• It was close to ten on a Wednesday night when most people would be in bed asleep. It was on this night, that a teenage girl seemed to be taking a stroll down a long street.

    She was walking at a casual pace down the dimly lit street when she heard a soft noise behind her. She smiled faintly as she guessed who had followed her.

    "Dmitri," she called out. "Instead of skulking behind me, why don't you walk with me?" She turned around to face her bodyguard who, upon hearing his name, immediately revealed himself.

    "For someone who claims to be weak and fragile, you seem to be able to sense my presence every time, Skye" Dmitri drawled. He walked up to his charge as she laughed at him.

    "Ah, Dmitri. Don't look so pouty," she teased, patting him on the cheek as if he were a child. She turned around and continued walking down the street. She glanced at the man beside her. "If it's any consolation, I'm used to you being around, so I usually know when you're lurking about."

    Dmitri gave no reaction besides a slight tilt of a smile. Skye smiled as well and they continued down the street in a comfortable silence.

    “By the way, is there any particular place that we’re going to?” Dmitri asked, breaking the silence.

    “Yep,” Skye answered. “I’m going to see an old friend from elementary school.”

    Dmitri arched his brows in disbelief. He stopped walking to face Skye. “You’re only what? Seventeen? And you haven’t seen this person since elementary. You sure it’s the same person?”

    She glared at him and continued to walk down the long street. “Dmitri, you may have looked after me for most of my life, but right now that look and tone of voice is pissing me off.”

    She emphasized her point by viciously kicking a glass Coke bottle out of her way. Dmitri didn’t react to her anger, even when he heard the glass bottle shatter against a tree. He looked around to see if anyone was woken by the loud noise but it seemed that the residents of the dark neighbourhood was too deeply asleep to hear. He sighed as he turned back to his irate companion. He watched her for a moment as her shoulder length black hair danced in the soft breeze and the blue streaks in her hair glowed underneath the pale moon. At seventeen, Skye had a somewhat chubby face and body and she complained about that every time she was taken out for shopping. Every time she did, he would say that she had pretty eyes. Which was true. Dmitri had never met anyone who had such beautiful and unique eyes. Skye’s eyes were a deep blue with a gold ring around her pupils and one around her irises. Whenever someone would look into her eyes, they would stare as if they were being hypnotised. Of course, Skye being Skye was completely oblivious to this and would say afterwards that they only stared at her because she was so fat. He would shake his head at her every time she said that and say nothing.

    “What are you staring at me like that for?” The sudden question pulled Dmitri out of his reverie and he realised hat he had been staring at Skye for quite some time. She was looking at him as if he were unwell but when he shook his head she shrugged and walked on. He trailed after her and thought about how to apologise for before. He didn’t mean to sound so rude but he was only saying what he thought. If she hadn’t seen this person for years then it would be unlikely for Skye to recognise that person. He sighed deeply and was about to open his mouth to apologise when Skye cut in.

    “Look, Dmitri. I’m really sorry about what I said before,” she said sheepishly, stopping in front of an old house. “It’s just that, in the past few years or so, I haven’t been making a lot of close friends and when I bumped into Melissa I was really happy about seeing a childhood friend again. The way you commented before made me sound really stupid.”

    “I understand, and I'm sorry too,” Dmitri said quietly. He patted Skye’s head in a brotherly manner and got his hand swatted away for that action. He grinned at her and dodged the kick aimed at his shins.

    “Alright. Sorry,” he laughed, holding up his hands in surrender. He still had a wide grin on his face as he stood next to Skye. "So where's your friend's place?"

    She smiled and pointed at the old house they were standing in front of. Dmitri regarded the old house for a moment then turned back to look at Skye. He raised his brows and opened his mouth.

    "Don't say a word," she warned.

    "But-."

    "Not a word."

    "It's-."

    "Ah ah," she tutted, shaking her finger.

    "Skye-," Dmitri began, but was interrupted again as Skye covered his mouth, cutting him off. He glared at her and reached up to pull her hand away. "Jeez, would you let me finish my sentence?"

    "No," came the straight reply.

    "Why not," he asked, beginning to get irritated. Skye shook her head at him. "Because I know that you're going to make some snide remarks about Melissa's house."

    "It's not snide," he protested. She looked at him disbelievingly. "Alright, it's going to sound snide but Skye, please, just look at that house. It looks like it can barely hold itself up."

