What Lies In Me

Chapter 14

You know who we are, and we know you exist. We know about the demon attack on the WKHS campus, and the other demon-related mishaps that have been going on. We know Zahrim, the ice serpent by name, and are acquainted with Aranunna as well. We know who you are, how many of you there are, and that you want us for some reason.

We simply want to talk to you, and we imagine that you would like to speak with us. Meet us in front of the Mooresville City Hall, near the south entrance. We'll be waiting for you there.

"Do you really think this will go through?" I ask, looking up from the laptop at Sadie. "Sending this message in to the FBI or CIA, and hoping it gets to the one person that we need it to get to... It seems like a long shot."

Sadie types another line.

The power is in the blood.

"It's not luck," Sadie replies. "Whoever is controlling the media does not want all of this to get out. According to that book we found, there is likely an active demon politician in one of the world governments. I think these two observations are connected. If we send this message out to the government and a few news stations, a lot of these keywords might catch on, don't you think? After all, the media censoring so far has been pretty thorough."

"Yeah, it has. We know for certain that CEN was censored when we tuned in in the truck. We should definitely send it in there as a news tip. The FBI, CIA... Secret Service?"

"Wherever we can. If it doesn't work it'll just be seen as a prank."

"Right." I nod as she begins copying and pasting the text into several outgoing messages.

"Let's hope this works," I mutter under my breath. I can feel my muscles tense up. Sending this message is dangerous. I feel like I am signing my life away, but I know in my head that I need to do this. Being tracked and attacked by demons for the rest of my life is not an intriguing prospect. Still...

"Are you ready?" Sadie's voice interrupts my thoughts, and then voices my concerns. "Are you sure you want to do this? This could be it for everything we've worked towards in life. There's no turning back."

Am I sure? I look down at the laptop. Her finger rests on the Enter key, ready to send out all of the messages. She looks into my eyes, concerned but determined. In response I reach over her arm, look into her eyes, and mouth a response.

"No."

I press her hand down on the button. All of the messages send immediately, and notifications begin to pop up on the screen. I smile and sit back on the public bench, with Sadie giving me an incomprehensible look.

"You really don't take anything seriously, do you?" she asks.

"Not if I can avoid it," I reply, still smiling. "Things are much more fun that way. Life in general doesn't need to be taken too seriously. Besides, it's not going to help me to fret about this either way. We've only got two choices. We can move forwards with this now, or we can be sitting ducks for whoever wants to attack us, no matter how powerful they are. I'd like to pick our battles, and physically, dealing with a politician is probably more fun than an ice serpent."

"Physically, maybe," Sadie replies, smirking. "I thought I'd never get mixed up in politics, but here we are, requesting an audience. Maybe a giant snake would be more fun."

"Maybe, but I'm not trying to win any political battles. I just want to survive."

I pause for a moment, thinking. All I really want is to survive, all humor and pretenses aside. I'm conflicted as to whether I am happy to be in this sort of situation. The powers and the thrill of adventure fill me with adrenaline and excitement, but the stakes are very high. I keep telling myself, over and over again, that I may not live another day. I may never see another sunrise again. I may never visit my family or friends again. My life might end, very soon. Still, I am caught between excitement and fear, power and survival. This really begs another question, though...