As the words leave your lips you feel Catia's mood shift. She seems more hostile saying,


"Do you not find me attractive or something? I don't have time to talk and have many more people to see after you. Let's focus on the now shall we? Take of your clothes."

You refuse

"I will be doing no such thing," you say in protest.


Catia raises her eyebrow before breaking out in laughter.


"Well this is a first," she says.


You stare at her as she seems to be deciding whether she'll force you to remove your clothes. You feel the sweat drip down your back when she finally says,


"Maybe I really deserved to be sent here. I can't even manipulate a human into having sex with me."


A black cloud appears as she disappears from your room. You start violently coughing but don't pass out this time. It's not like it matters, you need to sleep anyway. You put out your candles and fall into bed. You focus on your breathing as you drift off to sleep. Best to reflect on what happens when you have a clearer mind.


You wake up with a throbbing pain in your head. The light coming from your window floods your mind with intense pain. Guess you drunk more last night than you thought. You decide its best to make yourself some food and drink to clear your head. You grab water and a slice of peach pie you made a few days ago. You scarf the food down and shallow the water in huge gulps. Your head should start feeling better within the next few hours.


Except it doesn't, you lie in bed with constant tension on your head. It's like someone is squeezing your brain with both hands, but not hard enough to cause physical harm. Something unnatural is going on and you know it. Hangovers should get better after rest, not worse. It's hard to focus on anything but the pain. You try remembering what Catia did before she left. She dispelled a black cloud which didn't knock you out. Is it possible this was a curse?


The more you think about it, the more it makes sense. While she tried not to show it, she was upset you resisted her temptation. She wanted you to pay for hurting her ego. That bitch! As you think about her more, tension is released from your skull. In fact, you're able to think about her in vivid detail and feel headache free. Although, the second you stop thinking about her the pain comes rushing back. This certainly isn't good.


You're going to have to do something about this. There is one obvious solution which is trying to contact Catia and having her remove the curse. Though who knows if she'll even remove it, assuming she still wants to visit you. The other option is going to a local witch doctor and having them remove the curse. Although, you've heard they've been busy since demons first started being sighted. Maybe the curse is temporary, why not wait it out?

You call for Catia

You can barely move, so you know you're in a susceptible state. The question is, does she still want to see you?


"Catia," you whisper.


You wait a few tense seconds and feel the pain in your head begin to relieve itself. But then, nothing. She never comes and the pain comes rushing back. You find tears streaming down your face as you realize your chances with Catia are probably over. You're also in no state to continue working as a guard and will probably be fired soon. The only thing you can do is lay in bed and suffer.


Days past and your state of mind only gets worse. You begin seeing shadowy figures at the corner of your eyes. One day you manage to touch one and ask,


"Who are you?"


He laughs and laughs before disappearing. This isn't the most psychologically scaring part of this ordeal. Your recurring nightmares are much worse. You dream of your family returning home in vivid detail, only for it to all come crashing down as you realize they're not real. You stop eating and drink only when necessary. It gets to a point where you know if you don't try to seek help you will die.


You have no idea where to go for help, especially since the local witch doctor has been arrested for using humans as potion ingredients. You wander aimlessly taking morning walks in a vain attempt to find your savior. Shadowy figures whisper about you as you walk past.


"There's nothing out here, return home"


"You're never going to get better, why not end it?"


You've been seeing these shadowy figures more frequently recently. You chalk this up to your lack of sleep. Sleeping is when your most vulnerable, so you try to do as little of it as you can.


During a morning walk you run into a familiar face. It's your childhood friend Julia. You haven't seen her since schooling and boy does she look different.


"Is that…" she says


"Yeah it's me," you reply


"Boy do you look different."


You haven't been grooming yourself since the madness occurred. You have lots of dark circles under your eyes and probably don't smell too good either.


"You also look different."


She raises an eyebrow not knowing if your complementing or insulting her.


"In a good way in a good way!" you clarify.


She laughs as her dress flows in the wind.


"Sorry I can't say the same to you. Down on your luck?"


"That's putting it lightly," you say jokingly, even though it's the truth.


"Hahah I bet. I was just about to get some coffee, wanna come with?"


"Would I ever! Is it ok if the shadow people follow along?"


"The what?"


"Never mind."


Later


Julia and you decided to go to the Cinnamon Pearl Cafe. As fancy as it may seem, its nothing more than a place to eat pastries and drink coffee. She begins telling you what's she's been doing lately.


"You know Andy right?"


"Of course, me and him have been on guard duty together a couple times."


Julia bites her lips and chooses her words carefully,


"Well we broke up recently due to the fact that he...he...raped me..."


You're shocked at this revelation, Andy has always seemed like a standup guy.


"How could he do such a thing?"


"He's a piece of shit that's how!"


Your lower your head as she composes herself.


"Sorry, I'm just not in the best mental space right now."


"No need to apologize, you have every right to be angry."


"Thank you."


"So tell me, what happened?"


She explains how one night, after a long tiring day working as a cleaner, Andy wanted sex. They had been dating for a few months and had yet to have sex. The conversation went a little like this,


"All of my other friends constantly brag about sex. If I keep telling them I haven't fucked you yet they might start thinking I'm gay," says Andy.


"Stop pressuring me! I told you, I am not in the mood and am not ready to pursue that kind of relationship with you."


"You're such a bitch, you know that right? Fuck you make me angry," Andy says while walking towards Julia menacingly.


"Back off, get away from me!"


Julia stops talking and begins to choke up. She covers her face with her hands and says shakily,


"He grabbed me and wouldn't let go. I tried to scream but he covered my mouth and clenched my throat. He violated me and nobody cares to do anything about it. Everyone's to focused on the damn demons to give a shit about poor ol' me."


"That's horrible, who else have you told?"


"Just you and the captain of the fucking guards. He wouldn't even fire him, saying the demand for guards is 'very high' right now. No guard is better than a guards that's a mother fucking rapist."


"I wish I could help, but the captain probably won't listen to me anymore. I haven't shown up for work in days and didn't give any notice."


"It's ok, I don't want the captain's help anyways. I need to move on and be strong."


You make small talk about various things before saying your goodbyes. With Julia in such a vulnerable state, you wonder if it's best to give her time to heal. At the same time, you long for human relationship. The shadow figures just aren't the same as real human contact.

You give her time to heal

You decide it's best to give it time before pursuing a relationship. Not just for her, but you as well. You figure you'll stop seeing shadow people sooner than later and be in a better headspace. A few days go by and the shadowy figures start to appear in the corner of your eyes. You're starting to regret your decision of not pursing Julia but they reassure you.


"You're better of without her."


"Why have friends when you have us?"


And a particularly rude one says,


"She's much better off without you in her life."


You stop your morning walks and live a hermit lifestyle. You start eating bugs off the ground as you've long since ran out of food. This is no way to live your life and you know it. In a moment of clarity you sprint out of the house and run to "The Devil's Cliff". You jump off laughing as you've hit rock bottom in life and now in death.