Demons

It was dark. Only dark. All darkness beyond the point my vision can even reach. I feel nothing. Its as if I am only a pair of eyes and nothing more. A faint light suddenly appears. My eyes open. I had expected to see my ceiling in my empty room, but I see a girl! I stood up startled, no longer sleepy from my slumber. It was a picture of a young lady. Maybe around the age of fourteen. I pick it up and look around, for someone, anyone . . . no one. I was in a cave underground. What happened? I study the picture more. Confused and worried about, well, everything. I flip over the picture and it has a note on the back.

It read . . .

If you are reading this, we are dead. This is a picture of our daughter. Her name is Jennifer Hughes. She was kidnapped. By horrible, horrible creatures. They were demons and they killed us. We beg of you, find her. Get her out. She must live. Thank you. Sincerely, Charlie and Ashley Hughes.

As I finish reading. I look down the long hallway. I was in a cave with rocky walls. Where are the demons, where are the people? Are they really all dead? So, I decide to start walking down the hallway. Looking at the girl, reading the note, over and over. I’d memorized the note word for word. Eventually, the cave hallway led into this large open room, it was almost more like a canyon under ground, or a ravine. I look to my left to see a pathway. No railing thousands of feet above the ground. I carefully walk across, and it is a little cell room with a chest inside the destroyed room. The people must have been insane. It looks so familiar somehow. Not the room. The feeling of being trapped somewhere. Anyhow, I walk to the chest and push it open. Another picture inside and a journal too. The picture is of a man and a woman holding hands and a little girl in between them two. I flip it over and it says . . .

Charlie, Ashley, and Jennifer Hughes. And give this picture to her when you find her. So she can always remember how our family always was.

I then open the journal and flip through the pages, maybe to find one of importance. I then find a page. It is surrounded by swirls and looked magical and different compared to what I have seen before, and inside the mysterious boundary was a small note, it read...

I heard the demons talking. She escaped again I guess. They will hide her key under the river at the bottom of the ravine, so no one will touch or hurt her again.

Again? I wondered.

I decide to walk back to the ravine, like the book had advised. I reached the entrance and peered down the far drop down to the water. I found a path that looked the safest and headed toward there. I started hopping down the cliff sides. Till it was safe enough for me to drop down into the water.

Splash!

The water felt cool to the touch of my skin. It was refreshing, and was very clean water. I took in a big gulp of water. It was amazing. I was in need of water. As I looked to my left, I noticed a small light shining. The key! I Started heading up the stream. I went under, then got the key and swam upward and pulled myself up onto the ledge. While ringing out my clothing, I walked to a cave entrance nearby. Swinging the key back and forth along my finger tips. I felt as if I held power in my hands. Well, I guess I held maybe a life in my hand. I had to rescue Jennifer before it was too late.

I again started walking down the long hallway, not being able to see the end of it.

Moments later, maybe even hours later, I had no clue if it were day or night, or anything. Just seeing the same thing. Empty, lonely , destroyed cells. I was hungry, tired, and felt dizzy. I had to keep going though. I had no food. No company. No safe place to go. I couldn’t turn back. It could be another hundred miles there, but I was already so far. I felt sick. I had no choice. I had gone insane. What I had only had left, was this girl to keep me going. She was cruel and put me through torture, but she was the only reason I was still alive, and kept me going. She was my enemy and my only friend here.

I looked up, to see a girl on the ground. Weeping and sobbing in a cell. She had an actual puddle around her. I sped up. walking, jogging, sprinting toward. Every step felt worse and worse.

Suddenly fell to my knees in pain seeing her face over and over again covered in tears. I heard screaming and crying. Was it my own? Was I dying? What was happening? I’d lost control of myself. I was lost somewhere.

And after that, I don't really remember what else happened.

Until I woke up near her cell. She was trying to wake me. She threw rocks and sticks through the bars at me. She had lost it, and knew I was here for her. But she also knew I was getting weaker and unhealthy. I stood slowly using the wall for support. She’d looked up and saw me! Hope sprung into her eyes, or fear. I couldn’t tell. I stared at her. I took a step closer.

She looked to her left, and then a man stood. He walked out of the corner. Out of the dark corner. Was he a demon? He had a rack of weapons. They were mainly swords, bows and arrows. Those kind of weapons. I had never held any of them until he leaped at me. He started to change. He was turning into a werewolf . . . Or a demon. I grabbed a sword to defend myself. I swung the sword hoping to hit him, or even get close. Instead it flew out of my hands, and I went to grab a different one. Then he slashed his paw at me, and fortunately, missed. He was huge . . . and I was dead. I had a huge knot IN my stomach knowing what was about to happen. I was still weak. I only had this sword to defend myself. He slashed again. Only this time he hit me. I was on the ground. I was down, but not out. I had nothing to lose. My arm killed. I held my sword out, and he fell down onto me. His gigantic claws holding down my arms. There I was. Laying there. I couldn’t move. I was officially defeated. I looked straight at him. Seeing big black eyes, he was emotionless.

The girl was in the back of her cell. Staring at me. Her eyes were emotionless too. Then I felt a rush of heat come from my arms, through my whole body. I felt nothing. Then it went black. I think I was dead.

Moments passed. Sitting here alone. Waiting for something besides nothing.

Then it came. A light appeared. My eyes opened. I had awoken. Expecting to see the ceiling of my empty room. I see a girl. Staring right at me. I stood up, startled. No longer sleepy from my slumber. It was a young lady.

She had spoken.

“How are you Charlie?”

I was still very sleepy and confused. What was happening?

“ Ok . . . “ I replied.

“Ok, That’s good!”

“Yeah, it is. Where am I?”

“You're in the hospital. You are having troubles thinking. Remember? We are here to help you.  I saved you. My name is Jennifer. I’m a nurse.”

I was In a mental hospital. I was insane.

She saved me. She was my hero here.

I looked at her, suddenly realizing something. I slipped my hand into my pocket. I felt warm blood rush out of my hand and pulled out two pictures and a small book. When she left, I pulled them out. And there it was. I picture of a girl and her two parents. And on the front It said three names. Charlie, Ashley, and Jennifer Hughes.

So It was true. She wasn’t a little girl this whole journey. She had been protected by demons. She wasn’t taken. She killed her own parents. And worst of all, she was a demon. She tortured me and her family in that place. She tortured me here in this hospital too. She put me through hell here. She was a cruel woman. There was torture here and there. They all were. All the people here are evil. This was that little cave at the end of the long hall. And she . . . she was a demon.

Or . . . was she my angel?