, then we will head to sleep,¡± she steps away, ¡°And that shower was only fifteen minutes long, you¡¯re disgusting.¡± The Preacher鈥檚 Gospel Chapter 2: The Preacher¡¯s Gospel Vivian¡¯s shower was long. She scrubbed every part of her body that she could reach, and tried extra hard to scrub the parts she couldn¡¯t. She has never been a fan of dirt and filth, thanks to her parents. The last time she ever made a mess was when she was two, her mother caught her smearing her arms and legs in mud outside while she tended to their garden. Even at that young age, she could never forget the look on her mother¡¯s face, utter disgust. She wouldn¡¯t allow Vivian inside the house after that, saying things like, ¡°What a disgraceful child, rubbing herself in mud,¡± or ¡°No daughter of mine is going to play in the mud like a homeless bum¡±. Eventually, she ordered one of the maids to spray her off with a hose outside, then to bathe her until her skin turned red. Vivian has always carried her hygiene up to those standards since that day. Her hair is still wet from her earlier shower. She¡¯s been showering for the past hour or so, unlike her companion. Peter¡¯s been dozing away for the past couple minutes, unable to fully keep himself awake. The events from today weighed heavy on his mind, and took a toll on his body. Vivian walks into the motel room and spots him leaning against the dusty, old chair. She snaps her fingers in front of Peter¡¯s face, which forces him to wake up, startling him. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to take so long, I was trying to keep watch while you showered,¡± he yawns in between his little rant, "Can we finally send our update to the higher-ups before I fall asleep again?¡± Vivian shifts where she stands, deciding if she should sit on the eroding bed and risk dirtying her clothes again, or to stand. ¡°First, we need to discuss something, what¡¯s the fastest bird you can make right now?¡± ¡°Fastest? I don¡¯t know, I¡¯ve only ever made blue jays and so far one crow. Why does that matter, anyway?¡± He says groggily. ¡°If you use one of your regular birds to try and make the trip, it¡¯ll take weeks to get to the organization and back, and we don¡¯t have that kind of time. So can¡¯t you try and summon anything that flies faster than a pigeon?¡± Peter begins to think to himself, then shrugs his shoulders. ¡°I¡¯ll try, but don''t expect too much, my brother only started teaching me, like, two months ago.¡± Peter stretches out both of his hands with his palms facing outwards, and he closes his eyes in concentration, and pulls some of his consciousness forward and merges them together. It starts to fold into itself, stacking on top of each other, creating layers until it takes the form of a small falcon with luminescent blue feathers. He opens his eyes and frowns, he gathers more of his mind and closes his eyes once again, shaping the falcon again, it doubles in its size. He asks Vivian to read to him any information she wrote down earlier, and as she does that, he infuses the bird with all the information he hears and remembers, along with the message to send reinforcements. Peter¡¯s face is filled with sweat and discomfort, and he grabs his head, mumbling something about a migraine. He looks like he¡¯s on the verge of collapsing. His head lulls back, and his body sways, he stumbles forward slightly, trying to sit back down in his seat, but misses the chair by an inch. He tumbles forward, planting onto the ground. Vivian grabs Peter¡¯s arm and lifts his body up before he fully reaches the floor. She slides her arm under his shoulders, her other arm finding its way under the bend of his knees, she stands up, carrying his slim figure to the bed, laying him down to rest. ¡°You can sleep now, I¡¯ll do the rest. Just lay in the bed for tonight, I¡¯ll take the chair.¡± Peter doesn¡¯t manage to hear any of this. She walks up to the window and in a quick motion, opens the blinds along with the window. The falcon immediately knows what to do and flies out into the night and into the starry sky. Vivian closes the glass behind it and the blinds too. She doesn¡¯t immediately go to bed, instead deciding to stay awake for a while longer to make sure there¡¯s no interment danger. Once she¡¯s sure, she sits down onto the chair, leaning her tense body back as far as the chair will allow, and closes her eyes. The falcon freely flies through the sky, its mind focused on only one mission. It flies over the entire town full of possessed townsfolk, not minding it at all, despite all the demons roaming the town, engaging in horrendous acts with the bodies they now possess. The demons prowl within the dark alleyways, trying to find one of the many mangy cats and dogs within the towns so that they may feast upon their flea ridden bodies. They ferociously hunt them down and pierce their fingers into their skins to rip them apart and feast upon their blood, bones, and flesh. Their cries fall upon deaf ears. No one is able to save them from their certain death. Their captors haven¡¯t even a slight hint of mercy in their eyes, instead a crooked smile of satisfaction. Some of the demons turn their gazes towards the glowing bird flying overhead. Instinctively, they try to lunge for it, however their efforts are in vain as not only are they far too slow, but the falcon is too high above for them to be of any threat to it. The falcon continues on its journey, exiting the deserted place with eagerness. Its new line of vision is filled with green lushness, the forest surrounding the bird, almost like the intention is to swaddle it. But the bird is untouchable, any leaves and branches trying to impale it just brush past its body, the speed from its wings creating a hard exterior, adjacent to a shield. The trees seemed almost never ending, hours passed by before the concrete skyline came into view. The falcon finally made it into the city. Buildings stack on top of each other, reaching a point higher than the bird. Power lines wrapped the structures together, cluttering the fresh air with unnecessary wires. Unlike the place it left, the city rumbled with nonstop noise, just utter chaos. Dodging random windows, wood, and metal, the falcon squeezes between two buildings, exiting into a street lined with cars, beyond that was a building about eight stories high. Across the front of the structure laid the words, Purification Organization. The sly bird follows a person through a set of double doors and into the lobby. A couple of people raise their eyebrows at the big glimmery falcon, but the majority of them ignore the intrusion, finding that it must belong to one of their coworkers. It hovers in place at the entrance of an elevator, when the mechanical doors open, it flutters in, and presses a floor number with its beak. When other people fill the space, it gently lands on the ground, standing side by side with tired office workers. Paradise wasn¡¯t shocked by the giant bird standing on his trash filled desk, he was more bothered by the fact it landed on his sandwich. All the condiments ooze out the side of it, onto paperwork that might¡¯ve been important if he wasn¡¯t using it as a plate. He sighs in despair, but speaks to the bird regardless, ¡°Did you really have to land on my second lunch? Oh well, let¡¯s see what lil Petey sent.