Empathy is the experience of understanding another person's condition from their perspective. You place yourself in their shoes and feel what they are feeling.
Josh looked at him perplexed. “You know you sound like a dictionary right?”
Adam smiled, “Basically, whenever someone nearby is scared, he can sense it and feel it. However, it seems to be erratic. You clearly need to work on this ability in order to control it.”
“Control it? What do you mean control it? I don’t know what it is,” explained Andrew. Jaime then furthered Adams idea. “Bro, I understand you still have no idea what’s going on. Neither do we. But you have clearly generated some sort of unlocked potential. Don’t you wanna see what could happen if you actually had control? Imagine the possibilities...”
Andrew began to think about all that had been happening to him in the last 2 days. He was slightly curious as to how far he could push himself. He smiled mischievously. “Think I could lift heavier than your car?” He asked. “Who knows man. But if we’re going to find out we need to keep this between us 4 only. Deal?” They all agreed in unison, “Deal.”
“So what now then Jai?” Asked Andrew. Thinking quietly, he broke his silence with precise orders and commands for each of this friends. He decided Josh should monitor his physical growth in speed, dexterity and strength. They always trained together so it seemed like the logical thing to do. Adam and he would take charge in finding out the origin of his new found abilities. They all departed the park with a new found focus ahead.
Returning to his vehicle, Andrew checked his phone. He had a message from Louise;
‘Hey Bighead, how’s your day going?’ X
He swiftly replied back to her and then arranged for them to go to the cinema and have something to eat. With his evening all planned out, he headed home to catch up on some well-deserved sleep.
He pulled into his driveway. As his keys jangled in the front door, his mother’s voice echoed out into the hall way. “Boy, is that you?” She shrieked.
“Hey mum. You ok?” He knew a telling off of some kind was about to commence. He shut the door behind him and made his way into the kitchen. “A simple text would suffice if you’re coming home or not Andrew. I haven't seen your ass all day!”
His mother was overbearing sometimes but he was used to it. “Sorry ma, I was just with the boys. Had some stuff I needed to do.” He replied.
“Mmhmm your lunch is on the table baby.”
He kissed her on the cheek and made his way into the living room to eat.
Adjusting his seat, he picked up his cutlery to tuck into the delectable meal his mother had prepared for him. However, he was interrupted by the sound of her voice again.
“I know you ain't gonna eat that food before you bless it.”
His hand paused with the fork just a few inches away from his mouth. Smiling and rolling his eyes in ill humour, he placed the fork back down on the plate. Putting his hands together, he said a prayer in haste then resumed his activities as before. Full and satisfied, he cleared his dishes away and headed for his bedroom.
He turned on his IPad and selected a playlist to unwind to. Exhausted from the day's events, he laid on his bed and slowly his body succumbed to the chilling tones of a neo-soul soundtrack.
His eyes grew heavier as his body relaxed and he gradually fell into a slumber. However, his sleep didn’t last long. For as soon as his eyes shut tight, he was immediately confronted once again by the 3 headed hell hound, Cerberus.
He found himself face to face again with the demon dog barking and snarling its gristly jaws in his direction. Overwhelmed, he found himself exposed to flesh tearing fangs. Immediately, he came crashing back down to reality. Sitting up abruptly, he could feel his heat beat pounding profusely. Looking around his room to see if he was safe, he did what any scared child would do, and called for his mum. The sound of her footsteps eased his tensions as she came to his beck and call. But as the door handle twisted down, a hideous blood curling laugh rang out. Andrew covered his ears in discomfort. The door swung open and once again he was greeted by the evil presence that seemed to be haunting him.
“Your mother can’t save you now boy. No one can,” the fiendish creature cackled. “Time to come home.” The monster charged at Andrew, lunging straight for him. But before impact could be made Andrew awoke. Terrified, discombobulated and confused by the dream within a dream, he tried to climb out of bed to gather himself but ended up tumbling onto the floor in a blind panic.
“Andrew you ok?” The reassuring yet abrasive voice of his mother called out to him from downstairs. Turning off his IPad, he was now bent over on all fours. He began a reply but Emelia was already by his door before he could open his mouth. “I heard a bang. You ok baby? Why you on the floor?”
