Dusk To Dawn

There's no rules in Hell - Rainy

None of us really spoke when we woke up the morning after what happened with that...thing, Ajax. I'm not sure any of us knew what to say. I wanted to believe it was just some weird nightmare we all had, but when I looked at the black marks upon my wrist, as well as seeing the same marks on my friends, that small bit of hope got ruined pretty fast. We all took turns using the bathroom to get changed and ready for the day. Once that had been done, we all just sat around in suffocating silence for awhile before Ricardo broke it.
"I can't be the only one still thinking this all bullshit, right?" His bitter tone was laced with worry as his face scrunched up at the idea that we were technically at the mercy of a random being who for all we know was just as bad as those Lost Ones he told us about.
"It is bullshit, but I think it's also real. I'm not sure how we can get out of something like this." Nat's somber tone drifted throughout the room, heavy enough you could feel it.
"Who says we have to trust him? He could just be a psycho demon." Sam casted her own doubt. It was clear none of us really believed what Ajax told us last night.
"But assuming what he said about these marks is true, then how do we get rid of them?" The dread I felt deep down still hasn't gone away as the conversation went on, and no answers were brought up about how to get rid of the tracking marks. Eventually we decided to pause the issue and head out into town to give our minds a break.

We stopped for lunch and got of Nat's car, heading inside, luckily being seated quickly. Sadly our break didn't last long.
"Ah, a perfect size table for five." Ajax's voice interrupted our chattering as he took a seat in the empty chair that been left at the table. "So, what's good here? " He smirked.
"No one invited you." Ricardo bit back in annoyance.
"Just leave us alone." I piped up.
"What part of me keeping you kids alive did you brats not understand?" Ajax drawled out bored,y, like this was nothing more than a bothersome chore he had to take care of. I suppose looking back, that is what he saw it as.
"So you're gonna tell us you're doing this out of the kindness of your heart?" Sam challenged.
"Of course not. But I get a little bit of my sentence in Hell lowered, so I think it's a win-win. You kids get to stay alive, and I get to stay out of Hell for a bit." Ajax almost bragged. It was more or less what we expected sadly. Reluctantly, we decided to just move on and place our orders. He was leaving us be for the most part, although some snide comments were thrown in if our topic of conversation wasn't toward his liking or thought we were being boring. By the time we finished eating and payed for the meal, our tempers weren't the best. Nonetheless, we head down the main streets for a little bit of shopping, the demon following a foot behind us. We took turns choosing stores, before we came up to a semi-popular clothing shop and started heading inside until a heard whimpering and soft cries from the small sitting area outside of the store.
"You guys go on ahead. I'll be in a sec." I informed the others before separating from them and heading to the small area meant for shoppers who needed a break to relax to recharge their batteries. At one of the tables, a little boy about six years old was crying softly and rubbing his tears away with his little pudgy child hands. "Hey little guy, what's wrong?"
The boy looked up at me with dark eyes filled with tears, the color I couldn't quite place. "I can't find my mommy." His lip quivering as fresh tears fell from his eyes.
I kneeled down and wiped the tears away, trying to smile softly. "It's alright, I'll help you find her. I'm sure she's around here. Did you remember where you saw her last?" The boy nodded, suddenly smiling brightly as he grabbed my hand and pulled me along with a surprisingly strong grip. I followed, asking what his mom looked like, but got little in response. Actually, he seemed very intent on going where he last saw his mom. To my surprise, we paused in front of a building that was recently built but hadn't been furnished or even moved into. "Was your mom looking at the building?" I asked the little boy.
"They wanted to meet here." He answered quickly before swinging the door open and running inside, letting go of my hand. Not getting a chance to ask who he was referring to, I followed him inside, the door shutting behind softly with a click. With quiet steps, I searched around for the boy, occasionally calling out how we shouldn't be here or that he should come out. Most of the windows were still boarder up, though I wasn't sure of the reason. In one of the side rooms, I heard noises I couldn't quite figure out. Peeking through a mostly shut door, I saw the little boy staring at a blank wall. With a choked gasp, I watched in horror as his skin tore apart all bloody, his bones cracking in response as he grew another three our four feet. When he seemed done, he let a breathy sigh, now looking fourteen years older than he was just a couple of minutes ago. My blood chilled as he cast a glance over his shoulder, smugness casting over the features I could see as his eyes stared right where I was. Nearly tripping as I backed away from the door, I turned to start running when I heard the door slam into the wall from being thrown open. Not daring to look back, I focused on the sound of my sneakers slamming against the concrete floor and the blood rushing through my ears. My feet however were force to skid to a stop as he appeared from behind the corner of the hallway I had gone down to get to the side room.
"Leaving so soon?"