Three Days with Loona
By Wolfman2002
Chapter 1
My name is Evan and I'm a writer. It has always been my passion to create something from my head so others can be entertained. I'd always been writing my entire life, but it escalated after the last year of middle school and throughout high school. Now that I've graduated, my free time has been writing nonstop. One particular night, I got writer's block, which was the catalyst for events I will never forget.
My overthinking brain looked at the half-typed paper, trying to come up with words for a new sentence. It didn't produce any results, only mentally banging itself on the desk. Instead of my fingers typing, they only hovered over the electric typewriter's keyboard.
'Crap! Crap! Crappy! Crap!' I thought to myself.
"I've come this far and now I can't come up with anything!" I Said angrily.
Writer's block was not a new obstacle for me. From the day I started writing, the process usually took longer than it should have. If I was in the mood, writing wasn't a challenge at all. In fact, the words I typed would flow like a waterfall in spring. But on other days, it was completely frozen. Listening to music would usually clear my head, but it didn't help any.
'I guess this calls for a trip to the thrift store.'
I pushed myself away from the desk and slid on my olive green jacket and black shoes. Although this ritual may sound unorthodox, sometimes looking at used junk would inspire me. One time, I wrote an entire poem about a teacup that I found at the same shop. It was white, with painted cherry blossoms only a true artist could make. Inspiration comes from the strangest of places, but it's one of my quirks.
A warm yellow light illuminated the room. The thrift store only had two souls inside, myself and the shopkeeper. He was an old man with gray hair and aging skin. His clothing consisted of a yellow tweed sweater and a pair of glasses. I waved to him as a regular routine every time this occurred. On the shelves were old unwanted items collecting dust. One of my go-to spots was the movie section. Although a long time was spent scouring the titles, I found absolutely nothing of value.
'Maybe there's something in electronics.'
This section was the most special to me, because that's where I found my typewriter. On that day, the desire to write was inflamed inside my body. It was like a connection, or a bonding of sorts. Since then, the typewriter hasn't failed me. Unfortunately, nothing of value would be found here either. There were nothing but game consoles and a few VHS players, which I already owned. Next to the electronics stood the book stand.
'I hope there's something here, or I'm going to wander for hours.'
A thorough scanning of the book spines commenced. They were the same titles from the last visit, albeit there were new titles, but they didn't look interesting at all. True Stories, Accounting, Classic Fairy Tales, and it just didn't end. I was on the verge of giving up, but one particular book caught my eye. It had a brown leather color with the words "Spell Book" written in gold letters, and it was the size of a journal.
'There could be a spell to cure writer's block,' I thought.
Without a second thought, I grabbed the book and began to open it. The pages had a yellow color from aging and a few stains here and there. I flipped through page by page, reading the contents. From what I observed, it looked like something you would see in a tabletop RPG such as D&D. Cast a fireball, liquify your enemies and heal all wounds. There were also instructions on how to use the spells in-game.
As I was about to put the book away, a strange feeling swallowed me. It felt like the book wanted to be picked up and read. As much as I loved to read, I had never felt compelled to instantly read a book about magic. If anything, I was skeptical about the supernatural, but didn't really rule anything out. Cryptids, like Bigfoot, I believed in very much. Maybe magic was real, all I have to do is find out. After holding the book for what felt like forever, I walked around some more before paying at the counter. The old shopkeeper put down his newspaper and eyed the book.
"Needed something to help the writer's block again?" the shopkeeper said.
"Yeah, I hope I can fix it for good this time."
The shopkeeper frowned. "That's too bad, I kind of liked you coming in here every so often. "
"It's not a big deal, I'll still come by and take a look around the place," I responded. Without saying a word, the shopkeeper picked up the book and read the title on the spine.
"Do you actually believe in this?"
I shrugged. "Don't know, It could be real, or it could be the result of a nerd getting too invested in D&D. Even though it's most likely the latter, I'll take anything at this point." With a skeptical look, the shopkeeper rang up the book's price on the register.
"That'll be $1.99 plus tax," he said.
Without a second thought, I whipped out my wallet and gave the man $2.05. The one good thing about thrift stores, the books are usually cheap. So no matter what, I wasn't going to pay top dollar to have my problems fixed. The shopkeeper handed over the receipt and said to have a good night. I did the same and walked back to my apartment, under the street lamps and starry sky.
The smelly mixture of chicken flavored ramen and pine scented air freshener greeted me home. As a ritual, I took off my shoes and coat, and hung the keys on a hook. The couch looked mighty comfy from a short distance. When I plopped myself on the cushion, the comfort made any stiffness go away. I pulled the chain to an old lamp that reflected a similar glow to the thrift shop. I had once again opened the book, this time reading the sentences in great detail. After a thorough scan, I noticed something odd.
"Wait, there's no mention of any instructions on how to use the spell in-game." A feeling of unease returned, then a revelation came to light. The inside looked completely different than what I saw at the shop. Now my curiosity peaked to an all time high. A question popped in my head.
'Should I try any of the spells?'
A swarm of thoughts raged inside me. Some said to do the spell, while others objected. I sat for many minutes with my eyes rapidly moving. Sweat began to roll down my forehead without me realizing it.
'Just pick a spell already!' a voice boomed inside.
Giving in to the pressure, I closed my eyes and put my hand between two halves of the book. Whatever page my finger would land on, I would attempt to make that spell work. I counted to three and moved the pages and pressed my finger on the right side of the book. I gave it two seconds before looking at the spell I had just chosen. As I opened my eyes, I read every word in front of me.
"Hellhound, hellhound, come to me.
For I have a purpose for thee.
Dwell three days out of Hell,
To fulfill the task that I ask."
