"Auch!"
Sharon looked at her friend, Apple, who suddenly screamed for nothing.
"What? What's wrong?"
Apple, looking strangely behind her while rubbing the back of her neck.
"I don't know... I felt something burning, and by burning I meant pain that feels hot as if my neck was on fire..."
Sharon frowned, then she smirked, shaking her head a little.
"It's just your imagination..."
"No, I really felt it!"
"Okay, okay... Just finish your lunch, break is almost over."
Apple let out a sigh. She's been having these weird stuff going on with her recently. Always the hot burning feeling of fire at the back of her neck and whispering voice calling her name when she's alone at her bed.
But no one believe her. Her colleagues thought she was trying to get some attention. She tried to pretend that it wasn't there, she keeps telling herself that it was just her imagination but it's just keep getting worse.
While having her lunch, she was sure there was that voice again. That deep whispering voice... calling her name.
She ignored, but then she felt the hair at the back of her neck stands. And suddenly she felt her neck burning.
She can even smell the hair of her neck burnt.
Definitely not just her imagination.
**************************************************
Apple was exhausted after a long day at work. She threw herself in her nice bed and fell asleep soon after.
Her cell phone ring few times but she couldn't answer it. She's already deep in her sleep.
Apple saw an old creepy looking old man sitting with legs crossed in her dream, chanting some sort of prayer or spell in some language she couldn't understand. A pleasant looking young man was screaming in pain in front of the old man. A scythe fell from his hand.
"Curse you, old man!!" The young man cried.
But the old man ignores and still chanting. Fire rises from the young man's body and it seems to be burning him, but the young man doesn't look like he's feeling it. He picks up his scythe and dashes toward the old man...
There it is again. Burning.
Apple woke up when she felt it again. So intense. The raging flames in her dream were so real that her whole body felt burning...
"Who's there?!"
She waited for an answer, when she knew nobody was there, because she lives alone. She starting to feel goosebump when she heard a whispering again.
"I'm not scared of you!! What do u want from me? Show yourself!!"
Okay... She regret saying that, of course. Whoever or whatever the whisperings came from, she definately doesn't want to know.
"Read from the book!"
Suddenly a husky voice was talking next to her ear. Deep and harsh voice, followed by warm feeling at her ear. Apple gasped, covering her ears with both ber hands, she cried,
"Please leave me alone! I... I don't know anything! P-please just go away!!"
Apple wrapped herself in her blanket, shivering in fear. She shut her eyes tight, hoping to fall asleep soon, or perhaps wake up from this dream she's having, she wished this were just a dream!
She's always been afraid of ghosts or any spiritual beings since she was little, she heared too much of a ghost stories from her mother. So encounter with a ghost would be the very last thing she want in her life.
No! This is not happening...!
She heard a mocking laughter just at the side of her queen sized bed. For some reason, Apple just feel like screaming to her mommy. But nothing came out from her mouth, she didn't dare to open her mouth either. She bit her lips, shut her eyes while holding her crucifix necklace with both hands.
In the name of Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit... amen
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done of earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
And 'Hail Mary' after that. But only in her mind, she didn't dare to chant it out loud. Afraid of whatever that is still standing, possibly 'floating' next to her bed would crawl into her blanket and grin at her side. Ohh! So horrible, she shouldn't think like that, it only made her even more frighten.
She repeated the prayer over and over again in hopes that whatever that's still there would vanish away.
**************************************************
Ringggggg!!
The sound of that freaking alarm made Apple jumped out of her bed. She forgot how she had fallen asleep last night while praying over and over again, wrapped in blanket. She took a glance at her table clock before roughly took off her clothes and ran into the shower.
Shit! I'm gonna be late!
She came out of the shower, taking out her blouse n pants from the closet when she realized that it's sunday. Off day.
She slapped her forehead. Stupid me. And recalled back what happened last night. The dream... That voice... Why are all these happening to her? And yes, it's getting worse, the voice sounded as if getting closer to her each time it spoke. And... did it mentioned about a book last night? Yes it did.
Read from the book... read from what book??
Apple puts her hands in her face, since when all these started?
Read from the book... the book... Wait, a book?
As if remembered something, Apple's eyes opened wide. She ran to the other room of her apartment, which she uses to store useless stuff, old stuff of hers that she couldn't throw away just like that.
Last month she went back to her mom's place which wasn't far away from her apartment, noticed something was buried in the soil at the backyard. Triangular shaped thing showing out from the ground. Curious she dug it out.
