Danny and the Demons

Chapter 1 - Danny's Demon

The dark shape slithered out from under the bed, materialising as a shadow in the gloom of the night. It's form was a complicated mass of nightmares, an oil spill mixed with spiders, suffocating vines, an ocean in turmoil eager to drown an unwary sailor. The gleam of a deadly sharp blade shimmered on it's terrible surface as it's mass moved like a black hole, impossibly dark, drawing in and extinguishing all life around it. Moonlight filtered vainly through the uncurtained windows, struggling to reach into the corners of the room, blocked by this nightmare. The weak light of the moon could only highlight this creature, the horror that was taking shape, twisting it's form like ripples on a lake, writhing as if in pain. It was as black as coal,it was the personification of drowning, suffocating, being trapped in a small space, running out of air and hope. Life draining away into the nothingness of the eternal night.

It growled softly, a low menacing burr filled with an unshakeable confidence, it knew what it came here to do would undoubtedly be achieved, as nothing could match it's immeasurable strength and power. It reached out a slimy shadow of an arm, baring too many – horribly sharp teeth, wafting the stench of death and decay over the man sleeping fitfully on the bed. It pulled it's intense, bloodshot gaze over the figure,whispering tales of torture and suffering, promises of eternal pain,things to come. It was bringing him nightmares before it brought him death.

So close now, a trail of saliva protruding from between the deadly needle-like teeth,almost dripping onto the man's forehead as the creature hovered just above, it's rattling breath echoing in the silence of the room. The man dreamed of dark places as the creature fed him images of his own death. So close now, it's bony fingers closing around the man's throat, feeling for a pulse it would soon extinguish. The creature savoured the moment before it would squeeze the life from the man. "Time to die," it rasped over and over, as if it's throat had previously been slashed and recently healed over. It spoke as if it's tongue had been cut out, the sound would make anyone's skin crawl, luckily the man was fast asleep and didn't have to endure the noise.

"Fuck off, I'm asleep," the man mumbled, barely coherent in his sleep as he turned over suddenly. The creature's fingers slipped from around his neck. It recoiled as if struck, staring dumbstruck down at the man.

Danny was not in the mood to be murdered tonight, he was having bad dreams – and anyway– he didn't believe in monsters under the bed.

He was destined to die today, but he didn't believe in destiny either. He believed that what he didn't know couldn't hurt him, and so, quite by accident – he developed an uncanny ability to avoid death.

He was able to subconsciously ignore the monsters, when they towered over him,nightmarish and gruesome, his gaze simply slipped across them and the images of the creatures didn't make it as far as his brain to be processed. Danny simply didn't buy into superstitions or anything that remotely resembled an old wife's tale., he couldn't be bothered for any of that nonsense.

He unconsciously stepped over pavement cracks as if he'd been practising for as long as he could walk and now he had honed it into a fine art. It appeared – from the outside, as though he no longer gave it a single thought as he automatically adjusted his gait avoiding all of the cracks. He was allergic to cats so would give them a wide berth,making sure none – not just the black ones, crossed his path. He thought it was plain common sense not to walk under ladders or break mirrors – so he didn't do either of those things. It was pure self-preservation, he didn't like dangerous hobbies or activities and so avoided anything that could considered to raise the heart rate in trepidation in fear as a matter of course. He held a fear of hospitals, which contributed to this avoidance. In fact, he did a remarkable job of leading a completely unremarkable life.

Until the day he died.

Well, until the day he was supposed to die.

The monster couldn't finish the job of killing Danny and dithered over him now, very confused. It's job was to kill people, it usually performed very well and held a 100% success rate over the thousands of years it had been doing this.

But not tonight. Danny simply didn't believe it was his time to shuffle off this mortal coil, and had willed himself a longer life by his absolute refusal to accept he could suffer the indignity of being snuffed out by a monster. (I mean...) One from under his own bed, (I ask you!) While he was sleeping no less! (That's just not cricket!)

The following day he answered the phone - grumpily as he had slept terribly - to his most hysterical friend – in the most hysterical state he'd experienced her in. Danny tried in vain to calm her down, "have you thought about..." He rubbed his temples with force, he felt as though he was explaining the most simple concept, and yet it wasn't getting through to Kyra. He didn't have the patience for this today, not since he'd had those nightmares again last night. "You know...not being cursed." Kyra almost shouted her reply, in between racking sobs, "Danny! You're not listening. She cursed me! Cursed! Put a hex on me, the full works, says I'll never find happiness again."

Danny crammed toast into his mouth, taking the opportunity while Kyra was wailing. "Yeah...ok...but...it's just words isn't it? She can't possibly know how your future will turn out. Unless she has a crystal ball,but even then I reckon all anyone would really see in a crystal ball is the reflection of their own face...But distorted horribly, no-one needs that...If anything Ky, this would be a self-fulfilling prophecy– if you believe it, you will it into being by worrying about it and therefore it comes true. Just don't think about it, laugh it off, move on and live your life." Danny took a second to square his shoulders and sit up straighter, that may have been the most profound thing he'd ever said, he was very proud of himself. And it was only 8am.

"Danny, hun, you're the most obtuse person I've ever met, you wouldn't recognise a lion if it was roaring in your face."

He deflated at this unexpected - and he felt undeserved - criticism. "Well, if I happen to find myself face to face with a lion...Which you have to admit – carries a minuscule amount of chance, almost entirely non-existent I would argue - I won't need to know what the thing'is' that's about to eat me. Knowing a lion is a lion doesn't make it's teeth any less sharp, knowing I am about to die will not make it any less hungry...Accept the things you cannot change."

He was equally as proud of this speech, deciding he was on fire with these idioms today,nodding slowly to the empty room, feeling very enlightened all of a sudden. If he believed in luck he might have put the lottery on.

"Oh, fuck off Dan." Kyra said exasperated, and she hung up.