"Grass! Soil! Earth! How I've missed you!"
"My driving isn't that awful! Don't be such a drama queen!"
"Well, I wouldn't be such a drama queen if you would have just listened to me in the first place and practiced your teleportation!"
Angie rolled her eyes with a scoff and slammed her car door. "I think I've had enough of you for one week. I'm going inside and relaxing for the next couple of days. Don't bother me."
Jasper shrugged with a smug grin on his lips. "We'll see about that."
"No we won't!" Angie snarled and threw her front door closed. She groaned low, rubbing her fingers on her temples. "Relax while you can Angie. Relax while you can."
Immediately going for the fridge she took out a half a bottle of white wine and put it on the kitchen island. She put her hands on either side of the bottle and stared at it with her fingers tapping on the marble. Rolling her eyes at herself, she whirled around, opening the cabinet and getting a wine glass from the top shelf, then turned her attention back to the bottle to pour into the glass. As she put the glass to her lips, she suddenly felt a presence behind her, but had no time to react. The presence wrapped an arm around her waist, squeezing tightly and the other arm wrapped itself around her torso, bringing its hand to grip around her throat.
"You know, I didn't think you would actually end up with those demons, but you surprised me I suppose."
Angie raised an eyebrow at the voice. "James?"
"Kudos," He said with a smirk, giving a tight squeeze to her throat making her gag and lose her grip on the glass of wine. As it fell to the marble and shattered, he pushed her up against the island with his body, and the arm that was around her waist slithered up to her chest where Cordelia resided. "That weapon of yours... Cordelia was it?"
Angie's eyes went wider than they had been and she gagged as a response.
"Mhmm, yes. I wonder how she would feel like in my hands," James huffed in her ear, then as he plunged his hand into her chest, her chest and his arm glowed a blood red color.
Angie tried to scream, but the hand around her neck tightened so that she couldn't get enough air to do so. She tried to wriggle out from between his body and the island, but she could feel him take a hold of Cordelia which made her freeze. It was as though he had not only grabbed her weapon, but her soul as well. He pulled his hand out slowly and Angie gripped the hand on her throat in agonizing pain. Her weapon-her partner- was literally being ripped from her chest and it hurt to the point where she thought she was going to die.
"Angie."
Another voice came into the picture, but she couldn't place where or who it was coming from. She couldn't respond to it either even if she wanted to. All she could think about was the pain that was starting to overcome her.
"Angie."
The voice came again, but James had fully ripped Cordelia from her. His grip around her handle was firm and she could see the veins protruding out of his hands. He gave it a twirl once, twice, three times, then decided on the hammer head.
"I've killed plenty of hunters before," James said. "But never with their own weapon."
"Angie!"
Eyes flew open and she flung herself from the bed up on to her feet, gasping for air. Eyes crazed at what had just happened, but looking around at her surroundings, she wasn't where she thought she was anymore. Instead of her kitchen, there was a king sized bed in the center of the where Jasper, not James, was sitting. He was staring at her. Eyes wide and sweat dripped down his face. She looked around to make sure there was in fact no James in sight then felt her throat and her chest. Her throat was fine with no bruising or scratching, and Cordelia was sound asleep in her chest.
"What the hell happened?" Jasper finally asked, breaking the silence in the room.
Angie sat down on the edge of the bed with her back to the other and stayed silent. Her body started to shake and a sob broke from her throat. It felt so real. That dream- that nightmare... it felt so real. She heard about dreams feeling real to the point that they caused trauma, but this felt different. This felt as though she was seeing the future.
"Angie?"
"I don't think we should go back home."
Jasper blinked at the sudden recommendation. "What? Why? What happened?"
"My dream... James is waiting for me there," Angie whispered, feeling her throat again. "I know it. I know it."
Jasper gave a long sigh. "Angie, it was just a dream."
"No it wasn't!" She exclaimed, whipping her head around to face the demon. Her eyes flared with anger and a hint of anxiety. "This was a vision! I know it! He is waiting there for me! He's going to use my own weapon to kill me!"
Jasper rolled his eyes and slumped down into the bed, getting comfy once again. "Never have I heard of a demon who can see the future. Not even Mother can. Go back to sleep. The divorce is just finally hitting you."
Angie grumbled under her breath. She knew it was going to happen, but she didn't have the slightest clue on how to stop it. She's seen movies like this before. If she did something other than get a glass of whine or go home in the car instead of teleportation, the outcome would be the same. She was going to die by the hands of her ex-husband tomorrow and there was nothing she could do about it.
Angie didn't get another ounce of sleep that night. Jasper on the other hand was sound asleep in a heart beat. She turned over to face his back and sighed. This is when she missed having a partner that would snuggle up to her because she was having a bad time. Jasper hugged her and some, but it never felt genuine nor did it come from someone who cared for her like a partner would. Jasper just felt compelled to comfort her because if he didn't, then she wouldn't perform well against snatchers and therefore endangering both their lives. Still, she snuggled right up next to his back which earned her a snort from the demon, but he never moved away.
Angie never realized that she fallen asleep until she was waking up the next morning from Jasper shaking her. She tried to shake him off, grunting as she did so and hid under the covers for just a bit more sleep.
"Devils Angie, we have to leave," Jasper groaned, shaking her again. "Our mission is over. Let's go."
Angie groaned, rolling her eyes at the demon with a snort, but got up anyway and was ready for their trip back to her home within 20 minutes. She gave Jasper a dirty look as to why he had woken her up so early if she only needed a handful amount of time. He scoffed and ushered her out the door. They checked out without issue, but when it came time to actually get in the car, Jasper was struggling to get in at all.
