Demons aren’t so scary once you get to know them. Sure, they’re ugly as all get-out. But once you spend some time together, they’re really not so bad. It’s the people the demons hang around that suck. 

Demons keep you company when Derek from first period trips you in the hall. Demons watch over you as you try to fall asleep at night. Demons are really the only ones that have ever been a constant in my life.  

I was just a little girl when I first started seeing them. Probably around three or four. My mom and I? It was just us back then. She did what she could to keep food on the table and keep me clothed. We lived with her parents. They didn’t have the right to be called my grandparents, so I just called them Greg and Laurie. It was in their house that I first saw him. 

The grotesque-looking creature had a long, thin body and was covered in a thick green sludge. His bone-thin arms stuck out at an odd angle, as though his shoulders were permanently dislocated. His legs were hidden beneath the layers of goop. On top of his malnourished torso was his head, large and bulbous. The creature had a single eyeball that took up a majority of his face—always staring at me, unblinking…and just below that, a thin, spindly smile with long, jagged, curving teeth. 

He stayed in my closet most nights, next to the laundry basket. In the dark, the laundry basket and the creature looked identical. At first, it was pretty scary. He’d show up in the middle of the night and just sit in the corner, smiling at me. I’d wake up and shriek, only for my mom to come bursting in, turn on the light, and he’d be gone. 

But, one day, and I don’t know why I did this, instead of waking up and seeing him and shrieking, I sat up, clutched my tiny blankets to my chest, and asked, “What are you?” 

The creature’s smile faltered. He shifted. I could hear the slime dripping from his body and plopping on the wooden floor. I sucked in a breath. I curled my knees up to my chest. 

“I said,” my voice trembled, “what are you?” 

Then I heard it. His voice was like a whisper layered on top of another whisper, echoing in a dissonance that sent your mind spinning. 

“It can see us?” he said. Then, his eye widened. “Interesting.” 

Nobody believed me when I told them the next morning, or when I kept seeing it—and more creatures, each more terrifying, more disgusting. They began appearing in the daylight, at the breakfast table as I ate, outside as I played—everywhere. They started following me, flocking to me. 

Slimey didn’t stay in Greg and Laurie’s upstairs closet. He followed me when we moved across the states, when we moved into a new apartment, and eventually, a new house. He was there at every new school, every class…he didn’t comment much on the homework or assignments I got. He just sat there, listening, and occasionally, he’d snicker and say something sarcastic. It helped me get through the day, especially in History, my least favorite subject. 

This one day, we were split into groups of three to do a presentation on World War II. A three-part essay, each of us presenting a different point to our class. 

Our history teacher, Mr. Johnson, stood at the front of the room in a green sweater-vest, with large circular glasses perched on his hooked nose. I often saw a spiky black ball with four red eyes stuck in his shoulder. I tried to avoid the spikier demons—they hurt worse, their barbs sinking into those they attached to. Hurtful words, hurtful looks. Best to just stay away.

“You’ll have a month to complete your essays, so be prepared and start on your assignments early. Take the last fifteen minutes of class to meet your partners and get planning.” 

I rolled my eyes.

Slimey snickered from behind me. “Doesn’t teacher have anything better to do than torment it?” His voice echoed around the room. “It has enough problems without teacher forcing it to do teacher’s bidding.” 

“You got that right,” I grumbled under my breath. I’d long since given up ignoring Slimey. Nobody else could see him, so I looked crazy, but I didn’t mind. Not really. I leaned back in the chair, kicked my red Converse up on my wooden desk, then smoothed out my black and white checkered skirt. Seconds later, a chair scraped across the floor behind me. I glanced over my shoulder as a boy with curly brown hair and a blindingly bright smile pulled his chair up from the back and sat it right next to mine. 

“Hey, I’m Daniel,” he jabbed his outstretched hand in front of me. “Nice to officially meet ya, partner!” 

“Tara,” I said and shook his outstretched hand.

“Chasidy, get over here!” Daniel called. A blonde girl with bouncing curls and pretty pink lips sauntered from the front.

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” she gave a short, forceful huff, then sat on the edge of my desk. I’d noticed Chasidy a couple of times in the hallways. There was that creature that hid in her shadow, just out of sight. Then, there was Daniel. I didn’t know what his demons were yet.

“It should stay away from that one.” Slimey hissed in my ear. His words tickled my ear—I flinched. Daniel laid out his plan for our project. I listened half-heartedly, took my assignment, and booked it out of class the moment the bell rang. 

By the end of the day, I’d already forgotten about the group project. That is, until Daniel ruined everything. 

“Hey—Tara, wait!” Daniel called as I opened the door to my mom’s car. It was a blue minivan, beat-up and bought used. I closed my eyes. 

“Just get in,” Slimey urged.