    He gestured to the house and to prove his point, part of the roof caved in, blowing up dust from the ceiling. Skye looked at the house doubtfully. Then she shook her head and walked to the rusted gate. She stopped at the gate before opening it and looked over her shoulders at Dmitri, with an amused glint in her eyes.

    "Hey, Dmitri," she sang, taunting. "Why don't you come with me?"

    At this point, she gave a small fake gasp and brought her hands up to her cheeks.

    "Oh! I forgot, you're scared of decrepit old houses. Should I hold your hand so that you won't be scared?" she said with mock concern in her eyes.

    Dmitri scowled making Skye laugh. He muttered something unpleasant under his breath as he followed Skye through the gate and to the front door. She just grinned at him and knocked on the door. He stood there with his hands in his pockets, looking like a sullen child, who was forced to do something he hated. They waited for a while before Skye knocked on the door again. She glanced at Dmitri before she called out her friend's name.

    "Melissa?" she called, softly. When there was no answer, she called again, louder. Silence greeted her, and she exchanged a worried look with Dmitri.

    "Maybe she's out or something," he said, trying to reassure her but she shook her head. She looked up at him, worried.

    "She wouldn't be out right now. She said that she was going to wait for me."

    Skye looked back at the closed door and considered what she should do. After a moment, she glanced at Dmitri, who, realising what she was going to do, shook his head. "There is no way in hell I'm gonna let you go in there. We're leaving."

    "But, Dmitri-," Skye protested. Dmitri only shook his head again and grabbed her arm to pull her away. The teenager dug her heels in and refused to move. Dmitri glared at her and tried pulling her away again. When that only yielded the same result, his temper snapped.

    "Dammit, Skye," he growled, angrily. "Why don't you ever listen to me?"

    The brunette glared back at him. "And why don't you get a heart? She's my friend and I'm worried about her."

    Her expression then turned pleading as she tried to reason with him. "Please, Dmitri. I need to check if she's alright. Please."

    Dmitri looked torn. All he wanted to do was take his charge back home, safe and sound but he was guilty about leaving someone, who could be hurt, alone. His face twisted with indecision as he thought about it. He looked at Skye who was still looking pleadingly at him and he sighed, coming to a decision.

    "Alright," he muttered, already regretting the choice. "We'll go in for a quick look and then we're going straight home. Got it?"

    Skye was already reaching for the door knob. She expected the door to be locked but it swung open, creaking loudly. Dmitri stopped her before she could enter and motioned her to stay behind him. He took out his gun and peered inside the dark house before slowly walking into the tiny hallway. He glanced up as he heard a slight thump upstairs. He looked back at Skye and signaled her to be silent. She nodded and kept quiet as she stayed close to Dmitri. As he put his foot on the first step, it groaned loudly causing both Dmitri and Skye to wince at the noise. So much for being subtle, he thought. He continued walking up the stairs, trying to make as less noise as possible. When he reached the top, he saw that the first door on his right was slightly ajar. He moved his gun higher as he toed open the door. He blinked, trying to focus his eyes in the pitch black room. He was about to walk in when he heard Skye cry out. He spun around, only to see her in a heap on the floor. He cursed and tried to go to her, but he suddenly felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. His eyes glazed over and he felt the ground rushing up to meet him. His last thought before he completely blacked out, was that Skye was going to kill him for this.


    Skye groaned as she woke, her head aching from the blow to the back of her head. She tried to sit up but she became dizzy, so she lay down again. She blinked repeatedly, trying to focus her eyes and looked around the room she was in. It was large, with nothing but a large rectangular table off to one side. The room was dimly lit with a small light bulb hanging over the middle of the room and as she continued to survey the room, she spotted Dmitri, lying in a heap on the far wall, opposite the table.

    "Dmitri," she whispered, crawling over to him. She checked to see if he was bleeding anywhere but it seemed the only injury he sustained was a hard knock to the head. When she touched his head his eyes opened slowly. They were dilated and she was sure her own were the same. He peered up at her.

    "Skye," he said, softly. She pushed him back down, when he tried to sit up.

    "Lie down for a bit," she soothed, trying to make Dmitri as comfortable as she could, on the cold floor. She glanced around again and saw the door next to the table. Skye got up and felt a wave of dizziness go through her, but it wasn't as bad as before. She made her way to the door and tried to open it, but it was locked. She muttered a curse underneath her breath and went back to Dmitri.

