Author note: Welcome back readers! This chapter is inspired by my parents telling me that I as a child had night terrors, and I cannot imagine being a parent and watching your kid scream, sob, and thrash around and you can't do anything but wait it out. Luckily, it appears children don't generally remember these events, but it sounds heartbreaking. On that note, enjoy the story!
Chapter 19: Night terrors
Angel, Charlie, Vaggie, Husk, and Nifty all stood around the bedroom observing the fire demon with looks of worry and pity. Said demon was on the floor scrunched up on their side in a fetal position, clutching their throat as they screamed shrilly and sobbed. Their eyes were wide, but unseeing as the other demons watched them suffer helplessly. Angel gazed up at Charlie, thoroughly perturbed.
"What do we do, Charlie? This time is way worse! I could slap 'em awake last time, but now nothing is working!" They made a face. "Shit, they sliced their back open again, we got to move that nightstand away from the bed."
Indeed, the back of their pajamas was stained bright crimson and black as they began shrieking and spasming once again.
"I-I don't know what to do! I've never seen anything like this before." Charlie uttered, feeling completely useless as they watched their friend in agony. Taylor took heaving breaths in between sobs as they gasped for air and curled tighter into a ball.
"Not much we can do but wait it out until they wake up, I'm afraid." Husk kneeled over the fire demon and waved a hand over their eyes to check for a response. "If this really is a night terror, then we just have to keep them away from things that can hurt them and let it run its course." He frowned as his ears flipped back and waited for another ear-splitting scream to finish. He glanced over to Nifty, whose pupil was a pinpoint, staring at Taylor fixedly. "Nifty." He called out. The cyclops demon's eye darted up. "Go fetch a pitcher of water and a glass. When they finally snap out of it, their throat is gonna be raw, plus they'll be dehydrated from the crying. Water will help." The cyclops nodded quickly and darted out of the room. Husk looked over to Angel. "Angel, help me move them to the middle of the room so they don't hurt themselves more on something." Angel nodded shakily as they crouched over the weeping demon and grabbed their shoulders and legs, gently moving them over. Taylor thrashed at the contact, their eyes darting wildly as they pleaded desperately,
"N-no, please! I-I'll be good! No more! No more!"
Vaggie drew Charlie into a hug as the demons stood around and waited morosely. Then they all heard the hiss of static over Taylor's ragged breathing and the room's mood grew unsettled.
"Well, well! I thought I heard some sonorous lamentations! And here I thought someone was replaying one of my broadcasts. But ho, what ever is the matter with our little firebrand?" Alastor asked with feigned concern as he stood in the doorway. He scanned the room and smiled darkly at the bawling demon on the floor. At that moment, Nifty squeezed by Alastor with the water and set it on the nightstand before resuming their watch.
"Not now, Alastor! This isn't a good time." Vaggie shot back sharply. Another shrill scream resounded as Alastor hummed in appreciation.
"Taylor's in the throes of a night terror and we can't do anything but wait for it to finish." Charlie answered sadly.
The Radio Demon's smiled twitched up as they grinned widely.
"Oh, if that's all, I might have a solution!" they said cheerily.
"What is it? You have to help them!" Charlie implored.
"I don't have to do anything, dear Charlie. But I will try a technique I used occasionally to reset my radio equipment when it went on the fritz." They stepped closer as Husk snarled at the grinning demon. Alastor rolled their eyes. "Oh relax, Husker, I'm just going give them a little jolt to restart the system, as it were." The demon rubbed their hands together quickly as static electricity started to crackle. They then bent down to the keening demon and tapped their forehead, passing the static along with a loud crackling snap. The fire demon jerked backward onto their back in response and shoved their hands to their face, covering their eyes as they hissed and howled more intensely. The Radio Demon chuckled as he stood back up and strode back to the doorway exuberantly. "That should do it! Just give it a minute and they'll be right as rain!"
"Hey, shithead, that didn't help at all!" Vaggie spat.
"Yeah Smiles, I'll bet you made things worse on purpose!" Angel yelled back.
"W-who's there? S-stay back!"
The room grew quiet as they heard the trembling voice of the fire demon and turned to see them scooting back to lean against the wall, eyes wild and shifting to each demon and the armchair fearfully.
"Kid, you're awake now. Snap out of it!" Husk said forcefully.
"Fuoco, it's us! Don't you recognize us?" Angel said tentatively, reaching a hand out to them.
