LUCIFER'S HELL

Chapter Five - The Demons Shadow

Anabelle was still contemplating what had happened at the market where she was selling her farm produce. "What on earth just happened?" she muttered to herself. In her mind, she questioned, "Did I just drift into some dream? That woman seemed hurt, but I can't make sense of it." After a while, a few customers approached her stall. One of them, a demon in disguise, had witnessed the earlier incident. Pretending to buy fruits, she asked, "What happened between you and that lady? Did she hurt you?" Anabelle replied, "Absolutely not! She just left me confused. It seemed like she was hurt, but I don't understand why." The demoness, still pretending to be a concerned customer, said, "Oh really? Perhaps she saw something that frightened her." Anabelle responded, "What could that possibly be? I didn’t see anything that could have scared her. Or maybe she’s just a psychopath."

Upon hearing the word "psychopath," the demoness became visibly angry but said nothing further on the matter. She then asked Anabelle for five apples, a bunch of grapefruit, and some vegetables. After Anabelle told her the total price, the demoness reached into her bag for some coins. As she handed the money to Anabelle, she suddenly opened her hand, letting the coins fall onto the table, and left in a huff. Anabelle was bewildered. "What! Hey, what’s going on? What the heck is happening here?" she exclaimed, but she received no answer. Still puzzled, she sat back down.

Meanwhile, the scene shifted to the demon who had encountered Anabelle earlier. Her hand was still recovering from a burn, revealing her inner demon skin. She covered it with her clothing and went to a hidden spot to wait for it to heal. Suddenly, the other demon, who had bought fruits from Anabelle, began sniffing around to locate her injured sister. She walked quickly, trying to follow the scent, and finally found her sister crying from the pain. "Oh, look at me! Who is that lady? It seems our spell didn’t break her spirit. Are you going to tell Angeles about this?" she asked.

The injured demon replied, "I’m going to follow her to her house and find out where she lives. Come on, let me take you to a safe place." But the injured demon asked, "What are you going to do to her?" Her sister replied, "I’m going to kill her for doing this to you. This city is about to become ours. Remember what Angeles said—that soon our city, Hell, will come to dwell on Earth." The demon in pain hesitated, "But Angeles has never ordered us to kill anyone yet. Isn’t it too soon, sister?" The other demon replied, "You just need to go home. Don’t tell anyone what just happened to you. I promise I will take care of this. I just need to observe where they live. When I return, I’ll inform Angeles, and she might then tell me to kill them." She helped her sister up and led her to where the market visitors parked their horses. She took one of the horses and helped her sister ride home, promising to return soon. Before they left the spot where she had found her sister crying, the wound on her hand had healed completely. The other demon then quickly returned to the market, where Anabelle was still selling her goods. She found a corner to watch Anabelle, waiting for her to finish and head home.

Anabelle, in a cheerful mood, was finally done selling her farm produce. After 50 minutes, around 2:50 PM in the bright, cool evening, she packed up her goods and went to buy some foodstuffs for her family. As she moved through the market, the demoness continued to follow her from a distance, carefully observing everything she did. Anabelle bought all she needed, returned to her stall to collect her belongings, and then headed to where her horse was kept. She mounted the horse and began her journey home, riding slowly.

As Anabelle rode along the path leading to her home, a road lined with forest on both sides, she noticed strange sounds coming from the woods. She stopped and looked around, glancing back and into the forest, but saw nothing. Her heart raced with fear, and she began to ride a little faster as the evening sky darkened. Night was approaching. Eventually, Anabelle reached home safely. Inside, Richard, who was eating in the dining room, heard the sound of a horse. He ran to the window and looked out, and there he saw his mother, Anabelle. "Dad, Mom is back!" he called out to his father, who was in the kitchen. Richard ran out to help her, rushing down the stairs to meet his mother. "Mom, you spent the whole day at the market. Are you okay?" he asked. His mother replied, "No, my boy, I really enjoyed my day there. I hope you had a good time with your father." Richard nodded, and Anabelle kissed him on the head.

Richard’s father, dressed in his chef’s attire, came out from the main entrance, looking at his wife from a distance. Richard and his mother walked up to him, and he kissed Anabelle as a welcome greeting. The family went inside the house. Unbeknownst to them, the demoness had been observing them from the forest. She watched as they entered their home, talking amongst themselves in words she could not hear. She quickly left the area, transforming into a bat as she flew away. Meanwhile, inside the house, Richard’s father had prepared a lovely meal for his wife. She eagerly took a plate from the dining table, served herself some food, and began eating as her husband watched her with joy. As she took the first bite, she exclaimed, "Mmm, this is so delicious! Did you really make this yourself, or did you buy it?" Her husband smiled and replied, "I made it myself, honey. Enjoy the delicious food prepared by your husband." She continued eating while Richard laughed and said, "Dad, Mom, I'm going to sleep now. Good night." His mother quickly offered, "Oh honey, let us tuck you in," but her husband interjected, "Don’t worry, dear, I’ll take care of it. You enjoy your meal." Richard then said, "Good night, Mom," to which she responded, "Alright, I love you." Richard replied, "I love you too." Richard and his father then headed to his room for lights out.