Bloodcurse

Normality

Seth, stop crying. You need to listen to me.

I'm-

With a gasp, I jolt awake. I reach up to my face, feeling the tears that I cried in my sleep. Quickly, I brush them off with my sleeve. I don't remember falling asleep in Grayson's bed, but fall asleep we did. It's morning already, and Grayson is still out good. It must have taken a lot of strength for him to talk about Adam after all these years. His story plays over in my mind as I slip out of bed as stealthily as I can, tiptoeing over to my room and feeling a distinct sense of déjà-vu. This is becoming a regularity at a concerning rate...

Grayson did a thorough job cleaning the holy water spill from yesterday, I can smell that he even used some sort of scented cleaning product. It's not bad, but I still open the window to let in some fresh air. I've been here for nearly five days, and I still haven't found the time to do my favorite thing: look out of a window and think. It sounds banal, but it's the only thing that I know calms me down for certain.

Since I'm on the second floor, my line of sight is level with most of the treetops, and I can hear birds chirping to announce that it's morning again. A slow, warm breeze brushes over my skin, and I breathe in to inhale the scent of pines and cedars. There's a monotone yet melodic hum from the insects buzzing about. I don't hear any cars, or people, and I try to remember when I last lived in a place that was this quiet. The answer I come up with is never. I come from cities; Salt Lake, Chicago, Jackson, Cody... well, Cody was probably the least crowded place out of all of them. We briefly stayed in a place called Cooke City after we left Wyoming. It's a minuscule town in Montana, and there was an old, rusted miner's cart there with a sign next to it that I always meant to read but never did.

Pulling a carton of cigarettes from the plastic bag in my desk, I take one to the window and light it there. It's been a while since I've smoked, or had a cup of coffee. Does Grayson know that Adam used to smoke? He must know, it sounded like they were very close. Poor Grayson. I feel bad for him. I don't know what it's like to love someone who doesn't love you back, but I imagine it's a horrible feeling. I wish I could ask Adam about it, and if he's ever felt that way about someone. Who knows what other secrets he kept from me? It's understandable that he didn't tell me everything, but graduating high-school? Applying to colleges? Those are some pretty huge things to keep from your own brother. Why didn't he tell me? Was he afraid that I'd think he would leave me behind if he went to college? One of the things that bother me the most about his secrecy is the money. How could he afford to buy a trailer if he didn't work? From the sounds of it, he was just a regular high-school student. So, what sort of income could he have had? He didn't work at night, that much I know. Adam always left in the mornings, and came back around five or six in the afternoon. There were rarely any oddities in his schedule. When there were, he told me he'd worked overtime or filled in for a coworker.

My cigarette has burned down to the filter already, and I extinguish it on the windowsill outside, rubbing the ashes away with my thumb. Noticing my scarred finger, I hold it up into the sunlight. The color hasn't changed, and I still can't feel it.

"Demons have something akin to a severe allergic reaction to holy water and religious artifacts, or so I've heard."

Nope. That is not what is happening. There has got to be a reasonable explanation for what happened. There may not be one for my visions or dreams, or that demonic 'Terry' character. But this is different. My parents are people, and my brother was a person. So, I'm a person. Not some scary thing out of religious texts and spooky films. I'm Seth. Human. Human who burns when he touches holy water. I scrunch up my face, trying not to cry again. Lately, that feels like all I've been doing and I don't think it's helping. No crying. Not now. I need to find out what's going on. Didn't the priest say something about hallowed ground? Surely, I would've felt uncomfortable there if...