Time has no meaning. Time has no meaning, well not to me anyway. I am aware of time as it passes, maybe more than most. When I saw the body hit the floor I realized it was all over.
After being stabbed by JJ, the cop only lived only a few short hours. It wasn’t the knife that had caused the end of her days, no, she died seven hours later after being shot in the head in an old warehouse. It hadn’t been any random warehouse; it was one I had acquired after the owners were busted for growing drugs inside. It had a hole in the ceiling and was in complete disrepair. The only thing thriving inside was a line of mushrooms growing along the far right wall. Most murders we’re committed in my warehouse, with my permission of course. It wasn’t legally mine, but the streets knew my name and they feared it like a sinner fears Hell.
I didn’t mind lending my space to people, just as long as they cleaned it up afterwards. I had been reluctant to use it after I received word of a strange man, who no-one recognized, entered, and was not seen exiting the building. I had little use for my dilapidated warehouse, but JJ loved it. I suppose he would have had more of a use for it than me, after all, he is a murderer, I am not.
Sharing a body with a psychopath really s***s. I got used to the blackouts and the hatred, which he felt so strongly, that I did to, but I did not get used to the pain. Switching control takes its toll on both of us, me more than him, as he is a Demon, born into pain and suffering. I, however, am a completely neutral soul, not good, not bad, somewhere in between if such a thing exists. After J kidnapped that cop, the block dropped and I was able to see what was happening. We stood in my warehouse, the cop tied to the support beam a few feet in front of us. I heard a dripping noise, indicating that it was raining; it soothed me as I watched J torture the poor woman. I noticed her badge on the floor a few feet to the left, her name in clear print across it, JULIE. JJ crouched before her and put the barrel of his gun under her chin, raising her head to meet his gaze. “It’s a shame Julie, we could have been friends if u weren’t a cop and I wasn’t a wanted criminal.” He laughed. Julie looked at him through her matted blonde hair and spat at him. His face twisted into a fearsome scowl, which reflected in Julie’s deep green eyes for me to see.
A voice from behind sounded out, filling the empty space with its shallow vocals. “Just kill her already, she doesn’t know Mike.” Julie winced at the words. J sighed and stood, turning to his partner in crime. She was tall, probably only a little shorter than J himself. I know very little about her, she was JJ’s friend, not mine. She had bright pink hair, which was only semi visible under her red hoodie. She wore ordinary black trainers and a pair of blue ripped jeans. She looked like an ordinary girl, not the rich psychopath she really was. “Keep your voice down Jessie. You’re not the one they are looking for.” Jessie giggled to herself and crossed the room to J, stopping just a few inches away from him. She looked down at Julie, her expression unreadable. After only a moment’s hesitation, she whipped a pistol from her belt and pointed its barrel at Julie’s forehead.
J shuffled away slightly, moving closer to the exit, causing Jessie to break down into an uncontrollable laughing fit. “Scared are we J?” she screeched between giggles. J shook his head, stating that he didn’t want to get blood on his trainers. Jessie laughed again before proceeding to pull the trigger on her pistol. The noise was deafening in the quiet room, the shot ringing out onto the streets, any police nearby would have heard it. J scowled at Jessie, who appeared to still be laughing, though it was hard to tell through the ringing in my ears.
After what seemed like an eternity, the ringing died down and Jessie walked over to JJ, well her walk was much like a skip. She put a hand on his shoulder, leaning on him, which was easy considering my height. J looked at her with nothing but resentment in his eyes. Jessie didn’t notice, even as J moved away, causing her to topple to the ground. She shot him a look of complete venom which he ignored but gave her a shrug. “look, Jessie, as you are well aware, I’m going to leave town soon and… well, you’re kind of a psycho so…” she got to her feet, her face twisted in a viscous snarl. Jessie rushed towards J and pushed him to the floor with such force she fell with him, landing awkwardly on top.