¡± the bird waddles off of the squished bread, and tilts its head back before opening its beak widely. ¡°Kawh¨C,¡± the office fills with shrieks from the bird, sounding like a squeaky swing. Paradise nods in between bites of his food, he listens intently to whatever the creature has to say. Once the bird finishes, he takes his turn to speak, ¡°Wow, they had an exciting first day. I kinda wish I went now, it would¡¯ve been fun.¡± He says as he finishes off the rest of his sandwich and licks the residuals off his fingers, then rubbing his hands dry on his mustard stained, and stretched out tank top. ¡°Hope that poem I wrote helped out some, I spent my entire trip trying to decipher it. Dang, mysterious god doesn¡¯t make it easy. Aye lil buddy, I can talk to the head and get ya some help, but Imma need about,¡± he scratches his peach fuzz, ¡°two hours. Boss is usually busy, but I¡¯ll make sure she clears up some time for me, but don¡¯t tell Vivian about that. She¡¯ll disappear for another year if she knows I get special treatment.¡± The falcon stares into Paradise¡¯s eyes. Supposedly recording all his words for his master to experience later on. It walks off of his desk and onto his office chair, which is barely holding onto life. The chair looks as if it was pulled from the back of a garbage truck, and if no one knew any better, they would assume Paradise lived in there with it. It¡¯s littered with stains which are impossible to remove, and it¡¯s being held together with several layers of duct tape. The falcon squabbles at the wiggle the chair gave under its weight. Paradise¡¯s droopy eyes narrow slightly, ¡°Hey, when was Little Peter Piper able to summon a big bird like you,¡± he leans closer to the bird and rubs the back of his hand along its spine, ¡°a big ole¡¯ falcon, must¡¯ve been something Vivi taught him.¡± Paradise stands fully, his body towering over his desk while he stretches. His back makes popping sounds the further he leans back and moves. When the noise ceases, he grins, ¡°Guess it¡¯s time to make my appointment.¡± His lanky figure is decorated with nothing that resembles work attire, a denim jacket, dirty tank top, and a baggy pair of loose fitting cotton pants. His toes hang out of his sandals, clearly either not wearing them correctly, or needing a bigger size. His trip to the Preacher¡¯s office didn¡¯t take him that long, he had squeezed past someone heading for the elevator, apologizing unapologetically when the door closed before they could reach, then pressing the top floor. There were only two doors in this hallway, one that he knows is a restroom from prior usage, and the other the founder¡¯s office. Clearly, the Preacher was busy, voices rang loudly in the hallway from whatever discussion happening, and clearly Paradise didn¡¯t even hesitate to care, because he opens the heavy door, popping a casual response, ¡°What¡¯s happenin¡¯,¡± immediately conversation ceases, the figures turning to look at the intruder in shock, but a loud grunt is heard somewhere seated behind the crowd. ¡°Well, nice to meet ya¡¯,¡± Paradise hovers around the important people, forcing handshakes on every single one of them, his handshake turns into a sleazy hug when he spots a woman, ¡° Especially, nice to meet you.¡± The woman blushes shyly, but quickly leaves the hug after remembering the place she is at. ¡°Paradise, is there a reason in particular that caused you to interrupt my meeting, and before you say anything, it better be urgent, and no I don¡¯t want a hug,¡± the woman seated behind a shiny, large mahogany desk waves the group of people out of her office. The woman looks to be triple his age, her features no longer tight and young, but soft and creased. Her hair is speckled gray and white, but kept into a shoulder-length bob with curled ends. Her attire screamed business. ¡°God, I wish Ms. Vivian would return from her mission soon, she seemed to be the only one who could make you respect the uniform policy.¡± She looks his form up and down and sighs, ¡°And the company policy.¡± ¡°Chill, Ms. Boss lady, I got important news from Vivi and PetePete. Said the place they¡¯re at is wicked. They need backup like asap. Place is swarmed with negative energy.¡± He no longer stands, instead, his body slouches into the plush seat in front of the desk, legs agape, not caring for proper etiquette with his employer. ¡°Paradise, you are on thin ice, and this time I mean it, close your legs, sit up straight, and tell me the location of their mission.¡± The Preacher¡¯s eyes bulge slightly, annoyed with the display presented before her. He ignores her first few remarks, ¡°It was some place called, uhhhh,¡± he scratches his head, ¡°Frankford? No, it was Foodford. Actually¨C no, wait, it was Fordfield.¡± Paradise didn¡¯t have time to guess another name, the woman gasped quietly, her eyes no longer annoyed, but filled with something else, something that caught the full attention of his. The Preacher asks in a harsh voice, ¡°Do you mean FieldFord?¡± Paradise comically snaps his fingers, ¡°Oh yeah, that¡¯s what it was. Said the place has been infested with the lil critters for about fifty-something years.¡± ¡°Tell them to abort the mission.¡± Her voice was calm, and her face was stoic. ¡°Ion know if that¡¯s a good idea. From what they reported, the demons are fusing with the town folks'' spirit energy. Couldn¡¯t convince Vivi to abandon the mission anyway, not in her blood.¡± She pursed her lips together, ¡°This is not to be discussed, this is a direct order from me, tell them to immediately retreat. Do you understand?¡± She picks up a pen, writing some kind of paperwork, keeping her hands busy. Paradise raises a brow, and continues, ¡°If it¡¯s about us not having enough people to send, it¡¯s no worries, I can catch a ride with Petey¡¯s falcon and be there within a few.¡± ¡°Paradise, do not make me repeat myself, this is an executive order.¡± Silence falls between the two, tension thick in the air. Nothing but deep exhales can be heard from the women, on the other hand, Paradise was silent, which is quite unusual. ¡°Unrespectfully, your order is bullshit. I¡¯m going whether you like it or not. Your executive order can kiss my ass.¡± He stands, towering his body over the petite lady, he stares for a second, straight-faced. The first one to break eye contact was Paradise, he opted to take his leave, ignoring the person who employed him. Before he could open the double doors to leave out the way he came, the Preacher speaks again, this time with a soft and gentle tone. ¡°Stop right there, young man. Listen, this is my final warning, you will tell them to retreat,¡± her voice grows more serious as she realizes he isn¡¯t listening, ¡°You will tell Peter Lavinski and Vivian Smith to retreat, you will not send them help, you will forget about that town, and you will return to your desk, amen.¡± ¡°Amen.