Infernal Incarnation: Asmodeus to Ari

Chapter 5

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    Serafina pulled herself together enough to get back on the road and continued onward to the laboratory. She had already almost become roadkill, how much worse could it get? Serafina drew another deep breath and decided to roll the windows down, allowing cold air to swirl in and around her as she drove along. Maybe I won't yawn again or succumb to sleepiness if I'm freezing my ass off, Serafina thought as she shook her head and tried to push the image of those damned headlights from her thoughts.  

    "Turn right, then in half a mile, your destination will be on the left" said the GPS over Serafina's music. Good, she thought, almost there, then I'll find somewhere nearby to take a quick nap. I can't risk becoming a f*****g pancake on the way home. She looked ahead and saw a squatty, square two-story building with grey and white paint. On the outside it looks like every other industrial building she'd seen. Serafina would not have ever known that this place held a top of the line forensics laboratory, had it not been for this mission. I don't know what makes this particular lab so special, she thought as she shrugged and pulled into the vacant parking lot. Apparently this Justin fellow had been looking out for her, because as soon as she parked, he was already half way to her car. I guess they don't allow strangers into the building in the middle of the night... good to know...

    Serafina rolled down her window and held out the plastic bag that had Ari's hairbrush. This should be all they need to be able to get DNA and fingerprints from... I'll hold on to the figurine for now,  Serafina thought to herself.  At least that way, if Ari ever finds out the truth about how I came to be a part of their life, and they decide they no longer want me to be a part of it, I'll still have something to remember them by. Serafina finished her thought with a bit of a meloncholy sigh. 

        "Is everything alright, miss?"

        "Yes... thank you. I-Is there anything else you need, or am I free to go?", Serafina asked raising an eyebrow. 

        "This should be all we need, thank you. I will be sure to let Elias know as soon as we have any information. Do you need anything for your journey back?"

        "No, I'll be fine, thank you.. but... thank you for offering. That's really sweet of you."

    Justin just formed a slight smile and bowed his head in farewell, then turned on his heel and headed back to the building to get started on testing the sample. Serafina blew out a deep exhale and pulled out her phone to see nearby places she would be able to rest for a little bit. Not finding anything that piqued her interest, Serafina settled on finding a truck stop where she would be able to park and sleep in the car without incident. If anyone got any funny ideas, though, she had a glock 9 mm and a switchblade on her; so she felt confident enough in making it a few hours without sustaining any real harm. 

    Serafina drove for about 30 minutes before finding a truck stop gas station that provided overnight parking for cars as well as trucks. Her father was a truck driver, so she knew all about the lot lizards, truck stop rules of conduct and what the different hand gestures and looks between the men meant. Serafina found an overnight parking spot in the corner of the lot closest to the gas station. Parking here allowed for continual light so if anything went bump in the night she would be able to see it immediately and determine whether or not there was clear and present danger faster than she would be able to if she parked in one of the dark spots of the lot. She also made sure to park in full view of the gas station surveillance cameras, just in case an assailant came without any sort of warning. 

    Leaning her seat back as far as it would allow, Serafina grabbed a spare throw blanket she kept under the passenger seat in case of instances such as this. Having removed her shoes, making sure all the doors were securely locked, as well as ensuring her pistol and blade were handy, Serafina finally let out a deep breath as she started her deep sleep breathing exercises. She inhaled deeply through her nose, mentally counting to four, held her breath for six seconds, then exhaled on an eight second count. She repeated this breath another four times, five times total; feeling her body relax more and more with every cycle of breath. Feeling the full weight of gravity completely cocoon her, Serafina's last thought was of kissing Ari's lips again as she drifted into a deep sleep.

    Ari shot up in bed, gasping for air and flailing their arms around for a moment, before they realized they were no longer in the setting of their nightmare. They have had the same recurring nightmare for as long as they could remember, but the nightmare never went beyond hearing blood curdling screams and gunshots firing before they are startled awake. It always started the same, though, Ari always dreams from the viewpoint of a baby or small toddler. They begin the dream looking up at a mobile with stars, planets and luminaries, they see billowing chaffon curtains around their crib, and an embellished 'A' painted on the wall. In their dream, they hear low voices at first, but do not understand the language that is being spoken... This piques toddler Ari's interest and they are able to escape their crib, and start waddling toward the door, babbling, when suddenly a pair of strong arms scoops them up, holds them tight to the mystery persons chest and in the dream Ari can no longer see anything. They can only hear the muffled heartbeat and heavy breathing of their captor for a few seconds before screams rip out into the air followed by sprays of gunfire, then a sharp ringing in their ears right before they wake up. 

    Ari rubs their hands on their face, as they let out a deep breath, then they look over at the alarm clock sitting on their right hand bedside table. Three o'clock in the morning.... always three o' freaking clock in the morning. Ari let out another deep sigh, knowing that going back to sleep was going to be no small feat. They had to figure out something to do to pass the time so that they could start to get tired again after having woken up in an adrenaline-filled nightmare haze, gasping for breath and their heart racing. They rubbed their neck as they rolled their head side to side, pressing their eyes closed and focusing on blotting out the nightmare. They reached over and turned on the lamp next to their bed, and noticed the notebook on the bedside table. I guess now is as good a time as any... let's see... where did I put the prompt list from the doc?? 

