“Mommy.. There’s something in my room” I’ve heard this phrase hundreds if not thousands of times, and it never got old. People often wonder about the monster under the bed or in the closet. The truth is we’re real and we also don’t really have a reason for doing what we do. It’s just our mandate. Demons, monsters, whatever you want to call us we all come from the same place.
There are multiple theories that try to explain us, and those that don’t even believe in us and each option is fine by me. The truth is no one has us truly right, but no one has us truly wrong either. Almost every belief system contains an element of truth as to what the monster you fear is. We can’t be scared away by Holy Water- we always get a good kick out of that one- but it’s true we do manifest from the same place deep under the earth with a similar mandate. It’s not necessarily hell as told by most major religions, but it isn’t exactly dissimilar to it either.
Anyways I’d been assigned to this little girl for awhile now, she’s 8 years old, almost old enough to not be scared of me anymore yet still just vulnerable enough I can fulfill my mission. Don’t ask me why we do this either. The Presence as we call it (it may be known better as a Devil to you humans) sends us out and we don’t really have a choice. Some of us think it’s what gives us life, some of us think it’s the Presence’s revenge on the Good One for kicking him out and keeping us down here. We’ll never know and let’s just say those of us who bring the topic up to The Presence usually aren’t heard from again. It’s a touchy subject.
I believe the little girl’s name is Ava, at least that’s what I hear the grown ones telling her. We never really bothered with names, after all we’re all called the same ghastly things by humans, so there’s no bothering with individual identities. This is my 6th month and she seems to be getting used to me. She still calls out for her Mommy, she still shrieks in fear when I pop out at her or rustle the curtains in her room, but it’s getting to be less, and her parents have her half convinced I’m not real and that it’s just bad dreams or the wind.
Okay, now this part is confidential you understand? If you happen to see any of my fellow workers for The Presence don’t disclose this to them. It is strictly against our rules… I’m not scaring Ava all that much anymore. In fact, I may have grown a bit attached to her. When she’s outside playing on the swing I may sometimes present myself as a breeze and give her a push. If she’s having a natural nightmare I had nothing to do with, I may sometimes tuck in her blankets a little more. I mean she’s not as scared of me as she used to be, so there isn’t much of a point in being as scary as possible anymore anyways. I still give her the occasional spook so I can say I’m doing my duties as obliged to the Presence, but by and large she’s an adorable little girl who deserves the world.
It’s cute the way she holds tea parties with her studies, when she sings to herself when she thinks no one is watching, her little dance parties, and the way she pretends her favourite stuffed teddy -Mr. Jingles- can actually speak to her. Something about her has warmed my heart and it’s adorable to see how she behaves without a care in the world. Every weekend she speaks to her grandmother on the phone, and every couple of weeks some of her friends come over for sleepovers or slumber parties. She’s so well loved, so happy go lucky and even though I feel bad for scaring her once in a while to fulfil my duties I would also do anything to prevent something actually bad from happening to her.
Something bad is happening to Ava. I don’t know what exactly. She isn’t playing with her friends, and she hasn’t been going to school for the last three weeks. I’ve been hanging out around the adult humans but I don’t fully understand the words they are saying. I mean what I said when I said I’d prevent anything bad from happening to Ava. I need to find out more info.
It’s been two more weeks and Ava is getting worse. She has barely gotten up from her bed. From what I’ve picked up it’s inside her, it sounds like it’s inside her head. Like it’s another dark presence, even darker than us. At least we don’t make humans deathly ill, we just like to scare them.
I think I have a plan, as I said earlier there is some truth to the religious claims about us. The group that calls us demons is right about one thing we can go inside and take over people. Although we rarely do this. It’s largely frowned upon and only the most nefarious of us go to these lengths for our scares. However, if I can literally get inside Ava’s head maybe I can beat this thing back, get rid of it, make her better. I just want the happy version of Ava back. I want her to be able to grow up, even if she stops believing in me altogether and I have to get reassigned to a human who does. At least I know she would be alive.
Well I went inside Ava’s head and there was this stuff everywhere that looked like it didn’t belong and it was taking over. I tried getting rid of it, zapping it away, however I was causing Ava more harm than I was helping. She started yelping in pain and jerking her body around. I got out in a hurry. It was clear there was nothing I could do. If I stayed any longer I would be forced out by her jerking actions. If the wrong person saw her they may even suspect a demon possession as they like to call these events. I can’t risk that, I can’t risk being found. Even though humans are largely wrong about us they have found ways to destroy us.
I’ve heard Ava’s parents talking and I’m revolted. Ava isn’t getting any better and it’s clear it is only a matter of time. I’ve listened a bit more to what the adult humans are saying and I can’t believe this. They are saying that The Good One caused Ava to be like this. However, instead of getting angry at them they are thanking them, saying it is The Good One’s will. I’m the one who went inside Ava to try and help her, who risked annihilation at her possession, who’s risking my very job by not scaring her as often, and the Good One gets thanked for possibly giving it to her? I don’t know if they truly have those powers but it’s clear the humans think they do. If it’s their will that seems like a pretty crappy will.
Ava is gone. I was able to sneak into her celebration of life unnoticed. Yet the whole celebration is also about The One. I refuse to describe them with the adjective good anymore. I’m the one who tried to save her, I’m the one who’s been with her even though she doesn’t notice me, and they get the praise? Ava is dead and in that box possibly because of The One. According to the humans killing a child can be part of some grand eternal plan The One has. Listen, I’m not saying The Presence is perfect, or that we haven’t done bad things, but at least we don’t include killing off people as a plan. Let alone children.
The One is getting all the praise, all the worship, despite allegedly being the one to kill her. And what do I get for sitting by her side all this time? For trying to save her? I get loneliness, I get to go back to The Presence for a new assignment to scare who won’t be Ava and The Presence gets away with it, even praised for it.
I was wrong, the humans don’t have anything right about us. We’re not at all evil, just a bit chaotic compared to what they seem to consider good. I managed to take over a human device to write on in hopes that the right person sees this. In hopes that the message gets spread. Consider carefully what is good and what is evil. Please, us, what you call demons or monsters, we’re fulfilling our assignments, albeit without an exact reason, but The One seems to actively take your children.