¡± Paradise silently leaves the office, the Preacher hides a smirk behind her hand, she uses her power, The Preachers Gospel . He didn¡¯t remember walking back to his small desk, and he didn¡¯t remember how he managed to send Peter¡¯s bird back, he did notice his crystal necklace was no longer hanging around his neck, but he could always track where it went later. Paradise also remembered arguing with his boss like he had infinite chances at employment. He figured he could probably put the pieces together, but his thoughts were too scrambled, and he couldn¡¯t seem to think much. Still, something didn¡¯t sit right in his gut, and his mind told him that he needed to take another trip to speak to the Mysterious God. He pulls his desk drawer open, not caring for the sound it makes as it¡¯s pulled past its capacity, somewhere inside was his half used blotter sheet. Originally, there were one hundred tabs, now, there¡¯s barely forty. The missing square bits are a testament to his spiritual journeys to his Mysterious God. Each tab shows the same wording, ¡°Eat me¡±. He pops eleven pieces off of the last used strip of the sheet, each tab containing one hundred micrograms of acid, he was starting to develop an immunity, so he slowly started upping the dosage ever since he joined the organization. Once he had all eleven pieces in his hand, he threw them into the back of his mouth one by one, swallowing after every single tab, but Paradise likes to call it Licking Lucy. His body slumped back into his chair, and he made the sober decision to put his dirty feet on his desk. To make the acid kick in faster, he closes his eyes. Around an hour later, he starts to feel a tingly sensation in his legs, almost like a thousand Daddy Long Legs found their way into his pant sleeves, it made him shudder. It¡¯s as if he could feel all the blood flow from his heart, and into the veins in his twitching legs, then the feeling started to spread to every part of his body. If he wasn¡¯t musty before, he is now, the fast beating of his heart caused him to sweat profusely. Paradise was sweating like he ran a marathon in the Sahara desert. Finally, his vision started to change. He started to see things he could never imagine seeing while being sober. Although his eyes were still closed, he could see without them. It didn¡¯t make any difference that he had his eyes closed, because everything he saw in front of him was clear. Within the darkness, he started to see bright, inverted colors. Those colors started to form spirals and patterns, they dived in and out of each other, twisting any senses he had left. But if he hummed a tune, the patterns would start to change to follow his melody. He had gone through this several times before in order to reach the Mysterious God. He had to recall this specific pattern, his God only appeared if he hummed everything right. The pattern only appeared whenever he hummed or listened to this specific Foo Fighters song. Normal people would sing gospels about how powerful, or how much they appreciate and love their God, but for Paradise, he just hummed his favorite band, it seemed to please whatever that mysterious being was. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Like a surge of water, his mind was engulfed completely by this overpowering thought. If he squinted hard enough, he could make out what it was saying. ¡°The bible lies. The Shepherd is misguiding its flock. The disciples follow like sheep. Don¡¯t trust a word from the deceiver. They will only guide you towards self-destruction. Listen to the voices of the pasture, they see what others can¡¯t.¡± Paradise¡¯s God has appeared before him. Just as quick as its appearance was, its exit was the same. He repeats the prophecy his God blessed him with. After communicating with his God, his high vanishes, and he¡¯s completely sober and conscious again, he looks up at the clock on the wall and notices that it¡¯s after office hours. He counts this as working overtime, he smirks. In his desk drawer, next to his sheet of acid, is a lavender journal, weathered down and scratched. The cover of it is engraved with a little pun of his name, ¡°Love In Paradise¡±. Vivian had gifted this to him on his birthday a couple of years ago, she said it was so he would stop writing his poems on the back of important paperwork. She didn¡¯t know how much he appreciated her gift, it was the first time he genuinely flirted with her with any type of actual attraction. Paradise smiles to himself, but returns back to his usual manners. Opening his used book up to a page that has seen better days, he finds a pen and writes the Mysterious God''s prophecy down in a poem-like format. ¡°If you don¡¯t wake up, I¡¯m eating breakfast without you.¡± Her hands pose on her hips like an angry mother, her eyebrows were raised high, creasing her forehead. Compared to Peter, Vivian looked to be ready for today¡¯s event. She was already dressed in her uniform, this time she wore an outfit that allowed for her to have extra movement. She wore dark-colored jeans, tennis shoes and a fitted black shirt. Her long hair was braided into two braids that ended slightly above the small of her back. Around her waist was a utility belt, different sized objects were strapped onto it, but what stood out the most were the actual handcuffs and the crystal blade with wood tied to it, acting as the handle. Peter was still sound asleep, no care in the world. This man slept as if he wasn¡¯t in the middle of nowhere, or in a town that tried to kill him. He loudly snored in response to her warning and continued his slumber. Vivian decided it was time to forcefully wake him, so she set her finger ablaze, carefully waving it in front of Peter¡¯s nose. Still not getting a reaction from that, she continued on to a different approach, she pressed her heated finger against his nose, and his eyes immediately shot open. ¡°Ouch, ouch, ouch,¡± Peter held onto his nose, rubbing it so hard that it made him have a sneezing fit. He glared at Vivian, pain and frustration clear on his face, ¡°You couldn¡¯t have woken me up normally?¡± Vivian shrugs in response. ¡°I tried, you¡¯re a heavy sleeper. Even worse than your brother.¡± He pauses, ¡°How¡¯d you know my brother was a heavy sleeper?¡± Her eyebrow raises slightly, grinning briefly, ¡°You¡¯re a big kid, Peter. I¡¯m sure you know the answer to that.¡± He freezes before a loud, obnoxious sound fills the room, ¡°Ewww, I wish I never asked.¡± Peter mimics the sound of barfing as he finally realizes the difference in Vivian. Her uniform was completely different from last night before he fainted. ¡°When did you change?¡± ¡°Earlier this morning, an hour or so ago. I let you sleep in a little longer since I know how much making that falcon drained you, but now¡¯s not the time for resting. Put on your combat uniform so we can eat breakfast and move out.¡± He nods, standing with a big stretch. Vivian leaves briefly before returning with a bookbag in her hand. She throws it onto the ground, the contents almost spilling out. Peter recognizes that it was his. He mumbles a thanks as she leaves once again. Vivian insisted that she drove the car this time, not trusting Peter enough to get to their destination without detours. He frowns, but the gurgle in his stomach makes his little mood disappear, ¡°Hey, I thought you said there was breakfast?¡± Vivian reaches into the back seat of the car, pulling out an old bag. She tosses it into his lap without warning. Peter excitedly unties the knot in the bag, happy to finally have something to eat, but his happiness quickly vanishes as he looks at the items inside. ¡°This is just an already opened bag of trail mix, a pack of crackers, a candy bar wrapper, and this piece of beef jerky looks like it has a bite in it?