Late Night with Alastor
I went to open my eyes, expecting a hint of light, but was only met with pitch black darkness. My heels, calves, arms, and my entire back were chilled from lying on a cold, flat surface. It didn't take long to realize I wasn't in my hotel bedroom anymore. Confused, I attempted to sit up, but was unable to. Each of my appendages were firmly secured to the ground, trapping my arms in an outwards T-position while my legs remained partly spread apart from each other. I was struggling; not even my full strength potential was enough to free myself. As I quietly wriggled my arms, trying to slip out of the durable restraints, the piercing sound of metal scraping against a wall caused me to pause.
"Who's over there?" I said into the black void with no response.
I was unable to project beams of light out from my eyes or any of my powers for that matter, striking me with a sense of dread. Four individual stick of candles, two on each side of me, then suddenly caught fire without any certain cause. The small flames allowed a tiny amount of orange illumination around me and revealed that I was lying right on top of a dark red pentagram drawn with some type of substance, possibly blood. This only intensified the fear beginning to well up inside me. It wasn't only because I've been in this very disturbing situation before, but mostly due to my lack of power and vulnerability.
"No! Shit, no, no!" I grunted, trying to pry myself free, but to no avail.
A pair of unnerving eyes then appeared and stared at me in what I suppose would be in the far corner of the dark room, not giving off any source of light. They were nearly a shade of crimson red and contained small, yellow iris' with slitted black pupils. I only knew one being who has eyes just like this.
"AARGGHH, Lucifer!" I growled, thrashing my entire body. "You foul devil!"
The eyes didn't even blink, they just continued to stare to the point where they were unbearable to look at until the sound of footsteps got my attention again.
"The itsy-bitsy spider went up the water spout... Down came the rain and washed the spider out... Out came the sun and dried up all the rain... And the itsy-bitsy spider went up the spout againnn..." Charlie sang, slowing advancing towards me in a diagonal manner. Her way of singing was so soft and filled with sadness as her voice hauntingly reverberated all around the confined, boxy room. If she was trying to freak me out, it was sure working.
"Charlie?!" I exclaimed.
Charlotte continued to silently walk until she ended up stopping right at the base of my feet, dawning an ominous cult attire. A black, hooded robe covered her entire body except her face. The dim lighting created by the candles only faintly illuminated the lower half of her face whilst the hood shaded the top half, allowing her eyes to pierce through with ease. Without hesitation, she revealed my dagger that was held tightly in her right arm. Once again, I felt betrayed, but since it was Charlie carrying out this act, I felt as if my heart was crushed. I wanted to say something to her, something to at least change her mind and save myself, but I didn't. Maybe it would be better off to just be erased. But no. Without much warning, Charlotte went full demon and pounced at me with the dagger plunging towards my chest with a violent stroke, sending a exhilarating, pulse-pounding amount of adrenaline throughout my body.
"AHHHH! NARRGH! HOO! HARRGH!" I shouted, springing off my bed and swiping the air with my now metallic claws before nearly lighting up the entire room with my high-beams.
It took me a good amount of time to realize that I was in no danger and that it was all just another nightmare. I intensely stared at the room's patterned wall as the adrenaline slowly wore off. Taking controlled, heavy pants, my high-beams and the growing pitch black pigment on my skin then began to fade as I reverted back to my default self again. Planting myself on the side of the bed, I then pressed both hands against my face and rubbed my forehead with pressure.
"Don't start these again. Not again." I begged to my own state of mind.
The whole room suddenly felt more hot to me, despite only wearing a pair of plaid fleece pajama pants, so I walked over to the window and opened it, allowing some outside air in. The high-altitude breeze quietly howled as it blew through the window. It felt nice on my now clammy skin and pushed the light curtains outwards, causing them to flow in a ghostly manner. Shaking my head, I then checked the time with my room's non-digital clock. It was only a quarter past three in the morning. I would've just went back to sleep, but I had a strong feeling the slumber would only be disturbed by another vivid reoccurring nightmare. And so, after I had washed off my face in the sink, I decided to just take a walk inside the hotel.
A lot of the hotel's interior was barely lit at night, mostly to conserve power and cost, so the hallway was nearly pitch black. Luckily, I had an eight inch aluminum flashlight with me. Even though I could've used my eyes to light the way, it doesn't hurt to do things the old fashioned way. After closing the door with a drawn out creak, I switched on the flashlight and held it up to my chest in a fist-up grasp, better known as a power position, and shined a portion of the dark environment in front of me.
