-Chpt 6: Let The Angels Sing Thy Praises-

Stepping through the front door of Ms. Polly's apartment was something that Sunny hadn't expected to be doing at any point in his life. And yet, here he was, doing just that. It was a little surreal, but then again given his current living situation, or lack thereof, he honestly didn't find himself caring at this point. He had taken off his mask, hung it on the mounted coat rack by the entrance, and slipped off his shoes.

Ms. Polly—Mirabel Polly was her name, and she had insisted on him calling her Mirabel rather than just Ms. Polly because it made her sound older than she actually was—had been extremely polite and nice to him during the car ride. She didn't ask questions after he had confirmed his identity. His gut instinct had been to run, but what did he have to run from? He knew Ms- er, Mirabel, to be a good person. She had taken care of Basil, after all.

If there was any reason to run from Mirabel, it was probably to avoid being smothered in care and attention. She was a caring individual after all, or so he was led to believe. He had learned both the easy way and the hard way that sometimes the people you know can turn out to be completely different behind closed doors. His parents were a good example of that.

Not Mirabel Polly, though. She was pretty transparent. Carefree, if not a little stressed out from time to time. Polite but also willing to speak the truth even if it will cause hurt feelings. And her best quality was her patience. Once again, Basil was the perfect subject for that.

Basil, when he was alive, was prone to panic attacks and had various triggers regarding various things. Large dogs, wasps, tight spaces, and any mention of Mari. He was also a picky eater, and sometimes he would get far too ahead of himself. Otherwise, he was a rather peaceful kid, if not a little slow. Sometimes Sunny could've sworn that he was half his actual age.

But even so, Basil was still his closest friend. It was a shame he was gone….

Sunny pushed those thoughts aside and looked around the entrance that he had found himself in, needless to say, he was a little shocked that this was what Mirabel was now living in, especially after doing all that work for The Mayor.

Mirabel's apartment was rather small. There was a corner-sized kitchenette with a stove, fridge, sink, and a handful of cabinets just off to the immediate right of the entrance, and to his left was a small bathroom with a toilet, sink, and box shower. Down the short hallway from the entrance was a living room. It had a loveseat, a box TV a TV stand that also acted as a bookshelf and a sliding glass door that led to a balcony that overlooked the town.

Splitting off from the living room was another hallway, with what Sunny assumed to be where Mirabel's bedroom was. He didn't care to know what was in there. After all, it was a grown woman's bedroom. So probably just a bunch of grown woman stuff.

"Sunny, are you there? You spaced out for a minute," Mirabel's voice broke him out of his thoughts as Sunny blinked. She looked at him with a concerned expression on her face, a gleam of worry hidden behind her eyes. "Do you want something to eat? Your stomach was growling the whole way here."

Ah, yeah. He should probably eat. He nodded, and with a smile, Mirabel went into the kitchenette. He was about to suggest just whatever was in the fridge, but she had immediately brought out a pan and some bread.

If she wanted to cook, he wasn't going to stop her. It gave him time to think about where he was concerning The Park and his plan with Kim.

The Faraway Apartment Complex was just a few minutes away from the school. It was within walking distance, and it was mostly filled with senior citizens. From what Mirabel said to him during the car ride, she had used to live in The Big City just six hours away from Faraway. She moved here about twelve years ago so that she could "get away from all the chaos." Whatever that meant.

How chaotic could The City be? He knew more people would be living in the city. More space meant more people. More people meant more noise than Faraway. Now that he thought about it, that was probably the reason.

Or… perhaps more Devils.

That was probably the real reason why she moved here. But if that was why, why hadn't there been more Devils here as a result? Was something protecting Faraway from The Devils?

So many questions, too few answers….

That aside, the school was an hour away from the park, which was why most kids in town took the bus to get to school rather than walk because then most of the time they'd be late or just barely getting to the building on time for the bell.

It definitely complicated things, but it wasn't all that hard to plan around. All he'd have to do is cover up his reasoning for going out as going for a walk. That was, of course, if he planned on staying here for the rest of the week till he could purchase his house. All of this thinking was based on the assumption that Mirabel would let him stay in her apartment for the long term.

Stepping out of the entrance and walking toward the loveseat, Sunny ran a hand through his greasy hair. He needed to take a shower sooner or later. He probably should've done that at the Desotos but with nothing to change into, and knowing damn well nothing in Kel's closet would fit him dissuaded him from that.

A plate was served in front of him. It was a grilled cheese sandwich. Sunny looked over to Mirabel, then back to the sandwich, and took the plate. "Thank you…" Sunny muttered as Mirabel smiled.

"You're welcome, Sunny." As Mirabel said that, she walked back into the kitchen to clean the dishes. At least, he thought that was the case. He was too focused on eating for the first time in a while. Sure, he had a burrito at Kel's home, but that hardly made up for going two months without food.

