Torn

by Ashley Stambaugh

  "So if we can't find him here, our next stop would be where?" asked Walter. "Los Angeles?"

  Phinneas nodded. "Then the next would be Chicago, then Houston."

  "All in the U.S.," said Walter. "Does this demon not like to go abroad?"

  "No, he doesn't," said Phinneas. "And being a lone demon, he's actually pretty particular. He mentioned to me once that he preferred New York and spent the majority, if not all, of his time here. Hopefully that fact hasn't changed over the years, and we'll find him here somewhere." Phinneas started to walk farther down the alley.

  "I hope so, too," said Walter as he followed his comrade. "It could be days before we might find him here. I shudder to think of how long it will take if we have to try the next couple of cities on the list."

  "Well," Phinneas said as he gazed around, "we can continue to check dark alleyways for the remainder of the day, but we'll have better luck at night." He stopped and turned to look at Walter. "That's because demons—"

  "Are more active at night." Walter gave him a smug grin. "I didn't say that I didn't know anything about Noxin demons, or demons in general for that matter. I just don't know the intimate details about them like you do." Walter patted him on the shoulder and then continued on down the alley.

  He trusted Phinneas, as did the other elders, Cecil and Helene, but a little teasing about the demons every now and then amused him.

  "I don't see any signs of mischief around here," said Walter. "At least not any recent signs." He eyed a couple of broken bottles on the ground and then turned to Phinneas. "On to the next dark, dank place, or just wait until it's nighttime?"

  "Well, at this time of day there are a couple of other places he could be, but after that we should wait for night to fall."

  Walter nodded.

  "Come on," said Phinneas. He motioned for Walter to follow him, and within a second they were gone.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Melina had immersed herself into the fantasy world of the book she was reading, only putting it down once to make herself a quick sandwich for lunch. She was on the last chapter now, dying to know how the story was going to end, when she heard a soft knock on her door. With a low groan, she set the book down on the coffee table and stood up to go see who was there.

  When she was about halfway to the door, she heard a man's faint voice pop into her head. I hope she doesn't mind that I just showed up like this.

  She paused, and then cocked her head to the side. Why were his thoughts almost inaudible to her? And who was this person? It wasn't Lee out there. He'd stopped by plenty of times without giving her any notice, so he wouldn't suddenly be worrying about it now. Who was it then?

  Tiptoeing, she made her way over to the door and squinted to look through the peephole. At first all she saw was a mass of black. Then, as the man stepped back, she saw that it was Dean, bundled up in his black wool coat.

  Her hair was sort of messy from laying on the couch, so she gave it a quick run through with her fingers and then opened the door. "Dean, hi," she said with a smile. "This is a surprise."

  His cheeks reddened a little. "Yeah, Tessa let me up here. I hope you don't mind."

  She shook her head. "No, not at all. Come in."

  As he walked inside, he turned to her and said, "I tried to call you before heading over here, but your phone went straight to voicemail."

  Her palm went up to her face. Crap. She'd forgotten about that. "Sorry about that," she said as she retrieved her phone from the end table and turned it back on. "I didn't want any distractions while I was reading, but I guess the time got away from me." She glanced at the clock on the wall; after one o'clock.

  "Oh, well I just wanted to check up on you after what happened yesterday," he said. "How's your head?"

  "It's feeling a little better, actually. I'm just glad Henry was able to heal me."

  "Yeah," said Dean. "I'm sorry that he had to come because you were hurt, but it was neat to meet him. I wish I could meet my guardian angel."

  Melina raised her eyebrows. "Be careful what you wish for. Guardians usually only appear when you're hurt or your life's in danger."

  "I know," he said and then glanced upward. "But maybe if I say that I'd like to meet him enough times, he'll eventually hear me and come down for a quick visit."

  "Maybe," Melina said, followed by a short laugh.

  "One can only hope," said Dean as he looked back over at her. "I'm glad your head's feeling better, but are you feeling all right otherwise?"

  She nodded. "Phinneas put me on house arrest, so I haven't had any more episodes."

  His eyebrows scrunched together. "You've been put on house arrest?"

  "Yeah," she said as she walked back over to the couch and sat down. She motioned for Dean to do the same, and once he had taken a seat, she continued. "Phinneas and Walter came here earlier, and Phinneas has changed his mind about us going out and comparing our powers. He thinks the toll it's taking on me is outweighing any helpful information we’ve gained."

  "Do you blame him?" Dean asked.

  "No," she said. "But I wish he and Walter would give one of my theories some serious consideration instead of just shaking them off."

  "Again, do you blame them?"

  Melina jerked her head and looked directly at him. "You don't think that one of my theories could be true either?"

  "No, I didn't say that," he said as he slid out of his coat and draped it over the side of the couch. "I actually believe that one of your theories, or at least part of it, is true."

  "And which one is that?" she asked, her eyes narrowed.

  "The one where you think the powers developed too strong in you. Only I don't think they're too strong for you, just stronger."

  "I see." Melina leaned back into the sofa and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "And why do you think that one is true?"