    Ari looked around for a moment before remembering that the prompt list the doctor gave them was in their bag from earlier. Letting out a frustrated sigh and rolling their eyes, Ari begrudgingly got out of bed to walk down the staircase and get their bag. 

        "Don't forget to get a pen, also."

        Ah, yep... good idea, I would have been upset if I had to come all the way back down here again, Ari shook their head and let out a soft grunt as they squatted down to go through their messenger bag. After a minute or so Ari found the prompt list as well as a pen. Letting out a yawn, they put their bag back where they had left it, then stood to go back to their room. At that moment, they looked toward the balcony and noticed the sliding glass door safety bar wasn't on. Hmm, strange... wh-what the hell? I could have sworn that I put the safety bar back on after last going out onto the balcony. Ari went over to put the safety bar in place, but noticed that the fit was tighter than usual. Huh, uhh.... Ari pushes the door edge and hears the soft thud as it fully closes. 

    What the... I know for sure I would have closed this door all the way... Ari felt an overwhelming sense of dread as they started breathing heavily, feeling the all too familiar signs of an impending anxiety attack. Lifting a shaky hand to lock the door, Ari quickly slid the security bar into place, then felt themself slump against the glass, sobs wracking their body as they slid to the floor gasping and trying to get ahold of their breath. Like a fish out of water, gasping for air, feeling like I'm going to die, Ari thought to themself wryly. Once on the floor, they place their right hand on their chest over their heart, and their left hand on their stomach, and took in a deep inhale through their nose. Ari had been through many panic attacks and knew that although they felt like they were dying, they could bring themselves out of them. Ari focused on breathing deeply, focused on feeling their hands on their chest and stomach, feeling the ground beneath them and focused on their mantra, I am alright, this will pass, nothing in this life is permanent and neither is this feeling. I am alright, this will pass, nothing in this life is permanent and neither is this feeling. 

    After what felt like an eternity, Ari felt themself finally come out of their anxiety attack and now, instead of feeling crippling fear, they felt embarrasment then anger. I'm so stupid, no one could have scaled the side of the building to even get in here... and who would want to get in here anyway?? I don't have anything here that would be of any interest to anyone.... Ari stopped mid thought, as their eyes landed on the coffee table. Even from ten feet away Ari could see what all was on the coffee table with the light of the full moon filtering in through the large glass windows. Suddenly they remembered that feeling they had earlier that something had been awry, but brushed aside as nothing important. This latest development had them rethinking their dismissal of their previous inkling. What was on the coffee table that I forgot about?

    Just then Ari thought about the doc's idea of free writing in the journal to jog their memories. My memory really has been s**t lately. Taking up a daily journaling practice would not be such a bad idea I guess... Ari let out a soft scoff as they shook their head and got up to walk over to the couch. Sitting down and turning on the light with renewed resolve, Ari pulled open the notebook and decided to give the doc's suggestion a try. Where to start, though... what kind of prompt would trigger a memory about what was on my coffee table...? Ari was at a loss, so like most times when they felt like they needed a lead on how to figure something out, they decided they were going to turn to google. Ari looked around for a moment, feeling under both of their legs, looking on top of and underneath the coffee table for their tablet and when they didn't see what they were looking for, they tipped their head back in annoyance. Letting out a groan and feeling the frustration rising within them, they grabbed everything they would need so that they wouldn't have to keep going up and down their stairs in the middle of the night. 

    Sighing as they gathered everthing, Ari thinks to themself, here we go... back upstairs to find the tablet and figure out how I can try to jog my memories. Damn... maybe I should spook myself into thinking someone broke into my place more often... this s**t is exhausting. Ari scoffed and then laughed at themself and their thoughts. Maybe they were just overreacting... maybe. They could already feel their lids getting heavy again, having exhausted a lot of energy in their middle of the night scare, anxiety attack and trek back up the stairs. 

    Yeah... actually, sleep sounds nice... Ari left all of their things on the bedside table and crawled under the covers once more. Maybe this time I won't be asleep long enough for the nightmares to kick in again. Feeling drowsy but still weary, Ari focused on isolated muscle relaxation while breathing deeply. Something they had seen Serafina do when she needed to fall asleep. She explained to them that it helped her with her severe insomnia, and they had seen it work first hand. That woman could fall asleep within two minutes flat... it really was something to see. Ari didn't fully understand Serafina's talk about feeling the 'energetic blanket' of gravity on them, so they settled for a modified version of her sleep routine. 

    Good night feet, it's time to relax. Good night calves, it's time to relax, l Iet all of the muscles in my calves and knees to relax. Good night thighs, it's time to relax... Ari took deep breaths after mentally moving up through each of their body parts, bidding them goodnight and commanding their muscles to relax. Slowly but surely Ari drifted off into the dreamscape once again.

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