XX years later-

Armen's point of view-

I want to live in a world where demons don't exist. I want to be able to wake up and not be terrified about what will happen the day ahead. I'm tired of only feeling safe huddled in my closet when those sirens outside blare, the city outside under siege. Every night and what feels like every other day they come to purge. Tonight it's going to be different. Tonight I want to finally break away from the cowering.

I sat at my desk with the lamp on, shining a beam down on the open laptop. Displayed on the screen was am imagine of three interlaced triangular ornaments. A triquetra. I made sure that every detail I carved into the blade was correct, keeping the burin dad had bought at the pawn shop as still as my hand could manage. It was difficult considering I was running on four hours of sleep from the day. I glanced at the time in the lower right of the screen.

12:35 am

My body immediately tensed, pulling the burin away from the blade to keep from messing up the sigil. My lips puckered as I blew away the specks of metal left behind and admired my work. It should be ready.

Setting my tools down, I took a deep breath and braced myself. My finger pressed on the side of the laptop to shut it down, the screen going black with a small jingle. As the room went dark with a cat shaped night light and turquoise lava lamp keeping the room lit, I stood, then grabbed the small chain on my second, far less cluttered desk which only had a lamp on top which was currently switched off.

I slipped the chain over my head, hitting the back of my neck as the talisman fell to my chest. It was in the shape of a flame surrounded by a circle on which Psalm 59:1 was engraved. I was not particularly a religious person, however anything with religious scripture against evil provided solace no matter what faith it originated from. It kept me safe and tonight, I needed that more than I have for a long time.

My eyes averted to the glass bowl full of water next to my laptop, the fish floating around inside with fins and gills slowly moving from side to side.

  "I know, Joffrey. I'm scared too but I need to see if this works."

His dark eyes stared at me, wide as if judging. I could hear a voice from those puckered lips even if it was from my lonely imagination mixed with sleep deprivation. "I can't sleep and if I'm quiet enough I should be able to sneak out without him noticing. I have everything I need so I'll be fine."

The bubbles rose in the water. I grabbed my navy blue hoodie with black pockets and black halfway up the sleeves. "No, people getting possessed is too rare. I'll be fine...I'll be fine." I kept repeating to myself as I put on the hoodie.

Turning to look out of the window, I grabbed my book bag hanging from the chair then put it on so the strap crossed over my chest. The moon was full, making the darkness of night just brightened up enough that my anxiety wasn't on the fritz. Perfect. I watched the blue wax rise and lower within my lava lamp until my nerves calmed down.

Turning back to my dresser, I pulled open one of the draws in which I had two bottles filled with blessed water, a small cross tied around near the top of each one. I secured them into two pouches sewn on the inside of my bag and placed the dagger into the bag with them. My pulse was racing, constantly trying to clear my throat when I felt as if I was choking.

Finally, I grabbed a pair of visor glasses which were a green shade. In the middle above the lense was a small light and instead of a pair of arms, it had a strap to put around the head. I put it one, tapping a small button on the side. The dark world lit up in green.

Within the dark I could now see the outline of the door, however the light from the lava lamp and nightlight did hurt my eyes to a degree. Probably should have waited to turn on the night vision until I was out of the room.

My hand reached for the doorknob, hesitant as nearly every thought screamed at me that this was a terrible idea. Yet despite these fears, I turned the knob, allowing the door to swing open and reveal one massive room containing both the living room, dining room and kitchen with no walls separating the three. The front door was straight ahead. I first looked slightly to my left where there were two doors, one next to my bedroom door which lead into the guest room. I could smell dust coming from within through the slim crack between the door and wooden floorboards. The other door left me anxious just looking at it.

Back in the day there would always be construction men going down there for what my dad said was expansion. For what? I don't know.

Behind the gap between the hinges was a faint green light, a faint smell of chemicals seeping through. I always hated walking out of my room to be greeted with that suffocating stench but I have learned to get used to it at least.

The basement. I always wondered what was down there, what my dad refused to let me see. My hand reached out. Maybe if he's in his room I can go inside...no, bad idea Armen. I retracted my hand and clenched my first to repress to urge to go through with the thought.

My feet lead me slowly across the floor, first going to the kitchen to grab a couple packets of salt. I knew that ghost had a weakness to it. Afterwards, I turned and walked around the couch and armchair to the front door.

