The drive home was silent. I was still lost in thought. This wasn't the same Rafael Lorcan that I knew. Something had changed him. Something ominous. I tried to forget what I just saw, but then a flash of what I had saw started to replay in my mind. Blood everywhere. Eyes swollen with tears, it all seemed out of place for Rafael. No, maybe I had gotten it all wrong. The Rafael I knew was a gentle sweet God fearing man. I slowly started to remember when we first met.
I was an orphan who was living on the streets, when by chance I fell into the custody of some Nazi gang. They didn't have much,but they tried their best to keep me away from their businesses, and they all managed to keep who they were a secret from me. They treated me like family and soon enough, I accepted them as mine. Everything was going great untill one day, when I was fourteen, I was called in to see who we had always refered to as Mother. She was always the quiet and reserved type, and I had never seen her face. When I went to meet her, I didn't know what to expect. I was probably excited because I thought it was going to be something good, boy was I in for a surprise.
I was led into a secret chamber in the building, where there were full of ritualistic symbols. There were eleven people all there surrounding a strange pentagram symbol lined with red candles. Mother took her place among them and she told me to stand in the middle. I was still young and unaware of what was going on, but the guilt I'm my heart made it hand for me to say no to mother. She had taken me in and telling her no would be like rebellion.
That is when she said,
"We are going to be successful today. I have gotten a pure maiden, of young age to offer as a sacrifice, and in return, we shall get to host the spirit of our leader through her."
Wait. What? Sacrifice? Leader?
Before I could process anything, a group of men tied me to the ground and as I started to resist, mother threw something on me, and I went paralysed completely. As I looked up, I finally saw the symbol on the ceiling and I knew exactly who they wanted to bring back. I started weeping because that was the only thing I knew. That had not taught me about religion, nothing. All I knew was that a higher power existed, and so I started to hope and hope that whoever He is, he would save me from this. Just then, they started chanting incantations as mother took a sharp knife and slit my wrist. I couldn't even scream, I just watched on helplessly as she took my blood to the fire she was chanting to.
Suddenly, something scary arose from the fire. It was a demonic figure. It looked like the spawn of the devil. It had blood red eyes, and it took the form of thick crimson smoke as he did not have a body. He brought with him the aura of death, anger, terror and revenge. Mother then exclaimed in shock,
"What have I summoned? Have I done a wrong spell?" She said frantically perusing her book of incantations. Just then the spirit roared, and it's sound sent shivers down everyone's spine. It was like the sound of legions of demons, the stuff of nightmares. It even terrified mother, who the spirit proceeded to thrust on to the ground, along with her fellow hooded colleagues. It then turned to face me, but before it could attack me, my brother's barged in and with them was a priest. The priest tamed to demon and condemned it back to the depths of hell. My brother's then untied me and told me to run till I reached a church, and get in. They told me that they loved me, but my safety was more important for them.
I bid them my final goodbye with tears in my eyes, and then I started running. I ran and ran, but from our if nowhere, footsteps started following me. I didn't look back, just as I was told, I ran and ran till I found a church. In it was a man, who was probably in his mid twenties, praying. He was dressed in a white robe and I assumed he was the father. Immediately he heard my footsteps, he turned to look at me. Upon seeing that I was running away from something, he ran to me, and I fell into his arms.
"Child is everything okay?" He asked me in his calming voice. I started to sob and before I could say anything, the footsteps grew closer. He looked around then looked at me, then at the wound I had on my wrist. He then smiled at me reassuringly and took me to a place behind the altar. There was a secret compartment there. He led me down to the compartment and told me,
"Child, what is your name?"
"I....I...I'm.... Jasmine "
"Jasmine, just stay here no one will find you. I will go outside and handle the people following you. I will protect you. God will protect you. Pray to God and He will listen okay?"
"Okay. I will also pray for your safety." I stutter.
He smiled at me once again and left. I didn't hear much of what happened, but I heard the footsteps leave. After a while the man with grey eyes then come back to where I was.
"You see my child, God always looks after us. Don't worry, He will protect you, I will protect you." He told me. At this point, I felt relief and a sense of safety. I was no longer scared.
"Thank you so much, umm....."
"Father Rafael. I'm father Rafael."
"Thank you so much father."
"Please, if it does not offend you, I would like to know what happened, so that I may help you out." He requested, and all the things that happened a few minutes back began to replay in my mind as if it was happening a fresh. I explained what happened to me and he was not only shocked, he seemed angy. Furious even.
"So, did you touch anything that was a part of that demon? Did it enter you?" He asked.
"No, I did not. My brother's appeared right on time with a priesed who condemned it back to hell." I stuttered, almost not convinced by my own statement.
He then contained his anger, and led me from the secret chamber to the convent that was behind the church. He introduced me to the sisters there and told them my story. With that, they took me in and decided to take care of me. I was there for years. Due to my academic prowess and the fact that father Rafael was a doctor, I developed interest in medicine and I eventually got a scholarship to learn nursing, and I graduated. I had learnt about God about demons, and about Faith. Everything was moving wonderful, untill one day, something happened that would change my life forever.
Just as I was reminiscing, I was brought back to reality by our car halting suddenly. I had still not fully processed what I had just saw and I was glued to my seat. I was so lost, I couldn't realize that Rafael had told me to remove my belt. He suddenly leaned next to me and my heart raced, not because of excitement, but fear. My eyes widened as my fingers flew around to look for any escape. This seems to anger him more because he pins my hands to my thighs again, and this time he squeezed tight. He brought his face to my neck, and the feel of his beard on the skin of my neck made me shiver. I didn't know what to feel. He then moved his head down to my cleavage and I could almost feel my strength leave me. He then moved back again to my neck slowly and whispered to me,
"You're stuck with me, even if you're afraid of me" his voice was deep and dark and it scared me.
He opened my seatbelt, and was about to leave whan I noticed something, and grabbed his hand tightly. He looked at it then at me, but I was terrified by what was in front of me I didn't care I was holding his hand. Noticing my distress, he looked at my direction too, and judging based on his reaction, he had seen it too.