The Good Demon - Dolbent

3

Dolan's brother returns, just hanging up the phone with a sigh. "I'm going to have to go today to teach the kids. I can't believe they can't just reschedule it for another day."

"You're going now?"

"Yes. I have to."

Dolan pockets his new device and stands up, "I'm going."

Dmb suddenly raised his voice at him, "You just got back! You were nearly killed! You—!"

"Brother, I have to find the demon that saved my life." He says with urgency. His brother had always been set on keeping him safe; that was his one job.

There was sadness in Dolan's eyes. It forced his brother to ask, "Why? There has to be a reason, Dolan..."

Dolan was missing a reason. Maybe he just wanted another friend. Hellbent isn't exactly the kind Dolan should be seen with though. Who says it'd be easy to befriend the demon?

Dolan shook his head and cleared his thoughts. He never gave his brother a response. He just went outside and waited by the car for him.

×××

Children ask so many questions. It's insane. Dolan's brother couldn't believe the kinds of things he had to randomly answer. Maybe Dolan was fit for the job. He seemed better fit for children than any other audience. At least he'd give them an answer they would have more fun with.

Instead, Dolan had to sit in one of the booths of the diner. He had to keep watch out of the window.

The demons that passed by weren't Hellbent. Dolan grew nervous. The session is almost over and they'll have to go back home. Home, where it was boring.

All demons looked the same. They had hot pink skin, two horns, a long pointy tail, lanky figures from lack of food. They had sharp teeth and claws. Their eyes were always so multicolored and bright light candy. Most of the time their eyes were red or green or purple.

Hellbent's were yellow. Dolan had never seen anything like them, not even from his brother (who has a dull yellow eye color), and not even from the many demons that passed by.

His pocket buzzed suddenly. Dolan took out his new phone. He hasn't had time to put his information or contacts into it, so this number was random. He thought it was just a wrong number.

He only picked up because it was more exciting than sitting there, looking for someone he can't find.

"Hello?"

Hellbent's growl startled Dolan to the point where it made him stand. "What are you doing here?! I told you not to come around here!"

And just like that, Dolan couldn't breath.

"Hellbent...how—"

"Get your brother and leave." He says sternly and eerily quiet, like he had a gun pointed to his head, and this was his one phone call.

"Where are you? How did you know I was here?!" Dolan asked.

There was silence on the end of the phone.

"Hellbent."

"If you want answers, wait outside for me. Don't move, or else I'll have to save your ass again." And there was a click.

Dmb wasn't going to like that, but he didn't care. Dolan had to choose between now or never.

The people that passed by Dolan outside of the diner acted as if he didn't exist. Dolan was lucky to get a glance from a random demon. Even so, he was always scared. One of them could just lift him up and take him away forever. It wouldn't be that hard with Dolan's size.

About two minutes passed and Dolan sighed. He shook his head and mumbled, "What am I doing here...?" Hellbent wasn't coming. No way. Why was he even trusting him in the first place?

Dolan turned to leave, but as soon as he did, a heavy hand touched his shoulder.

Dolan never turned around so quickly before. It scared Hellbent.

"Woah!" Hellbent chuckled into his next sentence, "Calm down, buddy."

A familiar face was all that Dolan needed to calm down. He blinked up at Hellbent. He was quite taller up close. "You..."

"It's me." He says bluntly. "Now ask what you want so I can get out of here... More importantly, so YOU can get out of here."

Dolan was thrown into that, so he started chattering away. "How did you give me this phone? How did you know I was here? How did you know my brother was here? How--"

Hellbent chuckled again, this time a little uneasy. He held his hands up as if Dolan had him at gun point. In this case, if Dolan's mouth was a weapon, he was in grave danger.

"Slow down, one at a time!"

"You seemed eager to get me out of your sight."

"Not intentionally." Says Hellbent. "I knew you were here because I've been keeping an eye on you."

Dolan noticed he said that so casually, it'd be considered creepy.

"There has to be more to that." Says Dolan.

"I know, and there is." Hellbent looked somewhere behind Dolan just as the doors to the diner opened. Dolan turned around to see his brother.

Dolan noticed how dull his eyes were compared to Hellbent's.

Dmb looked to Dolan, "There you are! God, I can't leave you alone out here can I?" The color disappeared from his face as he spots Hellbent, towering over Dolan so eerily close.

Dolan spoke urgently, "No, no! It's okay, brother! This is who saved me." He smiled genuinely.

His brother gripped Dolan's arm tightly and tugged him so that he was close to him.

"No way " Dmb says, more dismissively than angry. "He's just another demon! That's how they lure you in!"

Hellbent's expression didn't change. A sign that he gets this attitude towards him often. The demon grinned, and it would have been a scary grin if it weren't for the softness in his orange tinted eyes. Dmb sensed this.

"I killed my own kind to save your little brother. Just saying." He shrugged.

Dmb blinked. He looked to Dolan because he could be believe Hellbent's words. Sure, he didn't look like the rest of them but that was no reason to let your guard down.

Without words, Dolan understood him. He nodded. It was true, after all. Dmb knew the truth was real in his eyes. It was a sibling thing.

He sighed, letting go of Dolan. Not completely, but at least he wasn't so tight on him anymore.

"Alright... You're fine to me then." He mumbled. He refused to make eye contact with the 'monster' in front of him. "Let's go. The session is done."

Dolan didn't want to see what would happen if he disobeyed his brother at this state, so he nodded. "Okay."

He looked at Hellbent, the reason why he's out here in the first place, and frowned. "Bye, Hellbent."

Hellbent puts two fingers to his forehead and salutes.

"See you around, Dolan."

When Dolan was home, that was the moment he realized he never actually mentioned his name to Hellbent.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Don't forget to vote.