¡± Vivian ignores his complaint, ¡°Oh yeah, hand me that jerky. I¡¯ll finish eating that.¡± Peter¡¯s face looks gloomy as he passes her the only source of meat. ¡°Why is our food so shitty?¡± Vivian gives him a snarky look. ¡°This is what your brother packed when he was originally supposed to do this mission. Also, I think he stole that bag of trail mix off my desk two weeks ago.¡± He sighs, he forgot his brother was vegan. ¡°Then why did he pack beef jerky?¡± Vivian shrugs. ¡°He stole this off my desk too, it¡¯s plant based beef jerky. No meat.¡± Peter groans. ¡°It''ll make do for now. At least until our backup arrives. My falcon should be arriving soon, any minute now. I regret not telling it to bring back food.¡± The old car swerves away from the potholes in the road in fear of bursting its belly. It sputtered over gravel, trying to stay as close to the main road as possible, Vivian parked it at the entrance of a park. The park itself was in no shape to be visited. The grass there was by far too tall for anyone to enter. A chain fence protected the park from intruders, keeping its playground equipment safe. Vivian nods, it was the perfect place to teach someone how to fight when they can¡¯t see their opponent. ¡°Why are we here?¡± Peter surveys the surrounding area. Questioning the place Vivian chose to park. ¡°We¡¯re going to begin your combat training right here.¡± Peter¡¯s eyebrows shoot up in surprise. ¡°Actual combat training? Don¡¯t we have better things to do? Like, try and find the root of all this?¡± Vivian nods her head. ¡°We do, but we can¡¯t do them if I keep having to constantly save you every time you make a dumb mistake.¡± Peter blushes slightly in embarrassment. They both enter the weed filled playground, it seemed like it would¡¯ve been a beautiful place if someone would¡¯ve kept up with it over the years. Peter turns to talk to Vivian, but she is no longer beside him, she disappears. He stands on guard, one arm in front of him and the other outstretched in front, ready to defend himself. A breeze of air flies past his ear, and a soft thump is heard in the grass behind him. He turns his head enough to see what the object is, it¡¯s a knife, a crystal knife. His eyes widened slightly, that looks like something his brother would make. That¡¯s when Peter realizes his first mistake, losing focus on his target. A punch to his abdomen makes him regain his focus, but the pain from the impact makes him double over, making him wish he had eaten nothing because he couldn¡¯t hold back the vile rising in his throat. But he forces himself to swallow, standing up as quickly as he can, a mocking voice rings through the tall grass. He grits his teeth, trying to figure out where it¡¯s coming from. ¡°You need to be on guard at all times. You never know when an attack is coming. . .¡± Vivian appears behind Peter, she lands a kick into the bend of his knee, ¡°¡­ Or where it¡¯s coming from.¡± Peter falls to the ground with his hands outstretched in front of him, but he quickly rolls to his side and grabs the knife out of the dirt, swinging haphazardly in front of him. ¡°If you attack like that, you¡¯ll never land a hit on me! You have to be more creative than this. Use your power to make up for your inexperience.¡± She kicks the blade out of his hand with great force, making the knife fly out of his view. His wrist throbs in pain as red welts appear where the shoe made contact. Peter yells in frustration, his hand in front of him, trying to form a bird. The bird morphs, a head appears, a beak, and¨C Vivian kicks the bird, it shatters into little pieces, never having the chance to fully form. Peter shrieks in pain, his hand gripping his head. ¡°You gotta be quicker than that,¡± another kick lands at his side, ¡°Do you think those demons will let you conjure up a bird that takes forever to appear!?¡± He groans in pain, rolling on to his back, crawling his body into the tall grass. He hears footsteps all around him, his mind gets disoriented. Peter struggles to calm his breathing, but when a hand reaches out in front of him, he finds a way quickly to hold his breath, stilling his shaking limbs. What could he do to form a bird faster? What did Vivian mean when she kicked him in the side? He was thinking too much, the grip around his ankle made that evident. His body is dragged out from its hiding place, Vivian sighing as she strips him from the safety of the tall grass. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a minute to recover, but after that we¡¯re continuing.¡± Peter gathers his breath and begins to think. He thinks of any way he could summon his birds faster. He had no special technique, nor any talents, but he did have a slight idea of what he could do, the idea might¡¯ve been stupid, but it was the only one he had. He thought to himself that he might as well give it a shot. Peter stands up, brushing the dirt off his pants, ¡°I¡¯m ready again.¡± He takes a defensive stance again, his mouth sealed shut. Vivian steps backwards, cracking her neck unfazed, drifting back into the tall grass. Peter knows that turning his back from her will result in the same beating from earlier, but to make his plan come true, he had no choice. He turns his back, acting as if he was searching for her footsteps, but in reality, he strained his mouth open wide, forcing out a gagging sound. A little bird shoots out, and then another, but before that third bird can escape alongside the two others, a tweet from the bird on his right warns him of Vivian¡¯s presence. He turns back around, watching her fist reach for his face this time, but the little bird shields him. Vivian raises a brow, amused, but the look leaves her face when something splitting in her peripheral vision makes her take a couple steps backwards. The second bird splits into smaller birds. They swarm Vivian like sweat bees, flapping around her face, targeting her eyes and ears. They crash into her, their beaks breaking her skin, and as soon as they make contact with her flesh, they explode. It renders her defenseless for a couple of seconds, and she can¡¯t help but feel slightly impressed. She swats any little bird that hasn¡¯t landed on her yet, clearing her vision, Peter appears in front of her, his cheeks swelled up like he is holding in a breath of air, she goes to attack, but a punch in her gut makes her fall back slightly, she almost grimaces at the impact, but when she moves her gaze back up, another bird shoots out of Peter¡¯s mouth, into her face directly. He couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. Vivian lied on the ground, her hands covering her face. Peter couldn¡¯t help but feel a sense of pride swell up in his chest. Not only did he return the punch to Vivian, but he also managed to create a new attack. The pride he felt consumed his face, making him break out into a big grin as he walked towards his wounded mentor. ¡°Did I hurt you?