Slow and steady, I walked in the eerily quiet hallway. The indistinct ambience coming from outside and the wind whistling through narrow cracks continued, getting more faint the further I proceeded before going around a corner. It was dead silent. Even the pat of my bare, rubberized feet against the floor as I walked were easily audible along with the structural groans of the hotel settling. Eventually, I found the stairs and carefully descended down the flights. I can handle the darkness, but Lucifer's little visit and that damn nightmare caused me to become more hypervigilant, causing me to feel like I was being watched or hunted again.
"Just your imagination. Who else would know I'm here?" I assured myself after peering up the railing, whispering.
I continued further down until I reached the second floor and got off there, going down towards the lobby on the main stairway. The ambient lighting was a pinch more brighter thanks to the natural outside lighting. I shined the flashlight over to the bar area and found no bottles of alcohol lining the shelves, probably locked away for the night.
"Ahhh, I knew that would happen."
Grabbing onto the newly replaced front entrance door handles, I gave them a good tug, causing the door to rattle and not even budge an inch.
"Locked. Wise move."
Indeed it was a smart move, but I could've easily knocked those doors down if I really wanted to. Not saying I was going to, just theoretically. However, my attention on the doors was slowly broken as muffled, slow-tempo jazz music gradually cut through the silence. I turned around and noticed a ray of light shining through the dining hall's doorway. Alerted, I proceeded in the direction of the instrumentals with light steps until I butted up against the wall.
"Midnight with the stars and youuu." a familiar radio-filtered demon sung rather proficiently.
Sure enough, I felt Alastor's presence in the room. He didn't sound menacing in his tone, but rather with tender emotion in it.
Midnight and a rendezvous
Your eyes held a message tender
Saying, "I surrender all my love to youuu"
Midnight brought us sweet romance
I know all my whole life throuuugh
I'll be remembering you
Whatever else I do
Midnight with the stars and youuu.
Although Alastor ceased with his singing, the instrumentals continued well-on. Discreetly, I walked into the dining hall and took a seat at one of the many empty tables in the back of the room. There I sat, watching and listening to this orchestra of Alastor's shadow demons playing a ballad for at least a minute on a stage lighted with blue, orange, and purple before it came to a closing. I stood up and gave a round of applause for the performance, seemingly unknown to even be watching by the demons.
"Ah, Ethitan! Thank you very much!" Alastor said with a bow before dismissing the demon's and talking through his vintage microphone to amplify his voice. "That was Midnight the Stars and You by Harry Woods, Jimmy Campbell, and Reg Connelly. It probably would've been my most favorable tune, if only I had lived an extra year! Ha-ha!"
A laugh track played throughout the room.
"I had no idea you sing." I said, approaching the stage.
"I happen to do so from time to time, my topless friend. Some say it's one of the best ways to express yourself, you know." Alastor said, his feedback intrusively buzzing.
"Sure. There's a lot of ways to express yourself, like that buzzing I keep hearing from you." I said with a cocky smile, giving him a quick prod with my finger on his shoulder.
"Mmmm," Alastor hummed, flinching from the teasing touch yet continued to grin. "That's more of a show-off mechanic, if you know what I mean. Don't you have one?"
"Not specifically." I replied. The Radio Demon then loudly tuned himself out until the buzzing faded away, leaving the dining hall quiet.
*BZZZZZZZZZzzzzz-WOUUuuuuoUUHHHH- inside of every de–– KHZZzzz–– is a lost cau–– KHHHHZZZZZzzzzzzzoop...*
"There we go. How's that?" Alastor asked.
"Better..." I replied, giving a slow thumb up. I swear I heard Charlotte's voice in those evil, distorted frequencies.
"Good. Would you like to continue this conversation at the warm and comforting fireplace just out in the foyer? I have time." Alastor asked.
"I guess so. I ain't goin' to sleep for a while. And what do you mean by time? Don't you need to sleep at all?" I asked.
"Sleep? What exactly is sleep, Ethitan?" Alastor quipped.
"Ha!" I abruptly shouted.
I followed close behind Alastor out into the lobby, watching his moves. I don't think I'll never not be wary around this guy but he sure has a personality. We both then sat on a sofa placed directly in front of the fireplace, him on one side while I was on the opposite. The fire's heat radiated onto us, giving a sense of warmth on my arms and face.
"Quite cozy, don't you agree? The orange glow in a dark interior." Alastor said.
"Yeah..." I blankly replied, staring off into the fireplace as it reminded me of the traumatizing forty days in the Lake of Fire.
My mind started matrixing with the fire and I began seeing six faces in the form of smaller flames, all undulating in rhythm. They were screaming and begging for the pain to stop. I was fully aware of what was happening to me and I quickly looked away, but the voices continued with their desperate pleas.
"Please. No more of this... Please." I said, closing my eyes.
