Bound

Chapter 8

-Answers-

You and Amy stood in front of Kenneth anxiously. He walked over to the pin board, taking off a picture of an elderly looking man. Turning towards the both of you, he held the picture in front of him.

"This... is my grandfather." Kenneth had a solemn look on his face. About fifty years ago, he had a mortal enemy. Some guy he went to school with really had it out for him. Ruining relationships, framing him, even going as far as to get some of his family pets killed. Real psycho.

Even as they grew old, he would continue to torment my grandfather. One day, he was fired from his high paying job because of some false claims the guy made. When he arrived home right after, my grandfather found that guy in bed with his then wife. They got a divorce, and he ended up having to work under the guy to stay off of the streets.

My grandfather was so infuriated he decided to follow a ritual he found in a book one day. He made a big summoning circle, lit candles, and even gave up a lot of his blood. He chanted in Ancient Latin, and out came... a demon.

He would use this demon several times to elevate his life and bring his enemy to utter devastation. He was very satisfied, holding extravagant summons for anything that posed a threat for the life he had. He ended up marrying a high end model and having three children.

I guess the weight of his actions were a little too much to bear though, so he had a change of heart. A lot of those summons involved harming innocent or unrelated people. In the middle of a request, he had ordered the demon to cancel. It didn't sit well with the demon, as he placed a mark on his chest, claiming he knew too much to be left alone. From there, it was a downward spiral.

There was a sudden accident that almost killed his wife. Then, there was an incident of arson on his company building. Sensing the danger, he decided to move countries, hoping the demon couldn't follow. This was useless as apparently the mark could track whoever had it.

More unfortunate events occurred until he was in his mid seventies. His wife had left, taking their kids. He ended up bankrupt, everyone he knew hated him, and no one would believe the truth because he was just a 'senile old man'.

He wrote down every detail of his experience in a book, which I found one day. When I read it, I thought it was some type of strange fiction so I asked him about it. When I did, he just broke down and I knew that the story had to be true.

For the next couple years, I studied everything I could about that mark and. From stories to history, anything I could get my hands on. Eventually, I was able to make a talisman to combat the demon's mark. I wasn't sure it would work, but I gave it to him anyway.

The next time I visited him, he was the happiest I'd ever seen him. Apparently, some miscommunications were solved, and his family no longer hated him. They listened to him more, and he even seemed less pale. He showed me where the mark was on his chest. It completely lost its glow and was only a shade darker than his normal skin color. He was able to live a relatively peaceful and uneventful life until he died at the age of eighty-nine.

Kenneth finished his story, and you didn't know what to say. You were shocked, worried, and you had no idea what to do.

"Don't worry too much though, I can definitely create a talisman for your mark as well, I just need time to study it." You could hear Amy let out a sigh of relief. "I'll need you to tell me your 'symptoms' first."

As you explained your situation, Kenneth was drawing a larger exact version of your mark. "Alright, I see..." Kenneth finished his drawing, placing it on his pin board. "It'll take me about a week to decipher the writing around your mark to make a talisman for it. I'll need your contact info so I can let you know when." "I'd really appreciate that." You smiled at him.

As he was reaching for his phone, he stopped suddenly "Ah! I just realized. I never got your names."

"My name's Amy." "(Name)."

"Nice to meet the both of you!"

As you exited the crawlspace, you had a sudden thought. "How do you even hide all of this here?" "Oh, well I've been volunteering here ever since I was little, so I get a little 'special treatment.'" "Makes sense."

You and Amy left the building with newfound hope.

For the first time in a while, you didn't hate this Monday.

~~~

"So..., did you find what you were looking for?"

You stopped drinking from your water bottle to face Aamon. Your lunch break had started a while ago and you had already finished your meal. "Yeah, actually."

He seemed surprised for a second, before returning to his usual demeanor. "That's great!" He placed a finger on his chin, grinning. "I was thinking we could go out together after work tomorrow as we won't be on cleaning duty."

You thought he proposed that idea a bit strangely. It seemed as though he was asking for a date. He was a pretty nice guy and all, but you didn't know him that well. At the same time, you didn't want to assume this was about you, so you probed further.

"Depends. Who else is coming?"

"Amy and my brother of course!" Aamon responded, his expression unchanging.

Ah, it seems you were overthinking after all. This was just a get together. E̶v̶e̶n̶ ̶s̶o̶,̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶w̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶r̶i̶g̶h̶t̶,̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶a̶b̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶.̶

"Where?"

"The arcade, there ought to be something for everyone there." You gave it a bit of thought. Late night gaming did seem appealing. "Alright then. I'll go!" "Sweet, we'll have a blast!" He did a little air fist bump.

"Ah! Speaking of Volken..." At the mention of his brother, Aamon paid extra attention to your words. "He's been... extra quiet lately, do you happen to know why that is?" He chucked lowly. "Oh~..? Don't worry about him he's just had a bit of... a hard time with our grandmother is all." You weren't perceptive enough to notice the slightly darker tone he used while spouting lies to you. "Ah, I see. Well I'm glad he's fine." "He can take care of himself."

"Let's focus on something else for now, 'kay?"