I looked up the steps, wondering if he was in his room tonight. Should I walk up there and check? The floorboards on the stairs would probably be too loud to risk it.

  "What if he's asleep and he hears me open the door? What if he's downstairs and heard my footsteps?"

I pulled my hand away from the door as my anxiety increased. Should I really do this? Am I really sure that I'll be safe? No, I'm not sure. That thought had me stepping away from the exit as if by instinct. Come on Armen, you need to stop being such a coward! You'll never get any progress like this. I kept yelling at myself internally until I mustered up the courage to open the door.

Stepping outside into the cold, a shiver ran down my back and into my arms. My teeth would chatter here and there, skin crawling with goosebumps. At least I grabbed a hoodie before coming out. I pulled up the hood before closing the door then taking out my dagger.

My lungs were still breathing heavily and my body continued to quiver with thoughts of the unknown. My grip on the dagger tightened before my feet began to take me across the porch, closing the door slowly behind me. After that, there was no turning back.

I began to go west towards the main town, lights in buildings turned on despite the late hour. I personally could not understand how they could stand being up this late even after protocol has already been issued, then again I am still up as well. It's too dangerous. I kept wondering what I was doing, why I didn't just wait until the opportunity came to me instead of vice versa.

Constantly looking over my shoulder, hearing things in the distance, seeing little lights amongst the darkness. It took a lot out of me not to break down in fear or begin sobbing. Pathetic, Armen...

Eventually I made it to the bridge leading into town, greeted by a large sign on the opposite side of the river.

  Welcome to Ruby!

The town was still dark enough that I didn't have to turn off the night vision on the glasses, looking at the lit up buildings too long hurt my eyes. With one hand on the dagger and the other on my talisman, I remained standing just outside of the city, waiting in hesitation. The city would be the safest place with smaller demons lurking around, right? Hopefully nothing too big that I can't easily overpower.

  "You'll be okay. It will be okay." I repeated in a whisper to myself.

Shards of grass illuminated bright neon blue in the night, slivers of light flowing within the stream. Nocturnal flowers in bloom gave off their own glow in various captivating colors. Just one of the so called wonders of Ruby.

I began over the bridge, the frigid air becoming cooler above the water. My body shivered until I was over and officially entered the main part of the town, continuing on. Upon nearly every building was a symbol, some with banners with Japanese or Chinese kanji I believe it was called. Other buildings had religious symbols outside of their homes from religions ranging from Christianity to pagen sigils and other religions I didn't exactly know of. They kept the buildings safe. The outside of buildings, however, was a different story.

The streets were primarily empty aside from outside the bar, the nightclub and the gas station. Even then there was only one to two people lurking outside each place due to protocol being announced at 10:00. That was when it was advised to stay indoors but of course people didn't always listen.

I hated watching them. More so, I hated them looking at me. Every glance from them made me panic until I was practically running through the streets while mumbling that I shouldn't have done this. At that point, tears had formed in my eyes and I was screaming internally, arguing back and forth that I was ignorant for doing this while also pushing on that I needed to be brave and push through.

Finally I came across the flashing lights. They were not red and blue like the police, they were purple and green.
The truck was wide, two people with weapons standing around a mass lying on the ground. A glowing pool of gold slowly built up underneath the mass of fur and scales, the humans around it staying clear of the liquid. I watched, hiding myself by peering around an alleyway. Steam rose from the beast's carcass as it's body dissolved along with the pool of ichor surrounding it. The humans around it wore masks over their mouths and noses, hooded vests on their chest reading 'Exorcist' both front and back. Catching my breath and freeing my eyes from tears, I felt wonder from watching them. One held a gun, the other with a sword. Both were crafted in a specific way with enchantments to make them capable of slaughtering demons. Weapons my dad made but all the money we got from it went to his other work.

I jumped at a sound from behind, spinning with my dagger held out in trembling hands. What was now in front of me looked like a domesticated rabbit, however, small horns were sprouted from it's head. They glowed a bright blue, along with its eyes. Running along its sides were white spots, its tail large and deer like.

  "Is it a demon or a dybbuk?"

Dybbuks first came around after what we call the Tribulation, when creatures dubbed "demons" first appeared thirty years ago. They were animals born with genetic mutations caused by radiation left behind from the event, which to this day no one knows how or why it occurred. The mutations could cause various physical changes from mammals growing feathers, obtaining radioactive blood allowing parts of their body to glow, growing extra limbs, to gaining traits from a completely different species. Usually they were highly aggressive but this one just sat that staring at me. I don't know how long I stood frozen in place before my body allowed itself to relax. My breath came out as heavy pants while my chest heaved, clearing my throat. It's not attacking. Maybe it's not hostile? Then again it could be waiting for me to move before it pounces.