Climbing back onto the bed, he sat down and rubbed his head with both hands.
“Mum,” He paused.
“Yes, baby?”
“Can you, can you pray with me a little. Please.”
Emelia stood in silence, slightly taken aback by her son’s unfamiliar request. She carefully sat down next to him and consoled him.
“Ya know, other than dinner time, I haven’t prayed with you since you were 16. You going through something you wanna talk about?” Andrew tried not to worry his mother. He comforted her worries with a smile. “Nothing serious mum, I just had a bad dream and you always say prayer helps to put you at ease. I thought it could work for me too.”
She sighed, “Ok, but you know you can come to me with anything right?” He nodded in agreement. She took his hands. They both closed their eyes.
“Lord God, Heavenly Father
I come to you as your humble servant
And I ask you to place your hands on my son
Deliver your blessing upon him
Though he may not lead the life you want
His faith in you is unparalleled
And his love for you unchallenged.”
As she prayed, Andrew could feel a peculiar feeling mustering up inside him. It was as if her words were warming his entire body. His muscles relaxed and his skin softened as if renewed. Calm fell over him.
“Whatever he may be going through, guide him in the right direction
Show him that there is power and salvation in your name
That if he calls upon you, No weapon of the enemy shall prosper in his life
Keep him safe and may he seek your face forever more.
In your name we pray, Amen.”
Opening her eyes, she turned and kissed his forehead. “Feel better?”
“Yeah. Yeah thanks, ma. I really do.” Andrew smiled and spread himself back onto his bed. Emelia jumped up and left his room, closing the door behind her. He turned on his IPad once again to help soothe him and feeling at peace, gingerly fell into a restful sleep.
CHAPTER 8
Andrew awoke feeling sprightly and invigorated. Stretching his limbs, he couldn’t believe how great he felt. His slumber seemed as if it had lasted days. “How long was I asleep for?” He said to himself, checking the time on his phone. The time read 19:00. He messaged Louise to confirm their evening plans. She agreed to be picked up at 20:00; this gave him an hour to get ready. He jumped in the shower and then brushed his teeth. Starting off vigorously brushing, he slowed down to a momentary pause as he could sense a presence nearby. A shiver ran down his spine; he felt consumed by uncomfortableness. He spun around making sure no one was standing behind him, then as he slowly circled back round to face the mirror, his peripheral vision caught an image outside his bathroom window. He edged closer to the ledge to take a better look. The dark silhouette of a hooded figure stood outside his house. Its demeanour was still and quiet; yet eerie and suspicious. He couldn’t make out a face either. Spitting the remainder of saliva into the sink, he called out to the figure.
“Hey?! Do you want something?” The mysterious character didn’t reply. Andrews tone grew in frustration. “Hey?! You’re stood outside my
house, do you want something?” Again the shadowy individual didn’t reply. Andrew continued to pursue an answer. Wiping his mouth, he marched downstairs instantly to confront the unknown stranger currently on his doorstep. His heavy footsteps trudged down the stairs as he hastily made a beeline for the entrance of the house. Reaching it he swung the front door open quickly but found nobody was present to address him. looking around in puzzlement, he questioned his own sanity. “I could have sworn…” He stepped a few feet out onto the sidewalk and investigated the length of the road. There was no one there apart from him. Still bemused, he checked left and right one last time then made his way back inside. Shutting the door behind him slowly, he continued to quiz himself. “There was definitely someone out there, I’m not crazy.”
He headed back upstairs to finish off getting ready. Feeling confident in his appearance he turned the lights off in his house, locked the door behind him and left to pick up Louise.
20 minutes had passed until he had finally arrived at Louise’s house. As she applied her lipstick, she could feel the reverberating base coming from his car. He beeped the horn to notify her that he was outside. She quickly peered out of her bedroom window. “Gimme a sec,” she shouted. Fluffing her hair for volume and checking the last of her makeup in the mirror, she grabbed her handbag and headed for the front door.
