"Darling, is everything okay? You can't stay in the van all day, it's not good for you." Tommy said gently.

Ever since I woke from my dream encounter I'd curled myself up in a corner of the van. I felt bad making Tommy worry like this, but I didn't know what to do. Mal knew. He knew I was in contact with demons, which meant he could find me at any time.

What would he do to me? Lock me up like Father Andrew? Drag me to Hell with him? Neither of those things sounded like Mal, but that made it more terrifying in a way. I had no clue what to expect.

Tommy's worried eyes broke through my muddled mind. He didn't deserve this, it wasn't his fault. I wrapped myself in one of the tattered blankets.

"Sorry, I just don't feel good today. Maybe it's the changing weather." I said.

"Jeez, do not get sick!" He said, shaking his head. "We don't exactly have medicine and the free clinics are booked up this time of year. Why don't you stay inside? I'll bring you something to eat later."

A pang of guilt ran through me. I knew finding food wasn't the easiest thing to do. It was one thing to have Tommy go off to get his own food, but another for him to find me food while I hid in the van like a scared child.

"Tommy, no I-"

"Nah, nah." He said, waving me off. "You're still getting on your feet here. You'll only get worse if you try to do things in this weather. Take it easy today. I'll be back soon."

Before I could think of a reply he hopped out of the van and closed the doors. I sat there a while, wrapped up in blankets and guilt. I couldn't keep doing this to Tommy. He didn't deserve to have a harder life because of me, and as long as I had this demon problem it was a guarantee that he would. I didn't have a choice. I had to leave.

Where to go was still the problem. Mal had no problems setting foot on  church grounds before, so I doubted another church would be safe, even if I could go to a different one. I was always told the church would be my safe haven, I didn't know where else to hide from the minions of Hell. Was avoiding them even possible?

As I thought of this the van doors creaked open. I expected to see Tommy muttering that he forgot something, but instead Gary poked his head inside.

"Oh good, the old fool's gone. Hard to chat with you when he's here."

"Can't be too much of a fool when he's got you demons pegged." I said sharply. Tommy had helped me so much, I wasn't going to let Gary badmouth him like that.

Gary put up his hands defensively. "Alright, I won't mention your little friend again, but I do need to talk with you. I'm sure you've realized already Malphas knows your location now."

I stayed silent. Did he come here just to panic me more? I wasn't even sure that was possible.

"If it helps, I'm not sure when exactly he will come here. I think he took my advice about planning his words more carefully. It might be a while before he feels confident enough to approach you."

"But he will eventually." I muttered.

"Oh, absolutely." Gary said, nodding. "He's determined to win you back one way or another."

"He can't 'win me back,' he never had me to begin with."

Gary chuckled at this. "Well, tell that to him."

I didn't know what Mal was going to say and I didn't care. I wasn't planning to stick around long enough to hear it anyway.

"Running away won't do you any good." I jumped a little, could he still read my mind. Gary rolled his eyes. "I can't read your mind now, if that's what you're wondering. It just seemed the obvious choice.

Like I said, it won't do you any good. Demons are spread all across this Earth, and beyond it. Malphas can know your location from any demon at any time. The only one more powerful than him is Lucifer, so you can see how running and hiding might be difficult."

A sick feeling ran through me as he mentioned Lucifer. I remembered the last encounter I had with him. He said I could call on him anytime. He seemed to like me. He was more powerful than Mal. He might know somewhere I would be safe.

But calling on the Devil for help? It was the last thing I wanted to do. I prayed for God's help more than anything, but with all these demons around me, was He even listening to my prayers anymore? Where were these "domains of Hell" anyway? A million questions ran through my head but no answers followed them.

Gary reached out and patted my hand. "Honestly, I think you should talk to him. I can't remember the last time Mal was so worked up over something. Obviously he cares about you."

A flash of anger filled me. "This isn't just about him. I have a say in things too. Why should Mal's feelings be the only ones that matter? And, for your information, it's not obvious to me. He screwed up and he's trying to make me forgive him, it doesn't mean he cares about me. He's shown he doesn't with the way he treats me."

"In what way? Rescuing you from a renegade church, allowing you sanctuary in his home, exhausting every resource at his disposal to find you-"

"Sexually harassing me, manipulating me, verbally abusing me." I continued, crossing my arms. "Look, I'm grateful for what he did, but I don't owe him anything for it. If he did it with any expectations then that's his problem."

Gary sighed and shook his head. "Like I said before, he's a demon. We always expect something in return. We always do things that are in our best interest first. This is how we are, and how we'll always be."

"Then why are you so worried about fixing things with me and Mal?" I said, rolling my eyes.

He laughed. "Because it's in my best interest not to upset him. A happy Mal is a happy Hell. The sooner he gets through this little mopey phase of his, the better it is for all of us. Sending you back to him is the easiest way."

