Demons in the Shadows

Ivy
I blinked, glancing up at him. "Um... No, I suppose not..." I mumbled, suddenly grateful he couldn't see the massive blush I was sporting. "Just don't poke an eye out," I joked weakly.

Carl-

I smirked and would have rolled my eyes if I could, but I doubted the damn things would have even moved. I reached out my hand that wasn't around her, and lightly touched her cheek with my finger tips. Then with the same gentle touch, or at least what I hoped was gentle, I traced her face, creating an image in my mind of what she would look like and the colors she might have. Of course since I had never seen colors before, I didn't know what they looked like. But I could pretend right?

Mitchel -

I frowned a little, pulling the end of then pencil from my mouth and quickly sketching the picture her discription made me think of, and turned the notebook for her to see.
"Like that?" I asked, wanting to make sure I got it right.
As I spoke the pencil went back to the mess of hair above the curve of my ear, just to make sure I didn't misplace it.

Ivy
I stayed still the whole time, my eyes locked on his face. I didn't even dare to breath, which I suppose equated to the current lightheartedness I was faced with. "Well?" I finally asked, letting out that long held breath.

Sam-

I looked at the picture and frowned slightly before reaching up and taking the pencil gently from his ear. I erased a small bit and added the shedding skin and the plates I had seen on its shell, almost as if it was wearing armor with spikes in the middle of each plate. I then handed the pencil back. "Like that."


Carl-

I brushed over her lips and very lightly over her eye lids before letting my hand drop. "You're....not what I expected at all," I chuckled truthfully. "Much prettier actually."

Ivy
I swear, if I was blushing any further I'd look like I had a sunburn. "How would you know?" I whispered rather sharply, "You're blind." I scooted out of his arms and back a few feet, trying to hide my embarrassment.
It's official. This was all some sick joke.

Mitchel

I frowned, looking over the drawing as I tried to decide what to thinking of her writing in my notebook. Sure, it was her discription of the beast, but no one ever wrote in the book except me. I'd had it for years now, and took very careful, care of it. After all, my entire, crazy, life was in there.
"...thanks." I muttered, deciding anything else would be rude.

Carl-

My eyes tightened and I tensed, wrapping my arms around my legs. "I see," I muttered. "Because I'm blind, I can't judge beauty." I always hated when people pointed things out like that to me, it felt as if they were saying I wasn't a human being. It sucked to be quiet honest, and only reminded me more of why I hid in my hood.



Sam-

I gave a slight smile and looked back at the book quietly. "How many things do you have in there?" I asked softly.

Ivy
I bit my lip. "No..." I sighed, resting my head in my hands. "You misunderstand or maybe I just misspoke. I... never mind. Sorry." I stood stiffly, whipping grass off my butt. "You just judged wrong, is all. See you later." And with that, I hurried away.

Carl-

I just sat there, staring at nothing and enjoying the shadow of the trees. They felt cool against my tense body and seemed to make the darkness I already lived in, that much darker. Odd as it sounds, it was almost comforting. I clenched my fists, trying to shove back the anger and frustration that was starting to get the better of me, but it wasn't working.

Ivy
I hurried back to find my house empty, like always, and went for the kitchen. I was alone now and without that strange boy to ground me I felt my previous anxiety slowly return.
What. Had all. Just happened? Demons, strange men, swords, a promise for a better future… It felt like a dream. What was I going to do? Should I go through with this? Should I meet the strange man in a dark park tonight? Or should I stick to common sense and back out? Maybe this was all a prank. Maybe the hallucinations have taken a turn for the worse. Maybe I imagined that all. I mean, what would my shrink say?
...
She'd tell me to take a moment and catch my thoughts. To be rational. To think this through. Then she'd up my med dosage.
But I couldn't catch my thoughts. They were already spinning out of control. I could feel my breath start to leave me. I had to stop this attack in its tracks.
I rushed into the refrigerator, pulling a carton of milk and a small plate of leftovers. I grabbed a fork and started nibbling as I went to the table but by the time I crossed the ten feet to sit down, my plate was empty. It wasn’t enough. I needed more food.
So I chugged from the milk cartoon and went back to the fridge. From there I pulled out a half gallon of ice cream and started scooping it into my mouth. I couldn’t eat it fast enough. While snacking on the ice cream I moved to the cabinets, pulling out a bag of cookies, a bowl, and a box of cereal. The ice cream was a quarter gone by the time I brought it all to the table, so I started scooping it out with cookies. Once the ice cream was gone I shoved the chocolate chip wafers into my mouth two at a time, accompanying it with another swig of milk. I wasn't tasting them. I was eating too fast, half chocking on some cookies I didn't bother to chew probably.
This was how I gained control of myself- I drowned my anxieties in food.
I finished off the ice cream and then the cookies, following that with a massive bowl of cereal.
By the time I was done I felt like I was about to explode. The left over’s, the ice cream, the cookies, and half a box of cereal..... gone.
I stayed sitting there for a few moments, enjoying the full feeling, knowing that it was there because I wanted it to be. My thoughts were calm and all my anxiety was gone. I was in control of myself.
... Then a different type of anxiety began to creep up on me...
What did I just do? God, I ate too much. The full feeling suddenly made me feel sick. I needed to get it all out of me. It was destroying me. It was destroying my body.
I scampered into the bathroom, pulling up both toilet seats and promptly shoving my finger down to the back of my throat.
My actions were rewarded with a sharp twist of my stomach and a satisfactory 'plunk' as my binge emptied itself into the toilet.
There was more in me though, I could feel it and I couldn’t let it stay. I couldn't have it mess me up. So I repeated the process several more times till I was dry retching.
Now I felt empty. Somehow, that feeling was much more soothing.

