Fear of the Dark

It was midnight, and the five band members and their roadie were sitting down at Matt's living room. It was silent, they didn't feel like talking, not after what they witnessed. But it bugged the five of them not to know what was going on. It was killing each and everyone one of them, they wanted to find out what was what they saw. Jason was sitting next to Johnny. Out of all the ones that saw that thing back in Long beach, he was the only one to know what that was. Jason was obsessed with the supernatural, perhaps not so obsessed but it fascinated him and he found it interesting.

Brian looked at Jason and frowned. "What did you throw at those...things?"

Jason half smiled and looked at the five. "Holy water." He said getting confused expressions from the five best friends.

"Holy water?" Matt asked.

"Yep, it stings them, maybe even burns them, for a little bit though." Jason said.

"Do you know what they were?" Zacky asked.

Jason nodded. "Demons."

"Demons?" Brian asked. "They aren't real."

"Oh yes they are." Jason replied.

There was silence. The five of them were trying to wrap their heads around the whole 'demons are real' thing. They always thought of them to be a myth, they never thought of them to be real. It was weird for them to actually think of demons to be roaming around earth. Brian looked at Jason, and he wondered how much Jason knew.

"How do you know?" Brian asked.

"To tell you guys the truth, I actually like all those supernatural things, you know, demons and monsters an-"

"Wait don't tell me monsters are real." Matt said.

"As far as I know, no. Maybe, not sure though."

They fell to silence and all of them spaced out. There wasn't anymore need for talking. It wasn't very much needed for now, they didn't want to talk. The five of them were all so very exhausted, but they all wanted to go home and get some rest. Brian stood up, wiping his sweaty hands on his jeans. He looked at the guys and frowned.

"Well guys, I gotta go home. Pinky must be starving."

"Hey Brian," Brian turned around and looked at Matt. "The police may want to interview us, tomorrow possibly. You know, for what happened."

"So should I come back here?" Brian asked.

"Yeah, I'd say." Matt said, giving a small smile towards Brian.

"Well goodnight, guys." Brian said and walked out of Matt's house after they all said goodnight.

Brian went inside his car and turned the ignition on, leaving Matt's driveway and driving to his house. Brian was in need of a goodnight sleep. It hadn't been the best day ever. He had just found out demons were real, and now he wondered what other things were real. With a sigh, he parked his car on his driveway and turned it off. After a few minutes of just sitting inside his car, he opened his door and got out. He walked slowly towards the front door and unlocked it, entering his home. He kept thinking of how they ended the tour, with a massacre. He and the guys weren't even sure how they wanted to react. Brian was scared, terrified even. He strode up the stairs to the room he shared with his girlfriend. He found Pinkly sleeping on the chair inside the room, but he didn't see his girlfriend.

Brian walked past Pinkly, waking the dog up as he passed. He turned around and looked at his dog. Brian grabbed the dog in his arms and carried her down the stairs, setting her down. He grabbed her bowl and poured inside her food and watched her eating it. Brian sat watching Pinkly eat for a few minutes, until he decided to call his girlfriend. As he dialed her phone number, he noticed Pinkly stop eating and start to stare. Brian was confused to the sudden reaction from Pinkly, he had never seen her do that. Brian pressed the call button and waited for a few minutes until he heard his girlfriends phone's ringtone. He followed the sound, calling it again when it stopped ringing. As he made his way inside his dark room, he noticed a blinking light at the side of the table besides the bed. Then he walked towards it, grabbing it in his hands and taking it in his hands. He turned it of and looked around. It was strange for him to find this there. Brian knew his girlfriend too well to know she never went off somewhere without her phone. It worried him, not knowing where his girlfriend was.

Brian made his way down the stairs, into the kitchen, down the basement, inside the laundry room, living room, practically every place in the huge house. Including the attic. He sighed and frowned looking around. Pinkly came towards him and barked. Brian scrunched his eyebrows together and followed Pinkly up the stairs, until she stopped by Brian's room. He made his way inside the room and looked around. Nothing. He stood in the middle of the room, his girlfriends phone in one of his hands and his phone in the other. The sound of something dropping on his shoulder caught his attention. He placed his phone with his girlfriends and touched the liquid. As he rubbed it between his fingers, he frowned and used the light of his phone to see the drop. Deep red liquid: Blood. His frowned deepened and he felt another drop. He looked up and he felt his breath leave his body.

