Demonic Designs (To Absolve the Fallen) (2 page)

“What?
 
That old-man Davis’s house lit up?
 
I don’t know, but I’d think God has better things to do than to fuck with a bunch of redneck locals.”

Alex felt a hand on his shoulder, and he looked behind him.
 
Mr. Jenkins, his Advanced Juniors English teacher, had come down the stairs behind the group of students, and now he was studying them all—particularly Alex.
 

“Mr. Tanner,” he said, “what interesting observations you make.
 
I especially liked the one depicting the origin of this town, but I don’t think that’s appropriate language for a high school hallway.
 
Will you accompany me to the office?”

Alex smiled as innocently as he could.
 
“I guess I don’t have a choice, huh?”

“I’m afraid choice is not something I can afford you at this moment.
 
This way.”

With his arm over Alex’s shoulder, Mr. Jenkins steered his student toward the front of the building where the ominous glass door to the office awaited.
 
They got right in front of it, but then Mr. Jenkins suddenly motioned toward the doors leading outside instead.
 

He looked at Alex and suggested, “Let’s take a stroll, shall we?”

Alex felt the urge to resist or even say anything dwindle as he looked into Mr. Jenkins’s gray eyes.
 
Had they always been gray?
 
He couldn’t remember.
 
They walked outside and across the parking lot to where a black sports car was parked.
 
As they approached, Mr. Jenkins took a set of keys out of his pocket and pushed a button, causing the car to beep and the locks to pop up.
 
Mr. Jenkins opened the passenger side door for Alex and signaled him to sit.
 
Alex, however, only stood there.
 
His brain felt foggy.
 

Somewhere deep inside of him, this felt wrong.
 
He knew that it wasn’t a good idea to get into this car, but that thought was overridden by the desire to provide unquestioning obedience.
 
So he climbed into the car, and the door shut behind him.
 
It seemed as though the door had closed without Mr. Jenkins even touching it, but Alex knew that wasn’t possible.
 

Mr. Jenkins got into the driver’s seat and looked over at his passenger.
 
He smiled broadly, and his face changed.
 
The man who had been sitting across from Alex no longer seemed to be the same individual.
 
Now, when Alex looked at the person in the driver’s seat, he saw a boy, no older than himself, with bright red hair, blue eyes, and freckles.
 
Alex tried to comprehend what had just happened, but there was no use.
 
It almost seemed to him that Mr. Jenkins—or whoever this was—had always looked like that.
 
Alex’s brain accepted the transition without further hesitance.
 

“There,” the other said.
 
He even had the voice of a teenager.
 
“Now, our being seen together won’t be quite as suspicious.”
 

Despite the remarkable transformation, that haunting grin remained.

“What the fuck?” Alex stammered breathlessly.

“I’ve never understood how one person could use that word so often,” the red-head replied, as he turned the key in the ignition.
 
“You’ve said it sixteen times already today.
 
How could one word have so much meaning that you could find a use for it in nearly every kind of context?
 
It used to be, ‘What the hell?’
 
Had you said that, I would have chuckled at the context.
 
But apparently fornication is more offensive than everlasting torment.
 
It’s interesting how much you demonize an act meant to bring forth life, and you completely underestimate the altogether offensive nature of Hell.”
 
With this, he shrugged his shoulders and put the car into reverse.

“What the fuck is happening?” Alex mumbled as he moved to open his door.

“Seventeen.
 
And don’t bother with the door.
 
You should just relax and enjoy the drive; I assure you that you’re not getting out until we reach our destination.
 
You’ll need to learn to trust me because if you don’t, I promise that very bad things will happen to you.
 
Your life is in danger, and I’m the only one, ironically, who can keep you safe.
 
On the other hand, you could choose to become problematic for me.
 
In which case, your death will come before its time, and it will be most excruciating.”

Alex’s was entirely focused on the driver now.
 
He couldn’t help but pay complete attention to the person who was threatening his life and driving away from school in, presumably, Mr. Jenkins’s car.

“Wh-What are you?”

The other boy turned to face Alex and replied, “It’s complicated.
 
Besides, that kind of information is bound to make you uncomfortable.”

“What do you want with me?”

“I want everything, Alexander Tanner.”
 
The red-head turned his attention back to the road as he spoke.
 
“Pray that I never ask for more than you have to offer.”

After that, Alex could sense no more.

Alex could not physically hear the voice, but he knew it was there.

For decades I have awaited your arrival.
 
I have suffered pain intolerable and torment unimaginable to have this...opportunity.
 
I have betrayed all that I once thought to be important in the hopes of getting back what is rightfully mine.
 
Within your fragile body, your worthless mind, and your weak heart exists my key to freedom.
 
I expect resistance.
 
As a matter of fact, I welcome it, but you may find that I am a harsh teacher
.
 