    "Sorry," she said, sitting down beside him. "The door is locked."

    Dmitri sighed. "I guess we have to wait then."

    They stayed like that, waiting. After what seemed like hours, the lock clicked and the door opened. Both bodyguard and teenager tensed, as they saw two women walk in, carrying a large basket between them. One of the women saw that they were awake and smiled horribly at them. Skye blanched as she saw that the other one, who she realised was Melissa, was holding a knife. She felt Dmitri sit up beside her, and moved closer to him.

    "Don't worry," he murmured, pushing Skye behind him. "I won't let them hurt you."

    He was thinking through a plan to get them out of there, when the woman who had smiled at them, pulled out his gun, from her jacket and shot him in the leg. Dmitri cried out as searing pain went through his leg. He heard Skye gasp and move to stem the bleeding.

    "You know," drawled the woman, catching Dmitri's and Skye's attention. "That wouldn't have happened if you weren't thinking of trying to escape."

    Dmitri glared at her as pain throbbed in his leg. He glanced at Skye, who looked like she was about to cry and pulled her into a hug. She buried her face in his shoulder, and held onto his shirt in a death grip.

    "Skye," he said, quietly. He said her name again when she didn't look up. She finally peered up at him, face white as a sheet.

    "Skye, whatever happens, whatever you see, if there is a chance, you need to run." Dmitri tightened his hold on her, as she shook her head in denial. "Skye, for once in your life, just listen to me."

    Skye gazed into Dmitri's eyes and saw the determined and pained look in them. She clenched her eyes tightly and nodded, burying her face in his shoulder. Dmitri closed his own eyes as pain throbbed from his leg and his heart. He wished that Skye didn't have to experience this. He opened his eyes to find both women watching them. He stared right back, in defiance.

    "What do you want with us?" he snarled, making Skye start. The women glanced at each other. One of them shrugged and said 'why don't you make small talk?'

    She turned back to the table as the other woman walked towards them, stopping a few metres away. She cocked her head to one side as she regarded them.

    "You know, you weren't supposed to be here," she remarked, looking at Dmitri. Her eyes strayed to Skye, who was staring up at her in disbelief. "It was only supposed to be her."

    "Melissa?" Skye whispered. Her eyes were burning, and she realised that she was about to cry. "Why are you doing this? I thought we were friends."

    "Please," Melissa scoffed. "I was never your friend. You had the money and it benefited me to stay near you."

    She leant forward and hissed out her next poisonous words. "I only tolerated you because of your money, you conceited little brat."

    Tears slid down Skye's cheeks, as her face crumpled in pain from the words. Anger blazed in Dmitri's eyes and he growled at the woman. Melissa stepped back quickly, fearing that the angry man could very well hurt her, even though he was injured. She started as her Sarah called for her and, after a wary look at the man, turned and went see what the other woman wanted.

    Skye huddled close to Dmitri, as tears continued to fall. She felt so betrayed and angry at what happened, but more than that, she felt guilty. If she hadn't forced him to let her check the house, they wouldn't be in this situation and in danger. She flinched as Melissa spoke to them again.

    "Well, doesn't that look pathetic," she sneered, looking down at Skye. "The spoiled daughter of the Montaigne family is sniveling like an infant."

    "Why you-," Dmitri snarled, reaching for the woman, but Sarah, who was behind Melissa, kicked his wounded leg. He cried out in agony, as his leg throbbed painfully. While Dmitri was distracted, Melissa grabbed Skye painfully by her hair and dragged her away, to the table. Skye gasped and tried to get away but Melissa cruelly twisted her hand in Skye's hair, causing the girl to cry out in pain. Tears streamed down Skye's face as she was roughly shoved down onto the table.

    "I hated you from the start," Melissa hissed, grabbing Skye by the throat and leaning in close to her face. The girl choked as she tried to draw breath. "You were always the one who had first choice of everything. You were loved by everyone."

    She stared down at Skye with a mad expression. Her lips curved in a smile, horrible in its madness. "But this time, I'll be the one who will be loved. The person who everyone would want to be friends with. I'll no longer be the girl who is pushed aside."

    She tightened her hand around the girl's neck and pulled back. Skye's face was turning blue from lack of oxygen and her eyes were glazing over. Her lungs were burning and she could see her vision darkening.

