AN/ This chapter deals with an issue that was brought up in a review for one of the earlier chapters, that Constantine wouldn't really like having a spirit following him around. This chapter was very difficult to write, so I hope you enjoy it. Thanks again to the reviewers.

"John?" I said quietly. He didn't respond as we walked through the rain. I cleared my throat and tried again, feeling like I was standing on thin ice. "John?"

"What?" He snapped.

"Maybe we should go see Midnite."

"Why?"

I shrugged. John stopped and turned to face me. I cringed under his gaze. "Look, just leave me alone, spirit, or Bastet, or whoever the hell you are. I don't want your help. No one can help me. You haven't done a thing to make my life better or to help me get out of going to Hell. I'm sick and tired of you following me around all the fucking time. Whatever is going to happen to me, I can handle it on my own. So fuck off!"

I felt like my insides had been doused in cold water. No one had ever ranted at me like that before. I was shocked. Constantine stormed off and ducked inside a gas station, presumably to buy more smokes or something. Briefly, I felt mad and like I was going to cry. I forced those feelings away. If anything, I was now even more determined. He didn't think he would need me? Well, tough. He did. I wasn't going to go away.

I received mental flashes of Hennessey surfing the ether and reading about Isabel's suicide. Then they changed to Angela watching the surveillance video of her sister on the roof of the hospital, turning to camera, and whispering "Constantine." Puzzled, Angela rewound the video on her computer, but this time Isabel was silent. She jotted down the name Constantine, deciding to investigate him. Then, for seemingly no reason, all of the phones in Angela's apartment started to ring with no one on the other end of the line…

I closed my eyes and shook my head to relieve myself of these images. I suppose it was good that I saw them because they told me that the story was progressing, but they also distracted me from my assignment.

John exited the gas station, saw me standing there, and turned away. He was heading for the road. I knew in a sudden rush of adrenaline that he was going to be attacked in a few minutes. I had to act.

I stomped up to him and hoped that I sounded brave. "You need to get your head out of your ass, Constantine."

He didn't seem to expect me to retaliate like this. He stopped and stared at me. Words continued to come out of my mouth. I put no thought into what I was saying, I just let myself go.

"You're not just some high and mighty exorcist. You're not as strong as you think you are, not any more. You think you can survive something like, oh, I don't know, a demon attacking you right here on the street? Do you really believe that? Then fine. I'll go. I'll let you be killed." I paused for a moment, thinking about where to go from there. "But I don't want to go," I continued. "As ridiculous and fucked-up as it seems to you, I want to stay and help you. I know you don't give a rat's ass about me, and that's cool. I can live with that. But," I sighed. "It's like when you pulled that demon out of the little girl. You didn't have to do it. I know you only did it because you think doing shit like that will get you into Heaven, but still, you didn't have to do it. That's like me. I don't have to be here, saving your ass, but I am. People who don't accept help when it's offered are idiots. You've been shutting out people for too long. If you want to live and if you want to go to Heaven, kindly deflate your ego and just…" I sighed, running out of steam. Shaking my head, I realised that time was running out. "Think about what other people want for a change," I finished.

I walked down to the curb as thunder rumbled in the distance. Constantine followed, taking something he had bought out of a paper bag. It was more cough suppressant. As he took a swig of it, I noticed a man walking down the sidewalk towards us. A chill passed through my nerves. A black crow seemed to fly out of the man and passed us at about waist height. Constantine eyed it, though it was difficult to make out clearly in the rain.

I looked where John seemed to be staring and saw a giant billboard across the street. Bold white letters told John "Your Time is Running Out." I almost smiled at the irony. The rest of the add on the other side of a new 4x4 Equinox read "To Buy a New Chevy." Bummer. Oh well. I don't think a new Chevy was at the top of John's wish list at the moment.

I tried to sound calm as I asked John "Do you still have that screech beetle in your pocket by any chance?"

Before John could answer me, he lapsed into a violent coughing fit. He was forced down to his knees, hacking into the gutter as a rat ran past. I dared to put a hand on his shoulder, but I wasn't concentrating on him. I was gathering my strength and power, feeling it build in my chest as the mysterious man walked closer.

I heard John stop coughing suddenly. I glanced down and saw a large crab crawling over his hand. He must have thought it very odd. He flicked it away, suspecting that something very wrong was about to happen.

"Hey, hey buddy, got a light?" a male voice asked, accompanied by a foul odour like rotting eggs. I narrowed my eyes, my breathing shallow and my muscles tense.

Constantine may have felt me tense up, or he may have physically sensed the demon before us. Either way, he had to be sure. He looked up at him and took a matchbox out of his pocket. Before he could shake it, the demon roared and lunged, hitting Constantine. The demon's coat, which was make out of winged termites, fluttered and buzzed with a ungodly noise. The matchbox flew from Constantine's hand, and when it hit the ground the beetle inside let out a screech in protest. The demon dissolved into a swarm of insects and reformed on top of Constantine, strangling him with crab-claw fingers.

