"Behind you Ri," I yell to Orion and he sees a little too late. The tiny creature jumps on his back and he fumbles back.

"What the hell?" he says stumbling back as the thing covers his eyes with its claws. "Zel get this thing off me!"

"Okay just remain calm remember our training."

"I'm calm, I'm calm but I would appreciate it if you could get this thing off my back."

We are surrounded by creatures that look like mini demons. They have long horns that curl at the tips and wings on their backs. Their bodies look like it's made out of ash. Their eyes are huge glowing red orbs that are bulging out of their heads.

"Alright stand still."

"Don't hit me," he shrieks.  I raise my hands and aim it at the creature but Ri, keeps moving around and the thing is now laughing. Its voice is so deep and demonic for its tiny body.

What are these things?

"laisser," I manage to hit the thing and it lets go of Orion. The creature falls to the ground and bursts into ashes. When it does that the others follow suit falling to the ground and bursting into ash.

I stand confused. "Something is wrong," I say and Orion nods in agreement.

"Urm guys, this is far from over," the boy cowering behind us says.

Soon all the ashes start moving on the ground piling up together until they all form into one demon. The thing towers over the three of us and laughs menacingly.

The boy behind us lets out a feminine scream and covers his face as he starts mumbling incoherently. "Oh my gosh this can't be happening, I always knew I would go out this way, being killed by ash demons! but I didn't think it would happen so soon," he shrieks.

"Ash demon?" I repeat. I have never heard of such a bizarre thing before.

"Yes it's a demon that cremates its prey to devour its ashes," the boy says nervously.

"You need help kid," Orion says to the teenage boy. The 'ash demon' starts to close in on us and it smiles cynically showing us its pointy teeth.

"No I'm going to need help after this," I say.

"Zel do the spell," Orion yells.

"Ayrel lè cremar."

*********

I close the door to my locker and walk down the hall with Morgan. The witch of north haven high, aka barbie, has been MIA for three days after our little incident. The world is a beautiful place when there isn't a beast rampaging through the hallways terrorizing students.

I still feel guilty for what I did to Morgan. When I spoke to her in school the next day I felt a bit odd around her. She knew I was acting differently with her and she demanded to know why. I had to lie to her and tell her I'm not and it was just in her head.

When we reach the end of the hall I realize that I forgot my copy of Macbeth for our English lesson today.

Damn, now I got to go back to my locker.

"Hey what's wrong?" Morgan asks.

"I will have to run back to my locker I forgot my book," I tell her before I turn on my heel and sprint back to my locker.

"I can come with you," she yells after me.

"No, it's fine. I'll meet you in class," I call back as I run down the hallway.

I run back down the hall again and enter the code for my locker. I grab my copy of Macbeth and decide to make my way down the hall again.

"Pssst....." I hear when I walk past a slightly open classroom door. I observe the door that's open just a crack.

"I'm in here," the words come out in a hushed whisper and I take a cautious step front. 

"Who?"I try to peek my head into the room and the lights are off. I place my hand on the door to push it open then I feel someone take hold of my hand.  They pull me into the classroom and the door shuts behind me.

My hands begin to grow hot and I throw a punch as my first instinct. When I realize that I punched fresh air. I think of a spell. "Ayrel...." l screams but then the thing clasps a hand over my mouth stopping me from doing the spell.

"Woah relax it's just me trouble maker," it says and I realize that it's not an it but Jason. He removes his hand from my mouth and switches on the lights.

"Dude what?" I say in shock but mostly relief. I was seconds away from frying him alive.

"You want to cut class and come with me to get taco's?" he asks grinning.

"Aww, is someone missing their little buddy, Fabian?" I sarcastically remark, turning to open the classroom door.

"Why you gotta make it sound so weird. You want to come or not?" he asks running a hand through his dark brown hair.

"Nope, I'm sure you can find someone else to go with. I meant it when I said I was cleaning up my act."

"Come on you know it will be fun," he tries to persuade me.

Every time we go on a food adventure it turns out to be fun. I remember the first time he convinced me to cut class with him. We went to go get ice cream. It was the opening day of the ice cream shop, Milky way icy treats. They make the best homemade ice cream in town.

The brain freeze and the detention for three months were not worth it because my aunt also made me wear the emerald stone for two weeks.

Even though we went through all of that the first time we cut school. It doesn't mean we never did it again, but the next time we did we were smart enough not to get caught.

I'm not risking it this time though, no matter how tempting the offer may sound."No, would you stop tempting me," I say holding an accusatory finger up in his face causing him to put his hands up in defense.

"Geez, take it easy," he says.

I would like to go on another food adventure.  But I didn't want to risk the good record I was trying to build. "Come to class with me and then we can go," I try to bargain.