Although it was just an old digusting dirty book with hand writings in foreign language, definitely not english nor spanish, because if it were she should be able to find the meanings in a dictionary.
Probably chinese? No, not chinese or japanese either. More like thailand or hindi? Ancient? Whatever...
But the contents inside captivated her. Especially the first chapter with a drawing of a young... man?
Wait... Was that the guy with a grim reaper's sort of weapon in my dream?
Hurriedly she searches for the book in the room full of useless junks. She wanted to make sure whether it was the same young man. Perhaps the book she found in her mom's backyard was the reason of all these... paranormal activities? Or whatever you call it.
"Here......."
Apple heard a whisper, and turned around to the direction of where it came. There at the corner was a box with a pile of her secondary school text books. She scattered the books so she can spot the old book easily.
Her heart skipped a beat when her vision stopped directly on the mysterious old book. She gulped before her hand reaching to touch it's black cover which still has some dirt on it. Suddenly the hair at the back of her neck stands for no reason causing her to look around. She's all alone but somehow she felt a presence there with her.
"Hush! There's no such thing as fuckin ghost!"
Apple said out loud. Darn it! She regret saying those again. What if the ghost can hear her and get mad?
Taking a deep breath she opened the book turning pages fast to find the drawing she had in mind before.
It was him. The man from her dream. Looked exactly the same in the book. Nicely slim figure with wavy hair, a handsome smiling face and he was holding the same weapon that Apple saw in her dream. Big curved blade with a long handle, same like the grim reaper's blade she saw in a movie once.
What movie was that again? Really I should not be thinking about a goddamn movie title right now...
It's possible that she dreamt about the young man only because she saw his good looking face in the book once. It has nothing to do with the burning and the whispering. But a voice asked her to read from the book, how on earth can she read these weird looking handwritings...
"Wait, wait... How is this possible?"
Apple turning pages by pages. Suddenly seems to understand the contents as if she knows what exactly were written in it.
"Chapter one... Ivan, the eye c-co-collector?!"
She quickly closed the book with a thud. She looked around again, not really sure why she should when she's all alone. She glanced at the book again. Curious, she forgot all about the burning, the whispering and the laughing voice by her bed last night. As if her mind was in a trance, as if the book was calling to her.
Apple runs her fingers through the brownish page of the first chapter. There's something about the book and the writings... as if she'd seen it before, a long time ago.
"Ivanushka, originally from Russia. Tortured, hanged and burned. Upon his last breath, a scythe was striked into his heart... Eww... Sick."
Apple stopped a second before she continue again.
"His restless soul came back to seek revenge and burned down the whole village. His hatred and wrath became his reason to hunt humans, trading a wish for an eye,"
"This demon tricks human into believing he can make any wish come true, after a deal was made, he comes again exactly on midnight to kill the human who made a deal with him, one strike to the heart and another to the eye with his scythe."
"When no human dare to accept his offer, he started to kill randomly. His demonic power allows him to travel to any place he desire,"
"He hides his true nature and walks among humans. He chooses his victim randomly."
Hmm... a demon, huh? I thought demons would look like 'Hellboy', with red skin and have horns on their heads.
Apple flipped to the next page. Unaware of the current situation she's in.
"When his eyes met mine, he didn't try to run like the other demons I've captured. Instead raging flames came out of his body and he swing out his scythe to my direction, causing the ground to shake. I used most of my energy in the fight with this demon, eventually succeed trapping this powerful demon in a drawing sealed with mantra,"
"Nobody should be able to break the seal except myself. If I die then these demons will remain trapped in this book forever."
Apple flipped back to examine the drawing of Ivan. She noticed there are words forming a circle in the background. Could these be the seal that's keeping the demon in the book?
Okay I read the first chapter, but I'm not that stupid to read the mantra written there or do anything to break the seal, besides only the person who made the seal can break it. Even if I can, who would ever want to let a demon go free?
So she slammed the book and let loud a sigh, too much for her to even think about it. Totally not the answer she was looking for.
Apple was about to stand up when the book flipped open by itself and the drawing of Ivan glared back at her. Suddenly a rack by the wall fell and hit her in the head. She fell face down next to the old book and saw blood on the floor just before her vision turned completely black.
**************************************************
"Finally we meet again... Except this time you're no longer have the powers against me, hahahahaa!"
A cold laughter sent shiver to her spine. That deep husky voice echoed in her ear.
"You don't know how long I've waited for you... I've waited so long for this day to finally come, where I can finally have my revenge on you and every disgusting human!"
