Hello, and welcome to my collection of short stories!
I'll be posting both finished works, snippets, and WIPs in here. Please feel free to comment and/or critique.

-Kaldea


Contents
Post 1 ------ Intro & Contents
Post 2 ------ Rendezvouz (Part I)
Post 3 ------ Rendezvouz (Part II)
Post 4 ------ Gravity Error (Part Ia)
Post 5 ------ Gravity Error (Part Ib)
Post 6 ------ Gravity Error (Part IIa)
Post 7 ------ Gravity Error (Part IIb)
Post 8 ------ Gravity Error (Part IIc)
Post 9 ------ Mother Mercy (Chap. 2)
Post 10 ----- Mother Mercy (Chap. 4)
Post 11 ----- Mother Mercy (Chap. 6a)
Post 12 ----- Mother Mercy (Chap. 6b)
Post 13 ----- Mother Mercy (Chap. 3a)
Post 14 ----- Mother Mercy (Chap. 3b)
Post 15 ----- Mother Mercy (Chap. 5a)
Post 16 ----- Mother Mercy (Chap. 5b)

“I hope she’s alright,� Charles sighed. He dug the rubber toe of his sneaker into the concrete of the sidewalk that sparkled in the falling night. Two hours had passed since the time they had planned to meet in front the late-night coffee bar. Flipping out his cell phone, Charles scrolled through the endless list of text messages from Serena. The last one had been sent two nights ago. It read, “I’ll meet you at the usual spot at 8 PM. Love you!� The screen cast a blue glow on his features as the corners of his mouth lifted into an uneasy smile. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he had forgotten something, or was trying to forget something. Had she changed the meeting spot? Had she forgotten they were meeting at eight? Did she suddenly get sick? Or…was she seeing someone else? Charles shivered at that thought. He wasn’t the only one who found her electric blue eyes and smooth, golden hair utterly hypnotic. And she could be quite fickle at times…

Charles furiously dialed her number, the sickening image of Serena laughing with some faceless macho man piercing into his head. The line rang in its usual flat tone. It continued to ring as Charles paced in front of the bar, chanting prayers for Serena to pick up. The line clicked. He hung his head as her pleasant voice filled the empty air. “Hi! You’ve reached the phone of Serena Ringsworth. I can’t come to the phone right now, but…�

Charles kicked the brick wall in front of him. “Why can’t you come to the phone?� he cried out loud. A strange feeling nagged at him. He didn’t understand it, but he felt as if he already knew exactly why she couldn’t come to the phone. Even more frustrated, he clutched himself like a small child and shook his head.

“Hello, Charles,� a soft voice said. Charles spun around to find himself under Serena’s icy gaze. He noted that her voice seemed oddly detached.

“Serena! Where have you been? I thought we were supposed to meet here two hours ago!� He drew her into a tight embrace, lifting her a few inches off the pavement.

“Well, you know,� she offered coolly. Charles released her from his grip and noticed an awkward smile twisted onto her face. The confusion that had plagued him before she had arrived intensified. He felt a ring of dull pressure encircle his forehead. Serena eyed him with a faint air of amusement. “Why don’t we walk, Charles?�

He weakly nodded his head in response and clumsily grabbed her hand. It was as frigid and bony as an icicle. Charles pulled back almost spontaneously and rubbed his hand against his jeans. Serena appeared not to have noticed. The austere click of her heels filled the widening gap between the two.

“Since when do you wear high heels?� She didn’t stop to turn around as she responded, “Oh, I always have.�

Charles frowned. In all his memories, she wore a pair of fabric sneakers with rainbows and hearts scribbled over the canvas with permanent marker. “What about your sneakers? Remember? The sneakers we made together the day we first met. I asked you out afterwards!�

Serena stopped. “No, I don’t like sneakers.�

Charles blinked, the strong desire to cry backing up in his throat like vomit. “Why don’t you remember?! Did you hit your head against something?!� he blurted. Hit your head against something? The words rang in his head over and over as he felt his mind spiral into deep sorrow. He didn’t see Serena’s smirk as he fell to the floor.

Charles’ pocket vibrated. Desperate for a voice other than Serena’s cold drawl, he answered the phone.

“Charles, where are you? Are you alright?� The panicked voice of his mother blasted into his ears. “Oh my goodness, we were so worried about you! You were so depressed last night, and we thought you might go out and…thank goodness you’re alive!�
Charles began to shake uncontrollably.

“…thank goodness, thank goodness, thank goodness! Where are you right now?�

“I-I’m walking around the coffee bar with Serena.�

There was a deafening pause. Charles felt his heart quicken.

