This Demon of Mine

II

Zahi remembers the day he met Nox like it was yesterday.
A couple of 10 year olds alone in the forest.
Nowhere to go and only each other.

It lasted a few years, but on Zahi's 14th birthday Nox went out to go find him a present and was taken back to Hell.
They didn't see Zahi watching them and he ran back home and cried for days.
His only friend was taken, his family.
He's now 17 and he hasn't seen Nox since.
He's been barely surviving on his own without his best friend, but he's managed.

He was hoping to find some food since being away from Heaven for so long has slowly turned him more and more mortal.

He was collecting some blackberries from a nearby bush when a flash of light appeared a few feet in front of Zahi. He quickly ducked behind the bush as a figure stepped out of the light and walked towards the bush.
The figure stopped right in front of the bush and looked at him, "You are Zahi, correct?"

Zahi slowly stood up and backed away, giving a small nod, "Yes, and who might you be?"
The man smiled and walked around the bush,
"I, Zahi, am here to bring you back to your home."

There was a long pause as Zahi tried to remember the last time he thought of Heaven as home, he started to shake his head and back away from the man,
"No. You're here to bring me back to Hell. It may not be the real one, but what happens up there is worse than anything that happens down there."

The smile left the mans face and was replaced with anger, "Now now, that's no way to talk about the holiest place in the universe. It is your home and you will come back with us Zahi, we need you up there."

He walked closer and Zahi dropped the basket he was holding and ran back towards his house.
He could hear the man chasing him and he didn't stop until he reached the wall.
He threw some rocks down from the wall and ran into the house.
He locked the door and ran to the bed, taking the pillow that Nox used and curling up in the corner waiting for something to happen.
He didn't know what to do when he felt something tingly on his back.
Not now, please not now.
Zahi couldn't control it and two wings burst from his back, they almost filled the room and they were tinted blue at the ends, matching his emotions.
The last time he saw his wings was the day before Nox was taken, they were out and the ends were pink, signaling love.

Now that they were out, he didn't know what to do with them, he could hear the man breaking down the door and all he could do was just sit and watch.
His parents raised him this way, they made him a coward.
He stood up just as the door broke off its hinges.
"Finally. Now, I was going to be nice about this, but you don't seem to want to comply."
The man raised his hand and a white ball of light started to slowly grow until it was the size of a wall.

"We're going through this portal wether you like it or not." He launched forward towards Zahi, and in fear, Zahi held his hands up which in turn made some sort of shield in front of him.

This seemed to upset the man as he was knocked back.
"I was hoping to return before anything happened."
In another attempt, the man grabbed Zahi, who was too surprised to react, and shoved him through the portal.

"Wait! No! I don't want to be hurt again!"
As he shoved him through the corridors of the building they appeared in, Zahi cried out, hoping someone could hear him.
The only people who could were the others who were being experimented on.

A familiar door started to get closer and Zahi's anxiety went through the roof. He grabbed onto walls and kicked his legs, but the man was too strong.
He couldn't do anything else, the shield was a mistake and he wasn't sure how he did it at all.
At the door, the man opened it and threw Zahi in.

"Please, please don't let them poke me again. Anything but the needles!"
Flashbacks of his childhood ran across Zahi's mind and he couldn't help but think back to all the experiments and tests he was apart of.
Everything hurt, he was always aching and no matter how hard he cried they would never stop.

After taking a minute to calm down, Zahi looked around his room and took in a breath when another person was in the bed.
"Hello. You must be Zahi."
It was another boy close to Zahi's age, but he didn't recognize him.
He could be one of his friends from the lab, but it's been so long he could barely remember.

"Y-yes, and you are?"
Zahi wiped his eyes and calmed down enough to put his wings away.

The other boy seemed a little hurt,
"It's me, Liam. Don't you remember me?"
Zahi shook his head and frowned,
"No, I don't. I'm very sorry, I don't remember much of this place at all. Well. Except for the bad stuff."

Liam scoffed and shook his head,
"Must be nice to be able to forget this place and the people you left behind. Meanwhile the rest of us were stuck here getting the rest of the tests that were meant for you."

Zahi was a little disturbed by how quick Liam's attitude changed, "Oh. I didn't know. I truly am sorry."

Liam got up and looked down at Zahi,
"You will be. Once they start testing, you will remember just how bad it is here."

Zahi backed up and shrank against the door, he didn't want to be back, and he didn't know what he put the other kids through, he just wanted out of this place.
They said he was special, but why not tell him, why instead of trying to yank it out of him.

He turned towards the door and looked around frantically, looking for an exit. Anything to escape.
When he couldn't see anything he sat on the bed opposite of Liam's and curled up, avoiding his gaze.
He thought of Nox, hoping to sooth his mind, but it only made it worse and he felt the familiar sting of tears and a cry in his throat.
He wanted to let out his tears but he couldn't.
Not here. Not yet.