Angela Johnson took in a deep breath, her face scrunched up in disgust. She had completely forgotten just how much she hated hospitals, the fact is that she couldn't even remember the last time she had been in one
" don't make a face" her mother scolded
" Remind me again why we have to be here?"
" Because, stupid girl, your grandmother is sick and we need to take proper care of her"
Angy didn't say anything.
She knew uttering another word would have her mother back at her throat. She focused her attention on the hospital staff each rushing off from one duty to another
' being a doctor must be exhausting'
She couldn't even begin to put herself in their shoes. She already despised blood as it was
" excuse me, Mrs. Johnson? "
A pretty nurse walked up to them
" yes?" Her mother stood up to face the nurse expectantly
" the doctor says you can see her now"
" thank you"
Angy rose from her position to stand beside her mother, together they followed behind the nurse through a long hallway bypassing many other wards before they arrived at the supposed room her grandmother was admitted into
The nurse excused herself and walked away while Angy and her mother entered the Ward
" Good afternoon mom"
Angy's mother greeted walking towards her grandmother's bed, Angy followed
" hey grandma"
Her grandmother smiled as Angy gave her a hug
" how have you been dearest?"
" am fine, it's you we should be asking that. Are you feeling better?"
" very much, thank you"
Andy took a seat by the bed while her mother brought out all the fruits and beverages they had bought, settling them down on the bedside table
" How was school dear?"
" it was fine, though homework is still quite troublesome"
" don't mind her mom, Angy's just being lazy"
" am not"
her mother sighed " whatever" she mumbled
Angy turned back to her grandmother, the old woman stared at her with deep worry in her eyes
" I want to talk to you dear" she whispered
" what about?"
" in private"
Her gaze turned towards Angela's mother, the two seemed to communicate without words
"I'll go buy us some drinks" her Mom gave an excuse before walking out of the room. She was confused, didn't they already buy the drinks? Nonetheless, she gave her full attention to the sick old woman
" how old are you now? " the woman asked surprising her. it was a question Angela was not quite comfortable with, as it always seemed to lead to the same conversation
" I turned eighteen six months ago"
" Are you considering settling down?" the older woman asked just as Angy had anticipated
She rolled her eyes. Not this again. She knew her grandmother was old school but she couldn't honestly be expecting her to get married now was she? she had asked her the very same thing when she turned sixteen
" grandma I.."
" Listen, my dear, I know you are too young for marriage but trust me it is for your good. They are greater forces both of which you might not understand"
" Grandma, you're not making sense you know"
" don't be like your parents, I think
you should go to church and be a bit more prayer for the devil is not far away, we have to keep him at Bay"
' devil? Church? Was Grandma on some kind of drugs or something? but then again, she spoke like this even on her usual days'
" I don't understand what you are saying?"
The old woman sighed
" I had a dream, my dear. A horrible dream"
" People have dreams all the time grandma. They are just fictions of our imagination. It doesn't mean they signify anything at all" she tried to reassure her
" I hope you are right. But I want you to keep this just in case"
The old woman pulled out a silver chain from under her pillow, It had a metal Cross at the end of it. She handed it to her
" keep this with you always"
She took the cross tenderly, not sure what to make of it. Whatever drugs her grandmother was on, she hoped it would wear off soon
" I'll be a fine grandma. No devil is coming after me. You rest assured"
The old woman smiled at the reassurance, though for some reason, Angy didn't think she looked convinced much
* * *
In an unknown location
A figure hovered above a burning house. crimson red eyes matching his hair moved as the wind blew, causing the fire to spread even further around the surrounding environment
" Everything is done," he said, almost with an urge to sigh. one more task and he could leave the human world
" is it though? we still have one more soul to collect" Seemingly out of nowhere, another figure emerged and approached the later
" I see you finished another mission early even without me, that is only expected of you" The latter frowned down at the stench of burnt bodies " I don't see why you had to kill off the entire family through"
Ignoring the other, the red-haired male lowered himself effortlessly to the ground, he walked forward towards the opposite direction of the burning house. The white-haired male followed
" where are you going, Eric? We should at least clear up this mess"
" if you keep saying irrelevant things, I will kill you"
The white-haired male laughed amused " you are quite the charmer. and for some reason, I do believe you will kill me if your father hadn't forbidden you from doing so"
Eric stared down at his white-haired companion, a sneer visible on his handsome features
" know your place Damien" he warned
Damien smirked " I already do my prince. It is only that sometimes I forget the Sheerness of your ruthlessness. I seem to forget every time that you are the son of Lucifer"
" Ruthlessness has nothing to do with it. There had already seen our faces, they wouldn't have survived the night even if I had let them live"
" ya ya how very thoughtful of you, but I didn't see a reason to kill the entire family. We had what we came for"
Eric's expression didn't manifest any emotion, he dug his hands into the pocket of his vest looking on in boredom
" Who cares if a couple of humans get killed"
Damien's grin widened. " man, your cold"
" walk"
* * *
Andy wiped the tears from her eyes as she continued cutting the onions. This was probably why she hated cooking. But her mother will not be so pleased if she were to discard her duties
Speaking of the devil, the woman was cutting her vegetables effortlessly. Angy decided to ask a question that had been bugging her since her visit to the hospital
" mom?"
