The Demon Rolmar Read Free Page B

his eyes met the luminous stare of Rolmar, who had emerged from the darkness. The youth couldn’t look at the haunting, green eyes that pierced through his soul.
    The demon started to walk toward him. Time began to slow and then it sped up, and Adam crumpled to the ground, barely aware of his own body. He covered his head with his arms and trembled in the night air, praying for the demon to vanish. The sound of the approaching creature tortured his ears, and Adam thought those heavy foot-falls might be the last sound he ever heard.
    When Rolmar stopped moving, the silence that engulfed Adam was unbearable, triggering his mind to conjure up a hundred ways for the demon to end his life. The demon moved closer and was now only a few inches away from the cringing youth. Adam began sweating profusely, while his eyes moved frantically behind tightly shut lids. The fact that his eyes were closed did not help matters because his mind was able to picture the demon’s face in excruciating detail. After thirty seconds—the longest thirty seconds of Adam’s life—Rolmar said, “Death will be upon your people.” The acidic words resonated for a few moments. Rolmar began walking away, but a frantic, shaky voice made him pause.
    “What do you mean by that?!” Adam said. He was able to sit up, and avoiding the eyes that horrified him, managed to say, “Aren’t you afraid that I’ll tell someone?”
    Rolmar laughed heartily, and the volume of the sound made the earth quake. The demon shook his head and gave the man a small smile. “I have never known fear. Anyone who stands against me will be crushed.”
    “Is this a dream?” Adam asked. “You must be part of a nightmare. I’m going to wake up any minute now,” he reassured himself in an unconvincing tone. This was a futile attempt to conceal the trepidation that deluged over his body. As he spoke, his hands shook—the last vestige of the intense tremors that racked his body a few moments earlier. The fact that the demon had not dispatched his life gave the man a modicum of courage: just enough to continue the conversation with the creature who utterly dwarfed him. “What do you intend to do?”
    “I’m here to destroy this planet.”
    Adam’s brown eyes grew wide, and he decided to make a run for it. He couldn’t move fast enough, though; the situation was all very surreal. It seemed like it took hours to cover a few meters, but after he had traveled a good fifty feet, he chanced a backward glance.
    “Great. Nothing but empty street. Maybe I did imagine the whole thing.”
    Now feeling out of danger, Adam continued home at a slower pace. As he continued on his way he would periodically look over his left shoulder. Adam reached the manicured lawns of his apartment complex in less than ten minutes. The small, identical lodgings were all connected, and all marked with black, iron numbers securely fastened to the right of the door. He made his way to unit 102. Once inside, he flipped on a light switch, threw his jacket on a nearby chair, and walked into the living room. He hoped to see his roommate in his usual spot on the couch, ensconced in some television program. “John? Are you here?” He must have decided to work late tonight. After all that’s happened, I think that I just want to go to bed.
    “Hey, I’m home,” came a familiar voice, followed by the sound of the front door shutting.
    “Oh, thank goodness you’re here. You won’t believe the story that I’m going to tell you.”
    Adam walked to the front door and jumped back a foot. A smaller, seven-foot version of the demon was now inside the apartment. Panic spread over Adam’s body as he took in the sight. “How? What?” he gasped as he struggled to keep his balance. His body was beginning to feel unsteady.
    “Articulate tonight, aren’t we?” Rolmar said.
    “How did you get in here? Get out! Where’s John?! I just heard him.”
    “Are all humans so inhospitable? I’ve barely had a chance to