The Demon

     We all have demons to contend with, some of them being greater then others.  Few, however, have the external demon, not the ones that just show themselves, but the ones that truly take over. I’m Jared, J for short. I had a very pleasant childhood.  In fact I’d say that I was rather privileged to have lived the life I lived.  Anyway, when I was young I would come inside my home, from playing in the backyard, with bruises and small cuts. My mother, she was always worried about it, but my father he thought it was good for my character.  He thought it would make me into a stronger individual.  Every night I would have nightmares.  Horrible dreams of being chased or caught by this lurking beast.  This creature stood about nine feet tall, was dark green, and had long shaggy hair. His arms were long and very muscular, almost reaching to the ground.  They both ended in huge hands that contained knives for finger nails. It was so fast, I could never out run the thing, and even if I could, its arms would come down to increase its speed.  When the “character building” had stopped so did the nightmares.  My mom was extremely pleased, being that she was the one that cared the most about my well being.  As I progressed through school, I began to lose weight and was actually relatively thin. I was about average height and I wore glasses.  I never really got in fights, although I was the but-end of many jokes and jibes.  I was the kid that always got picked on. I wasn’t even that bright, smarter then most, but not the smartest.  Now all through school I fancied Veronica.  Veronica is an extremely sweet girl who is as beautiful as a sunrise.  The best part about her was she would always be willing to help others and she was good at it too. When High School started I became much more interested in Veronica.  If she flashed a smile at me my day was made.  We were pretty good friends, if she saw me sitting alone in the lunch room she’d sit with me instead of the popular kids, she was one of the popular people.  Most of the other kids didn’t really like me but Veronica would find time to spend just a little with me.  Figures I would grow an attraction to her, a geeky looking kid like me having the company of a pretty popular girl like her.

     This is where the real nightmare begins. It was when Veronica decided to sit next to me one time at lunch, kind of like what she always does. She looked at me, because I didn’t even realize she sat down next to me, I was thinking about a lot of stuff. “Hey J you alright there?” she said softly.

I looked up and shook my head, “Hey Veronica.” I smiled, “I’m sorry I didn’t see you come by. I was thinking about stuff.”

She smiled back, “What were you thinking about?”

I looked away, “nothing really” my voice trailed off slightly.

“c’mon, you know you’re going to tell me, you tell me almost everything that’s on your mind. What about that one time you told me about the monster that would chase you?”

I turned to look at her, “That was when I was a child and this is different. It’s serious.” I said beginning to look down, “though probably still a dream.”

“J, come on, I promise I won’t freak out, be upset or anything. But if you don’t want to tell me that’s alright then, I won’t push.” She smiled lightly.

I looked up and took in a deep breath, and as I exhaled my head lowered slowly, “I like you.” My head finishing looking down at the floor.

“Oh” she paused, “Well I kind of figured that out some. Don’t worry, it won’t change our friendship.”

“Yea, I figured. I also know that I don’t have a chance in the world to actually be with you.”

“You shouldn’t think like that. You never know what the future holds.”

I looked up and smiled, “as I said, it’s just a dream.” I started to eat, and she excused her self to finish up lunch with her friends. I sat there, trying to eat, but the food didn’t look good anymore. I just sat there playing with it using my spoon. After school let out I started walking to where I put my bike, since I don’t live to far from the school, I would bike back and forth. When I got to the tree my bike was chained to, there stood Mark and two of his buddies.

“So” Mark stepped in front of me, “Veronica told me that you like her. This true there buddy?” He pushed my shoulder.

“Mark, I just want to go home. I’m not feeling well anymore.” I said looking down at the ground, afraid of what was going to happen. Mark is not really going out with Veronica, just one of the guys who wants to be. He muscles out the other guys, and his goons help him out, though he’s strong enough to take car of himself.

“Well, Jared” He pushed my other shoulder, “we have a problem here. I don’t like that you like Veronica; playing the lonely geek at the table, smooth move.” He pushed me again

“Mark please” I pleaded, “I just want to go home.”