“I don’t want you to leave. Is it A? Is he making you leave?” Jessie looked down at him, the dull light casting strange shadows on her face and making her eyes blue shine. Her hair fell into his face, making it hard for us to see. “You know what I think about him, and you know what I would do to him if I could.” J nodded awkwardly and tried to escape her grip. She swiftly moved her hands to his shoulders, pinning him down. The hood on her red, blood splattered hoodie blocked the light, causing her face to disappear into the shadows. “Jessie, I’ll miss you too but you know I’ll be back eventually. If I could, trust me, I would end A, but, sadly, I cannot. “ Jessie nodded at his words, and sat up, moving herself fully off him and pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them tightly. She looked at him with what appeared to be tears in her eyes, but J knew better, we both did. “Please don’t leave me J, you are the only one I can trust. You are all I have left” let it never be said that Jessie wasn’t a good actress, I could fool myself into thinking those tears we’re real.
J, having sat up, was looking at her almost as if he was deciding on his next move. To my surprise, and seemingly Jessie’s, he shuffled towards her, draping his left arm over her shoulders. She looked at him and a shiver ran up my spine. Her blue eyes shone with what had been her crocodile tears, her face as pale as snow. “They don’t know who you are Jessie, the cops I mean. They know me and where I’ve been hiding. Your mafia has a spy, maybe more than one. Find them and make them pay.” Jessie wiped her eyes dramatically, having understood what JJ had meant. Then she moved closer. I recoiled as if I could move, but of course I could not. J didn’t move, not even as she moved to close the gap between them, trapping him. I saw his expression reflected in her eyes. His eyes said it all even without the wide grin his lips formed, twisting my face in such a way it was almost unnatural. Jessie didn’t notice until it was too late.
Quick as lighting, J flipped his knife from his pocket and freed the blade before plunging it into Jessie’s left thigh. She howled in pain and released him. He moved with such ease it was like his joints were liquid. He moved so he was stood over her in a menacing stance. Jessie looked at him, her pain filled eyes begging for mercy from her cruel overlord. The knife JJ had used was the same one he had used on the cop. I was unsure if Jessie would come running towards him and use his knife to kill us both, but she didn’t move. She simply stayed there, on her hands and knees in the abandoned warehouse where she would quite possibly end her days. She stayed there sat in the ever-growing puddle of her own blood as J began to walk away. She shouted at him to stop, to go back and help her, she promised to forgive him, she promised him the world, money, fame, anything he asked for. most of these things she could have given him, after all she was the head of the local mafia and had a good few billion to her name, though no one knew it. It was unlike her to beg like that, even if her life was on the line, but of course she and I both knew what she was planning. It would have been a great plan if its target wasn’t J. JJ walked away from her, not turning as he spoke. “Your offers don’t tempt me so stop, conserve your energy, I’ve heard dying hurts like hell.” he laughed loudly, the noise echoing in the large space, filling the silence. “Besides, I never thought you would want to go out begging for your life, Jessie. Enjoy these last few moments, they won’t come around again.” I heard Jessie move behind us, she was sitting up. Then there was a loud clicking noise before she fired her gun at J.
The world was a blur of noise and movement. J, being a demon, was able to duck away from the bullet. It whistled past my head just inches from my ear. J returned fire, hitting her square in the chest. She fell, but not before she could fire another bullet, which embedded itself in my arm. J hid his pain well, but hiding his pain made me feel it more. Hot, thick blood poured down my arm; the stench of it; I have no idea why J likes it. He moved towards Jessie once more and put his left hand over the bullet wound on my right shoulder. Blood oozed between my fingers, no longer warm but cold, like a drink with ice.
He stared down at her, knowing full well that she was still alive. Jessie was unmoving but, I could hear her breathing, even if it was uneven and shallow. I held my right shoulder, mentally screaming as JJ receded deep into my mind, giving me control. I doubt he meant to leave me, but the switch had worn us both out spiritually, J more than me because of the block. I stumbled away from Jessie, meaning to get help, but for some unknown reason I knew she would be okay.
I broke into a run and bolted out of the area, still clutching my shoulder. It hurt like hell but I made it out of the entire estate, the rain hammering down on me, seeping through my thin jacket and soaking my t-shirt. Before long I caught sight of red and blue flashing lights and swiftly changed course, but it was too late. Soon the lights we’re chasing me down the road. I ran faster than I ever had before, my feet barely touching the ground. It was obvious that they we’re going to catch me, I couldn’t outrun the five police cars that we’re on my tail. I had made it only to the street corner before three cops ditched their cars and perused me on foot, guns drawn. Within seconds they were on me, less than a meter behind; it was over. All the time I had spent running down the drain in an instant. Bullets flew past me, so close I thought I would have been hit, but, somehow, I wasn’t. My feet began to ache and my ankle caved, making me stumble, but not fall.
