Chapter 1: The Awakening
John Constantine woke up to the sound of a phone ringing. He glanced at the alarm clock next to him and to his dismay it read 6:27 AM.
"Ugh. It's way to early to get up."
He let it ring. Maybe it wouldn't be important and maybe he could get some more sleep. But of course the phone started to ring once more. He sat up and grumbled all the way to the phone and reluctantly picked it up.
"What." He growled.
"I need your help." Said the female's voice, "you do exorcisms right?"
"Yeah." He said. This was normal for him.
"Can you come to the Hedgerow apartments, room 241 as soon as you can?" asked the girl quickly.
"Sure." he sighed.
"Thank you." Said the girl and she hung up. John put the phone down and walked over to his closet and pulled out a white shirt and a black jacket. He grabbed his pocket bible off the table and the vial of holy water off the counter before slipping out the door. It took him ten seconds to get down the stairs and out the door. John hailed a cab and told the man where to go.
It had been a year sense the incident at the hospital. He had kept up his business without Chas or Beeman and he hadn't talked to Angela in a while either. John hated these cab rides. The always made him think of things he shouldn't. But before he knew it he was at the apartments and the driver was waiting for his fee. He paid the man an got out of the cab. The man drove away as fast as he could. John didn't blame him either. He could hear screaming coming from the second floor.
John opened the door to the apartment building and swiftly jumped up the stairs. He went up to the third floor and sharply turned down the hall. He could hear random sounds as he quickly passed rooms. Finally he made it to the end of the hallway and knocked twice. A teenage girl dressed in a bright red dress hurried him in.
"This way" she said quietly, leading him to the far side of the apartment. By the sound of her voice he thought she must have been the one who made the call. When he opened the door he saw a young boy tied to a chair. He looked unnaturally pale. There were a couple people in the far side of the room. They avoided eye contact with the boy in the chair and with Constantine.
He walked over to the chair and circled the boy. He pulled out the vial of holy water out of his coat pocket. He opened it with his teeth and dipped his thumb in it. He carefully closed it again, making sure not to spill any, and slipped it back in his coat.
John walked over to the window, which was covered by heavy curtains. Without hesitation, he ripped them open causing the pale boy to shriek in pain. One of the women in the corner started baling. He walked back to the boy who had calmed down a bit and whispered in his ear.
"This is Constantine, John Constantine." The boy looked up at him and smiled the most disturbing smile he could imagine. John quickly made a cross on his head with the thumb with the water on it. Immediately he started screaming again and the cross he had made was smoking. All the people in the corner ran out of the room except for the girl in the red dress. She walked over calmly looking almost interested. John looked at her puzzled. The boy started rocking the chair and was getting his arm loose.
"Grab the chair!" yelled John. The girl hurried over and grabbed the back of the chair. He pulled a key chain out of his pocket and found one of the many designs and pressed it on his forehead. It started to smoke and the boy looked like he was in extreme pain. Finally he stopped struggling and was knocked out cold. The color came back into his cheeks. John looked at the girl.
"Keep holding him." He warned. She nodded.
John took the holy water out again and put some more on his finger. He dabbed it on his forehead and nothing happened.
"Okay, you can let go now." He said.
"If nothing happens, like there" he explained, "The demon is gone. All he needs now is some rest."
"He's my brother." Said the girl. "Thank you."
"No problem." He replied untying the boy.
"Can I ask you something?" She asked.
"I guess." John said cautiously as he picked him up and brought him over to the bed.
"Can I be you apprentice?"
The question caught him off guard and he immediately thought of Chas.
"No" he said.
"Why?" She asked.
"Because my last apprentice was killed by a demon." He said quietly. The girl looked down.
"Well now you know what to teach me." She reasoned.
"Give me one good reason why I should even consider you." He said. The girl thought for a minute.
"Because I can handle the stress, I think what you do is very interesting, I think you could use the help and because I know all about Chas." John looked at her surprised.
"How?" he asked.
"He was my brother's best friend." She said, "He told us everything." John thought for a minute.
"What would your parents say?" he asked.
"They died." She said.
"Any guardians?" He asked.
"No."
John knew he didn't have a choice.
"Fine, but one mistake and your as good as gone." He said. She nodded as fast as she could.
"By the way," He added, "What's your name?"
"Rose." She said.
"Well Rose, get your stuff. You're coming with me." He said. Her eyes lit up and she ran to the closet and started piling what she had into a bag.
"What about your brother?" He asked.
"He'll be okay." She said. After only a couple minutes she had all her stuff ready.
"Okay. Lets go." Said john.