The Existence of a Demon

The Existence of a Demon- Full story

So much of my life revolves around the eyes of my childhood. I can't have been eight when I remember a boy lurking around my house. His black piercing eyes, sharp nose, and shaggy, raven black hair still seems to strike at me now. I couldn't look more opposite, yet I have the feeling that's not why he hates me.

I was just in my backyard playing with my dog when I started to feel a dark presence loom over the block. The neighbors back door crashes open with great force as one other dog comes racing out. Immediately it started growling and attempted to attack my dog through the barbed wire fence. This wasn't the darkness I felt before, but the evil there seemed to crash in waves over my head as my neighbor approached me. It was the same boy I saw around my house.

"Who are you?" I tried to muster up a strong voice. No avail.

"Why do you care, huh?" The boy yelled. I stepped back. My fear quenched his hateful thirst, like a predator taunting its prey. I tried to speak up again.

"I, I-, I'm Lane-"

"I don't care who you are, just leave me alone!" he muttered angrily, whistling to his dog to come inside, then slamming the door shut. Once my fear couldn't paralyze me any further, I brought mine inside as well.

>--------<

Being inside couldn't be a greater escape from the boy. At times I wonder about him, so I'll take a look outside. His dark presence still lingers, like a mother cradling its newborn, darkness cradles the boy. I see some movement in my peripheral vision. As I look at the stirring, I see it's a man working. The waves I felt from the boy now look to be ripples. The man was significantly taller than I ever will be, and each feature seemed to stretch with his height. His arms and legs were slim and pale, almost bone-like, but his face was worse. His long slanted jaw, sunken cheeks, heavyset eyes, and shaved head seemed to be the pivot of his being.

What is he working on? I question myself. I lean closer to the window. Black fur covers the fathers hands- at least I assume he's the father, and a flick of a knife catches my attention. He cuts through the fur into something deeper. That's when I discovered what he was cutting open. The dog that tried to attack mine was now laying down in front of the father. Lifeless. Hopeless.

Gosh, it's full of blood too! I was sick. I looked away to sit on the floor of the room. I hear shouting but I don't dare look back.

"Zeke, get over here, and help me with this!" The father yelled. At least I knew the scary kids name, but that did nothing to ease my discomfort. I get up and go somewhere away from the terror my eyes have seen.

>---------<

School. What a lovely name for a lovely place. It doesn't help that the kid, Zeke, was now in my class. I always struggled talking to people, but ever since he joined my class no one tries talking to me!

"Why are you here?" I whisper shout. "I don't want you in my class." His attitude shifted from being ignorant to hateful.

"I don't care what you think, wimp, and you don't want to know." The waves of darkness spill over my brain again. I don't know what it is, but something about him and his family puts me in my cocoon. The images of his father and dead dog flood my mind. I shrink back and wait for him to become ignorant again. Next thing I know, recess is called and I race out the room.

"Wait for me!" I shout to my classmates. I knew they would ignore me, but I did my best because I didn't want to waste another recess crying alone at the swingset.

"Why don't you give up." A voice so jarring I ducked. Laughter echoes through Zeke's mouth, but I didn't hear it through him. My brain has been infiltrated with his hateful laughs, etching its marks inside me. I could pass out. My lungs acted like I ran a mile, my heart might skip a beat if it goes any quicker, my legs crumbled like a dry cookie, and my eyes glazed over, losing focus.

"I knew you couldn't do it." He muttered. Zeke no longer seemed like an intense bully that only intimidated others and never did anything. He is now something more, something demonic.

Zeke didn't look human. His black eyes widened, covering any white that might've been there. Shaggy locks of hair now became longer, thicker, and snake-like. His bitten nails grew into pointed triangles; his hands became slender and ghostly. His once pink gums and lips became white as his teeth. His arms stretched, reaching for me.

"Stop! Please go, don't hurt me!" I cry. Where's my halo, my saving light? I'm so sick of this pain. Once a boy, now an evil being, brought his hands closer to my neck. I suck my breath in hope I can survive long enough for help to come.

You will never make it. You think you know what I am, but I've only let you see what I want you to see. I tried shutting his voice out, but it kept getting louder. YOU DON'T HAVE FRIENDS, YOU DON'T HAVE ANY POWER, AND YOU DON'T DESERVE A LIFE! My heart felt like it's tearing. My eyes roll back and my face goes purple. I mutter in my brain my last words I might ever think again.

You don't exist, you DON'T exist, YOU DON"T EXIST! The monster raised his fist.

"Oh, yeah?" My jaw locks in with his punch. I get knocked back, no longer in a chokehold. My ears are ringing, my lungs are collapsing, then everything goes black.

>-------<

I lay on the ground in an uncomfortable position. My neck is puffed up, swollen, and bruised. Footsteps were heard approaching me. Whispers of the bruises slipped into my mind.

What happened? Why does he look like that? What's his name? The whispers grow louder and louder. My eyes open. Classmates surround my body. I look around the playground. I can't see Zeke anywhere, when what seemed to be minutes ago, he was strangling me. Slowly, I wobbled my way up from the ground, but my eyes refused to look up. With strenuous effort, I walk up to the doors to the school. One look from the teacher told me that I was going to be sent home. If only I could speak up and say what happened.

>--------<

Years later and I still keep these moments fresh in my mind. After I went home, Zeke was never found again. People questioned my sanity, asking who he was. My bruises faded in two days, and the house next door looked to be completely empty. My parents said that no one ever lived there when I was eight, but I knew better. My neck still remembers the neighbor kid, my mind still remembers the darkness, and my eyes still remember the dog, the father, and the change in the boy. I never understood why I saw the dog, but now I know it was a warning. A warning to never get close, to never allow them to do the same to me. Sometimes my mind senses dark presences, but I know now never to confront them. Those moments, that day, was when I learned what it means to discover the existence of a demon. 

Okay obviously you'll notice me making notes to myself in this. JUST SO YOU KNOW, I KNOW IT HAS THIS. this is in my heavy editing stage. its for me, remember? I've only written up to the climax, with no editing at all. I'll add more and finish it tomorrow (so october 21st, 2022) because thats when the story is due. <-- This was before I finished it obviously

I've already gone through and completed the story and made all the edits. It is supposed to be a super short story. I think I might add on to this explaining what lead my to writing this. I am kind of proud of myself for completing a story, even if it's super short. Just know that this one part is the only part of the story, the rest that might come is other stuff. Thanks for reading even if this isn't much of anything! (completed 10/21/22, published 10/22/22)

Please don't check anything else out on my account, there really isn't anything.