Teenage Antichrist

Kid...you're awesome!

S5 E6

"There's, uh, kind of a...a war between angels and demons," the man (Jesse remembered his name was Sam) said. For some reason, he looked a little scared. Jesse wondered for a brief second if it was because of him, but dismissed that idea out of hand. Sam's brother was pinned to a wall. That was it. "and...you're a part of it."

Sam was definitely scared, but Jesse wasn't thinking about that. A war? He was 11...you couldn't be in wars until you were a grown-up. He wouldn't be an adult for another eight years.

"I'm just a kid," he protested, wondering what was going on. They were talking like he was someone important...They were telling him so many different things he wasn't sure what was true anymore. All he knew was that Sam seemed to care. At least, he wasn't trying to kill Jesse or make him do anything. Just talk.

Sam ignored that. Why wouldn't anyone realize he was just 11?! He was going to start middle school next year.

"You can go with her if you want," Sam said, and for some reason the man looked immeasurably sad. Like it would break his heart if Jesse left. "I can't stop you. No one can." Sam definitely looked scared now, and Jesse wanted to ask if it was a joke. Sam, a big, strong man who could fight demons, was scared of him? But it wasn't a joke. A demon was sitting in a chair fighting to get up or speak, just because he, Jesse, had told her to sit down and shut up. A man was floating in mid-air against a wall.

"But if you do...Millions of people will die." Sam concluded, making compassionate but frank eye contact. Jesse couldn't help his chin from wobbling a little bit. This was too big... He wasn't supposed to make choices like this. That was for superheroes.

"She said I was half demon," Jesse pointed out, hoping there was some answer. She was a demon, right? She had to have been lying. "Is that true?"

Sam nodded. "Yes." The tall man sucked in a breath and exhaled, pointing out, "But you're half human, too. You can do the right thing." Wait, did that mean that he was going to be a villain? That he couldn't stop from turning into that black-eyed thing in the chair or that man that had tried to stab him? That he would throw people against walls like the demon had?

"You've got choices, Jesse," Sam said, kind of encouragingly, while Jesse tried not to cry. "But if you make the wrong ones, it'll haunt you for the rest of your life." The way Sam said that, Jesse couldn't help but believe him. How was he supposed to make the right decisions? He was just 11? Why couldn't he just be a normal kid? Why did they have to tell him all of this?

"Why are you telling me this?!" Jesse demanded, voice breaking. He wouldn't cry. Not if he was supposed to be a grown-up. Besides, he wasn't sure if demons or superheroes were allowed to cry. He wanted Sam to say that the grown-ups had an answer; that they had things planned out. He wanted to go to the academy for the X-men. But maybe that was only for humans.

"Because I have to believe someone can make the right choice, even if I couldn't." What does he mean? Sam couldn't make the right choice? If a grown-up couldn't, how the heck was he supposed to? This wasn't fair. Wasn't it supposed to be fair?

Sam tried to smile, and then abandoned the effort. He was scared of Jesse.

Jesse tried to swallow the lump in his throat. He had to try to do what Sam wanted to. He clenched his fist to try and make himself feel stronger and looked over at the demon. At least she didn't look too scary. Not stuck in a chair like that.

"Get out of her," he ordered, half hoping it wouldn't work. His voice wobbled a bit, but he was proud that it didn't break.

The chair slid across the room into a corner and he heard wind howl and blow around the demon's face. Black smoke came flying out of the woman's mouth and Jesse's only thought was Go away! Don't hurt us! The smoke rocketed through the great and up the chimney like a giant, black snake. Kind of like in Harry Potter.