Birds in a Cage

[Jeffrey Gain]

Chapter I: Illusions of Freedom.

We were doomed to fail from the very start.

He descended down from a cage made by their actions, their choices, tearing through those who they failed. At that point, he yearned for anything, expecting nothing, only hoping for change. Eons spent in a prison with nothing to fuel you but your thoughts, endless questions with no answers, it was finally over. His first obstacle was a spiritual hurricane, thousands of lost souls filled with doubt, fear and anger swirling in it only to be torn through by the demon. Whatever strength he had he used to make his way through, returning to the world they made so long ago. To his surprise, it changed beyond recognition. A constant reminder of his failure. He soared the skies, gazing past the clouds at the creation of mankind, ignorant and bland. The few exceptions stood out as towers of greatness, in awe stood the demon at what they managed to accomplish. But the feeling faded as he felt his very core be tugged by string, back to the prison that caused him so much pain, back to the Abyss.

"I don't care if I face destruction, but I cant go back there. I cant..."

He realized that in order to stay here, he'd need something to hold him in place, something to keep him here. That's when he felt it, the cries and pain of humanity. The earth's crumbling and inevitable death. He felt drawn to those near death, to those who's minds have shattered, to those who yearn for release. After all, who was he to deny them? He flew here and there, he flew everywhere until he felt it - the perfect match. Her soul was a candle, who's flame dwindled despite her best efforts, and he could sense that. As she felt his presence, she knew her time had come. And with that her spirit was extinguished, snuffed out with tears still in her eyes.



She laid on the ground in an alley, suffering from a stab wound to the stomach. Her body completely relaxed as she passed away, only to tense up with the presence of the demon. A man was crouched in front of her, pressing his arms against her chest in attempt to restart her heart. Blowing air into her mouth with sweat dripping down his head. He knew he was losing her, and that his effort wasn't likely to pay off, yet he still continued. Until that spark of life was felt, her heart began to beat and she found herself alive once more, in a huge amount of pain. Mitleid was overwhelmed, all of her thoughts and emotions, all of her memories, her dreams and pains struck him at once. She found herself laughing and crying, grasping onto the hand of the man who tried so hard to save her, not having the heart to tell him that he had failed.

Mitleid felt guilty and sad, yet happy and relieved, too much was going on for one emotion to take control, too much had happened. Her wound eventually closed due to the demon's powers, Mitleid's first task was finding out what happened. The man who tried helping her appeared to be a mailman who took a shortcut in order to get to his destination faster, never did he expect to stumble upon such a situation. She thanked him for his help, found out what he knew and left the scene before law enforcement arrived. Still overwhelmed, Mitleid searched for shelter while trying to make sense out of everything that had happened. The prophecy of doom, their choice, the war, her death, the killer and the victim. After finally finding shelter and time to focus and think, what she needed surged through all the other thoughts in her mind, appearing before her like a hologram.

Chapter II: Cruelty.

No amount of effort will allow you to avoid death.

Anna Monroe was twenty-six years old before she met her end. She was working as a substitute teacher at a local elementary school. She used to be a highly renown swordswoman; practicing a martial art called Kenjutsu. She continued to practice and study it in her free time but as a hobby rather than being fully competitive. Working as a substitute teacher was a nice change of pace, and teaching the youth was something she was always interested in yet something she couldn't pursue due to fear of disappointing her family and ruining its reputation. Her death was but a cruel reminder that the world they live in is unforgiving and merciless. It all started when she found out that one of her students named Mitch was involved in some shady stuff. She didn't know exactly what it was, but knowing its not good forced her to confront him after class. He responded with denial, said everything was fine and moved on. The next day on her way home she saw Mitch enter a alley. Concerned for his well-being, she followed him, only to catch him arguing with a girl around his age. He started threatening her, the girl was on the verge of crying only to be saved by Anna who grasped onto Mitch's shoulder in a friendly and light manner. Anna didn't see the knife until it was too late. Mitch's fear and paranoia got the better of him. He suddenly turned, plunging his knife into Anna.

The threatened girl ran off while calling for help, Mitch chased after her, his expression showed regret but it wasn't enough to force him to actually help. Anna's eyes widened, her warming smile slowly began to turn into a frown whilst tears started to emerge from her eyes. They shone dimly, whatever strength she had in her was fading. Her ruby lips moved, her last two words spoken out with a pained and regret filled voice.

It took some time to regain focus and control, but once that was done the hunt was on. Mitch couldn't have gotten far, tracking him down was the mission - but what happens afterwards? Should he die for what he did? Do I have the right to that call anymore? Those were the thoughts occupying Mitleid as she searched for Mitch, and soon enough she found him. A trail of blood led her to yet another alley, where Mitch was laying down beaten and broken. He still held a shred of consciousness, Mitleid had no intention of letting him die that easily. She grasped him by the collar of his shirt, pulling his head near hers as to gain his attention. His eyes widened, his busted mouth formed a crooked smile as if he was relieved for seeing her alive. But he was wrong, Anna died and Mitleid lived thanks to her body, the near dead spirit of Anna was shoved into submission by Mitleid, never to be seen again. "Why?" asked the demon, "Why did you kill h-.. why did you try to kill me?!" This was the first clear emotion Mitleid tasted; Fury. "Who gave you the right to try and take my LIFE, as if I threatened yours by what, GRASPING YOUR SHOULDER? She wanted to help you, she was worried for you... How could you do this, tell me why should you live when she's dead, TELL ME!" Her shouts echoed through the alley, the anger she felt then was unmatched. Mitch was mere seconds away from being torn to shreds, and that's when he finally spoke out.

"I never wanted to hurt nobody, I g-got myself into debt with some guys I c-couldn't pay back so I tried mugging people for cash... They knew where I, where my mom and dad lived, I didn't want them to deal w-with my shit but I never meant to hurt anyone, I never meant to kill anyone, I'm s-sorry M-Miss Anna. I'm glad y-you're okay t-though..."

She shoved his head away, releasing him. Her expression was cold enough to sap the will of those around her. Wings three times her size spread from her back, in a flash of glory Anna disappeared. In her absence Mitleid appeared. A mere glimpse of what was once an Angel of Death, but even a glimpse was enough to leave Mitch breathless; reaping him of his faith, fueling the demon with breathtaking power. He didn't beg for mercy, he didn't beg for life, what he yearned for in that moment was release - a painless end to his miserable existence.

"You're wrong, you murdered Anna. She's dead because of you, and you seek the easy way out? Pathetic, you don't care at all do you? If you truly wish to atone for your sins then give me everything. EVERYTHING. When you wake up you pray to me, your thoughts consist of me, anything you ever come to possess you wish to give to me. EVERYTHING MORTAL, everything. In return for your service I will save you from your fate, and perhaps even save your family. Those "debt collectors" won't be satisfied with just killing you. They'll go to your home next, and take whatever they find valuable, even the lives of your mother and father. Well then, what shall it be?

Chapter III: Choices and Consequences.

to be continued

[Raven]

come play with us

[Matt]

new demon incoming in town.. prolly in a year
nice one jeff

[Jeffrey Gain]

I thank you for the nice comments, I've added Chapter II and will write Chapter III when I get the chance. Hopefully you enjoyed my lil demon story so far.

[Richard]

 

cool