Brian fell down and stared at his girlfriend in shock and complete horror. She was pinned to the ceiling.

"Michelle!" he yelled, just as she began to catch on fire. He watched as his now dead girlfriend began to be consumed by the flames, and he knew he had to get out.

Quickly Brian stood up, grabbed the phones that had dropped from his hands when he fell, and he turn his heel running out of that room. He sped down the hallway and stairs, grabbing Pinkly on his way out. Brian had barely made it out, when the window of his room exploded. With Pinkly barking, he stared at the burning house, and he shed a single tear, knowing his girlfriend was being burned. After, he grabbed his phone dialing 911. It took no longer than ten minutes for the firefighters to arrive and began to put out the fire. Brian was staring of into the night, nothing was on his mind. Everything seemed to have disappeared all of the sudden. He didn't seem to hear the wailing sounds of more fire trucks approaching his home, not even the sounds of his dog barking at him to catch his attention. He turned his head slowly to the burning home, and eyed it carefully.




Brian continued to stare at the computer screen, his four best friends standing by him. They were all worried about him, hell they were worried about each other. That same night, the five had their houses burnt down, and their girlfriends dead. Brian thought of it to be weird. Even after a week later of the incident, he never let that go. He thought of it all to be weird, their girlfriends and homes burnt down that same day? How couldn't it be weird, and it bothered Brian a hell of a lot. He guided the arrow to a link that took him to a site full of weird and strange images he had never seen in his life. He looked at the website: Omens, creatures, folk lore, spells, practically everything there was to know about the supernatural, it was there in that small site and it made Brian happy. Back at that day, as he watched the house carefully, he had seen something. A figure he seemed to make out in the flames. Brian was sure something was there to cause it. He had seeked help from Jason Berry, saying he was gonna need everything he knew about demons, creatures, everything. Brian was willing to find the creator of the house fire and the killer of his girlfriend. He was also going to do it for his four best friends. He coulnd't think of anything else, but to get revenge.

Zacky stepped forward and put his hand over Brian's shoulder, causing the man to jump slightly and turn to look at him.

"Brian, can you please leave that computer and eat something?" Zacky asked him. Brian didn't say anything, didn't move anymore and only stared at Zacky with a blank expression. "Brian?"

"No." Brian's response, and he turned around again to face the screen. He clicked yet on another link that took him, this time, to a list of demons. He eyed the list and turned to look at the guys that were crossing their arms and staring at him.

"Man, we get it, we do. We went through the same thing, but this isn't healthy. You haven't eaten, showered, or even fed Pinkly," Matt said looking at him straight in the eyes. "It's starting to worry us."

"Let me ask you something, guys," Brian said. He watched as they all nodded. "Don't you guys think the fires and deaths were just...weird?"

"Brian..." Matt started.

He didn't seem to listen to the tone of Matt's voice and he continued. "Isn't it? I mean all of it doesn't even add up! When did you guys say the fire started?"

"Um...12:45." Jimmy said. The rest agreed.

"Exactly my point! The fire at my house started that same time too!" Brian stood up and walked over to the kitchen of the small hotel he had managed to get for a while until he found a new place. Shorebreak Hotel that was located in Pacific Coast Highway, was at a good price. Matt, Johnny, Jimmy and Zacky were staying with him.

He grabbed a beer and opened it, sipping half of the bottle. Brian turned to look at the guys, who just stared at him weirdly.

"Come on guys! This can't just be me thinking of it!" Brian said. "It's no coincidence."

"So what are you saying?" Johnny asked.

"This wasn't an accident guys, I think something caused this." Brian said, pushing past them and sitting back down on the table, once again getting himself lost on the screen and the list full of the demons names. "What if a demon caused this?"

"Brian! Demons aren't real." Matt said, now he felt frustrated.

