Chapter 2

"Put that down and raise your arms," Richie commanded. I hesitated though I knew I was no match for his martial art skills. I was ready to swing the bat but he read my mind.

Before I knew it, my body slammed against the wall and I tasted the metallic blood, oozing from my cut lip. Still recovering from the blow, Richie's knee landed on my chest. I moaned in pain. Richie pulled out his gun and pressed it hard on my forehead. "Where is the watch?" he huffed. The stench of alcohol and meth coated his breath.

"I really don't know what you're talking about. Even if you kill me now or tear this house upside down, you'll find nothing. I don't even know what you're talking about," I replied, meeting his deadly cold stare. He was high in meth and angry as fuck. One wrong move would cause him to explode.

"Stop lying! I saw grandpa in my dream and he showed me his pocket watch. I remember it vividly. It's a gold locket with a bronze snake slithering around it. A chunk of a rose diamond ornate its lid. Can you imagine its worth? Do you know what that means? Yeah, Raven. Money!" he whispered. "Now tell me where it is before I put a hole on your f****** head."

"I said, I don't..."

"Aaaaaah! Are you ready to die for it? Ha?"

"Richie, calm down. Put the gun down and let's talk. Please," I begged. He stared blankly at me for a moment then his head twitched as he groaned, seemingly fighting the demon inside him.

"Hey, it's gonna be alright! Just put the gun down," I said. I held my breath as he slowly put his gun down and his furrowed face softened. Tears brimmed in his eyes as he looked at me in total confusion. "It's alright, Richie. What you saw in your dream was unreal. It was just a dream, a product of your imagination," I added. He cried on my chest, clenching my shirt. With the gun still in his hand, I feared that he might suddenly snap and shoot me.

"I'm sorry. I'm so- sorry," he sobbed.

As I reached for his gun, the man with an icy voice yelled, "That man is not your cousin Raven. He is your grandfather. He is possessed by your grandfather!"

In an instant, his face changed. His eyes blazed in resentment. "How dare you?!" he growled like a mad dog. "Tell me where your watch is or I'll kill you again!"

I was petrified and utterly dumbfounded. "What the hell is going on? Who are these men? What do they want from me? What watch is Richie talking about?" Questions pooled in my brain but I knew then that whoever they were, they have total control over my cousin.

"Don't listen to them, Richie!" I yelled, catching his attention.

"For the last time, where is your watch?" he thundered.

"I don't~,"

A deafening sound cut my sentence and I saw the nozzle of the gun smoking. My vision began to blur as my chest tightened. My body started to feel numb. The fading beating of my heart pounded in my ears and I could feel every breath escaping my nostrils and mouth. I laid helplessly on the cold floor soaked with my blood. Then, everything turned black.

Moments later... I heard a faint sound growing stronger.

"Raven... Raven! Wake up! Why are you sleeping here?" my mom's voice woke me up. I slowly opened my hazy eyes and met her questioning look.

"Where am I?" I asked groggily as she helped me stood and realized that I was sleeping on the floor of my bedroom. I pressed my head for answers. I was sure that I died. I felt it. I saw my blood flowing from my gunshot wound, my mouth, and my nose, emptying every blood vessel in my body.

"Mom... when did you arrive home?" I asked.

"What do you mean? I never left the house," my mom replied. Her answers created more questions in my mind.

She sniffed then instantly pinched her nose. "What's that smell?" She looked around then looked under the bed. I followed her every move as she went around my room looking for something. Then she opened my wardrobe--- nothing. "Can't you smell it?" she asked.

"Smell what?"

"That stench. It's overwhelming. Tell me, are you smoking pot here?!"

I shook my head frantically. "Hell no! You know I don't do drugs."

"Alright! Wash up. I'll prepare our breakfast," she said as she walked away, fanning her hand on her face.

I was left alone contemplating what's going on. I knew everything that happened last night was real. I looked at myself in the mirror checking for my gunshot wound. There was nothing! I washed my face and hurriedly ran downstairs to the living room. I searched the area for clues. I checked the floor where I was supposed to be lying down. But no blood nor a bullet hole.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Raven?"

My body shivered upon hearing that voice. It's immistakably--- grandpa's!