The Unknown // Colby Brock

~~ Chapter Four ~~

          I'd been obedient for a week, and it'd been the worst week of my afterlife. I wanted to do anything but stay in my room all day and night, yet I did it, just because of what I'd been told about the devil and his struggles. Listening to him for once couldn't be that bad... except it was, and I hated it.

Nevertheless, I had been visited by at least one of the group every single day, which I found kind of weird. Tara visited me the second day and said that Jake had been allowed out of the dungeon, but he had so much work to do that he wouldn't be able to come and see me, unfortunately.

On that thought, however, as I laid on my bed staring aimlessly at the ceiling, I saw a red flash out of the corner of my eye. Of course, at first I just thought it was Tara or Devyn again, but the most unexpected voice spoke instead.

"Hello, cat."

My head snapped in the direction of Jake, who gave me a little smile and a wave.

"Jake..." I said quietly.

"I had a break in my schedule so I thought I'd visit the new girl. Tara said you did try to defend me, so thank you for that." He walked to the bed and sat down next to my feet, setting down a clipboard with an abundance of tasks written on it. I couldn't imagine having a job like Jake's. I couldn't imagine having a job at all.

"I was just going against the devil..."

"Yeah, I heard about that, too. Lost his patience with you and locked you in your room." His eyes flicked around my bedroom before he glanced at the door, then back at me. When his eyebrows raised suggestively, I shook my head. "What? You don't want to get out? Not even for the day?"

"I'm trying to be obedient," I grumbled as I picked at my jeans.

Jake chuckled, shaking his head. "Come on, it's not like he's even punished you that badly."

I stayed silent for probably way too long, staring down at my lap partly annoyed with myself. I wanted so badly to just completely ignore everything he had told me to do.

"How about I try to get him to let you out? I have another ten minutes before I have to be somewhere."

"You don't have to get in trouble again. I'll probably leave tonight anyways," I lied.

Jake raised an eyebrow but he didn't say anything, standing from the bed and patting my head. I flinched away from him, which only made him smile like a child.

"Just like a real cat," he teased.

I rolled my eyes as he turned towards the door.

"I'll see what I can do anyway. See you later, cat." Just like that, Jake disappeared in a red flash.

I sighed and laid back down in my bed to resume my aimless stare at the ceiling as if it was in any way more interesting than anything else in my room.

It didn't feel like much later when I saw yet another red flash. Since I hadn't been visited by one of the girls, I assumed for sure it was one of them... until I saw the brown hair, bright blue eyes, and tall figure of the devil himself.

I leapt up to my feet partly in surprise.

"It's time that you start training if you're going to be one of us," he said in a flat tone. "Mike's busy training with Corey, so you're with me on this one."

My mouth opened and closed again. Training with the devil did not sound like a good idea whatsoever. But I was still trying to actually listen to what he was telling me to do, so I just nodded in response.

"Wear workout clothes. I'll wait outside." He walked out, finally leaving the door open.

I rushed to go into the closet and found a pair of yoga pants and a cropped hoodie - both black - then tied my hair up into a ponytail. On the rare occasion that I would work out when I was alive, I would actually wear something a lot closer to shorts and a crop top, but I wasn't about to train with the devil wearing something like that, so I settled for just a cropped hoodie.