“Shut up,” I muttered as I made up my mind and half turned toward Daniel’s voice. He was running at me from across the yard, his backpack bouncing on his shoulders, cheeks flushed. 

“Who is that?” my mom asked. I shut the door with my hip and crossed my arms. 

“Yeah? What do you want?” I asked as he jogged to a stop in front of me. He gasped for breath, keeled over, and put his hands on his knees. He held up a finger. 

“Leave—it should get in the vehicle and leave—” Slimey tugged on a strand of my hair, and I winced. I smoothed my curly brown locks behind my ear and leaned against the side of the car.  

“You—should come—to youth group,” Daniel finally gasped out. Slimey pinched my arm with two wet fingers, short and painful. I flinched. 

“Youth group? Like church?” I shook my head. “Listen, we’re better off just getting this project done and—” 

“Hi, you must be a friend of Tara!” my mother shouted from behind me. She’d rolled the window down and was leaning toward the passenger side, straining against her seatbelt. My face paled. 

“Mom—” I started, but then Daniel was pushing past me, reaching a hand inside our car. 

“Yeah! I’m Daniel—it’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Tara’s mom!” 

My mom giggled. “Mrs. Brown is just fine. Did I hear you right? Are you inviting Tara to a party?” 

Daniel shook his head. “No, though, we have pizza a lot, so it kinda feels like a party. I’m inviting her to hang out with us at my church’s youth group—Wednesday nights from five to seven. Completely and totally chaperoned.” 

“She’d just love to come!” My mom clapped her hands together. “Here—let me give you my number so you can text me the address and—” 

“Stop this!” Slimey hissed. I grabbed the strap of Daniel’s backpack and pulled. He peeled away from the car, looked at me, and smiled. I scowled and shoved past him, toward the car.

“No—he’ll text me the address,” I said as I yanked open the passenger door and climbed inside. Slimey slithered in past me and settled in his usual spot in the back. I slammed the door shut, clicked my seatbelt on, and rolled up the window. “Drive, Mom! Just drive.” 

My mom waved at Daniel—his stupidly bright smile plastered over his face—and then pulled away from the curb. 

“He seems nice, Tara.” 

“Whatever,” I whispered. I crossed my arms and stared out the window as my mom prattled on about her day. Nice didn’t cut it. Not these days. Especially not when it came to me. Nobody was nice, not unless they wanted something. 

And I’d be damned if I was just going to give it to him, whatever it was. 

“It should stay away from that one,” Slimey whispered from the back. I felt him press his oozing hand against my shoulder. I shrugged it off and kept my gaze to the window. 

“Believe me, I’m aware,” I muttered. From the corner of my eye, I saw my mom hesitate. She stared at me for a moment, gripped the wheel tighter, and we drove the rest of the way home in silence. 

I was upstairs in my room when I got the first notification. Sitting on my floor, surrounded by piles of unfolded laundry, doing homework. The phone buzzed. I glanced at the screen and scoffed. 

“A group chat? Seriously?” I shoved the phone under a discarded bra and looked back at my homework. But then my phone dinged again, and then again, and finally, after six more annoyingly loud vibrations, I set the pencil down and unlocked my phone. 

The first message was, of course, from Daniel. 

Daniel: Tara’s coming to youth group on Wednesday! Also—which part of the essay do you ladies want? 

Daniel: Tara do you want me and Chas to pick you up? 

Daniel: Or do you want your mom to drop you off? 

Daniel: Either one works, just let me know : ) 

Chas: Chas thumbs up “Either one works, just let me know : )” 

Chas: Ew, who has Android rn?

I clicked my phone to do not disturb. 

Despite my complaints, my threats, and overall disinterest, that Wednesday, I found myself being dropped off at Fellowship Baptist Church by my mom. My stomach seemed to be trying to crawl up my throat and out of my mouth. I crossed my arms across my chest and stared up at the building. The church was located in a strip mall, with a Mexican place to the right and a tobacco shop on the left. 

“Weird,” Slimey muttered from behind me, and I nodded. 

“You can say that again,” I whispered. My mom, standing on my left, cleared her throat. 

“Remember, Tara, this is your chance to make some friends.” She put her hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “You can do this. It doesn’t have to be everyone, but remember to smile and—” 

“Right.” I scoffed, rolled my eyes, shrugged her off, and walked through the door. 

I don’t know what I was expecting, exactly, when I first walked through the doors. But given that it was a church, I certainly didn’t think there’d be so many demons in there. 

They were everywhere, almost as many as there were kids. Large spiky ones, sneaky slimy ones. A putrid smell hit my nostrils, and it took everything in me not to gag and run from the room. 

