Chapter 10
Disclaimer- I own nothing!
Alan slowly made his way down the alley so he could reach the point where he could open the portal and get back to the realm of the Death Gods. It seemed he was a little more intoxicated than he thought as his vision was slightly off, he was finding it hard to stay on his feet and not fall. It was a good thing Eric didn't come and see this. He would just tease him and never let him live it down. Even as drunk as he was he knew he could still make it home and that was the important thing. So it took him a little longer, he was in no real rush. The weather wasn't too bad either and he was in such a good mood from hanging out with Eric. Thinking about Eric made him smile again as he tried not to trip and fall. Rounding the corner he stopped as he saw a girl standing in the middle of the alley way. She looked like a mess, as if she had been beaten up or maybe she was just homeless. Something about her though sent red flags up around him, intoxicated or not.
"Are you hurt miss? Can I help you somehow?"
She took a step towards him; her eyes seemed to be glowing red. Was she a demon in disguise? Usually he felt it, perhaps the alcohol was messing with his senses more than he thought it would?
"You."
Taking a step back he was surprised her voice didn't sound demonic, was she dead? No, that wouldn't make any sense. A spirit couldn't move in a body. Spirits could roam in the human world if they held grudges or regrets but they weren't able to possess a body if the owner had died.
"Can I help you?"
"You."
"What about me? Do I know you?"
"Why?"
Taking another step back he felt the need to run. Why didn't he grab his weapon when he left the office? He could have hidden it at the bar, since he wasn't a rookie anymore he was given the ability to. Eric was going to have a fit if he learned of this, he told him to bring it, to always have it with you.
"You. Why?" She took another step towards him, and another, and another trying to close the gap between them. He backed up against a wall, shit, now what. He had to get around her; he had to leave this realm. Why did he have to be drunk now out of all times? Seeing a space he believed he could get by with he tried to focus his eyes so his vision would focus and the nauseous feeling he now had would go away. He could not afford to throw up. Taking a chance and not seeing when another one would come up he swallowed and ran for it. Hugging the alley wall he felt her reach for him, banging his elbow against the brick he dodged her and got around, running wasn't the highest rated option for a Death God but it wasn't as if he had other options at the moment. Not bothering to look behind him he continued to run until he was back in his realm. Stopping to catch his breath he quickly found a bush to throw up in. He was disgusted with himself but at least he felt better. Getting his bearing he made his way to his house. Between what happened and the alcohol he was ready for bed.
Hearing a banging Alan opened his eyes to see he was on top of the covers on his bed. Wishing the banging would stop so his head would stop pounding he slowly sat up. Looking at himself he was still in the clothes he was in last night, and he had a horrible, gross, taste in his mouth. Leaving his bedroom he slowly made his way down the hall to his front door, someone was knocking on his door. What could they want?
"Eric…"
"Finally you open up. I was starting to believe you didn't make it home last night."
"Oh. Come in." Moving aside he let Eric step in, he was being stared at and he had no idea why, it was creeping him out.
"What the hell happened to you?"
"Huh?"
"You are a mess, did you get in a fight last night or something or do you always look like this when you're hung over?"
Going into the bathroom to see himself in the mirror he saw what Eric was talking about. His hair was sticking up all over; his shirt was wrinkled and was that blood he saw on his clothes. Was it his or was it somebody else's?
"Alan what that hell happened to you after you left? I knew I should have left with you." Eric stood in the bathroom doorway holding a towel with blood on it.
"So it is my blood. I don't remember getting in a fight though." Lifting his arm up he showed Eric the blood on his shirt, it was on his side in the middle, this really wasn't making any sense to him.
"Give me your arm." Taking it he looked for any sign of possible broken skin, downside to healing ability, made it hard to figure out if you were injured in something previous. "It looks like you cut your elbow, you probably fell last night."
"So that wasn't a dream then." Pulling his arm back an image of last night came back to him. "It was brick."
"That could do it. Why don't you shower? I can make you something to help the hangover I figure your facing."