"Yeah right," he says, in disbelief.

"Come to class with me and then I promise to go with you after." He looks me over considering my offer.

"Fine deal," he mumbles.

We walk to English class and when he stops at the door he gives me an l pleading look, begging me with his eyes not to make him go in there.
"Oh come on you big baby it's only forty-five minutes," I say and open the door.

When we enter the class we are met by a glaring Mrs. Hill and the prying eyes of other students. Her glasses sit at the tip of her nose and she stares at us from above them.

"You two are late," Her voice is stern as she looks between Jason and me.

"Sorry, it won't happen again," I apologize and her eyes soften.

"Oh alright. Fine sit, at least you here," she says and gestures for us to take our seats. We take our seats at the back of the class and everyone is still staring at us. Morgan is sitting at the other end of the classroom and I notice Oliver Mayhew's is sitting beside her.

"Help me," she mouths. Jason and I smirk at each other before we both shake our heads telling her that she is on her own. Oliver has had a crush on Morgan since the seventh grade after they worked on a science fair project together.

Morgan can't stand him. She says if obnoxious and pretentious had a baby they would name it Oliver. Teasing Morgan I didn't notice that people were still staring at me and whispering.

"What are you looking at?" Jason growls at the curious onlookers and they all look away. "She is such a freak." Two girls whisper to each other.

"Prissy shitbags." I cuss aloud enough for them to hear and Jason smirks.

It was like this all the time, people who thought that they were better than me always calling me a weirdo, anti-social, freakazoid, etc, but I couldn't care less.

As soon as the bell rings. Jason pulls me straight out of the school, pushing through a crowd of teens that are trying to be the first ones out of the door."Dude the tacos aren't running away," I say, while he pulls me to his motorcycle.

"Shhhh, he silences me and places a helmet on my head."

"What's the rush?" I ask and he doesn't answer he just focuses on tightening the strap on the helmet. "Is this some sort of trick to kidnap me.  By getting me to willingly go with you," I joke and he stares at me in bewilderment.

"If I wanted to kidnap you, why would I tell you that?" he asks, tapping his chin with his index finger as an evil smirk forms on his face. He gets on the motorcycle and I put my arms around his waist.  "Remember how to do this?" he asks, starting the bike and revving the engine.

"Yeah, it hasn't been that long since I've been on your bike," I say and before I know it he zips down the street.

I wasn't the biggest fan of motorcycle rides. I always felt unbalanced afterward. Jason makes a turn at the mall and stops outside a fancy Mexican restaurant. The sign 'Spanish flair' is in lights and it sits at the top of the two-story building.

The restaurant opened a few months ago and word about how amazing their food is spread, but it's almost impossible to get a reservation."We getting tacos from here?" I gawk.

"This is the only restaurant here Zel " Jason smiles.

"But how...." I trail.

"I'm friends with the owner's son", he shrugged, with a dismissal wave of his hand.

As soon as we walk into the restaurant it's like the atmosphere shifts. My palms begin to sweat and I feel my body go weak for a second. I let out a small cough as I feel tiny beads of sweat form onto my forehead.

Something feels off.

The feeling fades as fast as it came and a second later my heart starts beating faster, pounding in my chest and I feel a power surge run through my veins.

The power is overwhelming and I'm feeling myself being pulled to something. I lean against the wall to try and gather my bearings. I take in deeps breaths to calm myself down and soon my rapid heart rate slows to normal again.

What in the Realms is happening to me.

"Hey, are you alright?" Jason asks in concern.

I remove my hand from my head that was checking my temperature. "Yeah I'm fine, I just needed a breather."

"Was I driving too fast?" he asks in concern.

"No, it's not you."

But what is it.

Trying to suppress the strange feeling. I stand up straight again.  We walk further into the restaurant. The restaurant has a homey feel to it.

There are little green jalapeno's wearing sombreros on the walls, black tables with chairs as well as booth seats. String lights hang from the ceiling, emitting a warm yellow glow.

The aroma of various foods hang pleasantly in the air and my stomach immediately growls. Soft music mixed with the ramblings of people's conversations fills my ears.

A man dressed in red and black mariachi attire is sitting on a barstool that's on a tiny stage, he strums on his guitar and sings in Spanish.  The people dining are smiling, laughing, and singing along with him. Everyone seems to be having a good time."This place is packed," I say to Jason.

"Yeah, that's why I was in a rush. But it's cool.  My friend Doc will help us get a table," he shrugs.

"Doc?" I repeat the name.

"Yeah it's short for the witch doctor," he says and I look at him in confusion.

"Witchdoctor?" I question if I heard him right. "What kind of a name is  witchdoctor."