I stood and stared into the mirror for a moment, taking in my red, watery eyes and the spittle in my hair.
I picked it out and lifted my shirt, turning to the side and inspecting my stomach.
...
I sighed. Yanking it back down. I still felt off... dirty, even. That wouldn't do.
I quickly stripped myself of my clothing and stuffed them in the hamper. I then stepped into a blazing hot shower and scrubbed myself clean, calming as the motion made me feel more put together. More in control.
I finished my shower, cleaned the toilet with bleach, dried my hair, then stepped into the kitchen. I tensed a little at the mess then quickly moved to make it all spotless again.
Once I was done I leaned against the counter, exhausted. Today could just be over now…. Please. But a glance at the clock told me it wasn’t even four yet. It still was light out. Regardless, I was exhausted.
I hadn't slept well the night before, not that I ever do, so I decided to take advance of the moment and slip into my bed. My eyes closed on their own and before I knew it, I passed out.

Misty-

I left the park a few hours later, after I watched the girl run away. I had no clue who she was or where she was going, but she seemed upset. If she was upset, then something must have happened to make the park no longer ok. So, packing up my few things, I started walking. I wasn't ready to go see Tio yet, despite how much I loved the old man, so instead I made for Ivy's. I made it to her place within the hour, and gave the door a small knock, and waited for her to answer.

Taylow wrote:Carl-

My eyes tightened and I tensed, wrapping my arms around my legs. "I see," I muttered. "Because I'm blind, I can't judge beauty." I always hated when people pointed things out like that to me, it felt as if they were saying I wasn't a human being. It sucked to be quiet honest, and only reminded me more of why I hid in my hood.



Sam-

I gave a slight smile and looked back at the book quietly. "How many things do you have in there?" I asked softly.

Mitchel

I thought about it, considering all the possible answers that she could want. I mean, I had all sorts of sounds, and descriptions of things that shouldn't exist, but that didn't mean that all of them were the creatures she was thinking about. After all, half them probably don't exist, and the ones that did.. well.. I didn't really know the number.. I wasn't that much of a nerd...
Okay. Maybe I was.
"Fifty-eight."

Sam-

My eyes widened slightly and I looked at him. I felt sorry for him almost, that was a lot of monsters. But at the same time, I just felt...detached. I'd felt that way all day, so it made it difficult to empathize. "Is there a way to stop them?" I asked quietly.


27-

I made my way towards the boy and girl under the tree, getting my questionnaire ready. This was always the worst part...unless of course you had someone that tried to kill you, that always seemed to ruin a day.

Ali-

A little while later I found myself settled down at the kitchen table, trying to focus on the papers laid out before me. For a few nights now I'd been attending a night school, most there were a lot older than me, and probably wondered why a girl like me was too busy to go to normal school. Well, most girls like me aren't trying to convince everyone that they're fine, and don't live alone. Sure, I didn't need to do that anymore, but habit was habit.
Wrinkling by brow I stared at the numbers on the paper, trying to make sense of them past the swirling questions in my mind. It was hard to focus on Algebra when you had the problem of someone telling you that you saw demons.
Maybe I should..
No. That would be stupid. There was no such thing as demons, or at least, if there were I didn't see them. Letting myself fall into this wouldn't do, if I did then there was no way I could pretend anymore that my world was perfectly normal.

Mitchel-

I frowned, considering her question as I always did. I couldn't understand why people always seemed to answer without speaking, I found myself needing to think over what I said, at least twice, before saying a word. Absently I noted the man coming our direction, taking in his features, ect. rather quickly before focusing on her again.
"Not that I know of, of course, I haven't tried."

