Third person point of view-

Two large bottles sat abandoned upon a kitchen table, one half full of a liquid releasing a pungent aroma that he had become nose blind to, the other void of any content it once held. In their accompany sat a tablet, apps obscuring the wallpaper displayed in the home screen, however it was apparent that the image contained three people; a man in a police uniform beside a woman in a summer dress, one hand of each on the shoulders of a young boy between the two. While each of their faces was at the least partially covered, their smiles were able to shine through.

Aside from the tablet light bleeding into the cramped living room, the only light sources came from beside the couch and the flat screen television which was far too fancy for a cheap and temporary apartment dwelling. The anchor woman's voice came through the speakers, calm and controlled as the next subject of the news allowed its headline to be shared.

  "Increase of dybbuk and demon activity in Trovour County."

The man leaned forward on his sofa with intrigue, or at least he was making an attempt to place his focus on anything other than his throbbing migraine.

  "Just last night, exorcists in Ruby and Whitewater encountered B and A ranked demons with one casualty in Ruby and two in Whitewater." A video appeared on screen, seeming to have been filmed by a bystander from inside their home as the glare from the window reflected the light from their phone.

  "Exorcists report that the demons responsible for last night's attacks were bunyip and hellhounds, two demon breeds which do not typically enter city grounds."

The video playing behind the calm tone was labeled as being sent in from Ruby earlier that morning. It showed a large demon laying on the ground, covered in the green and purple flashing lights of the armored exorcist vehicle. Based on it's size and poorly censored golden blood, it was a bunyip. The video was quick to end, showing the studio once more.

  "On today, we have an interview with Whitewater exorcist Sawyer Maeve on video call. Sawyer, it's nice to speak with you today."

The screen split to show another woman in an exorcist uniform with short ruddy brown hair and blue eyes that could easily be mistaken for grey. They greeted one another before the question was asked, what do the exorcists have to say about the possibility of demons and dybbuk adapting to human society and evolving, and if this is occurring in Trovour County, what does that say about the future?

The man sitting before the television took a drag from the cigarette between his fingers, holding in the smoke from a brief couple of seconds before blowing out the toxic fumes.

Sawyer began her reply, a smile never coming onto her face. It was difficult to tell if she was naturally poker faced or perhaps just tired or upset. "Well, demons have adapted to human technology in the past but this isn't the case we are seeing. They still can not injure those with talismans to protect them nor get into protected homes. As long as everyone follows the guidelines of protocol then we all should be safe. Demons may be getting more comfortable in entering human territory but this is nothing to fear."

The man let out a sigh, clicking a button on the remote to see the channel listings. With boredom setting in, he turned his head while leaning back into the cushions, gazing at the small end table against the armrest of the worn couch.

  "They're only going to start a panic covering this stuff constantly. Who knows, maybe everyone's too used to this by now to get scared."

The small black and red salamander in its glass walled aquarium flicked out its forked tongue and flapped the single wing upon its back as if giving a response. The man chuckled before turning his attention back to the screen and changing to another news station which happened to be currently showing what he was most interested in at the moment.

  "Across Trovour County, the red sky is clear and will remain clear until this evening-"

  "Ugh!" He slouched down into his seat, mumbling "of all days, why can't it be cloudy?" Just speaking spiked the pain in his head.

The green screen behind the weatherman showed a live image of the sky, red bleeding into amber and orange around the sun. You could almost stare into the ginormous star, as if it were early dawn or late dusk. Despite that, based on the time displayed on the corner of the channel, it was only ten past noon.

He stood and made his way to the sliding glass door that led to the balcony, which was shrouded by thick curtains. Drawing the fabric back, dim light flooded into the room from a sky that was more of bronze like red then he expected despite having seen an image of it mere seconds ago.

Though the sun was dim on this day, his eyes squinted with the light feeding his hangover. A groan vibrated in his throat, though forced himself to endure it until the phone in his pocket rang.

Taking yet another drag from the cigarette, not noticing the ashes fall to the floorboards, he took the phone out from his jean pocket, looking at the ID before swiping to answer.

