Never Ending

Answers

Kostas marched inside of the hospital with one intent--to obtain answers from the demon nurse. He walked up to the desk to find the demon herself casually typing away at the computer in front of her.

"We need to talk." Kostas said forcefully.

She looked up and gave him her the same smile that he hated so much. "About what, Dear?"

Kostas looked around him--they were alone. He was hoping that would be the case since it was late in the evening. In fact he had nearly been too late--visiting hours would be over soon. "Why am I still being attacked by hellions?"

"Did I forget to mention?" She giggled as she pushed away from the computer and reached for a nail file. "The hellions are still after your brother. If you were not a beacon for them, they would be ripping him to pieces right now and, unlike you, he wouldn't come back."

"So this is another part of the contract that you conveniently forgot to mention?" Kostas seethed.

She gave a little frown. "Come on, don't take it so personally; it's just business."

"Tell me about the contract--not what you think I need to know right now--all of it. I'm getting sick and tired of these surprises."

As Kostas stared her down, the nurse nearly doubled over with laughter. "That serious face is too much." She wheezed before standing up and leaning into his face. "Tell you or you'll do what? Do you really think you're in any position to be making demands? So long as I follow Hell's laws, there is nothing you can do. Maybe you should have thought about all of this before signing away your life." She gave a smirk. "What is someone like you going to do to a powerful being like me?"

Kostas stared blankly at her, refusing to back away though she was only inches from his face. Remaining perfectly calm, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the small spray bottle he had brought. Before she could even react, he sprayed her directly in the face. Her eyes widened as she let out a hiss of pain; she backed away, clutching her face.

"Do you know how hard this is going to be to hide?" She pointed to the burns on her face the liquid had left behind. Quickly, she picked up a rag off the desk to wipe her face.

"Translate the contract into English; I want to read it." Kostas demanded as he held up the spray bottle again.

"Fine." She spat as she threw down the rag. "But we have to go back into that waiting room--the cameras are broken there so no one will see when we disappear." Clearly seething, she lead him back to the same room they had met in many times before. However, This occasion was the first time he entered the room feeling pleased and as though he had at least some control of the situation.

"I can't let you have this contract." She said as she handed him a version he could read. "I have no say in that, by Hell's laws I can't give you a copy. I think it's so that you can't show other people or something." She shrugged. "Or the Enactors just decided to add some more rules for fun, I don't know."

"That's fine." Kostas replied shortly as he began to read the document that now dictated his life. "Just shut up so I can read it." The demon huffed indignantly but otherwise remained quiet.

After a while, Kostas looked up. "Is this everything?" He asked solemnly as he returned the paper to the demon.

"Yes. You now know all of the conditions to the contract; though, you might still have surprises. Sometimes things don't go the way they do on paper." She cautioned.

"Yeah, I know." Kostas nodded. "This describes my end of the bargain and yours; it can't control how people around me will respond.

"Exactly." She said, sending the paper into flames. "I'm glad you seem to understand." She snapped her fingers, sending them both back to the hospital. "Since I did as you asked, you can put up that holy water." She said as she eyed the bottle warily.

"Oh, yeah." Kostas said as he looked down at the bottle in his hand. "Korbin told me something interesting."

"That snitch." She hissed as she backed up. "Come on, spraying me won't make any difference--not even I can change the past."

"It would make me feel better, but" He pocketed the holy water as he approached her. "I won't use it." The demon visibly relaxed. "However, I will say this--keep away from Korbin from now on."

"Yeah, okay." She responded as they made their way back to the nurse's desk. "I have no need for him anyways; you just make sure to keep the hellions happy." 

Once they were back to her station, one of the nurses who had come to replace her gave her a concerned look. "You okay, Angelica?"

"Angelica?" Kostas deadpanned.

"I like ironies." She whispered before turning to her co-worker. "I'm okay. I got burned yesterday and my friend came to help make me feel better." She smiled pleasantly while Kostas looked as though he could be sick.

"Anyways," She turned to Kostas and spoke in a sickeningly sweet voice. "Be careful going home, you wouldn't want to die in some freak accident."

"Yeah, that would be a real pity." Kostas replied smoothly. "You be careful too; I would hate for a priest to make his way into your room and start spooning you while reciting the entire Bible."

She shuddered with a look of pure disgust. "What is wrong with you? I get that you're a little angry but control yourself; that was too far."

"What? Did I make you uncomfortable?" Kostas teased as he moved for the door.

Simultaneously, both nurses responded. "Yes."

Kostas made his way back home feeling much better than when he came. Now there would be no more surprises related to the contract; he only had to figure out how he was going to live. Kostas let out a sigh, 'No matter what I do, it's going to affect Korbin, but my brother will be safe.' He thought to himself. 'Nothing else matters; I only want to give Kory a normal life. I will make sure he's happy.' Kostas thought determinedly.