A Realm of Sun and Shadow

Chapter 3

Martha sat down next to me and took one of my hands in her own. Her concern made me recoil instinctively. 

"I'm a witch, remember?" she said with a soft laugh. "Everybody thinks I'm totally bonkers. I promise, there's nothing you can say that'll make me think you're nuts."

Martha didn't really know me and yet here she was, entirely present and supportive. But even with her reassurance, I doubted very much she'd walk away from this table thinking I was anything less than certifiable after she heard about what I'd seen.

I poured another shot and took a swig, trying to work up my courage.

"I don't know what I saw exactly..." I said slowly. "I-It couldn't have been real."

Martha leaned in and looked at me intrigued. 

"It might have been a monster. Or a demon? I don't know... Fuck!" I slammed my head down on the table unable to look at her. "It probably wasn't even real!"

Eventually, I worked up the nerve to raise my head from my shame and look at her.

Instead of the judgement I was expecting, she was leaned back in her chair staring off into space. "You think you saw a demon?" she asked turning to look at me. "A real demon?" 

"I don't know what the fuck I saw," I snapped taking another swig. If I could I'd forget I'd seen anything at all. 

"Did you get a look at its eyes?" she pressed grabbing my hand again.

Startled by her intensity I replied on edge, "Y-Yeah... They were red. Bright red. Like they were on fire."

It was going to take a lot more than a few shots of booze to wipe the image of Bert, all hell-beasted out, turning his red glowing eyes on me. 

Martha grabbed the bottle and poured us both another fingers worth. "I want to hear everything," she said leaning forward intently. "Don't leave out one detail."

I couldn't tell if she was indulging me or if maybe this kind of thing didn't really seem all that weird for people into magic and the occult.

A warm tingling began to wash over me from the vodka and though I normally would have hated the attention, at the moment I was more than happy to regale her.

As I rambled and drank and rambled some more, Martha kept quiet, only interrupting to ask questions when I'd skipped over some detail she thought was important.

"... So I ran. I only turned back for a second... I saw it attacking him and I... I just kept running. Until I got here," I finished, shakily sipping the last dribbles in my glass. 

I knew there wasn't anything I could've done, but I felt guilty for leaving him alone to fight that thing, as silly as the sentiment was under the circumstances.

Getting the whole story out felt strangely liberating, but I still wasn't convinced I didn't just imagine it all somehow.

Martha leaned back in her chair, tapping the edge of her glass with her teal fingernail, completely lost in her own thoughts. "So you didn't call the cops?" she asked.

I shook my head and pointed at my phone still laying on the floor. "It's broken. And I just bought it like three months ago. Do you think I should?"

The idea of calling the cops in my current state to explain I'd seen a demon and a yellow-eyed man brawling in an alley behind a club was less than enticing.

"No. It's better you didn't," she said looking back off into nowhere. "They wouldn't have believed you anyway."

Martha stood suddenly, reaching to grab my arm. "Come with me," she ordered pulling me up towards the door. "I've got something you need to see."