"Checkmate." Eveon let her head fall in defeat. She decided to try and be nice to the
thing - er, the Living Inferno - so they were playing chess. And she was failing. Totally.
He had managed to beat her completely no matter what she tried. "I'm sorry," he said
suddenly, "I've had hundreds of years to perfect my chess skills so this isn't fair."
"Tell me about it..." Eveon said under her breath. He'd been alive for that long?
Strange. "Are you a demon?" She asked suddenly as they were setting their pieces up again.
"No," he said simply as she made the first move. Abby had been watching them earlier, but
now she was asleep on the couch, with the still nameless magazine draped over her chest.
It was almost dinner time, but Eveon figured if her mommy was still asleep then she'd
make it herself. It took less than 10 minutes for the Living Inferno to once again beat poor
Eveon. The blonde girl let out a long sigh before getting up. The two of them had been
sitting at the coffee table playing chess for some time. Abby started to stir and the
magazine fell onto the floor.
The young mother looked at her watch and then the two other people in the room.
"...I'll go make dinner..." she said with a yawn. They watched her leave and the Living
Inferno said, "At least you started to get better." It took Eveon a second to realize he was
talking about chess. "I hope so... hey, why does your voice sound like that?"
He stared at her and then spoke. "That is the way it has been therefore, that is the
way it will be." Eveon guessed that was his way of saying it just was. He stood up as well
and the two of them went over to the dining room table. "You know, for a creepy looking guy,
you aren't that bad." The Living Inferno looked over at her and Eveon could only assume that
he was smiling. "Thank you... most children run away or are too scared to come near me."
Eveon shrugged. "It's understandable. I was really scared until my mommy forced me to
be nice and I found out you weren't that bad. What are you doing around here anyway?" She
was curious as to why he was hanging around. "Abby invited me inside. I was looking for
someone and I think they were here before. I want to protect them."
"Huh. Well, lots of people come around here, so I'm sure if you hang around-"
Suddenly, he shot up from his seat. "I believe I should leave now." Eveon looked at him in
surprise. "What? Now?" He nodded curtly and looked over at her. "Thank you for spending time
with me - it made me very happy to be around you." He delicately cupped her cheek with one
claw-like hand. "You'll be back, right? I doubt we're going to shut the door in your face if
you decided to drop by."
"I hope I can. I much appreciate it." He headed into the kitchen and Abby turned to
see him. "What's up, Living Inferno?" His name always wanted to make her laugh. "I must
leave, but thank you for everything and spending time with me and-" She waved her hand
nonchalantly. "No worries. We were glad to have you and it seems Eveon taken quite a liking
to you. Be sure to come by again." He nodded and looked over at her.
Abby couldn't tell what his expression was, but there was a moment of unspoken
understanding before he left the room. The blonde woman just sighed and went back to
cooking. What could have made him leave so fast?
*****
It was about 15 minutes later that Abby found out why. She was putting the finishing
touches on dinner (even though there was an extra serving for the Living Inferno) and Eveon
was setting the table when the doorbell ran. The young girl went over, checked through the
peep hole and opened the door happily. Behind it stood Krystal and Isaka, smiling almost as
happily as Eveon.
"What are you guys doing here?" She asked as the couple stepped inside. "Well,"
Krystal started "we thought we'd come visit and..." The exorcist trailed off as she entered
the house and stopped. There was a troubled expression on her face. "Isaka...?" She asked,
squeezing the demon's hand. "Do you feel that?" The demon looked around the house before
saying, "Yeah, definitely."
Eveon stared at the two of them, confused. They had serious expressions on and it was
worrying her. "What's wrong with you guys?" They didn't have a chance to answer her as Abby
came out into the hallway to greet them. "Well, if it isn't my second favorite lesbian
couple in the world! You guys looked like somebody died." The young mother paused. "Wait.
Nobody died, did they?"
They shook their heads and Krystal bit her lip. "Abby... has anyone... strange been in
your house recently?" Eveon and Abby exchanged looks. "Well," Abby started off, "There was
this weird guy I had staying at the house. He didn't have an actually name, but he called
himself the Living Inferno."
Both of the young women looked shocked. "The Living Inferno?!?!" They shouted
simultaneously. Isaka immediately went over to Eveon and started checking her. "Are you
alright? He didn't do anything funny, did he?" Eveon shook her head. "No, he came into my
room at night, but that was it..." Isaka seemed even more flustered after that. Krystal went
over to Abby and did the same thing. "Are you okay? Did he say anything to you or do
anything weird?" Abby just pushed Krystal's hands away. "No, he didn't. It was just me,
Eveon and him. Why are you guys so worked up?"
The two of them exchanged looks. "Maybe," Krystal murmured, "We ought to go sit down,"
Isaka finished. As they walked over to the living room, Abby said to Eveon, "If you and Mina
ever do that, you're going to be in for a world of hurt."
*****
"I'm just glad Eveon's okay..." Isaka said. "Why?" Eveon asked, "It's not like he did
anything while I was sleeping..." The demon let out a long sigh. "The Living Inferno is
notorious for luring children away. When I was a little girl, we were all warned never to go
near him because he would spirit us away to Hell. Sometimes, he would come around the
village at night and try to take children away using candy as a lure."
Eveon gave Isaka a blank stare. "Really? He didn't seem like he was going to 'spirit
me away' or whatever. Plus, I'm a bit old for that, aren't I?" Abby nodded in agreement.
