Terry was not feeling too well. He felt a little warm around his body... he thought it might be a cold. He heard his mother come into the house after finishing work. Worried, she checked his temperature which- though a little high, decided it wasn't a concern. Terry decided to take it easy and lie down in his room... so there wasn't much to do but think about... things.
The teenager didn't want to tell his mother about the strange vision he saw... or how the letter to his cousin just vanished in a puff of smoke. What in the world would cause spontaneous combustion? Maybe it was paper from the other world... his mother did go there often- but it looked like a normal sheet of paper, unlike parchment that was normally associated with the un-technological world. Maybe the envelope? No.. that couldn't be it. What the heck was going on!
He laid down on his bed, trying to set those troubling thoughts aside. He was starting to feel a little better anyway. He was starting to think a bit though... of..
… her...
...The scariest thing he ever saw...
He felt the need to pull his bed covers tighter despite how long ago it was. He could still see... those eyes staring at him. They had been with him ever since. Why was he worried- no- afraid, of demons? Who wouldn't be? Why were people 'not' afraid? He had seen what they could be like... he saw it up front and personal... as but a child.
He leaned against his pillow as he thought of that other world... and the different people he saw. Cats.. birds.. foxes.. even snakes... the majority of them were... animal folk. well- he liked animals. This extended somewhat to the animal-types too. Who didn't like a loyal dog to play with? They were predictable (mostly) and he could understand making them part of a family... heck if his uncle had married some animal-girl with a pair of fox ears or rabbit even a cat- that was something he might have not minded that quite so much. Humans had a... kinship with animals that couldn't be denied. The other beings though...
Devils.. Demons... the Evils... if there even was a difference between those words he wasn't sure. They were the monsters- the real monsters, that everyone should be afraid of... They didn't evolve from the environment like animals- including humans... neither were they a reflection of nature like elves, or from the world of dreams like fey... they were something worse then a nightmare... a manifestation of the mind on the edge of reality...
He could feel those eyes again staring at him. Every depraved emotion... hurt.. anger.. hatred... pain...
“It wasn't my fault!” he gripped his pillow tightly as that memory came back. Something he longed to push into the depths of his mind. Why couldn't he just get over it? It was one stupid decision made in the heat of one moment...
Many years ago... Terry was a child enjoying his first Halloween by himself. “I'm going to collect the most candy!” the child said dressed as he was in his devil costume. He was very proud of it, holding a good bag that was to be filled with sweets.
His father patted his head cheerfully. “Well you certainly scare me!”
Terry made playful growling face. “Its scary enough right?” He made a dramatic roar outstretching his hands in the air. “I just wish I could make the tail move,” he said with annoyance at the wired up cloth.
His mother gave a laugh too. “Have fun! Just remember to stay in the block and with your friends!”
There were so many kids running around to collect candy on Halloween... Terry was very excited to join them. So much candy for the taking! He was also going to make some new friends! Everyone was wearing costumes. Of course he had a far more interesting costume; a devil. He had a mask, horns and some red clothing with a spaded tail at the end made of cloth. He even had some red slippers to make it look more authentic. It was a pretty good effort.
He had gone to a few houses joining in with another small group of kids his age, including Martin. He didn't actually know the others personally, but they were in his school... so he blended in quite well. Was this how to make friends? Soon enough the bag was overflowing with sweets. He got to know the other kids too as they debated how to share their gains... then Terry saw someone on her own.. much like he was at the start of this day on the corner of the street.
At first Terry thought it was someone in a similar costume to him... but it was an actual devil girl... from the other world! Terry had to rush to see her. Who was she? What was she doing here? “Hello!” He said enthusiastically. “I'm Terry! Want to go trick or treating with us?” He held out his haul of candy enthusiastically. “We're doing really well!”
The red-skinned girl looked at Terry and Martin in some surprise and warily approached them. “Uh- hi... are you making fun of me?” The girl asked gesturing to Terry's costume.
“Huh? Uh- no!” He said quickly. “I just like the tail... um.. I like your tail too!” Oh dear... was his costume somehow offensive to the little girl? He really hoped not! He didn't want to get into any trouble.
Martin glanced to her then to Terry. “No! really he isn't! We just likes to dress up. We do that in Halloween. I'm a wizard!”
The girl looked at the two somewhat perplexed but relaxed. Humans here could be pretty strange but.. these were kids just like her right? She didn't sense any malicious intent. Still, seeing someone want to be 'like her' was weird even in the other world. She trotted towards them again-
“Wow- you got hooves!” Martin said staring down.