She stepped out and instantly Andrew’s eyes were diverted to her. He admired her outfit from top to bottom. Her feminine curves were embraced in a stylish khaki green jumpsuit, adorned by a small denim jacket with the sleeves rolled up and suede Timberland heels. She glimmered under the street lamps as her jewellery reflected the light. She walked round to the passenger side and climbed in.
“You look nice,” said Andrew.
“Thank you, I try,” she replied gracefully with a smile. “So where we going Champ?”
Andrew laughed loudly, “you ever gonna stop calling me that?”
“I like it. It suits you.” She stated.
“Well, I thought we could hit up the cinema, and then go for some food. That cool with you?” Andrew asked.
“Lead the way, champ.” She playfully rubbed his head. He smiled, rolled his eyes and drove away.
Throughout the journey, they joked and conversed. There was never an awkward silence between them as they shared a very unique cosiness. The discussion continued as they stopped at a busy junction, awaiting a green light.
“So what we going to see?” Inquired Louise curiously.
“Well, I know you’re a big pussy, so no horror.”
Louise punched him playfully, “Errrm I’m no pussy thank you very much. I just don’t like scary films. I like sleeping at night.”
Andrew laughed. “Well, I was thinking we’d catch that new Denzel flick.”
“Ok Ok, Good choice,” she praised.
Just then a car pulled up beside them at the stop light. Andrew didn’t take any notice of it. Simultaneously a bus drove past them and Andrew’s attention was caught off guard. Double taking, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. As the bus passed them the advertisement on the side of it read; GIVE INTO YOUR SIN ANDREW.
He panicked and looked in Louise’s direction but was even more terrified at the sight that awaited him. The driver in the adjacent car began to transform into a hideous creature. Its eyes were pitch black and its skin was ghostly white and scaly. The facial structure was elongated as if the face was melting or stretching downwards. It began to lick the window with a slimy, grotesque snake-like tongue. Andrew began to feel himself slipping into an anxiety attack. He tried to focus but in his terrified state, he couldn’t concentrate. His eyes became glazed over and distant and all sound within the car started to become faint to his ear. He closed his eyes and began to pray quietly to himself.
Please Lord, not now. Help me. Please.
Suddenly, Louise’s voice cut through the haze of disruption in his senses.
“Andrew, are you ok? Andrew?” She grabbed him by the face and tried to centre his gaze. “Look at me Andrew, can you hear me?”
He concentrated on her voice. “L-L-Look behind you,” he stammered. She turned around, “What Andrew, What am I looking for?” Andrew’s reaction was a mixture of terror and disbelief.
“Didn’t you see it, the monster thing?” He protested
“What monster? What’s going on Andrew?” Begged Louise.
He steadied both hands on the steering wheel and took a deep breath. Louise tried to console him by gently rubbing his back. “You’re burning up babe. Is everything ok? We can do this another time if you’re not up to it.”
“No, I’ll be fine, I’m fine. Just had a long day today that’s all. Let’s just get to the cinema and enjoy the evening.”
Arriving at the cinema everything seemed to be ok. Andrew was still a little weary of what could happen next, but was determined to have a good night out with Louise. The evening proceeded as normal without any hiccups. They bought popcorn, ice cream and snacks and enjoyed their film. Leaving the cinema in high spirits and ready to eat, the night’s earlier events seemed like a distant memory.
“You ready to stuff your face?” Joked Andrew.
“Yes! I’m starving. Where we going?” Replied Louise.
“Well I picked the film, so why don’t you pick what we eat, deal?”
Louise smiled, “Ok.” They debated over a plethora of cuisines and restaurants until they were finally back at the car. “Ok, so Chinese it is.” She proclaimed. Andrew laughed, “Ok I’m down.” They climbed into the car and headed for a local Chinese buffet a few blocks away.
Entering the restaurant, they were escorted to their table by a waiter. They ordered drinks and settled on the buffet as their main meal. Waiting for their beverages, they talked a little. Louise’s gaze expectantly wandered from Andrew’s to the corner of the room. “Is that Coach Stevens?” She said as she pointed discreetly. Andrew turned around and squinted his eyes to narrow his view. “Yeah I think it is. I’m gonna go say hello quick.” He got up and cautiously made his way over to the table in the far corner. He didn’t see anyone sitting in the opposite chair so assumed that Coach was alone.
