Average Days

It was an average day, of an average week, of an average month, of yet another average year. I went to my job day in and day out, eyes forward, mouth set to a firm line. I had to be completely focused if I ever wanted to accomplish anything with my dreams. I could, after all, sleep when I died. So, on this average day, I continued to work hard, focused on my laptop in front of me. My fingers flew across the keyboard, filling in yet another financial report when one of my coworkers approached me. It was not often I talked back.

“Jenny, we’re having a little get-together tonight.” He said, placing a hand on my desk next to me. “The boss is expecting all of us to be there.”

Something felt off about this invitation. Forced even. But if my boss is requesting me to be there, then I better at least show up. I nodded my agreement without letting my eyes waver from the screen. I still had plenty of work to finish up before I could even consider going to something like that party. I listened as the footsteps of that coworker faded away, mind still completely into my work. Making an appearance could not hurt, even if I did not end up speaking to anyone. That was the idea at least. I definitely did not expect my average day to end up like this.

“To grant your request for a sacrifice, we bring before you our enemy.” I felt a chill run down my mind at the cloaked figure’s words. “Take her life in exchange for our requests.”

I knew that my coworker was up to something when he mentioned a get-together, but I never thought it was this. Here I was, lying in the middle of a dark room, surrounded by cloaked figures, who were offering me as a sacrifice for some reason. While I was able to logically piece this much together, seeing the dagger in his hands had my blood pumping in overtime. This was not the kind of thing I believed in personally, but I did not want to die because of someone else’s beliefs either. I tried to break the shackles bounding my wrists and ankles onto the altar to no avail.

In this dark room, somewhere beneath my coworker’s house, the wind seemed to build, causing the candles to flicker. I did my best to beg, to plead with them to let me go, but my cries were falling on deaf ears. What had I done to them? Why was I an enemy they needed to sacrifice? All of these thoughts curled through my mind, making me dizzy and terrified. I could feel the blood draining from my face as the man approached my side, raising the dagger high above his head. Was this really the end of my story?

The last thing I remember from that night was seeing the dagger come down. When I came to, I was buried haphazardly, in that same coworker’s back yard. Lifting my shirt, there was no wound, no blood, not even a scar. I wanted to scream, to cry, but mostly, I felt numb. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I immediately called the police. For some reason, my captors had not thought to search my body before dumping me. How many were there? My blood should still be on that altar, but I have no wound. How can I prove what they did to me?

“911, what is your emergency?”

“Hi, my name is Jenny Owen, and I came to a party with my coworkers tonight,” I whispered, doing my best to hide in the bushes behind the house. “But they tried to kill me and bury me in the back yard.”

“What’s the address you’re at?” The operator replied, voice changing to something more serious. “How did you make it out?”

“I thought they stabbed me, but maybe I dreamed it?” I continued. “There’s no wound, but I was buried in the backyard and just dug my way out. The address is…”

Flashing blue and red lights, a blanket wrapped around my shoulders. The suspects in my attempted murder screaming madly that I was supposed to be dead, that they had watched me bleed out. It felt like the world was full of chaos around me, but I felt numb to all of that. My attempted murderers had lost color in their faces when the police pulled up and they saw me in the street. I shook my head slightly as I stared blankly at the police car containing my former coworker and his fellow worshippers. No matter the excuse, they attempted to commit a murder.

“It was not a dream, human.” I heard a very deep, very dark voice say almost right in my ear causing me to look around. “You died; I just kept your soul here. Those other humans of yours are selfish, always wanting things, and thinking sacrifices are what we desire.”

“What?” The cops were questioning the neighbors, I was sitting in the back of an ambulance and no one was around me. “Don’t tell me I’m going crazy too.”

“Jenny, I am Belphegor, the Demon of Sloth. You were used as a sacrifice tonight so that I would grant their wish to make their jobs at your work easier.” The voice continued, causing me to shiver. “I did not grant their request, but yours. I only have one small favor. Let me possess you.”

“Why?” I felt strangled as I spat this word.

