Demon Girl Part 9

"You must get back. They are looking for you."

For a while there I lost all track of time. There was no way of knowing that. All the days seemed to have melted into each other.

"I will take you back as you are still weak," he said.

I looked down at myself and realized I was still changing back to my natural form, yet it was light outside. I wondered why the process was taking longer.

"You are getting further and further away," he said as he picked me up.

"What do you mean?"

"The older you become, the more you become the other."

Again, the riddles, but this time I knew what he meant. My body was changing as I got older, forming both human and demon. In years to come, I might never be able to change back into complete human form.

As he picked me up and carried me away, I could sense despair in his eyes. Finally, I was starting to feel for him. I was beginning to read his mind. "I fly so high and yet I am falling," he said through his thoughts.

"Falling for you, my Charlene," he told me again through his eyes, glancing at me while we soared thousands of feet above the ocean's surface.

Chapter Seventeen.

After Benjamin brought me home that day, I checked my apartment. I was still concerned about the break-in, and wanted to be careful.

The answering machine was blinking like crazy, and the place smelled damp and musty, like I had left all the windows and doors opena"but that wasn't the case. Everything was sealed shut.

To try to regain some normalcy, I checked the date and time. I still didn't know what day it was.

I went over to the clock in the kitchen. The glowing digital numbers read 5:55 a.m. It was still morning, yet I wasn't fully changed back into my human form. The process was much slower this time. My fingernails were a slick and s.h.i.+ny blue, like I had just painted them. My skin had tanned into a tinge of burnt orange. The sun had discolored it while I was still in transformation.

On the counter was my purse. I grabbed it, looking for my cell phone to check the datea"November eighteenth, three days after my annual and the same time I had been gone.

I opened my cell phone and could see it was flooded with text messages and missed calls. I checked my text messages. The first one was from my father, reading: Charlene, you left in such a hurry the other day, I hope you are okay. Please call me when you can.

The next few messages were from Jan. I had forgotten all about work. In her texts, she was concerned. They all pretty much said the same thing: I am worried about you, Char. Please return my calls.

I felt awful that I missed work all these days without calling her, but how could I? By now, I thought, my job was over, yet Jan didn't mention I was fired or anything. I picked up the phone and called. My nerves were bundled inside my stomach as the phone rang.

"Lucky's Diner, Jan speaking."

"Jan! It's Charlene."

"Oh, my G.o.d! Charlene, where have you been?"

"I was out of town. Sorry I didn't call you sooner."

"You had me worried. Are you okay?"

"Yes, well, I think soa"

Jan went on to say my job would be waiting for me when I got back, but I could hear in the tone of her voice she was disappointed in me. She told me we'd have to talk over my schedule, mentioning my hours would be cut down. Peggy and the other girls had taken over my time slot so Jan offered I could still work, but later in the afternoon instead.

After I got off the phone with Jan, I wondered again about Jesse. I still had feelings for him, but they were of sympathy and regret. I did love him, just not the way that I hoped, nor the way he hoped either.

I went to the computer to see if he was online, but nothing. I had ruined everything between us. There wasn't a chance in h.e.l.l in this strange world I was living in I was ever going to be human again, not with Jesse, but I sent him an e-mail anyway: Jesse, Look, I am so very sorry for what happened the last time we talked. I was glad you came to see me, but I was unprepared. I hope that someday you will be able to forgive me. I am going through some changes, and I still want us to communicate. I need a friend, Jesse. I need you.

Charlene Everything was so overwhelming to me, I could barely take it. I prayed for Delmara to come back, but she didn't. There was nothing more I could do. I was lost. Benjamin had been my only hope of trying to find the answers to all of this, yet he too was holding back something. The more I changed, the more I sensed it.

I closed my eyes tightly as I lay on the couch. Tears oozed down my face, sealing my eyes shut.

"I must warn you," a voice said. "Choose your road wisely."

"Delmara?" I called out in the darkness. All I could see were flas.h.i.+ng silver streaks dancing across my closed eyes, and then a hand reached out to me. "Walk with me, and I will show you the waya"the voice continued.

Through the darkness of my mind, I walked. Doors had formed in the blackness, and I reached out to open the first door.

"Remember, choose wiselya"the voice whispered again.

I couldn't tell if it was Delmara or not. The voice was lower, like that of a man.

As I stood there and stared at the three doors before me, I walked up to each one. The first door was warm to the touch and smelled like magnolias. I thought of Delmara. She had to be there, that was her scent, but something was telling me to check the two other doors instead.

The second door was ice cold and dripping with frost. Underneath the crack of the door, a ribbon-like fog plumed out. I could hear voices of laughter and singing, but they were so faint, I couldn't make out the words. The last door was tepid and smelled like the outdoors.

I wasn't sure which door to open, so I just went with my gut. I decided to open the last door.

A soft breeze drifted through me as I opened the door. All I could see were cotton-like clouds. Below the doorway rolled in a green fog. Suddenly, I was pushed through and falling.

