Some Games Should Not Be Played

Melanie Harold became obsessed.
The incedent with Jason had thrown her into a neverending black nothingness. Meeting Alec had sent a rope into the abyss, and after debating wether the rope would unlatch from the hands of the sender once she grabbed it, or stay firmly in place and allow her to climb out, she took the chance and reached for it.
The rope was now swinging, and Melnie had to hang on just long enough for it to stay still, and so she could climb back into the world.
She timed how fast or slow to walk between classes, just to see his face, even if they made no eye contact. Sometimes his solid chocolate eyes would lock onto hers, and he would wink at her, which would make warmth bubble in her chest and stomach burst with butterflies.
She hoped each time he would ask her out again, but he never did.
Then came the school's annual Spring Dance. She argued to herself wether to go or not;she was never much of a dancer. Her only question was: Would Alec be there? She decided not to. If he didn't show up, she'd just be humiliated. She finally came to the conclusion that she was being pathetic and wouldn't go.
But then it changed from a Spring Dance to a Spring Bonanza. There were going to be a bunch of games and competitions, food, and a SHORT dance.
She kept her thoughts silent. She would go if her friends did. She waited for an opinion from any of them. She didn't care if it was Mitchell, Caroline, or Angelica, obnoxious as she was.
But none of them gave one. She decided she would have to speak up.
Or not. Maybe it would be better if no one knew.
Making sure none of her friends were around, she marched up to a student union member and bought a ticket. She put it carefully in he pocket. She was going to cherish it forever if her plan worked.
She counted down the hours until the Bonanza. Until she found out what was really going on.
She watched the clock during her last period class.
One minute left. Sixty...fifty nine...fifty eight. She counbted the seconds in her head and tried to conjure up his face as each one passed. But, as usual, his face just faded, like dust blown in the wind.
Forty...thirty nine...thirty eight...
This will have been her first boyfriend since Jason. She thought she would never fall in love again, and that no one would ever fall in love with her.
Twenty seven...twenty six...twenty five...
Each tick of the clock sent a tsunami of hope through her body.
Five...four...
The seconds stretched into hours.
"Three...two...one." She whispered. The bell shrieked and she jumped from her chair and practically flew to the gym.
And there he was, early, just like her. The sun came through the wired window and bounced off his hair. She walked slowly to him. Each time her foot touched the floor, an electric current spiked through her.
"Hi." She said as sweetly and casually as she could.
He looked up, just as casually.
"Hey," He said, almost a question. Melanie leaned against the wall and played with a strand of red-black hair.
"You have really cool hair." He said, walking next to her. She hoped she wasn't blushing.
"Thanks," She said, smiling at him. She hoped there was nothing in her teeth. He extended his hand and lightly touched a shiny piece of hair. She felt her face boil and looked down so her hair covered her reddedned cheeks.
"So." He said in the same tone as the last time they talked. She hoped he would ask what she hoped he would.
"Have you changed your mind yet?" He looked at her, face semi-expressionless. Her heart skipped a beat.
"Maaaaybe." She said in a playful tone.
"Good. How's Friday?" The expressionless look had faded from his face.
"Fine." She stiffened her neck, hoping it would stop her voice from shaking. He simply smiled at her, and brushed her hair again.
Images flashed through Melanie's mind of Alec leaning down to kiss her. She was surprised at how much she wanted it. She looked at him as he walked away, thinking this dream as he headed towards his books.
Then he turned around. A strange look had washed over his face, and almost hypnotized expression.
What the hell? She thought. He walked back to her, and the hypnotized exoression faded as his face floated towards hers, eyes glazed with slight confusion. The confusion faded, as well, as Melanie's daydream raced though her head. His lips touched hers hesitantly. Within seconds, the hesitation passed as the kiss grew passionate and strong.
The rest of the night was perfect. She had gotten everything she wanted in a few seconds, without even trying.
Halfway through the event, though, Alec seemed to forget that his new girlfriend was practically glued to his side the whole time. He began to ignore her, turning around rarely to make a flirty remark or look at her as if to say "why are you here?"