"Thank you, I'm sure a shower will help a lot."
They sat at Alan's table while he drank a cup of tea Eric swore was a miracle worker for hangovers. It was how he managed to go out so much and be able to function for work the next day. Alan told him what he remembered from last night, about the girl. It hit him in the shower, thinking about her, and those eyes sent chills down his spine. He was curious to know if Eric had ever heard anything about it and if he did the right thing. He knew he wouldn't say a word to their co-workers about this.
"Sounds like demon possession to me, the eyes are usually a dead giveaway. You got lucky being in your state and unarmed. It could have ended badly."
"Yea but I usually feel it."
"Yea but you were drunk, alcohol can numb our senses just as it can a humans."
"Should I tell William about it then?"
"Nah, and if anything he already knows about it."
It felt good to just hang out and chat for a little while and let his hangover disperse on its own. He didn't really see it before but Eric was extremely caring and had this soothing quality to him. It did feel strange to be taken care of though; no one had ever done that for him before. Even as a kid it was the other way around, he would always be the one to take care of someone else. He liked being taken care of for once.
"Oh before I forgot, do you remember any conversations we had last night? For the first time in a long time I don't remember the night. I remember the shots and you leaving but that's it." Eric wasn't lying either, he really didn't remember. He must have had more to drink than he thought for him to be this bad. He felt like he told Alan something last night that he wanted to go into more detail about but he had no idea what that would be.
"No I don't. Then again I'm probably the worst person to ask. I don't even remember cleaning my elbow, or even realizing it was bleeding last night. The fact that I woke up in bed and not on the floor or couch surprised me." This was true, he was surprised neither of them had a one night stand with some random woman, they were drunk enough for it. If he couldn't remember it wasn't that big of a deal, it probably wasn't that important any way. His main concern was making sure Alan was alright, he woke up this morning worried about him and beating himself up for not making sure he got home safely. He had known he was a light weight when it came to alcohol and he had a lot to drink. And to hear he had come across a demon didn't help him feel better; Alan had gotten extremely lucky last night to have escaped with nothing but a scuffed elbow. He never would have been able to forgive himself is something had happened to him.
"Oh yea I wanted to ask, any idea why we have the day off. Seeing we just had one I was a little surprised."
"Will has Grell again. As punishment for his last stunt of working with that human woman to kill people that weren't suppose to die and for the hell he put Will through from the extra work it brought all of us he has loads of work to do which gives us a bit of a break."
"Why do I see that not working out for us though?"
"It probably won't. He'll screw up like he always does and we'll pick up the slack but, I'll take the time off while I can."
Alan wasn't going to argue with him there, they had been piled with overtime for weeks, having two days off in the same week was nice. And figuring it might be the only two days they got for awhile he would take it without complaining.
Alan couldn't explain it but it felt like he was being watched. This wasn't the first time he felt this way either. Ever since he had ran into that girl he noticed it. And of course he was always alone on his reaping jobs since Grell botched up another job just as they predicted he would. They had so much work they couldn't double up if they ever hoped to finish. He really wished Eric could have joined him though; see if he felt it too. He wasn't scared that he couldn't handle it, though after what happened last time he faced a demon his confidence in his abilities dropped. He had been useless, even though William told him things had gone well considering he was still worried. And what if this girl was possessed by a demon like that one, he would be screwed on his own. He got lucky last time; he couldn't expect to get lucky again. Hopefully he wouldn't run into any trouble and the feeling of being watched was just paranoia. Maybe once he was done for the day and Eric was done they would come back here and check out the area together, see if they didn't come across anything. Looking for the next person on his list he stopped as chills ran down his back. Something was near, it didn't feel like a demon though.
"You." Hearing a voice behind him he turned and jumped back. It was that girl again, he was being watched.
"What do you want with me?"
"Why?"
"Why what! Can you tell me more?"
"Pay for your sins."
"My sins?" He barely had time to dodge as she went after him. She had to be a demon, there was no way a human could pull off the stunts she was doing. He didn't want to fight her though, if he injured her trying to expel the demon she could die.
