Journey

Dan sat at his desk in his room.

He was scribbling in his notebook.

A poem.

It'd been a while.

Inferno

Like the Phoenix, I will be reborn,

In the flames of my father,

In the hot agonies of hell.

Constantly waiting...

Waiting for a change.

A chance...?

A ruler in my kingdom,

A prince of war.

Imprisoned behind bars of feigned freedom.

For what Am I,

But a passing breath...

A fleeting memory, a remembrance?

A remembrance...

Of nobody.

A lost soul.

Doomed...

Dan sighed and dropped the quill—there were no pens.

He leaned back against the chair, his dark hair falling into his yellow eyes.

He let out a sigh as he stared at the mahogany ceiling. He was bored out of his mind.

He was going to explore today. The forest that surrounded them.

Peace would never allow him.

Sin didn't give two cents.

Royalty was a royal pain.

And Anger, Anger couldn't wait for him to be gone.

He sighed once again and stood.

In a second, he was downstairs picking his coat.

He opened the door.

'Almost free.'

"Young one."

Dan hesitated.

"Where are you going?" Peace appeared beside him.

Dan turned to face Peace.

"I'm going for a walk, is that a problem?"

Peace was silent for a while before it spoke.

"Whatever it is you are searching for, you cannot find it out there."

"I'm not searching for anything, " Dan replied.

There was a deafening silence for a moment.

Peace rolled back the hoodie covering its face and Dan didn't even blink when he saw what was hidden underneath.

It was a skeletal head with eyes still in its sockets.

"There are things in this world that cannot be explained Dan, you are special." It said.

Dan closed his eyes and sighed.

"Do you want to follow your father's instructions? Do you want to wreak havoc on the earth?"

Something very dark and vile stirred inside of him.

"I am the child of perdition, an abomination. What has the world done for me?"

Dan looked away.

"Not one person is innocent. All humans are vile, not one deserves mercy."

Dan turned away and made for the door.

"Do you think you deserve mercy?" Peace said.

Dan paused.

He turned slightly, yellow eyes glowing.

"I am the vilest of all. My place is below, I belong with my father."

"But what is your heart telling you?" Peace asked.

Dan turned away. He bit his lip, eyes welling.

He didn't reply as he kept moving forward.

He stopped when he reached the metal gate.

All he could see was darkness ahead. He wasn't afraid, because he was darkness himself.

His body slithered through the metal and he was on the other side.

He looked back, Peace was still standing at the door staring at him from afar.

He would come back.

Dan looked away and started moving forward.

He closed his eyes and sighed. He put his hands in his pockets.

Dan passed by bushes and trees. There was a path, so he followed it. The atmosphere was eerie and the trees formed grotesque little shapes.

He heard footsteps behind him, then there were two.

"Why do you keep following me?"

"My duty is to protect you." The angel said by his right.

"You're supposed to be my guardian angel right?" Dan asked half-heartedly.

"Yes, " his angel replied.

"Don't get in my way, " Dan said quietly.

They both heard snickering.

Dan looked to his left.

"What's so funny?" Dan asked the demon beside him.

It was beyond grotesque.

"Nothing, your Lordship." It bowed.

Dan closed his eyes and sighed.

"Shut the fuck up."

"My father sent you?"

"Yes, " both of them replied.

Dan paused in his steps and turned to look at both of them.

There was nothing behind him.

He sighed.

"How many fathers do I have?"

No reply.

Dan continued walking until he got to a waterfall.

There was an enclosed lake and the water was so pure, one could see the bottom.

There was a huge rock by the lake.

Dan went over and climbed it.

'Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if he took a bath?'

He paused a little.

'Maybe later.'

He sat on the rock and just stared out into space.

He brought out his notebook from his pocket. He placed the ink and the quill side by side.

He dipped the quill in the ink and was about to write when he paused.

He heard a voice, almost like a lullaby.

He looked into the water—nothing.

The singing got louder and he searched around.

When he looked back at the river in front of him, his eyes widened.

It was a woman, she was beautiful, but it was an unearthly kind of beauty.

He was drawn to her.

She swam closer. Dan looked down at her from where he sat on the rock.

"What are you?" Dan knew no mortal could be found here, so he knew she was far from human.

She swam back to reveal a huge tail fin.

Dan's eyes widened.

"You're a—"

She nodded.

"And you?" she asked, swimming closer—too close.

"I'm a human, " he said quietly.

"Yes, you look like one, but you're something else too, " she said.

Dan's eyes lowered.

"What are you doing here?" Dan asked.

"I could ask you the same thing. Why don't you join me and let's have our fill of love." she raised herself and sat beside Dan.

She placed a wet hand on his cheek.

Dan closed his eyes, revelling in the touch.

He hadn't felt the touch of another in ages.

"Sleep, " she whispered in his ear seductively.

His eyes drooped slightly but then he shook his head standing up.

He closed his eyes and sighed.

"I think I'll be on my way, " Dan said.

She only smiled a sultry smile.

"Suit yourself."

She dived back into the water and vanished.

Dan let out another sigh and sat back down.

He picked back his notebook and flipped through the pages.

He found one of the poems he'd written in his early days at the mansion.

Lilies—Was what he'd named it.

He hated lilies.

They represented purity and devotion—everything he loathed.

Because he wasn't pure and he'd been chained into a one-sided relationship with his father.