  "Hey, Jacob." He turned off the television. "You should see the sky here. Almost forgot how creepy it could be."

He quickly took a picture and sent it to Jacob, who was silent for a few seconds as he was apparently viewing the sent image.

  "Well, at least there's actually day time down there." Jacob chuckled.

The man laughed softly, putting the phone back to his ear. "How's it going up there?"

  "Good. Don't have you here bothering me." The man on the other end of the line answered and laughed. "Have you gone yet?"

Grayson, as the man was called, walked to an ashtray at the kitchen table, putting out the cigarette and staring down at the home screen on the tablet. After taking his attention off of it, nausea hit. "No...not yet. Got here last night and went a bit overboard with the drinking. I guess everything started to get to me."

Jacob swore, a sigh bringing a static like sound through Grayson's phone. "And now you have a hangover I assume? Great fucking job."

Despite the sarcasm, Grayson let out a soft chuckle. He set his phone down, going back to the couch where his dark grey coat was tossed before he picked it up and began to put his arm through the sleeves. "Don't worry, I'll be heading out right now anyway. I'll go there, then I'm checking out public records and the police station once I start feeling better."

  "You sure you shouldn't wait for tomorrow until you leave?"

The blonde pushed a harsh breath from his nose in response, rubbing his forehead as if it would ease the aching. As time went on, he was beginning to feel more dizzy, having to sit at the table as he began to sway on his feet.

  "Just get some sleep and drink a lot of water. And don't forget to eat."

Grayson grabbed his phone as the nausea worsened. "Yes, thanks mom." They both had a laugh before saying goodbye and hanging up.

Afterwards, Grayson dropped his phone on the table and sped to the restroom, sweating and gasping on his knees in front of the toilet, waiting for anything to come up. Despite feeling as if he would vomit, he did not know whether to regret his decisions last night or not. After all, if he was going to do this, then he should prepare himself for being drunk more often than usual.

Perhaps it was best that he just stayed in for the day.
...

Armen's point of view-

I had already finished the test ten minutes ago, now just sitting at my desk with earbuds on listening techno and doodling a few kitten drawings on the corners of my test paper. My eyelids were heavy, head nearly colliding with the desk now and then and rubbing the tiredness from my eyes. Grabbing the metal bottle next to my book bag resting on the floor, I opened it up and quickly chugged a good portion of it down while hoping that the teacher would not smell the scent of coffee since only water was allowed in the classroom. I like energy drinks more but we were out.

With my music on, the ringing bell was so faint that if not for everyone suddenly dropping their pencils and breaking from their downward stares, I may have missed it. Pausing my music from the lock screen, I took out my earbuds, trying not to pull them out carelessly and listened to the teacher as she instructed us to pass all of the assignments up to the front of the classroom. I sat in the back, not because I had previously been in trouble or anything of that nature. Rather I sat back there because the seat next to it was always vacant so I was allowed to have a little peace. No one to look over my shoulder constantly.

  "Finish your homework tonight and turn them in by tomorrow." The teacher instructed as she collected our work then set a small stack of paper onto each desk at the front of the class. Students passed down the work, until in my row the last sheet was given to me.

She wishes us a good rest of the day, myself sitting at my desk until everyone else had left first. Once it was just the teacher and I left, I grabbed my things and walked to the door to leave, being sure to tell the teacher goodbye and to wish her a good day as well.

Walking, or rather limping from my injury last night, down the hallway, I kept my binder and homework in my arms held against my chest. It felt odd not too, as if overtime it had become comforting or gave a sense of security.

Already there were a select few students sitting in the hallway with packed lunches, preferring these surroundings rather than the chaos of the cafeteria. I personally enjoyed just staying in the library which had a nice open space in the back of the library with tables and chairs. I used to get yelled at for eating there but eventually I formed a good relationship with the librarian so I call it a perk.

Today seemed to be one of the days where the water lacked a smell of sulfur, which was a blessing so the hallway didn't smell like rotten eggs. I prefer the days when the water looks like blood rather than that smell. There have been tests performed showing that the water was safe to drink and use when these occurrences happen, however students and faculty alike prefer that we refrain from using the drinking fountains.

