Safety Has A Tail and Horns

5

The forest, as it turned out, was even worse for Ryan's nerves at night. Every crack of a stick or rustle of leaves set him on edge. Made him jump.

"It's just the wind," Shane kept reassuring him, though his words had an underlying tone of nerves that made Ryan feel like he was going to have a mental collapse.

"I fuckin' hate this, man," Ryan said, shaking his head. The hand holding the spirit box shook, and he had to grip it tight to avoid dropping it.

"It's just some spooky old trees, Ryan," Shane said back. "There's nothing out here but deer."

"And demons."

Shane rolled his eyes, then raised his voice, spreading his arms out to the side. "Alright, demons! Wherever you are, come and get me! Give 'ol Ryan Bergara the proof he's looking for!"

His voice echoed back amongst the trees.

"Shane, stop!" Ryan shushed him loudly.

"There's nothing out here, it's all bullshit."

Nothing but Shane himself and whatever was actually lurking in the shadows of the forest.

It didn't help that their camera crew thought it would make for an interesting episode of the two of them went in just by themselves.

Ryan wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans, passing the spirit box between his hands to give himself something to focus on.

"Wanna keep walking? Or shall we see what ghosties wait for us here?" Shane asked, kicking a rock out of his path, just barely illuminated by his flashlight.

"Keep going, I guess. Look for a decent clearing to sit down in," Ryan answered. The idea of continuing to go deeper into the trees didn't really appeal to him, but somehow sitting down was worse.

So, they did. It wasn't long, though, before they stumbled upon a decently open spot. It would've been perfect, save for the pentagram in the center surrounded by rocks. There was a white-ish circle just on the edge of the rocks that looked a bit like salt.

"You can summon your own personal demon here!" Shane said, seeming far too excited about the whole thing. Ryan grabbed Shane's sleeve and tugged him backwards.

"Don't touch that, dude," he said. "You've got no idea what might come out of there."

"It's just some symbols, Ryan. I'm sure it's harmless."

It was Ryan's turn to roll his eyes, sitting down on a nearby stump with a huff.

"I'm going to turn on the spirit box now," he warned. It was mostly for the ghosts, but also for Shane, who seemed to hate the noise.

"Fantastic," came Shane's response as he nudged at a stick with the toe of his boot.

Ryan switched on the device, flinching at the screeching static.

"If there's anybody here, my name's Ryan and that's Shane. Can you repeat our names back to us?"

The static increased in pitch, then settled again. "Bad."

"Can you repeat that?" Ryan requested. "Didn't quite catch it."

"Demon."

Shane perked up, eyes flickering around their surroundings. Every shadow looked like something ready to pounce.

"It's all bullshit, Ryan," he said. "Might as well turn it off."

The static gave way to silence as it was clicked off. There wasn't even an owl to cut through the heaviness of it.

"It said 'demon', Shane," Ryan said, voice shaking.

"Really? Or did it just make noises you thought could be a word?" Shane started to imitate the garble of the box, trying to ease Ryan's fears and irritate him instead of scare him.

"I heard what I heard." Ryan was insistent. His free hand brushed the holster holding his water pistol full of holy water. Shane had called him insane for bringing it, but right now, Ryan was incredibly glad to have it attached to his hip.

Shane ignored him, humming some French song he had heard a while ago. 'Tourner dans la vide', or something like that. There was a line that really was sticking with him.

"J'aimerais tellement lui dire mais je n'ose pas." I would like so badly to tell him, but I dare not.

Something rustled at the edge of the tree line. In unison, Shane and Ryan's heads snapped up to look in that direction. Of course, with human eyes, Ryan couldn't see the hulking shadow eyeing the small man like a wolf eyes an elk.

But Shane could.

"Ryan, what I'm about to say is going to be bizarre, but I want you to follow every word I say, got it?" Shane asked slowly.

"Shane? What's wrong?"

"Got it?" he repeated, harsher this time. Ryan nodded silently.

"I want you to stand up slowly. Grab your stuff. Then, I want you to turn around and run as fast as your tiny little legs will take you back in the direction of the car."

"Shane, I swear to God if this is a prank-"

"It's not a prank, Ryan!" Shane didn't dare take his eyes off whatever towered over Ryan. "Just. Go. I don't want you hurt. I will find you."

——

Ryan could sense the seriousness in Shane's tone and stood. He picked up his backpack and spirit box, taking one last look at Shane before turning to sprint away.

There was a loud growl, the sound of something lunging, and an equally loud thud.

Safely hidden in the trees, Ryan stared into the clearing. The full moon shone into the space, illuminating the scene in front of him. It was something he had laughed with fans about, but never something he had thought he'd see.

Shane tumbled onto the ground, knocked aside by large, shadowy claws. Ryan's coworker had sprouted wings, horns, a whipping tail, the works.

And he was losing.

Badly.

It didn't come as much of a surprise, considering the beast must've been twice Shane's height, maybe more. The water pistol wouldn't make a dent in that thing.

Holy water.

Something in Ryan's brain clicked, and he dropped his pack to the ground, unzipping it and pushing things aside.

Maybe a simple water pistol wouldn't work, but a whole bottle full was sure to at least drive it away.

His heart was in his throat, pounding uncomfortably as he quietly snuck back towards the opening. The sounds of fighting made him want to shrink back into safety, but he pushed on, gripping the bottle tight in his hand.

It was good timing, too. Shane was swaying, fists up and throwing punches, but obviously on his way to blacking out. Ryan was shaking, terrified of missing and dooming both himself and his friend.

He unscrewed the cap, taking a deep breath.

"Hey, you demon fuck!" he shouted. The beast paused, swinging its shadowy head in Ryan's direction as he stepped into the moonlight. It started its way towards Ryan, pace getting faster as it grew closer. He watched as Shane tried to follow, then stumbled and didn't get back up.

Now or never.

As the demon reached Ryan, he threw the open bottle as hard as he could.

He closed his eyes and prayed.