Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
<<<<<2>>>>>
Midnight inductions.
It started from the tip of his toes, and all through he had to stay completely still. That was the instruction- he wasn’t supposed to move. He wasn’t supposed to make a sound, he wasn’t supposed to do anything and that included crying, but tears were already gathered beneath his eyes, dangerously threatening to spill over any goddamn minute.
Armani bit his tongue and drew blood, holding back groans. He knew he was worsening his condition, but at this point he was gone. Far too gone to care whatever they’d do with him. Blood. Blood. Blood. They always wanted it.
His entire body lay completely frozen, the air in the room grew impossibly thick as he caught sight of hands coming out of his wardrobe door from the side of his left eye, disappearing just as swiftly as they appeared. They appeared. Disappeared. Appeared. Disappeared again. The helpless boy tried to sink his head deeper into his pillow, but he couldn’t make a single freaking movement. He was screaming, screaming in his mind, but his body wasn’t responding.
The dreaded soul eater finally stepped out, taking all of its time to suck his spirit out of his body in the most agonizing way. Armani internally screamed in excruciating pain as the evil spirit hovered around him, filling up space with its dark aura. It wrapped itself around his body like a huge cloak, until he was forced to stare into its eyes. He choked, the creature gradually closing up on him and he felt the room shrink, his bed was suddenly a huge pool of sinking sand. He’d blacked out totally after he felt himself release slowly, after what seemed like hours, but all through the time, Sham sat right in front of his open door, in his wheelchair, staring quietly at his brother while he fought for his precious life.
The laptop screen was on, the screen displaying the scene of a paused movie, right beside the boy who looked like he was having a seizure on his bed, but he just looked on. The dream catcher that was previously hanging above his brother’s door sat on his lap, and he’d only wheeled himself back into his own room when the sun rays began to peek through the curtains.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Armani jogged through the lonely street, the only sounds being his thudding feet and the music that flowed through his headset, directly into his ears. He had woken up to his bedroom door wide open, and he was sure had locked it before he went to sleep. The dream catcher that hung right above his door was also gone.
He brushed any kind of suspicious thoughts aside when it happened for the first and second times, but he’d woken up from another traumatic episode of sleep paralysis. Just that his was never normal. The attacks had stopped for a while, but they were back again, and each time he’d wake up to an entirely open, unprotected space.
Something was happening, and he’d get to the root of it.
Someone had cut through the line of sage powder he poured at his front door, but when Armani heard a familiar voice burst out in laughter, he rolled his eyes dramatically and entered, right after fixing the line of powdery substance that guarded his house.
Detective Ola sat comfortably on his couch, right in front of the 54-inch flat screen that sat low on the wall, fingers aggressively pushing the buttons on the control pads in his hands. He turned sideways for a second, focusing back on his game when Armani stepped in.
“The person I have been waiting for. For over half an hour.”
The sweaty boy chuckled, but Ola noticed the small, almost invincible smile forming at the sides of his lips as he took off his trainers.
The detective sighed in satisfaction, having won another race seven times in a row. Asphalt 3d was a smooth kind of game. Unless you didn’t know a single thing about driving, you couldn’t lose a race that easily.
“Why are hideous portraits of Lucifer and Leviathan hanging comfortably on the walls of your living room?”
“Why are you in my house?”, the slim boy shot back, leaning on the counter of the wine cellar that stood at the right corner of the room.
“You haven’t changed, have you? Merry Christmas anyways, how have you been?”
“What would I prefer I decorate my living space with? Pages of the bible?”
“Would be way better, because I was about to say a Christmas tree, maybe some hanging stars or even normal looking paintings. Something that wouldn’t make anyone feel they’ve entered a freaking ritual chamber, but yeah, bible verses could do too, judging by how much you need Jesus in your life.”
“I know you didn’t drive all the way here to question me about my beliefs and my spirituality, or did you? I’ve got work to do, Olamide.”
“I actually need your help on something-”
“Thought as much. Now, get to the point. Like I said, I’ve got work to do.”
“Could you come to my office later? Let’s discuss it there, yeah?’
Armani gave his friend a long, hard stare. Ola smiled, gave him a pat on the shoulder and left, making sure not to cross the line of sage powder he noticed had been fixed. Odd, but he’d try to catch up later