Pressure came onto the back of my left foot, causing me to stumble.

Immediately I realized what was going on, hearing the snickering from behind me. I knew that I should have stopped and turned to face them, but I suppose it did not process in my brain fast enough as I kept walking forward with a small growl. The pressure returned with more force to the back of my heel, followed by the world speeding up around me.

The next thing I knew, my cheek was pressed against my binder with a stinging pain in my knees and the wind knocked out of my chest. I coughed and groaned as I opened my eyes to find myself on the grime soaked floor, sure I would have gagged at the thought if not for the rage spike inside of me.

Laughter behind the ringing in my ears stole all of my attention.

My head lifted to see two kids, a third walking around whom I assumed was the one trip me. The other two kids I was not well acquainted with. I hardly knew their names, the third however, I knew all too well. I glared up at Ray, red jacket and jeans with dark brunette hair that could be mistaken for black with all of the gel masking it's true color. Back-talked to teachers, not a care in the world when in the classroom. Miracle that he made it into freshman year.

It took a moment for me to realize that my homework was under his foot.

  "Gonna cry? Maybe try hitting me again?" He growled.

I may or may not have had a panic attack a while back, the school going into lockdown during a demon attack and my paranoia nearly cost us our lives had he not shouted to get me to shut up. Not my fault I have anxiety. Why would we be in such a hostile relationship now if that was all? I had snapped at his attitude in the past which resulted in his petty insult to my father and I. No one talks about my dad like that beside me.

  "Demon."

I did not dignify him by answering, simply standing up without picking up my belongings and dusting my knees off. He continued after a brief pause. "Wait, you don't have your talisman? Oh right! Dad told me about you sneaking out last night. You do realize that you could have gotten yourself killed, right? Besides why would a baby like you be out like that? Some sort of suicide mission?"

I had almost forgotten that his father was an exorcist. The only person who saw me last night besides Lalea was Ivan. Oh good God, Ivan is his dad?!

  "Then again, maybe you and your freak dad should try that more often."

After dusting off, I looked up. I felt so angry all of the sudden. I just wanted him to shut up, growling for him to give my homework back though I did not receive a response. My hands shook, as if there was no stopping them. Looking into his normally brown eyes, I only saw a demonic red.
...

Hero's point of view-

  "Darling, are you sure that you feel alright? You look like shit."

I huffed at Ferox's remark, keeping focus on trying to get the small ring through the latch on a chain that now held Armen's talisman. The world had begun to shimmer, my already impaired vision blurring from the heat. Why was it getting warmer? Ferox sat next to me on the sofa, legs spread, elbow on the armrest with the side of his head resting against a closed fist. He spent most of his time here watching television and boasting about how well he appeared in his campaign advertisements.

Why he was still here instead of going out and filing paperwork or whatever a mayor does was beyond me. Considering how much time he spent in my accompaniment, Ferox had plenty of free time.I did not know how long I had been struggling to do this task, my hands shaking until eventually I had become frustrated and dropped it on the floor.

  "Just...frustrated, Ferox." With my reply, I allowed myself to fall back, slouched on the sofa. Gravity tried to force my eyes to remain closed but I pushed against it.

Ferox sat up straight with his head now perked up and laughed. I did not question it even if it annoyed me immensely. My body tensed as he scooted closer before leaning down to pick the chain up from the floor and clipped the latch with minimal effort. Laughing once more, he sat back up and dropped it in my lap.

  "I don't know why, but seeing you frustrated amuses me." He smiled, dimples causing his makeup to become more visible upon his face. I did not particularly hear what he had said afterwards as I was too focused on my own breathing, noticing that it was getting heavier.

I flinched as Ferox placed a hand over my forehead, pulling back from it. His very touch hurt even when it was a gentle placement. He sighed then stood up and walked past me towards the kitchen. "Hero, you're burning up. I guess you're just too hot for me." There was no effort to hide a wink nor his smug grin. I hated that it actually got a weak laugh from me.