“Hey, Tara!” Daniel waved from the back of the room. All eyes on me. Great. Not just people’s eyes, demon eyes too. Before I could stop him, Slimey slinked off to a group of the bug-eyed creatures to my right—oh, and to the demons surrounding them, too. The group of kids was dressed similarly to me, in patchy, holey jeans and oversized hoodies, and looked just about as happy as I was to be at church. 

As far as services go, it was nothing special. I didn’t pay attention to most of it, if I’m being honest. Daniel seemed moved by the man in his thirties who dressed like he was still a teenager. That guy stood on stage and blabbered on and on.

There was just a moment where things felt…I don’t know, different, maybe. A little weird. They were singing a song, and for a full minute, as I looked around the room…it was like all the demons were just gone. 

But the song ended, and eventually, they came right back, slinking from the corners of the room. Slimey was quiet, for his part. Angry at me for coming, like I even had a choice in the matter. He pointedly ignored me. 

My mom practically buzzed in her seat as I climbed into her car. Daniel waved goodbye wildly, his hand flapping around like a fish. I clicked my seatbelt on and tried to ignore him. 

“So,” my mom drew the word out, almost like she was procrastinating the question she wanted to ask next. But eventually her breath ran out. “How was it?” 

“It…isn’t really for me, Mom.” I shrugged. Mom looked disappointed. I could tell the way her shoulders deflated, and she stared back down the road. 

“Well,” she whispered, “maybe it’ll just take some time?” 

“Or maybe it doesn’t belong with those freaks,” Slimey muttered from the back, and I have to say, I agreed. Mom didn’t seem to. I guess that’s why she made me go the next week, and the week after that.

Slimey hated this, of course. Every Wednesday night, without fail, he’d get petty. Spiteful. It’d start right as I climbed into bed. I’d turn off the lights, settle down, and he’d be there, hovering over me.

“It doesn’t belong there,” Slimey whispered. I curled tighter into my covers. Squeezed my eyes shut. Slimey leaned over, and I could practically feel it oozing over my blankets. Slimey’s one eye stared at me, unblinking, unrelenting. “It doesn’t belong anywhere.” 

“Leave me alone,” I whispered. The pressure increased. 

“It should never go back there,” Slimey whispered. 

“Leave me alone, please,” I whispered. “I’m sorry, please. Just leave!” 

“It isn’t worth anything. It needs to remember its place. It is just like me.” 

Daniel and Chasidy seemed to think that this group project and my showing up at youth group every week made us like, friends or something. Well…Daniel seemed to think the three of us were friends. I wasn’t sure where Chasidy stood, not until lunch, about two weeks into our project. 

We sat at a lunch table, outside in the sun. 

“This looks great!” Daniel spoke through a mouthful of sandwich. He held my portion of the essay, grinning. “You’re really pulling this together.” 

Despite myself, I found a smile worming its way onto my face. “Really?” 

Daniel nodded. “Really—gimme five!” 

I chuckled as he held up a hand. 

“Hell yeah,” I smiled—and high-fived him. Chasidy, from next to me, gasped. Her eyes widened, and her nose scrunched. 

“Excuse me, but we don’t swear,” she muttered.

“Whoa, hey.” Daniel frowned. 

“It’s a sin, Daniel,” Chasidy hissed. “You and I are better than that.” 

I lowered my hand, frowning. I blinked, then looked down. The demon that hid in Chasidy’s shadow had reached its thin hand out. The spindly fingers were wrapped around my ankle. I clicked my tongue, stood, and marched off, leaving Chasidy, the demon, and a smiling, grinning Slimey. 

Daniel texted me later that afternoon, apologizing for Chasidy. I told him he didn’t have to do that.

Chasidy and I didn’t talk much after that. I’d see her whispering with her friends at youth group—then, all of them would turn to look at me. 

“It is hated here. It is hated everywhere,” Slimey would whisper. I’d nod and sit in the back of the room until my mom came to pick me up. Daniel, for his part, tried to smooth things over. He really didn’t have to do that. 

Chasidy also stopped participating in the group project. With only two weeks left to get it done, the majority of the work fell to Daniel and me. Daniel offered to take most of her work, which he didn’t have to do, but I let him anyway. 

Screw her. Chasidy was like everyone else. 

I was really about ready to give up the whole youth group thing—despite my mom. Ready to just sit in the car and refuse to leave. 

But then I met Daniel at the park to go over our essay one last time, and everything changed. 

I knew something was wrong the moment I saw Daniel. Well, more like the moment I saw the demon on Daniel. It was the first one I’d ever seen on him, and it was a wild thing, like a Tasmanian devil. It rushed from one side of his head to the other, scrambling around his body, whirling around his head, hissing with a forked tongue into his ears. 

I faltered at the edge of the grassy park and gripped my backpack tighter. But then Daniel waved to me, smiling like nothing was wrong, and I was forced to march across the green lawn to our picnic table. 

“Hey,” I nodded and sat down.

