Fright

There's Something Wrong With Her

Waking up amongst the rubble that day, well that was when I switched to survival mode. I'd lost a lot of memories and probably had a mild concussion, but I was not going to die.
I pushed away the gravel and tried not to inhale the dust. I winced as tiny stones embedded themselves into my palms, leaving pinpricks of blood to stain my skin.
It was so cold. So unbelievably cold. The last of the chaotic weather came as a beastly snowstorm, and honestly it was a miracle I was still alive. I squinted at the reflection of the sun on the snow. If only it could heat things up a little quicker.
I looked around at the white powder devastatingly swept over everything. It was a disaster. But through all the memory loss and confusion and pain, one thing was clear. I had to find Thea. She was probably all alone out there - lost, cold, and hungry. She would not survive on her own. No chance of it.
So I dusted off whatever gravel was still stuck to my clothes and wiped the blood from my forehead. I travelled pretty far on foot that day, with little to no signs of people. A sickening thought came to mind. What if I was the only one left??? If there were no other people how would I survive? There weren't even any animals in sight!
I settled down under a big tree that night. It was cold and I shivered violently. I half expected to freeze to death that night. But I was not ready to die so I tried my best to keep warm.
The next day, I was starving and thirsty. I was tempted to eat the snow but it was all disgustingly covered in ash and other debris. I didn't want to take a chance. I found myself in a little town. Still empty. But the buildings there seemed to have survived the chaos. I rejoiced for a little bit and then went to look for a grocery store.
Once I found one, I dashed inside for water and hopefully some food. And you'll never guess who I found.
There, in the back of the store, desperately clutching a hot water bottle, was Thea. Her face was turning blue. She was still alive, but not for long if she didn't get some warmth soon.

There was no power in the store. But I managed to find some lighters and I took some of the magazines from by the cash register and lit a little bonfire outside. I dragged Thea and put her to lie down next to it and I sat down and warmed my own hands.
After what felt like forever, Thea got up, still shivering, but returning to a normal temperature.
"What happened? Where is everybody? I can't remember much. All I remember is the bizarre weather, and somehow all I could think was that I had to find you," I said.
"You don't remember? How could you not remember that I caused this? The people from town certainly remembered. They packed up and left. They left me to freeze to death. Why didn't you let me die? I deserve to die! I destroyed the planet!" Thea screamed in my face.
I watched in horror as streams of dark, thick blood poured from her eyelids as she kept screaming.
"Who are you?" I asked, fearful of the response.
"I'm the devil. I'm not Thea. I can't control what I do. Don't you get it? He was waiting until I turned 18. Then he took over, using my body as a conduit to cause chaos," she explained, true fear and disgust showing in her eyes. Eyes, they really are a gateway to the soul.
"But then, he wouldn't let you freeze to death," I stated matter-of-factly.
"I can't get him out of my body. But I was holding a bottle of holy water. For some reason that was keeping him quiet. I thought I had a route of escape. Why didn't you leave me alone? Now," she groaned, "now I can feel him waking up. He's going to take over soon if I don't kill this body of mine".
I began panicking. The devil? I was going to meet the devil.

I had to tie her down to stop her from killing herself. She did hurl words of abuse at me but what could I do about that?
Eventually she got quiet, though. Real quiet.
I thought she'd fallen asleep. But then a sound came from her lips. A deep voice that was smooth like butter.
"Hello. You've done well. You shall be rewarded," the devil spoke.
All of a sudden I was hit with a massive headache. The memories of what had happened came flooding back. Each one hit my brain like a sharp knife, inducing a sickening migraine. And then I remembered.
I looked so terrible! My clothes were dirty, my hair was tangled, my shoes were muddy.
I was certainly not ready to meet the devil.
I remembered how I'd slipped Thea some ashes in her food, making her susceptible to being possessed. He'd pointed her out to me in a dream. He wanted her. She would be the most powerful. She would be able to destroy everything - all of God's creations on earth.
Stupid Thea. She didn't understand how lucky she was. The devil chose her.
"Master, your presence is a reward in itself," I snickered.