Lilith (Demonology I)

Azazel

  I could feel my sanity slowly slipping away from me. The dark, the screams, and the feeling of weightlessness was tormenting. Fight it. I told myself. You're letting them in. Fight it so they'll leave. But how was I supposed to fight it? I thrashed about, punching and kicking at what wasn't there. Please, make it stop.

  Hands reached out to me. They pulled at my shirt, my arms, my hair. They were trying to drag me under. I had no sense of direction. I couldn't tell what was up and what was down. I was doomed.

  One of the hands dug their nails into my wrist, drawing blood. I couldn't hold it in anymore. I let out a harsh scream. My throat went raw, and I began to cough and gag. More and more hands scratched at me. They were pulling me to and fro, as if they were trying to tear me in half. Please stop. I was begging with whatever forces were doing this to me. 

  One giant hand appeared out of nowhere and scooped me up in one grab, pulling me away from the other hands. It pulled me out of the darkness and towards a harsh, blinding light. 

  "Finn," A voice boomed. "Finn, wake up!" 

  I bolted awake. Eva was sitting next to me, and she was shaking me. Blood dripped from where the hand scratched me.

  "It happened again," I said. Tears were streaming from my face. White hot pain flashed through my body, making me tremble. Eva cleaned up my scratches and wrapped them in a gauze.

  "I shouldn't have done it," Eva said. "I shouldn't have done that to you." By that she meant the source of my pain. 

  "You had to," I said. "I asked you to. You gave me another chance to live. I'd rather live through this than just die." But deep down, I wanted to die. If I had to go through this just to live, I would have sought out death.

  "I'm going to do everything in my power to end it, I swear I will." Eva placed a hand on my chest, where the pain was coming from. She was clearly fighting off tears, trying not to show how shaken she was. She didn't have to. This was the second time that this had happened to me, and the first time that it had happened around her.

  "Thanks," I said, clasping her hand. "I'll fight through it until you do." I had convinced her, but not myself. I just couldn't. How was I supposed to fight off what I was? How was I supposed to fight off my inner demon?