The Choice is Mine
Chapter 10
Its something about coming to your room after being away from it for so long. Its like my lungs can finally exhale. Those few days really had me holding my breath. I was home, in my comfort zone, which meant it was time to get to work. Quickly, I fell right back into my routine which consisted of doing laundry, showering and washing my hair. I always make it a habit to immediately wash everything when I come back. I have a strong disgust for being out at my job. The building has too many bodies going and coming with no cleaning professionals visiting it each day. Sure, the cops clean the bathrooms, but I cannot really say that I even trust that. Not with all the smells that have lingered inside the building since day two.
40 Minutes Later
I jump on my bed after putting the load in the dryer. I stretch onto my back and tried my best to forget the events of this past work week.
"So annoying." I mumble to myself. My eyes are heavy but that's nothing new. I always find myself exhausted when I come back. You would be too if you had a job that required standing for twelve plus hours. Turning to the side, my eyelids start to flutter. I was almost asleep, but something caught my eye.
"That's weird." I reach out to the dresser. How I didn't notice before was beyond me.
"I thought I put you away." I grab the Luna plushie that sat next to the lamp that was on my dresser. I thought for sure that I had cleared my dresser of all stuff animals. How did I miss this one?
I pondered the question for a fraction of a second before my eyes started to close again.
"At this point, who cares." I say to myself. "I don't know if you are my plushie or one of those idiots. All I know is that you better not disturb my sleep." I place the plushie back down and turn back over. My mind was too sluggish to be playing these games.
Ciel
"This is beyond ridiculous." I say to myself as I sit on Briars dresser. I know I should stay away but there is this weird string that is keeping me here. Like a soul tie. I should have been more careful, Sucubbi are known for making soul ties. That's how they destroy their prey, getting inside their head. Making themselves the victims absolute center of attention. Draining the body slowly with each night that passes.
I sigh as I glance around her room. I know it isn't her fault, she just got those powers. I remember when I first became a demon. I dam near destroyed an entire town!
Minutes later I tense up. Briar may not know it but she definitely has an aura when she enters a space. She maybe down the hall, but her presences has already reached the room. A minute later and a few deep breaths I hear the door swing open. Her bags drop as she sighs her relief. I only see little bits and pieces of what she is doing. Unfortunately, I saw a little too much when she was getting ready to shower. She is going to kill me if she ever finds out. I try not to think about what I just saw as she finally settles into her bed. For a woman that talks about how tired she is she takes forever to fall asleep. I thought she was off to dream land after several moments of silence. I was wrong.
"That's weird. I thought I put you away." She said as she stared in my direction. Shit.
She looks at me and I try my best to reduce the sweating. I can't get caught like this. She will skin me alive if she puts the pieces together and then Grell will skin me alive again.
To my relief she just gives me a warning and then places me back on the dresser. Thank the heavens for her foggy, sleep deprived brain or should I be thanking her profession? I didn't really care, I thought I was caught for sure.
Loud snoring could be heard coming from her. She finally had some peace which would make this look out all the more easier for me.
"That's a relief. Wow, what kind of unit do they have in here. It just got really-. Uhm." I spoke too soon, again.
Looking up, I found Briar had left her bed and was now standing with her back to me. I broke out of the form and almost fainted instantly. The room, it was so suffocating, the air was being pulled out. I could hear singing coming from her. She was in a demon form, but this wasn't the one that she had rescued me in. Before I collapsed, I got a good look at her, she was in a long white dress that touched the floor. Her wrist, each had a ball and chain connected to them and there was red. A lot of red.
Grell
My trench coat glided over the floor as I followed my dear William. As usual, he was in a sour mood, boooo. The disturbance that was felt earlier today was not a welcomed one. Heaven had made its presence known on the earth. Things were definitely going to get interesting.
"Tsk. Of all the times to show. Why are they just now showing up?" William huffed as he made his way through the winding corridors.
He stopped abruptly, causing me to bump into his back.
"Owww, a warning would have been nice." I whine as I rub my nose.
"Why are you here?" asked William in that sexy mean tone of his.
"Oh well, you know-"
" Never mind. You are checking on Briar later right?"
"Uh, yes."
"Good." He turned to leave. "Somethings up. Heaven wouldn't just show themselves for no reason." We walked past a wide screen that was located in one of our largest rooms. This screen was important to our operation. Its where our assignments came from. Displayed on it was a map and the map would show a red dot in a location. The red date is our assigned target, a person whose time might have run out. Most of the time you see one dot here, three over there. It's never a large cluster unless a catastrophe is taking place like a tsunami or a mass shooting. I was about to follow William past the screen, but a red dot caught my eye. It was in the location where Briar was. I clicked on the dot and read the profile. I clicked back out and noticed a few more dots.
"That's odd. They aren't suicides." I say to myself. I continued to watch the screen and too my horror the red dots started to multiply with a terrifying speed.
"Uh, William." It got to the point that the red dots merged. The solo red dot was now expanding, engulfing the terrain.
"William! Somethings wrong!" I screamed down the hall. I heard another huff as William made his way back to me.
"What is it?" His clipboard crashed to the ground as he took in the horror before us.
"No." said William. "It is not the time. Where did this originate?"
With trembling fingers, I pointed to the section at the very top.
"Shit. And you said Briar has acquired her demon form?"
"Yyeees."
"Grab your chain saw. We need to contain the issue before we have a crisis on our hands."
Minutes Later
Me and William stood outside the gate of the base. The poor guards were collapsed on the road and it seemed that there was no evidence of movement.
"The air, it's so thick." I say in disgust. I am a reaper but even I was having trouble breathing.
"We need to hurry before these people die. Take me straight to Briars room." William snapped before I quickly led the way.
We arrived at the door to Briars dorm room. If the air was thick outside the air in here was a void. I had to hold onto the wall for support, just to prevent myself from swooning. William picked the door open and we went inside. The scene was something straight out of a sci-fi movie. Ciel laid unconscious by the dresser. Briars song filling the room, making it swell in the small space.
"Good Night sleep tight,
To my lullaby, as the light seeps out of you.
In the warm of night will you feed the fright, as the life seeps out of you.
The night will consume you, death comes to haunt you. Bringing my one wish to light.
Good Night, sleep tight,
To my lullaby, as the light seeps out of you.
"Briar, what- what happened to her. That's." said Grell in utter disbelief.
"No time! We have to take her out now!"
"What!"
"Not permanently." Said William as he walked over to Briar.
There was a thick ceramic lamp that was perched on her dresser. I watched as he picked up the lamp and smashed Briar in the back of the head. I swiftly ran forward, catching her in my arms.
"She's fine." Said William.
"You could have given me a warning!"
"I didn't have time to explain what I was going to do. Would you prefer to have overtime?"
"No." I grumbled as I hoisted Briar onto her bed. I took in her new appearance; the dress was long and white in color and a skull with horns sat on top of her head. Her wrist both had chains on them with a boulder also attached. The dress was slightly dipped in crimson.
"No wonder you were so heavy. Wait a sec." My eyes grew wider with my horrific realization.
"William?"
"I know. She's one of the bond ones."
"But how. Has a decision already been made?"
"No, I already told you, that wasn't made yet. What you see now is the potential if she did become a demon."
"Oh my." How could Briar become this? What damage had her soul taken?
"Where are those demons, they should be training her to control her powers." Sighed William.
"Incompetent." He said as he poked Ciel with his shoe. "Where the hell is Sebastian?"
"He's a little busy honey, I can take care of the situation and from the looks of it, this is quite a situation.