I Am Fictional Real

Chapter 15: That Idea Hurts

        I couldn't shake the feeling of dread as I tried to get Lanien and Attin off of my mind. What was my plan here? Did I just... allow myself to let Attin do as he pleases while leaving all of us Phenomenons out of it? The LACEI in me hated that idea. No, the real Esinna also despised Attin's hold for power, and I didn't know how I was supposed to deal with this. Alinak assured me that there is a way to get through every situation regardless of the circumstances, but this was no time to agree.
     And Lanien... She stormed off after I told her to leave, and I knew she expected some kind of apology. Not this time. As far as I was concerned, the sister I had was dead like the rest of the city. She was just an entity that shared the same name, an reminder that being alive for so long could ruin your life. The first night passed like this, and I barely got any rest knowing that at any possible moment we were going to be dealing with an immortal monster.
     Alinak and Rantorm came into my room early that morning to discuss the fact that the village has been returned to normal. Akalirng even offered for them to leave, but Alinak refused to keep me jaded in the dark without someone to hold on to. I had to thank them for that. They also mentioned Two was still asleep, so I knew that meant he had never heard of the offer to go home. I felt kind of bad. We... dragged him here, and now we were being held hostage for something out of everyone's control.
     "These next few days will be boring. We got to do something to pass the time," Alinak grumbled.
     "Who the fuck-"
     We turned to the window, seeing Akalirng hold a girl by her hair. She looked bruised and full of strife to the point where she was beyond tears. She wasn't a Phenomenon, for certain.
     "Open that window. I want to hear," Rantorm demanded.
     "It's sealed with caulk stuff," I said. "We can't break that."
     To my surprise, Alinak pulled the window up with little-to-no struggle, and the fresh air entered in. Too bad that wasn't done earlier so I could smell the fresh lilies growing outside in the garden they had going for them. Rantorm stuck his head out, and Alinak I listened from behind.
     "You ate the Tether without permission!" Akalirng spat. I saw through the small crack of Rantorm's shoulder and the wall that Akalirng had pointed a gun to her head. She flinched and began mumbling something to herself, and I took that as a notion for them to be her last words.      "Any last words?"
     The girl hesitated before her mouth covered in her own spit opened up. "Esinna Valunett is LACEI!" She slammed her hands into the ground. "Did you hear me? Esinna-"
     The gun fired right in her ear canal, which made her drop dead instantly.
     "No," I groaned.
     Akalirng raised a hand. "Prepare some Tethers! Fucking waste of resources." He stormed off into another building, and I watched his men take the girl's body farther away from my line of sight.
     "Damn, I heard the commotion, but that's..." Two came into the room with the worst bedhead  I've ever witnessed on anyone before. I decided to hug him, to which he replied with a strong grip. Everyone was safe again. I was so glad for that.
     "Let's get our mind off of that stuff," Alinak suggested. "How about... we read something?"
     I glared. "Half of those books on that shelf were made with my own two hands. I'm not sure I'd like that."
     "Hm... Rather, why don't you just summarize one for us? Like, give us the beginning of your story," Rantorm suggested.
     "Fine, fine. All of you sit."
     I sat down on the bed, and they found chairs to surround me with. Curious eyes. Smiles. I had seen this before, though I couldn't quite place what I was thinking of right now. I cleared my throat.
     "Called From Hell" Prologue:

     I took a second longer to stare at my reflection to make sure I was still staring at the same man as I had always seen in the mirror. My hair was all ruffled right now, and I noticed the forming of a new mole underneath my lower eyelashes. Great, I thought. I really needed another one of those. I left my reflection after my newfound disappointment, and I kicked the dead body on the floor to make sure it wasn't going to move.
     I mean, brain and heart were definitely cut out and bagged already, but there was the slight chance the man would tap against the floor and come back as a... zombie! Nah, but seriously. I dragged the body to the bath tub where it would stew for as long as no one noticed him. He landed with a hard thud into the ceramic encasing, and I saw his sockets where his eyes should have been.
     "Is it done?"
​​​​​​​      I would have been shocked to hear a voice if not for the fact I summoned this demon to witness the murder and take the soul. I only nodded to the demon, and it pounced on the body to feast on the lingerings what soul was left.
     "Anders," the demon warned while chewing on the flesh connecting the neck to the head. "You're running out of time again. Are you sure... you don't... want me to take.. .YOUR SOUL!"
     The demon jumped, but I grabbed it by its throat before it could touch me. It began to choke.
     "I signed a contract with you, Bephet. You will do as it says, or you will face the consequences."
     The demon nodded in fear.

     "So basically, Anders is cursed by Satan to wander the earth labeled as a demon because of the horns," I told them. "He starts taking down all of the demons and people working with Satan, and he is also trying to stop the curse from turning into a whole demon."
     "Well, does he stop the curse?" Alinak asked, genuinely intrigued. "Does he kill Satan?"
     "Anders does kill Satan, and it's quite satisfying. Just when you think it's impossible, Anders allows the demon curse to take over him completely, and he is able to defeat Satan. He takes over Hell as the new Satan in the end, too."
     "Woah," Two started. "That's awesome!"
     The door opened, and a man came in with that sealing stuff to put on the window. We all watched him.
     "So, yeah," I sighed. "Anders is pretty cool."
     "No shit. Summons demons, kills people, and he is literally Satan?" Two exclaimed. "He's the whole package!"
     "I don't think I would date Satan myself," Rantorm joined in. "He's too hot, after all."
     "Oh my god." My face grew red. That wasn't how I imagined Anders at all. The guy soon left, and they all burst into theories about how Anders was dateable or not. I tried to ignore the petty, yet funny argument by staring at the bookshelf. I only picked "Called From Hell" because Anders was pretty much relatable to our situation.
     "So, Esinna," Alinak started.
     "So?" I replied.
     "Can you tell us about your first story? Like, after becoming LACEI, I distinctly remember a story posted online about a hundred years from now."
     Oh. That.
     "Sure," I smiled. "Let me tell you about the time I tried predicting the future."