I wanted to avoid anything to do with my health and his not so subtle jokes or advancements, whatever they could be labeled as. Sitting up, I grabbed the talisman and put it away in a back pocket of my jeans.  "Anyhow, how has your campaign been? Or perhaps the company?"

  "Both have been going well if I do say so." He placed a hand over his chest in pride. "I've been running new experiments but it's still not the same without you."

He began to fiddle with a few magnets on the fridge, particularly one that Armen had made in elementary school that looked like a poorly drawn blue cat. "I was wondering if you'd like to resume creating prototypes for the company. It could get you a fair amount of money for your lab and your boy."

Create weapons again with a company rather than just selling them? I did not want to work with others. I could not trust anyone...
The floorboards released an irksome noise as my leg hopped up and down relentlessly. I had to cross my legs for it to crease, keeping my eyes locked on my own knees waiting for it to start moving again.

"Go back to creating prototypes with...other people? After all of this time? I don't know. That's something I will consider."

"Come on, no harm done." Out of the corner of my eye I could see him waving a hand in dismissal. "You should start using that brain of yours again! You're not helping yourself being cooped up in this...underwhelming place constantly."

He began looking through cabinets, pulling out a bowl and metal spoon. I finally stood and made my way over, watching as he opened a bag of ramen and poured it into the bowl. Well, he did toss it on the ground and stomped on it first to break it up.

  "Ferox, that's really unnecessa-" I nearly fell as my vision closed in, grabbing the counter top to remain upright.

He talked over me, picked up the bag and continued to cook. "Seriously, Hero, why do you buy such peasant food? I know that you only make, what, a few thousand less than me? And you barely have anything to eat!"

I sat on one of the barstools with a counter between us. I did not want to start an argument about his complaints. As we waited for it to heat up, Ferox leaned down with his arms on the counter and a smile that never faded from his expression.

  "Oh, about my campaign. Let's see, the lowest rate of homeless the town has ever had, far less drugs being sold on the streets and I'm planning on building a new hospital more north of Ruby. Hopefully it will be finished within a few months once I sign the contracts. I'd say I have the re-election on a silver platter."

The alarm went off on the microwave, Ferox taking the bowl out and placing it in front of me. I tried to push it away and tell him that I was fine but he went on about how I was too skinny and going to starve myself. With a sigh, I gave in and began to eat, surprised that somehow it was actually better than when I cooked ramen. It did not burn my tongue as I had expected which was a pleasant surprise.

I must have been eating fast since Ferox snickered. A brief moment of silence came over us. "Say, Hero, once the hospital is built, if you don't want to work for the manufacturing company again, why don't you join the hospital staff? The world needs more brain surgeons."

I rubbed my arm, feeling an uncomfortable sensation running through my shoulder before it jerked upwards. "I can't. I leave Armen alone enough as is. Listen, Ferox, I loved that job, I loved helping but... I just can't do it again after..."

I felt as if I were on fire. A stinging pain served through my right hand, causing my other hand to grip it as if it would cure the phantom wound. Blood. Bleeding from my hand. When did I end up cutting myself like that? Ferox's voice began to grow distant until I could no longer hear him. Agony exploded in my chest, only to be pulled out of everything as Ferox grabbed my chin, forcing our eyes to meet as his gloved fingernails dug into my cheeks.

  "Hero? You're seeing things aren't you?" Concern glistened in gaze.

I pushed his arm away, forcing him to let go. "I'm fine. Just...just thinking. I don't enjoy being reminded of what happened."

He sighed while crossing his arms and tapping a foot, a sign that he did not believe my partial lie. "You haven't taken your pills, have you?"

I got to my feet, hands firmly pressed against the counter while I stated that I was not that ignorant; that I had been taking them. I was fine. I'm fine. He stepped back. I had not even realized how loud I was shouting, not meaning to sound so aggressive. A few seconds went by and his usual smug grin returned with his head cocked.

