It was the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We had decided this would be the best day to lure the demon or demons to me. We didn’t want it to look too eager in timing compared to his failed attempt. The butterflies had begun in my stomach, but a curious thing was beginning to happen as well. An excitement began building. I was part of something much bigger than myself. If I could master this small little task, it would help as I relearned the more complicated abilities. It was still hard to believe that someday, I would be fighting these creatures for the sake of mankind. The thought brought me a lot of happiness. I was completely fulfilled by my family. I was so fortunate to have a calling that would help the world, even if my part was a small one in the whole scheme of things. I had to keep focused on that aspect so I could fight the distaste of what my title was. I still resented that I could be classified in such a despicable group, regardless of what side I was on. I fought to keep the feelings at bay, not today.
I had finished putting on my oldest fair-isle sweater and had adjusted the t-shirt under it. The sweater was one that had seen a lot of use. The red coloring had faded in many spots, perfect for today’s escapades. In case anything went wrong, I wouldn’t be heartbroken if something happened to it. Not that I should be thinking of things like that, but in times like these, crazy thoughts happened.
We were pretty confident that the demon never left our property and was very aware of any of our movements when we were outside. Arie and Cyril went to the grocery store as a test run and sure enough the demon was lurking down the driveway. We decided to have the garage doors open and tables set up. Arie thought if it looked like we were making wreaths, it would give us all an excuse to be tromping around the woods near our house, collecting cedar and fir boughs. Then when we separate briefly, it shouldn’t look too out of the ordinary. I was rather surprised that Arie had wreath-making equipment, but I was learning to not underestimate this family’s many talents.
They told me not to talk about it at all and to follow our plans as exactly as possible. I met Arie, Athen, and Cyril down in the garage and sure enough the door was open, and the tables set up. She had the circular wreath crimper bolted to the table and a huge assortment of berries, twigs, and ribbons piled in two bins. I couldn’t help myself from gazing out past the doors to see if I could see it, but I didn’t and quickly looked down.
“Hey guys! I brought more hot cider to keep us hydrated. I’ll plug the Crockpot in on the counter.” I was hoping that my acting skills were on par.
“Thanks. Let me help you with that.” Athen came over and grabbed the Crockpot, setting it on the workbench.
“Are we all ready to go gather the boughs?” Cyril asked, “I’m getting antsy to get this fun holiday task over with.”
Arie playfully smacked him on his butt, “Very funny, Mr. Scrooge! Now get in the holiday spirit, or I’ll make you.”
“I’d like to feel that or I mean see that,” Cyril exclaimed.
“Oh my word, that was corny,” I said, rolling my eyes.
We all grabbed our garden clippers and headed out through the garage doors as planned. My nerves were starting to get the better of me. I knew I had to keep in control; otherwise, I would be endangering all of us. I followed Athen up the hill back towards the road. Arie and Cyril went down more toward the shore. There were downed limbs everywhere from the recent windstorms, so we were able to collect quite a few boughs right away.
“Ok, Athen, Arie said not to take any part on the limb that looked brown or grey. Do you think this counts?” I asked holding up a floppy looking Douglas fir limb. He must have known what I was feeling because he winked at me, which made me feel immensely better.
“Yeah, clip off the bottom, and we should be good.”
“I bet we’ll only have to go another 30 feet, and we’ll have enough to take back to the garage,” I said surprised. I never noticed how many limbs these trees dropped.
“True, but she said we needed a ton per wreath so we probably have many trips ahead of us.” Athen tried to yell over the wind that was beginning to pick up.
“Hmm, alright,” I said, realizing I was quickly losing enthusiasm. Not sure if it was over the task at hand or the larger picture.
Athen’s cell phone rang. He placed his limbs on the large boulder that was next to us. I began to feel hot all over. That was not part of the plan.
“It’s Cyril. That’s weird.” He touched the screen and put it on speaker.
“What’s up?” Athen asked.
