Demons Run (Rewritten)

The Beginning: Prologue

The Beginning

It was ludicrous to think that in upwards of two decades, no one had ever bothered to ask Evangelina Virgo what she wanted to be when she grew up. Not a single time. As a child, she was oblivious to the fact it was a question most kids were introduced to at an early age. As an adult, however, it began to gnaw away at her nerves that no one had ever cared enough to.

Poor orphan Eve, she could practically hear the words echoing in her head.

She had given the question a lot of thought in recent years, and although she never came to a practical conclusion, all she'd ever truly wanted to be was kind. She felt the need to spread warmth and love in a world so desperately lacking just that—and she supposed if she could only ever save even just one person, it would be enough.

Unfortunately, as often as Evangelina tried to extend a helping hand to her fellow man, she sometimes naively failed to consider some of the harsh consequences of reality. Undesirable situations tended to follow the young woman like moth to a flame, and still she would rise like a phoenix from the ashes. Only the bite of realism could remind the unintentionally reckless girl that her idealistic outlook could have dangerous consequences.

Despite these dangerous consequences, however, Eve tended to leap at the opportunity to help anyone anyway.

In fact, if it weren't for this overwhelming compassion, Evangelina Virgo may have found that life could have turned out very differently for her. One kind act late night, under a dim streetlight, managed to domino-effect her toward her own grave.

It was a night that, even in her memories, remained crystal clear. It was nearly midnight, and she had just finished up at the law-firm she worked for after staying overtime to finish filing papers her my boss. It was a pretty good gig with decent pay, so she didn't mind the bad hours or having to park a whole block away. She was only an assistant, after all, and the good parking spots were reserved for the full-time lawyers and secretaries of the firm.

Living in a large city area was undeniably intimidating, but Eve did her best to march through its darkest parts with a brave face as she kept keys wedged between her nervous, sweaty fingers.

There weren't many well-meaning people out at this hour; there was an unholy amount of illicit activity taking place throughout the streets and the neighborhoods around the area were overrun with gang violence, drug disputes, prostitution, and even some mafia activity.

Eve had passed about two different alleyways along the journey back to her reliable little Honda accord, and could have almost shuttered at the shadows and suspicious-looking bodies crawling in and out of them. When she came upon the third alleyway, a voice stopped her.

"Hey, lady," the voice was the sound of a female's, and Eve could tell it was directed at her.

She paused in her footsteps cautiously and looked around for the voice's origin. Leaned against a brick wall of some long-since shut down liquor store was a tall, slender woman with short, brown locks and a lit cigarette in her hand. The hairstyle she sported was choppy and layered, streaked with bits of messy blonde.

At first, Eve thought she had a bit of black included in her hairstyle, but then she realized that was soot and dirt from only heaven knew what. The stranger was dressed in a blue-jean skirt that had been hiked up well above a weather-friendly level, and under that was black fishnet stockings. Her shirt was spaghetti-strapped and purple in color, with a red floral pattern embroidering the plunging neckline. On top of that was a thick, black fur jacket that Eve was almost positive was faux, and tying the look off was a pair of black stiletto heels.

"Yes?" Eve asked, staring at the woman in question. Although she was clearly a sex-worker, it did not make Eve feel that whatever she had to say was any less valid.

"You into women?" The working woman purred suggestively, bouncing off the wall and strutting toward Eve in the streetlight. "I can show you a good time."

Evangelina pursed her lips to avoid frowning at the young woman, whom was probably around the same age as her, if not a few years younger. Now that the woman was standing closer to Eve, she could see dark bags of exhaustion under her eyes, which were brimming with redness. Her teeth were slightly crooked, and yellowing from either cigarettes or some other substanc. Despite every sign that indicated to Eve that this woman was fully indulged in the dirty-life, she couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow for her.

"What's your name?" Evangelina asked in a soft tone, bowing her head slightly.

"Candy," The woman grinned widely, using the hand not occupied by a cigarette to touch Eve's chest; perhaps she had thought that the interest meant she'd landed another customer.

Eve grabbed the hand that the woman had placed on her gently, pushing it away only to examine the area between her fingers under the light. At the sight of needle marks, Eve felt herself sigh. "Your real name."

The woman snatched her hand away from my keen eyes, almost alarmed. It was like no one had ever asked her that question before. It was a moment or two before very mousily, she answered, "Jessica."

"Have you eaten today, Jessica?" Eve asked the woman, pulling around her brown leather bag to shuffle through it as she waited on an answer.

"I had a roll for breakfast," Jessica answered warily. Eve could tell that Jessica was being extremely cautious of her, unaware of why she was still talking to her if she was not going to accept her services. "Look, do you want me to go down on you or not?"

"No," Eve answered starkly, pulling out the brown lunch sack she'd been looking for. She handed it over to Jessica, and the woman immediately opened it to examine its contents: a Turkey sandwich, a bag of cheese-itz, and an apple. "I just want you to listen." Jessica looked unsure, but Eve continued speaking without pause. "A few blocks away from here there's a self-help center for girls like you. They'll help detox you, they'll give you warm meals, and they'll keep you sheltered. I have a friend that works there, her name is Carson. She's a nurse, and she's fantastic at her job. You can go check yourself in and get the help you deserve. Tell them Eve sent you, they know me there."

Jessica shifted around uncomfortably, as if maybe the cold weather was starting to creep up her exposed legs after all. "What if I don't want any help?"

"You do," I said simply. "Or you wouldn't still be listening to me. If you don't want to go, I can't force you, and I won't harass you about it, but... sometimes you need to hear that there are other options."

Feeling like she wouldn't get much more out of the woman, Eve gave Jessica a singular nod, and turned around to leave her to her thoughts. Even if the woman wouldn't admit that she wanted help, Eve had faith she would find her way to the proper place eventually, as most would with a little guidance.

"Why are you doing all this?" Jessica asked, immediately freezing Eve dead in her tracks. Eve hadn't been expecting the woman to speak again, and she especially hadn't expected Jessica's voice to shake the way it did.

When Eve turned to look at the girl again, she could see her eyes beginning to glitter with tears under the dim streetlight.

"Good things still exist in the world, Jessica. They still happen. I wanted to show you that," Eve told her in earnest. "The world might not owe you anything, but it still cares that you're here."

"Most people like you pass through here and don't even give me a second look. They usually walk right by me, day in and day out," She wiped stray tears with a shaky hand. "What's even worse is the ones that don't walk by me. The ones that treat me like I'm nothing more than bottom-feeding street trash."

"You are not any of that," Eve assured the girl, shaking her head. "You are worthy of a good life too, whatever kind of life it is that you want."

"Thank you," She murmured, pulling the fur jacket around herself as if she were suddenly hyper-aware of her lack of clothing.