"Close your eyes," Tyler said as we got out of his car.

After youth group ended, Tyler said he had a surprise for me. My stomach instantly formed knots and, ten minutes later, they were still there.

"Okay," I said, closing my eyes.

He placed and tied a soft cloth over my eyes; I flinched when he did so.I could sense his smile as he grabbed my shoulders from behind. He carefully began to lead me up the steps. Of course, being the klutz I am, I nearly fell. Thankfully, Tyler kept me from doing so.

"Would you mind explaining to me why this surprise is in my house?" I asked.

"It's something I know you will love so to make it more special, it's in an area where you will always see it."

I tried to think of the possible gift ideas. Unfortunately, I came up with none.

The sound of the door made me jump slightly—I hated having my eyes closed, especially for surprises. Tyler laughed and told me to relax.

"If this is some sick joke like a Febreze commercial, I will end you," I said through laughs. "I swear, I will."

"Well, birthday girl, I'm glad it isn't. However, if you do start to smell Febreze, blame anyone but me."

I laughed as we walked into the cool house. Upon entering, the smell of a tropical perfume filled the air—it was none other than Febreze.

"I hate you," I said, trying hard not to laugh too much.

"Nah, you love me."

We stopped.

"Can I open my eyes now?"

"Okay, open them."

As I opened my eyes, I was still submerged in darkness. Rolling my eyes, I searched for Tyler's hand. Once I found it, I slapped him lightly.

"Remove this blindfold," I laughed.

"Okay, hang on a minute."

He lightly pushed my back in attempt to make me walk, however, I didn't know that. As he kept pushing my back, I continued to keep my ground until I fell. Tyler laughed as I fell forward and onto my face. I hit my head on the railing by the stairs and cried out in pain. Slowly, I got up and stood back on my feet.

"Congrats," I said, pointing to where I thought Tyler was, "you hurt the birthday girl."

"September," he said, "I'm over here."

I turned around in several circles trying to find his whereabouts. Due to dizziness, I stopped. Tyler laughed and grabbed my shoulders.

"Sorry," he said, laughing. "You're just so stubborn. I was just trying to get you to walk to your room."

"Oh. Heh. Sorry."

I could feel the heat rush to my cheeks. Well. That was embarrassing.

"Okay, birthday girl. To your room we go."

I nodded and held onto Tyler's arm as we made our way to my room. The sound of our feet on the hardwood floor comforted me. Taking a deep breath, I began to relax. Before I knew it, we stopped.

"September," Tyler said, "count to three, okay?"

"Why?" I asked.

"Just do it. I promise, it'll be fun."

"Fine. One...two...three."

After I said three, he removed the blindfold to reveal dozens upon dozens of pictures of scenes from Disney movies. I gasped and turned to look at him.

"When...how?"

"Today when you were at your birthday dinner. I wanted to do something special for you."

I smiled and kissed him.

"This is perfect."

Tyler smiled and grabbed my hand.

"Happy birthday, Disney freak."

————————

I opened my eyes to find Tyler gone. My heart began to race as I thought of where he could be.

"No...no, no, no. Tyler?"

"He isn't here."

I turned around to find the all too familiar Satan. His eyes were brighter than ever. My eyes began to swell with tears as I looked at him.

"Where is he?"

"Where is who?"

"Where is he!" I screamed.

Satan started walking towards me. Anger boiled in my veins as I watched him. He prowled like a lion about to attack.

"Now, now. No need to be testy."

"Bring. Him. Back."

"Dear, September. I don't think you understand what war means. We see something, we take it. We feel something, we destroy it. We hear something, we delete it."

"I swear, I will kill you," I said beneath my breath.

He came up to me and stood in front of me. I could smell his rancid breath as he spoke.

"I would like to see you try."

And with that, he vanished. I looked around, trying to figure out where Tyler would be. Turning around, to my surprise, I found him lying in his hospital bed. The tears I tried to hold back broke free and I ran to his bedside. My heartbeat began to slow down.

"I promise, Tyler," I whispered, "I will save you, if it's the last thing I do."

—————————

"Are you an idiot? You can't tell Satan you will kill him! It will make his passions and strength grow stronger!"