¡± The tone of his voice made Vivian¡¯s body twitch. If Peter was paying attention, he would¡¯ve noticed something was wrong. ¡°I didn¡¯t think I could manage to knock you off¨C,¡± an uppercut engulfed in a thin veil of heat struck the bottom of his chin, knocking him unconscious. He didn¡¯t even see it coming, Peter wouldn¡¯t know what happened until he woke up later. He¡¯s laying wildly on his back, skull to ground. Vivian almost felt bad for probably giving him a concussion, but the stinging in her eyes made whatever pity she had disappeared. He really pushed his luck, to think she was going easy on him. A screech from the sky announces the arrival of the Falcon from last night. In its claw was a necklace, she recognized it as Paradise¡¯s necklace. Something didn¡¯t sit right in her mind. She outstretches her hand, motioning for the object, the bird obliges and then dives beak first back into its master¡¯s head. He groans slightly, still not waking up, so Vivian opts to study the crystal. She rubs her thumb over its edges, lifting the rock up to her eye to peer better, a sensation rushes through her, why does her eyes feel better all of a sudden? Something twirls within the necklace, she tries to get a better look, but Peter interrupts her thoughts. ¡°Paradise¡¯s necklace? Is it the healing one? Can I use it?¡± She tosses it onto his body. ¡°That move you did, how did you come up with it?¡± She folds her arm, motioning a finger to her mouth. Peter sucks in a breath of air, ¡°I saw it in an old cartoon I use to watch, I figured that since it takes me a minute to make a normal-sized bird that it would be faster to create multiple small birds all at once,¡± He tries to stand, ¡°And what you said earlier stood out to me, the part about Demons not waiting for me to make my attack. So I figured if I could hide the birds in my mouth, I could use it as a sneak attack.¡± Vivian nods, ¡°That was smart. I admit, you really caught me off guard for a second. I wasn¡¯t expecting you to land a hit on me at all today.¡± She takes a couple steps forward, Peter flinches a little out of instinct, but tries to play it off. ¡°I see that I no longer need to go easy on you.¡± The way she said those words felt threatening, and the slight burn that marked his chin made him question if she was lying about going easy. She holds out her hand towards Peter, he grabs it, and she lifts him up. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go back home and go over the information your bird sent back.¡± He takes her hand, leaning his weight onto her slightly. ¡°But are you sure you went easy on me back there? I literally blacked out after you sucker punched me.¡± Vivian replies coolly, ¡°Never celebrate too early, your enemy can be feigning defeat¡­.plus, you really pissed me off.¡± Peter fell silent, he took a mental note to never make her mad again. They enter the car together, Vivian sticks the key into the ignition, starting the car up. She pulls out of the park and back to the road. The morning sky is now replaced with the sunlight of the afternoon. People walk the sidewalks aimlessly, knowing what they do now, the sight is just unsettling. The corner store where they were at yesterday comes into view, Vivian wonders if anyone has noticed the missing employee. Nothing seemed to be amiss back at the motel. Every room except for the tomb of the shopkeep was empty. The duo settles back into the room they slept in. ¡°So what did they say? When is back up arriving?¡± ¡°Well, it isn¡¯t.¡± He said worried. ¡°From my falcon¡¯s memories, Paradise said ¡®The Big Boss said to tell Vivian Smith and Peter Lavinski to abandon their mission and that no backup would be coming.¡¯ but he said it weirdly? He didn¡¯t sound like himself when he said it. Then he gave his necklace to the falcon and sent it off.¡± Peter¡¯s face does not hide his distress. His hands fidget, but then his face scrunches up in disgust. ¡°My falcon also remembers my brother eating a squished sandwich off his desk¡­¡± Vivian furrows her brows. ¡°That last part wasn¡¯t important. We¡¯re just supposed to abandon the mission? Really? The Preacher really expects us to just leave for no reason? If they couldn¡¯t afford to send any backup, I know for a fact Paradise would¡¯ve volunteered to come! Something seems off.¡± She pulls out her notebook, jotting something down, then pauses, ¡°Peter, that necklace, did your falcon mention anything about it?¡± ¡°No, nothing. Paradise just seemed to regain his senses for a short moment and handed the falcon his necklace before he lost himself again.¡± Vivian glances at it, then she sits up straight as if she recalled something. ¡°I just remembered that I saw him talking to that crystal in his office every now and then.¡± Peter pokes at the rock, scraping his nail against it. A shrill voice speaks from between the two, ¡°Get your dirty fingers off of me! You¡¯re almost just as bad as your brother.¡± Peter drops the necklace in shock, he looks at the ground, and then back up to Vivian. Shock was written across both of their faces. ¡°For the love of¨C you, Vivi woman, please get me off this filthy floor! It reeks of death.¡± Vivian crouches down, scooping the necklace up, muttering out breathlessly, ¡°I¡­ I honestly thought Paradise was just crazier than he looked, but, well¨C,¡± she stutters out to the small voice. If anyone were to walk in on them, they would think she was insane. ¡°Trust me, he is. But that¡¯s not important right now, that boss of yours brainwashed Paradise. He was completely out of it, but I managed to possess his body briefly before the bird left.¡± Peter steps forwards, leaning down to listen better, ¡°I made him hand that stupid necklace of his over to that falcon to warn you all. He was going to come down here to this dreadful place, but was stopped. The most I can do for him is to help you all.¡± Peter reaches to grab the crystal once again, but the voice cuts him off, ¡°No you don¡¯t, you better not touch me with your germy hands.¡± Vivian stifles a laugh, ¡°Better yet, are there any spare bodies lying around?¡± Both Peter and Vivian share a look with each other, Peter smirks, ¡°Actually, you¡¯re just in luck.¡± When the talking crystal necklace was placed on the dead body, it gagged, but delved into it nonetheless. Peter was almost petrified by the act of it rising to life once again, but seeing all the things he has so far, this wasn¡¯t that extreme. The body had smelled bad, finally beginning the very first steps of rotting, but still intact. The shopkeeper''s body rises from the bed, cracking its bones sickly in a stretch, this was something straight out of a cheesy horror film from the 90s. They half expected a monotone voice from the body, but it came out in a now even pitch similar to the voice in the crystal. ¡°This body reeks, it must¡¯ve been possessed,¡± it glances down at its torso, ¡°And what happened to its clothes?¡± Vivian and Peter share another long look with each other. ¡°What is your name, why and how long were you in that necklace?¡± Peter asks the important questions out of curiosity, while Vivian adds the interesting bit, ¡°And how do you know Paradise?¡± The spirit sighs, ¡°Tara, that¡¯s the name I was given when Paradise found me. I was originally a wandering spirit, but I was taken in by your brother several years ago, and now I practically do all his paperwork for him.¡± Vivian nods in acceptance. ¡°That¡¯s why his paperwork is halfway decent whenever he feels like submitting it.