The green fog stung my eyes as my mind raced with thoughts of dread. The elevator-like drop made my heart pound even faster. Had I made the wrong choice?

I tried desperately to change into demon form so I could fly, but all I could do to force my feelings out was to scream, yet my scream was silent. There was a numbing hum in my brain. I descended slowly, and suffered from windburn.

Everything seemed to stop. The green had turned into leaves, and the leaves had turned into trees. As the trees became a green path of thick foliage, blades of gra.s.s began to form. A forest was forming.

"Charlene," Delmara softly whispered, yet I could not see her. Her voice echoed off the trees as leaves began to rain down. "You are now ready for phase two."

I looked around trying to find something to step onto, like a rock or tree trunk, but the ground seemed hollow as I floated above the surface. It was hard to maneuver my body as it was tossed and turned by the wind.

"Please, Delmara, what do you mean? I beg of you. Please answer me."

"You will know, Charlene. Just as you've known all along."

With that, she was gone.

I rubbed my eyes, peeling away my lids, but it wasn't my eyelids that I thought I was peeling off. It was the glue-like tears I had cried myself to sleep with. As I removed the crusted layers, I opened my eyes to see I was back in my apartment.

That's when I heard the phone ring.

"h.e.l.lo?"

"h.e.l.lo, Charlene?"

"Yes, may I help you?"

"You don't know me, but we need to talk. My name is Sarah Hudson."

In shock, I nearly dropped the phone. My voice trembled a little with my response. "Yes?"

"I'm a friend of Jesse's. I understand that you know him?"

"Yesawhy do you ask?"

"I hope you don't mind. I found your number in one of his phone books. I didn't know what else to do."

"Why? What's wrong? Is Jesse okay?"

"He's gone missing."

Chapter Eighteen.

I didn't know what to do. I was shocked Sarah had even called in the first place. The only person I could think of calling was Benjamin. Maybe he would know where Jesse had gone to. Was he still alive? Why had he gone off the deep end like that? Had I caused all this to happen?

My mind whipped around the room so hard I felt dizzy and began to faint. As I fell, arms reached out to grab me.

"Benjamin!"

"At your service, dear miss."

"How in the world?" I looked at him with excitement and could see he was pleased too.

"Come on, DemonChick! You can figure me out by now. All you need to do is think about it, and I am there!"

He laid me on the couch and caressed my face. "You really like this guy, don't you?"

"I do, Benjamin, I'm sorry."

"You should find him then."

"How?"

"Use your new senses. That's what they are there for."

I gave him a puzzled glance. "I don't know how to use my senses yet. I don't even know what kind of senses I have anymore, Benjamin. I am falling apart."

"Want me to glue you back together again, Humpty Dumpty?"

"Ha! Quit it. I am being serious. What if he's in danger?"

"My senses tell me you will make it right again."

He sat down beside me and touched my face. I could feel his energy seep into my skin; he was restoring my strength yet again. My eyes could see more clearly as my thoughts became open and fresh. I wasn't worried much at that point, but I had to figure out how I could help Jesse.

"You care too much for these humans, girlfriend. You're too attached to them. Hey, you know you can ditch all this nonsense and live with me in my cave. Wanna?"

"Please, Benjamin. Not now. I need to think."

"Just trying to lift your spirits. It worked, didn't it?" he said, smiling at me.

He was right. I did feel better. It was like he was his own energy source. The only other person that could do that was my father, but Benjamin was different. His aura was much stronger than any human could ever have.

"So, s.e.xyayou should take a look at yourself now!"

"Please, Benjamin, how many times do I have to tell you?" I tried to deny his powers, but he was right. As I got up off the couch, I looked into the mirror on the wall across from where I was standing. I was surprised to see I was human again; completely human, like I had been before. I felt amazing, like I was glowing somehow. "How do you do it?"

"Aww, shucks, it was nothing, my lady! Any time, any time."

I turned around back to the mirror and noticed he was gone.

"Benjamin?"

Later that night, I could feel my body changing again, but this time the metamorphosis was faster and less painful. After the change, I opened the balcony doors and flew away in search of Jesse. My senses told me he was at a bar in Chicago. Why he was in Chicago was beyond me.

He was in the city at a local bar binge drinking. I could see a vision of him talking to someone as I flew above the buildings, circling around and looking for a landing spot on one of the rooftops.

As I scanned through the walls of the bar, I heard him talking to a man dressed all in black.

"Hey, f.u.c.ker, we need to talk!" Jesse said, standing next to the man as he shot pool.

"Who the h.e.l.l are you?" the man asked, staring him down.

I was surprised at Jesse's tone of voice. He was p.i.s.sed off as all h.e.l.l and wanted to lash out at the guy, but why? What had got to him to this point?

"Let's step outside, or are you too p.u.s.s.y to own up to it?"

The man threw his pool stick down and walked over to him. "You have a serious problem, buddy, yeahalet's take it outside!"