"I'm sorry," I said, wiping away the tears. "They hurt him, they hurt Megan. I can't have anyone hurt anymore."

"But this isn't your war to fight," Caleb said, looking at me.

I closed my eyes as the tears kept coming. Caleb knelt down before me and wiped them away. Opening them once again, I stared into his golden eyes.

"I just don't think I can do this anymore," I whispered.

I looked down as I cried. I felt defeated and hopeless. Satan would win and my friends would end up being harmed. How did it get to this?

"You said God spoke to you, correct?" Caleb asked.

I looked up and nodded.

"Okay, well, tell me what He said. Maybe it will help remind you of your purpose."

"Well," I started, "I felt a hand resting on my shoulder, but I didn't look up...I couldn't stand to look at anyone after—"

"After pretty much telling you your friends and family weren't important. I'm sorry."

I looked at him. Somehow, I was shocked but not shocked at the same time. Whether I wanted to accept his apology was beyond my knowledge by this point. So instead of saying "It's okay," I nodded and continued.

"Um..He asked me why I was upset and I told Him there was no happiness and I didn't know who I was. He told me to believe in Him and look at all the good and that I was His child.

That's pretty much it."

Caleb looked at me. I looked back, slightly confused. Was he going to respond or not? Out of nowhere, he grabbed my hand, most likely in an attempt to comfort me.

"You're really hurting, aren't you?" he asked.

"Caleb...."

"Stop. Just let me speak, okay?"

I sighed and nodded.

"You're hurting and I can tell, I can feel it. And I apologize for what I said earlier. It was not my place. And I don't know if it's because of this whole situation or Amelia's absence, but, September, I lo—"

As if on cue, Megan and Ariel walked into the room. I sighed with relief.

"Hey, Tyler," Megan said.

"Hey, Little Munchkin," he said groggily.

I looked over at Caleb, who looked hurt.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

He nodded and vanished.

"How are you feeling?" Ariel asked.

"I'm fine. My side just hurts a little."

"Do you...do you remember anything?"

Tyler looked at Ariel, a sad expression painted on his face.

"Oh," Ariel said.

I stood up and sat beside Tyler. He seemed to smile when I sat down. I wonder if he could sense me....

"I need to tell you something," Megan said.

"What is it, Megan?"

She looked at both of them. After taking a deep breath, she finally spoke.

"Remember when I told you I saw September after my accident at the water park?"

"You had an accident at the waterpark?" Ariel blurted.

Both of them stared at her. I couldn't help but laugh. Megan was finally turning into a mini me with all her sass and judgmental looks towards stupid questions.

"Sorry...."

"Yes, Megan, I remember. What about it?" Tyler asked.

"Well, yesterday, before you got hurt, I heard her."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold up. You saw September!"

"Keep up, Ariel," Megan said.

"You heard her?"

Megan directed her attention to Tyler and nodded. I then realized I never noticed what happened after Tyler told everyone Megan nearly died. Did he even tell them at all?

"How?" he asked. "That's...that's impossible."

"Are you sure you weren't imagining it?" Ariel asked.

"No, I wasn't imagining it. I promise, I heard her and saw her!"

"Megan," Tyler started, "that's—"

I began to get angry. Why didn't they believe her? Before I understood what exactly I was doing, I knocked a vase over. It fell in slow motion before hitting the ground with a smash!

"September?" Megan asked.

"Hey, Little Monkey. I'm here," I said.

Megan jumped up and down. "She's here! She's here!"

"How do you know, Little Munchkin?"

She turned around to look at Tyler. Her eyes were full of light. I could see that she was hoping for my presence.

"Do you not hear her? Did you not link to the broken vase, which broke right in front of our eyes, to her? How could you guys not see it? She's right here with us!"

"No, Megan, we didn't," Ariel said.

"But she is! And I can prove it. September, if you are here...pull away Tyler's blanket!"

I laughed. She was so persistent. Reaching out for the blanket, Caleb came to mind. Quickly, I pushed him to the back of my mind. I can't think about him right now. The blanket slid a little as I grabbed it. I watched as Tyler and Ariel's grow wide as they watched the white blanket move ever so slightly. Before I could pull the blanket off completely, a hand grabbed my arm and dragged me. I opened my mouth to scream, but my mouth was covered by another hand.