"I'll just meet you at your house," He mumbled as Angie was getting situated in the driver's seat.
"Come on scaredy cat," Angie smirked. "You promised you would tell me shit."
"I did, didn't I?" Jasper groaned, rubbing his hand over his face. "Alright, alright. I'll get in."
With a slam of the door and a click of his seat belt, Angie was officially on her way home. She was excited to get home to her own bed, her own bathroom, and her own kitchen which now housed pre-cooked meals mostly. She didn't feel the need to cook for herself or anyone else for that matter. Only when Jasper came for dinner once or twice a week did she cook and it was never anything fancy. Mac and cheese, spaghetti and meatballs. Something easy.
"So?"
Jasper glanced over to her then back to the road ahead. "So what?"
"Start talking demon," Angie hissed, taking a sharper turn then she would have if she didn't have Jasper in the car.
"Shit Angie!" Jasper screeched, holding on to the dashboard so tight that his already white knuckles turned even whiter. "Are you trying to kill us?!"
"Only one of us would die and even then I would just come back, right?"
Jasper scowled at her. "I guess you are technically correct." He sighed, rubbing his face with a single hand. "So, you wanted to know the history of our cult?" She nodded and he continued. "Sorry to disappoint but I... don't really know the whole story. I do not know how these things came to be. I do not know why people cannot fight them off as well as they did in the beginning. All I know is that demons eat human souls and if they are infected, we can't eat them so that's why we are helping the human population rather than just letting them suffer. It isn't because we want to protect humans. It's for our own personally gain."
"Okay, and what about their physical appearance? Explain."
"You can say please."
"Now!"
Jasper huffed, shifting in his seat uncomfortably. "Alright, alright. These things only look like beasts when they are living within a host. Without a host, they look relatively innocent. They have tendrils so that they can grip on to their host's heart. I think they actually look kind of cute."
Angie rolled her eyes. "Of course you do."
"Any more questions, Miss?" Jasper asked.
Angie scowled at the demon. She thought about ramming on the breaks, but she just wanted to get home... and she didn't want to get into an accident and have her insurance rates go up. "Not now. You're annoying me. I don't want to hear you speak."
They were both silent for the rest of the trip. The only sound was the wind rushing into the car as she drove. The silence was calming though. As they got closer to their destination, Angie relaxed and was not as angry as she once was. Without Jasper speaking or making any noise what so ever, she could pretend that he wasn't there and she was just out on a relaxing drive by herself. The wind whisking her hair around. The scenery of the highway was beautiful. The smells ranged from fragrant flowers to more pungent farm smells; but she loved it all. This was why she didn't live in a city. The wonders of the world was what made her want to become an artist.
The relaxing time came crashing down when she pulled into her driveway and Jasper dashed from the car.
""Grass! Soil! Earth! How I've missed you!"
"My driving isn't that awful! Don't be such a drama queen!"
"Well, I wouldn't be such a drama queen if you would have just listened to me in the first place and practiced your teleportation!"
She stopped as she was half way out of her car. This was her dream. This had been her damn dream. She pursed her lips. Her brows furrowed. "I don't like this."
"Hm?" Jasper cocked his head. "What do you mean?"
"The conversation we just had... it was part of my dream."
Jasper rolled his eyes. "You're being paranoid."
She scoffed, got out the car and slamming the door behind her. "Whatever. Just go. I don't want to see you for at least a week."
Jasper tsked, wagging a finger at her. "We both don't get to make that decision."
"Just go," Angie whined, dragging herself to her front door. "I just want a whole bottle of wine and watch tv drama alone."
"Alright. Suit yourself!" Jasper snapped his fingers and vanished.
Angie groaned as she opened the door and slammed it behind her. She kicked off her shoes and threw down her purse and jacket on the floor. Before she went any further into her home, she listened for a moment for any movement outside the ordinary. She figured out a few weeks ago that her hearing was super sensitive to the point where she had to wear earbuds until she was used to her new hearing. When she didn't hear anything out of the ordinary, she shuffled to her kitchen and got out a white wine from the fridge. Maybe she was just being paranoid. It was just a dream. Dreams didn't predict the future no matter how super natural you were. Right?
She put her hands on either side of the bottle and stared at it with her fingers tapping on the marble. Rolling her eyes at herself, she whirled around, opening the cabinet and getting a wine glass from the top shelf, then turned her attention back to the bottle to pour into the glass. As she put the glass to her lips, she suddenly felt a presence behind her, but had no time to react. The presence wrapped an arm around her waist, squeezing tightly and the other arm wrapped itself around her torso, bringing its hand to grip around her throat.
"You know... I gave you a glimpse of the future to see if you were that stupid, but it really doesn't surprise me that you are."
"James."
"Kudos," He said with a smirk, giving a tight squeeze to her throat making her gag and lose her grip on the glass of wine. As it fell to the marble and shattered, he pushed her up against the island with his body, and the arm that was around her waist slithered up to her chest where Cordelia resided. "That weapon of yours... Cordelia was it?"
Before he could reach in and grab the weapon, a dagger pierced his hand. He let go of Angie, jumping back from where he stood and hissed at the intruding demon making himself known at the other side of the kitchen island.
"I've only heard of snatchers in tales that could rip a demon's weapon from them, but to almost witness it was... interesting."
James turned from them both and vanished.
Angie was frozen. Her dream had come true. James gave her the dream. James was warning her. Testing her. She fell for it like the idiot that she was. She blinked then turned her attention to Jasper with a glare that could kill.
"I guess I should explain?"
"You better."