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That face was etched in my mind as I layed in bed that night. No matter what I did to distract myself, it wouldn't go away. What do I even chalk that up to? Was my crazy ass just seeing shit?
Was he really there?
And if he was... who is he?
Once I finally was able to fall asleep, my dream was horrible. I was running through darkness for what felt like hours—never able to catch my breath, never knowing what I was running from. My body wouldn't turn around to look no matter how hard I tried. I twisted and squirmed until my back ached, desperately trying to see who or what was chasing me to no avail.
Ice cold hands slithered around my throat and squeezed until I couldn't breathe, couldn't scream. They lifted me off of the ground and suspended me in the darkness. My heart was beating out of my chest as I felt myself begin to lose consciousness.
"Zoe." A deep voice whispered and echoed from all directions
Suddenly, the hands let me go and my body fell, colliding with the ground. It took all of my strength to lift my head to look up. When I did, I was greeted by the man... the man from the train. I felt the familiar onset of nausea and intense anxiety just like when I saw him before.
His eyes were completely black—deep terrifying obsidian orbs. I shot up in bed, hyperventilating and drenched in a cold sweat. My eyes darted around my room, making sure I was alone. I tried to calm myself down and hurriedly chugged most of the bottle of water on my nightstand.
I drew my knees to my chest.
Whats happening to me...?
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I was awakened by pale gray morning light and strong scent of... cinnamon? Almost like someone was baking.
This would be fucking great and all...
If I didn't live alone. Considering all the weird shit that's been happening to me since last night, I wanted to be extra caref—
"Boo."
My body immediately jerked back, smashing into my headboard.
No... No no... what the fuck?
That voice was clear as day. It was definitely a man's voice... but I didn't see anyone.
Did someone break into the apartment?
I was frozen with fear.
"Wh-Who's there?" I stuttered
"Me."
That was too close. I know that the voice was coming from right next to me now, it was accompanied by a sudden weight on the bed beside me. I was too terrified to turn my head
"P-Please don't kill me..." I begged, my voice just barely above a whisper "I'll do w-whatever you want—"
"Kill you?" He laughed "Look at me."
"I-I—"
"I SAID LOOK AT ME!!!" The voice roared
My shuddering frame turned, fully prepared for it to be a last site before my death.
It was him. The man from the train. The man from my dream. He was shirtless with smooth brown skin scrawled with black ink tattoos and markings, short bluish colored dreadlocks, he wore a heavy silver chain-like collar around his neck.
I jumped off of the bed and stumbled backwards away from him.
"WH-WHAT ARE YOU??" I asked, horrified
"I heard you weren't a believer, Zoe." He said "Backing away from me won't do you any good, you know?"
He appeared directly in front of me, startling me so much that I fell down.
"H-How did you get in here?!" I yelped "I'll call the cops!"
He smirked
"You scared?" He teased "It'd be pointless to call them, they wouldn't be able to see me. But, if it means I get to see you make a fool of yourself, be my guest."
"GET THE FUCK OUT!" I screamed, terrified
He laughed maniacally.
"You're giving orders to a demon?" He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms "You're brave."
Demon...?
"Y-You're a—"
He blinked, and in that instant his eyes transformed from their russet brown state, to the deep pools of black they had appeared as in my dream. Black curls of smoke-like substance emerged from his back. I was overcome with nausea and I felt weak, as if he were draining my energy.
"—Demon. In the flesh." He finished "And you are
Zoe Annette Ruiz, right? You're 22. You don't have alot of friends, you like it that way. Your birthday is October 20th. You paint, you like strawberry ice cream even though you're lactose intolerant, red wine is your favorite and you had an assignment due last night that you didn't turn in."
He said all of this as if he were in a trance. Everything he said was right.
"Wh-what the fuck do you want from me?" I asked "Who are you?"
"I don't want anything from you—yet." He replied darkly "My names Jahseh."
The black substance dissipated as he walked towards me, backing me into a wall. He studied me, his eyes scanned my body as if he were looking for something. It gave me time to actually take a look at him.
In addition to being terrified out of my mind, I was also overcome with curiosity. Demon or not, there was no logical way to explain anything that happened in the last 12 hours. Where did he come from... why me?
"You're not so bad looking for a human." He smirked
I awkwardly looked away from him.
Am I really face to face with an actual demonic entity?
"You still question my existence?" His eyes went black again
"N-No. How did you...?"
"You don't need to know anything else. If you're thinking about trying to get your grandmother to make me go away, its too late." He explained "I'll lure you into a false sense of security. I'll hurt you. I'll trap you. And then I'll take you away leaving the world to wonder 'what happened to her?' "
What the fuck is he talking about?
As a last resort, I reached for the glass jar full of the mixture my abuela gave me. I unscrewed the lid with trembling hands and splashed it on him.
He raised an eyebrow as the substance all but evaporated as soon as it touched him.
"You seem to think that this is some kind of fucking joke." He growled.
He grabbed me by my throat and held me against the wall. I struggled to breathe as another devilish smirk appeared on his face.
"Jah-Jahseh... l-let go..." I sputtered
"I'll be seeing you... Zoe."
He disappeared.
"Jahseh...? JAHSEH!" I called out
Nothing. I was alone again. My mind went blank and my body went numb as I slid down to the floor.
I need to see my grandmother.
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