Dead!

Chapter 47

Chapter 47

By this point, we had gotten used to it. I took Dash and ran into Grandma's room. "Grandma!" I yelled. "The demons are back!"

Grandma glanced out the window briefly, and then said, "You're right." She locked the door and the two of us waited for the demons to leave.

I was glad that Maya wasn't here to be disruptive this time. She could write her stupid fanfiction somewhere else, and Grandma and I would have a better chance of not being taken. I huddled up against the wall, still holding my precious Dash.

I glanced out the window quickly. There were even more demons than there had been during any of the other attacks. I hoped to see Jordan, but he was mysteriously missing this time. I desperately wanted him to show up, if only to provide one good thing that I could say about the attack.

Instead, there was a huge group of demons running down the street. They were even scarier than they had been the other two times, with fully-formed wings, terrifyingly sharp teeth, and long, curved horns. There was no trace of humanity in these beasts. I wondered if Jordan would look like that if he stayed in Hell long enough. I decided that it was just another reason why he should get out as soon as possible.

I still hoped to see him, but it seemed that he hadn't come along this time. Jordan's perfect face was nowhere to be seen, and I couldn't help but feel a little bit disappointed. This was my only chance to see him, and he wasn't here. Maybe he would show up later.

What are you thinking? I asked myself. There are demons running around outside who could destroy everything you love, and all you're worried about is Jordan? Once again, I ignored the voice in my head. It would be okay. The demons hadn't hurt anyone the other two times. Why would they do anything this time?

Oddly enough, the demons stayed far away from my house. It seemed like they had a different target this time, outside of our neighborhood. I wasn't sure where they were going, but they had a goal. I wanted to know where exactly they were all going, but it wasn't like I could just go outside and ask them. I stayed where I was and hoped that the demons would leave and never come back.

I stayed there for nearly half an hour, and the demons kept falling and landing on the street in front of our house, but finally, the last one ran off to wherever it was these demons were going. It seemed really weird. Usually, the demons stayed in the neighborhood and didn't go too far from where they had landed. Nevertheless, it seemed safe, so Grandma unlocked the door, and I went downstairs.

Once I started looking around downstairs, I confirmed that the demons hadn't even entered the house. It seemed that they hadn't even gone anywhere near our house. I was pleasantly surprised. Dash scampered downstairs, and jumped into my arms. It seemed that the demon attack had passed without too much trouble.

All of a sudden, the phone rang. I set Dash down and answered the phone. "Hello?" I said.

"Hello, this is Sydney Sasaki from Hot Topic," the woman at the other end of the phone said. "Is this Maya Jackson's residence?"

"Yes, but why would I want to talk to you?" I said. "I'm not going to buy your emo junk."

Sydney laughed a little bit, and then said, "I'm not trying to sell you anything, but I do need to tell you some very important news. What's your name?"

"Ivy Livingston," I said, exasperated. "I'm Maya's...sister, I guess, although I wish I wasn't. What's the news?"

"Okay, Ivy. The demons broke into our shop, and well...they took a few of our employees back to Hell with them," Sydney said.

"Are you sure you didn't just give them to the demons?" I said. "It seems like something you would do. I bet it's part of your initiation ritual as an emo."

"This is serious," Sydney said. "People are missing, and you don't seem to care!"

"Why are you telling me all of this anyways?" I asked.

"Maya was taken," Sydney said sadly. "I just thought that you should know."

"Wait, what?" I said. "Maya's gone?!"

"I...I'm afraid so," Sydney stammered. "I'm sorry, Ivy."

"This must be some kind of joke," I said. "There was no way that anyone would bother to take a pathetic Hot Topic employee."

"It's not a joke," Sydney said. "Why would I joke about this?"

"I don't know, but it's not funny!" I said. "Can you just stop?"

"I'm being serious," Sydney said. "The demons really did come in here, and four of our best employees really were taken."

"You're...you're serious?" I said tentatively. I couldn't believe it. Maya was really gone, and I had been nothing but mean to her ever since we met. I never expected her to just disappear like this, but this is what I wanted, wasn't it? I had wished for Maya to leave and never come back, and now that had happened.

"I'm serious," Sydney said. "As I said, I'm really sorry, but there's no way to get her back."

I hung up and put my phone away. Then, I curled up in a ball as the tears began to flow. All kinds of thoughts went through my mind. Why am I such a horrible, horrible person? This shouldn't have happened. Nobody deserves to be taken to Hell, not even Maya. What are they doing to her? I hope she's okay. I know I hate her, but I hope she's okay. I just feel so horrible. Why does this have to happen to me? I already dreaded telling Grandma about this - she loved Maya. I just stayed there for a long time, hoping that by shutting out the world, I would somehow make things better.