“Good afternoon, Tara! Did you eat lunch today? I brought sandwiches!” Daniel had bags under his eyes and a slight dimness to his usually blinding smile. He held up his backpack and pulled out two Ziploc baggies.

“What are you, my mom?” I snorted. “Let’s just get to the project and go home.” 

“Oh…right.” Daniel nodded. I watched as he reached under the table and pulled out his textbooks. The little Tasmanian devil seemed to grow in the tense silence, and I heard it chuckle under its breath. 

“Are you okay?” I asked before I could stop myself.

Daniel looked up, his mouth parted. “Huh?” 

I sighed and pressed my palms against my thighs. Beside me, Slimey shook his head. 

“I said, are you okay?” I shifted under Daniel’s gaze. “You just…it seems…you look overwhelmed.” 

A light seemed to click on in Daniel’s eyes, and before I knew it, he was folding his hands together and closing his eyes. His lips moved silently, words uttered that I wasn’t privileged to hear.

“Stop it! No—no!” Slimey jostled my shoulder—so fast and hard that I actually had to stick my foot out to keep from falling off the bench. “It needs to stop that one from—” 

In an instant, I watched as the tiny little demon spinning circles around Daniel’s head shot up into the sky and vanished from sight.

My mouth dropped. 

“How did…” I snapped my mouth shut. 

Daniel opened his eyes. 

How had he done that? I blinked, shook my head. “I-I…it’s…” 

I looked back up at the sky. It was gone—like gone, gone. I scanned the park, did a circle. I couldn’t see it anywhere. Slowly, I looked back at Daniel, my lips pressed into a thin line.

They never listened to me. 

“Tara?” Daniel tilted his head to the side. “You okay?” 

I nodded. “Yeah…yeah, I’m…sorry. I’m fine.” 

I finished up as fast as I could, then headed straight home. In my room, I paced the floor. Slimey sat in the corner of my room, growling. 

“How did he do that?” I asked. The slime covering him slurped forward, over the top of his eye, until it formed a single angry eyebrow. With that one eye, he glared at me. 

“It needs to leave that one alone,” Slimey hissed. “It needs to know its place.” 

“Daniel sent that little thing away like—like—like it was made of dust!” I swiped my hand through the air. 

Slimey didn’t answer. He shifted, his body slurping and slopping. 

“Tell me how!” I screamed.

Slimey whispered. “The one he serves is dangerous. It needs to stay with me.” 

I shook my head.

“It has been alone its whole life!” Slimey suddenly shouted, voices layering on top of voices as he grew, taking up the whole corner, his head brushing the ceiling. I stumbled back, tripped. I fell on my rump. Slimey continued to grow, its mouth opening, the sharp teeth glinting. “It has been alone, and I have been with it! It would abandon me? It is useless! It is pathetic! It is nothing!” 

And then, my phone dinged. Slimey and I paused. We glanced down at the phone, sitting on the edge of my bed. Slimey shrank as I scrambled and snatched up the phone. 

A text from Daniel. 

Daniel: You okay? You seemed distracted at the park. 

I bit my lip. Then… 

Daniel: I don’t know where you stand with this stuff, but I’m going to pray for you now. Hope everything is well! 

The hair on the back of my neck rose as Slimey growled. He chittered, his teeth clicking together, then slunk to the corner of the room and slipped between the seam of the wallpaper.

“It is nothing,” he whispered, and then…he was gone. I let out a breath. Looked down at my phone. 

With trembling fingers, I typed out a message asking Daniel to meet me back at the park. Then I grabbed my jacket, threw it on, and ran out of the house. 

I waited for fifteen minutes on the park bench, my leg bouncing up and down, when he finally biked up to me. 

“Hey!” He grinned. He slid off his bike and let it fall on the ground. “You okay?” 

I nodded. Pressed my lips together, then looked to the sun. It was setting. It’d be dark soon. I swallowed and shut my eyes. I heard Daniel sit down next to me. I sucked in a breath through my nose and let it out through my mouth. 

“So,” I dragged out the word. My heart was all but bursting through my chest. My stomach felt cold—ice cold. Everything in me didn’t want to ask what I was about to, but…after what I’d seen? I couldn’t help the question that left my mouth next. “So, when you said you were praying for me…what do you mean by that?”

Alli Prince

Alli Prince has been creating stories since she could form words and has been writing since long before she learned about sentence structure and grammar (her editors think she could still learn a thing or two about grammar). She’s been published to The Pearl and was the project manager for Lawless. Alli is currently attending a writing trade school called The Company. She is learning everything she can about writing, editing, and marketing. She hopes to use these skills to influence the world of Christian literature and bring glory to God’s name. You can find her at AlliPrince.com

Cover art by Levi Matthews
Connect on Instagram @levimatthews.artist or on his website, LeviMatthewsArtist.com.