Who... who's talking? And who is he talking about? Me? Urgh... my head...
The voice that was speaking in unfamiliar accent echoed through the room. Apple tried to move. She couldn't. She tried to open her eyelids but she sees only blurry visions. She closed them back again. She couldn't feel her body, all she felt was the throbbing pain in her head.
She tried to open her eyes again. Her vision still blurry but she was sure someone was standing next to where she was lying. She's pretty sure it must have been that someone who was talking... Wait, what?
Apple came to her senses. She lives ALONE, and was alone the whole time. Who could have trespassed her apartment? She felt her pulse racing, heart beats faster. The painful throbbing in her head was making her feel even worse.
She heard a chuckle came from the person who's standing with his back facing her.
"One single blow... Just a single blow, I could finish you just like that... But I don't want to. Seeing you this weak makes me want to torture you more than how you've made me suffer!!"
**************************************************
**************************************************
Struggling to get up, Apple pushed herself with all her might. She tried to sit still with her hand on the floor, keeping her balance while the other hand on her bleeding head. She probably had bleed a lot, judging from the painful throb and still having that whirling sensation.
"Oh that helpless expression on your face... I couldn't wait to make you suffer a long painful death..."
The person said again and took a couple of steps before squatted right in front of Apple, grating his teeth in anger. His light-green eyes met hers, showing the wickedness of the devil inside.
Apple shivers at his devilish cold stare. She could hardly breath when her ears caught the harsh noise of his scythe scraping the floor, followed by the disturbing sounds of heavy chains linked to the metal shackles on his hands.
She didn't dare to even blink when she realized his lips curving out an evil smile. Apple shuddered as she caught a glimpse of the huge scythe with an almost black long handle on the floor, right next to her.
"Yes, yes... That's what I wanted to see... Your fear."
The green-eyed demon spoke again with his weird accent. Still in his squatting position, he slowly lifted his hand towards Apple. The heavy chains were dragged against the floor as he moved his hand.
"What took you so long, old man?"
As he lifted her chin with his fingers, he smirked when she gasped at his touch. Staring at her face, the agony was briefly dismissed from his mind. The face of an innocent, lovely young maiden... He was lost in his thoughts for a moment.
"No... Don't hurt me, please..."
Apple's voice came out cracking, her body trembling convulsively. Her chin felt burning at the touch of the green-eyed demon, as if his fingertips were made of fire.
"Don't you remember me at all...?"
"No... I don't know who you are, I don't know anything... Please let me go..."
Apple begged again. Tears started streaming down her cheeks when the hand now violently clutched her jaws.
"It doesn't matter whether you remember or not, because I'm still going to kill you."
The demon laughed as he grabbed hold of his scythe, pushing himself to stand up. But he stopped when he felt he was being pulled down.
He stared at the frightening girl who was grasping the collar of his black outfit. Tears still flowing from her eyes but somehow those eyes seemed a bit different from a while ago.
"I will not let you take my life... You can't kill me..."
"What...?!"
Although she was whispering, but he heard it clearly. He pushed her away as he stood, he raised his hand just above her head and wild flames charging out of his palm. But strangely it didn't burn her even a bit. When he swinged his scythe at her, he felt a sharp pain causing him to backed away from her.
"I will not die in the hands of a demon like you..."
Apple uttered weakly, she remained still in her position.
"I guess I underestimated your ability, old man..."
That was the last thing Apple heard before she fell unconsciously to the floor again.
**************************************************
"Urghhh...."
Apple groaned, still waking up to a terrible pain in her head. She felt a bandage around her head then her eyes went wide. To her surprise, she was back in her room again, lying on her bed.
"You're awake..."
Apple turned to the husky voice next to her bed. She got up to find the green-eyed demon was sitting legs crossed on the bedside table, her table lamp and holy bible were thrown on the floor.
"I'm not dead...?"
"Yet,"
The demon answered, holding his scythe close to his side. He turned to Apple with a solemn expression.
"You're the reincarnation of the owner of the book, a demon hunter, an old shaman who kept me as prisoner in that book,"
Apple remained silence as the demon started to speak. Somehow he didn't seem dangerous or threatening anymore.
"But I can not kill you, yet... Somehow the old man casted another spell, which binded my soul to his... In other words, if I try to kill you, I will suffer the pain as well."
"So that means..."
"Yes, but you are to listen, to obey my every words!"
He raised his voice, almost shouting.
"After you release the others from the book, I will spare your life."