His hands rose up, shaking his head. "Alright, my apologies for bringing it up then." He took my shoulder, pushing down until I was back in my seat. The pain in my chest had slowly eased, the blood no longer visible and a bloodynapkin sat in the garbage beside the counter. I guess I wiped it off without noticing.

  "Perhaps it's because you haven't been sleeping again. In which case, it's your other meds you haven't been taking." The temperature increased within my face and neck. I tried to deny it. I am not negligent.

Just then, the phone began to ring. Once again I became dizzy as I tried to stand, giving Ferox the opportunity to reach the phone first. "Hello~ Oh, why yes! He's right here!"

He handed the phone over to me. I placed it up to my ear and greeted whoever was on the other end of the line, realizing that it was the principal of Armen's school the moment she began to speak.

  "Was that Mayor Ferox Mortem?"

  "Yes, he was just leaving." I put a finger to my lips for Ferox to be quiet as he began to pout.

She asked if I was alright, I suppose due to the way I sounded. I assured that everything was fine with me ask reversed the question. I listened to her intently, the shock of her words quickly shifting into disappointment and anger.

  "What? Oh no. Yes, I'll be down there as soon as I can. Thank you." I gave the phone back to Ferox, which he hung up.

  "If you wanted me to leave, you could have just said so."

"No, no. I can't let them know you're here otherwise paparazzi will show up right? I do have to go, however. Armen got into trouble at school."

I stood up, Ferox trying to help me over to the door but I pushed him away gently. Grabbing a coat, I opened the door for him, hearing him complain under his breath "this is why children annoy me." I huffed but allowed it to slide, closing the door and locking it with a fingerprint scan.

Walking to the car, my mind attempted to push aside the frustration that was boiling up. Why the hell would get into trouble again? Why was he doing this? I slammed the door as I entered the vehicle, turning on the ignition and speeding out of the driveway with deep tracks left in my wake. After Armen had snuck out last night, I was not sure what I was in for. If I could not trust him with staying put with his debilitating fears, then how was I supposed to predict anything he could do from here on out?
...

Armen's point of view-

My cheek was left sore as his fist crashed into it, but my feet repositioned themselves on the floor to maintain their stance. With the world spinning, I could see the brick shapes of their phones pulled out to record the brawl, no one brave enough to step in and stop it. No, it was not that they lacked bravery, this was only entertainment for them. I was still able to hear the crowd around us shouting for a victor. They called my name. They called his name. They made bets. I knew that they did not care which of us won, just that they fed from the violence.

As his fist came towards my neck for another blow, I was able to step aside and strike his arm to push it away, my next move placing my knuckles right at the front of his neck, perfectly open since he was taller than myself. Only a small yelp made it past before Ray was stumbling back in a fit of coughing, tears in his eyes while clawing at his throat for breath.

I opened my mouth to shout before both of us were jerked back by a teacher and the principal. They yelled for everyone to get moving, those with their cellphones out recording quickly put their devices away and rushed to the cafeteria in order to not be caught. My eyes met with my adversary, a hate within both myself and his dark eyes. We told our sides of the story to the principal, constantly being told to slow down as I went on tangents that it was not my fault.

I know that I was wrong though. I was the one who threw the first punch.
It felt like hours sitting in the front office waiting for our parents to be called, the two of us seated across from one another in a tense silence. The air felt thick enough to slice through it with a knife, nearly each breath catching in my throat. I tried counting the seconds until our parents arrived, however, all that did was increase the sickening pressure in my stomach. Once his parents stepped in, they were called into the small room with the principal first, leaving me to shift around anxiously in my seat as I waited for the inevitable. My clammy palms and fingers ached from their tight grip on the chair armrests, leg shaking uncontrollably from my nerves.

Muffled voices arose from behind the closed door, the sound mixing with my thoughts and the ticking hand of the clock hung up on the wall. God, make the noise stop.

My body jumped in my seat as the entrance to the office opened up, my dad standing at the doorway. For the first time in what seemed like years, he was dressed decently with a fancy coat, gray sweater and black jeans. For a single second I wanted to say 'did you go on a date with Ferox or something' but now was definitely no time for jokes. For a moment that thought nearly made me forget the circumstances going on around me. His silver eyes were harsh once they found me in my seat, the eye on the left of his face twitching before he rubbed it as if to make the twitch stop.