Mark looked over at his buddies, “He just wants to go home. Well, let me help you with those books.” He slapped the books in my arms to the ground. I bet down to pick them up. “Oh I’m sorry, I’m such a klutz” He said sarcastically. Me not noticing that he walked to the side of me. Kicking my stomach making me roll over onto my back, “oh I’m so sorry, where you there?” His friends laughing at the show. He shoved his foot into my stomach, pushing down, and my hands trying to lift him off but to no avail. “I want Veronica out of your thoughts. In fact, I don’t want you near her anymore. If she sits next to you I want you to move. Got it?” He finished speaking, lifting his foot off of my stomach. I rolled over not saying a word gathering my books. “We’ll meet again if you say anything to her, even hi.” I jumped on my bike and rode home as fast as possible. My mom asking why my back was all dirty, and me telling her that I fell and it was nothing to worry about. I got to my room and jumped on my bed, after removing my dirty clothes and throwing on some sweat pants. I put my arms behind my head and stared at my ceiling fan. Watching it move in circles, and the more I watched it the slower it seemed to move. It was when it seemed like it was turned off, that slowing motion where you can watch the blades, that I realized I wasn’t in my room anymore. The room faded away and I was in a field that was right next to the mountains, at a cave entrance.  A booming voice came from inside the mouth of the cave.

“I am here Jared. I have always been here. It is time for me to come out and play once more.” The voice was so familiar yet I couldn’t remember where I heard it from. Two red eyes glowed in the darkness, standing taller then any man I saw before. The eyes grew larger as the voice revealed itself, coming out of the cave. The monster stood nine feet tall; the monster was the same as the one that I had nightmares about. I started to run when it spoke again, “you ran as a child and you were not faster then me, you think you are now? I am not here to hurt you Jared, not like before. I can help you” he said walking towards me. I stopped and turned to face him.

“Help me? Help me with what?” I eyed him.

He grinned, “You know exactly what I am talking about.” He paused, his teeth looking like rows of daggers, “Mark, Veronica, and anything else that comes into your way or anything else you want.” I just looked at him. “You do want Veronica, don’t you?” I nodded, “And Mark beat you up and you want revenge, yes?” I nodded again. “See I know you Jared, I know you because I am you, and I am everything you aren’t. But I can help you get what you want.” I nodded again. “So, I will help you. You want me to help?” I nodded. He opened his mouth, even though his head wasn’t really big, his mouth now seemed to become the only thing able to be seen of it. He leaned forward and bit my arm off. I screamed in pain as he ripped off a finger of his and shoved it into my mouth, I almost choked on it. “You are now part of me and I am now part of you.” He said as a distant voice resounded all around me,

“JARED! JARED!” The voice came more into focus, “Jared are you ok honey?” My mom jarred me awake, “You were screaming, like you were in pain. Must have been a nightmare. Look at you you’re sweating, are you alright?” I just looked at her.

“Yea mom.” I smiled a little, “I’ll be fine now. Thanks” She nodded and left the room, I resumed lying on the bed looking back up the ceiling, a smile now playing across my face as my words echoed in my head “I’ll be find now” with the residual sound of its voice “you are a part of me and I am a part of you”.

     The next day was a good day; the sun was shining and not a cloud in the sky. I felt more confident in myself and was ready to experience whatever came my way. School was very uneventful and then there was lunch. I knew that if Veronica sat next to me there was going to be trouble with Mark. I still couldn’t make out the dream I had the other day. Was it real? Would I be alright? How was I going to be helped? I decided not to take my chance, though a small voice inside me said I should. Veronica sat next to me as I was finishing my food. “Wow J, you ate fast today. Everything ok?” I didn’t look over, or even recognize her existence, I just finished my food and got up and left.  She abandoned her food and caught up with me, “Jared, did I do something wrong? Why aren’t you talking to me?” I walked to where there were rows of lockers, where mine was actually located.

I then turned, “Mark is going to beat the crap out of me now. ‘Cause I am talking to you.”

“Mark’s a jerk.” She responded.

“That’s not going to stop him from beating me up”

“How about I walk with you, to your bike?”

“No, I don’t want you to see me in pain and such.”

“Jared, I’ve seen you in pain before, it’s alright. I’ll walk with you.”

“If that’s what you want, but I don’t need you to defend me, and I don’t want you to worry about me as much as you do. I’ll be fine.” I finished saying as I saw Veronica’s eyes widen slightly. “Ah shit” my head lowered. As my head raised, “Hey Mark” I said as I turned around. Looking up at him, because he stood a good foot taller then me, “she was just talking...” He cut me off.

“I heard a lot of your conversation.” Anger could be heard in his voice. “Veronica, don’t think I won’t beat this punk up just because you’re around. No one eyes my woman.”

Veronica laughed, “I am not your woman. And if you think that I’m going to fall for you because of your macho, pig-headed attitude, you’re sadly mistaken.”

Mark looked at her then at me, “You’re going to get the beating of your life. I hope you have a phone Veronica, cause he’s going to need an ambulance.” He finished and walked away. I looked down, then sat against the lockers.

