The Man In The Hood

"What kind of name is Lust?" Derrick asked. "Are you guys in a cult or something?"

Lust shrugged, but he smiled when he did. It looked like it had hurt him to do so and was still a little stiff, but he managed it. "It's my name. And that's Greed, Sloth, Pride, Greed, Gluttony and Envy." Lust said as he pointed to each of his brothers. "Hey Derrick!" They all chorused , giving him the same enthusiastic wave.

Derrick gave them a look, then glanced down at their new forms. Lust and Greed were both tall, slender and pale. The brothers themselves looked like they'd stepped out of some ancient fantasy story from centuries ago: they wore clothes that hung loosely on their bodies, showing off their perfect physiques. Their faces were long with high cheekbones and sharp noses and soft lips, and their eyelashes were long and thick and their eyebrows sculpted into perfectly arched lines and perfectly shaped eyes. "How do you know my name?" Derrick asked as he dropped his glass of water.

"You were our vessel remember?" Lust replied simply before taking a drink from the glass of water. "Vessel? Who are you guys?! And you better speak up or I'm calling the police." Derrick said as he picked up his phone.

Before he could even press the button for the police, Lust pulled out two pistols from under his shirt and shot Derrick between the eyes. "Ow! What was THAT for?!" Derrick asked as he held his head. "Check your head." Sloth said from behind his brother. He pushed back Derrick's hair, revealing the neat hole right through the middle.

Derrick stared blankly for a few minutes, trying to process what had just happened. He didn't have much time to though because before he could comprehend what had just happened the bullet hole began enclosing, this time without taking another sip from the glass of water Lust said. "When we left your body six months ago we left traces of our demon power behind." "So that explains the scar on my chest and why I'm still alive." The demon added as he touched the skin where the bullet had exited.

"Wait what do you mean when you left my body? If I was possessed I'd know." Derrick said as Lust turned and looked at him. "We had that part of your memory blocked for good reason." Derrick looked at Lust with frustration clearly written on his face. "Then cut the bullshit and show me!" You wouldn't like what you see." "Try me." Derrick said as he stepped closer to Lust. Lust warned him not to open that part of his head as it could be overwhelming for him, and before he knew what was happening Lust slapped him across the face.

When he looked again he was no longer in his apartment. It was dark; there was nothing but darkness around him. He tried to call out but couldn't make any sound. "It's time you saw it for yourself, be calm though. Nothing here is real." A voice said in front of him.

He could feel an intense chill pass through him. He could feel his hands beginning to tremble. He slowly turned around and he found himself looking at a woman. She had long golden hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a simple grey dress and her skin was pale as milk. As he took her in, he noticed she wasn't human. Her skin was covered in scales and her eyes were glowing red. She was beautiful, but terrifying.

"Who are you?" Derrick asked as he backed away from her. "I am the one who will guide you through the darkness. But you could call me Alastair." She said as she walked towards him. "Where are we?" Derrick asked once again, now backing away. He knew he wasn't afraid of Alastair; if anything he felt strangely calm. "This is your memory, we're in your head. The part that's been blocked though. I'm here to help you unblock it."

"Unblock what? Are you talking about my memories or my mind?" Derrick asked.

Alastair chuckled lightly. "Both, perhaps. Take my hand, let me show you." She reached her hand out to him, but he refused, instead he stood rooted to the spot.

"Why should I trust you? Aren't you some sort of demon?" Derrick said defiantly.

"If I truly wanted to harm you I would've done it already, you have nothing to fear." Alastair said. Then she extended her hand again. As Derrick took her hands he felt a force yank him forward, it felt like a powerful force just pulling him towards something. When he finally made contact with whatever it was it was like being sucked into quicksand. He could sense everything as if he was in his own body. It was like he was standing outside watching what was going on inside his own head. The pain was unbearable and he was almost crying out, but then, suddenly it stopped. He was met with a bright and when the spots cleared from his eyes he could see everything clear as day.

"I thought you'd like seeing them. Now, I want you to close your eyes and take a deep breath," Alastair instructed. Derrick obeyed and closed his eyes. His whole body began trembling and in an instant it all began rushing in, from when he moved in to the fight with Kyle to the fire at his school to his battle with Wrath . At first all was quiet, and he was almost expecting it to stop at any moment, but it didn't. It continued and it continued until finally the only sounds he could hear were those of the distant screams of his classmates and the crackling of flames.

Suddenly he heard loud, booming laughter come from his right. He opened his eyes and saw Alastair standing next to him, laughing hysterically. "That was amazing! I can't believe you actually remembered all of that!" Alastair exclaimed. "But how did you do that? How did you get me to remember all of that?" Derrick asked. "Well, I suppose I could tell you but what use would that be?" Alastair questioned as she put her arms behind her neck in an arrogant pose.

"Where are they? I'm ready to go back." Derrick asked as he straightened his pose. His tone was confident but nervous.

Alastair grinned at him and nodded. "Let's get started then." And with a touch he was back in his kitchen with the six demons all around him.

"So how'd it go?" Sloth asked with a smile. "I remember!" Derrick answered with a grin of his own. "Good. That means you can go back to your room and get the rest of you stuff, we have to go." Sloth explained as everyone nodded in unison. "Leave? Why would I want to leave?" Derrick asked with a raised eyebrow. "He's coming. The man who gave you that scar on your chest." Greed answered as he pointed to the scar. "Who is he? Derrick asked curiously.

"A friend of ours. He's very special, very dangerous, extremely skilled and most importantly he has an agenda, one that includes us." Lust spoke. "And what exactly does that entail?" Derrick asked.

"He'll kill us." Greed muttered. He then turned to him and shook his head. "He's our dad, the big bad... Lucifer." Sloth blurted out.

Lust watched in confusion as Derrick's face paled and his jaw dropped before snapping it shut again. "What?" He asked, trying to keep his emotions hidden from his voice and failing miserably, and it sounded like he was choking. "Lucifer?" He asked again as a small shiver went through him. "You weren't supposed to tell him, not yet." Envy said as he smacked the back of Sloth's head. "Had to rip off the band aid on that one. I'm tired of waiting till he catches up to us. Lust complained. "Well, you're stuck with each other so deal with it." Sloth retorted.

Derrick took a step back, unsure of what to think and overwhelmed by the information presented to him. "What does he want with me?" He asked after clearing his throat. "Well, when we left six months ago we shut off the gates of Hell in hopes that we'd be unable to come back for awhile. It worked, but now that the Gates are opened we must find a way to seal it or risk bringing about the End of Days as prophesied." Sloth explained. "Wait a minute, don't you want that? I mean you could rule the world with your dad " Derrick asked with his eyebrows furrowed. "Yep, except that's not what he want. See... to him we're nothing but cockroaches and the moment he has this world, what do you think he'd exterminate next?" Envy explained. "You guys." Derrick said softly.

"Exactly." Sloth agreed. "So how do we even begin closing those gates again?" He asked. "Well, you have a few choices. We'd discuss them once we get to somewhere saf..." Sloth was interrupted by the loud bang of the door slamming against the wall as another person entered. The others turned to look. "Oh no." Lust said as he trembled. "There you all are, I've been looking everywhere for you guys." The man that attacked Derrick said. "Is that... him?" Derrick asked no one in particular.