Disturb Not the Water

Disclaimer: Now, if only I could find that blasted file cabinet…Damn locks…

Chapter 4. Aliquis Verbum Abs Sapientia

Translation: (A Word of Wisdom)


"Mighty words that try to distract me
But it's faith that makes us believe thee
Yes, I know
But that's not the question
You're my guide and show me direction"

Answers by the Deftones


After locking up her car when back up came, questioned her, and took the body away to the city morgue; Angela walked into the small bowling building and proceeded to walk up the stairs. Upon reaching John's apartment, she noticed the door was cracked only an inch; meaning he had expected her to come up. Pushing open the door, she poked her head in and saw him sitting at the table with his trench coat hanging on the back of the chair; chewing on some gum with a look of thoughtfulness on his face. Closing the door behind her, Angela dragged the chair out across from him, set her purse down, and then sat; staring at him while she waited for the conversation to begin. Minutes ticked by; still not a word. Sighing silently, Angela folded her hands in her lap; looking around the apartment noticing that nothing had changed since the last time she had been here. All the jugs of holy water still lined up against the windows like a fortress, the bed slightly rumpled from when he had gotten up this morning, empty corners, cracked tiles and broken china, barely any food; a basic bachelor pad desperately in need of a woman's touch. Perhaps in a sense, her personal touch.

'Oh, snap out of it Angela. For God's sake, you haven't seen the man in almost over three months. You can't still be thinking of him like that. Besides, it's not like he's interested in that type of thing anyway; what with being an exorcist and all. There's no way he'd have a relationship with anyone; with the immediate danger and the warping time schedule because of all the possessed people in L.A. What am I saying? I shouldn't even care about this crap! Angela Dodson, you have got to get yourself a hobby.'

After sitting there for a few more moments, John took out a napkin from his pocket that he took from the diner they went too and put the spit out gum inside the napkin; folding it up and then throwing it over his shoulder. He folded his hands on the table and looked at Angela; his eyes blank and scrutinizing every inch of her face while she managed to keep her cool by not yelling at him to pick up the pace. After taking a deep breath, John finally began the questioning.

"So, are you gonna tell me what happened down there or am I going to have to read your mind?"

"I already told you before, Mr. Constantine. I got in my car after our brief meeting at the diner and felt a gun being pressed at my head. The nice half breed demon that held me at gun point told me to take him to your place so we could wait for you. He was going to kill you, then me, and then run off to his pals to tell the whole demon community just what kind of a hero he was. Unfortunately, I spoiled his plans when my cop instincts kicked in and I saved your life; which then allowed me to kill the half breed which is exactly why we're sitting here now in your apartment."

"Angela, I'm not asking for a damn police report. I just want to know why you weren't able to sense him in the first place before you got inside the car."

"I…don't know. I'm usually able to pick up on things like that; it helps me whenever I need to find a killer. But this time…it's like nothing was there to be felt. Maybe…maybe something blocked me. Prevented me from seeing the half breed and instead, set in motion what happened down there."

John smirked at her; as if a triumph was right on the verge of being in his favor. Obviously, this one had no common sense what so ever.

"Angela, psychics can't be blocked. They're psychic. They know everything, feel everything; you can't just cut someone off from all of that. It would take someone with immense power or-"

"Well, I'm sorry John if this all seems very amusing to you. Unfortunately, I don't have all the expertise that you've acquired over the years and I'm new in the whole psychic field thing. Now, I don't know what happened to me today but all I know is that I didn't feel or see anything and that almost cost me my life. So you tell me, Mr. I'm-The-Great-John-Constantine; what the hell did happen!"

She glared at him, anger etched into her features; her cheeks flushed while her eyes sparkled dangerously with a hot, red temper. Common to those who were of a certain detective back round; not a good thing to get them pissed.

'Especially for those who haven't had a drink yet.' He mused silently. Sighing with a hint of amusement, John looked at her with a hint of a smile and decided to make amends.

"I didn't mean to insult you or your lack of understanding for the supernatural world thing. I just meant that someone with immense power or immense skill could…"

"Could what?"

"Could block you from the possibility of seeing something."

"I see; well, is there anything else you would like to tell me."

"…Chas came to see me. Told me that some of my demon friends were acting up more and more which is actually quite strange because I haven't had an exorcism all day. He also said that the half breeds have been talking amongst themselves again. Looking suspicious, like they have a secret. I also went to see another friend of mine. He said things aren't the way they seem. That I pissed somebody off who is coming back with a vengeance and it involves you…again."

"Do you think it could be Mammon? I mean, he almost succeeded in bring Hell on earth last time. Do you think he would try it again?"

"Honestly, no. I think he learned his lesson after he got the shit beat out of him by his loving father. Besides, demons are known not to do the same thing twice; except for the soldier demons who never learn anything because they don't have any brains."