"When he was hanging outside in the backyard, Eveon wasn't even home and he didn't have any
candy on him. Actually, he said that he likes children, but none will go near him because
they're scared."
Isaka just let out an indignant sound. "Scared? They have every right to be scared..."
Krystal looked at Eveon and Abby before clasping her hands together. "You guys don't know a
thing about the Living Inferno, do you?" They shook their heads. "You see... the Living
Inferno has been around since... not forever, but very early in time. He brings disgruntled
souls into the afterlife and that's why people stay away."
Abby bit her thumbnail nervously. "Wait, you mean, he's like the grim reaper?" Krystal
nodded and continued. "Yeah, kind of. The only reason he would come around is because of
death. I've never actually seen him, but the rule goes is if you see him, you stay away.
He's dangerous and you'd especially want to keep him away from Eveon. I'm not sure why he
likes children, but, like Isaka says, he's been known to try and lure them away. Sometimes,
when kids get lost in a park and suddenly show up unharmed in another place, it's because of
the Living Inferno."
There was a long silence before Abby finally spoke again. "So, since I let Eveon play
chess with him, did I just buy her a one way ticket to Hell?" Eveon glared at her. "Mommy!
That's not funny!" Abby just let out a long sigh and looked over at Krystal and Isaka.
"Look. He didn't say anything about us dying. He said he was looking for someone who'd
visited here before and he told Eveon it was someone he wanted to protect. I doubt he would
ever lie, so I'm sure we're safe."
Krystal and Isaka still looked antsy. "Yeah, but I can't believe you invited him your
house, " Isaka murmured. "I used to be scared to death that he would come get me since he
usually went after little girls..." Eveon tried to imagine Isaka being scared as a little
girl, but couldn't conjure up the image, instead she said, "He's actually really nice... but
crazy good at chess!" Krystal looked extremely worried. "Eveon, just make sure you don't let
him take you anywhere. He means well, but sometimes lonely people will do desperate things
when shown kindness."
Abby laughed and just stroked Eveon's head. "I doubt he'd be able to successfully
kidnap her. Mina would throw a huge fit." Eveon flushed bright red. The tension subsided and
Abby announced that they should all eat for dinner. Ironically, Isaka and Krystal just came
over to hang out, so Eveon called up Mina as well. It was one big reunion...
*****
"He-llo!" Abby looked up from her magazine as she heard that familiar voice. Tycara
came into the living room and smiled. "Hi Abby!" The young mother looked at her watch. It
was about lunch time. "Are you hungry, Tycara?" The silver haired girl nodded
enthusiastically. Go figure. Abby got up with a sigh and proceeded to the kitchen with her
inhuman friend following close behind.
"Where's Seth this time?" Abby asked deciding to warm up some of dinner's leftovers.
Tycara didn't mind, leftovers ruled over sandwiches. "Oh, I don't know what's taking him so
long..." She peered over her shoulder and as if on cue, Seth came walking in. "Oh, hi Abby."
She waved at the young man. "Ah, my favorite hetero couple. It's nice to see you two or
still doing well."
Seth didn't exactly like being referred to as the 'hetero couple', but he guessed it
was better than being called the 'lesbian couple' and ranked, as was the case for everyone
else. Last time he checked, Eveon and Mina were first, Krystal and Isaka second, and Erin
and Faye third. His thoughts were interrupted as Abby began to serve them the delicious
leftovers from last night's meal.
As they ate, Abby asked, "Do you guys know anything about the Living Inferno?" Tycara
gave her a wide eyed look. "The Living Inferno? Oh gosh, I've seen him before... he's kind
of scary, but I've never seen him do anything bad. Isaka says he's dangerous. I always stay
away since I've died before, I don't want him to come take my soul back to the afterlife."
Seth just looked up reflectively. "Yeah, lots of people think he's dangerous, but I've heard
he really isn't. He guides lost souls to the afterlife so they can be peaceful, but he also
has an affinity for children."
Seth let out a sigh before reaching for his glass of water. "People are scared that he
eats children or something, but I've done research on him before. One of the few documented
cases of his interaction with a child was when a girl fell into a ditch. He ended up nursing
her back to health, but the parents never repaid him."
Abby just smiled. "I'm glad you don't think he's so bad. Krystal and Isaka talked as
though he was the devil himself." Tycara gave her a confused look. "But why would you want
to know about the Living Inferno?" Abby shrugged. "Oh, he was here yesterday and me and
Eveon hung out with him." Seth, who had been drinking his water, suddenly spurted it out.
"You hung out with the Living Inferno?!"
Tycara was also gaping. Abby just rolled her eyes. "Oh, he's a nice guy. I don't see
why everyone gets so upset when his name is mentioned." Seth wiped his mouth and looked so
excited. "Really? You hung out with him? Do you know how great of a research opportunity
this is?! Do you think I could meet him?!" Abby just placed a reassuringly hand on his
shoulder. "Whoa there... I'm sure you can meet him, but try to control your inner nerd,
alright?"
While Seth was excited, Tycara looked a bit frightened. "Oh... what if... what if he
comes and decides to take me to the afterlife? I know I was a disgruntled soul, but do you
think he would do that?" Seth shook his head and wrapped an arm around her. "It's alright,
he would do that. You're alive and happy and he would disrupt that."
Abby ruffled Tycara's hair playfully. "Seth's right. Plus, if I can do anything about
it, you're not going to be dying anytime soon."
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