Megan waited patiently for me to remove the blanket. I tried to make as much noise as possible, but I was unable to. The creature dug its nails into my skin, in which resulted in a muffled scream. The scream was loud enough for Megan to hear. She looked over to her right, over to where I was captured. Her eyes grew wide and she got scared.

"September?" she asked. "September?"

"Megan, what's wrong?" Tyler asked.

"I...I—"

Before I could hear her finish the sentence, the demon spun me around. It's foul breath invaded my nostrils, leaving me feel queasy. The creature laughed and stared at me. My eyes closed and my body grew limp. I was quickly submerged in darkness, feeling my body being drifted away into oblivion.

—————————

"September!"

I felt a tap on my shoulder as someone said my name—it sounded familiar, the voice. My eyes fluttered open. The first thing I saw was complete darkness. Backing into a dirt wall, I tried to recall everything that had just happened.

"September," the voice said again.

"Amelia?" I asked.

She stepped into a tiny sliver of light. Her once straight gold hair was now dirty and wavy. The white dress she wore was now black with dirt.

"Oh my gosh, Amelia!"

"Shh...shh...they'll hear you," she whispered.

I crawled to her and hugged her. She hugged me back, trying to be as quiet and careful as possible.

"How...when..?" I asked.

"Demons blind-sided me. They grabbed me from behind and before I could make a sound or do anything, I went out. This was part of Satan's plan to retrieve you as his soldier. It was smart and complicated, but very bad. We need to get out of here. He plans to get you on his team very soon and in a very unpleasant way."

"Slow down," I said. "What is his plan? Do you know?"

"I have no idea, but I know it isn't good. I once overheard them discussing possession and such, but it seemed like they didn't go through with it."

"Oh, they went through with it, alright," I whispered.

"What? They did?"

We began to crawl on the ground, trying to avoid being seen. I wasn't entirely sure how that plan would work, but there was nothing left we could do. As we crawled, it seemed like we couldn't do much talking, so I stopped.

"Mackenzie was possessed. And I know this because there was a demon who said Tyler was the one who killed me by not saving me. That was the exact same thing Mackenzie said. I didn't see everything because Caleb wouldn't allow me to, but Mackenzie had a knife in hand and Tyler is now in the hospital."

We continued to crawl, grunting shallowly with every move we made. Soft shuffling was heard in the corner. Amelia and I froze, not bothering to breathe, as we did not know if it would end us or not. The sound of nails hitting the floor made it's way towards us. I cried silently as I knew this was the end. Click...click...click... A tear ran down my face as I thought of a prayer.

Please protect us...please protect us...please protect us...

"September," Amelia whispered, "we need to get out of here."

"I know, but they're here," I said, barely able to choke it out.

"I know, but—"

The clicking got faster and louder. They found us and we didn't know what to do. This was the end.

—————————

Amelia and I sat here for what felt like an hour, but it was only a matter of five minutes. The clicking of nails had subsided, however, it returned from time to time. I tried to crawl again, but whenever I did, shuffling from the demons were heard. Taking a deep breath, I went for it again, as there was nothing else for me to do. I slowly began to crawl, trying to remain as silent and hidden as possible. So far, it was working. Carefully, I looked back at Amelia and nodded.

Fear ran through me as I thought of this awful scenario. If I'm caught, I die, but if I don't try to escape, then everyone else will die. Caleb will be lost, as would everyone else. Caleb...how could he have liked me? I mean, it's only been a few days, maybe a week, where we have known each other. And I've been nothing but rude to him. I've been nothing but rude...has my death changed me? Have I become the person I was afraid to be, the person Tyler was afraid I would be?

I shook my head, trying to rid my mind of these thoughts. This won't help you, September, it will only make the conflict worse. It truly would. I would be sitting here, thinking of every negative thought possible and would end up getting nowhere. How could I help everyone if I continued to do nothing? I stopped crawling and tried to focus—something wasn't right.

It was quiet, maybe a little too quiet for the situation at hand. There was not a single breath or shuffle. My arms began to tingle, then my legs, then my whole body.

"Amelia," I began calmly, "run."

