Chapter 18: The Demon

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Soraya slept comfortably on the top bunk above Moiya's bed

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Soraya slept comfortably on the top bunk above Moiya's bed. Yabo lay curled around her head, purring loudly in her ears, his furry face resting next to hers. The wide, open room around them was pitch black, and the faint rustling of sheets could be heard as other students tossed and turned in their beds.

"Wake up."

Another voice called to her from the back of her mind, waking her with a start. She could tell it was different from what she had heard the day before. This one sounded like seven voices speaking simultaneously. All were deep, low and menacing, like how she imagined demons from the depths of Sheol would sound.

Who are you? What do you want? Soraya replied in her head, her heart rate increasing as fear gripped her body, leaving her paralyzed.

"Where are you currently residing?" the multiple voices asked with a hint of curiosity, completely ignoring her questions. "Tell me!"

Soraya's blood turned cold in terror. The overwhelming sense to obey the voice was back. Half of her felt compelled to answer the demon's question, but the other half knew she shouldn't.

N...no, Soraya thought loudly and kept her eyes shut. She recalled pictures of the stars and planets. I live somewhere in the galaxy.

The demonic voices erupted into monstrous cackling. "You are quite entertaining and intelligent, my child, but I will find you."

A world map of Etheria flashed into Soraya's mind. "There are only so many places you can hide from me. Eventually, you'll slip up and give me a hint of where you're living, and I'll pinpoint exactly where you are..."

As Soraya tried with all her might to shove the demonic voices out of her head, she became aware, once again, of Yabo's loud purrs in her ears. Despite having a small, quick thought about her beloved pandacoon that lasted less than a second, the demonic voices picked up on it.

"Yabo..." they mused. "Such a sweet little thing...

"Kill it."

Much to the girl's surprise and dismay, her right arm moved on its own, reaching up towards Yabo's face. Her fingers widened, like the jaws of a predator before clamping down on its prey.

No!

Soraya smacked down her right arm with her left and tackled it, holding it down with all her might to keep her pet safe. She was horrified that her right arm wriggled around like a snake, desperately twisting and writhing under her grasp while it hungrily reached for her pandacoon.

Not Yabo! You're evil! Soraya mentally screamed towards the otherworldly foe while focusing all of her energy on holding her right arm down. The second she got it to lie flat, she rolled onto her right side, pinning her arm between her body and the bed.

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