He walked forward with ghost-like steps, sure that if I had not seen him then I wouldn't have even known he was in the room. The wild pounding in my chest had reached a level that it actually hurt and I found myself struggling to take in each breath after he sat in the chair to my right.

My father looked to me out of the corner of his eye, releasing a heavy breath from his nostrils while his arms crossed over his chest. His right leg shook more than my own, the other crossing over it in a fruitless attempt to make the tremors cease.

  "Dad, I-"

  "Don't." He was quick to cut me off, voice deep and stern. "Not now."

A heavy breath left my mouth in replacement of my words as I turned away. Not long after, the door to the principal's room opened up with a squeak that made my body flinch. An older male and female couple walked out, Ray walking between them with not a speck of shame in his glare, no mistaking the anger that nearly cast fire in their irises. I growled as I caught that smirk across his cheeks. Why did I want to slap that grin off his smug face so much? Oh right, he's a jerk.

  "Mr.Jackson." We were called in.

As I stood, the pin and needles in my feet left me stumbling, though I remained upright as my dad placed a hand on my back and gently pushed me forward. I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat before having my feet practically drag the rest of my body into the room, taking a seat in front of the desk at which the principal sat behind. My father sat to my left, each moment causing another jolt of anxiety to frost over my veins.

She leaned forward in her desk, hands clasped with fingers interlocked. Her narrow olive eyes glanced between the both of us as she released a heavy breath.

  "Mr.Jackson, I'm sorry to have to call you here under these circumstances, but Armen was caught fighting another student again."

I looked up to be met with the side glare of my dad's near venomous gaze. I turned my head in shame, my chest tight with a pit in my stomach. He released a heavy sigh then asked if the other kid was hurt.

  "Nothing severe." She answered, looking at her computer screen then back. "A bit of bruising but he should be fine. Now then, about Armen. While we don't know who started the fight, this is not the first time your son has exhibited behavior such as this but I am sure you know that physical violence is not acceptable. I'm putting him on suspension for three days so he can come back on Friday."

She faced me next. "I hope you understand that this is on your permanent record now."

My eyes gave a quick glance to my father, feeling the radiation of anger from his glare. I even found the way he crossed his shaking legs intimidating. I averted my gaze to the floor. "Yes, I understand Ms. Mendez, but..." I stopped myself from finishing the thought. "I'm sorry."

She nods then straightened her back, looking back and forth between us. "Now then, if this type of behavior does continue then I am required to report you to CPS and have you investigated in the case that it stems from at home problems that he hasn't told us of."

I had not seen that spark in my dad's eyes in so long; panic. His head shook, rolling a shoulder. "I see. Thank you Mrs.Mendez for the help. I'll work with him to be sure this doesn't happen again."

We were about to get up and leave before she continued speaking to me. "Oh and Armen, you're a smart kid. Top of your classes, respectable according to your teachers. Don't let stuff like this put a dent in your future like college and a job."

I nodded, however was uncomfortable with the notion. She is right... and I hated it. We were then dismissed, my father refusing to look me in the eye the entire way out to the car. I was shaking uncontrollably the entire walk, or in my case, limp out.

The sky was red, nothing new but it was perturbing I suppose.

My focus drifted to the thought of my father's anger as I tried to lock my seatbelt into place, missing the buckle multiple times as my arm shook.

Eventually when I finally got it, he put the car in drive and sped out of the school parking lot, the tires screeching against the ground. The sound and the jolt of the car made my spine shiver and tense up in anxiety, looking over to my father's frustrated expression. I could not look at him for long, constantly anticipating to be shouted at. I felt on the verge of throwing up.

We drove past a few buildings, a motel, an auto shop, gas station and the police station for when you enter the main part of the city.

For much of the ride we sat in silence with the tension becoming suffocating. I couldn't take it anymore. "I'm sorry."