She got up and ran. Just then, demons pounced from the ground and into the air. Shrieks filled the room as the echoes bounced off the walls. I got up and ran to an opening. Trying to remain calm, I thought of a plan if I were to be captured. I looked around the room, weighing my options. I could run down the hall and hide in the dark, but that would only get me so far. Maybe I could try to disappear. Just think of a place you would rather be, a place with no demons. Calmly, I took a deep breath as I thought of the best place possible. The beach—no, there are demons there. My house has demons as well. So does the hospital. And my church. Gosh, why is there no safe place?

A low growl came from the back of the room. The hairs on the back of my neck and arms stood up. Closing my eyes, I tried not to cry. Think, September, think. There was nowhere to go; they're everywhere. Accepting defeat, I turned around, finding blood red eyes amidst the blackness of the room. The eyes smiled as a hiss of pleasance and approval left the creature. September, came a soft but strong voice. September, you can do all things through me. Do not forget me.

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath then reopened them, the brown irises of my eyes focusing to the surroundings around me. I opened my mouth and screamed—I had a plan.

Just as expected, demons came crawling on all fours from the shadows. They lurked around me, crawling from side to side. Their long legs clicked with every movement as their shriveled up wings dragged across the dirt ground. They smiled as they knew I was captured. Turning around in slow circles, I looked at every one of the fowl creatures. They had enclosed me in one giant circle, making escape impossible.

"Okay, bad plan. Bad plan!" I said.

"Well, well, well," a voice hissed. "If it isn't our sweet September. And what do I owe this remarkable visit?"

"I'm here to make a deal," I said calmly.

"A deal?" Satan said. "She wants to make a deal. Oh, how precious. She's clueless."

The demons howled with laughter. Anger began to boil in my veins as my face grew bright red. Keep calm, keep calm, keep calm. Satan stood before me, reaching out to touch my hair. I smacked his arm away. The demons growled as they each stepped forward.

"Yes, a deal. I know what you want from me. Let my friends and family go, including Amelia and Caleb, and I will join you."

"I see...and what if I don't?"

I felt Caleb and Amelia's presence. They were hiding among the shadows, their golden glow absent to keep hidden. I calmly took a deep breath and took a step towards Satan.

"If you don't, I will never be on your team."

"Dear, September, I could win without you."

A surge of energy went through me. I was no longer worried; I had gained several characteristics I previously lacked. Closing my eyes for a second, I listened to God. I opened my eyes again, staring straight into the devil's yellow ones.

"You know you can't win without me," I said. "You're afraid of me. I have power and you know it. I have manipulated you, threatened you, destroyed the fabrications you have made to destroy me. I got Mackenzie's attention when she was possessed. I got Megan to hear me and listen to me. When you tried to kill Megan, I helped bring her back. The sight of me gave her hope. You know you can't win because you have already lost. Face it, Satan! You have nothing! I am your only hope. That is why you want me so badly. So you can destroy the world one person at a time, starting with my family and friends. Admit it!"

"Suppose you're right. How is releasing the ones you love going to help you?"

"You release them, you gain my respect. No respect, no team."

"You're serious about joining me?"

I held my hand out before him, my other hand behind my back. All he had to do was shake it and we had a deal, a deal I knew I would regret, but a deal that had to be made.

"I swear on my life."

Satan smiled his crooked smile and grabbed my hand. It burned as we shook. I felt the power being drained out of me as we made the deal. Caleb jumped out from the shadows and yelled.

"September! Don't!"

The demons left the circle to capture Caleb. Thankfully, they could not touch him nor Amelia. Our deal had taken place. I felt happiness as I knew the ones I loved were released.

"There, now you are with me," Satan said, letting go of my hand.

"Not so fast," I said. "You see, there's this little thing my sister and I do with deals. Due to your releasing them, they are forever released. However, on my side of the bargain," I removed my hand from behind my back, my pointer finger and middle finger crossed. "Due to this, my side of the bargain does not go through. Therefore, I am not on your team."

His skin grew pale white.

"But..."

"Oh, and I think you forgot one little detail. God already won. You lost. You always have and you always will. And one more thing: I'm afraid the almighty devil has just been outplayed by the tiny Virginia girl."

I smiled and looked back at my guardian angels. All three of us nodded and vanished, leaving Satan and his demons in despair.