Sam-

I thought about what he had said, and wondered if anyone had in fact ever tried. Surely they couldn't be the only ones that saw them, which meant someone had to have made an attempt to stop these beasts that followed people around. I opened my mouth to say my thoughts, but was unable to speak a word seeing as how there was now a man standing in front of us with the cheesiest smile I had ever seen.


27-

"Good afternoon," I said as I looked down at them both. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm from the university down the road and I was wondering if you could answer a few questions for me." I then handed them the paper, and as always, their names were at the top.

Mitchel-

"The University?" I asked, taking it and barely glancing a the paper, more focused on the man standing before us. "I've been there a few times, taking a couple classes. Which professor?"
It wasn't that I was all that concerned about the validity of his statement, I was just curious. After all, I knew practically all the professors, lots of them were my friends.

Sam-

I watched carefully, looking between the two before looking at the paper. My eyes widened and I quickly tugged at Mitchel's shirt sleeve. This couldn't be real. Could it?


27-

I shook my head and gave a small smile. "Miss Teresa's School of Demonology." I watched him, barely glancing at Sam. This boy was obviously one that would be apprehensive, or at least that's the way it seemed.

Micheal

I frowned a little, glancing at Sam. She seemed to be upset for some odd reason..
"Never heard of it, or her..." I said, finally looking at the paper.
I froze, eyes noting the name at the top. Mine. What in the...
"Hey now, what's going on?"

I'm renaming her Serenity, cause she's different than the tunnel Ivy.

Serenity
I actually slept for a solid hour, which was nice. But then the sun began to set and the unsettling feeling slowly crept itself back through me. Biting my lip, I slipped off the bed and looked around, wrapping my arms around myself. I should... go back out... where other people were... I'd be safer, right? Maybe... gah, I didn't know. How much of this was in my mind? How much of this was paranoia? I wasn't crazy, I learned that today, but was I letting this all get to me too much? I padded quietly through the house, trying to talk myself out of the fear creepy through me. I was safe, the man in the squeaky boots wouldn't let them hurt me... he said so. Maybe I should go tonight... I mean, a chance to be normal...
A knock echod through the house and I startled, a small scream escaping my lips.
Jesh, Serenity, calm down... just a knock. Last time I check, those..../demons/ didn't knock.
I let out a shaky breath and walked over to the door, cracking it open. "...Hello?"

Misty-

I smiled and waved to Serenity and then it hit me, the girl in the park was her. "Hey, you alright?" I asked as I noticed her disgruntled look. "Did I wake you up?"


27-

I stared down at them, my face suddenly serious. I crouched to their level and pulled out a book from my pocket and handed it to Mitchel. It contained pictures and descriptions of every demon known. "Have you see any of these creatures before?"

Serenity
"Misty." I blinked, fumbling to fix myself to not look so... messy. "Yeah, ah, no. Well... Kind of. But I was getting up anyway." I opened a the door a little more, letting her step in if she wanted. "You, um, you remembered where I live," I breathed, a little shocked she'd recall after all this time. After all, she hasn't been over since that time in freshman year when we worked on a project together.
She was nice. ... Really nice actually, and we talked causally in the halls or at school, but I wasn't one for... well, friends. So I was usually 'busy' whenever she offered to hang, and my answering machine had an odd habit of 'eating messages'. Or so I told her. I just... couldn't let people get close to me. Then they'd see how weird I was and... well it would all go downhill from there.
So needless to say, I was a tad shocked to see her at me door and being nice to me... still. I didn't exactly deserve it after all the cold shoulderings she's received.
"Can I help you?"

Micheal

I frowned, studying the book, my free hand pulling my notebook closer to my body, although it was still resting where I'd placed it on the ground next to me.
"...depends. What's this all about?" I questioned, the hand on my notebook slipping up to push my glasses up further on my nose. "I'd prefer some answers before I give any, its only fair."

27-

I gave a small smirk at the boy who seemed to have a better head on him than the girl who couldn't tear her eyes from the paper, and almost seemed to be clinging to the boy's arm. "Well, my answers depend on yours," I said as I watched him. "I need to know if you've seen these around and if so, are they frequent happenings or not."




Misty-

I bit my lip and gave a small shrug, clinging to the strap of my bag. Sure, this was random and weird...but I had to check on her didn't I? I mean...well we weren't exactly friends...but still. I kinda felt like I owed it to her. "Well I...just wanted to check on you to see how you were," I said with a half smile. "I saw the weird guy talking to you and some boy...and I just was hoping he didn't startle you like he'd startled me.."