  "H-hey...little guy." I stuttered as I took out my dagger and a bottle of holy water, knowing that unlike demons, dybbuks were impervious to holy water and sigils, including talismans.

I popped open the quark on the bottle and lowered it slowly for the creature to sniff it, pouring just a bit out. What if it attacks with my hand this close? What if it turns out to be venomous? I fought to keep those thoughts at bay. We both flinched as I drew the bottle away and closed it, watching it with anxiety and curiosity. It's nose twitched as it sniffed the water, dipping its small tongue into the liquid to drink. It did not retract in burning pain nor did its tongue sizzle away. My lungs pushed up a breath of relief. Good, it's just a dybbuk, no demon.

After closing the bottle and putting it away, I took out my dagger once more and watched the mutated rabbit. If I had made a wrong guess and it did turn out to be a demon, I could be hurt or dead right now. Maybe I didn't want to run into a demon. Perhaps I'm not ready to take one on, maybe I never will be. What made me think that I was ready to begin with?

The air chilled like a layed of frost on my skin, digging to my bones at a familiar hissing from the darkness. It's heavy steps grew closer, my head turning to spot it with my night vision glasses, my hood obscuring parts of my vision. The creature stood around three feet tall with its back hunched, making it about four feet tall without the hunch. It's slim body was covered in a orange-red fur coat with patches of black on the end of its paws, ears, and a long bushy tail. Natural growing feathers had replaced patches of fur, pupils slit within their neon green irises. The fox growled and hissed like that of a feline and before I knew it, the animal was leaping for me.

I screamed and held out the blade which sunk into its shoulder. It shrieked its ear piercing cry, my blade holding it up long enough for it to swipe it's paws a few times. One claw or two managed to dig into my neck, causing me to yelp but it did not feel like a deep wound. I could feel the blood running down my neck afterwards however. The adrenaline spiked then seemed to pause when a pressure on my neck left me choking only for the sensation to disappear just as fast as it had arrived. A faint snap clicked in my ears.

There was not enough time to figure out what it was, I had to keep running.
I did not get far before it's claw snagged my leg, instinctively freezing up for a brief moment in time. I could only hear the fabric tear, closely followed by pressure as I kicked it's paw away and sprinted from the beast once more. My feet carried me down the road, closer to where the exorcists were. Only when I tripped did I notice the burning pain. I grunted as I hit the ground, a warm liquid running down my leg. I wanted to gag or scream but nothing came out, leaving me choking with a closed throat. Come on Armen, fight it! You have everything you need. You can fight it!

Tears had formed in my eyes but with every ounce of will, I held them back. Forcing myself to stand with my hood falling down, I readied myself with mere inches between myself and the creature. My hand trembled with the dagger in my tight grip, holding the blade out while nearly dropping it from how much my hand was shaking, gazing into those lime eyes and foaming mouth. I could no longer think coherently, every thought wiped away to leave a blank slate.

There was a sudden loud bang that left my ears buzzing as a flash of light zipped past my side. The corrupt fox cried out as it collapsed, a bullet wound now inflicted to its side, oozing a mixture of red and green blood. It whined and tried to get back up only for a blade to smash down onto its neck. I had to quickly look away from the decapitated corpse before I got any closer to vomiting.

  "Kid! What are you doing out so late?"

I looked up to the exorcist, a male with hair cut close to his scalp, even more so on the sides of his head. His brown eyes were glaring down at me. "Hey, aren't you the kid of the scientist outside of town?"

I nodded as I cleared my throat. "Yes-yes sir."

The small amount of ichor from the fox began to evaporate from his sword to leave only red blood behind, the metal strong enough that the blood and ichor of countless fights did not coroad it, leaving the steel gleaming and razor-edged.

  "Iven, who is that?" A female voice called out.

I looked over to see the girl with her long blue hair up in a low ponytail hidden by her hood. She used two fingers to push up the glasses resting on her nose back into place. In her gloved hand was a gun with a smoking barrel.

  "That...Jackson kid." He answered, pausing for a moment to remember my last name.

