The Devil, Inside and Out

An Echoed Scream in the Distance

Laura was grinning ear to ear. Her date had gone just as planned. Wayne was extremely kind to her. He didn't argue with her plans at all. Their trip to the park was a success. They ate sandwiches she had made at a picnic bench, then fed bread crumbs to duck. Then they held hands while sitting on a bench, smiling and watching birds fly by, like dark scraps of paper. They sat in a tree and watched dogs being walked by their owners. Then they watched a sunset in the distance.

After they finished in the park, they walked to the city to watch a movie. They stopped at a hot dog stand to get food. They ate on a bench and talked, making jokes and laughing. After they finished their food, they walked to the theater. They watched a movie together. It was a horror, picked by Laura.

It was about a man being possessed by a demon. He could control himself most of the time, but sometimes he lost control and killed or hurt people he loved. It scared Wayne and Laura had to take charge and put her arm around him.

The movie had some romance as well. The demon made the man do terrible things like play around with multiple women, leaving his girlfriend with a broken heart. No one knew that he was possessed by a demon because it held his tongue back when ever he tried to tell someone. He was trying to win his girlfriend back while being hindered by the demon.

Eventually, he overcame the demon and took control. He fought the demon and found a priest in the climax. He requested an exorcism and had to fight the urge to slaughter everyone around him. He was able to hold still long enough to be exorcised. He won the trust of his girlfriend and marry her. It ended with them having a child. As the credits were about to begin, the baby's eyes flickered to a yellow color, the same as a demon.

Outside the theater, the two talked a bit. Eventually Wayne took a serious expression. "Laura, I had a great time and wondered, if you would be my girlfriend!" Laura felt her heart rejoice. "Of course! I would love to!" They then embraced and began to walk home. They walked together until their paths split. They said their farewells, then left.

Laura was going off the beaten path. She was going through lots of alleyways. Now that Wayne is gone, it is a good moment to describe Laura. She was wearing a blue buttoned shirt and navy jeans. She also wore black shoes. She had long, light brown hair and gray eyes. She was thin and a bit tall.

She walked with a step in her stride. She couldn't have been happier. She had a crush on Wayne since elementary school. Now they were in eighth grade, about to go to high school. She finally was able to get up the nerve to ask him out a week ago. Now they were official. She was glossing over it in her head when she heard a blood curdling scream.

She jumped as it echoed. It was... familiar. It sounded like... Wayne. Oh god, she thought as she ran in the direction of the scream. What happened to him. It was as if it were a wounded animal. She eventually came to an alley a few blocks from hi house. She heard a squishing around the bend. She was terrified of what she might find.

She quietly looked around the corner. There was a girl in a blue unzipped hoodie. She had on green shorts and blue boots. The strangest part about her was the red, squirming tentacle. It bent around, moving around something in front of her. It looked like it was made of flesh, like what organs look like in movies. There was another fleshy looking strand coming from the back of her neck. It wrapped over the top of her head. What did it end with? The girl had silver hair.

Laura realized that she had her purse. She silently dug through it and pulled out a pocket knife. She stepped into the entrance to the alley. The girl saw Laura's shadow and turned around. The street lamp caused light to bounce off her front side. Laura saw what the strand of flesh on her neck went to. It was a long, birdlike mask of flesh on the girls face. It looked like the masks doctors wore during the black plague. The big difference other than the fact that it was apparently made of meat was that it left the girls mouth, nose, and right eye uncovered. The girl was grinning wildly.

Laura looked down to see blood covering the girls front torso. She also had blood covering her hands. The tentacle reached out of a large shadowy lump and pointed at Laura. The girl looked about twelve. Het voice sounded like it too. "Who're you?" Laura stepped back. Then she collected herself and asked, "Why did I hear Wayne screaming?! And why are you covered in blood or have that fleshy tentacle and mask!?" The girl took a confused expression. "Who's Wayne?" Laura looked angry. "Wayne is my boyfriend. Did you do anything to him? " The girl then looked as if she realized something. She pointed behind her. She stifled a giggle. "Is that Wayne?" She stepped out of the way to reveal Wayne's mangled corpse.

Laura screamed. She got down on her knees as she began to sob. It was obviously Wayne. It had his same dirty blond hair. It wore his same green, flannel shirt. His same jeans and sneakers. His same slightly chubby stomach. He was the most beautiful person in Laura's eyes. Only this wasn't Wayne. It couldn't be. It had its chest ripped open. Organs were everywhere, as if they were tossed aside. It was covered in blood. There was blood everywhere. His cheeks were drenched with tears. That meant that his death was slow.

Laura was still on her hands and knees. She threw up. She looked up to see the girl looking down at her. How could this girl do this? She couldn't have been older than fourteen. Laura almost yelled, "Why would you do this?" The girl laughed. "For fun! To me, humans are scum. I couldn't care less about them!" Laura remembered her knife. She ran forward, bellowing a war cry. She lashed out at the girl, brandishing her knife.

She screamed as she slashed at the girl in spurts of rage. The girl dodged her skillfully. Eventually the girl used her tentacle to throw Laura against a wall. Laura felt her ankle snap. She moaned in pain and threw up again. The girl stood above her. "When I first took him into the alley, I broke all of his arms and legs. The girl stomped on Laura's leg, breaking it. Waves of pain racked Laura's body. Then the girl forced Laura up. She grabbed her left arm. She snapped it with ease. Laura was still screaming and crying. Then the girl snapped her other arm. She let Laura slump to the ground. "After breaking his bones, I made sure not to make him get used to the pain by making it worse. I broke him down. Ruined his mental state as I dug into him." The girl stabbed Laura into the stomach, letting a new chain of cries of pain out. It was no longer a human scream. It was primal.

Her scream was filled with pain, terror, and sorrow. Laura's throat was on fire. She coughed up blood. She eventually stopped screaming. How come no one had come to save her? Were they scared? The tentacle squirmed around in her stomach. The pain was unbearable. The girl laughed above Laura. "I'm widening the hole in your stomach so I can pull out your organs. I like to collect them. It's fun really. I like it when I see humans in pain. I sometimes even eat the-" At that moment, the girl exploded. Blood and organs exploded everywhere. Laura felt the tentacle explode inside her stomach.

Another smiling girl walked into the alley. She was obviously of African ethnicity, with dark brown skin. Despite this, her hair was white. Laura could barely see through her blood covered eyes. The girl had on a white shirt and black pants. She had no shoes on. Despite the girl exploding, the new girl didn't have a spot of blood on her. "Hello Laura! Let me help you with that." The girl walked up to Laura and bent down. Then the girl kissed Laura on the mouth. Her lips were warm. The girl pulled away. Laura felt the pain go away. The physical pain, at least. Wayne's corpse was still right in front of her. Laura felt her stomach and realized the hole was gone. Her arms ans legs were unbroken as well.

Laura looked up. "How did you do that? Who are you?" The girl smiled, revealing pearly white teeth. "I'm death and I want you to become a reaper."