Dan preferred roses instead.

They suited him perfectly, he was tainted, and he had thorns sticking out of every visible part of him.

No one could come close.

Dan dropped the notebook and sighed closing his eyes.

He raised his head upward.

He opened them and stared at the eerie sky, the clouds were dark, just like his heart.

They would never see the light of day.

Dan was alone and lonely.

Both were completely different things.

He was alone truly because no one surrounded him but he was lonely because even though he stayed with the Sentinels, he still felt isolated nonetheless.

It was a mental state of sequestration he'd created for himself.

Dan sighed.

It was time he went back to the mansion.

Peace must be worried.

He couldn't say the same for the rest of them—Sin, Royalty and Anger.

Dan picked his notebook, ink and quill and stuffed it.

He stood and dusted himself.

He cast one more glance at the still water and turned, walking away.

Dan hastened his steps and after he'd walked a while, he'd expected to see the gates by then.

But all he saw were trees.

The trees looked different from the ones he'd passed by on his way to the waterfall.

Dan sighed.

'He was lost.'

He was so tired.

But Dan didn't stop, he kept walking and walking and walking.

After what felt like hours, he finally saw the gates ahead.

Dan let out a sigh of relief.

He quickened his pace. He heard the footsteps behind him again.

"Young Master, your father wishes to see you, " the demon by his left said.

Dan felt sick to his stomach and bit his lip. He wasn't ready. He hated going down there.

He didn't say anything and kept moving forward.

Dan got to the gate and walked through.

He walked tiredly towards the mansion. He paused when he reached the porch, he saw some flowers by the sides of the house, he saw some lilies too.

He looked away and continued into the house. He didn't have time to be checking flowers.

He went upstairs straight to his room and locked the door.

He took off his clothes and went to take a shower. In the shower, he washed himself of the day's walk and fatigue.

He sighed as the water cascaded down his body.

When he was through, he stepped out and changed into more comfortable clothing.

He didn't know how the food or the clothes got in the house, but he didn't care enough to ask.

He made his way downstairs and made himself a decent meal.

There was no TV, no connection to the outside world. He was alone in his little fortress of solitude.

And he was starting to like it.

He made his way outside with his plate and sat on the porch.

He ate his meal in silence. The Sentinels were somewhere in the house, doing...whatever.

He didn't know what they did when they weren't reprimanding him.

He sighed. He dropped the empty plate.

"When am I to meet him?" Dan asked already knowing the demon was there.

"B-By midnight, s-sire, " it replied.

"I'll be there, " Dan replied.

He sighed.

"Aren't you going to stop me from seeing my father?" Dan was referring to his guardian angel also standing beside him.

The angel only smiled.

"I can't make you do anything, " the angel replied.

Dan sighed.

"Whatever."

He grabbed the plate and stood. He went inside.

He washed his plate, dried it and placed it back in its place.

He sat by the small dining table, his angel and the demon joined him.

"Interested in some cards?" he asked no one in particular.

"I'm on duty, " the angel replied.

"I don't know how " the demon replied.

"Well, shit."

"I don't have the time to teach you." He dropped the 'whot' cards and leaned against his chair and sighed.

"I'm so tired, " he whispered.

Dan closed his eyes and right after, fell into a deep sleep.

He dreamt of roses, of thorns and pain...

Pain...

It curled around him like a reticulated python and choked the life out of him.

All he could feel was the pain, mind-numbing, chest-tightening pain.

And he didn't know where it was coming from.

All he wanted was for it to stop. He couldn't think properly.

And then, everything went dark. The next thing he knew, he was free-falling. He fell for what felt like an eternity.

He was surrounded by darkness on every side. It choked him, sucked all rational thoughts from his head.

"My son."

Dan heard the voice clearly, it was like the rushing of the ocean.

"Who's there?" he managed to say.

"I Am."

"What?" Dan said, confused.

And then he felt himself falling faster, at an alarming rate.

His eyes widened when he saw fire below, burning with an alarming intensity.

The heat engulfed him and stuck to him like a second skin. Sweat broke out throughout his body and he prepared himself for impact.

But it never came.

"Young one."

Dan raised his head groggily and stared at Peace sitting in front of him.

"Peace?"

"You will soon meet your father, " it said quietly.

"It will not be pleasant."

"Is it ever?" Dan sighed.

"I'm used to it, " he said, rubbing his eyes.

Peace seemed to stare at Dan for a moment.

"Do you know why you were chosen, Daniel?"

Dan paused. He turned to Peace.

"What did you just say?"

A pause.

"Do you know why you we—"

"No, m-my name...you called me—"

"Your name, " Peace responded.

"It is your full name, is it not?"

"Yes, it's just, when you said it, I felt a pain here." Dan gestured to his heart.

Dan rubbed it.

Why would he feel pain, by just Peace calling his name, calling him 'Daniel' to be specific?

"Don't call me that again," Dan said.

"As you wish."

"Your meeting with your father is in a few hours, will you be able to cope?"

"It's not like I have a choice. If I refuse, he will break all my bones, he's done it before."

Dan sighed and stood.

"I'll be upstairs, " he said.

"Life and Death has been placed before you young one, choose wisely."

And with that, Peace was gone.

Dan's eyes lowered.

"What if Death has already chosen me? What do I do then?"

...