  "Because it's the only one that makes sense," said Dean.

  "What?" Her arms shot down to her sides as she quickly sat upright. "You don't think my other theories make sense?"

  Dean held both of his hands up in the air. "Just let me explain, okay?"

  She stared at him for a few seconds and then finally her posture relaxed. "Okay."

  "All right," he said as he lowered his hands. "Now I believe the powers developed stronger in you, but I don't see how that would cause you to have these angry, violent feelings. That part doesn't make any sense. Something else is the culprit there."

  She opened her mouth to speak, but he beat her to it.

  "Then, there's your theory that you don't deserve the powers. Now come on," he said as he tilted his head to the side and raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

  "What's wrong with that theory," she asked. "How does it not make sense?"

  "For starters, it's way too complex, just like Lee said. You think these bad feelings are really coming from deep down inside of you, and they're being brought to the surface when you try to use your powers because you don't deserve them?" He shook his head and blinked his eyes a couple of times. "That gave me a headache just trying to remember everything you said and then recite it correctly. No, your first theory doesn't fully explain everything, and this one tries to explain too much. There's a simple explanation for what's happening to you. There's got to be, and it's probably right under our noses."

  "If it's right under our noses, then it must have on some superior camouflage because I don't see anything." Melina crossed her arms in front of her chest again then fell back against the couch. "But you're right," she said with a sigh. "My theories don't make complete sense, and Walter and Phinneas know it, too. I guess they're just trying to be nice by not coming right out and saying it… unlike you." She leaned over and gave him a playful nudge.

  "But that's what friends are for, right? To tell the truth." He gave her a humorous grin.

  Melina smiled back. "You already consider us friends?"

  "Well yeah," Dean said, a feigned expression of hurt on his face. "Don't you?"

&nbs
p; "You know what I mean," said Melina. "We just met a few days ago."

  "Yeah, and you're one of the few people who know that I still love my ex-girlfriend, and I think I'm one of the few people who knows that you're in love with Lee."

  Her eyes flicked up to meet his. "How do you know that? I've never thought about it around you."

  "You may not have directly thought about it around me," said Dean, "but I heard your thoughts when you initially came to from your black out and saw your expression when you first saw Lee. That's love."

  An embarrassed grin crossed her lips.

  "Why haven't you told him yet?" he asked.

  She shrugged. "We've only been together for three months, and I want to be sure he's not going to be scared away."

  "By you telling him that you love him, or by something else?"

  "Both," Melina said. "And that something else is this new supernatural-filled life of mine. I told you that Lee has accepted all of it really well, and he has, but I can't help but worry that it's eventually going to be too much for him."

  Dean laid his hand on her shoulder and gave it a quick squeeze. "If he's stayed with you this long then I don't think you have anything to worry about."

  "We'll see," she said.

  There was a moment of silence, then finally Dean spoke up. "So while you're stuck here, where did Walter and Phinneas take off to?"

  "Phinneas has an idea for what might be causing me all of this trouble, so they went to talk to someone to see if what he's thinking could even be possible."

  "What's his idea?" Dean asked.

  "Well, I've had a Noxin demon try to steal my soul twice, so he thinks that may have affected me somehow," she said.

  "Now that idea makes some sense. Who are they going to talk to about it?"

  "Um, well, it's not really a person." She looked over at Dean and saw his brow crease in confusion. "They're going to talk to a demon."

  "A demon? You mean a Noxin demon?"

  She nodded.

  "Is that wise?" he asked.

  "It's not one of the demons who helped Adelia," said Melina. "It's actually a lone Noxin demon who's been banned from the others."

  Dean looked even more confused, so she explained to him what Phinneas had told her. When she had finished, she remained silent, waiting for him to say something.

  "Wow," he said. "A demon who actually has some good in him."

  Melina nodded. "Yeah, that's what I said. I guess we all have good and bad in us, though," she said, recalling what Phinneas had said to her. "We just have to choose which one is going to win."

  Dean gave her a sympathetic look. "We'll get this figured out, Melina."

  She let out a heavy sigh. "I sure hope so."

  Silence fell over them for the next several seconds until suddenly Melina's phone beeped loudly causing them both to jump. She snatched up her phone from the end table and saw that it was a text from Lee.

  "I've been trying to get a hold of you all day. Please respond. I'm worried."

  Her brow creased as she went back through her inbox and saw a handful of unread texts that Lee had sent while her phone had been turned off. Why wasn't I notified of these when I turned it back on? Stupid phone.

  Typing as fast as her fingers would move, she sent him a text back.

  "I'm so sorry. I shut my phone off to read and then forgot to turn it back on. I don’t think we’ll get to see each other today, though. Phinneas has me on lockdown. I'll call you later and explain."

  She kept her phone in her hand, waiting for his response. After a minute or so had passed she still hadn't received one, so she set the phone back on the table and turned to face Dean. "Well, since you're here, do you want to try to compare one of our other powers?"

  "Do you think that’s really that important now?" he asked.

  Melina's brow lowered. "Why wouldn't it be?"