"Never forgive."
"Please stop this. I haven't done anything to you. I don't want to fight you."
"Die!"
Watching her come back around Alan climbed the wall to get leverage. This had to end, if he didn't fight her she would continue to go after him.
"I'm sorry for this. I hope you find peace in heaven." Bringing his scythe down he cut across as he had been trained to do. Pulling back he watched as her pursuit stopped yet no records came from her. The blow must not have been deep enough to be fatal. The wound should be enough to make the demon leave her though; if he could find a human to help her he could get back to work. It was too early to use the roofs as an escape, that left only the alleyways. Going back the way he came he hid his weapon for a moment as he found a man walking the street and quickly told him about the girl he found a few blocks back seriously injured. With that taken care of he went back to the task he had been given originally, taking care of the "to-die" list. He needed to tell Eric about this, get his thoughts about it.
Eric walked to Alan's place even knowing it was later then he would have liked. He didn't want to bother him, or even wake up if he had already turned in for the night but something was bugging him. He was worried about what Alan told him the other day, about coming across that girl. And now he seemed to be acting weird at work, not to mention how he looked sick. He was probably exhausted from all the work they had been given these past few weeks. Knowing Alan he probably agreed to more work than he could handle. Knocking on his door he waited to hear movement of some sort. He could tell Alan was still up since he could see candles still lit inside.
"Alan? Hey it's me." Knocking again he tried the door to see it was open, that was strange Alan always locked it. "I'm coming in." Walking inside he noticed how quiet it was, no, something was making a sound and it wasn't pen on paper.
"Alan?" Stepping into the kitchen he saw it was empty and the work he had been doing was neatly put away and stacked up. Had he finished and turned in for the night but forgot to blow out the lights? No, Alan wasn't that careless. Hearing an almost whimpering he left the kitchen and followed it to the living room. Alan was passed out across the couch; something didn't sit right with him though. Looking closer he saw sweat across his forehead and he was moaning as if scared by something, was he having a nightmare?
"Alan, hey Alan wake up." Nudging his shoulder he watched as his eyes snapped open and he jumped up grabbing his death scythe in the process. He pinned Eric against a bookshelf before he became fully aware of who he was threatening. Eric didn't try to fight with him even as the blade was inches from throat. He just stood there and waited for Alan to gather his senses.
"Eric?"
"I didn't mean to scare you. I came to talk to you. You're door was unlocked and I became worried since it didn't seem like you. I saw you on the couch, you seemed to be having a nightmare."
"Eric." Dropping his weapon he fell to his knees, he tried to go after Eric, what was happening to him? He was letting his fear get the best of him. Moving next to Alan and placing his hands on the other's shoulders Eric tried to get Alan off the floor. What was going on with him?
"Alan talk to me, you're alright I promise."
"Make it stop, make the nightmares stop. I… I can't handle them anymore." Hugging himself tightly with his arms he tried to pull himself together and believe that he was fine.
"What nightmares? How long has this been going on?"
Getting Alan to his feet he was able to get him to the couch. This would explain why he felt Alan looked exhausted, only it wasn't from paperwork; it was from not sleeping at night. Why didn't he say something to him sooner though? He would have put an end to them long ago. He was going to get Alan past this, let him get some sleep.
"Why didn't you tell me you haven't been sleeping? And how long has this been going on, since you first ran into that girl?"
Shaking his head he moved his legs to his chest, he needed to feel himself close together or else he feared he would fall apart completely just as his mind was.
"No, since the day I fought her. Eric, I'm terrified to shut my eyes. Whenever I do I see her, her eyes, her desire to kill me. Yet I can't go after her. When she attacks me it hurts, she rips me apart, I'm burning from her touch. Make it stop, for the love of God make it stop!"
Eric watched as Alan became hysterical in front of his very eyes, sleep deprivation was really getting to him. He needed to get him past this, get him to settle down and relax.