The woman placed her gun back into the hostler resting on her side and locked it into place. Her blue eyes came to rest their sight on me, her gaze behind those glasses rather indifferent until she saw my leg. That was when she gasped and kneeled down to look it over. I slipped the dagger into my pack hoping they did not notice it.

  "He's hurt. Get the medical kit." She ordered.

Iven did as told and went to get it out of the truck. The woman ripped up a line from the bottom up close to my knee to get a better view of the wound, taking a canteen on her belt to clean it off. A hiss pushed past my teeth as she poured a bit of water over the gash. Ivan quickly returned, seating down a rather large bag and opening it up to take out a small packet of disinfectant wipes.

She took them and ripped it open, wiping it over the wound which quickly turned the white cloth red. "What are you doing out this late? You should know better. Where's your form of protection?" She scolded me.

I whimpered in a bit of shame and confusion. "Right he-" I bit my tongue when my hand lifted to grab the silver only to grasp at thin air. My hands frantically patted at my neck in search of the leather however my skin was all I could find.

  "I-I had it on! I swear!" I kept looking around, trying to crawl on the ground to find it but she pulled at my legs and held them in place until I calmed down. "The dybbuk must have ripped it off before I ran."

She asked me to calm down, Ivan going to see if he could find the medallion with his own pair of night vision glasses like my own. I watched him while the girl treated my leg, seeing him crouch down to pick something up from the dirt. My attention then snapped back to the woman as she once again asked what I was doing out here after protocol had already been in place.

  "I wanted to test out my dagger. I just wanted to do something about all of this instead of sitting around being scared all the time." My voice cracked, the tears coming back which I wiped away.

She asked if she could see it. I hesitated but eventually settled with pulling the dagger out from my bag and handing it over to her. I noticed the badge on her vest reading 'Department of Exorcism' below that reading 'Lalea'.

She let out a heavy breath before handing the dagger back. "You're too young to be risking your life like that. You have your whole life ahead of you to learn and make a difference. Just leave it to us until you get training one day, if that's what you want." She spoke calmly with a smile at the end.

Ivan walked back to me with his hand out. I lifted my hand to let him drop a small piece of silver into my palm. My eyes scanned it over just to reassure that it was mine before I put it away with a sigh of relief. After treating me and wrapping my lower leg with medical tape, Lalea helped me to stand with pain shooting up my leg. I hissed and grabbed her arm as I limped to the van. Ivan looked around with his sword held in case there were any further attacks while his partner had her guard down.

She helped me stay upright as I limped to the truck and got into the front seat. I turned off my night vision and put the goggles away, blinking rapidly to get used to the light that came on when the doors were open. It was rather awkward sitting between the both of them as they got in and started the engine.

  "What's your name?" Lalea asked, Ivan manning the wheel as he drove me home. Most people knew who we were, where we lived but preferred to stay away. Despite my father making inventions that changed mankind, we were not particularly liked among the residents of Ruby. I did not know why.

I answered but did not meet her eyes. "My name is Armen."

  "Well Armen, I hope you know that going out on your own isn't safe here, especially this late. Even we exorcists need others with us."

  "I know that, I just... want to be like you guys I guess. You're not scared of anything."

She let out a quiet sigh. We drove past the bridge and entered the low density residential area hugged by the hillside on one side and a dense forest on the other. Each house was far from one another, including the small fire house which had the doors closed at this hour of night but I assumed firemen were still there just to be safe.

Lalea snapped me away from my brief thoughts. "Armen, of course we get scared. Fear is part of being human. You don't need to be like us to be strong or fearless, that's all up to you."

I stayed looking at my feet, taking in her words. I know that she was right but that did not change anything. The thought kept coming to mind that if I fought these things, if I rose above them then just maybe the nightmares would stop. Perhaps I could actually sleep at night instead of wasting the after school day away and falling asleep in class. Maybe I would not be so paranoid of everything.

We drove off the main boulevard onto a separate street that lead through the trees. A few short minutes went by before we reached a two story building, the only light on being in a room at the back of the house. My room.

A chill ran through my body when I realized that these people would not let me inside the house without notifying my dad that I had snuck out. I began to shake at the thought of his reaction; how angry he'd be. My chest began to ache with the thought. I hated being on his bad side even if I got into trouble often.

  "Please...please don't tell my dad!" I begged. "I promise I won't do it again!"

