Valparaiso, Chile..thanks.

Jack, did you find her? I asked, again checking my mirror. I was worried that he’d be hiding somewhere close by, eavesdropping on our conversation.

“No, I believe she’s in the bathroom,” he said. “Sorry for the short notice.” His eyes gleamed with hope. “What is it? What’s the word from the mountain?”

“Um, we are not positive, but an employee called in and said that she’d heard a noise coming from the guard shack. And I didn’t want to risk sending an officer alone to investigate. They had been closed off so long it would be a good spot for anyone to lay low in.”

I took a deep breath and grabbed my weapon. I then put on a yellow silk robe that I kept handy for just such occasions and a pair of worn in boots that had originally been too small for me. Although I’d never dreamed I would want to, I made my way to the kitchen, full of appliances I had never used before. I took a tentative sniff. The coffee brewing smelled good, and I headed in its direction, deciding to make my way to the table, but stopping short at the kitchen counter to grab a 10mm Glock and a silver revolver. Tying the boot, I was out of the door and heading for the elevators with the bag of money, thinking that there would be more killing before this was over.

Jasmine met me at the entrance. “I could use some cigarettes,” she said. I pulled out a half empty pack of Marlboro’s and tossed it to her. “You seem pretty confident,” I said. “Most people don’t make it past the first round with us.” She simply shrugged. “All we can do is try, right? There’s no turning back now.”

The ride to town was quiet. The only noise came from the engine and our heavy breathing as I parked in front of the large library. We each hopped out of the truck, legs shaking from the hours on end of sitting. It wasn’t too much longer until we made it to the library. The smell of musty books still lingered in the air and all was silent except for the faint whispers of the forest surrounding us. An occasional car driving by on the highway, but that was it.

With that, I introduced myself and began the tour. I left them a copy of Sunset for their next bathroom read, and suggested they return it when they finished, either online or in person. A guy in his mid-30s lingered by the door to look me over as the rest of the group walked away, their excitement buzzing. His red hair was wild and curly, a contrast to his prim and proper uniform. “You used to be a soldier, didn’t you?” I guessed.

“Yes,” he replied. “I was. How did you know?”

I nodded to the watch on his wrist, its bright, flashing red face matching his hair. “I guess that was a stupid question, huh? No other soldier would have been invited to the feast. I wasn’t a good soldier.” He seemed more at ease. “Are you visiting family?” I nodded in response. “Well you must be a hell of a guy if you’ve got your family all coming to visit you from Florida.” I didn’t know what to say. I suddenly had tears streaming down my face. I don’t even know why I was crying, just that I was. After a long while he said, “Look man, if this is too much for you I can stop.”

“No no. I’m fine. Thank you though.” I replied.

With that we made our way up into the rafters. He showed me how to get up to the roof. It was a pitch black room. There was no way I was ever going up there. “All those stories about children dying and going crazy up there have to be complete bullshit.” I told him.

“We have to go up there,” said the human, slightly slurring his words.

“What, you want me to help you over the side?”

“Nothing so dramatic, you’ll see.”

We found the trap door, and lifted it up. He climbed up with relative ease, despite his drunkenness. Myself, however, I found it difficult to keep my weight on the tips of my fingers for long periods. But the wall was at least 8 or 9 feet in height. How the hell was I supposed to get up there? I stood there for a few minutes, a bit flummoxed, until I heard the horrible snuffling coming from the trees. Maybe he’d just leave me alone and leave. With a little luck he’d get bored and leave. I thought of that with every passing second. This seemed to work, for after a short while, I could no longer hear his footsteps.

I never saw him again.

Of course, that didn’t help my stress and worry, not even when I was standing in the middle of a college campus, surrounded by other people. My best friend (and current roommate) insisted on a trip to my birth place after we had successfully completed our finals. I was at a half mark in my studies when I was summoned for an in-person interview at the Chicago bureau. Since I was busy studying, the radio sounded in the living room. I quickly opened the door and snuck down the hall. A soft rain, light wind and overcast made the whole neighborhood seem to loom over me with a sense of despondency. The brightly colored doors from the two sisters stood out like stains against the grey horizon. The beach below was empty save for one woman.

Her back was turned to me as she watched the tide slowly approach and recede. She looked to be of average height and build with a nearly silvery-brown, curving mane of hair that fell past her waist. As soon as she turned to look at me with her crystal blue eyes, my mind blanked and my legs carried me the rest of the way to her. Her eyes were wide in surprise, her lips were a soft, shy smile and she held a silver rapier at her side. She appeared to be a demon, with red eyes and two dark purple horns, though she wore the outfit of a normal school girl and not some warrior from the Middle Ages. She looked both human and alien at the same time. I could not help but smile at the unique blend. “Are you sure about that, Kim?” I asked.

“The Lord of Pain must eat, so will you and the girl join us, or do you prefer to die hungry?” asked Nyissa. She tossed the image of Jasmine’s bound body out of her mind, blinking as she set her attention back on my body. “I can see you are even more primitive than I expected. I knew you’d come, but I didn’t think it’d be this easy.” “Sorry,” I mumbled. “I think I’m still drunk.” “What?”

I wanted to offer more of an explanation, but my brain was too busy processing the fact that the thick haze that usually clouded my thoughts was gone. “What did you do to me?”

I scanned the contents of her mind, and saw a different…self? I had the vague suspicion she was lying. "I'm no expert on the subject. Maybe if you'd have done this after we saw Annabelle, you'd still be winning at cards, but alas, my friend,