  Dean shrugged. "All it has shown us so far is that your powers are stronger than mine. I don't think it's going to help in figuring out what's going on with you."

  "Will you at least humor me?" she asked as she stood up. "Please? I want to be sure that we've looked into everything before we cross it off the list."

  "Okay, all right." Dean stood to join her. "If you're voluntarily going into this knowing that you're going to experience some intense pain, then I guess I'm willing to go into it knowing that you're probably going to end up yelling and screaming at me. But how are we going to compare our light shields or, better yet, our teleporting powers if you're supposed to stay here?"

  "We don't have to leave. We can try them out here." She walked over to the center of the living room where there was plenty of open space. "Come on," she said as she waved Dean over. "Let's try our light shields first."

  He made his way over to the center of the room and stood across from her. "So what do you think it's going to be? That your shield will come out faster than mine or with more strength?" He eyed her for a moment and then said, "I think it's going to be both."

  "I guess we'll see," she said.

  "Are you sure you're ready?" he asked.

  She swallowed hard and then nodded. "On three."

  They both started to count together. "One, two, three!"

  A soft white glow appeared around both of them, but then suddenly Melina's shield burst out all around her. After a couple of seconds, Dean's did the same, but it didn't come out as far as Melina's. Hers seemed to cover more surface area. They continued to hold them out for a few seconds longer when Melina fell down to the floor screaming, her shield disappearing instantly.

  Dean's shield vanished as he bent down on the floor next to her. She knew he was trying to help, but she didn't want to hurt him. As the burning sensation raced through her body, she shouted at him through gritted teeth. "Get away! I don't want to hurt you."

  He didn't move. She closed her eyes and covered her face with her hands, hoping the feeling would pass soon, but it only seemed to be growing worse. Then all of a sudden the burning felt like it had exploded within her, setting her off in a fit of rage. Her eyes shot open as she leaned up and launched herself at Dean.

  "I told you to get away from me!" she screamed as she pounded her fists into his chest.

  His reflexes were quick, though, and he caught both of her hands in his and forced them down to her sides.

  She thrashed her head back and forth. "Stop it! Let go of me."

  He remained silent as he put even more force on her arms. This made her even angrier, and she was about ready to kick him in the shin when the anger and violence suddenly left her, again feeling like they were being shoved out. Her body went limp, but Dean caught her in his arms before she hit the floor. As he carried her over to the couch, she thought she might black out, but after a brief dizzy spell she opened her eyes and looked at him.

  "Thank you," she whispered.

  He nodded.

  They sat in silence while Melina tried to calm herself down. A couple of minutes later, she sat forward on the couch and then turned to him.

  "You going to be okay?" he asked.

  "Yeah," she said with a nod.

  Dean's concerned expression slowly turned into a small grin. "I knew I'd be right. It's probably going to be the same with the teleporting. I bet you'll be able to do it faster and farther than me."

  She stood up from the couch. "Only time will tell."

  "Are you sure you're up for it right now?" he asked as he stood to join her. "We can wait a little while."

  She shook her head. "No. I don't want to experience any more pain, and I hate that I'm probably going to attack you again, but this is the last power. Let's just get it over with."

  "All right," he said. "So how is this going to work?"

  "Follow me." She snatched her phone up from the end table and then walked down the hallway and into the guest bedroom in the farthest back corner of her apartment. When Dean came up next to her, she was finishing up a quick text.

  "Who was that to?" he asked.


  She shoved the phone into her pocket. "Tessa. I told her to clear the break room and close the door."

  His brow furrowed. "The break room?"

  She nodded. "Not only is it one floor below us, but it's also located in the farthest back corner on the opposite side of the building. And, you've seen it before, so you can bring up a mental image of it to help you teleport to it."

  "Okay," Dean said. "On three again."

  They both started to count once more. "One, two, three!"

  Melina disappeared instantly and then reappeared down in the break room. A couple of seconds later, Dean materialized right behind her. She had definitely teleported faster than him, but with her current limitations, there wasn't a good way to test out if she could also teleport farther than him.

  She looked over at Dean and noticed that he was staring at her, an anxious look on his face. Her brow creased as she wondered why he was looking at her like that. Then it hit her. There was no pain after she had teleported. No fiery sensation coursing through her body. And no malicious feelings erupting within her. But why?

  Chapter Fourteen

  Dean stared at her as he tilted his head to the side. "You're not feeling any pain or bad feelings right now, are you?"

  She slowly shook her head. "No. No, I'm not." Her breath hitched as she suddenly became frantic. "Quick. Do it again. Teleport back to the guest room. Now!"

  Within a couple of seconds, Melina was back in the guest room with Dean appearing right behind her a few seconds later.

  "What was that about?" he asked.

  "I still don't feel any pain," she said with wide eyes, ignoring his question. "But why?"

  "Melina. You need to calm down."

  "I know," she said as she took off down the hallway and back into the living room. "I'm just really confused right now."

  Dean followed her into the living room and made her sit down on the couch with him. "So you're not feeling anything right now? You feel completely normal?"