"The anomaly is red." Becker pointed out.
"Good observation captain obvious." I stated as I walked around it.
"That sulfur smell is more intense here." Abby said.
"Yeah, this was the same." I said mainly to myself.
"What's the same?" Danny questioned.
"One day I was out hunting with Rex and suddenly a creature not of this world attacked us. Rex barley got the damn thing off before it just disappeared. I don't remember ever seeing any red lights like this." I explained. "The scent of sulfur was so thick in the air that Rex was sick for two weeks."
"Ok, so this is just like any normal anomaly." Connor stated as he examined the new anomaly.
"I don't think so Connor. The creature that attacked Rex and I just up and disappeared. The creatures that come through the yellow ones don't. They tend to stay around till another anomaly opens." I pointed out.
"So they act like normal anomalies but their creatures vanish when they close."
"Isn't that what I just said?" I asked sarcastically.
Suddenly a hissing sound filled the anomaly site. We all started to look around for the source of the sound. The next thing any of us knew Danny was being dragged up a tree by what looked like a large snake tail. I ran after him and literally jumped up the tree. When I got to where the head of the snake was I found that Danny was just about to get himself eaten. Thank god that I had one of the ARC's guns on hand. Taking aim at the snake, I took the world's most risky and potentially deadliest shot. The bullet flew passed Danny's ear and right into the snake's head. Its coils loosened around Danny causing him to fall. I reached my arm out and grabbed hold of one of Danny's. My right arm, the one that grabbed hold of Danny, popped in three different places. A single scream escaped my lips as I continued to hold on to Danny. Opening my eyes, I looked down at Danny and then at the creature, who fell from the tree top. Gathering up my strength, I pulled Danny up and just leaned against the tree trunk.
"What was that?" Danny asked threw gasps of air.
"A man eating snake?"
"Since when do normal snakes talk in a voice with echo?" Danny asked as I just looked up at him.
"What?"
"That snake told me that I couldn't save you from what's to come."
"That's impossible Danny."
"Not as impossible as it may seem my dear." A deep, masculine, echoic voice stated as another snake dropped its head to our level.
"How many of you are there?" I snapped as I aimed my gun at the snake.
"Now let's try this again shall we?" The snake slyly asked as he took the gun out of my hand with his tail.
"Wonderful. Is it always like this with you ARC guys?" I asked ignoring the snake.
"No, normally we get chased; thrown into something, go through the anomaly, etcetera." Danny replied with a small grin.
"Joy. Well there should be no dull moment working with you guys should there?"
"No, I suppose not." Danny smiled proudly.
"You do realize that you are engaging in conversation with one of us?" The snaked asked Danny.
"Who; Kathline?" Danny asked as the snake nodded. "You're crazy. She's nothing like you."
"What little you know of her you do." The snake hissed out.
"And let me guess, you know all about me?" I snapped back.
"Well yes actually. We all know of you and about you."
"Then tell me." I slightly growled at the serpent as the snake changed into a well built, dark haired, half dressed man. "What are you?" I gasped out in shock.
"I'm what humans call a Dodo."
"Sorry to burst your bubble pal but you are no dumb bird." Danny snapped.
"Well when talking about animals then you are correct. However, I'm not an animal I'm a demon or subversive spirit."
"Do you have a name?" I asked calmly.
"What do you wish to call me, my dear girl?"
"Dinah."
"Then my name is Dinah."
"Now tell me what you think you know about me, Dinah." I calmly and coldly stated to the demon.
"I know that you aren't human. That you're not who you say you are. That you took the identity of Kathline Lester 14years ago just to return to the middle realm." Dinah stated.
"So you're saying that I'm what, a demon?"
"Exactly what I'm saying. How else would a two month old baby know Danny Quinn when he would have been 27 years of age?"
"No, I was friends with Danny at that age." I snapped.
"No Sarleen you weren't. You were possessing the woman that Quinn was friends with at that time. She was the one who wondered into the anomaly 14yrs ago. She died from the raptors two weeks later. That's how you got yourself a meat suit. You are a powerful, feared, full blooded demon."
"What did you call me?" I asked as I lifted my tear streaked face.
"Sarleen. That's your name. Well that or Chaos." Dinah said calmly.
"I don't believe you." I snapped.
"Why do you think that James Lester said that you were dead?" Dinah asked as I just stared at him. "It's simple Sarleen. Kathline Lester was a two month old baby girl who died by unknown causes. Well that's what the humans say anyways. What really happened was that you had possessed the mother and made her hold a mirror up to the baby. Two days later the baby ended up dead. It just so happen that Quinn's friend was also named Kathline."
"That's crazy talk. Besides, don't demons always lie?" Danny snapped.
"Yes and no. Humans always think that we lie but truth be told we only really lie when being forced out of a possession." Dinah smiled.
"So, if I'm some demon, then prove it to me that I really am one of you." I said sternly.
"Human, do you have silver by any chance?" Dinah questioned Danny as he reached for his necklace.
"This necklace but-"
"Give it to him Danny. You'll get it back." I said as I stared into the demon's eyes.
As Danny handed over the silver necklace, Dinah put it into the shape of a cross. "If you're human then this won't burn you. If you're one of us then this will burn like Hell."
"Ok." I said as I closed my eyes.
Dinah placed the silver cross to my upper arm. Steam and a sizzling sound fill the air. Screaming I tried to get away from the pain. Dinah pulled it away and handed it back to Danny, who noticed a burn mark on his hand from where the necklace was. Breathing heavy, I held onto my arm where the necklace had touched my flesh. Looking up, my once blue eyes were now a brilliant, bright red color with gold flakes. I also had short fangs where my canine teeth should have been. My nails had grown into what looked like claws.
Danny looked upon me with horror. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He trusted me and now he was looking into the eyes, and face, of a demon. A demon that had taken the girl he loved and the only child Lester had ever had. As my features returned to human quality, Dinah turned back to his snake form. Danny was surrounded by demons and was up a good four stories from the ground. I stood up on the branch and tossed Dinah from his perch. As we watched him fall to the ground beneath us, Becker aimed at him ready to shoot at any moment. Dinah rose and quickly slithered back into the red anomaly.
I looked over at Danny with slightly sad eyes. "Can you still love a creature?" Danny didn't answer; just looked away. "We better start climbing down."
We started our decent and reached the bottom in a few minutes. By the time we got to ground level I had convinced Danny to keep me being a demon a secret and the anomaly had closed. No one got hurt and no one died. According to Becker it was a good day. We piled into the cars and headed back to the ARC to fill out paperwork. The ride back was uncomfortably quiet. When we arrived I was the first to jump out of the car and head inside. Danny was on my heals.
"Hey, you should at least tell Lester that it was a mix up in names. That you're not really his daughter." Danny said.
"I don't think so. Now that I've heard my real name memories are returning rapidly." I sighed. "See, what a demon really wants out of life is to be happy. Weather that's fighting, killing, possessing, or just finding that one person, or demon, to settle down with. In a lot of ways we are like humans. From what I remember, I'm not like most demons. I had left Hell to come here in search of something. What that something is I'm not sure. Please Danny, I'm begging you not to tell anyone about me. Please?" I pleaded with big blue eyes getting all watery.
"I already told you I wouldn't tell. That just mean I've got leverage over you." Danny smiled slyly as he turned and headed in the opposite direction.
What does he mean by "leverage"? I thought to myself as I headed to Lester's office to find out what I was supposed to do now.