Gehenna: An Awakening

Chapter 4

 Will had never taken an all-nighter before. He liked to sleep, and he liked to dream. What was the point of staying awake in the house he lived in? Being asleep was Will's only buffer from all the torture he had to deal with. When he was awake, Julio was only a room away. But when he was asleep, Julio might as well be in another world.

But tonight, he needed to stay awake for as long as it took, even if it was all night. He had to wait, see if the creature would come back, and if it would be willing to speak with him. Of course, that assumed it knew English at all. And there wasn't a guarantee it would come back. But he had to try. Will had a feeling that it would return. Maybe it was a good intuition, or maybe Will was just crazy.

Despite the fact that Will only wanted to talk, he kept the gun at his side that night. Better to be safe than sorry, though he had no intention of actually firing it. He wasn't capable of shooting something, but it still made him feel safer.

Despite the potential consequences, Will found it a little amusing how frustrated Julio was when he was looking for the gun. He was practically scrambling for it, claiming that he needed it for security. Will had never seen him so frantic. Of course, Julio had searched Will's room, but he never guessed it would be taped to the bottom of a desk, out of sight.

Eventually, Julio just gave up, and instead slept with a baseball bat close by. What could he possibly be so paranoid about? Of course, how was Will any better? He was currently keeping a gun at his side because he was waiting for a winged creature to come to his window.

No, Will was much better. Will wouldn't become an alcoholic, and he wouldn't become a monster like Julio. The only thing Will had, the only shred of sanity that he could hold on to was the fact that he was going to better. He had to be.

Will sighed. He was getting deep in thought again. He needed to focus on the window. Then again, no matter how much he could've been thinking about something else, it wouldn't be hard to notice something as strange as the creature.

He wished he had a bouncy ball, so he could just play around with it, alleviate his boredom. Most kids were used to having simple things like that, but Will was never given that luxury. His room was sparse, now that he thought about it. No posters, no personality, no evidence that there was ever a kid living here at all. He had been in this room for ten years, and yet there was nothing that made it his. It was only a few metal bars away from being a prison.

When the night first began, Will's stomach was knotting with tension, but now, there was a certain peace in the darkness, like everything was still, asleep, calm. Will had never quite witnessed a moment so serene, so peaceful. He could sit like this for hours, just enjoying the quiet.

Will's eyelids began to droop a little. It was one A.M., far later than Will usually stayed up. But it was worth it. Even if it was just so he could rub it in Sam's face. He chuckled silently. Oh the look Sam would give if he saw the creature. Maybe Will would take a selfie with it.

WHOOSH! Will jumped as, suddenly, without warning, there it was, standing directly outside his window, just like last night. It seemed surprised that Will was waiting for it, and took a step back. But it did nothing more, and simply watched him. They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, almost like an understanding, a trust was being built between the two of them.

The creature was there for Will, that was clear, but there was no maliciousness. It felt like it was there because it cared, because it wanted to watch over him. Maybe Will was secretly it's long lost son, he mused to himself. But, no, it was something different.

Will's hand left the gun, he wasn't going to need it. He wanted so much to talk to it, but not yet. Right now, he just wanted to observe it, take it in. It was fascinating, something like that even existing. Will always thought the world was crazier than people let on, but this brought it to another level.