Beautiful Monster

"Why did I ever take that dare?" Evelyn muttered as she dodged a hole in the stairs and continued walking up towards the abandoned house. When she finally reached the old rotten door she saw a plaque and paused. It read "Abandon hope, all ye who enter."

"What a wonderful greeting, makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside." Evelyn shivered as she pushed open the door and was met with a cold breeze. She looked around at what appeared to be living room and at furniture that looked as if it hadn't been cleaned in years. Just as she took two steps forward, the door slammed shut with a bang.

"It's only the wind." She whispered in a voice that trembled slightly. She turned on the flashlight that she only now remembered was tightly gripped in her hand. She took some deep breathes and, ignoring the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, set off to explore the rest of the house.

*******************

After about an hour of exploring the two story house, the only interesting thing she noticed was that the previous owners had left very abruptly. There was clothing still left in the rooms and in the kitchen there was still food in the oven and fridge that had long since rotted.

As she stumbled away from the horrid sight and smell emanating from the kitchen, she noticed what appeared to be a steel door. It was so out of place in the old wooden house that she went to get a closer look. When she got close enough, she noticed there was no doorknob. Just as she wondered how to get the door open, a gust of wind came from behind her and the door flew open.

When the wind died down Evelyn turned around to try and find its source, but she found nothing amiss. Nothing was overturned, no papers were flying around, there weren't even windows in this room, so she couldn't find a source for the mysterious wind. A little unnerved Evelyn turned back to the steel door and debated going in. But in the end curiosity won out and she pushed open the door.

Beyond the door was an old wooden staircase that eventually disappeared into the darkness. "Is this really a good idea?" She questioned, but again curiosity got the better of her and she began her descend into the darkness. She was so focused on carefully walking down the stairs and avoiding the holes and missing steps that she only looked up when she was on the last step.

Just as she stepped off the staircase the steel door slammed shut, but she barely noticed because she was distracted by the handsome stranger leaning against the basement walls. He was tall and well-built with white-blonde hair that fell to his shoulders; he was dressed in a white-tee shirt and jeans. He looked up and she was struck by his eyes. They weren't any special color, they were two deep pools of black, eyes that you could fall into and never come out of. She was so entranced by his eyes that she only noticed that was talking when his lips topped moving.

"I'm sorry what did you say?" Evelyn asked nervously.

"I said, 'Greeting madam, my name is Asmodeus. What is your name?" He stated, finishing with a smile and a bow.

"E-Ev-Evelyn."

"A lovely name for a lovely girl."

"Thank you." Evelyn muttered a bit unsure.

"You're welcome. Well are you ready to go?" He asked, holding out a hand.

"G-Go? Go where?" She asked and, without even noticing, took a step closer to him.

Asmodeus smiled, "Why to hell of course." He replied, walking forward and taking hold of her hand.

"What?!" Evelyn screamed, trying to pull her hand away but to no avail.

"To hell, now let's go." Asmodeus said, a bit impatiently dragging Evelyn towards a large golden door that wasn't there a second ago.

"No! Now let me go!" Screamed Evelyn, kicking and scratching Asmodeus, trying desperately to get away. Suddenly a foot connected with her side, sending her flying into the wall. She landed in a heap on the floor and curled into a ball towards the pain in her side and back with tears in her eyes.

Asmodeus walked over to her and set her on her feet; he wiped the tears from her eyes, gave her kiss on the cheek and with a gentle look on his face said, "We're leaving now. Pray to your God, little one, maybe he will answer."

So she did. With tears silently streaming down her face, she whispered the only prayer she knew. A children's prayer. "Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray, Dear lord, my soul to keep. May angels guard me through the night and keep me safe 'til morning light."