"It's the powers of the demon; they can play mind tricks on you if you let them. You need to try and keep them out so they can't get to you."
"But it's not a demon! I can feel a demon's aura, I can smell the stench of Hell of them and she doesn't have it! Eric I think she is a spirit!"
"A spirit, like one holding on to something in their world?" They were known to happen from time to time, during a natural disaster when masses were killed and the society couldn't reach them in time or if they held regrets their souls wouldn't allow the scythes' to touch them. It was a horrible thing to happen for they usually became demon food but these were the facts of life.
"What do I do? Eric, I can't even close my eyes without being haunted by her."
"I'll protect you I promise. We'll go after her together, we'll bring her peace, we'll give you both peace." Holding Alan tighter he tried to get him to relax, at least breathe a little easier. He was covered in sweat it felt like, and he was trembling, it seemed Alan was still too gentle towards souls, he should have seen this coming, it was only a matter of time. That was probably why he was able to become haunted.
"Why don't we get you to bed. You're body needs rest, you feel hot. We may not get sick but exhaustion can be a huge thing." Forcing Alan to pull his legs from his chest he made him stand and helped him get in bed.
"How did you manage all this time without someone taking care of you?" He said it and meant it as a joke but deep down he was pretty curious. Maybe it was because growing up he was always focused on his mother he didn't have the time to focus on himself he always forgot about himself? Getting Alan under his covers he watched him sit up and bunch his body up.
"Eric, Eric please don't go. Don't leave me. I can't handle being alone, I'm too frightened."
"I'll be right back, I promise. Just sit tight a minute."
"Eric!" Hearing Alan sound like a terrified child he left the room to go into his bathroom for a minute looking for something.
Waiting for Eric to come back felt like forever, he was alone again he knew it. He would stay awake until the sun came up; he was used to it by now. Sleep, he barely remembered what that was like anymore.
"I cannot sleep; she cannot harm me if I do not sleep." Mumbling to himself he held himself tighter. He froze for a second seeing someone enter his bedroom, it was her she was going to kill him. Seeing it was Eric his face lit up and his body relaxed ever so slightly.
"Lie down for me. We need to cool you down." Pushing Alan down he forced his hands to leave his knees so he could stretch out. Placing a cold cloth on his forehead he sat on the edge of his bed and tried to get him to close his eyes.
"Eric, what's happening to me?"
"You're being haunted. All of us face it at least once, it's a side effect of the job. You'll get past it though, you are strong enough to."
"It happened to you?"
"It did and I know it sucks but I promise you I'll keep you safe while you sleep so go ahead, shut your eyes."
"You'll be here when I wake up?"
"You bet, it's my promise to you Alan." He saw Alan shift slightly and take hold of his hand.
"Thank you Eric." Smiling ever so slightly he closed his eyes. Within minutes he was out cold. Staying as he was, holding the others hand he watched Alan sleep. He was still just a child. One forced to go up so fast, he never got to be an actual kid that learned how to relay on others, ask them for help, never learned how to be taken care of by someone else. Well that stopped now, he would make it a priority to take care of him, for the rest of their eternal lives. Moving to the corner of the room he sat down finding a position he was comfortable in so he could fall asleep. He wasn't going to break his promise and leave Alan alone but he couldn't stay on watch all night and he didn't want to freak him out by sleeping besides him.
Alan woke up to the smell of breakfast cooking, checking the clock he saw he slept through the night for a change. His body felt better than it had in awhile. Sitting up he saw the cloth that had been on his forehead fall, smiling he dropped it in the bucket and went to see if he could lend a hand. Eric turned to the doorway hearing Alan come into the kitchen. He was looking well, that was a relief.
"Morning. Hope you're hungry. I'll pick up more of these later."
"Good morning. Smells good." Sitting at the table a plate was placed in front of him with breakfast. Joining him they both sat down to eat. It was nice to eat with someone in the morning for a change.
"Thank you for staying with me last night. It really means a lot to me. Did you sleep any though?"
"I did, fell asleep shortly after you did and woke up an hour or so ago."
