The Stories of Latia, Vol. 2: Demon's Curse

Chapter 23: Say My Name

Chapter 23: Say My Name

The Narrator

A dimly lit parking garage, and no one's around. Not three floors from the top, anyway. The only sound to be heard are a few rats, eating away at discarded food.

Although, only a few seconds later, new sounds fill the garage when James appears in a cloud of purple smoke that quickly dissipates behind him.

His booming footsteps echo around the concrete walls, as he stumbles over to lean his hands against one of them.

Boom, boom, boom, boom. His heart is pounding in his ears like muffled gunshots, and his head is spinning so fast he can barely see the wall in front of him.

It feels like his heart is beating harder and his head is spinning even faster. And faster, and faster, and faster, and...

It all stops when he plants his fist into the wall in front of him. He's not done, though.

He punches the wall again. And again. And again, and again and again until he's left a sizable hole in the concrete, and his hands were almost completely covered in his dripping blood. His breath is heavy and deep as he stares in horror at what he's done. Not just to the wall, but to himself.

"Y'know, taking your anger out on a wall isn't going to do anything for you, James," a piercingly familiar voice says from behind him, its voice identical to his own, except with a raspy, sinister undertone.

"Don't you have something better to be doing?" James snaps, resting his head on the concrete wall, directly above the hole he had made.

"I mean, I exist exclusively up here, so... No, not really," the Figure jokes, tapping its temple.

"Fantastic."

"So... Cassidy's gone, huh?" It says after a long pause.

James lets out a deep sigh, followed by a nod.

"That's a shame. I'll miss her-"

"Oh, will you? 'Cause if I recall correctly, it's your fault she's going to die," James exclaims, turning around and stomping towards the Figure, but never looking directly at it. "Or the real... You's fault."

The Figure laughs. "You still can't even say it. You still can't even look at me."

James scoffs, turning around and taking a few steps away from it.

"Look. At. You. The big, strong 'Protector,' everyone! So brave... Until it comes to looking himself in the face," it mocks, laughing to the point of tears.

"That's enough," James shakenly orders, looking over his shoulder but still careful not to look directly at it.

"That's what they call you here, isn't it? The Protector. Kinda an oxymoron, if you think about it. The Protector, who can't protect his own family-"

"I SAID THAT'S ENOUGH, T-" James snaps again, but quickly stops himself.

"Oh, come on. You were soooo close," it hops excitedly over to James, stopping a few feet behind him.

"Just say it. Just... Say my name."

James looks straight forward again, shaking his head.

It takes a few steps forward to whisper directly into James' ear. "Just say it. Just once. Just say. My. Name."

James takes a shuddering breath with horror in his eyes. "T-Two."

"HAHA! See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" It exclaims, taking a few steps backward and hoping in place with excitement.

"Now, there are better recipients for your anger than that wall over there." It gestures to the hole in the concrete.

James wipes his eyes, and starts walking to the garage's exit. "No. We're not... I'm not doing this."

"Oh, come on. What about someone who really-deserves-it?" Two says in a singsong tone.

James stops walking for a second, looking back over his shoulder. "Like who?"

"Well... I was thinking we should pay our old friend Smith a visit."

James scoffs, and continues walking. "No, no, no."

'We both know where he is, James. We both know what he's done..." Two shouts after him, but he's already disappeared into a cloud of smoke once again.

Two snickers softly to itself. "He'll come 'round. Soon enough."