Constantine struggled and managed to backhand the demon. I gathered my courage and power and struck the demon as well. It felt awful. I went right through it, but I used my powers to knock in a magical blow. It was utterly disgusting, and although I don't know how much damage I did to it, it was still affected. It couldn't see me, and so assumed Constantine had dealt it the blow. It punched him, sending bugs and insects flying and scurrying.

Constantine's hand was only inches away from the screech beetle's matchbox. He stretched his arm as far as it would go, grasping for it. "The pole!" I shouted. Constantine's hand slammed onto a white pole, the remains of a sign that had been broken. He managed to lift it and bring it down hard near the matchbox. The screech beetle whirred and clicked in alarm.

The demon seemed to weaken and spasm for a moment, long enough for Constantine to smack it with the pole. It got off him, and Constantine was able to grab the matchbox. He shook it and the demon dissolved into buzzing insects and flew around him. The swarm engulfed Constantine, who turned, trying to track where the demon would rematerialise. When it did, it grabbed Constantine. A face made out of snakes, rats, beetles, centipedes, spiders, and other vermin sneered at him.

"Should've minded your own business, exorcist," it growled.

Then I did the almost unthinkable; I shoved the demon with all my strength and power. Just then, Constantine also shook the matchbox. The resulting effect caused the demon to go berserk. It yelled and demineralised, giving Constantine a chance to run. He darted out into the street, narrowly missing traffic. Car horns beeped in annoyance as Constantine threw himself into a forward roll to dodge a vehicle. Slightly disoriented and feeling like my skin was covered in bugs, I struggled to collect my wits, staggering into traffic.

The demon appeared, snarling before Constantine. Constantine simply tossed the matchbox over his shoulder. The demon made to lunge at him, and was promptly struck with a car. The same car, now covered in bug and vermin goo sideswiped me. I cried out and was thrown to the ground. I lay gasping in pain as Constantine proceeded to stamp and kick any creatures that remained of the demon he could find. Only when he was finished that did he notice that I was in trouble.

He approached me, ignoring for the moment the angry drivers around us. "You okay?"

"I just got hit by a car! What do you think?" I gasped.

"We've got to get out of here. Can you stand?"

"Yeah, just a sec." I took three deep breaths and willed myself to my feet. I was pleasantly surprised when John offered me a hand up. My left side, the side that was hit, was extremely sore. My elbow felt like it should be broken. I could also feel some other scrapes from when my skin met pavement. I knew that I would be fine though, and recovery should be fast. Constantine helped me limp to the curb. "I just got to sit for a moment," I said, lowering myself as gently as I could to the ground.

"Do you need to go to a hospital or something?" Constantine asked. I looked at him, hoping he wouldn't get too out of character.

"No. I'll be okay. Been stabbed through the chest before, remember? A little thing like being hit by a car? No problem." I experimentally wriggled my left fingers. I felt some pain, but the more I wriggled them, the better it got. I managed to cup both my elbow and hold my side in my right hand. I took a few more deep breaths. And looked at John again. "I'm fine," I repeated. "On the bright side, the pain is making me forget the feeling I got when I passed through that thing."

John started coughing again, but only slightly. I sighed. "We should go to Midnite's. That demon shouldn't have been here."

"Yeah, you're right," Constantine said. He looked thoughtful. He might have been thinking about using the chair, or about what just happened. Maybe both.

Just then, Chas in his yellow cab pulled up, or at least he pulled up as close as he could to the chaotic scene on the road. He hopped out of the cab, Anput on his heels. Her eyes widened with worry when she saw me, and imminently rushed to my side.

"Bastet, what happened? Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I replied. "You know that car that hit the vermin demon? I just got sideswiped by it."

"Oh my God," my sister sounded shocked. She looked at my injuries and also determined that I would be okay, despite the trauma. Ah, the wonders of being a spirit.

Chas was slightly freaked by the scene before him. "Holy shit, John, what happened?"

"I was attacked by a demon," John replied. Chas was close enough so only he, my sister and I could hear. No one else was paying attention.

Chas was gob smacked. "What, just now? In the street?"

"Yeah." John looked back at me. I got to my feet. I was a bit shaky, but already doing a lot better. I straitened my left arm and only winced slightly in pain. Constantine seemed satisfied that I had recovered enough. "Come on," he said, heading for the cab.

Chas bounded after him and got back in the driver's seat. John held the door open a moment for me to slip in without having to pass through the door. I smiled my thanks as he slipped in beside me. "Where are we going?" Chas asked as Anput got into the car.

"Just drive," John said, lighting a smoke.

Chas did as he was told, casting one last look back at the chaos and confusion Constantine had caused to the road.