I drove the car onto the main road. Strange faint noises grasped my attention. It was coming from the back seat of the car.

I glanced at the rearview mirror to see Ash sitting up. The suddenness of it made me brake to a hard stop. The car behind me also made a hard break and a slight swerve. A barrage of its horn was followed as it passed me.

I turned to her. Her hair was wild with scratches upon her body. She had the look as if she had just fought with a cat and lost. A perplexed expression as if she was in some deep thought.

The silence lasted for a while as I put both my hands on my head. I took slow, deep, steady breaths, doing my best to calm down.

"What happened to you?" I finally asked.

"There were monsters in that apartment, many of them. It's not possible. That has never happened, and they were hunting me," she said.

I recalled my situation in my head.

"What did they want or look like, did they speak?"

"That's why I came here Domenic you're the one that consorts with demons. How did you get them to look human?"

"What--" I said as she grabbed me in a tight grip. I was barely able to breathe as my hand instinctively went to protect my neck and ease the pressure.

"Why would I send monsters to hurt you?"

"How should I know? It is the only thing that makes sense to me and the fact you were there too? Did you enjoy making me suffer? You almost had me too."

"You have it wrong, I came there to a woman that I know. I thought she was in trouble. I can prove it look at the chat and call log on my phone."

I reached in my pocket slowly, causing her to tighten her grip further.

"No funny moves or I will kill you," she said.

I handed her my phone as she brought it to my face. There was slight ease as I gasped for breath.

She started reading until the beeping of another horn was heard from behind the car.

"I have to pull over or start to drive."

"We are going to your house," she said, as she started to read through all the messages in front of her. She seemed more relaxed, even if it was just slightly.

"Okay," I replied, as I started to drive again.

"Then why were you running into your car? You seemed to panic?"

"It's because she was," I paused, "she was trying to kill me. I don't fully understand what is going on, but..." I squeezed the wheel tightly, "she seemed aware of something she should not have even known."

In the rearview mirror, I saw her still looking at me, probably weighing my words.

"It seems like your story of why you were there makes sense, but I don't understand why she was trying to kill you. Are you the same way here as you are in that next world? Then it would make full sense to me. Anyway, we can discuss that when we get there. I have to rest, I am tired. Wake me when we get there."

"You trust me now?"

"No, I don't trust you at all. Even your own lover wants to kill you. It is just that we need each other for now."

I rubbed my neck in the area where she had held. For a woman of her frame, she had a powerful grip. It wasn't long before she was laying down in the backseat.

My eyes stayed focused directly on the road.

***

It was like a race against the dark when I pulled up outside my house. I looked back to see Ash deep within sleep. I went to place a hand to wake her, but before my hand reached her, she swatted it away. It was almost similar to a defence mechanism as she got up. Her eyes showed deep signs of being tired.

My phone rang, it was Chris. I watched it ring for a while.

"Aren't you going to answer that?"

"Well, you see, I don't know how I should respond to him right now; I need to think and make sense of this all. Come, let us go inside. I am also curious about what happened to you."

"Great, if we put together all the pieces, I am sure we can figure it all out, right?" She asked as she opened the door.

I got out as well and was greeted by Ralph. I turned my gaze in the direction of the fading sun.

"Ralph, this young lady will be staying with us."

"Will she require a room?"

"Not for now," I said as I looked at her, "we will be in the study."

"Understood," Ralph said as he departed.

"Come," I said to Ash as I saw her taking in the size of the house.

"Is your friend here too?" she asked as we entered the house.

I was quite aware of who she meant.

"No," I responded.

"I see," she said.

"Then perhaps," she said as we went up the stairs to the study. Her words came to a pause and her feet to a halt.

I gazed back at her, she was captivated with what was around.

"Then perhaps what?" I asked as I entered the study and she followed.

I closed the door behind us.

"Then perhaps it could also be her as well sending these monsters after us. Did you think about that?"

"I don't think she would do that. If she wanted to, she could have killed me at any time. I am not sure what she really wants either."

"Let us start with what we do know."

"Ok," I replied, "Tell me exactly what happened to you, and is it really safe that you left without your mother knowing? Now that I think about it isn't her safety a concern for you?"

Ash said nothing for a while, but from her shifting stances and agitated face, she didn't like what I said. Her mother had always seemed concerned about her. Maybe something happened over the years? I wonder.

"Ok, I will recall what happened from my side and then you will do the same," she said.

I nodded in response as we took up seats near the bookshelves. Her hand rested upon the biology book I had on the desk.

"I took my normal route going home from school. When I came home, I had multiple strange feelings at the same time, it was almost as if I was in the next realm, I sensed twenty monsters in the area—they were all weak. It was the first time it happened, and I ignored it. What would they be after me for anyway? That was my first thought. Oh, how wrong I was, I opened my door and walked in, the apartment felt the same as always, but there lying on the ground was my mother, she was... she was—dead."

There was no emotion on her face as she said the word.

"Her head was bashed in strangely, I felt nothing at the sight, nothing at all. While I was trying to make sense of what had happened, that was when I felt that sensation again. The first one managed to have caught me off guard," she pointed to her bruised face, "but it wasn't too long before he was dead and the two others died right after. In swift succession, sensing so many in the area, I rushed through the door, that's when I sensed your presence and hid in your car."

"How did you get in?"

"You didn't lock the door. It wasn't long before you came and here we are now." She said, as her gaze fell upon the window.

I put a hand to my chin as I processed the information. "What do we do about the bodies and your... and your mother?"

"I know that could be problematic to explain to anyone. It is best we dispose of them soon. My fingerprints would be on the dead bodies and the door."

"I will think of something, have you had these feelings before?"

"No, today was the first."

"What about your strength and power?" I asked.

"Well, I was able to use those for some time now, maybe about two years ago."

I nodded. "This was also the second time I felt that way as well. However, it seems you can sense far more than I can. I came to the apartment complex for as you know to a woman that I am close with. I was expecting that she was either drunk or in trouble, but she appeared normal, which was strange."

"Why was that strange?"

"Because it was the first in years since she had looked that way. She invited me in and asked me two questions. The first about the man, I placed to follow her and the second was about if I killed her father?"

I paused, looking at the chessboard in the study. "It was at that point, she attacked me and I dodged and made my escape. The strange thing was, the man I placed there to watch her also attacked me. It didn't make any sense and at that same time, that weird feeling was also there. At that point, I ran, and that is how we ended up here."

"I see, I have warned you before about playing their games," she responded, "So I assume that was one of the persons that were killed by you?"

"I didn't kill anyone."

"Deny all you want, but it doesn't change what my eyes see. Is Mallory staying here as well?"

"No!"

My sudden shout caught her by surprise. There was not enough information to go on, just speculation of what we both thought about the situation. The light outside was slowly flickering by.

Samael, Zora, and Rainbow what was the connection there? Someone had to tell Zora and it was only one of the two. Yet neither had shown their faces, especially seeing that Samael was so prideful. Why also were we sensing humans as demons? Did they really come for that world or was it possible for them to become corrupted here too? There was no change in the wind? Was it us creating the problems here bringing back a form of corruption maybe from going and coming? That still wouldn't answer why they were moving coordinated. They also didn't seem to turn into monsters when they were dead based on what Ash told me. It seemed I had more questions than answers.

It annoyed me that I was completely clueless about what was happening here. I had to be as prepared as I could, but how would I defend myself from Samael and his ability to control my body. I turned to Ash, "We would both have to get stronger and be ready for the worse."

The darkness had finally come, and we both stepped into its whispering breath to face it together.