Ivan replied as we pulled up and put the truck into park. "Kid, you're like...12, and you tried killing a Dybbuk on your own! If we weren't there- if it was a demon, you'd-" He stopped himself from completing that sentence. The door flew open and he stepped out, not having worn a seatbelt during the drive.

  "I'm 15!" I was more offended by that statement than I should have been.

He then sighed with his next words, facial expressions tense as if unnerved. "We still have to tell your dad. Besides, you got hurt so if something happens to that wound, like an infection, he needs to know."

  "Why would you care?" I mumbled to myself hoping that they would not hear. It seemed that I was in the clear.

  "You're just doing your job. You don't care."

Lalea hopped out of the truck and helped me out before I limped to the pouch with the exorcist close behind in case I happened to trip from the numbness that spread up my leg. The porch had a single dull light that would occasionally flicker beside the door. Many etchings from different faiths and languages were etched into the wood here and there.

I was shivering both from the frigid breeze and the nerves eating at my thoughts. What was he going to do? I already had an idea of it. Truly it was nothing to be afraid of, yet I could not subside that feeling of dread.

Lalea helped me walk to the porch where Ivan had pressed a button to the panel next to the door, causing a small light on the top to glow red with a beep followed shortly by a voice coming from the small speaker built into it.

  "Hello? What are you doing here at 2am?" His voice was deep, the pitch lower and speaking slower than normal which told me that he was exhausted.

  "Mr.Jackson, we caught your son sneaking out tonight. He was injured by a Dybbuk but my partner and I have tended to his injury. We need you to come up."

The voice said nothing else as the speaker clicked and the red light turned off. It did not take too long for the door to click a few times as if my dad had to double check if the door was locked or not, which it wasn't. He was already mumbling as he stepped out, shaggy copper hair, which matched his heavy stubble, fell over the bridge of his nose which cast shade over his bleary gaze. It was unkempt as if he had just woken up. Contrary to that, based on the pink hue to his sclera and puffy skin beneath his eyes, sleep was something he had not been given over the night. Our eyes locked, his own an exotic silver grey, devoid of all natural pigmentation.

My gaze averted to the wooden planks beneath my feet, Lalea gently nudging me forward to him. I looked up to them, noticing Ivan staring at my dad with what looked like fear and disgust mixed in his eyes and expression.

  "Have a look at his leg and make sure he doesn't do this again. We may have to come up with a punishment if this problem continues. We don't want him to get hurt or worse." She said.

My father nodded, putting a hand on my shoulder and pushing me inside slowly. "I apologize for this. I didn't realize he was gone. I'll see what I can do to prevent this from happening again."

With that, the exorcists left with my dad closing the door. Pressure filled my chest as the room was taken over by blood chilling tension, dad finally turning around with his copper brows furrowed.

  "What were you doing out there, Armen? Do you realize you could have been killed?! What happened to being terrified of going out at night?" He shouted, taking a step forward to which I responded by flinching and cowering back.

  "I-I don't know. I wanted to get myself over being scared so," I took out the dagger, hoping that he would not take it away from me. "I put some symbols on this so it can kill demons. I didn't see any demons though, just one aggressive Dybbuk but I'm fine!"

It was clear that he did not buy it entirely. He mumbled "that's why you wanted that thing" while rubbing his eyes before swiping the dagger from me, vexed by my actions. I objected, tossing my arms out in an attempt to take it back but failed in doing so.

  "Dad, I know what I was doing! I had holy water, iron, salt-"

  "Then why do you keep telling me that you're scared of them? If you know all their weaknesses then why do you keep acting like a coward?"

It hurt. I could only stare, an ache rising in my chest as that word in his voice repeated over and over in my mind. Holding the weapon away from me, his silver eyes looked me over before settling on my blood soaked pant leg, a small trail of red droplets spread apart on the floorboards. He looked more bothered by the mess than me being hurt.

  "Sit down. Wait on the couch." He ordered before his feet turned on their heels in his worn socks and went up the stairs.

Sitting on the worn down couch, listening to the springs within the cushions, I released a heavy sigh. My leg shook up and down, interlocking my fingers to stop from clawing at my knees or the sofa cushions. I don't even know what I was thinking with going out there. I could have been killed! I curled up as I sat there, my mind wondering to all of the possibilities that could have happened while I was out there. If it weren't for Ivan and Lalea, could I have made it? What if they turned out to be possessed or I put them in danger? I ran from that creature, ran because I was too scared when I should have been able to fight for myself. I am just a coward.