But the short stumble was enough for the cops to catch up with me, closing the gap enough for one of them to pounce on me, pulling me to the ground. We tumbled down, the cop landing on my back and swiftly slapping a pair of handcuffs on me. It was over. Carefully, as though I was planning to escape, the three of them got me into a car, which I was only vaguely aware of as I was teetering over the edge of consciousness. The car launched into motion, causing me to hit my head off the backrest, knocking me unconscious.
I woke up in a small room with only a table and a chair. There was a mirror on the far right wall, the direction the chair faced. When I began to move I realised, I was handcuffed to the table and so stopped, carefully examining the room. It was plain, the grey walls seemed to drain all colour from the world. The mirror, I realized was only one way and that on the other side would be an army of cops and detectives studying my every move. A few bugs danced around the florescent light above. Suddenly a voice rang out from a speaker in the corner, near the mirror, filling the silence with a voice belonging to detective Jones. “Do you know where you are?” I nodded, fighting the urge to use sarcasm. “Do you know why you are here Anthony?” I nodded again, knowing all too well what he wanted me to say. He wanted a confession. “I’m here because of all the things you think I did.” I heard J laughing in my head, obviously impressed. There was an edge to Jones’s voice when he continued, he was obviously annoyed. “I don’t think you did it, I know you did it.” I couldn’t help but laugh. I could feel it again. The hatred for humanity that all Demons felt: the pain of an Angel when they see mortals suffer. All at once they came to me. I felt something within me snap, and I realized with a jolt of surprise, it was my powers. They unlocked with a loud crack that was nearly audible. I saw, in the mirror, my eyes flickering different colours: Red, then blue, then grey, then white, then black, then green, then orange, then purple, then gold.
With a cry, I opened my mouth and a bright light came from it. I heard the people through the mirror running around and generally freaking out. I took a long blink, opening my eyes to a brilliant light, filling the room in a horrifyingly majestic glare. Over the speaker, I heard the people begin to scream. I felt a weak tug in my chest at the sound, they were burning. I suppressed a laugh as my handcuffs melted; I loved watching them suffer. The light faded and I got up from my chair, revelling in the dying screams of my captors. The walls were burnt and black, the mirror broken, but the door remained. I saw, in the broken remains of the mirror, my reflection. I had great bat like wings coming from my back, the red leathery material seemed to radiate the darkness a demon carries. My eyes were also, no pupil and black circles around my eyes, I looked so pale. I stared at my reflection a long time, trying to find all the demonic and angelic characteristics I had. I noticed scales running along part of my left arm. Then I remembered that I had been shot and rolled up my sleeve, exposing nothing but a scar where the bullet wound had once been. That was the only angelic thing I could find about me. On my head grew a pair of horns, not unlike that of a goat. They twirled only once but were nearly twice the size of my head. I felt sick. Was this really my true forum? Was I destined to appear this way for the rest of my life?
No, I remembered when I was seven, how these features had presented themselves but disappeared soon after. I took another long blink; my head starting to ache again. When I opened my eyes, there was a shadow stood behind me. The reflection showed nothing, but I sensed it, a Demon. I turned to come face to face with a scaly creature only a little taller than myself. Hits skin was black and it had horns, a forked tongue hanging between its crimson lips. Blood dripped from its chin as it glared at me, though it had no eyes, only sockets where eyes would go. “The prince has awoken” it hissed, the voice sounding in my head rather than aloud. “Come my prince,” it continued, more formally this time. “Let us take our leave. Your farther wishes to speak with you.” When I didn’t move, the creature began to grow aggressive, its whole body convulsing in a threatening dance of impatience. “Don’t you want to come home, master?” it reached for something attached to its back. “My orders were to bring you back, they didn’t specify in what condition” the demon laughed and bared its yellow teeth in a vicious snarl. I stepped back, knowing all too well what the creature meant. It drew a long sword from its back, standing as if to pounce on its prey. “I’m taking you home, master” it taunted. “Dead or alive.”