“J, don’t worry, you’ll be alright. He’s more talk then he is of show.”

I looked at her, “You don’t have any idea how dead I really am huh? Mark is going to beat the shit out of me. I hope he’s right, that you’ll call for help. Else just call the meat wagon.”

“Jared stop that. You’ll be alright, I’ll stop him, he won’t hit me.”

“He won’t have to; he’ll have you get held back by his goons, while he kicks the crap out of me.” That’s when I slammed my head into my locker looking up at the ceiling.

“Jared, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…” I cut her off.

“Don’t worry about it Veronica. Do me one favor, just one thing and that’s it.”

“Yea, anything you want.” She knelt down next to me. I looked at her and then smiled a light smile.

“Don’t come with me to my bike. I think if you’re there he’ll beat me worse then if you’re not. The more you’d show your concern for me the more he’ll be angry and take it out on me.”

“Jared, I don’t know if I can do that.”

“Please Veronica, I need you to stay away.” She nodded as she gave me a hug and walked away. The day ended and I began my walk to my bike. I could see Mark and four of his buddies with him by my bike, two more then I had expected. I walked up to the point were I saw them move and dropped my pack and placed my books on the ground. I walked toward them, “alright, let get this over with.” I said calmly.

“What Veronica not here to save you?” He said looking around.

“No I told her I didn’t want her near you, just in case she tried to stop you and you hit her.”

“Too bad, cause she could have saved your life. I’m going to kill you, you know that right?”

“Yea,” I nodded as a voice from far behind me could be heard. We all turned to look. Veronica was running toward all of us.

“Looks like she can still call for that ambulance.” He said as he socked me in the stomach. I huddled over in pain. He grabbed my head and threw a fist into my face, knocking me to the ground.

“Mark stop it!” Veronica screamed as she got near us. “If you stop, I’ll go out with you.” Looking up from the ground I looked at Veronica.

“Don’t do that, cause it won’t solve anything. You won’t be allowed to come near me at all.” I said from the ground on my back.

“Shut up loser!” Mark said as he kicked me in the stomach. “If you will be mine then I won’t lay another finger on him, I promise.”

She looked at me, then back at him, tears almost forming in her eyes due to my condition. She looked down as she said, “Fine, just leave him alone.” Mark smiled as he walked over and put an arm around her. Leading her away from the group, looking back he nodded. His four friends came over and started to beat me while I was still on the ground. Veronica turned to look at the commotion, breaking free from Mark’s hold. “you said you wouldn’t hurt him anymore.”

Mark responded as he caught her arm, “Right, I’m not hurting him anymore.” He sneered. The four continued their assault as Veronica was pulled away.

     When I woke up, from becoming unconscious, I was in my bed. I got up immediately to see how bad I looked. When I approached the mirror in my room I saw no marks of what had occurred the previous day. I tried to think what had happened and if I could piece together how I got home, but I could come up with nothing. I headed to school, expecting to hear something. Upon arriving, the other students just stared at me and whispered amongst themselves. I saw Veronica before the first class started. “Hey Veronica” I said to get her attention. She looked and walked into her classroom. Slightly shocked, I headed to my class to begin the day.  From class to class, I would get stares, followed by the trail of whispers. I’d have to admit that I enjoyed the attention instead of the laughter that followed me. I headed to lunch, seeing Veronica sitting with her friends. I walked up to her before sitting down to eat, “Hey Veronica.” Her table fell silent as I spoke to her. “Veronica, can I speak to you?” She got up and walked away from the table, seemingly to ignore me. I followed her, “Hey, what’s going on?” She spun around and glared at me.

“Do you have any idea what you did?” She almost yelled at me.

Shocked I responded, “No. I really don’t know what happened. All I can remember was getting beaten and then waking up in my room.”

Her eyes focused in on mine, “I can’t believe you.” She shook her head. “The guys that were hurting you deserved to get hurt, but you almost killed them.”

Again I looked at her in shock, followed by confusion, “Veronica, look at me,” I looked at myself with my arms spread, “I couldn’t even take on one of them, and you think I took on all four.”

She shook her head, as if in disappointment, but more like confusion. “So then what happened Jared? Two of them are in critical care; broken ribs, cracked skull, loss of quite a bit of blood, internal bleeding, and one hand almost completely crushed. Another one is in a coma, though there are bruises, there aren’t any serious injuries. And the last one, though unscathed, is moving. You clearly did something to them, and something really bad.”