It didn't take long for Sunny to finish, and when he was done he brought the plate to the kitchen. He cleaned it himself before Mirabel could object. It was already 1 AM, and he was fairly certain she didn't want to be up any longer than he did. When he was done, he handed the plate to Mirabel, who put it away where it belonged.

Sunny yawned, as Mirabel smiled yet again. It was the weary, tired kind of smile. The kind of smile you'd expect to see on a maid. "I'll let you get some sleep. I get you a pillow and sheet for the loveseat. We'll talk in the morning about… well, this…" Mirabel said, vaguely pointing at him like he was a subject in an experiment.

It made sense. He was supposed to be dead. So he wasn't going to judge her for her uncomfortableness about him. Frankly, that was what he had been expecting from Kimberly. Although, considering she worked with the Mayor, it made sense that she was perhaps used to that sort of thing. In an almost strange sort of way, he was glad for the kind of reaction he was getting from Mirabel.

He nodded, as Mirabel went to go get him the things he was going to need for sleeping as he walked over to the loveseat. She came back a few moments later and handed him the aforementioned pillow and sheet. He got up, plopped his pillow against the armrest, and laid down, before draping the sheet overtop himself.

"Good night, Sunny," Mirabel said, turning off the lights and walking to her bedroom. As he closed his eyes, he couldn't help but think about just how nice Mirabel was being to him. It probably had something to do with the fact that Basil had died, and just how close she was to him. For most of his life, she had been his guardian, and now with him gone, it must've been hard for her to move past that stage in her life.

So getting the chance to take care of another kid must've brought her some comfort. Although, in the same vein, she might've been over it and wanted to move on with her life. Mirabel was a little difficult to read in that sense.

"I'm just glad she's willing to open her door to me," Sunny thought, taking a deep breath, before falling into a deep sleep.

xxXXxxXXxx

Mirabel stood just outside her bedroom door. A tangled mess of nervousness, fear, and confusion had drenched her soul. What had she been thinking bringing someone who reeked of being a Devil into her house!? She had left the city to get away from all of that nonsense, and here she was, letting a Devil sleep on her couch!

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Mirabel thought, clenching her hands together in front of her forehead. Those creatures were responsible for taking her husband away from her, and her daughter. She moved here because she knew it was a paradise free from those damnable entities. She was also fairly certain that Basil had been the victim of one, too.

Sure, Basil was mentally unstable, and he had bouts of depression and self-loathing from time to time, but he had never once contemplated suicide. Not in the time that she had known him. And he was such a sweet kid too. It made no sense for him to up and hang himself from the ceiling. It just didn't make any sense!

She exhaled, calming herself in the process. She couldn't get too upset. The Devil in the shape of Sunny hadn't done anything. Yet. She should've just left the thing on the curb, but her instinct told her to take it in.

It acted like Sunny. It sounded like Basil's friend. But there was something off about the boy that made her sure that it wasn't Sunny. And that was the aura it gave off.

Mirabel had been born, or rather cursed, with the ability to sense Devils. From a young age, her father used her to further his devil-hunting career. He died when she was ten years old. Her mother blamed her for her father's death and started physically abusing her. A year later, she was killed by The Car Devil, leaving Mirabel homeless.

A year after that, she was picked up and left in an Orphanage. She became known as Ms. Polly by the younger kids, and she found out she had a knack for taking care of children. She could use her senses to protect the children, and it allowed her to call Devil Hunters minutes before disaster. The orphanage viewed her as a saint for being able to sense Devils.

She didn't care for the fame it gave her. The Public Safety Agency tried to hire her a few times, but she denied each request. She was perfectly fine where she was. And she was glad she had because a year later she had met her future husband, Gary Freeman.

Sixteen years after she found herself in the orphanage, she had married and had a daughter with Gary. Her life had been going great! She had the family she had always wanted, and she was making decent money at the orphanage as a Matron. Her husband was a carpenter, and he too made a decent amount of money.

Mirabel was able to afford her dream home, and life had been looking up for her. But, things couldn't be peachy for long. The world spat on her in a very special way.

November 12th, 1983.

It was a date that anyone in their right mind feared. No one could've predicted what happened on the 12th of November. The number of deaths that occurred in one day made the Nuclear Bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki look like rookie numbers.

But what was so special about that date?

It was the day The Gun Devil appeared.

556,981 lives were lost on that day. Mirabel's husband and daughter were among those casualties, and on her daughter's fourth birthday, on less. She didn't even live for four years before she was violently killed. What made it worse was that Mirabel was only an hour away from home when it happened. She had seen the explosion that killed her husband and daughter in the distance. And she knew, instinctively, that they were gone.

There was nothing left for her to bury.