¡± The spirit nods, feeling seen. ¡°Yes, he takes all the credit for my work and accepts all the compliments from everyone like I''m not even there. He literally lies about my work with me hanging right from his neck. I would strangle him if I could.¡± Vivian nods again, ¡°To be fair, if Paradise told us that a ghost had finished all his paperwork for him, we wouldn¡¯t have believed him anyway. But now that I know the truth, you really did a good job on your reports, I¡¯ve always felt like they were well written.¡± ¡°Thank you, but flattery aside. We¡¯re really in over our heads here. There¡¯s something in this town your boss doesn¡¯t want anyone finding out about. Combined with the fact that we¡¯re receiving no support, we have demons surrounding us-¡± Peter cuts them off. ¡°And we have no food.¡± Tara stares deadpan at Peter before continuing. ¡°And that too. I already know there''s nothing I can do or say to get you, Vivi, to leave. So I might as well join you two so we can exorcize this town and leave as soon as possible.¡± Peter stands there confused, but astonished. This was his first actual job besides fast food, and he honestly felt like he was in over his head. This was supposed to be a mostly easy mission for him and Vivian to do in order to show him the ropes. But now, he is surrounded in a place many people would describe as hell. He shudders at his thoughts. When Paradise asked him if he wanted to join this organization, he didn¡¯t think much of it. He thought it would be an easy and fun job to do that paid him well. After he found out he could make these little animals when he concentrated, he told his older brother. ¡°Can we just... leave?¡± Vivian raises a brow and gives him a stern look. ¡°Yesterday, I thought you said you wanted to save these people. What happened to that hero mentality?¡± ¡°Look, I know what I said, but that¡¯s before I realized we were on our own. No backup, no food, and I¡¯m not even trained well enough to handle any of this! I can¡¯t even exorcize one demon by myself without almost getting killed, how do you expect me to want to stay in a town overrun with them?!¡± ¡°Peter, if you want to leave, then leave. You can just go back, tell Paradise what¡¯s going on here, and tell him to rush over here without the boss knowing. Once he¡¯s here, we¡¯ll finish the mission. Problem solved.¡± ¡°I¨C you can¡¯t possibly think of staying here by yourself, can you? I know you¡¯re a veteran and all that, but come on! There¡¯s over eight hundred demons in this town! Plus, you said it yourself, there¡¯s a devil leading them. Once they find out you¡¯re alone, they¡¯ll rush here and kill you!¡± Vivian reassures. ¡°I won¡¯t be alone, Peter, I¡¯m keeping Tara here with me.¡± The spirit nods in acknowledgement. ¡°Listen, Peter, I understand you¡¯re afraid, but for me, I¡¯d rather miserably die fighting than live as a noble coward. If you want to leave now, I¡¯ll see you off.¡± You Shouldve Stayed Chapter 3: You Should¡¯ve stayed Peter had a very visible frown that covered his entire face. He was frustrated. Not with Vivian, not with anyone but himself. He decided to leave to gather help, although the act in itself didn¡¯t sound that bad, the context behind it was. Peter was scared. He was scared of the town and the demons, but what especially scared him was the thought of him dying. No one would know, and he¡¯d never get a proper burial. His parents were nomads. They never stayed in one place for long, so if he died in FieldFord, there wouldn¡¯t be anybody to notify them. They¡¯d go on living their lives, thinking their precious son was living his best life, he bet that they don¡¯t even know he dropped out of college. His overwhelming fear caused him to make the decision to leave and bring back his brother. It was the perfect excuse for his pathetic escape. Peter had fully come to terms with what it means to do this type of work. Death was a definite possibility every single day. He never thought it could happen to him, he always assumed everything would be alright, that¡¯s what Paradise would always say anyway. He thought he¡¯d just have to talk to some ghosts, have a heart-to-heart, then go do paperwork. This is how his brother described the job. To Peter, this sounded perfect, but now, he realizes how naive he was. Nothing is ever as easy as it¡¯s expected to be. The car shrieked to a stop, nearly missing the white painted line on the busy road. He waited for the light to turn green, but he secretly wished it would stay red forever. There was something eating at him deep inside, screaming at him to hide. Peter really didn¡¯t want to face his older brother, he didn¡¯t want to see his disappointed face. Hell, he could barely face his own self, but the honking cars behind him remind him to hurry up. This really wasn¡¯t about him, Vivian needed help. He left her there with a ghost in a town full of demons. She needed his help. There was a huge knot in his stomach, he could barely stop himself from shivering in anxiety. He dreaded what he had to do, but he made his decision, now he must live with it. At last, he was face to face with the big building, it looked even more intimidating than usual. Peter sees his brother¡¯s painted van and sighs. He parks the old Ford right next to it, slipping the keys in his jacket pocket before dragging his feet forward. Every step felt heavy as he made his way into his place of employment. As he took his first step inside, his heart skipped several beats. The first thing his eyes laid upon when he entered the office building was his brother. He was standing right next to the secretary''s desk, bothering them as usual. This made Peter break out into a sweat. He hoped he¡¯d have more time to prepare himself and to figure out what to say to his brother without angering him. Sadly, he was out of time. Paradise¡¯s head shot up from his slouched position, scanning the area as if he¡¯s looking for something or someone. Somehow he felt Peter¡¯s presence. Paradise let out the biggest goofy grin he could muster before taking large steps towards the clearly distressed younger brother. Peter froze. He didn¡¯t know what to do, and the shock made him stiff as a board. As Paradise approaches, he opens up his arms to give his brother a large hug. He wraps his arms around his brother and tightly grips him while shaking him. ¡°Petey! I''ve been looking for you. Did you have fun on your first, well, almost first mission?¡± Paradise releases him, ¡°Where¡¯s Vivi? Oh and I think you have my necklace.¡± Peter immediately becomes flustered, tripping over his own thoughts. He tried to spit out a coherent sentence, but was shushed by the figure in front of him. ¡°Damn, was it that bad? You don¡¯t look injured though?¡± Peter shakes his head, glancing at his feet before mustering up the long awaited words. ¡°We need to go somewhere private.¡± Paradise doesn¡¯t question it and immediately nods his head. ¡°Alrighty, get in the van. We¡¯ll drive someplace and get lunch.¡± He turns his head to the secretary he was previously flirting with, ¡°Hey, cutie! Tell Ms. Boss, I''m going on my lunch break.¡± Without even giving her a chance to respond, he immediately grabs Peter¡¯s hand and leads him out of the office building, but as they leave, you can faintly hear the secretary say, ¡°But you¡¯ve already had your second lunch break!