“I broke the rules concerning pacts. I was supposed to fulfill their desires, not yours.” His voice seemed dark, scary, but I could feel his fear. “I will not control you. I only wish to remain in your body until things in the Underworld calm down from my betrayal.”

What was my desire? Why did he save me? So, if he is telling the truth, that means religion is true? All of these questions ran through my head, making me feel dizzy once again. It was then that I noticed I could feel his presence, there in the back of my mind. It felt dark, but like it was trying to make itself appear smaller than it was. A demon, Belphegor. I knew a little of their history and what he was supposed to be, but not too much. More than anything, I was confused. What was I supposed to do? How was this going to affect my life? Why was I saved when they were the ones summoning him?!

“Your desire to live. I saved you because I felt it was unfair for you to be killed because they wanted their jobs to be easier.” Belphegor stated, and I looked around again. “I can hear your thoughts since it is your body and mind I am possessing. History paints us as evil, dark entities, and I’m sure you can feel my presence now that I’ve alerted you to it, but I have never liked meaningless sacrifice.”

“Miss Jenny? We need you to come down to the station to recount your night.” An officer said, walking up to me. “After that, I’m sure you will want to go home. We’ll have an officer escort you at that point since it is already late.”

“Ahem. Thank you.” I replied, feeling that presence retreat slightly. “I appreciate it.”

When I finally made it home, I looked in the mirror again, at my stomach. It felt odd, weird to know that there was another presence within my mind, my body. Could he see me? In a way, that made this entire thing even weirder. I shook my head and turned away from the mirror. I could still feel him, that entity, there in the back of my mind. In a way, it felt like he was just sleeping, hiding away somewhere where I could feel him there but not really. It is an odd sensation to be sure. I walked into my bedroom and sank into the sheets, the bed seeming to cradle my body in a way it never felt like before.

“So, demons are real, does that mean angels are real and so is God?” I asked out loud but knew he could hear all of the questions in my head. “How old are you?”

“Most that find themselves possessed do not want to know of their demon. Yes, human, Angels and God are just as real as your people claim.” Belphegor’s voice sounded drowsy somewhat as it echoed in my head. “So are the possessions that exorcists come to cleanse. Though, Demons grow tired of trying to prove ourselves to humans. When those that do not believe find themselves at the Underworld’s gates, they beg to leave.”

“Oh.”

“They are not allowed to. None can escape divine punishment. I have not considered my age in a long time, human.” He continued, his voice tapering off a bit. “Ah, though that reminds me. Though I am able to pull my powers in, you may feel some of the effects. An increased amount of drowsiness and desire to stay in bed. I apologize for that in advance.”

I wondered how long he would be inhabiting my body. Part of me still felt numb from all that had happened today, so I also wondered if this was all just some really vivid dream I was having. As I rested my head on the pillow, I could feel the haze of sleep pulling at me. Finally, my eyes slid closed causing me to drift off almost immediately. I woke up still feeling drowsy, but it was then that I noticed something. I was no longer in my bed. Slowly, I lifted myself off the grassy patch I was lying on and looked around. It appeared to be a forest, at night.

What was I doing here, I wondered, looking around at the trees? Looking to my left, I felt something dark, something powerful near me to that side. I took one step, then another, until I was walking directly to the source. There, lying in the grass, was what appeared to be some sort of monster. It seemed to be sleeping until it heard my approach and sat up to look at me. Its eyes blinked sleepily, reminding me of a child who had just woken from a nap. It seemed to have scaley-like red skin with green eyes and red pupils. This was what I always imagined a dragon would look like.

“How did you find your way here?” It was that same voice, the voice I heard before I fell asleep. “I am Belphegor, the demon currently residing in your soul.”

Saying this, he raised his arms to the forest surrounding us. I looked around before refocusing my attention on him. All I did was go to sleep and I woke up here. Was this a dream too? No, it felt way too real for that. Suddenly, he shifted until he appeared more human in my eyes. Instead of red scaley like skin, it seemed to darken to a tanned color, but his eyes remained that same shining green. Instead of the baldness, I had expected, dark black hair appeared on his head falling just short of his eyes. It felt even weirder to be looking at him as he was, residing in my soul.