Then, the voice was no more.

Alex awoke on a bed and in a room he’d never seen before.
 
It looked as though this room, and perhaps the house, had not been used in some time.
 
The bed he was on was ragged and dirty.
 
And, the only other thing in this room was a basic, wooden chair, which was occupied by someone.
 
Through blurry eyes, Alex made out the figure of the boy who had stolen Mr. Jenkins’s car.
 
The boy was smoking a cigarette and leaning the chair precariously against the wall.
 
He casually lifted his head to meet Alex’s eyes.
 
Smoke rolled out of his nose, as the corners of his mouth started to curl in a way that sparked something terrifying deep inside Alex.

“Who are you?” Alex asked as he got up.

The boy just looked at him curiously, and then a wave of comprehension swept his face.

“I suppose it was a lot to take in all at once,” the boy explained.
 
“I had hoped that you would pick everything up a little quicker.
 
But this happens sometimes.
 
Shock kicks in if the mind is too weak to accept truth.
 
Let me remind you.
 

“About twelve hours ago, I looked like a teacher of yours, Kyle Jenkins.
 
We strolled away from your school to my car.
 
Once there, I changed to resemble what you see now.”
 
He brought his hands up to his face, indicating it, and smiled.
 
“We had a drive and a chat, and I decided that it would be best if you accompany me to this place.
 
You had gone unconscious before we got here, so you’ve been lying there ever since.”
 

He took another drag of the cigarette and exhaled as he spoke.
 
“As to my name, it’s irrelevant, but because I know that drives people like you insane, you may call me Jeremiah.”

Alex narrowed his eyes, and his voice dropped to nearly a whisper, “What do you want with me?”

“I have a task to accomplish, Alex, and you’ve been chosen to play a role in it.
 
It’s really up to you how much you wish to participate, but you should know that it really frustrates me when people don’t even try.”

Alex looked around.
 
He saw that there was a door.
 
In his mind, he saw himself dashing to the door and bolting for the nearest exit from this place.
 
He didn’t know where he’d go from there, but anywhere was bound to be better than here with this maniac.
 
The red-head followed Alex’s eyes to the door and adopted a visage of mocking disappointment.
 
Jeremiah brought the front legs of the chair down on the floor, and it sounded like the crack of an enormous whip.
 
Alex returned his attention to his captor.
 

“Escape?” Jeremiah asked, as if reading Alex’s mind.
 
“Why?
 
You haven’t even given me a chance.
 
How do you know that you wouldn’t enjoy my company?”

Alex felt a cold chill run up his spine.
 
“This is all wrong.”

“You’re fighting it, Alex.
 
You’re trying to rationalize yourself out of this, and it’s not going to work.
 
Allow yourself to experience faith.”
 

And with that, the door slammed shut—seemingly by itself.
 

“What am I?” the boy with red hair inquired.

Alex started shivering with a realization that seemed to tear apart the essence of his being. “You’re the Devil.”

Jeremiah laughed, but not with the laugh of a teenager.
 
This hollow laugh resonated throughout Alex’s body and will.
 
Alex forced his trembling body to get off the bed and back up against the wall.

 
Jeremiah’s eyes had gone steel gray.
 
“Close enough.
 
You compare me to Lucifer.
 
Your scope of comprehension and comparison is sorely limited.”
 
He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, they were blue again.
 
“But we can work on that.
 
In fact, I am a demon—at least, according to your classifications.
 
I am not, however, a real threat to you.
 
I have no intention of harming you.
 
Unless, that is, I believe you might fall into the wrong hands.
 
Unfortunately, I cannot allow that.
 
I can sense your power, even though I’m sure you can’t.
 

“For years, I have been training people like you for a war that has been brewing since before the time of Abraham.
 
I am a being who thrived in a time before humans had language.
 
I used to watch over your kind, until I fell.”
 
He stopped for a moment.
 
“The Fall was the most physically painful experience of my existence.
 
It felt as though I was falling for centuries, through time and space.”

“But you’re just a kid,” Alex observed.

“Alex, don’t make me take back all of those nice things I said to you.
 
You saw me change from one shape to another.
 
What did you expect a demon to look like?
 
Big horns, sharp teeth, and hoofed feet?
 
No, I am definitely not a child.
 
Actually, I’m nearly forty millennia old.”

“Am I going to die?”

Jeremiah shrugged as he dropped his cigarette on the floor and ground the cherry to embers with his foot.
 
“Not for a very long time, I hope.”

***

“I’m telling you I could
feel
it.”

“Patheus, if he were here,
I
would know it.”

Patheus just pushed his glasses up his nose and glared at her.
 
“Perhaps,” he stated after a moment of thought, “your overconfidence has caused you to overlook an altogether likely possibility.”