Melanie refused to think of this as anything bad. She enjoyed the time she was having, clinging to Alec's side. She laughed and joked, happier than she had been in a year, knowing absolutely nothing of the power she held and the evil quickly approaching.
And no one knoew of the demons lurking above their heads, weaving above the balloons that had floated to the cieling, invisible to the untrained eye.
One was a young girl, thin and scrawny. Her hair was tangled and dirty, teeth yellow and sharp, small black eyes beady, with clawlike nails curling towards her palms. Her lips were thin and white, cracked, and crusted with dry blood. Her skin peeled and flaked on her body, which was almost gray. Shoer horns poked out of her head, yellow and chipped, a torn beige rag draped over her shoulders.
The other looked like a cross between a cobra, an alligator, and a bat. It was half the size of the girl, the size of a big dog. It's head was like a cobra's fanning out threateningly. His body was long as a cobra's, but the shape and color of an alligator. He had no feet, just slithered like a snake. A very thin layer of black bat fur covered it's body. Large bat's wings flapped rapidly, scaly like snakeskin. He had three sets of teeth, a bat's in front, a snake's in the middle, and an alligator's in the back. His tongue was long and serpent-like, but thick and sharp, like a slithery knife.
"Our master's time is coming, Arylith." The strange creature said to her in a raspy voice. She chuckled, a high-pitched, evil sound.
"Soon, she will arise, and she will once again rule this land." She said, stroking his head menacingly.
"The girl is just beginning to discover her power." He grumbled happily.
"How long, Lyxero?" Arylith said to the creature.
"As soon as her power fully develops. If she exercises it, soon."
The demons watched Melanie carefully. Suddenly, Arylith gasped in horror.
"The boy. The one our master warned us of." She said quickly. Lyxero quickly looked down. His bat-shaped, serpentine eyes widened.
Under the two demons, Marcus, another new student, looked at them with an acidic glare.
"The priest's son. Lyxero, we've been caught!" Arylith shrieked.
"Out! Now!" Lyxero growled. They zoomed out of the gym, Marcus following them closely.
"Where's the porthole?" Lyxero shouted. Arylith circled over a brick in the building.
"In one of these-I forgot which one!" She said frantically.
"You idiot girl! Move!" He slapped her away with his thick tail. Marcus ran to them, his inky black ponytail trailing behind him. He reached into his back pocket and took out a small bottle. It was white and square, with a gold cross etched into the plastic.
A shrill scream burst out of Arylith's mouth.
"Lyxero! He has holy water!"
"I know!" Lyxero shouted back at her. With his tail, he traced his master's symbol into different bricks.
"Hurry!" Arylith shouted. Marcus twisted the cap off the bottle. He ran up to her, eyes burning.
"You're not supposed to be here." He said, pushing up his glasses. "You won't reach the girl."
"Who's gonna stop us?" Arylith squealed, trying to sound fearless.
"My father and the rest of the church. She will not discover her power.
"Oh, really?" Arylith said, nudging Lyxero, signaling for him to hurry. Lyxero traced another brick, with no success.
Msrcus lifted his arm back.
"Lyxero..." Arylith whispered. Lyxero traced another brick, and a big, black swirling hole expanded over the wall.
Quickly as he could, Marcus hurled his arm at the demons, spraying droplets of holy water on them. They writhed in pain as they were sucked into the porthole. It swirled shut, leaving Marcus standing motionless. He twisted the cap back onto the bottle and walked back into the gym.
Meanwhile, Melanie became worried as Alec grew even more distant, walking away from her, throwing her confused glances. She followed him like a puppy, still refusing to take it as a bad sign.
The event ended. Alec ran off, obviously desperate to get away from her. She followed him closely. He turned around in the middle of his escape.
"Okay, Melanie. Let's get something straight. I. Don't. Really. Like you."
Melanie froze in her tracks. "W-what?" Her mind was blocked, not willing to accept it. "Then why'd you..."
"I do that to a lot of random girls. I flirt with them, but I don't really like them. It's just a joke."
That word again. Joke.
"It's a game I like to play. The reactions are funny." A smirk grew over his face.