"Well, who else have you pissed off down there besides just him and his father that would make said unknown to enlist me in destroying you?"

"I don't know. From what I know, I've pissed off a lot of people and demons in my lifetime. We probably won't find out till the end of everything. In the mean time, keep your profile low for a while. You don't want to get yourself in any more trouble, especially if said unknown comes looking for you and you don't know what to do. Just stick to your daytime job."

"Fine, but if there's any new developments; you know where to find me."

"Yeah."

She backed out the chair, stood up, grabbed her purse and walked out; closing the door behind her gently as she went. John watched her as she left; utter silence echoing in his apartment while the sound of honking cars stilled the quiet air. Sighing a little, he raked a hand in his hair; thoughts of the many demons he had sent back to Hell taking over, making him wonder exactly which one was going to do the damage this time. He knew the shit-head Balthazar was dead; he had killed him himself. Well, not completely killed him. More likely, just beat the crap out of until there were only pieces left of his former self. But when he had talked to Chas a couple days after he came back down to earth, it seemed that the half breed had been mysteriously killed off; his soul descending back to Hell. When Midnite had told him that some he had pissed off was coming back for him with a vengeance, his first thought had gone to Balthazar. After all, they both hated the other one's guts. Why not take his revenge out on John by using the last live friend he had left.

Loosening his tie, John got up and walked over to his bed; taking off his shoes and tie as he sat down, freeing his collar up a bit. Lying down on his back, John stared at the ceiling. A half hour had gone by before rain started again.

He hadn't meant to be so harsh with Angela outside after she had saved his life from that gun nut. It had just surprised him when he saw the half breed pointing a gun while Angela ran toward him in wild desperation. Not that he wasn't used to having half breeds threaten with weapons like those. Hell, they had used even more deadlier ones too. But for one reason or another; it had scared him shitless when he thought in that split second before she tackled him that that bullet that had zoomed by her head could've killed her. It frightened him even more when he realized he couldn't use a holy weapon to protect them when bullets were being fired at them. Deep down, he had realized what it meant to be mortal.

Turning over onto his side with a grunt and squeaks from the bed; John faced the window, his head cradled by his arm while the other one rested comfortably in front of his face. He watched as the little droplets of water gathered and slithered down the glass of the window; flashes of lightning blinking once in a while the loud echo of the booming thunder rumbled throughout the sky. Boy; was this storm a bitch. Clenching his eyes shut, John tried to get some rest but it only came when a couple hours had passed. Images tainted his subconscious, dark visions causing the usual nightmares to spin out of control. Unknowingly to the sleeping exorcist, a familiar crackle singed through the air. A vibration which caused emotions to heighten, senses to go wild, and thoughts to be tainted with unusual detail. Unconsciously, his feelers had stretched; causing a stronger crackle between his powers and the vibration when they mixed. Testing the air, his subconscious began stretching beyond the vibration to a certain cross; one between reality and Hell. Pushing away that barrier; John's nightmares were instead filled with a darker reality unlike any before.

The rain stopped for a moment; a drop suspended in mid air before it crashed into the window.

Sulfur, ash, the screaming of thousands blasting around him. The air choking the life out of his lungs; fire roaring and spreading towards him. Opening his eyes, John saw that he was back in Hell. Sitting up quickly, he looked down and saw his shoes; or, what was left of them. Snakes and bugs slithering between the holes in the leather; the sound of buzzing and the chewing of the thousands of jaws ringing between the large cracks in the walls of his apartment. Heated air blew his hair and his already messed up clothes. Looking over at the supposed jugs of holy water, John saw red see-through jugs filled with a black watery substance. Hell's holy water.

Getting up from the bed, John walked out through one of the large cracks in his wall and landed on the highway leading towards the burning skeleton version of Los Angeles. Walking along in only his socks, John could feel the burn of the pavement as though he were walking on lava. He could feel the twenty or so demons following him as he made his way down the Hell dimension version of the highway; the sound of their jaws clicking together with the sounds of recognition resonating in his ears. Quickening his step, John walked towards the burning inferno known as L.A. faster.

However, the sounds of demonic plotting stopped and the scampering of feet sounded while whimpering gnarled forms scattered into the breeze. Turning his head, John saw the last demon turn back as it ran, the half headed form trembling while it stumbled blindly over a car and over the edge of the highway. Turning himself fully around, John came face to face with Lucifer. Taking a step back out of reflexes, John watched as a smirk slithered its way onto the demon king's face. The Devil took a step forward, closing the gap between them as his eerie colored eyes shined with malice. Hands dripping with blood, he stuck them into the pockets of his white pants; the stains never showing.

"Hello Johnny, it's nice to see you again. Tell me, how's life going for you?"