The girl stopped suddenly. “Uh- uh huh,” The girl blushed slightly. Did that mean they didn't want to be friends now? They were looking at her a bit weird. They seemed amazed by her legs so... she lifted one of her hooves to show. “Uh... yeah. See?”
“Wow, what's your name?” Asked Terry.
“Zarala,” She whispered softly placing her hoof down.
“Zarala! Come on let's get more candy Zarala!” Terry gestured to the other side of the street with some pumpkins grinning. “We can just cross and get a bit more.”
The two boys had made a friend it seemed.. a cute demon girl... and Terry couldn't have been happier...
The evening continued for the kids. Martin said he was only allowed out for an hour and had to go back... so that left Terry and Zarala to get more candy. More time for Terry to play with his new interesting friend!
Terry couldn't help but look at the way the weird girl moved- her hooves clopping and her tail swishing like a cat. How was it possible to walk with hooves anyway? What was she... it was strange and surreal to him. Zarala was... fun though, if a bit on the quiet side usually just smiling sweetly. Her hair seemed to move quite animated, with its strange dark blue hue hiding her pointed ears. It seemed she wanted to join in on the holiday and didn't even need the costume... but still wanted to play with 'something', so Terry had given her a spare cowboy hat to play with. It was pretty funny seeing it poke out from her horns...
There was plenty of candy... and hopefully he could invite-
“What do we have here?” An older boy interrupted Terry's thoughts, dressed as a skeleton as he walked down the street with his own group. “Look at that freak! Some kind of cowgirl? She's even got hooves!” He took the hat off her. “Hey look this ones a red-cow! Moo! Pity she can't take the ugly costume off!”
Terry gasped. These were older kids... they should run. His home wasn't far-
“I'm a devil!” Zarala fumed. “G-Give me back my hat! Terry gave that to me!” she stumbled slightly as she tried to reach out and fell on the ground. “Give it back to me give it back!” She couldn't jump as well as a human apparently though.
The boy twirled the cowboy hat out of reach of the girl. “Devil? I heard devils are murders and thieves and think they are 'wicked'. You think you're 'bad' little missy?” The boy grinned. He was joined by what looked like two others. One looked like a vampire and the third... wrapped in bandages like a mummy. “Oh look at the widdle devil! we're so scared...” they mocked her mercilessly.
The girl glanced at Terry pleadingly... “Help!”
Terry gulped. He didn't know what to do. It didn't look like the older kids would 'hurt' the devil-girl exactly... but they could- and would hurt him. What to do! He wanted to run...
The Skeleton-boy turned to Terry, his gelled up spiky hair gleaming in the glow of streetlamps. “Oh are you with her?” He sneered. “You're dressed like a devil!You're probably a murderer and stuff!” The bully had said. “Just like her! She's gonna be a killer and eat you!”
Terry glanced at Zarala. A devil? A murderer? “N-No I don't... I don't... really.. know her.”
“T-Terry?” Zarala whispered, her hair somehow loosing its animated nature in that moment.
… and that was it. That was all he needed to do, to get out of this. Let them take the hat and Zarala then he could leave... at least that was the hope but what he saw would terrify him for a lifetime.
The devil-girl looked furious.. angry... shocked... sparks of strange fire dancing on her body...
“Hey what's she doing-” The bullies gasped. Then suddenly her dress seem to tear... as huge bat-like wings appeared on her back! She was... angry. Her face filled with hate and rage. “She's a freak! She's gonna kill us! Run!” The bullies ran...
Terry was holding his breath at what he saw... he stared at her... her face... her eyes... her clothes torn and tattered now, as he saw ever inch of her red skin around her torso. That little girl he was innocently playing with just a few minutes earier. She wasn't a kid like him.. she really was a monster!
“T-Terry?” The croaked call of the devil-girl growled.
Terry ran... terrified. Images followed him of a flying monster, swooping down to eat him. He even dumped all the candy. The door to his home was unlocked as his parents had a set of trick-or treaters they were tending to but he brushed past them all, and ran to his room. He stared out the window in the darkness of that Halloween night... shivering as he took off his costume.
… he said he wasn't her friend... to save himself… she was going to hurt him and eat him in revenge...
Demons brought out the worst in people... for Terry it made him look like a coward...
… maybe it was even true.