I looked around the room and to the shock of nobody, there wasn't a hellhound in sight. The anxiety left my body, as I took in a few deep breaths. Then I chuckled at myself for giving into my own pressure. I slammed the book shut and set it on the coffee table. I entered my bedroom, changed into my night clothes and lied down on the bed. The comfort made me feel like I was lying on a cloud. I pulled the covers over me and I turned off the light.
'Oh Great,' I thought
In the middle of the night, I woke up, needing to take a leak. I quickly pulled off my blanket and turned the lamp back on. The bathroom was located across my bedroom, which was a short walk away. I twisted the doorknob and opened the door. As soon as I did, there was an anthropomorphic canine in front of me. A chill ran down my spine, making me freeze in place. From what I observed, It had to be at least 6 ft tall at the forehead. The canine was mostly white, with gray on the side of the stomach, shoulders and face. It had white hair, covering half of its left face, black ears and eyes with a red sclera. The creature was wearing clothes, specifically a woman's blue crop top, black shorts and stockings. What scared me was the upside down star on her chest. I've seen it before on those ghost hunting shows and it's the symbol of the devil. All I could do was stare at the hellhound in front of me, not moving a muscle.
"Hey asshole, you better not be looking at my chest, or I'm going to rip you to pieces," she said. I snapped out of my trance and shook my head.
'What am I going to say without making her angry?'
"Uhh, who are you?" I asked, trying to stay composed. The hellhound crossed her arms and gave a dirty look.
"Why should I give you my name, Shorty?"
"One, so I can properly address you and two, my name is Evan."
"Hmph, my name is Loona, short stuff."
"Okay Loona, what are you doing in my apartment?" The hellhound shrugged.
"Beats me, Dickweed, I got sucked up in a portal and ended up here. And I'm guessing you're the one who's responsible." I gulped, not sure what would happen next.
"Listen, I found a spell book at a thrift shop. Then I picked a random spell that summons hellhounds for whatever reason. I didn't think it would work, so I nonchalantly said the spell out loud. If you want to read it for yourself, the book is on the coffee table in the living room."
To me, I sounded like I was talking a million words a minute. Loona raised an eyebrow before lowering her arms.
"If you say so, but don't move a muscle. I don't want you getting any funny ideas."
I simply nodded my head in response. Loona went to the living room, while I stood still. The noise inside went dead silent and I was lost in my thoughts on how to handle this situation.
'I should call the police. Yeah! Just grab the phone and call them.'
I tip-toed over to my nightstand and quickly gripped my phone. As soon as I typed in the first two numbers, a series of loud footsteps came in my direction. I quickly slipped my phone into my pocket and went back to my spot. In two seconds, Loona showed up with a pissed off look and marched over to me. She shoved the book in my face, almost smashing it in.
"Read these words, Motherfucker!" she yelled. Her finger was pointed to the last sentences of the spell, which I read carefully. After a moment, I realized what it had meant.
'I'm really fucked.' Loona pulled the book away from my face and proceeded to lash out.
"Do you realize that I can't go back to Hell until the three days are up? I can't believe that you would do something so stupid and reckless! What do you have to say for yourself, hmm?!"
I tried opening my mouth, but the words won't come out. It was at that moment that tears formed in my eyes, and I tried holding them back. I wished I had just left that spell book at the shop. Instead, I'm stuck with a hellhound for three days, and I could potentially lose my life if I messed up. But I also felt bad for Loona, because I unintentionally took her away from her home.
"I'm sorry, Loona, I didn't mean for this to happen. Please understand it was all unintentional," I said, trying not to choke up.
"What are you going to do to make up for your fuckup?"
I thought long and hard about how I'm gonna make it right. One thought came to mind, but I felt reluctant to even entertain it.
'No, Evan, you messed everything up and it's the only way out of this mess.'
"How about I let you stay here with me?" Loona only shook her head and chuckled with a hint of frustration.
"You really think I'm just gonna stay with the guy that fucked me over?" I shrugged.
"Well I'm doing this as an act of kindness, and I really do feel guilty about you not going back to your home. Plus, you really can't go anywhere with how you look."
"That wouldn't be a problem, but if you insist on me staying here, then I'll take your offer." I let out a deep breath in relief, but it was poorly timed. "But, I'm going to set some ground rules and if you break them, bad things will happen."
"Okay, just tell me," I said, voice shaking.
"One, don't look or touch me in a pervy way. Two, don't tell anyone I'm a hellhound for any reason. And three, don't try and piss me off. I have a really bad temper and you wouldn't like it when you see it."
'I wouldn't do that if you paid me.'
"Alright, sounds reasonable. Would you like me to show you to your bed?"
"No, I'll sleep on the couch." I simply shrugged at her answer.
"Do you want a blankie or a glass of water?" I cringed after I had said 'blankie'. Loona groaned at my question.
"Really, a 'blankie'? I'm not four years old, Dickface." Loona's name calling was really getting on my nerves. But at least I don't have a bad temper like her.
"Sorry, it's just my way of talking. I'm aware that you're not a child, just don't take it personally."
"Whatever, don't bother me while I'm asleep, or you'll never see daylight again." I nodded in agreement.
"Goodnight," I said. Loona grunted and hauled herself over to the couch.
I looked at the clock on my nightstand and remembered what I was originally going to do. I walked to the bathroom and relieved myself, which I was surprised I didn't piss myself earlier. I washed my hands and checked on Loona. She was lying down on my couch, snoozing away. The sight made me feel tired too, so I did the same in my bedroom. I pulled the covers over myself and rested my head on the pillow.
'This is going to be fun,' I thought sarcastically.
-Author's Notes-
Hey everyone, I'm back with a new story. I hope you all will enjoy something I've wanted to write for a long time. As always, I hope you enjoy it as much as I wrote it. Please don't be afraid to say what you think. I will see you all next time.