"Then explain what we saw at the concert last week." Brian said turning to look at Matt. "And I saw something...someone where the fire started. And then it suddenly disappeared."

Brian watched as the four of them turned their expressions.

"Did you guys see something too?" They nodded. "Weird enough for you?" He watched them nod again. "Then you see why I'm doing this?"

It was silent. The didn't know what to say, and Brian went on to investigate more about the supernatural. This didn't seem normal to him, or to them. Something weird was happening he was more than positive.



The five walked down the street of Pacific Coast Highway. They had checked out after staying at the Shorebreak Hotel for two days. Jason Berry was with them, holding a few books that seemed to be in Latin. He had told them about a psychic that was in Lakewood, California. Jason had answered the guys' many questions. How did he know her? An old friend from community college. How was she a psychic? That he didn't know. The first time Jason had found out she was, it surprised him. By that time, he was already interested in knowing about what truly was out there. She was a help to that. Because their cars were tolled, they had to take Jason's car. They fit, but it was too hot in there and it made them uncomfortable.

After they had arrived to Camerio Street, Lakewood, California, where they watched as a girl about her mid twenty sitting on the porch of her house, writing something down, they glanced at each other worriedly. They got out of the car and walked towards her. Jason was the first to speak, of course he was the one that knew her.

"Hey there Eleanor," Jason said greeting and hugging her. "This are my friends Matt Sanders, Jimmy Sullivan, Brian Haner, Zacky Baker and Johnny Seward."

"Nice to meet you boys," she said shaking their hands, with a smile. "My name is Eleanor Zamora."

As the five said their hellos, they entered her home, and sat down on a fairly small living room with three small couches. They sat down and looked at Eleanor, as she grabbed a few cups and sat them down in front of them. She walked back to the kitchen and grabbed the tea pot, serving them all some tea. Eleanor sat down after that and looked at the five.

"I'm sorry for your loss. To all of you." She said.

Brian stared at her, and watched the guys frown. "How do you know about that?"

"You'd be surprised at what I know, Brian." She said smiling. "So I hear you guys want to know about some stuff. Am I right?"

Brian cleared his throat and leaned forward, taking the small cup of tea in his hands, drinking some before speaking. "We'd like to know more about demons. You know, the real thing."

Eleanor clapped her hands together and bit her lip. "Demons, huh? Those sneaky things. Well to start it off, they are some wicked things. They can possess people, take control. Every demon was once a human being, but later become demonic after being in Hell just until they are no longer human." She said staring at her hands. "Stripped from their humanity, I guess you can say."

"How do they turn into demons?" Jimmy asked.

"Well, I'm not so sure, to be honest. I guess...just Hell. Perhaps something happens there that turns them into those things." Eleanor said and looked at them. "Anyway, those humans or demons were sent to Hell. Actually, no one really knows, to my understanding, how they are picked to be sent there. Well, unless you sell your soul-"

"You can sell your soul to a demon?" Brian asked.

Eleanor nodded. "Yes, to a crossroads demon. So, you're also sent to Hell if you're a witch. These demons have abilities. Possessing a human is one of them. As far as my understanding goes, they also have superhuman strength or enhanced endurance. Usually when the demon leaves the body it has possessed and has suffered severe injuries, that human that was once possessed can die." She said.

"But wait, if they can possess a human, do those humans turn into demons afterwards?" Johnny asked.

She shook her head. "I've never seen anything like that. They usually come back to be that same human. Though they can remember a few things the demon mentioned when they were being possessed." Eleanor told them.

"So you've seen these things?" Matt asked.

"Of course! So have you guys. Those black eyes are so...they give me the chills." Eleanor said shuddering at the thought.

Brian looked at his hands, looking for another question to ask. He was going to need a lot of information if he wanted to find the thing that killed his and the guys girlfriends. "Is there any way to get rid of demons?"

Eleanor frowned, she seemed deep in thought. "Well, I guess an exorcism is a great way to get rid of them. Only they find a way to come back, it takes a while, perhaps years, but they come back."

"Can you kill them?" Johnny asked.