¡± The trip was short to the restaurant, they were at Paradise¡¯s favorite place, The Vegan Vine. No one but himself and a couple other odd balls ate here, some could say that they were in business just because of him. The two enter the small restaurant, passing the wall displayed with a custom photo of Paradise, titled, ¡°Our best customer¡±. He leads Peter to a booth in the corner of the well decorated store. They sit, the cushion beneath them squishing from their weight. Both brothers make eye contact as they sit across from each other, silence guiding one of them to speak. ¡°So why¡¯d you want to go somewhere private?¡± Peter¡¯s heart shakes as he gathers the courage to tell his brother the truth, but before he can muster the words, their waitress comes to take their order. ¡°Hi pumpkin, I see you brought your lil brother with ya. Can I get you the usual?¡± Before Paradise even orders, she writes down what she expects him to say. ¡°Sorry Passion. We¡¯re not here to eat today. Well, maybe just a fruit smoothie. Two fruit smoothies, please.¡± ¡°Alright, hun¨C¡± Before she can finish her sentence, Peter blurts out what he¡¯s been holding in for the past hour. ¡°I left Vivian behind!¡± Paradise slowly turns his gaze towards Peter, his eyes full of confusion and slight malice. ¡°You did what?!¡± Paradise raises his tone. Uncaring about the scene he¡¯s making. ¡°You¡¯re not supposed to leave your partner behind! That¡¯s always how good people die. You should¡¯ve stayed!¡± Peter turns his gaze away, trying to hold back his tears. ¡°I¨C I There were too many demons! I got attacked, and then we kidnapped a demon and I tried to save their soul, but couldn''t, then Vivian tried to train me and I still wasn¡¯t good enough, she didn¡¯t think I could fight with her so she told me to come get you and. . .and. . .and. . .¡± Peter finally broke down in tears. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m so sorry. I¡¯m a coward. I know I should¡¯ve stayed, but I was scared.¡± Paradise¡¯s gaze softens. He let out a sigh and comforted his brother. ¡°Stop crying Peter. I¡¯m not mad. If Vivian told you to come get me, then it must be serious. I¡¯m sorry, I shouldn''t have raised my voice, but Vivian always puts on this facade that she¡¯s got everything handled, even if she doesn¡¯t. This is much more my fault than it is yours. We both made mistakes, what matters now is our actions to make sure those mistakes don¡¯t happen again.¡± Paradise places his hand onto Peter¡¯s shoulder, rubbing it slightly. ¡°Lead me to where she is.¡± Peter wipes away his tears. ¡°We need to get supplies. We barely had any food.¡± ¡°Alright buddy. We¡¯ll figure that out later. Right now, we need to head back immediately.¡± Paradise stands up and apologetically looks at his waitress. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. We have to leave; we have something really important to do.¡± ¡°No worries. I¡¯ll pretend I ain¡¯t hear nothing. Anything for our best customer.¡± She blows Paradise a kiss and walks off. ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s go. I¡¯m driving. Don¡¯t expect any breaks, and we¡¯re speeding the entire way.¡± Fssshhh. Vivian¡¯s flame immediately engulfs the possessed person. Before they even had a chance to refute, they were already turned to dust, cremated. Vivian no longer had to hold back. She could use her powers without having to worry about her prot¨¦g¨¦¡¯s safety. To Vivian, this was as free as she could ever be. Using her powers gave her relief, the flames didn¡¯t engulf her, but her target. With every quick and precise movement she made, another demon was burnt to a crisp. Even Tara was holding their own. Although lacking as much firepower as Vivian, their time as a ghost gave them many useful abilities. The main one being possession. They barely had to think, and they¡¯d fly out of the body of the deceased shopkeeper and into the body of whatever demon came their way, and then within seconds, she¡¯d rip the souls apart. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°How much longer do we have to do this for?¡± Tara asked inquisitively while switching from body to body. Their voice changing tones to match the body they¡¯re in. ¡°Just until Peter and Paradise get back. It¡¯s not like we can¡¯t hold them off for that long. Just keep fighting.¡± As Vivian responds, she grabs another demon and her flames spike. In almost an instant, the demon¡¯s face is covered in an unyielding amount of flames. Going limp, and she drops the corpse to the ground. ¡°Plus, their numbers are decreasing. Less of them are starting to come out.¡± As soon as Peter left, the sun started to set. Wicked howls filtered through the air, once again reminding Vivian about how dire the situation truly is. Tara, being a ghost, already knew who those howls belonged to, the body they¡¯re borrowing clenched its fist. No words needed to be exchanged between the two, Vivian and Tara walked out into the street, preparing themselves for the long, harsh battle that was going to happen. Like clockwork, someone emerged from an alleyway a couple buildings down, snarling. The possessed body was that of a woman who looked to be in her mid-forties. She ran hunched over, body twisting in ways that humans can¡¯t handle. When she leaped at Tara, Vivian swiftly punched her out of the air and onto the ground with a closed fist. The demon laid thrashing for a second, trying to regain itself. She wasn¡¯t given a chance to continue, flames igniting from the punch landed. That was how their night started. That was two hours ago. They¡¯ve been fighting ever since then, without a chance for a break. Vivian and Tara had the upper hand at first, possessing more strength and techniques between the two of them. They were easily able to destroy waves upon waves of demons. However, as time went on, they were losing their advantage, the demons easily had more numbers along with their ability to make inhuman movements. Not being restricted to only walking on two legs or being unable to fully turn their head backwards, human joints didn¡¯t matter to them. They had no problems breaking bones, tearing ligaments, or losing blood because they got enjoyment from all the pain they felt. It was intoxicating to them. The only way to fully dispatch them was to either target their souls, or destroy the brains to make their bodies unusable. Vivian grunts, her muscles aching as she sets her hands ablaze again. She¡¯s sweating heavily from the heat her body is producing. Tara senses that she¡¯s overwhelmed, but the three demons surrounding them were enough to keep them occupied on only themself. Vivian yells, the demons charging towards her withering away into pieces, and the demons behind them, too. At this point, the hoards have drastically decreased, but so have the duo''s movements. Tara¡¯s borrowed body has visible wounds, and Vivian has minor scratches and bruising. Her hands were starting to turn a painful red, and blisters littered her palm. Vivian¡¯s once quiet and precise movements were now replaced with groans of pain. To their relief, only a few demons circled them now, around five. Tara dodges out of the way of two jaws trying to coordinate in tearing her arms off. They jump out of their body, diving into the nearest demon, and within three minutes, the possessed body drops. Vivian takes a lunge forward, slapping her hands across the faces of the beasts, hoping to land a hit on all of them. She snaps her fingers, igniting everyone she touches. Now they look around for any more late night visitors, but there are none. ¡°God, I wish they would hurry. I don¡¯t know how much more of this I can handle.