Chapter 3: Aaliyah
“The woman called herself Lilith. Aaliyah has never seen her before, but her name, it sounds familiar. She continued to monitor us for what seems to be every hour. Each time we all seemed to be getting better. The pain is nothing but a whisper from what it was before. We were naked, which is embarrassing, but when you’re captured and being experimented on, decency is the last thing you care about. Not that I mind looking at Shaggy and Charle” Aaliyah thought to herself as she watched Lilith leave for the fifth time since waking up. She wondered how long they have been here in the lab. How many days have gone by? They still had gags preventing them from talking to each other, but they all communicate with their eyes. Fear, anger, and sadness the only emotions being conveyed.
The room was also getting colder. Her memories kept flashing back to that night, the last thing she remembered. She also thought about why this was happening. Was this her fault for not speaking up against Jasmine’s idea to go into the alley to help the man? The thought made her feel cold. As Christians, they did the right thing in helping, but sometimes, she thought, sometimes helping others isn’t always good. Especially if you land in a situation like this. She trusted Jasmine to make the right calls, but she didn’t trust this one and now here they are.
She kept looking at Shaggy as he continued to struggle against the bonds. She could see the determination and anger in his eyes. His motions as he thrashed about. He was usually one of the calmer members, but she could always tell there was something stirring within him. Something he was holding back.
Nas, on the other hand, kept observing everyone, like Jasmine and Omarion. But his gaze was more on an emotional level while Jasmine’s was more on problem-solving as she kept looking at the room. Aaliyah couldn’t help but see the difference in all of them. When they work together they all seem the same, but now she could see the difference.
Aaliyah then remembered the words Lilith spoke to them when they all started to wake, about how she had saved them all last night, that they owed her. Did they owe her? Why was she keeping them trapped? Aaliyah tried to reason in her mind that this wasn’t any of their faults, This was just a random event, one that she was afraid of how it would end.
She couldn’t help herself though, because during the dinner she remembered thinking non-christian thoughts. She had gotten to know Shaggy and Nas more since they came to DC, and her mind roamed between the two of them. She knew lust all too well and knew that if JAsmine or some of the other women knew about her desires, they would look at her differently. She kept quiet, following the lead of everyone else, to stay pure. To be like Jasmine. Shaggy and Nas were both highly attractive and both gave of their own bad boy vibe in different ways. Shaggy with his aloofness and Nas was flirtatious. They both had their good guy traits too, Shaggy was loyal and had a sense of personal honor. Nas was empathetic to women and wanted everyone to have fun.
She spent all of the dinners trying to decide who she liked more. She couldn’t go after both of them and they were both being on their best behavior, just like she was. However, she knew when she was attracted to someone and this isn’t the first time she liked two different guys. She let her mind roam much during that dinner and now that they were captured, she couldn’t help but think about how all of her promiscuous ways. She joined True Victory so that she could have accountability and it’s been working. She didn’t want to bring shame to the group. She just wanted to be normal, Christian girl and not be looked at as a party girl. In a way, she thought and hoped that being part of the group would be a way to make up for her mistakes. Then this trip awakens those lustful thoughts.
Then she remembered when Lilith came into the picture after dinner. After trying to save the old man. The hooded men approached them and took off their hoods, revealing pasty pinkish skin and horns above their yellow eyes. They had claws extended from their hands and stalked closer to her group. Their prayers weren’t stopping the demon looking men now. All of them, about ten, kept inching their way closer and closer.
Then one of them leaped at her and she closed her eyes. Waiting for her own death, for the pain, but it never came as she heard the screams of someone else. She opened her eyes and Shaggy stood in front of her with an ax in his hand and a halo above his head. Both glowed with a green light.
“Are you okay, Aaliyah?” Shaggy asked as she noticed the screams were coming from the demon that tried to attack her. Both of its hands were cut off and she realized that it was because of Shaggy. At that moment, if she could kiss him, she would, but that’s when the rest of the group started to move.
“Yes,” was all she said as she watched Jasmine, with a red halo and a sword that slashed through one demon causing it to scream and disappear in a flash. She swung the other way and the sword broke apart into a whip that cut through another demon.