From the corner of my eye, I took notice of his shaking hands on the steering wheel, which was doing no good for my rising anxiety. My apologies did the opposite of my intention. His gaze stiffened instead. "You're not sorry. If you were, you would not have done this again."

I snapped with little thought. "I did it because of you!"

We lurched forward as his foot pushed against the break, causing us to come to an abrupt halt in the middle of the road. The horns on the car behind us sounded, only sitting in that stop for a second before we began to move once more. The ordeal left me shaken.

He must have noticed or at least allowed my words to sink in as now he spoke calmly with his eyes fixed on the road. I knew that he did not press on the breaks on purpose at least.

  "What happened exactly?"

  "..."

I hesitated at first, anticipating his reaction as I cleared my throat. "They called you a freak. Said that we...they basically said it would be better if we died."

His tone immediately shifted. It sounded more empathetic which caught me so off guard that I had to look up at him. There was a somber glaze over his expression which seemed almost transcendental. "You know that isn't true, right? Armen..." he let out a long breath as he trailed off as if to gather the right thoughts, though based on the fact that he never actually finished his sentence, I assumed that he brushed the notion aside.

At least he seemed to be calming down though which was good. My head turned to look out the window, crossing the main bridge of the Arfait river and into a low density residential area. Here, no one really had neighbors since the houses were so spread out, many with trees and yards upon yards of land separating them from one another. The long stretch of road led us behind the mountains. By those mountains was a place I dreaded that we had to drive by everyday; the Black Forest.

Only in the spring and summer do leaves grow but the leaves come in black while the rest of the year the branches are bare. They say the water there is full of sulfur and no matter what time of day it is, whenever you enter the forest it appears as black as night with the absence of the moon and stars. Even just driving by, the car slicing through the thick fog the area bathed in was enough to make my spine quiver every day. It isn't just the atmosphere the place gives off, it's a rumor that the forest is haunted and a breeding ground for them. I reached for my talisman, only to remember that it was gone.

  "I know. I just...Why can't we move? Or at least why can't I be homeschooled? I know that you're smart enough for that."

He mumbled, apparently upset that I had interrupted him despite his long pause. "Armen, you know why."

My eyes rolled, looking back out of the window. "Your lab and you're too busy. Yeah, I know." There was a moment of silence or two.

I jumped as the car swerved, looking back up at dad. He seemed to be struggling to keep his eyes open, head beginning to fall forward ever so slowly as they finally shut. Once we began to swerve off the road again, I shouted almost at the top of my lungs for him to wake up. His body jolted away, jerking the car back into the street immediately. We both were left hyperventilating and shaking more than previously. The rest of the way home we remained silent though I kept my eyes on the road and dad so our near crash would not happen again, nor come into fruition.

When we left the car, I finally began to speak once more. "Watch, I'm going to get into Polaris and join the exorcists. That'll show him."

He stopped in his tracks while looking up into the sky with an exasperated breath and a growl. "You're not ending up like your mother. That's the end of that ignorant idea. You don't need to do anything stupid like you did last night. Please just stay with being a vet."

  "But..." I bit my tongue.

I kept watch on the way he stumbled up to the porch then over to the door. It was obvious he was exhausted but based on his labored breathing, it was more than that. It was only then I took notice of his unfocused gaze and flushed cheeks over sweating pale skin. He placed his thumb against the lock, the red light flashing green before he turned the job and opened the door.

My thoughts began to get the better of me, thinking about everything these past few days. Sneaking out, fighting. I've just felt so...angry. Was I trying to get over my fears or perhaps just trying to get his attention? I honestly did not know.

I watched him go to the basement door, asking if we were going to talk about this. To talk about anything together like my career choices or what happened today. Mom... Heck, I'd be happy just talking about what he did today. It was the same excuse as always; that he's too busy.

  "It's always about your work." I ended up growling, feeling my heartbeat increase in my chest. "Haven't you ever thought that maybe I'm like this because I'm alone all of the time?"