Taylor's breathing began to slow as the manic look in their eyes little by little gave way to clarity. They squinted at the spider demon.
"Angel?"
All at once, Angel and Charlie ran over to the fire demon and threw themselves down to pull Taylor into a three-person hug. Taylor tensed at the unexpected contact before taking note of their audience with a panicked expression.
"What are you all doing here?" They asked in bewildered horror.
"Fuoco, ya had another night terror. A bad one this time. I couldn't wake ya up, so I called for backup. We kept watch over ya till Smiles here gave ya some shock treatment." Angel explained as he pulled back from the hug and put on their trademark lopsided grin.
"We're so happy you're back." Charlie said tearfully. Taylor hesitantly wrapped an arm around Charlie's shoulder to comfort her.
"Me too. Sorry to worry you." They apologized quietly.
"Here!" Nifty held out a glass of water to the fire demon eagerly. "You need to rehydrate after all that screaming and crying!"
Taylor blanched as they touched a hand to their face and found it wet and realized their throat was sore. Taylor took the glass with a shaky hand and thanked them. Charlie pulled out of the hug and wiped some of her tears away. Taylor drank the whole glass in one go before handing it back to Nifty with a nod of thanks.
"What was it about, your night terror?" Charlie asked warily.
Taylor's stomach roiled at the memory, but quickly resorted to their default answer.
"Same as before, burning to death." they said softly as they looked away.
The room grew quiet as Husk moved toward the shaking fire demon.
"Well, now that you're back, let me take a look at you; I'm concerned at the amount of blood loss."
"N-no! Not you!" They recoiled back fearfully before taking a breath. "I mean, I know you can do it, but I'd prefer if Angel took care of it. Just this once, please." They pleaded.
The cat demon shrugged. "Suit yourself." He turned around and started waving off the crowd. "Come on folks, show's over. And I mean your sorry ass, Al."
Taylor noticed the Radio Demon in the doorway silently reveling at the state of their distress. They wanted to say something about their shit-eating grin, but their back started to burn intensely, and they winced, biting their tongue. Only then did the searing pain subside.
'Right. No more back talking or falling for taunts.' They thought gloomily.
Alastor, Nifty, and Husk left the room as Vaggie and Charlie lingered. Charlie spoke hesitantly.
"We know we said we would give you a few days, but based on this episode, I think we should start your therapy tomorrow in the morning or early afternoon, whenever you are up to it."
Taylor clenched their jaw but nodded. The two demonesses walked out of the room with a wave and a quiet thank you to Angel. The spider demon left to grab their first aid kit as Taylor got off the floor unsteadily. Their back felt wet and sticky; stinging and throbbing like it was on fire. Using the wall and furniture for support, they made their way to their dresser and collected a new set of pajamas before moving to the bathroom. After quickly washed the tears from their face, they were in the process of taking off their shirt when Angel returned.
"Ooh, ready to give me a show, Fuoco? Where do I stuff the bills, hot stuff?" They teased. Taylor just chuckled at the comment as they turned away painfully and sat on the lidded toilet. They heard Angel wince behind them before rummaging in their kit and putting on gloves.
"Gonna wipe the blood off, I'll be gentle" he warned. Taylor nodded but still shuddered at the contact. They glanced to the side and saw that the gauze came back bright crimson and black, making them nauseous at the memory of their patron carving them up like a deranged sculptor. They sighed tiredly as they tried to take their mind off things.
"Cherri says she wants to take us out on the town to get thoroughly wasted. She's quite the character, I see why she's your gal pal." They started.
"Ha! She's always up for a good time, that one. One of these days we should take her up on the offer." Angel laughed as he sanitized the area and applied pain cream.
"You saved my skin today, I'm sure she would have blown me to kingdom come if you hadn't come through."
Angel sniggered. "Ya gotta watch what comes out of your mouth! Blown me to kingdom come? You're worse than snake boy sometimes."
Taylor laughed at their poor choice of words. They felt the bandage go on before getting up carefully. They turned to Angel with gratitude.
"But seriously, you helped me out twice today. I'd say you're well on your way to redemption."
Angel scoffed. "Yeah, right! I'm just helping a pal." They threw their gloves away as they gathered up the contents of the kit. "I know you're probably exhausted, but if you need company, the offer still stands." They said with concern.
Taylor considered it as they glanced at the armchair in the other room; it felt sinister to them now.