My eyes lifted to the basement door, knowing how my dad used to make weapons back in the day to fight supernatural beings. Why did he stop? Is he still trying to do anything about it?

Upstairs, I could hear the door open and close followed by creaking wood with heavy footsteps. They entered the staircase, joined by my father's mumbling as he came into view with his own handmade medkit and my dagger no longer on his person it seemed. I insisted that I was fine and that the exorcist had already fixed my leg but he did not seem to listen as he went to a different subject.

  "Was it a Dybbuk or an Enfield?"

He came down, lifting up my leg and moving aside the cloth that had already been cut to reveal now bloody bandages. I could hardly stomach looking at it, the mere sight reminding me how much it hurts and bringing my attention back to the tears and burning sensation running down my leg.

  "Dybbuk, it didn't have talons like an Enfield and my talisman didn't stop it. The exorcists told you."

  "Well, at least you know the difference." His gaze hardened. "Still, that was stupid what you did. Don't do it again."

He undid the dressing that Lalea had put as if not trusting what she had done. Then again dad used to be a doctor so I could not object to anything medical wise that he did. Dad opened up his own small kit, taking out a packet and ripping it open. He pulled out what looked like long cotton swab soaked in brown disinfectant or something of the sorts before he rubbed it around and over the wound. I could feel his tight grip with the other hand trying to keep me still as I wiggled around in uncomfortable pain.

I wanted to make conversation to distract from it. "Why don't you do anything about it? I know you used to make weapons for the exorcists."

  "I stopped doing that a long time ago."

  "Then why are you down in the basement all the time? Why am I not allowed down there?"

He growled finishing putting on dressing and medical tape, standing up. "I told you not to talk about that, we've been over this. The basement is too dangerous for you."

  "Why though? What's so dangerous?"

Dad didn't answer. He put most of the supplies back into the kit aside from a cloth and a pack of disinfectant wipes. He tore it open, bringing a cloth up to my neck. I flinched as it came into contact with the scratch, stinging the area as it soaked up the bit of blood oozing out.

He continued, eyes looking around my neck then back to what he was doing. "Where is your talisman? Dammit, Armen, please don't tell me you lost it." I could already hear the disappointment lathered over his voice along with a soft growl from the back of his throat.

My hands would fidget in their interlocked positions. "Um, it's claws cut it off." I took it out of my bag, the amulet no longer affiliated with the leather it once dangled upon.

Once more he was letting out disgruntled murmurs, my ears catching a "how the hell did you manage that" and "I can fix it.'' At least he didn't sound entirely pissed off but I could see in his eyes what his voice masked; exasperation.

Once he was done, he through the bloody rags away then ordered me to put on new pajamas while he set the med kit on the counter to get a mop. His commands were dead in tone, his disappointment in me showing itself as such. This wasn't my first time doing something stupid like this after all.

I did as told and went to my room, tossing my bag onto the desk closest to the door. I took off my pajamas and got into clean ones consisting of dark gray sweatpants to replace the brown ones and replaced my black shirt with a short sleeved gray one instead. I left my jacket in my closet as I took my old pajamas out to the laundry hammock filled with dirty clothes to be washed later. Both times I passed by my dad, I watched him frantically moving the wet mop side to side even if the blood had long since been cleaned up. His eyes were fixated on the ground, trying to clean the mess that was no longer there even when I was calling out to him.

  "Dad!" I had to practically shout five times before I caught his attention, or whatever was left of it that hadn't been taken by his drowsiness. "I'm going to sleep, there's school in the morning. You should too. You look exhausted."

He was silent, so I continued. "When's the last time you slept?"

  "Goodnight" Was all he said before continuing to push the mop back and forth. My body felt heavier for a moment until he went still.

  "Armen...you're not a coward, I just don't want you to get hurt worse than it was this time. Understand?"

I nodded, a bit of pressure easing from my chest. I was a bit surprised by his words, so used to his callous exterior. I couldn't tell if I had smiled or not. "Yeah. Goodnight dad."

I turned and limped back to my room, my feet dragging me across the room to the bed before I fell back onto the mattress. School was tomorrow too. Why did I decide to start all of this so late on a Sunday? A Monday technically. Well, four hours of sleep is better than none I suppose, if I could get myself to sleep with all of these thoughts and worries for tomorrow rushing through my head. It did not make it any better that I kept seeing small orbs floating by the window throughout the rest of the night. I had to close the curtains, sitting there on the edge of hyperventilating until I finally got to sleep by some miracle.
...