"Send yourself back to Hell, because I'm done talking." I snapped.

I covered myself with the blanket and waited for him to leave. It was silent a while before I heard a frustrated sigh. The van doors slammed.

"Stubborn humans, always making things difficult." I heard him mutter.

I waited a while before lifting my head. I was alone. The sun was high in the sky now. It had to be after noon. When would Tommy be back? Did I still want to be here when he got back? I know Gary said it was pointless, but at the very least my constant running would keep Mal at bay. I'm sure Lucifer would make him stop if it really started to affect his work.

Lucifer's words echoed in my head again. He mentioned something about me being important. Was he talking about Mal? Was that why Mal wouldn't leave me alone? I never asked for this. I just wanted it all to stop.

I huffed angrily and crawled over to the van doors. Tommy was right, I needed to get out of here. The air was cold, but sobering. My head felt clearer as the crisp air burned my lungs. I pulled out the blanket I had been using and wrapped it around myself. I walked around, exploring the car lot.

Again, a few residents recognized me and gave polite nods as I went by, I did the same. I stared at the piles of junk around me. How long had they been here? How big was this lot anyway? I decided to make that my distraction for the day.

I wandered around the edge of the lot several times. I made my way through the twisting alleys the piles of junk made. As the sun sank lower I occupied myself with doing the same in the dark. I wasn't sure how many hours I spent wandering through those twisted piles of metal, and I was glad.

I had a good lay of the land by the time I finally decided to walk back to the van. A couple more days and I could probably have the place memorized. The fires of different residents glowed around me. It was late. If Tommy was already back I'd just tell him I went for a walk, it wasn't a lie really.

As I got closer to the van though I heard voices shouting angrily. I could barely make out the words.

"You get out of here!" That was definitely Tommy.

I wondered if Gary came back to talk to me again. I listened. No, that other voice wasn't Gary, but it did seem familiar. Was it one of the residents? Then why was Tommy so angry?

Tommy was in the middle of a long, raving rant. I was around the corner from the van when the other person finally interrupted him.

"Look, I'll give you anything you could possibly want. Completely free. No loopholes. Just tell me where the girl is." A raspy voice pleaded.

My blood froze. I pressed my body firmly against the junk pile. I crawled around it carefully, checking for any small opening. A crack through an old, broken car frame gave me that. I peeked through. My worst fear became reality. It was Mal.

Tommy spat at him and sneered. "I don't need anything from your kind, and even if I did I couldn't help you. Don't have no girl here."

Mal stepped closer, menacingly. "I know you have her. That's not what I'm asking. Tell me where she is."

Panic filled me. Was he going to hurt Tommy? I couldn't let him do that. I gripped tightly at the car. The side mirror snapped off in my hand. Mal turned toward the sound. Tommy quickly pushed him.

"You get out of here! Find some other poor souls to leech off of!" Tommy spoke confidently, but his eyes looked scared.

Mal whipped around and put his hand on Tommy's throat. Tommy's eyes went wide.

"You have no idea who you're messing with." Mal hissed.

A bunch of things raced through my head, but only one stuck out. Tommy was in danger, but I knew Mal wouldn't hurt me. I gripped the side mirror tightly in my hand. I stepped out from behind the car and threw it as hard as I could at Mal. It hit him in the middle of his back with a deep thud.

"Fuck!" Mal shouted, letting go of Tommy.

Tommy fell to the ground, coughing. Mal turned in my direction angrily. His anger quickly faded when he saw me. Fear filled his face, as if he knew he'd made another horrible mistake.

"Venus..." He said weakly.

"Darling, run!" Tommy coughed, holding his throat.

I did as he said. I heard Mal calling after me. My footsteps pounded loudly against the packed soil of the lot. I picked the right day to explore this place. I ran and weaved my way through the piles of metal. I knew I could lose Mal in here, but it would only be a temporary fix. If I left the lot he could spot me easily, and I could only run around so many times before he figured out the alleys.

I passed several residents, but Tommy's terrified face went through my mind. I couldn't ask anyone for help, I feared what Mal might do to them. Another familiar face popped into my memories. The only person Mal couldn't do something to. I didn't have a choice.

"Lucifer!" I called breathlessly. "Fine, you win! Just get me out of here, keep my friend safe."

I ran and ran. Nothing happened. Never trust the Devil I guess. I don't know what I was expecting, demons serve themselves after all. I heard Mal's footsteps catching up. I forced my legs to run full speed. When would it end? 

I rounded the corner and ran straight into somebody. Arms quickly embraced me, black smoke appeared suddenly, I was blinded.

A while later the smoke finally cleared, I was in an open field in the forest. I breathed heavily. The arms around me slowly loosened. A pale face was illuminated in the moonlight. Lucifer.