"Maybe just this once. I'll get changed and bring my stuff over in a bit."
Angel seemed relieved as they returned to their room. Taylor got changed in their bathroom and collected their pillow before making their way across the hall. Taylor swore they saw a head hide away around the corner, but they didn't linger to confirm.
Angel was laying back in his bed with Fat Nuggets nearby as he patted the place next to him slyly; then laughed at Taylor's worried expression. They laid on their side and got comfy. Taylor asked how their day went and Angel started to regale them about different shoots and rag on their boss Valentino. They listened and chimed in every so often until Angel yawned and wished them a good night. Taylor listened to Angel's breathing settle into sleep as their thoughts descended into hopelessness. They slept fitfully but felt safer with someone nearby.
The next morning, Taylor awoke and peeled themselves from Angel's sleeping form. They moved quietly and went across the hall to their room. They wrinkled their nose when they walked in, the room smelling metallic from the dried blood on the floor. Before gathering their new clothes, they noticed a new stack of books, a fresh stack of money, and some papers on their dresser. Taking a sheet, it looked like blank parchment paper. They gasped as a red sigil like their mark glowed and the room seemed to have an eerie aura about it now.
'These must be the wards I made a deal for.' They said with a scowl. Setting it down gingerly, they stowed away the money before changed into slacks, a loose-fitting top, sneakers, and a jacket before heading downstairs.
The lobby was like a ghost town, making Taylor feel guilty for keeping the hotel awake to watch over them. Deciding to make it up to them, they started to head for the kitchen as they heard a rattle nearby. They turned and saw a sheepish-looking Sir Pentious twiddling his claws while stealing glances at Taylor. The fire demon had forgotten about their blow-up last night, so they smiled tiredly and greeted the cobra demon politely.
"Morning Sir Pentious. You're up early."
"O-oh, yes, well, hello!" They sputtered out. "Um, well, how…how are you feeling?"
Taylor paled a bit as they considered he would have heard the commotion, being Taylor's neighbor.
"A little sore, but alright. Sorry if I kept you up." They apologized.
"Oh! That's… good news! When I heard you wailing and went to get that whore bu- I mean, Angel Dust, you seemed to be truly out of sorts." He said with concern.
"You went and got Angel?" Taylor asked, surprised.
"Yesss! Well, I wanted to help, but since you were still angry at me, I went and got assistance instead."
Taylor was touched at the sentiment, then felt guilty of their fight.
"Thanks for that. I'm sorry for yelling at you last night."
"No, no! I deserved that verbal thrashing! What I did lacked honor, and thus unforgivable!" They said passionately. They calmed down and became nervous again before they continued. "I'm sorry for leaving you to fend for yourself. I haven't ever had a friend before, even in life and death, so I'm still learning. I hope at some point you can forgive me anyway."
Taylor smiled at the sincerity. They placed a hand on Pentious's shoulder.
"You are forgiven as long as you don't do it again." Sir Pentious beamed as Taylor had a thought. "Would you like to help me with something? I want to make breakfast for the hotel and some extra hands would be great."
They looked back suspiciously.
"Why would I help a bunch of strangers?"
Taylor laughed.
"You know what they say, 'a stranger is just a friend you haven't met.'"
"I doubt that." Sir Pentious said with a scowl.
"C'mon, at least we can use your mechanical genius for good."
When the rest of the hotel got up, they could smell eggs and baked goods, which got them curious on who made it since Alastor left after three group dispersed to find some poor soul for an early morning broadcast. They walked into the dining room and saw Sir Pentious looking nervously at the crowd as he announced that breakfast was ready with a flourish. Charlie was amazed at the spread: French toast casserole, freshly made scones, eggs, bacon, fresh orange juice, and a carafe of mimosas. When the demoness asked if Sir Pentious had made this on his own, he shook his head and said Taylor did the brunt of the work and he was only responsible for the baked items. Looking around worriedly, she asked where the fire demon was, to which Pentious said they got called into work and would be back around lunchtime.
"What!? They shouldn't be walking around town after last night! What about therapy?" Vaggie said, incredulous.
"We did say it could be in the early afternoon, so they're still being true to their word." Charlie admitted.
"Hey, I ain't gonna let Fuoco and snake boy's food go to waste!" Angel said greedily as he started piling his plate. There was a scramble to grab food as the hotel tucked in and gave Sir Pentious compliments for a job well done. The cobra demon blushed but still seemed unsure of the group in general.