“Veronica, I swear, I don’t remember what happened. It would be impossible…” I stopped speaking as the vision of the fight flashed in my mind like a movie in fast forward. I fell to the floor, confused and slightly shaken.

“J, you alright? What just happened?” Veronica knelt down to see if I was alright.

“I don’t know.” I shook my head, “I think I just saw what happened, well remembered. I don’t know” I closed my eyes and put my palms against them, as if to rub the vision clearer. “I think I was the one who beat them up. But it doesn’t make sense. It was like I was me but I wasn’t.” Veronica seemed to have been shaken by my words, began to back up. I looked up at her, seeing a chasm form between us. My head sank as my eyes fell to the floor. Another vision flashed in my eyes, this time clearer.

I was being attacked by the four goons while on the ground. Veronica had just gotten pulled away completely from the brawl. Almost instantly I shot up to my feet, the four guys shocked at the motion. I stepped forward and back-fisted one of the guys in the chest. The cracking of his bones against my fist chimed as he flew in the air and cracked his head on a branch of a nearby tree. The branch snapped and hit one of the other guys. The other two ran forward and each took a swing. As their fists flew in the air, I jumped forward crashing my head into one of the others. I could feel the bone split. The other one landed his punch in my side. I turned to look at him and the look of fear shot across his face and he took off. I slammed my foot into the guy’s chest that now lay at my feet, popping the bones beneath me; as I began to walk toward the other two fallen men. I picked up the one who was lying on the ground with the tree branch on top of him and tossed him aside. Seeing that the other who lay against the tree was out, I turned to leave. In the process of doing so, I stepped on the ones foot, purposely trying to inflict more damage. I did the same to the other who I had walked on previously.

I snapped out of it the vision. I looked at Veronica, in disbelief. I stood up and ran outside towards my bike. Mark was there waiting for me. “Mark please, I don’t know what happened. I don’t want to hurt you too.”

Mark laughed, “YOU don’t want to hurt ME? YOU don’t want to hurt ME.” He shook his head, “You know I have to take revenge for you beating my boys, or at least that’s what I heard.” I began to feel a rage build up inside of me, almost like I was ready to kill someone. Mark’s expression turned from arrogance to surprise. “Your… your eyes.” His expression then turned to fear as I began to take in deep breaths, heaving with anger. “Alright, you win, I’m done.” Mark began to back off but it was too late. I jumped forward and punched him in the stomach.

“Jared!” someone shouted from behind me. I turned to see Veronica looking shocked and scared. I was no longer in control of myself. I turned back to Mark who was hanging off of my arm, holding his stomach. I moved to the side of him and pulled my arm away. As he began to fall to the ground, I kicked my leg up into his chest, making him fall on to his back. “Jared STOP!” Veronica shouted. I shook my head and came out of the trance. I looked at what occurred and ran away, leaving my bike behind.

     When I got home I ran upstairs to my room. I locked my door and threw myself on my bed. I buried my head into my pillow, trying to make some sense as to what is going on. It was in that thought process when I heard the voice again, “Two down, one more thing.” I shook my head.

“I don’t want this.” I said into my pillow.

“It IS what you wanted. So it is what you are getting. Just one more thing to achieve, Veronica.”

“No, I don’t want this. Not anymore. Leave me alone.”

“Not that easy. You locked me away a long time ago, and there’s no way to lock me back up. The prison you forged is no longer strong enough to hold me.” The words “You are me and I am a part of you” resounded in my head as I drifted off to sleep. I awoke to the next morning and readied myself for another day of school. Even though a lot has been going on, I felt obligated to keep going back, for this reason I was considered and still am considered a geek, or nerd. Over the loud speak came the principal in homeroom, “This is the principal. We are going to have an assembly of the entire school this morning to discuss a few things occurring at this school. Will everyone please make their way to the gym at this time.” Everyone did as the principal had asked and headed toward the gym.

“Jared” a voice came from behind me as I was walking. I turned to see Veronica. “What’s going on with you? You’re not the same.”

“I don’t really know. Would you believe me if I said I’ve a demon inside of me?”

“I think it’s something you’re going through, I wouldn’t say you’re possessed.” We made our way to the gym and took our seats. The principal walked out into the middle of the gym with a microphone.

“It appears there have been a few incidents at this school that need to be addressed. There have been acts of violence against other students and this can not keep persisting.” As the principal spoke, the vice principal walked over and pulled me from the bleachers. The principal’s speech carried on as I spoke with the vice principal.

“The principal has to speak with you when he’s done. I’ve come to get you to clear your locker.”

“What for?” I was confused

“That’s something you and him have to discuss.”