“It’s Arie. She passed out. I don’t know if the demon got to her. She isn’t responding. Athen, I need your help now. We’ve got to get her inside.”
Athen began running even before he hung up the phone.
“Ana. Stay put. We’ll be coming back up this way. We’ll need your help.”
He was running at full speed. I yelled after him asking why I couldn’t come with him, but he never responded. I began feeling my heartbeat’s every thump. This was not part of the plan. My nerves were more on edge by the second. I wondered what happened to Arie. What seemed like an eternity was only a couple minutes, but I decided to walk over to the boulder and hop up on it. I laid my boughs on the boulder next to me, bewildered by what just happened. My senses began picking everything up – smells, sounds, sights. I was sitting for only a few more minutes before I began to hear the rustle behind me. The problem was that I didn’t know if it was the creature or my family. There was no sense of familiarity whatsoever.
To my disgust, the brown tinged nails intertwined among my sweater fabric. My spirit became full of despair once the creature’s fingers wrapped themselves around me. I looked down, filling up inside with fear like never before. My family was already supposed to be here. He must have gotten to Arie. I was never supposed to be alone. Cyril should’ve been in the trees right above me on the hill, and Arie near the garage. I didn’t see any of this happening. Then my worst nightmare flashed in my mind. I had to shake it. It kept coming back. What if the demon got to all of them first? What would my fate be? Would I even care to go on? I might just rather go back to the numbness of before. Not knowing what you’re missing was better than the alternative.
I heard no voice coming from the demon, rather a raspy breath speaking to me. “You are alone my angel. Isn’t that what Athen likes to call you?” he asked, as he touched my cheek. “Looks like you are going away for a long time again.”
I grabbed his hand and threw it back at him. I began to let my mind wander off to the nightmares. Could they have been real? Could I have lost my family? I knew I needed to fight regardless.
“Get your filth off of me,” I howled at him. “Your presence does nothing to me. I have no feeling or regard for you one way or the other. You don’t scare me. You make me laugh at your pathetic self.”
If my family was gone, what do I care if I were saved or sacrificed? I turned to look into the demon’s eyes only to see the nefarious gaze staring back at me. It was as if I was looking at the walking dead.
“I pity you,” I whispered, as I lay back against the boulder. I would follow our family’s plan even if they were already taken from me. I breathed out my last, long breath of despair.
I closed my eyes, and a jolt of familiar electricity shot through me. It took everything to keep my eyes shut, and the smile off my face. My family was alive. The plan was working, or more to the point, their plan was working. I could feel them. Once again, they left me out of the loop. They had to quit doing that. I was exhilarated. I continued to lay still on the boulder, eyes shut. The demon took his long finger and began to trace it along my cheekbone when a sudden burst of wind blew by me. I opened my eyes to see Cyril falling down, collapsing onto the demon. From the right, I saw Athen’s body move under the demon, as if he was almost folding his form in half. Arie was creating a swirl of movement around the three beings. I could see clearly what was happening, but I didn’t truly unders
tand it. The demon was losing. The screeching bounced off the forest echoing into my ears, penetrating down to my soul. The sounds were pure and torturous, which made me almost giddy. I scolded myself for thinking such thoughts, even if it was a demon. The demon’s black mist was continually escaping into the air and then reemerging. I never saw that in Whistler. This one seemed to be trying to regenerate.
I was able to make out bits and pieces of the creature. He was definitely on the losing end. Cyril and Athen were making sure this was extra painful and extra long. It almost looked as if every extremity was turning into dust; as if they were crushing every cell in his body. Athen and Cyril were dicing him so quickly that as parts of the demon regenerated the appendages were reattaching in the incorrect position. I knew I shouldn’t be in awe over something like this, but it was truly incredible to watch. The evil was evaporating into the wind. The soulless creature was becoming smaller and smaller; until I finally knew he was gone. I had my family left next to me. They did it. They looked completely unscathed. It was over, for now.
The Watchers Trilogy: Awakening Page 40