The only reason she didn't kill herself was because she knew that wouldn't have been what they wanted. Besides, if she did, she wouldn't have been able to meet Basil. Someone who she viewed as a son even if he wasn't related to her.

But now he was dead. Killed by a Devil. And now one was in her house and sleeping on her couch.

A part of her wanted to run out and stab the creature in the chest. Rip its heart out and splatter her house in blood. Sure, it would've taken days to clean, but it would've been worth it. And yet, her senses told her not to. Yes, it was a Devil, but her senses were also telling her the Devil was also a human. Which made no sense.

There were only two species in this world that mattered. Humans and Devils. What made it even weirder was that Sunny hadn't had that aura when she first met the boy. So what caused the change? Frankly, Mirabel didn't care. All she cared about was getting answers. Though, they could wait till later. Right now, she had more important things to do, such as sleeping.

Mirabel walked over to her double-sized mattress and sat down. The clock in her room read the time as 1:35 AM. She had spent over half an hour panicking about the Devil in her living room. Besides, if it had wanted to kill her, it would've done that already. She might have been able to sense Devils, but she couldn't kill them. She had no combat experience or practice. She couldn't even throw a punch properly.

She sighed, laying down on her bed, lifting up her blankets, closing her eyes and falling asleep.

xxXXxxXXxx

If there was one thing that the Suicide Devil didn't like, it was others messing with its prey. Most Devil's were like that, but The Suicide Devil disliked it the most. After all, it could take years for its next meal to finally do what it needed to do so it could feed off of its prey's soul. Naturally, it would get rather defensive over its food. Not out of the good of its non-existent heart, but to make sure that its prey killed themselves instead of dying at someone else's hands.

And his current target, Aubrey Williams, was having a hard time avoiding that prospect, what with her living with a caretaker who hated her guts. As a matter of fact, when she got home after meeting with two people who had Devil Contracts—one of which was contracted by that Devil, meaning it was that boy who had been there—its prey had been met with a smashed bottle to the face by their drunk mother.

A slurry of slurs and negative comments were sent Aubrey's way, making her mental state decline even further. If that had been all that her caretaker (mother?) had done, The Suicide Devil wouldn't have cared. But it was when she had drawn a knife on the girl that it got concerned. Again, not because it cared about her well-being—the end goal was for her to commit suicide after all—but because she couldn't die right now. Not at the hands of someone else.

Thankfully, Aubrey was more than able to protect herself, knocking the knife out of her hands, and causing the woman to huff out hot air and go back to her chair in front of the television. Aubrey shortly thereafter ran up to her room and cried herself to sleep, lamenting her shitty living situation.

The Suicide Devil had to admit that it was pretty funny watching that all go down. But what was concerning was what ended up happening during that comedic bit with her caretaker. That being the part where said caretaker took out a knife on her and threatened her life. That was the part that The Suicide Devil couldn't allow.

"No one touches my prey, and lives to see another day…" The Suicide Devil thought, its many mouths downturned into a scowl. It had been a while since it had done this sort of thing, but it was its primary ability. It was as simple to do as breathing. That being bodily possession. It could only control a body for a few minutes at a time, but that was all it needed.

The Suicide Devil came down from the rafters, shrinking down to the size of a fly—its secondary ability, full body control—before falling into Aubrey's ear. When that happened, Aubrey's body turned greyscale. All bright colours were suddenly changed to black, and any other colour turned gray. In some instances, the gray was lighter than other kinds.

To the body's vision, that was what it appeared to be. But to the outside world, it looked normal. Nothing had actually changed, other than the posture and disposition. Oh, and the personality change. Though it wasn't nearly strong enough with this person to keep ahold of their body for days at a time like that boy.

That boy had been the exception to its powers rule. He never wanted to take control, not unless he absolutely had to. It was only in his supposed last five days alive that he decided to move about. Not that it mattered anymore.

The girl's body sat up, eyes open and unblinking. The Suicide Devil was in control. Of course, right now, it could make the body kill itself. But, it didn't for a very special reason. It got more out of the soul if the body killed itself naturally. And to a Devil, the strength was everything. The more potent and ripe the soul was, the better.

If it were to compare this to a human food, it would be comparable to a dry cake. Not nearly as good as it could be. And if there was one that The Suicide Devil was, it was that it was a picky eater. It wasn't going to eat bargain bin souls and crappy blood! That would've been a waste!

In possession of the girl's body, it walked toward the stairs and then down them. It spotted the woman in the chair, slinging back another can of cheap beer. With an emotionless face, The Suicide Devil in possession of Aubrey's body walked to the kitchen and slid open one of the draws. There was a pair of blue plastic gloves. Perfect.

Taking the gloves out, The Suicide Devil put them on over Aubrey's hands, before grabbing a knife from the block of knives, specifically a butcher knife. To test out the blade, The Suicide Devil rolled up the sleeve of Aubrey's shirt and pressed the blade against her arm, before gliding it across her skin. The knife went a few centimetres deep. Just enough to draw blood. It didn't even have to put a lot of pressure on it.