" hmm?" The woman looked up at her
" Why does grandma believe our family is cursed?"
" what do you mean?"
" she kept saying something about the devil and dreams. I don't understand, but she seemed rather serious about it"
Her mother sighed focusing her attention back on the vegetables
" your grandmother is sick Angy, it's not a surprise she would say nonsense. Just forget about it"
The answer seemed satisfying enough to the girl, that is until another question popped up in her mind again
" but why is it that you and dad don't go to church? there's one right across the street ya know "
" we can pray right from home honey, going to church isn't necessary"
" But.."
" Angy please"
The girl flinched at her mother's outburst
" I would appreciate it if you would do your chores quietly and not ask stupid questions"
" This is not even a chore, I'm cutting vegetables for goodness sake"
" you want something harder to boost your confidence?"
Her mother seemed serious. She decided to shut her mouth, she wasn't in the mood to be punished
A couple of minutes of Silence went by as mother and daughter prepared dinner, that was until the sound of the doorbell broke his silence
" I'll get it"
She made her way out of the kitchen and towards the door and locked it to reveal a familiar figure
" hey dad"
" hi honey"
Her father pulled her into a hug ruffling her hair a bit
" how was work?"
" boring as usual"
She shut the door closed then followed behind him
" Something smells good"
" mom's making dinner"
" great I'm starving, just let me go and freshen up and I'll join you"
She watched as the man headed upstairs. Since she was already in the living room, she decided that some television might just lighten her mood a bit
Switching the TV on, the first thing that popped up was the news channel her father always watched. It was a report on a forest fire, it was claimed that the fire had started from a small cottage in the woods and had consumed half of the forest reservation
There was even an image of the burnt down pieces that once used to be a house displayed on the news channel.
Angy squinted her eyes.
Two figures were standing just in the middle of the burnt house. She couldn't quite see them clearly but the odd coloration of their hair was what caught her attention
There wasn't anything mentioned on the news about them and the camera was angled like it wasn't even meant to capture them. Didn't the news crew see them? why weren't they being questioned? surely it was odd
" Angy! Get back in the kitchen this instant" her mother's voice echoed loudly through the house
She sighed. There goes her break
" Coming"
* * *
After having dinner with her parents, she headed upstairs to her room, grabbing her pajamas, she concluded that taking a shower will help her sleep better. She headed towards her bathroom and heated the water to a satisfying temperature. Bringing with her favorite shampoo she stripped off her clothes and hopped into the shower stall
Having the warm water soaking her was comforting, she washed her hair with the shampoo before proceeding to sponge off the rest of her body
Feeling completely satisfied, she turned off the shower and stepped out of the stall, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around her body. stepping into her room, she dried her hair off with a hair dryer. Angy however froze In Her movement when something caught her attention.
There, just below her wrist was an odd Mark that seem to have been scribbled in ink
" what the hell?"
Angy didn't remember ever getting a tattoo or even seeing this mark before. on closer inspection, she noticed that it was more of writing, a name to be more specific
' Eric'
' Who the hell was Eric? and why did this writing suddenly appear on her wrist? She didn't even remember seeing it yesterday
She tried to wipe it off but it wouldn't budge. She use the towel to wipe harder until she felt the skin become tender and sore but still yet the odd name was still there, etched on the skin of her wrist
She sighed
" Whatever"
She's seen weirder things in her lifetime. might as well ignore it for now
She went back to drying her hair and ignored the name on her wrist