Apple bit her lips. Release the other demons? What will happened after that? She didn't know what else to do.
"But... But... I don't know how to..."
"Read the book, and the blood of the shaman will undo the seal on every demon drawings."
"Blood...?"
Apple remembered how she was knocked down by a heavy object before she saw her blood on the floor. She finally understood most of it. She was the old man in her dream and only she can break the seal of the demons. Okay... so what happens next?
"So... You are Ivan, the eye collector?"
The demon shook his head in displease before he knocked her head with the blunt side of his scythe.
"I hate it when stupid humans pronounce my name like that, my name is 'ee-vaan', not 'i-van', if you pronounce my name wrong again I will hit you even harder with this, do you understand?!"
Ivan warned her. He sounded just like dracula with that kind of weird accent, Apple thought to herself, nodded quietly.
Despite of his very young appearance, Ivan's voice is deep and husky, like a middle aged man. He's wearing black sleeveless of what seems like a knitted top with turtle neck until his chin, and black leather as pants and tall lace-up hunting black boots. His metal shackles connected with two broken heavy chains, one on each hand. He drags them along when he moves. He didn't seem to bother about the chains hanging from his hands... Apple wondered why.
I didn't know demons can be so stylish... Black leather?
Apple fixed her gaze on Ivan's entire image. He doesn't look like a demon, he looked like a teenage boy who dressed up for japanese anime cosplay event.
"Oi! What are you smiling about?!"
Another hit from Ivan when he noticed Apple was smiling at him for no reason.
Now he's more like a typical human boy than a dangerous vengeful demon as described in the book. Probably because he couldn't do anything to her except shouting at her with that funny accent and hit her head.
"I'm sorry... I was just wondering what country you're from, because of that accent of yours..."
Apple rubbed her head, the spot where Ivan had hit her twice.
"It's all written in the book! Now stop asking me stupid questions! I forbid it!"
Ivan grunted as he slammed his fist to the wall and left a hole on the solid concrete.
Apple fell silence. Wondering whether all these were just a stupid dream, stupid old book; a teenage-looking demon who speaks like the count dracula from Hotel Transylvania; she was the reincarnation of a demon hunter also a powerful shaman; not to mention having her head hit twice by the blunt side of the grim reaper's sort of weapon... Yeah, a scythe... I knew that.
This is all nonsense! This is all so crazy! Her mother would send her to the mental institution right away if she tells her this.
"Oi you! What is your name?"
Apple looked up at Ivan who now came to sit next to her on the bed. His scythe was left standing against the wall.
"Er... Me?"
"Do you see anyone else here? Oh! Human's stupidity!"
Ivan furled his eyebrows and cried that out loud, annoyingly.
"Urm... My name is, Apple..."
Ivan turned to her, frowning.
"Apple? The sweet, red fruit apple?"
Ivan started to giggle.
"I know it's a stupid name, go ahead and laugh,"
Apple mumbled. It wasn't the first time to see those kind of reaction when people heard her name. She never knew why her mother gave her that name. Ever since she was a kid all her schoolmates would go, 'A for apple, A.p.p.l.e. Apple' at her.
"No, I think it described you well... Your face look sweet and delicious, just like an apple,"
Ivan was smiling, exactly the same friendly looking face Apple saw in the drawing before.
"So delicious I could eat you up right away, just like this..."
Ivan opened his mouth wide and came closer to Apple.
"Aaargh!!!!"
Apple got scared that she shrieked. Ivan knocked her forehead with the back of his hand.
"Stupid human... I was just playing with you."
What?! A demon joke? You're kidding me...
"Look, since I can't do anything to you, I'll just treat you as a pet... You know, like a cat playing with his food, the mouse, before he can finally crush its bones in his jaws... Hahahaaa..."
Ivan laughed at his own rotten joke as he patted Apple's head, like she's a pet. His hands was hot like he was in extremely high fever.
"But don't worry, like I said I will spare your life if you obey my every word... Although I can't guarantee that, if I found a way to kill you without injuring myself, ahahahaaa..."
Apple's eyes went wide, as she watched him laughing. She couldn't tell whether he's joking or speaking the truth... He's confusing her with that smiling face of his. Of course, he's a demon with tricks and mischief, he should not be trusted at all.
What should I do...? I can't run or hide, I can't trust him either! But what choice do I have? He doesn't seem that nasty...
Is he really going to make me release the other demons in the book? Then what will happen after that? What will happen to me...?!
**************************************************