“Mind if I join you?” Andrew asked sarcastically. Coach was sat reading a book, drinking some herbal tea. He seemed content in his own company and didn’t have the most inviting body language. His head remained in the position it was in but his eyes slowly looked up at Andrew, with an unwavering stern expression. He had an imposing effect on Andrew, who by now was feeling rather awkward. A silent pause fell over them. Andrew didn’t know what to expect.
Coach placed his cup down on the table, calmly closed his book and addressed Andrew.
“Well what are the chances of bumping into you twice in one day ey Mr. Robertson,” He gestured to the opposite chair, “Take a seat.”
They sat and spoke for a short moment. Louise looked over from their table. Andrew pointed in her direction and Coach turned stiffly and saluted her. She politely waved back, and then Andrew got up, shook his hand and returned to his table.
“What he say?” She asked, nosily.
“Nothing much, just small talk really.” Replied Andrew.
“Boring! Come on let’s eat already.” Louise got up and made her way to the buffet line. Andrew followed closely behind. Aromatic smells of the orients filled their noses as they were only steps away from the food but the queue seemed to move at a snail’s pace. Guessing he had enough time to kill Andrew took advantage of the situation.
“Babe, save my space in the queue, I’m just gonna run to the toilet quick.”
Louise looked at him with a slight annoyance in her face. But nevertheless, she agreed. “Ok, but hurry up.” He briskly made his way to the men’s.
After a few moments, he emerged from the lavatories and searched for Louise in the queue. His eyes wandered amongst the heads of different customers as he walked back. Then his eyes spotted that familiar frizzy afro hair. He closed in on her position in the line but as she became
more visible to him, he noticed that she wasn’t alone. Another man was stood with her. He prepared himself and walked back into the queue.
“Thanks for holding my space babe.”
Louise could tell the situation was awkward but didn’t want to cause a scene so acted politely. “Ummm, Andrew this is C…” The man interrupted her. “Carl. I’m Carl. Her ex.” He smirked with disregard for Andrew.
Carl was older than Andrew at the age of 20. They shared similar attributes in physique, height and weight. Carl had been attending Whittaker Falls University but dropped out due to troublesome behaviour and bad grades. His family were wealthy and he worked with his father running their family’s business firm. He had previously dated Louise but she ended the relationship as he was too controlling. He had an overbearing attitude with the notion that whatever he wanted deserved to be his. This lead to him not being much of people’s person and being regarded widely as an asshole..something Andrew picked up on rather quickly.
Andrew extended his hand but was ignored audaciously. Carl carried on talking to Louise as if he wasn’t even present.
“So when you gonna stop checking these lames and come back to your boy.”
“Carl can you please leave, you’re acting like a complete dickhead.” Pleaded Louise.
“Ok. Ok, I'll go.” He laughed. “But here,” he handed her a 100 dollar bill, “I’ll take care of this...little play date for you.”
Andrew’s jaw was tensing up as he had clearly been pushed to his limit. The level of disrespect was obviously to garner a reaction from him. Deep down he could feel his rage building. Even at his current stage of anger, he still tried to be diplomatic.
“It’s ok, I got this. Keep your money.” He grinned at Carl and pushed his hand back. There was an uncomfortable stand-off between the two. Louise became embarrassed at all the attention the scene was drawing. “Carl. Leave now. Andrew, go get your food and sit down.” Andrew gritted his teeth together tightly in defiance but reluctantly backed away. However, his gaze on Carl was fixed. He could feel his blood boiling. His fist was clenching as his anger was just about ready to consume him. She then pushed Carl away and he left. Andrew sat down, shaking with vexation and punching his own hand in frustration. He tried to compose himself but the disrespectfulness had already done the damage it needed. As Louise sat down with her plate, he angrily shot up to his feet and stormed to the men’s again. Louise could tell he was upset and angry but knew it was best to just let him vent.
Nephilim Page 10
