Prey (19 page)

“One of us could’ve put him down easily, but nonetheless, we did what we were told and attacked. When demons attack it’s like watching a pack of rabid wolves devour a rabbit. To sit here and tell you we literally picked that guy apart would definitely be an understatement. And what’s worse, it didn’t bother me at all. I was actually proud of what I did. When you’re in Hell, you can’t show weakness or compassion. You’ll be seen as pathetic and weak. You’ll be tormented for the rest of eternity—not only by Lucifer and his closest minions, but all the other low-level demons as well. A little while later, the services of a demon were required to come back to Earth to follow you and I volunteered for the job. I’ve been here ever since.”

“You volunteered?”

“Well, yeah. It was the first time a demon was asked to go back to Earth in human form. That kind of thing is strictly forbidden by the sacred laws and we all knew it. None of the other demons wanted to break the laws because they fear the possible repercussions. I didn’t care, though. I wanted out. When I saw my opportunity, I took it.”

Puzzled by Drake’s explanation for his arrival, there are a couple of things Jade wants to clear up. “Hold on, Drake. You were branded in Hell, right?”

“Yeah.”

Jade then asks, “And the body you’re in right now isn’t your real body, right?”

Nodding, Drake answers, “Right again.”

“Okay. So how did the brand you got in Hell get engraved in this body? And whose body is this?”

“This body originally belonged to a kid named Drake Anderson.” Sensing Jade is about to interrupt, he quickly inserts. “I don’t remember my real name. Three hundred years in a lake of fire can be hell on the memory. Anyway, Drake Anderson was the son of a rich doctor out in California.”

“And you just took over his body?” she asked with a disturbed stare.

Drake smiles, “No, it doesn’t work that way. First off, we can’t seize the body of any living creature, especially if Hell doesn’t have the rights to them. And the ones Hell does have rights to are the ones who are already damned. Drake was already dead when I took over. He lived a fast life and did a lot of bad things off his dad’s money. So me and him exchanged places after he got into a car accident—drunk driving deal. Hey, at least he went to Hell drunk. I wish I could’ve been as lucky.”

“So you’ve been lying to his family this whole time? You pass yourself off as their son when you’re not?”

Drake’s smile fades, replaced by a more serious expression. “It comes with the territory, Jade. It’s not like I don’t know everything about Drake or his family. I learned everything about them the moment I took over his body. And it’s not like I handpicked him, either. His body was selected because of his looks, his youth, and his financial backing. It didn’t really matter whose body I received, they all would’ve been used purely as a vehicle to help make my mission as easy as possible. Drake just died at the wrong time because if it wouldn’t have been him who bit the bullet, it would’ve been someone else with the same credentials.”

Feeling bad for her judgmental stance, Jade replies, “I understand. It’s not your fault. You were just doing what you had to do to escape that horrible place.”

“Exactly.” Drake answers Jade’s other question. “The reason why the brand is on the back of this body is because it’s like a tattoo for the soul. No matter where I go, or what body I’m in, this mark will be there. The only way it’ll ever go away is if God himself took it off me.”

Drake angles his head down. The thought of being categorized as a monster for the rest of eternity clearly depresses him. He’s turned his back on Hell, and Heaven has turned its back on him. He’s now stuck between realms, lost and confused.

Jade senses Drake’s distress and tries to console him. Seeing that Drake’s hand is still positioned on the center arm rest, she places her soft hand over his. “Who knows, Drake…Maybe God will see what you’re doing for me and let you back into Heaven.”

Drake looks at his hand and then up at Jade. A smile crosses his face. In spite of everything he’s told her, she continues to show love and concern for him. “I’ve done bad things, Jade. I’ve done a lot of really bad things.”

“We’ve all done things we regret, Drake. Some people’s actions may’ve been worse than others, but I feel that it’s the good things we do that counteract the bad are what matter.”

Jade’s words have taken Drake’s love for her to a new zenith.

In Jade also sees Drake in a totally different perspective, also. To go through all that he’s been through and still have good intentions in his blackened-heart speaks volumes to her. She sees Drake as a lost, wounded puppy. A puppy that has been mistreated and abused for most of its life and seeks nothing more than a loving hand to nourish it back to health.

The two briefly stare at each other in silence. They’re so focused on each other that they fail to notice that the bus has come to a stop. Drake gradually leans in to Jade, slowly closing his eyes. Jade does the exact same.

Before their lips connect, the bus driver calls out. “We are now in Wakarusa, IN. Anyone getting off in Wakarusa, IN, this is your stop. For those of you who aren’t getting off in Wakarusa, you have fifteen minutes to visit the truck stop or make use of their facilities.”

The portly bus driver proceeds to open the bus door. He rocks back and forth in order to gain enough momentum to get up. After a strenuous exertion, plus the use of the steering wheel, the driver pulls himself up and steps down the narrow stair casing, exiting the bus.

Jade and Drake look around the bus and realize they’re the only people who were still on the bus. Jade and Drake exchange an odd glance with one another.

“Okay, did he really just do that?” Jade asked.

“Shit!” Drake exclaimed.

“What’s wrong?” asked Jade.

Drake’s eyes are aimed at the front of the bus. “The damn driver…He just told me where we are. I know our location now, which means I’m gonna have to try and block my mind off so they others won’t know.”

“That shouldn’t be hard for you.”

“That only worked because I made myself forget who I really was. With all I’ve done today there’s no way I can raise doubt to who I am again. I got a taste of my inner evil today at the supermarket. That taste is like a drug…It’s seductive and addictive. And with that being the first time I’ve used my powers in nearly a year, the sensation of it almost made me relapse.”

