Eyes of the Devil

“What’s going on, Frank?” Gerard asked with an audible fear in his voice. “Who was that?”

“I don’t know, Gerard,” Frank responded, still feeling a little numb from everything. He glanced at the glass tube in his hand, wondering if it could really be centaur blood or if it was just more poison. The last thing he wanted to do was put Gerard through more pain. “This is ridiculous. I can’t give this to you!” he exclaimed.

“Give me what?” Gerard slurred, his eyelids falling half closed. Frank rushed to his side in a panic.

“No, don’t go back to sleep,” he said frantically, uncorking the bottle and holding it to Gerard’s lips. He hesitated for a single second before tilting the vial back and watching the onyx fluid slide down his friend’s throat. Gerard swallowed out of habit, but his eyes suddenly bulged and he coughed violently. Frank ran to the kitchen to get him a glass of water, but by the time he had returned, his friend seemed fine. He handed Gerard the water anyway, but when he tried to take it from Frank’s loosened grip, his fingers slipped right through the object as if it was not there at all. The glass fell to the floor, shattering on the polished wood. Frank looked at him in shock and brushed a few of the fragments aside with his shoe.

“What’s going on here, Gerard?”

“I asked you first,” his friend responded with a glare crossing his face. Frank merely breathed a deep sigh and went to find something to clean up the mess before anyone was hurt. Before he could accomplish this, there was a quiet knock at his door, sending a chill rocketing up his spine. He chose to ignore it for the time being.

“Are you gonna answer it?” Gerard asked once the knocking became more consistent and louder. It quickly turned into a ferocious pounding, and a terrified Frank practically ran to the door and opened it.

“Frank! I’m so glad you’re okay!” Ray pushed his way into the house before Frank could stop him. Gerard’s eyes fell upon him and were immediately riddled with shock. He almost stood and backed away from the man, but he found himself unable to move.

“What are you talking about, Ray?” Frank asked, confused.

“There’s been some crazy guy running around lately…breaking into people’s houses and stuff like that. I just thought I’d come over to check on you.”

“Er…I’m fine… What the hell are you wearing?” Frank asked, raising one eyebrow. Ray just let out a laugh.

“Don’t worry about it.” He walked over towards Gerard, who looked up at him with a blank, wide-eyed stare.

“Ray…he…he said you were-”

“That guy was here, wasn’t he?” Ray asked with a sigh, glancing at Frank out of the corner of his eye. “Well, at least you guys aren’t hurt. Now, Gerard, I need you to come with me.”

“No,” Gerard responded, standing up and backing away from him fearfully. “I’m not going anywhere. You look like him!”

“Who does he look like?” Frank questioned, walking towards them.

“You need to come with me.” Ray’s face dropped into a menacing glare as he stepped closer to Gerard. “Even if I have to force you.”

“Hey, relax, Toro,” Frank said calmly, placing a hand on his shoulder. A bright burst of white light shot out from beneath his touch, and Ray doubled over in pain, letting out a low hiss. Gerard turned and ran down the nearest hallway, trying to escape what he was afraid would be another monster to chase after him.

“What the-”

“Get…back…here,” Ray said in a half-whispering, half-hissing voice. He hopelessly stumbled after Gerard, but didn’t get far before Frank tackled him and pinned him to the ground. He screamed in agony and suddenly disappeared into black flames, leaving behind no more than a small accumulation of ashes. Frank carefully stood up and ran after Gerard, finding his friend hiding on the other side of the bed in his room.

“Gerard? It’s okay, he’s gone…”

“He was wearing the same uniform,” Gerard said in a quivering voice, almost talking to himself. Frank walked over and sat next to him, looking at him with a pitiful gaze.

“What do you mean? The same uniform as who?”

Gerard looked up at him with tear-filled, doleful eyes and whispered one word in a hoarse voice.

“Me.”

“There you are!” A brighter voice filled the room as Ande stumbled towards them, breathing heavily. “I was afraid that demon might’ve gotten you.”

“Who the hell are you?” Frank questioned sharply, standing up and wondering if he would need to protect Gerard.

“It’s okay, Frank,” Gerard answered from his place on the floor. “Don’t worry about him.”

“I’m so glad you’re okay!” Ande cried, approaching them. Frank stepped towards him with a glare on his face, holding one hand out to stop him from going any further.

“Alright. The last person who said that to us tried to kidnap or kill him,” he said, pointing to Gerard, “so I don’t see why I should trust you any more.”

“It’s fine,” Gerard stated more confidently. He stood up to face them with his jaw set in a firm line, like he had lost all patience. “He wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

“He’s right, you know,” Ande said with a light laugh. “Anyway, you need to come with me. I need to get you somewhere safe… You’re probably fine with my mom-”

“No,” he said firmly, never breaking eye contact with Ande. “I’m done with all of this. No more Heaven, no more Hell. I’m finished.”

“I give up,” said Frank, falling backwards onto his bed and covering his face with his hands. “I don’t even want to try to understand this anymore. Everyone please get out of my house.”

“Frank… You’re part of this whether you like it or not,” said Gerard, speaking with more authority than he really believed. “That’s what that man told you. That blond guy.”

“Bob!” Ande cried suddenly. “You know where he is? I haven’t seen him in ages!”

Gerard ignored him and continued speaking. “He said you have a destiny, too. And he’s the only one who’s making any sense around here.”

“Speak for yourself,” Frank muttered through his hands. “So far I haven’t been able to understand a word he’s said to me.”

“Wait a sec,” Ande said abruptly. “You’re Frank Iero, aren’t you?”

Frank took his hands away from his face but otherwise remained still. “Yeah, why?”

“I can’t believe this!” the teenager practically shouted, almost starting to laugh out of sheer excitement. “I never thought I’d get a chance to meet you!”

“What- no, wait, I don’t want to know.”

“What are you talking about, Ande?” Gerard asked, eyebrows furrowed in thought.

“I’ve heard so many stories about you,” he continued. His voice suddenly dropped to a whisper. “I heard you even faced Reislei himself and turned him over to the Devil. And the way you almost became one of the Messengers, but you turned down the offer! I’ve always wanted to ask you about that!”

“That’s enough, Ande,” said a quiet voice. Frank couldn’t help but smack himself in the face. This day could not get any more weird if purple elephants started falling from the sky. “Don’t want to ruin the story, do you?”

“But-”

“Alright, I have had enough.” Gerard broke in before Ande or Bob’s disembodied voice could go any further. “Like I said. I’m done.”

“You have to choose!” Ande cried. “You can’t just…quit!”

“Forget it!” Gerard cried suddenly. “I’ve lost every ounce of control over my own life! I can’t go for two seconds without hearing voices or turning into some kind of ghost or being attacked by one monster or another!” His voice was beginning to rise with rage. “I want this all to be over!”

“It’s over whenever you wish, Gerard,” Bob’s voice said quietly. “All you have to do is make a decision.”

“I’ve made my decision!” he yelled. “I’ve decided I’m leaving all of this behind! I don’t care where I end up, but I’m not staying here!”

Brilliant white light filled his vision for a few moments as voices whirled in his mind. The words were indiscernible, and a fierce wind picked up around him. The ground vanished beneath his feet as hundreds of colors swirled before his vision, destroying all sense of balance or direction that he might have had.

His head slammed into something, and his world went black and silent.