Nephilum

Chapter 18

By the time Michael knocked on my door, I had already threw all the stuff I would need on my journey into a duffel bag. I had a couple outfits and some food and water. I looked up from my hastily packed bag as Michael knocked again; more urgently.

"Just a minute." I called as I shoved the bag under my bed. He opened the door just as I stood up. I tried to smile at him as casually as I could. "What's up?"

He looked at me suspiciously, but didn't say anything. "I just wanted to tell you that since Devin doesn't want to train you anymore, James is going to."

I nodded and smiled again. Then, realizing I had no reason to smile since he didn't say anything amusing, I dropped my smile. He gave me a weird look again.

"Are you ok? You're looking a little stressed." He paused for a moment. "Or something."

"I'm great. I'm not stressed at all." I said cheerily. I almost cringed at how happy I sounded. The prospect of being happy while my little brother was God knows where with demons that want to kill me was foreign.

He narrowed his eyes at me, but didn't say anything. "Anyway, I'm going out so James is going to be here in a few minutes. Please don't sneak out. We don't have time for that."

I nodded. "No sneaking out. Got it." Really, all I was thinking was that this would be the perfect opportunity to do exactly what I just said I wouldn't do.

"Bye." He said and before I knew it, he was gone.

I sighed in relief and grabbed my bag. If I was going to pull this off, I had to do it now. Even though James wasn't here yet, I ran down the stairs making the least amount of noise possible. I also grabbed a wad of cash from the drawer that Michael kept there in case of an emergency. I wouldn't have taken it, but I guess having your little brother kidnapped my demons classifies as an emergency.

I held my breath as I walked out of the elevator on the ground floor. I nodded nervously at the man behind the desk and briskly walked out of the double doors. I didn't have time to admire the streets around me as I all but ran to the nearest bus station.

I'm not sure how, but I will get Alex back.

"Hi, one ticket to Battle Creek, Michigan please." I told the lady behind the ticket booth. She smiled slightly and handed me the ticket. I figured the best way for me to find out where the demons were keeping my brother was to go back to where he was kidnapped.

"The next bus there is in half an hour."

I nodded and sat in an uncofortable plastic chair. There were two people on either side of me. One was a man in a suit, typing away on his phone as he talked to someone with an earpiece. The other was a guy a little older than me in normal clothing. He didn't talk, didn't move, he didn't even look like he was breathing.

His eyes flicked to mine for a split second before they returned to the window to our right. I furrowed my brows at the strange man, but shrugged off the uneasy feeling that was starting to creep through my bones.

Exactly thirty minutes later the bus arrived. All three of us got up and walked through the open doors. I still felt a creepy vibe eminating from the guy to my right because in our thirty minutes of waiting, he didn't move a muscle. The only thing he did was stare out the window, a blank expression captivating his face.

Luckily the bus wasn't too packed, so I got to sit in a seat by myself. The plan was to go to my house, check out Alex's room, and then somehow turn myself over to the demons.

I felt eyes burning wholes in the back of my head and turned slightly to try to scan over the people behind me without being obvious about it. No one seemed to be looking at me, so I turned around and stared out the window.