Hero's point of view-

How long was I standing there? By the time I looked up it was already close to 2:30. My body did feel exhausted but I had no desire to sleep. There is always work to be done. After putting away the mop, my attention landed on my hands for a brief moment as I realized that I was quivering rather from lack of sleep or stress from what occurred with Armen. What am I going to do with him? Since his mother...I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know if what I'm doing is right.

Pushing those thoughts aside, I knew that I had to get back to work. I went back to the basement door and reached out for it, only to pause my actions upon hearing a knock at the door.

  "What the hell? Why is everyone up so God damn early?"

Sluggishly, I went to answer the door. When I opened the door, a tall man stood there in a black suit with a shamrock undershirt and emerald shaded necktie. His ginger hair lathered in gel was slick back, optics a wild blue accompanied by a wide smile. His eyes were glazed over with his cheeks blushed red, seeming to be unable to stand still. Behind him was a Ferrari with a sparking green coat of paint and black details. Thank God there seemed to be a designated driver at the wheel but I could not see who it was.

  "Ferox, are you drunk? Why were you at a bar, or at least why were you drinking at this hour?"

He shrugged his shoulders up and down, rubbing away nonexistent grime from his chest. "Not a lot of people around after protocol. Less likely to get put in the tabloids."

He stepped past me, welcoming himself into the house. I could feel a vibration in the back of my throat as my fist tightened. "I may be a bit tipsy but at least I'm not high." His hand lifted up, moving from the top of his head to then hover above my own as he gestured to our height difference. "Well, I'm higher than you."

  "My God, Ferox don't. It's too early for your bullshit puns."

  "Hey, it was worth a shot!" He laughed, a light feminine voice often giving off a poetic flare.

It took me a moment to get the joke but once I did, I mumbled to repress my own God forsaken giggle. "Holy F...Did you just come here to make terrible puns?"

His drunken smile lifted, nudging my shoulder. "Come on, you love my jokes! Don't be such a pouter, my dear."

Gloves covered his hands, the black hiding the third degree burns that never healed that day of the attack. We both had our scars, visible or not. Ferox tended to cover some scars on his face with makeup to be presentable to the camera I suppose, or perhaps to throw the past behind himself.

I sighed then repeated myself. "What are you doing here? I don't have anything new to market."

He started looking around, gripping the couch to not trip over the rug in his intoxicated state. I walked behind him, keeping my arm outstretched to grab his shoulder if he did end up tripping on the rug or simply stumbling.

  "No, darling. I'm not here for an invention of yours. I was going into the bar when I saw your boy get taken by a couple exorcist. A few drinks later, I came here to know if he's alright."

  "Gee, you waited to get drunk before checking on us? My, thank you for the concern, Ferox." My arms crossed over my chest, foot tapping on the floorboards.

He faced his entire body towards my own with sluggish steps forward. "My pleasure~" He stepped closer, reaching out to grab my coat and pull until it was off my shoulders. "You know, it would be more pleasurable if we-"

  "Okay! No!" I pushed him off and stepped back to get distance. Heat rose onto my face, my neck twitching and shoulder jerking up before I fixed my coat. "I forgot how upfront you can be when you're drunk."

He smiled and turned, looking my way out of the corner of his eye. "You used to at least get a laugh out of it back in the day. Always playing hard to get, my little Hero."

I tried finding a scapegoat out of the conversation, scratching the back of my head. He was my friend but he always had a way to make any conversation either awkward or annoying. I knew that he was aware of it and got his kicks from it, yet if I ever did need to talk about anything personal, I trusted him. At least to an extent.

  "Eh...Anyway, Armen is fine. He's asleep now though, we should be too."

  "Only if it's together~" I growled at his response.

  "Ferox, please shut the fuck up and get out."

His eyes remained locked on the basement door. For a second or two we stood in an eerie silence until he stepped up to the door. My heart rate increased with noticeable sweat on my forehead as I watched him reach for the door handle. Before even processing my own course of action, I was already pushing myself between Ferox and the door.

  "Don't!"

He stepped back with my outburst, eyebrows lowering in a gaze relative to that of a glare. I told him the same thing I had told Armen countless times, that it was too dangerous with the added fact that I hated it when others tried violating my working space. I needed to use his affection for me against himself just hoping that he'd at least have a sliver of respect.

