Demons Never Lie by Brian Hesse (classic books for 7th graders TXT) 📕

   Before she could respond, he ripped the pillow from under her head and placed it on her face. She fought hard despite her frail condition. Todd could feel her neck muscles straining to maximum capacity as she struggled to find a pocket of air to breathe. But after just a few moments, she lay still. He replaced the pillow, and closed her eyes. This took some doing as her eye muscles continued to push open her eye lids half way. He laughed lightly to himself, as he thought that she looked kind of like a dead fish. After several attempts, he managed to shut both eyes, making it appear as if she were sleeping. He casually walked out of the nursing home feeling no guilt at having killed his chief tormentor from his difficult childhood past.

Victim Number Two

     Two weeks passed since the murder of his Grandmother. Only a few more days, until October 31, the festival of Samhain. He needed to think quickly of two more sacrifices. The craving for raw meat, and the greying of his hair was increasing with alarming speed. His dreams were vivid nightmares, causing him to wake several times during the night, exasperating his ageing appearance. One night, he found himself naked in a tree, as if he had been sleepwalking, or, sleep flying, he thought, with a nervous giggle. He was sure that nobody saw him. He awoke in his neighbors Maple tree at least ten feet off the ground, as naked as the day he was born. His neighbor’s lights were out, so he was sure that he was not caught. Besides, he considered, his neighbor, Mr. Anderson, would surely have called the police. There was no love between he and Mr. Anderson.

  “Hey Todd, can I talk to your old boy,” asked Mr. Anderson, as Todd walked past the front of his house. Mr. Craig Anderson was a short stocky middle-aged man, who lived alone, unless you count about thirty cats, as alone.

   “Sure Mr. Anderson, what about?” Todd was nervous. He could already see the look on the man’s face. He was half smiling with a glow of gloating on his chubby round face.

    “I saw you in my tree Todd. You know that I will have to call the authorities. You are sick my boy. I feel it my duty to get you the help you need.”

     Todd contained his rage. He already knew what must be done. So, he did what he knew Mr. Anderson wanted most. He would beg, but not in public. He needed to get the man in his own house.

     “I understand sir, but I beg of you, let me explain. Come have tea with me, so I can apologize properly and explain myself.” As if writing a book, his character, Mr. Anderson, played his role marvelously.

            “Ok Todd, but this better be a good explanation.”

   Todd prepared the tea while Mr. Anderson sat on his living room sofa. Todd was not wasting any time. His first killing taught him that speed is of the essence. Before he lost his nerve, he would strike quickly. Todd grabbed a large kitchen knife and ran into the living room. Before Mr. Anderson had time to react, it was all over. Large chunks of bloody flesh lay all over Todd’s living room rug. He blacked out, not remembering the actual killing. Not exactly blacked out, but more like leaving my body, he thought, later when playing over the scenario in his mind. He did not have time to repeat the scene in his mind immediately after the murder, because he was too sickened at having found himself licking Mr. Anderson’s fresh blood off his knife.

    It was later that day, he cut Mr. Anderson into equal sections, placed the parts in individual trash bags, and scrubbed the blood from the living room couch. He was completely unaware of the time. Minutes melted into hours, hours into days, and days into weeks. His head began to spin, as well as the furniture in his home. He staggered to the bedroom and fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

Demons Never Lie

    “Todd. Todd. Todd, wake your ass up boy.” Came a loud crackling voice from the study. The voice sounded familiar of course. He knew it was his demon friend calling him into the study. However, this time the voice sounded close, and clear, as if the demon removed a thick plastic Halloween mask, and was now calling unhindered into the open air.

   “Todd, I said come here now,” commanded the sinister voice. Todd ran staggering into the study and stopped dead in his tracks at the figure before him. He was confronted by a dark red skinned figure of a man, but covered with lighter red and green scales, like half man and half snake. The thing’s teethe comprised of dozens of razor sharp white fangs that seemed to get bigger as they went from the front, to the back of his mouth. His eyes were a glowing yellow, and the smell of fire and sulfur filled the room, making Todd’s stomach churn again.

  “You failed Todd. Today is the feast of Samhain. You killed two, but not the required three.”

  “How can that be,” he stated, but he already knew the answer. His sleep pattern was off since their first meeting. Endless days of anxiety over choosing his victims, and sleepless nights filled with nightmares, caused him to lose all track of time. His deep sleep lasted for two straight days, as if he was lulled into sleep by the evil standing before him.

   “Please Xaphan, give me another chance. I need to see my Karen. You promised me that.”

    “That is true silly mortal. I did promise, and you know, a demon never lies.” Xaphan came closer to Todd’s pale, wrinkled face. Todd could smell the Sulphur and death emanating from the thing’s breathe. “You failed to sacrifice the required three but you only needed two for my resurrection from that hellish prison within that painting. So, as I promised you will still see Karen, but not for just one night. You will see her for all eternity.”

  Todd was speechless as his worry washed away, like standing under a cool fresh mountain spring. “Oh, thank you great one!” he exclaimed, as Xaphan touched him on the forehead with both scaled hands. Todd felt his world go black, as the words, “Don’t mention it,” trailed him into the dark unknown.

 Todd regained sense of his surroundings after, what seemed, an eternity. He was surrounded by a countless number of the dead, walking aimlessly with bitterness and despair in the colorless, hopeless, dimension known as limbo. He was trapped for all eternity, endlessly searching for Karen, filled with guilt and despair at needing to tell her how sorry he was for their fight, just before her death.

End

Text: Brian Hesse
Publication Date: 10-01-2017

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