Short Stories

Her

It's bright. Too bright. I don't remember anything or anywhere this bright, but then again I don't remember much. Suddenly, my vision cleared. I am locked in a cage, like an animal. Bright lights aim at the cage, blinding me. I try to move, but I find I can't. I reach up to feel what has stopped me from moving. Horns. Long, horns. Long, ribbed, horns. What am I? I cannot be from this world. This is a human's world. And humans, as far as I know, don't have horns. Some move in front of my cage. I snarl and bare my long teeth. Instead of jumping back from my cage in fright, as I thought they would, they put their heads down and started writing on a board of some sort. One talks into a small oblong shaped box.

"The subject displays hostility, but that is expected in beings from hell. This being I presume they call 'Demon,'"

Damn, right I do. Wait... Demon? So that's what I am. But Hell? That word, name or whatever it is has no meaning to me - and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not.

"The subject seems too big for the cage,"

Then get me a bigger cage, dimwit.

"Open the cage, dimwit," I spit out. My voice, raspy from lack of use, is almost illegible. "Or I'll tear you limb from limb when I escape."

Dimwit snorts at that. "The cage may be small, but it is impossible to break, Demon. You will never be strong enough to escape it." He grins triumphantly at me. "But by all means, Demon, try. Your failure will be amusing."

Roaring at him, I tear at the bars from the cage warping them enough for me to clamber out. Stepping out, I rise to my full height. The ceiling squeals as my horns scrape the ceiling, the sound is unpleasant to the humans, a sound that breaks the terrified silence.

"The Demon's cage is too weak to contain it. Note for the future: use a stronger cage than normal!" Dimwit squeaked.

I grab him, tearing his arms and legs off. "I am not just a Demon" I seethe. Stupid, little dimwit.

One of the humans runs from the room screeching "It speaks! It speaks!"

"I am not just a Demon. I am her. I am female." I grab after the female who ran, screeching, from the room. "Where is the exit?"

"Out that door, down the hall on the left, take the 3rd hallway on the right and follow it until the end. The exit should be at the end," Her voice strained from the pain and quivering in terror. Their eyes open wide and stare at me. They tremble in terror. "Delete all the information. If you don't, I'll come back for you and your fate will be worse than him."

~~~

The streets are all deserted. Not one living thing is about but some fuzzy creatures wandering past. One approaches me carefully, it's fur coat a patchwork of colours, I kneel down, retract my claws, before stroking its fur. As soon as I stand up, it runs away frightened. I make my way down, what I think to be the main street. I stop when I see a tall shape with long ebony horns. I extend my claws, ready to fight. It looks my way; its skin caught in the light of a streetlamp. I see its skin isn't skin at all. It's scales. Crimson Scales. Like mine. It starts heading my way. Closer and closer. It stops a street light away, giving me a good look. It's not an It, but a her. A female. A female demon. Like me. I'm not alone anymore. She glares at me.

"You."

In a flash, she's slamming me into the pavement by my throat. Her hold tightens, before softening, like her expression.

"Where have you been?" she sobs.

She releases me and hugs me.

"Where have you been?" She repeats.

Huh? She must have the wrong demon.

She holds me out at arm's length and looks at me with her piercing golden eyes.

"Ebony?"

Nope. She knows me. Well, the demon I used to be I suppose.

A flash of white jolts me. A single name appears out of the darkness of my thoughts.

"A-Alice?"

Tears roll down her crimson face.

"You do remember me," She pulls me into a tight embrace. "I thought all of your memories were gone. I thought you were gone. I thought your father... I thought he..."

"What? I...I barely remember you. I barely remember anything..."

She lets go of me, her eyes drop to the ground and her shoulders slump.

"So he did. What..." She hesitates. "...What do you remember?"

"Darkness. A whole lot of nothing. And now...," I pause, looking down, before looking her in the eye and continuing. "...You," She smiles at that. "You. Your face in the morning. You seemed to be the light in my life."

"You are mine," She looks me in the eyes. The sunrise behind us catches her eyes. Next thing I know, her lips are on mine, and her hands on my lower back press me against her. The feeling is so warm, so familiar. It triggers more memories, whole memories. The way her hair fell around her face in the mornings. The way she would wake me up every morning with a kiss. The way her golden locks would catch the rays of sunlight. The way she said my name. How cute she was when she got angry. How she always knew how I was feeling. How her hair turned a dark brown when wet. Her. Just... her. The sound of her laugh was my everything. She was my everything. She was my world. She still is. She breaks away from the kiss, breathing heavy.

"I remember you. Us. Nothing more," She smiles again. "I love you, Alice."

"I love you too, Ebony."

"Not even the devil can shatter our love."

"Not even the devil can shatter our love," I repeat.

She slips her hand in mine, and we disappear from sight.

~~~

Humans fill the street to welcome the newcomers. Two beautiful lovers. One with long ebony coloured hair, the other with hair like spun gold. As they look up at their new home, one slips her hand into the others as they walk into the house. A patchwork fur coloured cat slips into the house before them.