"Say my name and I shall appear," I hear someone say from behind me and when I turn around, I'm met with the bluest pair of eyes I have ever seen. The guy's blondish brown hair falls onto his forehead,  his eyes meet mine, and the smile he has on his face disappears.

He is staring blankly at me and I'm staring at him as well. "Hey, are you okay Doc?" Jason asks in concern.

He shakes his head and smiles."Yes. Um yeah. Hey bro," Doc greets and Jason and him man hug.

I eye the normal looking guy. He doesn't look like a witch doctor. Then again I don't even know what a witch doctor was supposed to look like. "This is my friend Zel," Jason introduces us.

"Nice to meet you," Doc smiles.

He gestures for us to follow him and leads us further into the restaurant. He shows us a table that's in the corner of the restaurant. It has a clear view of the stage. We take our seats and he places the menu's on the table.

"Just the taco's," Jason says to Doc and he writes the order on his notepad. "Would you like anything else Zel?" Jason asks.

"Nope, I'm good."

"Alright then, I'll be back in a few," Doc says and flips his notepad closed. When he walks away. I turn to Jason

"So what's his real name?" I ask.

"I don't know his real name."

"What do you mean you don't know. He is your friend," I gawk. "How can you possibly be good friends with someone and not know their real name?" I further and he shrugs.

"Why the sudden interest. Does someone have a little crush on the Doc?"

"No. I'm just curious," I say and he lets out a small laugh before speaking.

"Everyone who meets him is curious Zel. I met doc a few months ago. No one knows his real name but there are stories about him and some say he is as strange as...."

"Strange as Doctor Strange," Doc says appearing behind Jace.

"What the Fu..."

"Now young man you will not use such jargon in my restaurant", Doc chuckles, cutting Jace off and Jace glares at him.

Doc puts down a platter with four tacos and a pitcher of lemonade. I grab the menu off the table and hand it back to him. Our fingers brush and it's like a strong electric shock. I pull my hand back immediately and he does the same.

What is happening.

His eyes are dark when I look at him and think lines are etched onto his forehead. "It's just static electricity," he says and walks away.

"See what I mean by strange," Jason says and I stare at Doc's receding figure.

While we eating the guy playing the guitar asks for any song suggestions and Jace asks him if he can play Hero by Enrique Iglesias. While the guy plays the song Jason starts to sing along with him.

"You sound like a pig being strangled," I laugh at how horrible he sounds. I mean what does he think he sounds like. Knowing Jace's ego he probably thinks he sounds like an angel.

"You just jealous because you don't have my amazing vocals," he says proudly with a smile and starts singing again. I cover my ears and pray for the song to be over soon.

Doc comes up from behind Jason and smacks him at the back of the head with his note pad."Jace, are you okay man?" Doc asks him in a voice of concern.

"What do you think, you the one who hit me on the back of the head," Jason groans rubbing his head while sending doc a murderous look.

"I thought you were being possessed. I mean were you willingly making those ungodly noises," Doc asks and I burst out into a fit of laughter.

"Ha ha ha, very funny you two," Jace remarks sarcastically. "I'd like the bill now. The customer service stinks," he jokes.

Doc clasps Jace on the shoulder in a friendly manner. "Nope, it's on me and tell Fabian to give me a call when he gets out of 'confinement'," Doc smiles. "It was nice to meet you Zel," he calls over his shoulder as he walks back to the kitchen.

When I arrive home I can immediately get the smell of pizza when I walk through the front door. Klara is going to kill me. I forgot to call and tell her I was going out with Jace.

I take a million in one chance and decide that maybe I can sneak past her and go to my room. The floor board's creak. "Zelenia Erickson," she practically yells.

"I'm sorry." Is the first thing I blurt out.

"No sorry," she says walking into the room. "Explain."

"I went with Jason after school to get taco's," I tell her and the deathful glare leaves her eyes.

"Oh," she says in surprise. "Well since you were having fun like a normal teenager, Urm, just don't let it happen again", she says confused and turns on her heel to walk back into the kitchen.

I follow after Klara as I talk."I promise I will call next time," I say and she nods.

On the kitchen table is a tray with a large pizza on it. "Well, I guess I'm eating all this pizza by myself," Klara frowns.

"No, you not," I smile. "I could still eat," I say and her frown instantly turns into a smile.

Being a magical being takes a lot of energy. I'm constantly eating."Don't forget to do your homework before you jump," Klara reminds me before she takes a slice of pizza and goes into the lounge.

*****************************************************
A/N

So I'm curious. I've realized that humans have a bunch of fears that may seem ridiculous to others...

So my question for you humans today is, What would your night terror turn into?

Feel free to comment, vote, and recommend.

💜💜💜 PurpleAlien.