She shook her head and frowned again. "I don't think so, you can only exorcise them. Killing them, that's a different story. I don't think you can kill demons, to be honest."

"And if they're exorcised, where do they go? Back to Hell or somewhere else?" Brian asked.

"They go back to Hell."

"What's the exorcism?" Jimmy asked.

"I have it." Jason spoke for the first time in the few minutes they had been at Eleanor's house. "In my house, somewhere."

The five of them looked at Jason.

"You're really into this stuff aren't you, J?" Matt asked.

Jason nodded. "Like I said before it interests me."

They fell silent and drank the tea Eleanor had served them. What else could they ask? Brian had covered his main questions, but there was still one he wanted to ask and he wasn't sure if he should. What kind of reaction would the guys have after he asked? How about Eleanor? Would she know the answer?

"Eleanor," Brian started, setting the cup down. "Where can you find these demons?"

As soon as Brian asked the question, they all suddenly turned their heads and stared at Brian wide eyed.

"Um...Why do you want to know, Brian?" Eleanor asked.

"Just curious, that's all." Brian responded.

"Well, I'm not sure, actually. If you'd like to find demons, you can summon one." Eleanor said. "I wouldn't suggest it though."

"I didn't know you could summon a demon." Jason said looking at his friend.

She nodded and sighed. "I didn't find out until a year ago."

"How do you know then?" Brian asked.

"An old friend, he actually told me about it." She sighed again and bit her lip. "He passed away a few months ago."

The guys frowned and they all said they were sorry. Truly they were. Brian put his hands together and thought of more questions. Half of them were already answered in some way, the other half made no sense. He stayed quiet for a bit and sipped the tea. Until now he noticed he needed a beer, and not tea served in a little cup he could barely grip. As he cleared his throat, he asked Eleanor for a beer, and she stood up and came back with a cold Budweiser.

"Is there like some major demons or something?" Asked Jimmy who had asked for a beer just like Brian.

"There's a lot of major demons, hon, some are really not the ones to be messed with."

"Can you give names?" Zacky asked.

"Seven deadly sins are the first ones to come up." Eleanor said.

"They're demons?" Matt asked.

As she nodded she continued, "Yes of course. They were created by Lucifer, they are demons. There's Daeva, Furfur-"

"Ha, Furfur." Johnny chuckled.

"Yeah when I first heard it I laughed." She said smiling at Johnny.

"Eleanor, how did you get into this stuff?" Zacky asked.

"Long story, Zack. But we have more than enough time, so I guess there's no waste in time right?" They nodded. "Well, my father and mother were both psychics, hunters too."

"Um, what are hunters?"

"I'm sure you're aware with the term 'hunter'. But it's like, these people hunt the supernatural. Ghosts, demons, monsters."

"So they are more hunters and monsters are real?" Jimmy asked.

"Yes and yes. There's tons of hunters out there, lots of monsters too." She said.

"So how did you get into this again?" Zacky said.

"Oh yes, well my parents were hunters, when they had me, they tried to protect me from this thing, a monster that had gone into my bedroom and tried to kill me I guess."

"What was it?" Brian asked, he now interested in the story.

"It was a shtriga. They take your life source, only they prefer children. The thing escaped but my parents managed to save me. So when I grew up, at about six or seven years, they started to train me I guess, and taught me everything, almost everything there is to know about what's out there. So by the time I was twelve, I was already hunting some monsters here and there." She said. "I took care of myself for a while, since my mother would go on a hunt and my father on another, so I would stay alone and try to protect myself. Later when I turned twenty, I learned I could read thoughts, and there we go, I was a psychic."

They all nodded and stayed quiet. What else could they say? More questions? They had already asked too much. Brian's thoughts were racing. What if he went on a hunt for the thing that caused the fire and the killings? Yes, that would be good, he could find out about what happened that night, know about that thing. He turned to look at the clock, seeing it was already three in the afternoon.

"Well we thank you a lot, Eleanor. You helped a lot," Jason said standing up, along with the rest of the guys.

"It's no problem, guys. I'm here to help." She said shaking their hands. "It was great meeting you guys, and great seeing you again."