But I really meant it with you, she pictured him saying. She hoped with every bit of hope in her body that he would say it, pictured it over and over, while looking deperately into his chocolatey eyes.
"But I really meant it with you." He said. The hypnotized expression was back. It faded, and his beautiful face was normal again. She could see it in his eyes that he really meant it. He gently kissed her again.
In the shadows, Marcus watched them, eyes clouded with the worry of failure.
"I'm too late." He whispered to himself.
Alec walked Melanie home, treating her like a princess. They arrived at her doorstep. Melanie pictured the perfect romance movie, where the boy kisses the girl before she goes in. To her surprise, Alec did just that, each moment exactly like the one she pictured.
It's like he can read my mind. She thought. She stepped back into her house. Alec almost didn't want to let her go. With a sad look in his eyes, he started to walk away.
Marcus had followed them home. Just before the door closed, he jammed his foot into it and slipped inside. While Melanie brushed her teeth, he quietly slipped into the shadows of her bedroom. He waited behind her dresser.
She crawled into bed, and started to fall asleep. Marcus slowly walked up to her. He rached out slowly and touched her shoulder. "Melanie." He whispered.
Melanie slowly turned around. Seeing a boy she didn't know, in her house, not knowing how he got in, she did what any girl would. She screamed as loud as she could. Marcus's hand shot out and crushed itself against her mouth.
"Don't. Scream. I'm not here to hurt you. You need to listen to me" The panic lingered in her wide eyes.
"What are you doing here?" She asked as he took his hand away. His sand-colored eyes flickered with nervousness.
"You need to promise to be quiet. Don't say a word, as much as you might not believe me. I'm not going to hurt you, but you have to trust me.
"O-okay."
Marcus pushed up his black wire glasses, and took a deep breath.
"When you were at the dance, there were two demons watching y-"
"WHAT?!"
"Listen to me. You can stop them You just have to-"
"What? Believe you?"
"Yes."
"Right. I think I would have noticed if I was being stalked by two demons."
"Sh! Sh! You have to quiet down!"
There was a short silence.
"Melanie. You have to believe me here." Those two demons-there's a lot more of them. A whole army. And the only reason you couldn't see them is because you arent trained to.
"Oh, and you are?"
"As a matter of fact, yes. My father trained me."
"And who's your father?"
"Father Frederick. The priest." He told me everything, trained me, and srnt me to stop and save you. But I might be too late. If you don't listen to me, all your chances of being saved will be gone."
"Too late? What do you mean?"
"You've already discovered your power."
"Power?"
"Think Melanie."
Melanie thought about the day. She remembered thinking about everything when she was with Alec, and then him doing it. And his facial expressions-first, the hypnotized look, and then the look saying he actually believed in what he was doing.
"No...mind control?"
Marcus nodded.
"I can control minds..." Melanie looked down, thinking. "Wow!" She looked up, clearly excited. "I can control minds! Oh, wow!"
"Melanie, it's not a good thing!"
"What do you mean it's not a good thing? I can make people believe they want to do things they really don't want to do! This is fantastic!"
"Melanie, quiet down!"
"Oops. Sorry."
"You have to listen to me. Thise demons are after you. There still kight be a chance to save you, a small chance.I can train you to see them. I can protect you from them, but if you don't listen to me, I'll have to go against you."
"Right. Okay."
"Melanie-"
"Wait-I can control your mind right now! I can make you leave!"
"No, don't-"
Melanie pictured Marcus walking towards the door. She looked into his beige eyes, and, without knowing, into his mind, and thought, I want to leave.
The hypnotixed expression washed over his face, and then a normal look returned, as he began to truly believe he wanted to leave.
Marcus left the room, left Melanie's house, and went back to hishome behind the church.
"Dad!" he called. Father Frederick came down the creaky stairs, still in his church robes.
"Were you successful, my son?"
"No. She's grown too strong already."
A look of horror flashed on the Father's face.
"She controlled you."
"I'm so sorry, Dad. We'll just have to work harder."
"And we will. We'll do everything it takes tomorrow."
"What do you mean?"
Father Frederick reahed into a closet and pulled out a long rope and some cloth. "We'll have to take her by force."