“Hm. Maybe my possession of you has netted you some unique abilities related to your sleep. I have not talked with a human face to face in thousands of years, so I apologize if my demonic form frightened you.” Instead of standing, he rose to a seated position, his eyes on me slightly unnerving. “But you seem just as calm as before. Maybe you are in shock over everything that has happened in the past seven hours?”

“I feel…numb by all of this. What am I supposed to think?” I questioned, sinking to the ground in front of him. “You’re one of the Seven Rulers, right? I can still barely wrap my mind around this.”

“Humans overcomplicate things. I was simply going to hide out in your body for a while before returning, but you come within, to your very own soul to question me in person. Hah, I’m sleepy.” Belphegor said, his gaze unwavering. “I was curious about humans. I could sense in you a determination to do your job well, to work hard to accomplish your dream of being in business for yourself. I wanted to see your memories and the only way I could accomplish that was to enter your body.”

“So, you were curious?” I continued looking down at the ground, his eyes too much for me to stare at. “That’s the reason you saved me and in doing so broke one of your rules?”

“I have seen what I needed. Do not worry. I will not remain within you for long.” His eyes drooped slightly and he went to lie back down in the grass on his stomach, crossing his arms under his head. “Return to yourself. The sun will rise soon.”

The next morning, I woke up feeling as though I had not slept at all. Dragging myself from the comfort of my bed, I proceeded through my usual morning routine. On the way in to work, I picked up a cup of coffee and walked into the office. As soon as I did, everyone turned to look at me as though I grew two heads. Apparently, the situation from last night was all over the news. My boss approached me with a somewhat apologetic look on his face. I had a feeling he was about to ask me something I did not know the answer to. I sighed slightly before forcing a smile on my lips.

“Jenny, what happened last night?” He asked, looking at me straight in the eyes. “John was arrested because he tried to kill you?”

“Um…” My brain was still processing everything. “Yeah.”

“The media is asking for a statement from you.” He continued a shocked expression on his face. “I’m surprised you didn’t request the day off. Why not go home for today and rest?”

“I…yeah, maybe I should,” I replied softly, my attention on the eyes staring at me. “Thanks, Boss.”

Instead of going straight home, I stopped by the store, my mind on picking up some food for the evening. I had not prepared anything for myself in a long time, so I wanted to at least eat right for once. It was then that I noticed someone was following me. My hair stood up on the back of my neck, my brain in overload as I tried to find the perpetrator. Continuing my walk through the store, the person continued to follow me. I wonder if Belphegor can sense who it is and what they want. Before I could even begin to check out, a hand gripped my arm and pulled me into an empty bathroom to pin me against the wall HARD.

“You are supposed to be dead, but I find you walking through the store.” The man said, pinning my hands above my head, his free one diving under my shirt to check for wounds. “How is this possible?!”

When his eyes rose to meet mine, I felt the darkness in the back of my mind that had retreated come to the front almost immediately, in something of a rush, causing me to be dizzy. My eyes grew hazy around the edges, causing me to realize that Belphegor came to the front of my consciousness. I watched as the blood drained from his face and could feel the darkness all around me. In the mirrors across the way, I could see that my eyes, even the whites of them, turned the same green as his, my skin looking quite red in the lighting. Behind me, there appeared to be a large shadow towering over me, its outline the same as the monster I saw in my dream.

“We do not desire sacrifices from the likes of you.” It was my mouth moving, but his voice. “Submit yourself to the punishment the humans will give you.”

Immediately, the man fell to the floor on his butt, eyes wide, face pale as he stared at me. His khaki-colored pants darkened slightly where his legs met his torso and I had to do my best to keep a straight face. I felt Belphegor retreat back to one corner of my mind and my eyes returned to their normal brown, my skin back to its usual pale color. I shot one final glare at the man before returning to my shopping. Since I knew he could read my thoughts, I made sure to let Belphegor know how grateful I was that he stepped in, in the way he had. Now, how long would this be happening to me?

I know it is past the time for scary stories, but I really liked the idea I had with this one! Hope you enjoyed it! And Happy Thanksgiving!

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