Nas rolled under one of the demons and with his yellow daggers and halo managed to stab two demons. First in their necks, then their stomachs, and while they both peeled over, he finished them by stabbing their heads as they faded away.
Even Omarion joined in as he used a blue staff to hold off two more demons. Twirling the staff several times before spinning himself and attacking one with the end of the staff. Planting it into the ground and flinging himself around the staff like a pole before kicking the other demon. The implanted demon flashed as he pulled the staff out and the staff, much like Jasmine’s sword, broke into three even parts, but the end of it was like a spear that pierced the head of another demon.
The last two demons went back fro the man and with no thought, her body reacted. She stood as a pink light appeared above her head and a bow formed in her hands. She let loose two arrows of light that shot through the two demons just as they reached the man.
Aaliyah turned to see if anyone could see them in the alley. No one. They all went to the man, who struggled to his feet.
“You,” he breathing was heavy and his voice thunderous. “You could see them?”
“Yes,” Jasmine responded and continued to talk with him. Aaliyah went to stand by herself and collect her thoughts. What did just happened? Where did they get their weapons from and what happened to their halos? Were they dead? She jumped a little as a hand touched her shoulder.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Nas asked, smiling. “You know I totally would have saved you before Shaggy.”
I laughed, he had a way of doing that to everyone. “I’m sure you would.”
“But he didn’t’.” Shaggy said with a stoic expression, but a hint of laughter. I guess they were both happy to be alive.
“Oh, Shaggy, you just had to be the knight in shining armor. You only beat me to it because I prefer to make an entrance.”
“Well then, maybe you should focus a little more instead of putting her life at risk with your…dramatics.”
“Maybe you should stop taking responsibility and trust that someone else will help.” Then they both smiled. “Seriously, though what is going on? Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad we were able to save ourselves, but how did we do it?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I know I didn’t want them to hurt the man and my body just reacted.”
“Same with me. When I saw them going for Aaliyah, my body just reacted. Whatever force that was keeping us paralyzed just, lifted.”
“It was almost like muscle memory. I didn’t learn that in the Air Force. Do you think we have magic powers?”
“My friend, of course, we do. We just have to figure out what kind. Maybe it’s the force.”
“The Force?” Aaliyah asked. “Is that another Star Wars reference? Shaggy put an arm around Aaliyah and looked at Nas. “See the force is strong with this one.”
Nas rolled his eyes. “Spending the last three days with you and your references, anybody’s force would get stronger.”
“Jasmine and Omarion are talking to the man, why do you think they were after him?” Shaggy asked.
“I don’t know. I mean I guess there are only two real reasons. Either they were haunting him or he’s an angel.” Aaliyah said and thought about her faith. All of a sudden she felt ridiculous saying that out loud. She believed in God, angels, all of it, but now she realized that maybe she didn’t believe as strongly as she thought.
“We had halos, right?” Nas asked. “I don’t think we’re dead. Maybe we’re possessed by angels?”
“Possible,” Shaggy said. “Maybe she knows.” The three friends looked as the woman called Lillith approached them. With one movement of her arm, all of them were pushed into the centered of the alley and grouped together. Aaliyah was next to the old man who had passed out.
“Who are you?” Jasmine asked.
“I just saved you from this old man, but I’m afraid I have to make sure you all haven’t been infected by him. Relax. I just saved your life and you owe me.” Then Aaliyah’s eyes started to get heavy as she felt a tingle in her brain and neck. Then blackness came like a thief in the night.
Aaliyah shook her head after the memory stopped and that’s when Lilith came back in with her clipboard to run more tests. She stood in front of Aaliyah, who could feel her own heart pounding.
“I know you are all scared, but I have to take precautions. Pretty soon, you will all be let free. I had to quarantine you, which is why I’m the only one coming in and out. I know it doesn’t look like I, but I will let you know everything in another two hours. Until then, you should all relax. Then she left again and Aaliyah remembered where she had heard the name before. In her religion class, her professors were explaining some of the differences between religions and that’s when she heard the name. Lilith in Jewish myths was Adam’s first wife. In other myths, she was a demon.