Dad finally looked up at me, glare locked onto myself. He did not speak, allowing my mouth to sputter as I went off. "I-I mean, you're around when I'm hurt but when I need someone to talk to, you're never around or you brush everything off like it doesn't matter! I want to do something with my life, something important to me and you call me ignorant!"

  "Armen, I wasn't calling-"

For some reason, I could not get myself to shut up. With everything that was going on today, I suppose I just could not get my adrenaline down. "You're so callous. What if...what if you're the reason why I'm so terrified of everything? Why I build everything up in me an-and-"

  "Enough!"

Everything caught in my throat, watching him clench his head and turn around. Those eyes...it was as if they could make your very soul combust. He growled almost like a dog, neck twitching followed by his eye doing the same. I finally took notice of how he was sweating and eyes were tearing up.

  "Armen. Go to your room. Now."

I complied, walking around him with caution before going to my room. I tossed my bag into the ground and fell into my bed face first. The pillow muffled my scream. When we were in the car, I was so close...so close to making this wretched day turn into something at least semi decent. No, I had to run off at the mouth on a subject I knew would piss him off. I prayed as a last resort.

I must have fallen asleep because when I lifted my head, the room was almost pitch black with the exception of a green glow. I turned to look out of the window, a tree branch obscuring my vision, gorgeous pink and green lights overtaking the sky. Perhaps it was an answer to a prayer, a sign of hope. That hope was dashed when I saw movement in the trees, the quick shimmering of glowing orbs. In my own almost irrational fear, I had to shut the curtains. Once again I was in the dark, turning on my night light like a child.

The sirens began to go off, growling and hissing drowning the chirping of crickets from the outside. No wonder I can never get enough sleep. It was painful to never feel that I someone to talk to about this.

I miss mom...
...

Hero's point of view-

  "What the hell have you done?"

  "You fucked up again."

Why did I act like that? I should have seen that he was just hurting. I should have at least hugged him or...or apologized and told him that I loved him. Why couldn't I get that off my tongue?

  "You know why."

  "What he did was unacceptable. Don't praise him. He needs to learn some self control."

I looked up as the door to Armen's bedroom opened, my son standing there shaking. I froze up, my lungs even refusing to take in anymore oxygen. His face was covered in more than tears, but in blood as well, dripping from his face. His expression was void of anything but fear and pain.

  "It wasn't his fault. He did it for you."

  "You..." His gurgling voice spat. "-push everyone away."

I jolted up, choking on my own scream as I gasped. I was in the lab, drool on the desk accompanying sweat and papers, one of which had stuck to my cheek. With a vibration in my throat, I tugged it off then rubbed my eyes to get myself back into full consciousness. My hands shook like mad, vision clouded in tears that I tried to wipe away. It was hot. My joints ached. No, it doesn't matter. It's temporary, insignificant. Yet with those thoughts bombarding my conscience, it was as if the side of myself that was once a doctor knew better than to believe my own self administered deception.

It was painfully cold. With chattering teeth, the shaking in my limbs quickly became painful. My gums felt on the verge of leaking blood with teeth close to breaking.

  "Get back to work. Make it up to him."

I clenched my quivering fists and stood, walking over to the bookshelf and pushing it aside to place my hand on the scanner. Doing so, the blue scanner turned green followed by the door opening up. As the extension to the lab came into view, a foreign object concealed my view of the subject.

Adrenaline surges through my system with a speed that is nearly enough to cause me to vomit.

  "Armen, what are you doing here?" I ran. Reaching out to grab and pull him away, his body disappeared the instant we collided.

Pain jolted across my body as it crashed against the metal floor. There I laid with my own thoughts, each breath burning the back of my dry throat. The ringing fulling my skill had stolen away all of my attention, listening to it slowly die as the awareness of a throbbing in my head came to life. A simple groan let up while I hoised myself up to my hands and knees. Picking myself up from the ground, my knees buckled.

It did not matter how much I stumbled or fell nor how many times my vision would tunnel. It did not matter that I was exhausted. I have to do this. This is the only thing I can afford to do. There's nothing else that can fix any of my mistakes, to fix this fucked up world. He needs this. Everyone needs this.

  "There's always work to be done."