"Good, I'm glad."
"When we get to work we'll talk to Will so he'll allow us to take care of your problem."
"Thank you."
While they ate Alan learned that Eric had gone through this alone and ended it alone, his mentor hadn't been to crazy about him apparently and didn't really care if he could handle it or not. He was grateful Eric wasn't like his mentor at all. Though it had sucked that he had to been forced to get past this and face the spirit alone back then he learned how to make sure it didn't happen again, something he wanted Alan to learn.
Getting permission from William took a little longer than they thought, he wasn't crazy about them both going out to take care of it knowing there was still much work that needed to get done. Eric finally managed to persuade him by getting him to understand Alan wasn't in a state to handle this on his own.
"We'll have to split up, she doesn't show up when we're together."
"Fine, I'll stay around here but promise me you won't attack her alone. Yell for me and I'll come to you. Do you understand me?"
"I do, I'll get you, promise."
"You can do this Alan I have faith in you."
With that they parted ways, Eric doing some useless window shopping while Alan walked down the alley hoping to draw her out. Eric really didn't like him going off on his own, anything could happen and he tagged along because Alan would always pull back when he tried to attack her it seemed like.
They weren't apart long before Alan felt her eyes watching him. She was close, soon he would hear her.
"Come out and face me! You want me dead well come and get me!" Looking around he saw her appear through a wall, he was right she was already dead.
"You."
"Yes me. Please allow me to bring your soul peace. Before a demon finds you and makes you a meal. You don't deserve that fate."
"Why didn't you save me? WHY DIDN'T YOU SAVE ME?" Screaming at him she went after him. So much for not doing this alone, he couldn't figure out how to yell for him when he was too focused on dodging her. At least he felt stronger then he had in weeks thanks to sleeping through the night. *Treat her like you would a demon* ran through his mind as he brought his scythe up to stop her from reaching him. Pushing her back he searched for the best way to attack her. *There, from the ground up.* Running towards the alley's wall he ran up it making sure his blade hit her. Slicing her up the middle he pushed her off the wall so he could back flip and land in a better position for a frontal assault. A bright light emanated from her as his blade left her a second time. It was strange that no records poured from her again though. Stepping closer he saw her face, the red had left her eyes, her face was soft, she looked like the young innocent girl she was.
"Please sir, don't let me die alone." Kneeling beside her he saw her hand stretch out towards him wishing he would take it. "Please don't let me die alone."
"I'm right here. I won't leave your side. I wouldn't want anyone to die alone."
Taking her hand he felt a spark run throughout him causing him to scream as he was pulled into her memories.
Eric stopped walked around aimlessly as he heard a blood curdling scream come from the alleyways. Running at full force he tried to find Alan, he knew they shouldn't have split up. "Alan, where are you!" Seeing a light shoot up from an alleyway further back he ran for it, looked like cinematic records, shit. "Alan!" Getting to where he was he saw Alan standing as a soul vanished in front of him. Running to him he caught him before he hit the ground, he noticed he looked alright, maybe not as tense if anything.
"Alan, can you hear me?" Watching his eyes flutter open he smiled as Alan looked up at him.
"I did, she moved on. I'm free now."
"Did she hurt you?"
"No, I'm okay." Sitting up he did a once over of himself, the shock she gave him still pulsed through his body. He didn't know how to explain what happened when he touched her, how her memories looked so real and so full of sorrow and pain.
"Let's head back. Will will be happy to have us there and working."
"Sounds good, let's go." Taking Eric's hand he used it help stand so they could get back together. He felt amazing to no longer feels the eyes on him and he was certain with Eric's help he would never have this happen again.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
This chapter was done in about a day! I wrote most of this on Saturday before work and did all but a few paragraphs and then I typed it before work today. I am so proud of myself. And this would have gone up late last night but the site was down apparently or something because the page to upload kept kicking me off. Next chapter probably won't go up until Thursday though so I hope you like this one. Please review, each one means a lot to me.
~Femalefighter~