Darkness. The sound of chains being dragged on a hard rocky floor. People yelling, others moaning. It stank of fear. Everywhere. A different fear from what Noah had always known. A wanted fear. Just for fun. Just to feed the monster of desire to sick mouths. The smell of sweat, mixed in with perfume. It reminded Noah of something, it was on the tip of his memory, yet unreachable. It was hidden somewhere in the corners of his brain, where his early childhood days lingered, untouchable, refusing to come out.
At first, he couldn't feel his body. Then, bit by bit, as silence settled around him, as a chilling cold took over his body, he began to feel it. The terrible weight of numbness, reaching so far as the tip of his toes.
A soft surface, under his neck. A fluffy blanket, covering his lower body. A bed. His hands began to move before his eyes, exploring his direct surroundings. Pillows, lots of them. Just like his twin bed at home.
Home...
His eyelids burst open, revealing a never ending darkness. Is this my grave already? Is this how the victims feel after death? An immense void filled by nothing but my own lingering nonsensical thoughts?
As his eyes began to adjust to the dark, he began to slowly distinguish a room, just like his own, back at home. His voodoo dolls, stacked away in a corner just so his mother wouldn't make a fuss about the chaos inside. His library, full of horror novels, history books, and middle-grade contemporary movies.
His heart started to race at the possibility. His legs trembled as he stood up, looking down at his clothes. He was back in his pajamas. The clock on his bedside table indicated midnight. There was no date on it. There was never any date, because Noah didn't care about months or years when he was back home. When I am home, he quickly corrected himself.
Could this all be a dream? Could this whole unpleasant adventure be nothing but a nightmare?
Hitori Yuuki.... the name popped in his mind, the memory of the ocean-haired girl with honey sweet eyes was so crystal clear, he could still hear her smiling voice, whispering to him mundane thoughts, like they were the most normal couple in history.
Couple...
If she was just a sample of his imagination, why was his heart aching all of a sudden? Why did the mere thought of her raise the world's heat to his cheeks?
He turned around the room, looking for anything that proved him wrong, but there was nothing that could possibly indicate the girl's existence. He realized he didn't know anything about Hitori. What did she like? What color was her favorite? What did she do in her free time? How did she even get to live in that Orphanage?
In a hustle, he wore his slippers, opened the door to his room, and walked the long corridor that led to the living room.
If it was all just a dream, then....then....
No one was in the living room, but the sound Noah heard next confirmed his doubts.
The same sound of chains, a lot of screaming, and the familiar tchak tchak tchak of a baseball bat hitting a human head, over and over again, blood getting scattered everywhere in a scene of pure horror, decorating the walls of their basement with scarlet butterflies and red stars.
It was midnight. The Witching Hour, as Agiel liked to call it.
He sat quietly on the sofa, waiting for his parents to finish.
After a few minutes, the killing symphony came to an abrupt stop, footsteps on old cracking wood came next. Then, out of an invisible door right under the black square fluffy carpet on the floor, appeared Noah's mother.
She looked like she was just out of the shower, her long hair was still wet, its pitch black even more darkened by the dripping water still untouched by a towel. Red at its tips, it reached her lower back, making a round wet spot on her freshly worn yellow pajamas. All in all, she looked like the sun, still shy from the early morning, not realizing it was still the middle of the night.
Noah's smile was quick to appear.
"Noah! Why are you awake at this hour? We were just finishing, go back to---"
She couldn't finish. She didn't need to, for Noah's embrace came unexpectedly, warmer than any blood she had felt, any fear she had tasted from her victims, any kiss she exchanged with her husband.
So you're able to make faces like that, she thought, seeing his genuine smile for the very first time. Who taught you that, I wonder?
"Noah" , she called, wrapping her arms around him, surprised by the sudden gesture. "Did you have a bad dream again?"
"Where's dad?" , he asked, his voice muffled by the folds of her shirt.
"He should be still in the shower. Why are you--"
The boy didn't answer, he only hugged his mother harder, squeezing her waist, hoping that she would never leave again, if only he held onto her like this forever. He wanted to, he wanted to from the bottom of his heart.
"That sure was a really bad dream" , she sighed.
"It was." , he replied. He was thankful for her already wet shirt, for he didn't want anyone to notice his tears. "It wasn't that bad, because I wasn't alone. Someone was with me. I could only trust myself and her. In the end, I'm glad it was just a dream."
"Why don't we brush it aside for now" , the demon announced. She kneeled down on her knees, so her face was on his level. She put both hands on his shoulders. She smiled proudly at him, the way she always did whenever she had some good news to tell him.
"We have a really nice change of pace." She said.
Noah could feel her hands shaking, ever so slightly, something only he could notice. He looked down at her lips, and recognized it from a million expressions.
That fake forced smile. The kind of the face you show only to your enemies when you beg them not to kill you. Noah has seen it many times on the victims. He has also seen it in his movies, where the main characters always end up dying, punished for their otherworldly sins.
He couldn't help but wonder. Why was it on his mother's face? Why was it here, now of all times? Why was it on someone who has just finished a clean killing session? Why was it on the killer, when it was supposed to be on the prey?
"We're expecting a guest tomorrow. Starting from then, he will be your tutor! He is really powerful, you'll love him! His name...is Belleth!"