¡± Tara stretches their arms and lets out a low groan. ¡°I don¡¯t even eat, but I could go for a drink. Anything to take the edge off.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll be here soon. They have to be. If a second horde comes, we won¡¯t be able to survive the night. Come on, we need to find a hiding spot in case they want to attack again. If we stay out in the open waiting, we¡¯ll be sitting ducks.¡± Vivian motions for them to move up the street, ¡°We can go to the old corner store we originally found that body you¡¯re possessing.¡± She points at Tara, ¡°No one should be there now, plus maybe I can find something to patch us up.¡± When they turn the corner, a shriek from the distance makes them slow down. They crouch down, pressing their bodies against the walls. There it is, there¡¯s the demon. It¡¯s tearing a stray dog to pieces. Tara shakes their head. The shop looks the exact same way they left it, dusty and broken. The glass from yesterday still scattered across the floor. This was a good sign, it meant no unexpected intruders besides themselves. It¡¯s too risky to stay up front, the store has giant glass windows that reveal the inside, so they make their way towards the back. Vivian hopes that this is where they keep inventory. In the back, past the door, was a storage room. At the end of that storage room was another door that was slightly open, that must be the office or bathroom. Tara shuts the door behind them, and Vivian searches through old and broken boxes. There had to be some kind of ointment or cream she could use for her hands, if not, she is going to have a very hard time holding up. Tara on the other hand either needed to possess a new body or wrap up the wounds littering their current one. Either way, they could not afford to fight any more tonight. Vivian finds a metal box inside a crate, it looks to be locked. She picks it up, shaking it. Something sharp was in there, she could tell. But what really made her want to open it was the faded red and white paint across it, a first aid kit. How to open it was the new goal. Vivian wishes the crystal necklace from earlier still had any use. Unfortunately, after healing her first wounds from the earlier fight, it lost its effect and stopped working all together. Now, this first aid kit was her last hope of not suffering from severe second degree burns later. Vivian recalls there being a key located right next to the register in the front of the store. Tara, seeing that Vivian isn¡¯t fit to take the risk in her current state, decides to go in her stead. With her possessed body, she could make similar movements to the demons. Instead of normally walking to the register, she crawls on all fours, thinking of it as being stealthier. She grabs the key and heads back to their previous location. With the key, Vivian is able to unlock the first aid kit. Inside was the burn ointment she desperately needed. She applies it to her hands very thoroughly and pockets the rest of the ointment for later use. ¡°Do you feel any better now?¡± Tara says with curiosity and eeriness in her voice. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll live. Well, for now anyway. Don¡¯t you have some type of special connection with Paradise? I remember he was always able to find the necklace you were in. Even when I hid the necklace to test his abilities, he still found it.¡± Tara shrugs their shoulders. ¡°The connection¡¯s not with me, it¡¯s with the necklace. He has that connection with all the crystals he makes. Doesn¡¯t matter if it''s halfway across the world, he¡¯s still able to tell where it is.¡± ¡°Well, If I had to guess, it¡¯s around eightish. So it shouldn¡¯t be long now until they¡¯re here.¡± ¡°You keep saying that, but how do you know for sure that they¡¯re even coming? What if they encountered some trouble? What if Peter is still scared to come back? Or what if neither of them want to come back?¡± Tara asked inquiringly while wrapping their injuries. ¡°You may have lived in Paradise¡¯s necklace for God knows how long, but you don¡¯t know him as well as I do. Trust me, they¡¯ll come.¡± Vivian sighs more to herself, gazing at her scratches expressionless. ¡°Were the two of you able to find any information about this town at all? Because I can make an educated guess as to what is controlling all those damn demons.¡± Tara finishes dressing their wounded arm, passing the wraps to Vivian to do the same. ¡°Yeah, from the information we have gathered from our surroundings, this place hasn¡¯t been kept up since the 50¡¯s. And I did interrogate a demon,¡± she points at the shopkeeper''s body, ¡°It was in that body you¡¯re using now. The demon mentioned something about eating Peter alive, or someone killing him like they did years ago. Based on that, and the fact they are spawning in such a condensed spot¨C well, there¡¯s definitely a Devil somewhere.¡± Tara agrees, ¡°There¡¯s no doubt about that, the issue is that normally we could handle it ourselves. But since there¡¯s so many demons attacking us all at once, and from what I¡¯ve seen, they have been possessing the townies'' bodies for decades¡­.I can only imagine how hard this mission is going to be.¡± Vivian, now with her wounds fully bandaged, stands. She searches through a couple more boxes, diligently looking for something to ease her discomfort. Her bones ached, and so did her core. This gift from God felt more like a curse sometimes, Tara could sense that. Both of them searched boxes, taking their time to find any items they deemed to be useful. A pile formed on the old desk in the corner of the small storage area. With both of their items combined, they had enough for a quaint makeshift dinner, mostly for Vivian. Tara didn¡¯t need to eat necessarily, but to keep the body they¡¯re borrowing intact, they have to oblige by human rules, and humans have to rest, drink, eat, and heal their wounds. That¡¯s something Tara didn¡¯t miss about being human. Vivian was able to find a can of baked beans, water, and a couple of pieces of fabric that she was going to use as a makeshift pillow. Using her powers, this time from her mouth, she heats the can up, cooking it. A part of her really doesn¡¯t want to eat it, her OCD screams not to dare to. But the hunger in her stomach begs her otherwise. It didn¡¯t taste too bad, a little off, but overall still edible. She could eat this entire can within the next minute or two, and she did. She chugged her water down, wincing at the soreness of her throat. Vivian swears she can feel the water in her veins, putting out her fires. She felt chilled to the bone, but she liked it. No one bothers to make anymore conversation, too tired to move their lips. They instead just take comfort in each other''s presence, glad not to be alone in this personal hell. Like Dante¡¯s Inferno, what layer did this town rest at? That was the last thought Vivian had before laying her aching body on the grimy floor to recover for the night.