His grin hastily returned, poking my nose. "You're adorable when you're upset."

I huffed and turned him towards the door, walking him out. "You should go home and get your beauty rest. Need to look good for your campaign."

  "Awe, you think I'm beautiful?"

I didn't answer him, simply giving him a gentle push outside. He told me that he would come back once the sun was up, given that he wasn't busy at the city hall or with the company. A part of me hoped that he would be. Once we exchanged goodbyes, I closed the door and turned only to fall back against it with a heavy sigh.

Our interactions were not like they used to be. Before the fire, I always enjoyed his company but sometime after that...things changed. I continue to appreciate his companionship, just not at these ungodly hours. I turned and looked out of the window to be sure he did not fall on his way back to the car, though fortunately he stumbled his way there without incident. The car turned around before driving off towards town. A sense of relief came over me. I need to get back to work.

Finally I got to go back down to the basement, being sure that Armen was asleep before proceeding to open the door and travel down the steps. Each step into my decent lead to a creek from the wood, a faint echo reverberating from the walls. A hand rose to my head as a minor ache began to develop. I know that I needed sleep but I couldn't. My thoughts were running rampant, and besides, I have too much to do.

I reached the bottom of the staircase, feet planting themselves upon marble flooring. My body turned to face the contents within the room, shelves lined against the walls with beakers and incubators for infected flora and smaller Dybbuk specimens. My eyes squinted for a moment before adjusting to the bright green light they gave off within the liquid preservatives.
Flat screen computers hung on the wall above a rectangular box projecting from the wall. Inside was a small bed covered by an oval glass dome, a green cross on top. On the bottom was an open panel with screws neglected on the floor. I needed to get back to wiring the device.

After pulling my chair out from beneath my desk, falling back into the seat. What else was it that I needed to tend to? Right. My hand pushed the keyboard to my computer away as I took Armen's pendant out from the pocket of my coat. I'll have to get another chain for it. Perhaps I should get him another talisman just to be safe. What am I going to do with that kid?

  "You're a terrible father for letting this happen."

I pushed away the thought. "I can't keep focusing on Armen. There are other things that need to be done."

My shaking hand picked up a pen while the other opened a notebook. I was only able to write down the date before my focus began to wander aimlessly. I looked up at the wall, a bulletin board alongside my desk with newspaper scraping pinned up.

Headlines read "Explosion at Invar Hospital. 45 confirmed dead" or "Demon attack causes explosion at hospital". Amongst those were various other news clippings.

I can't let anything like that happen again. I don't want to fail Armen like I did them, but...

A heavy sigh released from my mouth, dropping my pen as I gave up with continuing to write in my journal. Pain was throbbing in my head once more, forcing my eyes closed as I leaned back in my seat. There's too many stressful situations going on. Leaning forward with my elbows on the desk, my fingers rubbed my temples to ease the pain.

Afterwards, I glanced over my shoulder to the wall, a bookcase embedded into the metal surface. I need to focus.
I stood and walked over to the bookcase, grabbing a shelf and tugging until the entire case popped out of the wall on one side. Pulling it out led to another secret door behind it with the shape of a hand on the center.

My feet took me forward, placing my hand over print until it lit up in bright neon blue. The door then lifted upwards into the ceiling, green light flooding through. My hands slipped into the pockets of my coat as I entered the second room. Monitors hang on the walls, a glass cylinder illuminating green light in the center of it all. I kept a long table here on which cages were evenly spaced between one another. The bright eyes stared back, accompanied by hissing, growls and frantic scratching.

A clipboard with a pen hung up on the wall, which I took and wrote on as I examined the monitors around the room.

  "Heart rate 60 bpm. Systolic pressure 110 over 60. Body temperature...96.8." I then became dizzy, gripping a control panel before I collapsed. With my vision fading in and out, I shook my head and waited for the episode to pass before I continued my round.

  "...Brain activity, 9 hertz. Vessel at 75% stability. Locus 90% stable. Overall condition...stable."

A heavy breath pushed past my lips as I set the clipboard and pen down only to see two of each. I waved my hand in front of my eyes, noticing that I was seeing double.

  "Dammit."

The small dybbuks and demons seemed to laugh around the room within their individual confinements. My attention traveled to the chamber at the laboratory's heart. The experiment is almost done. Just a little while longer.

  "Almost complete...I'm doing this for him."