006 – NOTHING IS GOING THE RIGHT WAY.

🦋 CATALINA 🦋

My heart is racing like a jackrabbit on steroids. My legs tremble beneath me, threatening to give out at any moment. The urge to pee is almost overwhelming, my bladder screaming in protest as if it’s been possessed by a tiny furious demon.

The harsh grip on my hair holds me in place, forcing me to look into the eyes of the Asmodeus heir’s squad leader. His eyes bore into mine, seeming to see right through me, to the very marrow of my bones.

I’m trying to breathe, but my lungs feel like they are constricting, squeezing the air out of me. My mouth is dry, and my tongue feels like sandpaper as I try to swallow. I’m shivering under his grip, I can feel it, and I’m sure he can feel it too.

He points the gun at my forehead. I can swear he’s grinning like a devil underneath his mask as he cocks his gun. I slam my eyes shut, waiting for the impact. This is where I perish, home, home to Jesus, my maker.

Suddenly, instead of a gunshot, I hear a voice right beside him, in front of me, it is one of his subordinates.

“Squats are getting closer to our location, there are a lot of them, and it will be too much hassle to kill them all. I think we should leave. This is already a failed operation because of her.”

I can feel his eyes on me while his subordinate gives this report; it is as if he is feeding on every expression on my face and my body language, and he seems to be enjoying it.

My eyes are still slammed shut when I feel him lean closer to my ear, “You are lucky I have a mask on, I’ll be biting your ear off.”

That didn’t seem to stop Corvin, the leader of Lucifer’s heirs. Wait, why the fuck am I thinking about that silent, blood-sucking bedbug right now?

“You owe me a death, Catalina.”

I snap my eyes open in shock. Did he just say my name? Yes, he fucking did! How the hell does he know my name?

He knows my name… dammit! What else does he know?

I don’t realize the air is clear, the Asmodeus heir is gone, and Squat has taken their place, examining the lady who was shot to prove me wrong.

I barely notice because I am under tension and the lady is behind me, but she is carrying a child in front of her. When she was shot in the head, she fell face-first, covering the baby with her weight.

“Are you okay?” An elderly woman taps my shoulder, forcing me to rip my gaze from the child the squats are trying to lift the heavy mother away from.

“Huh?” I glitch, still barely looking at the elderly lady.

“You just almost died yourself,” she mutters. “Now what did that motherfucker say to you? I saw him whisper something into your ears.”

Ignoring her, I storm out of the supermarket store, the child’s cry, the old woman’s concern, the squats' questions, and every other sound is immediately tuned to background noise, as I take sharp, big, yet struggling steps towards my house.

My vision blurs, I clutch at my chest, trying to catch my breath, when suddenly, like lightning speed, something, no, someone grabs me and throws me towards the wall.

My back and the back of my head hit the strong wall, and I wince in pain. Immediately, he presses himself on me, his palm wrapped around my neck, choking life out of my already lifeless body.

I struggle against his grip, my hands hitting his in an attempt to free myself, but all attempt fails. Looking up at who was trying to kill me, I am met with heterochromia blue and green eyes.

“Cor…vin…” I struggle to speak.

His grip on my neck immediately softens, but he didn’t take his hand or his eyes off me.

I inhale a large amount of air as soon as I’m able to, and his voice rings out in the air, “The leader of Asmodeus’s heir is Magnus… my squad and his are sworn enemies. If I see you with him again, I’ll kill him – and I’ll be back to kill you too.”

And just like that, he vanishes.

I collapse to the ground, my arms wrapped around my neck. My chest tightens, and a raw sound escapes my throat.

“I just almost died three times in this city in the space of a few hours. Will I survive the next one?” I can’t help but worry.