    "He said that the only way to achieve that was to kill the source of my problem," she continued, narrowing her eyes at the struggling girl. "You."

    As she said that she raised her knife and poised it above Skye's heart. She grinned as she saw Skye's eyes widened at the sight of the knife and renewed her struggling.

    "It's useless."

    With that, Melissa stabbed down but the sound of gunshots startled her and instead of the knife plunging through Skye's heart, it hit the spot above it, causing the girl to jerk. And when Melissa had let go of Skye, the girl screamed in agony as pain washed through her body. She dropped to the floor, clutching her chest as blood seeped through her fingers. Her vision dimmed as she slipped into unconsciousness. Melissa ignored her as she turned around to see what had happened and saw that Dmitri was grappling with Sarah. The gun was several metres away from the couple. Melissa snarled and picked up the gun. She tried to shoot Dmitri but the barrel was empty. She flung it at the wall in anger and pulled out her pendant that was hidden in her shirt.

    "Karik, I summon you," she shouted. There was a blinding flash as she finished and a tall demon appeared. He was thin to the point of skeletal and when he smiled, serrated teeth flashed. He turned to Melissa.

    "Why did you summon me?" His guttural voice, echoed around the room. It made Dmitri and Sarah stop and stare. "You were only supposed to do that when the sacrifice was made."

    "I know, but I need your help," she said, gesturing at Dmitri. "He's stopping me from doing what you want."



    Skye released a strangled gasp as she finally came to. Agony pounded through her entire body and she could barely move. Shouts reached her ears and she opened her eyes, blinking away the tears of pain. The first thing Skye saw was Dmitri grappling with a woman. She watched in horror as Melissa grabbed the gun and shot at him. She let out a relieved gasp when Melissa threw the gun at the wall but her relief was short lived as she saw Melissa shout something and a horrible creature appeared. It seemed to be talking to Melissa for a moment before it turned towards Dmitri and blasted him. Time seemed to slow for Skye as she watched Dmitri hit the wall behind him and a sickening crunch echoed around the room. She heard screaming but then realized that it was coming from her. She pulled herself across the room towards Dmitri, who was lying face down on the floor. She knew that it was too late. She knew that. But she didn't want to believe it. When she reached him, she turned him over. His face was white and his eyes staring. She clutched him to her as she grieved for his death. A shadow fell over them.

    "What a touching scene," Karik drawled. "But I need my sacrifice now."

    He grabbed Skye's arm and pulled her away. Dmitri's body thumped to the ground and Karik gave it a kick. Raw fury rose in Skye at the callous and cold action of the demon. She could feel a bubbling at the pit of her stomach, rising and as it consumed her, she could feel herself slipping away. The last thing she saw and heard was Karik's red eyes widening in horror and the terrified screams of the two women.



    Skye woke up to an irritating beeping. She tried to move but the sudden pain in her chest made her gasp in agony.

    "Skye, its best if you don't move."

    Skye turned her head, to see her mother and father sitting next to her bed. The beeping, she realised, was coming from the heart monitor beside her. She cast her eyes about the room and saw the blank white walls and antiseptic smell. She let her gaze rest on the dying violet sitting on the wind sill, not saying anything. Gloomy silence fell upon the room.

    “Skye, what happened,” her mother burst out, breaking the silence. She clenched her hands tightly together and shared a worried look with her husband. Skye could feel the anxiety coming from her parents but she honestly could care less at the moment. She tried to remember what happened but her memory was fuzzy and she couldn’t focus. She blinked as she realised something.

    “Where’s Dmitri?” Turning to her parents, she saw their faces pale and felt a sinking sensation in her stomach.

    “What,” she demanded, fear making her voice sharp. “Stop looking at me like that and tell me.”

    "I'm sorry, Skye," her mother whispered. "Dmitri is dead."

    Skye looked at her mother blankly for a moment, as if she didn't know what she was saying. Then, it finally set in. She screamed out in denial as grief burst through her. As it did, her memory came rushing back and she felt despair as she had never before. She was standing over the dead body of Dmitri, feeling the rush of power from killing someone. Self hatred bubbled inside her being and she tried to claw at it. She never even felt her parents trying to restrain her.

    Outside, in the hallway, people looked up at the scream and shivered as they felt pain and grief in the scream. But the pain and grief wasn't the thing that they would remember when they went home. It was the burning self hatred that scalded a person's very soul as the scream reverberated down the hallway . . .