I looked at the vice principal, “ But if I have to clear my locker, that would mean I’m going some where. Moving or something like that.” The vice principal just nodded. “Am I begin expelled?”

The vice principal whispered to me, “He has to suspend you for a couple of days. Just so that this cools off some and the parents feel that things are being sorted out.”

     After his comment, the voice inside resounded in my head, drowning out all other noise. “I will not be detoured from what needs to be done!” And at that moment I felt something pull itself out of my body. It was the figure that haunted my dreams as a child. It ran toward the principal as the people screamed in horror. Making a swipe with his arm, he cracked the man in the chest and sent him flying across the room. The students and teachers alike started to run away. Any and all people caught in the creature’s path were beaten and tossed about. I lay, seemingly, crippled on my knees. Veronica came over to me.

“Jared, that thing… it came out of you. I saw it come out of you.” I didn’t respond. “Jared!” she shook me and I came to. “What is that thing?”

I looked and felt dread build up inside of me, “That’s been the thing that beat up the four guys, who hurt Mark, and who haunted my dreams as a child,” I started to shake. “I have to stop it,” I got up, breaking free of Veronica’s grasp and ran towards the creature. It spun, grinned and smacked me. I flew across the room and hit the wall. I managed to get up and run toward it again. It looked at me and grinned again. Before I could get close to hitting hit, he reached out and grabbed me, lifting me by my arms.

“I have to finish what needs to be done, Jared. That means to kill all those who oppose our will.”

“But,” I mustered speech through the stretching of my arms, “This is not my will.” He began to tug on my arms, I could feel my muscles stretching and beginning to tear. My shoulders ready to give up the fight of holding on and break free from the sockets.

“Oh, but this is our will. What’s your will is my will, and mine is yours.” He laughed and flung me into the opposite wall, my arms feeling useless, but not pulled out of the socket. I looked on, as if in a trance at the mayhem that it was causing. My eyes then focused on Veronica, and so did the creature’s. I managed to get up and run toward it once more, this time his attention was focused. Its voice, “What is your will is mine, and mine yours. You are a part of me and I am a part of you.” I leaped from behind him, but instead of hitting him I passed through him, as if he wasn’t even there. Tumbling to the ground, I stopped on my knees and my arms stretched out as if my arms were strapped to two horses pulling at opposite directions. I screamed in agony, but the creature writhed in pain. It attempted to pass by me, but seemed to be stuck. Every time it tried to pass over, a surge of intense pain shot through my entire body.

“Veronica…” I screamed again has the beast attempted to rip past me. “You must kill me. It’s the only way.” She shook her head as I screamed again, my arms being pulled back. “The flag, Veronica. Do it before I can’t hold it back…” My arms dislocated from the unseen force pulling on them. Veronica looked at the flag and slowly made her way over to it. “Do it now!”

She shook her head, “I can’t.” tears forming in her eyes.

“Veronica, I loathe you! You’re pathetic! A waste of human life! You make me sick!” I shouted at her, knowing exactly what I was doing. A look of pain shot across her face as she ran forward and plunged the point of the flag into my chest. Where the flag had pierced through my chest, a hole of light opened up in the creature’s. It began to melt, and light began to our out of it.

     In a bright flash of light, the gym was empty. The only two people there was Veronica and myself. I lay on the floor, the flag speared through me and blood pooling around me. Veronica looked at me as I looked up and smiled. “I knew you would do it.” She shook her head. “That’s why I said what I did.”

“Jared, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. This was not your fault, but my own. I knew you wouldn’t hurt me, unless I hurt you first.”

“But why? Wasn’t there another way?”

“No, for you see it was my desire to be with you, my passion for Mark to be gone, and for me to be noticed and not made fun of which released it. But it was love that put it away.” Veronica’s eyes filled up with tears as she knelt down and hugged me. My arms still not working, I merely smiled. “Hey,” I got her to look at me again, and break the embrace, my limbs succumbing to numbness and my face getting paler. “Always” I whispered, my voice weakening.

“Always? Jared, I don’t understand.” Veronica mustered almost in a crying state.

“I will always love you.” The last words came from my last breath, as my eyes faded away. Veronica screamed for help, but there was no one to hear her cry. She cried on my shoulder for the last time. Love is a powerful thing. It’s its own entity, has its own mind, and does what it wills. Love is the weakness of all man, and woman. It is something all search for, but is only found when not expected. It makes people do crazy things to gain it, but even crazier things to get someone to notice it. Love is a powerful thing, one of the greatest sources of true happiness.