Whatever It Takes: Mutations

Chapter Sixteen

Damien

October 3rd, 3:06 am 

Current Location: Roanoke, VA

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I found myself running somewhere in a random direction. The area around me looked completely unfamiliar, and it was darker than a shadow laying on the ground. I didn't know where I was running to, but I had a feeling that something was chasing me. Of course, I had no idea what it could be. It felt like a game of cat and mouse. 

I stopped behind a wall to catch my breath. Sweat dripped down from my forehead onto the shadow-like ground. My heart was racing inside of my chest. I felt like I could pass out at any given second. 

Then growling filled my ears. It sounded like a dog getting ready to bite with its snarling mouth. It spoke with an echo that filled the entire room, whatever that was. "You can't run forever, Jeremy Ryan Mills. It's only a matter of time before you lose everything and everyone that you ever knew." 

I tried to run again, but something grabbed my shirt and threw me onto the ground. Scrambling backwards, I squinted to attempt to get a look at whoever was in the room with me. I could only make out a huge shadow that looked down upon me. I yelled, "Who are you?!" 

It smiled greedily. Then it picked me up and squeezed me tightly. I could barely breathe. "G-Grgh..." 

He laughed, and his laughter echoed throughout the room. "My name is Damien. I am the demon that haunts your dreams, gives you nightmares like this one, and so much more. Jeremy, I know everything about you. I know your darkest secrets, your past memories, and even the horrid future that lies ahead of you. I even-"

"You're fake!" I screamed. "This is a nightmare, so let me go! You're not real!" 

Damien frowned. "Are demons really fake, though? I suppose it depends on what you really believe, isn't it? Tell me Jeremy. What do you believe?"

His grip on me loosened, just enough to where I could breathe with a slight strain on me. I answered him without a doubt in my voice. "I believe that God is defending the people that didn't deserve the crap that's going on in the real world." 

A look of curiosity flashed across his face. "Oh? And what makes you believe that you didn't deserve that?" 

I thought about that for a moment. "It's my turn to ask a question, Damien. What did I actually do that was so severe that I deserved to suffer in a fungi epidemic with several types of zombies that lurk everywhere I look? Answer that for me." 

A flash of anger suddenly swarmed the demon's dark face. Damien growled and threw me onto the ground again, and pain soared through my body. I clutched my ribs and coughed furiously. 

"You dare talk to me like scum?!" he roared. "I am the demon of nightmares! I can end your life at this very moment, so you'd best respect my authority." 

For a split second, fear rushed through me, but I was able to push it back along with the pain in my ribs. "Then what's holding you back, Damien? Kill me already." 

"Your journey is not over yet," he said. "You still have much to accomplish, Jeremy." 

"Like what?" I asked. 

His face was now visible. Damien had narrow eyes that flared a bright red color, with mist steaming off of them. His teeth looked sharp, ready to tear someone's face off whenever he desired. His body was muscular, with black smoke running down it. Near the ground, a pool of smoke covered his legs. Damien legitimately looked scary, like a demon would.