Present Day

"Alright class, that's it for today. Please be sure to grab your homework on your way out," Mrs. Kennedy announced.

The bell rang to signal the end of seventh period at Bridgeside Academy and students rushed outside without hesitation.

Isabella was walking to the bus stop when two familiar voices called after her, "Wait up."

She spun around to see her best friends, Dylan and Miranda, running in her direction. Once they approached, Miranda collapsed onto the ground, resting on top of her orange backpack.

"Is your bag too heavy for you?" Isabella joked.

"How could you guess? It seems those library books I borrowed today don't help my case."

"Probably not," Dylan added.

Isabella and Dylan both took an arm and pulled her to her feet. Unfortunately, the backpack unzipped and spilled out the contents.

"Great," Miranda huffed.

"Here, I'll help."

Miranda and Isabella kneeled down to pick up the books. As Isabella was handing over a short stack, a particular title caught her eye. It read: The Archfiend Manor Chronicles. An illustration of the demon, Hellion, was on the cover. A frown appeared on Isabella's lips.

"It's just a myth," she stated.

"What is?"

Miranda finished packing up the books that had fallen on the concrete and stared at her in disbelief.

"The Archfiend Manor tale."

"No, it's not. Investigations have been conducted to determine the facts and victims of this occurrence.

"Oh really? Did these investigators come back alive?" Dylan joked.

She kicked his leg before stating, "Try me. You know I don't believe in fantasies."

Her face became a light shade of red, further intimidating Dylan about his next words. Each comeback fought another to reach his lip first and made him tongue-tied.

Dylan's silence was enough for Miranda to confidently shoot back, "That's what I thought."

He was too scared to justify himself, so Isabella spoke up, "According to many news stations, the victims isolated themselves after the alleged incidents. Therefore, you can't find proof of it ever happening."

Miranda's assertive attitude faltered and she replied, "I still like to think Hellion exists. Rachdale needs something to put it on the map. It creates a more interesting and mysterious atmosphere if we have a killer on the loose."

"That's... a weird way to think of it," Isabella stated, choosing her sentence carefully.

"I've never believed this much in a conspiracy before. Maybe that's all it really is," she said reluctantly.

True to her word, their town wasn't exactly a tourist attraction. Everyone's days were dull, routine, and went by without excitement. However, they weren't aware of the danger barreling towards them. The day the manor was built brought chaos to the area. Daniel Archfiend built it over a cursed burial chamber in Shadow Grove Cemetery. This chamber was so ancient that it was easily forgotten about. The story goes on to say that he held evil spirit hostages in the cemetery. Some had even escaped Hell to exist in another level of eternal loneliness and confinement. Daniel attempted to keep them hidden and prevent any harm. Unfortunately, you can't always get what you want.

Rachdale citizens turned against him, accusing his malevolent prisoners of murdering their children. He was shocked when noticing the protection spell he had cast was somehow broken. This gave his prisoners the ability to sneak out and come back without a trace. The problems he created weren't intentional. Each evil spirit had undermined him by whispering their final desire into his mind. If Daniel complied then they would leave the mortals alone. As naïve as he was, he submitted to their will. Daniel tried to save innocent lives by acting as their host, but the internal voices drove him crazy. Suddenly, he was corrupted into a monster that he highly despised. Even his name didn't survive the fray. He became Hellion: an immortal demon with a thirst for chaos.