A DEMON A DAY

A Short Story by Anabelle

“Jerry, pass me the ketchup!”

“Sure thing!”

A ketchup bottle hits me square in the nose, and squirts some onto my shirt.

“When I said pass, I didn’t mean explode it onto me, Jerry!”

Our picnic table dissolves into giggles. Jerry hangs his head dramatically. I pick up a few napkins, and wipe my shirt off. It was my birthday, and I could not be seen with red splattered over my shirt. I still squirt some ketchup on my burger, though. I might have not liked it on my clothes, but it's really good on a burger.

I squeeze the bottle, putting a seemingly random dollop on the inside of the bun. I notice the pattern that I accidentally drew, and yelp. I slam the two buns together, but it's too late. The buns open on their own accord, and the ketchup glows red. By now, the other kids heard my shriek, and got up and away from the table. I ran too. We were all hiding behind a bush, when we heard a voice. A deep, gravelly voice:

“Come out! No use hiding from me!”

We hesitated, not wanting to go towards the scary voice. Then, someone screamed, and a scorching heat grazed my back. The screaming continued. I looked behind me, and Jerry was in the air, held over our heads by a huge, maleficent demon. It had hints of dark red in the cracks of its leathery hide. It had huge, winding horns that stuck out of its large head. It's face was horrible, with fangs the size of bananas, and bloodshot eyes. It stood on two legs at about 8 feet, with claws on its hands and feet.

Jerry had stopped screaming by the time I took it all in. The demon lifted Jerry above its face, and opened its mouth. I could see it's tongue, which was crimson. Jerry screamed again. And then, horribly, the screaming is cut off. I look up, and Jerry is gone. So is the large beast. I know that I will probably never see either of them again.