Demon Breathing Down My Neck

Chapter Six: The Dark Room

All of my muscles stiffen, my angelic energy sparking painfully through them. My next question is dry and flat. "What happened to DeAndre?"

Malik lays his head on my shoulder. He begins whispering, slowly at first, then a stream of words comes out, "Big Baby said he got Big Mama to take her to a special hospital. I don't know what kind of hospital, he just said special hospital. Normally, daddo is the only one who can leave to go to work and run errands. But daddo came home from work early and gave mama the keys to the van."

"This happened two days ago? Thursday?"

He nods into my shoulder.

That explains the traffic ticket I found. "What happened next?"

Malik continues whispering, "Mama left."

My throat is so dry swallowing hurts. "And?"

"When she came back her belly wasn't big anymore."

I put a hand over my mouth. "Did Big Baby say what happened?!"

"He- he just laughed when I asked him about DeAndre. He said that I would never be playing video games with anyone but him! He said he was my only baby brother!"

Malik shakes and trembles as I wrap him in a tight hug and rub his back over and over. I whisper, my voice cracking, "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I wasn't here to save him. I promise, I'll save the rest of your family!"

"Ma-mama hasn't said his name since! She won't tell any of us what happened!"

"She called my partner angel Liya yesterday afternoon! That's why were even here in the first place! Kiara said she overheard the conversation. Did you hear it as well?"

"She told me about it. She didn't want you to come."

"So your mama hasn't said anything about what happened? Anything at all?"

"She just gets quiet when we ask her about it."

"Have the demons said anything else about what happened to DeAndre?!"

"Only that he isn't coming back..."

"I'm so sorry..." I trail off. There's nothing I can say to make this better.

After Malik lays limply in my arms for a while, he looks up at me with wet eyes. "What else do you need to know? I'll tell you anything to get rid of that-that thing!" He shakes his fist at the ceiling. "You're not my baby bro! You're were never my baby bro!"

"Sshhh. Sshhh. It's okay. It's okay. Does Big Baby have any weaknesses that you know of?"

"What do you mean?"

"As he ever said that he's afraid of anything?"

"He told me never to pray! He doesn't like God!"

"All demons are afraid of Jesus! Even if they won't admit it. That's why Big Baby doesn't want you to pray. Jesus may be in heaven right now, but he's also with us angels, helping us to imprison these evil spirits in hell!"

Malik's facial expression is distinctly uncomfortable when I say 'evil spirits'. "Hell?"

"Well, technically, hells. There's many different types of interdimensional prisons for evil aliens across the multiverse. But for the sake of simplicity, I usually just say hell."

"You're going to send the-the demons to hell?!"

"I'm not sure if you sound happy about that or not. I am proud of you for calling them what they really are, though!"

"I'm not going to hell am I?!"

"Is that what they've been telling you?"

"They say God won't save me! They say he hates me!"