Hey There Ryan, It's Me, Ya Demon

Chapter 7

The only sound that could be heard is the hysterical laughter echoing throughout the West Virginia Penitentiary. Shane's laboured breathing only makes Annan laugh harder. "Wow, Shane! I never thought you were such a pussy!" Shane doesn't answer, doesn't want to give him the satisfaction in giving Annan a reaction. So instead, Shane spits blood beside his ex's expensive looking shoes. Fuck, Shane thinks. I missed. Annan looks uninterested at the spit. He looks at Shane with a raised eyebrow. "Really?" Shane doesn't respond. Annan sighs and crouches down, looking disappointed. "I thought this fight would be more interesting. Guess the mortal world changed you Shaney-boy. Especially that human rubbish." 

Shane's eye twitches involuntarily. He hopes that Annan doesn't see it, but he isn't so lucky. The demon smirks. "What? Is he really so important to you? He's no use to either of us. I should just kill him now, shouldn't I?"

"N-no!" Shane says through gritted teeth. Annan smirks even wider with crazy eyes and makes his way towards Ryan's unconscious body. "Stop!" 

Annan ignores him and picks Ryan up by the back of his coat. "I have to admit, you have good taste." He dramatically motions to himself. "Well, you did date moi." Shane sneers and tries to get up. "Ah, ah, ah. Not so fast." Annan wags his finger and saunters his way over to Shane, dropping Ryan not-so delicately to the floor. Shane only has a moment to worry about Ryan before Annan grabs him harshly by what's left of his demonic halo. "I wouldn't try anything stupid, Shane. I mean, I could pull out another piece of your halo." He tugs at a piece of the halo, which makes Shane flinch. He grips Annan's wrist, trying to get him to let go of Shane's halo, his lifeline. 

Annan glares at Shane and rips of another piece of his halo, leaving only four cracked pieces left. Shane screams in agony as Annan leans in close to him. "I told you not to try anything, bitch." He spits out the word. "Better watch out now, you've only got four left." 

Ryan's consciousness slowly comes back to him. As his eyes flutter open, he sees Shane's chest heaving. He looks even more broken than before. All sound rushes back to him at once, and he hears the heart-wrenching cries of his best friend as if his soul is being torn from him bit by bit. Ryan slowly reaches his hand out towards Shane, as if to comfort him somehow, but his arm shakes too much and feels too weak to hold itself up for more than only a few seconds.

Suddenly, Ryan hears a voice that doesn't belong to Shane. A voice he associates with fear and pain. "Ah," it says. "You're finally awake." He hears footsteps coming up to him and he braces himself for more pain.

"Leave him alone," Shane says from close by. Ryan's insides twist a little from the sound of Shane's voice cracking. 

Annan chuckles. It's truly a horrible sound. "Oh yeah? And who's gonna stop me? You? Shane, honey, I can just rip the rest of your halo apart and let you die slowly and painfully. I mean, you're already a third dead." Ryan gapes at Annan, then looks at Shane fearfully. 

"What are you doing to him?" Ryan rasps. He meant for it to sound threatening and tough, but it came out no louder than a whisper. He's kind of surprised that Annan hears him. 

He rolls his eyes and says distastefully, "You mortals. So stupid. But I'll explain anyway, for my pleasure of seeing you squirm." He smiles and continues. "You see, every demon has a halo, which is pretty much their lifeline. There are six separate pieces in total, and when one of them is ripped off, they die a little bit. It shortens their lifespan. And right now, your buddy Shane, here, has lost two pieces already, courtesy of moi." 

Ryan stares in horror at the demon towering over him. "You-you're killing him?"

Annon smiles creepily. "In short, yes." Ryan just stares, dumbfounded and scared. "But, he was asking for it. He wasn't following my orders." Annan glares at Shane, who at this point is just wheezing and occasionally coughing wetly. His eyes still hold a fire in them, but they're dimmed and seem to not be in focus. Ryan feels his heart break even more, seeing his friend in this state. "Pathetic," Annan says and walks over to Shane, looking down on him with disgust. "To think you were so different before. Sure, you didn't hurt anyone, didn't find joy in it as I did. But you didn't let emotions such as compassion or fear control you." He kicks Shane, which earns a wet cough and Ryan's heart to constrict. Annan sneers. "I can't believe I wasted my time on you."