Jade walks up to Drake and places her hand in the center of his chest. “I trust you, Drake,” she declared. “Just because you come from a bad place and forced to do bad things, doesn’t mean you’re destined to be a bad person. I believe you have a good heart. At times you may be a little rough around the edges, but I know now that that’s only because of what you’ve been through. But it doesn’t matter what I think of you. You have to believe in yourself. You have to believe that you’re better than what you’ve been dubbed as.”

Drake smiles at Jade’s heartwarming words of encouragement. “For you, I’ll try my hardest. Now, let’s get off of this bus before the driver comes back and makes another announcement.”

Drake takes Jade by the hand and the two exit the bus.

Once they’re off the bus they take in the sights of the small farmers’ town of Wakarusa, Indiana. The small antique shops and mom and pop stores make up the majority of businesses that fill the heart of the town. Other businesses such as lumber yards and factories make up the rest. The countryside atmosphere is fresh and exceptionally beautiful all at the same time. The simplicity of the town is reminiscent to a time when the world was a much simpler place.

“So what do you think?” Jade asked enthusiastically as the stood amidst of Wakarusa’s shopping square.

Looking around, Drake responds, “I think that bus doubled as a time machine and we’ve been sent back to the earlier 1900’s.”

“I like it. This is one of the few places in the world where you can actually leave your door unlocked. Everyone knows each other here. They’re all hard working people who look after one another. I don’t think there’s one bad person in this town.”

Drake smiled. “Until now.”

CHAPTER 22

Making their way through the town square, Jade and Drake allow the feel and appearance of the town to soak in. Wakarusa’s historic town center is lined with quaint little shops that not only service the needs and wants of the locals; they also serve as points of attraction to passing visitors. Its low count population, which consists of fewer than 2,000 residents, explains why there are only a few people occupying the streets.

“I have to ask, Jade. What made your uncle move here? Was he born here or something?”

“No. My dad and my uncle were both born in the suburbs of Chicago.”

“Chicago? He left a fast-paced place like Chicago to come here? By comparison, this place would be like stepping back into colonial times.”

“He got tired of the big city life,” Jade explained. “He wanted to move someplace where things moved slower than what he was accustomed to. A place where your rewards in life are tantamount to the amount of hard work you put in.”

“Why? Why the hell would he want to leave the bright city lights for lantern town?”

“I don’t know the logic behind his reasoning. I just know that’s what made him move here. Things didn’t work out the way he planned, though. During the height of the economic crisis, things got really hard and tight around here. Eventually my uncle developed an ‘abandon ship’ mindset. He sold the place to my dad for cheap. A year or so later, the town was revitalized when it received funds from the stimulus package. The property grew in value. My uncle tried to buy it back but my dad declined all his offers. They haven’t spoken since.”

“So who stays here now?” Drake asked. “Farmland has to be tended to on a regular basis, and if your parents are staying in Crown Point then there’s no way they’re doing it.”

“They hire one of the local farmers to come out and take care of the land.

“Are we gonna have to worry about any farmers mistaking us for burglars?” Drake asked.

“No,” Jade answered. “I got to know the neighbors when we first came down here to vacation. They know I belong around here. You don’t have to worry about that.”

Drake smirks. The last thing he’d ever worry about is a human. In contrast, it would be something he’d be more than willing to entertain. No matter how hard he tries, Drake will always have an evil inside of himself that thrives on confrontation and destruction.

The two continue walking toward the Harris farmhouse. Along their short journey, they talk a little bit about everything. They discuss the first thoughts Jade had when she found out Drake was a demon. They talk about the initial thoughts that came into her mind when she saw Alex for the first time in two years. They even talk about Drake’s thoughts toward Alex. The two things they didn’t discuss were the whereabouts of Alex, and the demons that are after her.

It’s not as if they didn’t have these thoughts in the back of her mind, it’s just that for the time being, that’s where they want those thoughts to stay…In the back of their minds.

After walking for nearly half an hour, Jade and Drake find themselves walking along a narrow road, surrounded on both sides by towering crops that spanned out as far as they eye could see.

Jade disrupts their flowing conversation and points up the road. “There it is.”

Drake follows the path of Jade’s finger to a beautiful two-storied home. It is an all white house, with a matching barn in back. The setting of the sun highlights the house perfectly. The rays reflect off the home, creating the kind of picturesque view any artist would admire.

“Wow!” Drake said, stunned. “That is a really nice house…Despite the fact it’s in the middle of Mayberry,”

“I told you,” she boasted. “Come on. I wanna show you the barn.”

“Yippee,” Drake sarcastically played as Jade pulled him by the hand.

What Jade and Drake are completely unaware of is that someone is watching them closely from inside the farmhouse, observing them from a second-floor window as they cut across the yard and head towards the barn.

Sensing something isn’t right, Drake turns his attention to the house.

“Is something wrong?” Jade asked.

Drake doesn’t respond immediately. Instead, he persistently stares at the house, trying to pick up on anything that seems out of place. Drake could easily use his powers to find out if anyone is in the house or not, but if he uses his telepathy to scan the house it would alert the other demons to his and Jade’s location.

Ruling it the weird sensation as a false alarm, Drake turns back to Jade and says, “No. Everything’s cool. I thought I heard something…It’s nothing.”

CHAPTER 23

The sun has set, darkness now covering the land. Inside the barn behind the Harris farmhouse, Jade and Drake lay next to each other in a pile of hay, staring up at the nighttime sky through the opening in the roof of the barn. The two are admiring a star-filled sky that they’re not accustomed to seeing in the city skies. The flickering light that dimly illuminates the barn is being provided by an old lantern that Jade has hung near the barn’s doors. The entire atmosphere makes for a very romantic and soothing setting.