The Heaven Project [Completed]

Death Attracts Demons *Connor*

My dad and I are about to leave but I have to find Eva first. I tell my dad I have to use the restroom and rush out of the room. Hopefully he doesn't come looking for me. When I find Eva, she's actually in the nursery like she said she would be. How she got in there, I have no idea. How she's managing not to get kicked out is another mystery.

I watch as she kisses a baby's forehead, leaving the baby smiling as she moves on. She says something and kisses the new baby's forehead. This time, I notice gold glitter covering the baby. What is she doing?

"Eva," I say, hoping to get her attention without attracting attention to me. Well, it worked because she looks up at me and smiles. She rubs the newborn's head before walking out.

"Yeah?" she replies.

"We're leaving. Hey, where's your school bag?" I ask.

"I might've, like, sent it to your room," she says quietly. "Don't tell the Council. I'm not supposed to use magic for non emergencies."

"Okay, so like, does the projection count as magic?" I ask. Eva shakes her head but doesn't elaborate. I guess that's as far as the conversation is going there. I'm about to say something when her eyebrows furrow together and her wings perk up.

"Did you hear that?" she whispers. I strain my ears for any unusual sounds. Infants crying in the nursery, monitors beeping, nurses talking to each other but no unusual noise.

"No," I say.

"Curse your bad hearing. Listen, really listen," she says.

I roll my eyes and I'm about to tell her how crazy she is when I hear it. If death had a sound, that would be it. A deep, ragged moan, almost sounding like a gurgle. The lights seem to flicker a bit. Before I can say another word, Eva shoves me into the nursery and closes the door.

"You. Stay with the little ones. But stay down, don't be seen," she says.

"Eva-"

"No Connor. Be quiet. Get down," she says sternly. In her hand, a sword shimmers into place. What is she going to do? What is that thing?

Eva whips her head to the left. I can't see what she's looking at from here. Her face pales but she looks determined. Without looking at me, she smacks the door. I sit down on the floor, out of the view of the window.

The next few minutes were absolute torture. The moanings got louder and it suddenly felt like all the silence was sucked out of the world. A feeling of dread overcame me and I suddenly felt like it was impossible to move.

I couldn't hear anything besides the blood rushing in my ears. Even the newborns were staying quiet which was a complete surprise. What kind of creature can cause such dread? I couldn't hear Eva or feel her calming aurora. That was scaring me.

I wanted to look through the window but Eva told me to stay down. But one peek wouldn't hurt... Yes it would. I was told to stay down for a reason. But when have I ever listened? This time. This time I'll listen.

Then, all the sound comes back. The feeling of dread goes away. Slowly, I stand up. Some of the infants start crying. The door opens behind me and I turn around. Eva is standing there, her face scratched up and the sword still in her hand.

"Eva, are you okay? What was that thing?" I ask.

"Fine fine. I'll explain later. I just need a nap now," Eva says.

"You might want to get rid of the sword," I say. Eva looks down. The sword shimmers and vanishes. "There ya go. Let's go find my dad."

"Your dad will kill me," she says. She's worried about my dad when she just got attacked by something?

"No he won't. I promise. C'mon," I say, pulling her out of the nursery and closing the door quietly. We walk side by side down the hall. The nurses bustle around, going in and out of rooms. "Hey, what was that golden shimmer with the infants?"

"That? That was me giving them protection against demons. I'm just a Watcher so I can't offer anything but that. Other angels can give them a life full of joy. Others can give them the gift of prosperity," Eva says. "Don't get any ideas. It only works on the newborns."

"That thing you were fighting, was it a demon?" I ask. Eva stays silent, biting on her lip then nods.

"Yeah. I didn't want to tell you but you should know. You know how you told me about those weird things happening at your house?" Eva says. I nod. "Well that was a demon. They don't usually care for humans but they do like to mess with you. It hasn't been around since I've been around."

"Uhm, good? Well the thing not coming around is good. Right?" I ask.

"Yeah. For now. I don't really know yet," she says.

"Connor!" my dad says, sounding relieved. "I couldn't find you. I looked everywhere. Uhm, is this the girl that was in our kitchen this morning?"

"Uh, yeah. Dad, this is Eva," I say. Eva gives a small wave with a sheepish smile.

"I'm sorry about this morning by the way. Not a great first impression," she says.

"That was kinda weird but Connor tends to surprise me," my dad says and looks at me. "Anything else I should know?"

"No?" I say, more as a question than a statement.

"Is Mrs. Blake going to be alright?" Eva asks.

"Yeah. The doctors say she's responding well. Right now, she's in a coma so only time will tell how things go," my dad says. I'm glad he didn't hold a grudge against Eva.

"May I ask what happened?" Eva asks.

"Can Eva come over for lunch?" I ask before my dad can respond to Eva's question. Eva glares at me but she doesn't say anything. I can almost guarantee she'll question me about it later.

"Sure," my dad says, giving me a quizzical look. "I was thinking we could just go out. I'm not really feeling up to cooking tonight."

"Can we go to Applebee's? Eva has never been there," I say. Hopefully with adding that last part, he'll say yes.

"Sure. It's been awhile anyways. Are you new to town Eva?" my dad say.

"Yeah. I just moved here last week," Eva says as we begin walking out of the hospital. Uh oh, she better have a good back up story. My dad likes to know a lot of details.

"Oh. How did you and Connor meet?" my dad asks. We step out into the cool September air. A cloud was moving slowly to cover up the sun.

"We have English together. I told him I'd help him out," she says and nudges me.

"Ah, that's why you told us we could stay out as late as we wanted," my dad says to me. I blush and nod my head. Way to look suspicious Connor. "Well, thank you for helping Connor."

"No problem. We made a deal. He's helping me with Algebra in return. Not my best subject," Eva says. My dad chuckles a little. This is unusual but hey, I'm not complaining. My dad unlocks the car. Eva and I climb into the back seat. My bag is sitting in the front seat.

"Try not to act too weird," I whisper to Eva.

"When have I ever acted weird?" she whispers in return. I raise an eyebrow and she laughs. "Fine."