"Are you talking to me? You're not going off your rocker, are you?" Alastor asked, knocking on my head.
"Stop that," I replied, swiping at his knuckles. The faces and voices left as soon as they came. "Kinda had a bad dream earlier, so that's why I'm even awake in the first place."
"A night terror? What was it all about, if you don't mind me asking?" Alastor curiously asked, resting his microphone on the sofa's left side.
"It was just about Charlie. She had me pinned to a ritualistic marking on the floor, came up to me in a creepy robe, and stabbed me in the chest with a dagger." I replied.
"Charlie performing a malicious deed? Now that is what I call a night terror. Must've been absolutely horrifying to you, hmm?" Alastor said, seeming to take enjoyment of this discussion.
"Fuck yeah. I was so relieved when I realized it was all a bad dream, too." I said.
"And why were you so relieved?" Alastor asked.
"Because..." I quickly pondered on a proper response. "Because she's my ticket out of Hell. Nothing more, nothing less."
"Ahh, I see. No judgement from me. Not at all." Alastor said, looking rather sly.
"What?" I said, tensing my muscles.
"Nothing. I just adore your use of words to describe Miss Magne; a ticket. That's a good one." Alastor complimented.
"Oh, okay. Gotcha... Well, um, yeah, speaking of Magne, we had a little visit from Lucifer and Lilith today." I brought up.
"Honestly? Blast! I surely would've liked to pay the honor of being in their presence. How did it go? It's clearly obvious your relationship with him is most sour." Alastor asked.
"Y'know... Fucking Lucifer. He knows I'm here, and now he wants to keep his eye on me while I stay. Not sure how he does it, but it could be all talk. Hopefully." I said.
"It's a challenge to be certain," Alastor said, rubbing his chin. He then phased one of the picture frames with protruding, orange eyeball propped up against the wall into his grasp. "I've always thought there was something odd about the abundance of these visual organs scattered across this realm."
Removing an eyeball from the frame, his own eyes turned completely red as each antler of his grew significantly beyond normal size, becoming far more jagged, wide, and deadlier while his yellow teeth lit up in a state of demonic malice, forcefully squeezing the disembodied eye until it popped, splashing a small amount of nasty fluid. He snapped his head in my direction afterwards and cocked it to the side.
"Ohh, you're going all eldritch on me, huh? Well I can do that, too." I said, interpreting his gesture as a challenge.
I flashed Alastor with my eyes again, but in lower beams. He didn't even flinch this time, just stared straight on. Slightly parting my lips, just enough to show my sharp teeth, I gave Alastor a grin as menacing as his. A breathy growl escaped from deep within my throat as dark orange fire billowed out my mouth.
"Now you're fully dressed! Doesn't that internal combustion burn?" Alastor asked, his voice now demonically distorted.
"Not to me." I replied, cold and gritty in my tone.
The Radio Demon was quick on his feet and loomed over me, distorting reality all around him with a red static and ritualistic symbols hovered all around him. The further use of my supernatural abilities was starting to take an effect on me. I was beginning to feel more confident and a bit more reckless.
"Yeaaah, you don't scare me."
Within less than a second, I extended my height to be at least a foot over Alastor and emitted an extraordinarily loud, echoey bellow that temporarily blurred our surroundings and shook the floor.
"My goodness. What in the world was that?" Alastor asked, impressed by the demonic display.
"I call it my horn, Gramps. That was just one of them. This next one is from a demoness I wasted on a job for Angel's father." I replied, releasing a feminine, high-pitched scream of terror that pierced our ears.
"Dreadfully evil, Ethitan." Alastor chuckled.
By that time, Alastor had already reverted back to his normal self, but I remained partially full demon and unchanged, enjoying the sense of power that flowed through me.
"You could return to your default self if you want to." Alastor said.
"I don't know... I kinda like this." I said, monotone, a smile strung across my face.
"Hmmmm." Alastor hummed once again, now more quiet.
"Didn't you say you had to leave shortly, had a little bit of time on your hands?" I asked.
"Indeed I did. Looks like that time has come." Alastor said, pulling out his microphone cane again.
"Yeah, I think you should go..." I agreed, slowly beginning to realize my drastically changed behavior.
"Very well, then. Perhaps I'll see you again within the coming days?" Alastor said.
"Sure thing." I replied.
"Magnifique! Then I bid you adieu until next time." Alastor departed through a wormhole with a single wave, vanishing into thin air. Now that he was gone, leaving me to myself, I gradually reverted back to normal, thinking much more clearer in the process. Now that I thought about it, I was sort of testing Alastor with power somewhat equal to his. Maybe that wasn't such a good idea.
"Ughhhh. What are you doing, Ethitan?" I questioned myself in disbelief.