Good.

The wound healed up in an instant thanks to its influence, and with the knife in hand, The Suicide Devil calmly approached the chair that Aubrey's caretaker sat in. It got within grabbing distance, and just as she was about to look over to who had been approaching her, The Suicide Devil lurched forward, grabbing the woman's mouth to muffle her screams, and stabbed her in the neck repeatedly, making a bloody mess.

Liquid crimson sprayed like a fountain in three different directions, each direction being a place where The Suicide Devil had stabbed. But it wasn't done yet. It threw the woman to the wall, her body already lifeless as a loud thud echoed throughout the rundown, garbage-filled house. Her corpse slid down the wall, drenching it in her blood as The Suicide Devil shoved the corpse to the floor, and sat on top of it.

It then began to repeatedly stab the corpse, and with each stab, The Suicide Devil spoke.

"No!"

Sqeluch!

"One!"

Shluk!

"TOUCHES!"

Sqewlp!

"MY!"

Shlukkk!

"PREY!"

And with that, it was over. A puddle of blood pooled underneath the wide-eyed, bloodshot corpse of Aubrey's caretaker. A sinister smile spread itself across Aubrey's body's face. The Suicide Devil was proud of itself for that one. Now all it had to do was place the knife near the body, open the door to the house, and clean this body before putting her back into her bed.

It was a fairly simple thing to do. So it did just that. It also made it look like a break-in by knocking things over with its gloves on, and by the time it was done, It had just enough time to put Aubrey back in bed before its time limit was up.

And as if nothing at all had happened, Aubrey didn't move from where she was sleeping. Instead, she was snoring away like those older male humans did when they got really comfortable. The annoying part about Aubrey was that she didn't have nightmares unlike the last two. As far as it was aware, it didn't even dream.

It made things like this take a lot longer. Her projected death date was in a few days. She was finally starting to break. Tomorrow, he bet that she would start cutting herself. Although, the other two didn't do that. Well, Basil did cut himself, but it wasn't to the extent that The Suicide Devil would've liked. But considering how moody Aubrey was, she would probably do it for longer and far more frequently.

It smirked. Humans cutting their bodies made its inky black skin prickle with excitement. The smell of blood made it happy. Very, very happy. What was the term that humans used when they got really excited in a sinful kind of way? Turned on? Yes, that was what the sensation was like for it.

Watching other creatures in suffering and in pain made it feel like it was on cloud nine! It was the only thing it actually liked about some humans. Those who liked inflicting pain on others were the only kind of good humans. If it wasn't trapped in this town, it would hang around those kinds of people more often just to get that sensation.

It cleared its many throats, sighing. It could reminisce about those times another time. It crawled back up into the rafters and lounged around. It was about to go back into its thoughts when its eyes caught a glimpse of something moving in the stairwell. Did the blood draw a Devil here? Or was it something else? Did someone sneak in?

Well, it got its answer in the form of a cloaked figure. They were wearing bright yellow raincoat that covered their body from head to toe, only exposing the lower half of their jaw. They wore black gloves and black rain boots, but aside from that, nothing was interesting about the figure. The only thing it seemed to be doing was loom over Aubrey's body like some sort of stalker.

The Suicide Devil readied itself to make a move, only to stop when the figure looked up at the rafters. Its upper face was still covered in shadow, so The Suicide Devil couldn't make sense of who it was or what it was. Well, it couldn't until it smiled. When it did, its smile was wide and toothy, filled with sharp points like that of a Devil.

So the blood had attracted another Devil. The smile on its face told The Suicide Devil that it was thankful for something. Did it clean up the mess downstairs? If it did, that made things easier. Or was it something else? Eh, not that it cared. The figure then turned to leave, running down the stairs, making noise as it further ran.

Whatever that was about, it wasn't The Suicide Devil's problem. That much was for sure. All it wanted to do was close its many eyes and rest. It needed to conserve its energy. It had a long day of mentally torturing Aubrey tomorrow, and hopefully pushing her towards suicide.

It was running low on power. If it didn't consume something soon, it would get desperate. Basil's soul wasn't all that filling, and with that boy's soul back in his body, it was starving. So if it was going to get a good meal, it would have to be Aubrey's. Otherwise, it would have to rush things if it got desperate enough and move on to the last and final member of that girl's friends.

Only then could it have its proper revenge. Only then could it laugh in victory. For she had wronged him in the past. She hadn't died in the way it wanted her to. It was interrupted by those two little snot-nosed brats.

It would have the last laugh. And then, once all of those brats were dead, it would put down that boy for good.

What a devilishly evil plan. It was so smart for that~!

-To Be Continued-