John swallowed tersely, blinking for a moment; making sure that this was real.

"Hello, Lu. Life's been good so far. How are things down here in Hell? Still damnable I presume."

"Why yes, John. You know that. Things are just fine down here; although, I have to tell you, I am starting to miss that Dodson girl. She was so enjoyable to watch. Committing suicide just to be chewed up, spit out, and performing the same thing over and over again. The only trouble was, she never uttered a word accept for her apology to her twin sister…what was her name again? Ah yes, Angela. Apologized over and over again for making her sister suffer; quite the silent one up until that point. God, I love the quiet ones."

A muscle twitched in John's jaw, anger flickering for just the briefest moment in his gaze.

"So tell me Lu, why'd ya bring me down here all of sudden. Miss my company?"

"Oh Johnny, John, John; of course I miss you. I enjoyed those two short minutes in which you were mine to torture. I even waited all those years for you to come back to me only to have you sacrifice yourself for the dead girl's soul and then getting your ass back in His good graces. Stupid thing to do Johnny."

"You haven't answered my question, dirt bag. What do you want from me?"

Taking a step closer to John's still form, the prince of darkness smiled his evil smile and leaned in towards John's ear.

"Now Johnny, there's no need to get hostile. Besides, it's not what I want from you; it's what I want from her."

"Who's her?"

Satan's smile widened even further; he pulled back to look in John's face with supreme glee and gloating.

"John, you don't know? Why, Angela came to visit me a few nights ago. I delivered some good news to her. I bet you're dying to know what it was, aren't ya Johnny boy."

The muscle in his jaw twitched again; his eyes flashing more dangerously.

"So, what did you tell her?"

"I told her that she is now welcomed to her new home. Hell, Johnny, Hell. Yup, Ms. Dodson is going to be staying here for quite a while. An eternity to be exact."

"I see; well, guess I'll have to ask her about that the next time I see her."

"Why? You can't do anything this time; you're going to lose Johnny. This time, there's gonna be one soul that you won't be able to save."

John's eyes widened with unbridled fury, his mouth about to open to shout something when Satan slapped his hand onto his forehead…

Gasping as his body shot upwards, John's eyes snapped open as he looked up; noting the familiar cool air due to the rain and the blank whiteness of his ceiling with the tiny cracks. His chest heaving with the capacity of air his lungs were trying to take in, John managed to settle down and relax his pulse. Looking around his apartment calmly, John noticed with a sigh that everything was still the same as it had been the last time he had been awake. Drawing in his psychic field, John cursed himself for letting his powers get of control. Raking a hand through his disheveled hair, he looked over at the clock and noticed that it was five in the morning. Just great, he'd never be able to back to sleep after that whole ordeal.

Remembering what Lucifer had said to him while he had been in Hell, John looked over at the chair that Angela had sat in just last night; discussing with him the possibilities as to why her powers had been limited when that half breed had attacked them. For a while John sat there on his bed, mulling over in his head any clues to Angela's behavior about her supposed damnation to Hell. Realizing that she had acted just like she always had, John cursed the stubborn woman for telling him sooner what had happened to her when she had been dragged back down to Hell. Forgetting that it was only a few minutes after five, John quickly put his shoes on; pulling his tie around his neck as he got up off the bed quickly and walked over to the chair to grab his trench coat. Slipping his arms into the sleeves, John jerked the coat forward to adjust the collar as he walked out the door; slamming it behind him. Walking down the stairs quickly, John took out a piece of gum and unwrapped it from the foil; shoving the gum into his mouth, chomping on it while he threw the wrapper on the ground when he reached the bottom of the stairs. Walking out of the bowling complex, John walked down the sidewalk; the destination in his head precise and clear with a sense of finality to it. Angela Dodson's apartment building; Kensington Place.


Hey everyone, just wanted to say thank you for all the reviews. I really appreciate them. The thing is though, I might not be able to update any sooner because I go back to school on Monday. Sad, I know. I decided to post the fourth chapter up today so that I could get it done before I went back and also because four is my lucky number.

A special thank you to Daydreamer731 for her wonderful reviews and e-mail. I loved talking to you. Another special thank you to Kiara who wrote me an e-mail and told me about the little translation problem I had for the title of the third chapter that had been in "supposed" Italian. If you didn't read the notice back in the third chapter, thank you again anyways.

I will try to update possibly next weekend if I don't have a lot of homework, a test, or if I just get it done by Friday night. Until then, await for me my loyal subjects! By the way, if anyone would like to make some cover art for the story; I would appreciate it very much. I enjoy looking at artwork done by people so I can get into their heads sorta and see what they imagine when they read my stuff. If you want to e-mail it to me, just read my bio. If you don't want to do anything, that's fine too. Just read my story!

Later Peeps!