I tossed it aside and stepped under the spray. Of course the water was ice cold and shook my limbs some more, hoping this thing, this presence, would wash down the drain. It seemed to work. I began to feel the dark energy sliding off my body like soap suds heading toward the floor. As I imagined it swirling around my ankles and down into the drain, I could’ve sworn someone whispered my name.
Heven.
Sam
Afternoons at the gym were pretty quiet on a weekday like today, and most days I just did paperwork, restocked the water cooler, or did homework at the desk. Today, all of those options seemed too tedious. The idea of sitting still was taxing. My body wanted to move. I felt a little on edge but wasn’t really sure why.
It was a little bit of a relief that Heven and I were training today. Maybe it would burn off this extra energy that seemed to haunt me. I went back to the storage room where we kept extra equipment to see if there was anything that might be of use during training, and when I opened the door I was greeted with a big pile of mess.
I’m a guy, so any other time I would’ve rummaged around for what I wanted, then backed away, pretending I hadn’t noticed the colossal-sized disaster behind the door. But today wasn’t really an ordinary day, so I started cleaning.
Maybe I would get bonus points with my boss.
Or maybe the urge to shift would take over and I’d start to panic.
Right as I picked up a pair of twenty-pound dumbbells, I felt the telltale spike in my blood and a prickling sensation across my scalp. Not here. I told myself. Not here and not today.
I put the dumbbells on the rack nearby and took some deep, shuddering breaths.
It didn’t help.
I went back to working, thinking I could distract myself from the feeling. A few moments later, I picked up a pair of goggles that belonged in the pool area and I squeezed them so hard they snapped in half.
I dropped them onto the floor and rushed out of the storage area toward the back door, flinging it open and stepping out into the chilly air. I leaned against the brick of the building, putting my hands between my back and the wall to stop their shaking. I was not going to shift. I would not allow it.
A shadow made its way across the ground, a big dark shape that moved right over my feet. I looked up just as something disappeared over the top of the building.
The urge to shift hit me again, and I bent forward, resisting the urge. Off to my right and down the alleyway there was a loud bang and I thought I saw someone leap out of a dumpster.
Sam, someone seemed to hiss.
I took off along the concrete, intent on the dumpster and whoever was behind it. When I got closer I heard the pounding feet of someone running away, but when I made it to the opposite side the person was gone, disappearing around the corner and onto the street. I didn’t have time to chase them. I was supposed to be inside, working.
As I was walking back to the gym, another dark shape loomed overhead and then something in the dumpster behind me started clamoring around. It sounded like it was trapped inside and was bouncing between all the walls, trying to find the exit.
Attack.
Fight.
Destroy.
I blacked out then. I saw nothing. Heard nothing. Felt nothing. All I knew was the pounding in my body and the fight to shift.
The blackness seemed to go on and on and on.
Until something cut through.
Something was wrong with Heven. I could feel her struggling. I could feel her alarm. She needed me.
My eyes flew open, filled with the view of the alleyway and the dumpster. I looked above me, expecting to see something. It didn’t matter because there wasn’t anything there and the noise inside the dumpster stopped.
Heven! I shouted through my mind.
I’m in the locker room.
I practically ripped the back door off the frame as I rushed inside. I didn’t even pause at the Ladies sign on the locker room door, but tore inside, not really knowing what I would find but praying it wasn’t bad.
The lights were out and I reached over, flipping the switch and searching the room for her. I followed the sound of running water and found her in the shower. She stood there under the spray, fully clothed, with the shower curtain tangled by her feet.
She held out her arms, staring down at herself, with the same look she got when she thought a spider was climbing on her somewhere.
But there wasn’t anything on her. Except water.
“Heven?” I asked warily.
“Do you see anything?” she asked, blinking the water from her eyes.
“No. Was someone here? A demon?” I looked around the room, searching for someone else. I tilted my head when I caught the sound of more running water from the other side of the locker room. “Are the sinks running?”
She nodded and so I went to shut them off, ducking into each stall to check for an intruder. When I came back Heven reached out and shut off the shower and looked at me. “I look stupid.”
I suppressed a grin. “Not stupid. Wet.”
“There was something here, Sam.”
All trace of humor fell away. “Who was it, Heven?”
“I don’t know. It wasn’t a demon. It didn’t feel like a person or thing at all…”
“What did it feel like?”
“Energy. Dark energy. Like it was angry.” Goosebumps rose on her arms.
“Can you feel it now?” I asked.
“No. It’s gone.”
“Have you ever felt it before?”
“Not until just now when the power went out.”
I frowned. “The power didn’t go out, Heven.”
“Well, I wasn’t standing around in the dark for fun,” she replied.
“The light was just off. I flipped the switch when I came in. Everything out in the gym works fine.”
“I wasn’t imagining it,” she said, almost to herself.
I reached into the stall and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Her skin and clothes were freezing. “I believe you.”
She nodded as I led her back toward her locker. I noticed how she seemed to study everything in the room, looking for some sign she hadn’t been alone.
“He wouldn’t have been able to do this,” Heven said.
“Who?”
“Beelzebub. He couldn’t have been here. He’s still trapped in hell.”
I thought about the alleyway and my sudden urge to shift. Had that been Beelzebub? Was that what stirred the hound inside me? I glanced at Heven who was shivering and soaking wet. “Why don’t we bag training for today?”
She shook her head. “No. I have more clothes in my locker. I’ll just change.”