“Serena died yesterday, Charles! In that car accident. Don’t you remember? When her parents called you with the news…you shut yourself up in your room and wouldn’t come out!�

The blood rushed from his face. Repressed memories burst forth from the bowels of his mind: the horrible call at 4 PM…her head had been smashed into the windshield…he had fallen asleep wishing that he was as numb as she was…and when he had woken up that morning…
He had buried everything.

“Charles? Hello? Charles! Are you there?�

Charles dropped the phone onto the pavement, frozen in place by the cold touch of Serena’s arms snaking around his shoulders. She put her lovely face next to his ear.

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,� she whispered slowly. “My name…is Despair.�


-end-

Note: The following story-in-progress is written for Divinus/Demoral on Gaia Online. It involves her original characters, whose profiles can be seen here.
Note 2: The following story-in-progress contains language that some may find offensive. You have been warned. xD


The neon glow of the monitor was all that illuminated the cramped room. Countless piles of abused manuals and wrinkled texts lined the shelves, the bindings crumbling with use and old age. Accompanying the warm hum of the computer was the incessant clicking of a keyboard. Long, slender fingers tapped urgently at the black keys. Every movement was precise and swift, like a well-oiled piece of machinery. A hushed voice interrupted the tapping. “If I alter the code such that the formula yields coordinates y and z…� The man in front of the computer shook his head and muttered to himself. “No, that wouldn’t be right.� He slid his glasses off his face and flicked them down beside the keyboard. Rubbing the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger, he inhaled deeply and leaned against the back of the office chair. Before he could recompose himself, the phone rang, a fluttery and vexing pattern akin to that of a tittering girl. “Reminds me of Merit,� the man thought dryly to himself. Swiveling away from the various graphs and coding windows on the computer screen, he picked up the phone from the charger. “Hello?�
“Heeeelloooo, Sharde~� the androgynous voice rang.
“Yes? If this is the Girl Scouts, I’m not interested in buying cookies.�
“Nooo! It’s me, Merit!�
Sharde smirked. “You could’ve had me fooled.�
“Honestly, what girl would call you?� A stream of giggles poured out of the receiver.
“…Merit, shut the hell up.�
An awkward silence filled the line. Sharde sighed heavily, dragging his hand across his cheek.
“Ah…ah…I won’t say it again! I’m sorry! I’m really sorry! I won’t say it again! I didn’t know you…Ah! I’m sorry, Sharde!�
Sharde’s eyes flickered over the computer screen, glancing at the time on the toolbar. 2:00 AM.
“Forget about it, Merit. What did you call for?�
“Well, um, uh…Rune wanted to ask you about the latest target, you see.�
“Damn Rune. Why can’t he do it himself?�
“H-he’s been sleeping for the past four hours. I came over a while ago to check on him, and he was out cold on the bed.�
Sharde groaned and spun further from the computer. “At this rate, the 7th Demon will escape before we can get any information from him.�
“Um, he wants to talk to you…�
Before Sharde could protest, there was the distinct crackle of the phone changing hands.
Heavy breathing blasted in his ears. “Hey.�
“What have you been doing sleeping? You know this is a serious case, Rune.�
“Which is precisely why I’m calling you now,� replied Rune with a tinge of amusement in his voice. “I wanna catch that little fucker as much as you do.�
Sharde heaved another large sigh and rubbed his feet against the smooth, linoleum floor.

“I don’t know. Given the amount of work you’ve been doing, I would say that you could care less.�
“Don’t be a shithead.�
“Don’t be a lazyass,� Sharde countered. This kind of thing was practically routine by now, but the excitement of rage in his veins was still as strong as it was the first time he and Rune had fought.
“Don’t be such an uptight bastard!�
“Don’t be such a queer!� Sharde regretted the poison-tipped words the moment they flew from his mouth. Rune paused threateningly; Sharde could feel the tempest brewing in the thin wires that connected them.
“Haahaa…haahaahaa…Haha! Hahahaha! HAHAHAHA!� Throaty laughter hinting at insanity erupted over the line.
“Oh shit,� hissed Sharde. “Don’t go psycho on me, Rune.�
To his horror, Rune continued laughing. Sharde picked up from his swivel chair, the rush of blood temporarily blinding him, and ran to the intercom against the wall. “Kanasaki, pick up the phone.�
A deep, cello-like voice responded in the affirmative. Apparently, he had not been asleep. Sharde settled back into his chair and picked up the phone. Rune had not yet shown signs of letting up on his hysterics.
“What seems to be the problem?� Kanasaki inquired huskily. “You two didn’t start going at it again, did you?� He chuckled lightly, perhaps more out of vicarious pleasure than sympathy. Sharde refused to comment, and gave a noncommittal grunt instead.
“Rune? You had best be stopping now. Wouldn’t you much prefer taking this out on Rafael?�
Rune’s laughter tapered off abruptly. In a hoarse voice, he growled, “the 7th Demon. Yes. If Sharde would have just done what I asked in the first place…�
Sharde felt the overwhelming urge to respond, but he held his lurching tongue. Now was not the time.
“Well, then,� Kanasaki said calmly, “why don’t you meet us at Café Baridel tomorrow? Around noon? We’ll give you an update there.�
Rune pondered the suggestion for a moment. “Fine. The basement, I presume?�
“Yes. And try not to dress too conspicuously. That means you’ll have to forego the eyepiece, I’m afraid.�
“Yeah. Right. See you then.� The excessive amount of laughing seemed to have reduced his speech to curt responses. Sharde remained silent until he heard the definitive click of the other line.
“Thanks, Kanasaki. I owe you one. He’s been acting stranger than usual as of late.�
“Oh, not a problem. But I do expect proper payment.�
Sharde chuckled, relaxing his grip on the phone.
“No, I’m quite serious. Meet me in my room in ten minutes.�
“…Kana? What are you…�
“I’ll be seeing you, Sharde.�

Café Bardiel was not a real café. The well-starched tablecloths and Parisian architecture was merely a façade for the dealings and information swapping that occurred inside. Of course, this was unbeknownst to the general passerby who, with one glance at the exorbitantly priced menu, went running off in the opposite direction. Inside, past the fake bar, was the main room, also know as “The Basement�. Over twenty black tables filled the purposefully dark room, each table shielded by shaded partitions on either side. Kanasaki and Sharde sat at the table in the back of the room, accompanied by a laptop the size of a novel.
“If I had known you’d make me do that, I wouldn’t have asked for you help in the first place,� mumbled Sharde, his annoyance thinly veiled. Kanasaki shrugged, his left arm slung over the side of his chair. “It needed to be done. You ought to know that one needs to get his hands dirty every now and then.�
“Yeah, but I hack. I steal information for my own knowledge. I don’t use it to blackmail people,� Sharde said somewhat ruefully. “And besides, what if he ends up retaliating? Our database hasn’t exactly been stable recently, and we can’t afford to be counter-blackmailed by some punk.�
Kanasaki raised his eyebrows. “Don’t worry about it. He’s just a kid, after all.�
“As if that makes it any better. What business do you have with a kid, anyway?� Sharde snorted. Kanasaki looked off into the distance, his eyes clouding over.
“He has something…that I want.�
Sharde eyed his partner with suspicion. “Kana, if you’re a pedophile…�
“No,� Kanasaki said sharply, turning back to face Sharde. His face softened when he saw Sharde’s stricken expression. “I…he has something that is important to me.�
Sharde was at a complete loss for words. He had never seen this strange side of Kanasaki in all the years they had worked together. To their relief, the door to the basement slid open with a mechanical creak. Bright light from the bar streamed in, carrying Rune along the golden rays. He was clad in ripped jeans and a green collared shirt, clearly uncomfortable without his eyepiece. Rune jerked his head towards Sharde and Kanasaki in some brusque form of a greeting. A warm smile settled upon Kanasaki’s face, and he motioned Rune to the remaining seat around the table.
“Would you like anything to eat?�
Rune fell haphazardly into the chair and shook his head. “Nah, I’m not in the mood right now. Sharde declined to look at him, and unfortunately, he noticed.
“Is there something wrong, Sharde? Do you not have the balls to look at me?�
Grudgingly, Sharde raised his head and remarked coolly, “not at all, Rune. Shall we get down to business?�
“Of course.�

Sharde propped the laptop on the table and began typing furiously. Green numbers and password boxes danced by until at last, the screen stopped upon a picture of a blonde-haired woman accompanied by multiple lines of text. Rune scooted his chair closer to the table, taking care not to come into contact with Sharde.
“ ‘The 7th Demon: Rafael Lev. Gender: Female. Origin: Russia.’ She is…quite demonic-looking.�
Kanasaki witnessed an unmistakable look of longing briefly pass Rune’s face. However, his features proceeded to harden as he read the rest of the report.
“ ‘Responsible for over twelve deaths in the past two months, Rafael specializes in mind control and possession. All of her victims are said to have gone under dramatic changes in personality prior to their deaths, as well as experienced periods in which they are seemingly unconscious but subject to maximum brain activity. Extreme caution is advised. ’ �
“She’s quite the piece of work, isn’t she?� Kanasaki smirked.
“A complete bitch,� Rune snarled, his eyes growing dark.
“According to Demerit, all of the hunters in our company who worked on this case are now dead,� said Sharde, shutting the laptop gingerly, as to not upset Rune’s already shot nerves. “He suggested that we enlist the help of someone on the same level as the 7th Demon.�
Rune stared at Sharde balefully, raging green piercing into fading azure. “And you’re going to listen to that bastard? I say we take her on ourselves.�
“Don’t be so cocky. You know that you wouldn’t last a second under mind control. Your psyche is unstable enough as it is!� Sharde leaned forward in his chair, anchoring his hands on the table.
Kanasaki shifted uncomfortably in his seat, sensing the impending confrontation.
Rune leapt out of his seat, knocking the chair aside. “Me, unstable?! You’re the one who isn’t stable enough to think for yourself!�
Sharde mirrored Rune and retorted, “That’s a joke. Do you really think you can think for yourself, either?! I’d like to see you try, Rune!�
The bitter way in which Sharde pronounced Rune’s name struck a nerve deep inside of him. Rune jumped forward without warning and landed a solid punch on Sharde’s cheek, knocking his glasses onto the floor with a crack. In the moment Sharde took to glance at what had become of his glasses, Rune fired another blow, this time landing on the sensitive area directly below his collarbone. Blood burst out of Sharde’s mouth, and he wheezed uncontrollably as he sank to the floor. A savage look filled Rune’s eyes as he stood over his partner, chest heaving with powerful breaths. He did not remain upright for long. Sharde kicked Rune off balance, and with a yelp, he joined him on the floor.
The racket they caused had not gone unnoticed. The heavy metal door to the room slid open, revealing a muscular, dark-skinned man. Rune and Sharde remained on the floor, gazing at the long shadow the man cast. As he neared the table, Kanasaki stood up, and inclined his head in a motion of respect.
“I’m sorry, Dlars. You see-�

The man cut him off with a grunt, and picked up Rune and Sharde by the collar, thick wrinkles forming on his face as he did so. “We’ll have none of that here,� he growled in a thick African accent. “This place,� he motioned with a swing of his head upon his beefy neck, “is not a place to fight. You want to make trouble, you go back on the streets.�
Sharde seemed sufficiently convinced, but Rune stared at the café owner with fiery distaste.
“Don’t you be looking at me that way!� the owner screamed. He released his grip on Sharde, letting him fall back to the floor like a rag doll. “You are not welcome here again,� he whispered in Rune’s face. Rune struggled out of the owner’s enormous hands, and stalked out of the room, face red with fury and embarrassment.
“I’m sorry, Dlars,� Kanasaki said, staring after Rune’s retreating form.
“You should not have to apologize for that idiot. You are welcome here anytime, Kanasaki.�
Kanasaki turned to look at the café owner, guilt clear in his ruby eyes. “I appreciate it, Dlars. I really don’t know what’s gotten into Rune lately.�
Sharde rubbed his eyelids remorsefully, and groped around the floor for the remains of his glasses. “Yeah, Dlars. He threw the first punch.�
“I haven’t forgotten about you!� Dlars boomed, returning to his authoritative voice. “Maybe you didn’t start it, but you didn’t end it, either! You better be damn careful if you come here again.�
Sharde rolled his eyes as if to protest Dlars’ judgment.
“And watch that attitude!� Dlars turned his back to the bewildered couple and strode back into the bar of Café Bardiel. When he was clearly out of earshot, Sharde turned to Kanasaki, dry blood staining his white shirt. “What is he, my mother?�
Kanasaki shook his head, and closed his long fingers around the laptop that had miraculously remained unscathed during the fight. “Dlars is very kind to let us use this place. The people that usually come here aren’t as high profile as us. They don’t deal in death and demon-slaying. He’s putting a lot at risk, and we should be more grateful.�
Sharde let a sharp breath escape from his mouth. It annoyed him immensely to be told to act in a more respectful manner.
“But we’re doing him a big favor, after all. If we weren’t here to take care of those demons, he’d be good as dead.�
Kanasaki held his chin as he pondered the sentiment. “I suppose. But Dlars can take care of himself. He’s no stranger to the supernatural.�
The black-haired man inhaled deeply, and let the rest of his body sink to the floor. They hadn’t been making any progress in the case for the past week, and now it would be at least another few days before Rune cooled off.
“I must say,� Kanasaki murmured, leaning off of his chair to give Sharde a melting look. “I really like you in this position.� A blush flashed across Sharde’s face, but he quickly regained himself. “I-I’m going home!� Sharde stood up quickly, wincing as the blood in his head rushed downward. He rushed out of the room, leaving Kanasaki alone at the table, mouth slightly open.
“You…forgot your laptop,� Kanasaki whispered sadly to himself. He ran his eyes, now fading into blue, around the black walls. The basement was completely deserted. “I…should go back, now,� he decided, gathering up the laptop.
“Wait. Don’t go.�
Kanasaki turned his head behind him. The color flushed from his eyes as he spotted the source of the voice. Seated at a table that had certainly not existed when Kanasaki entered the basement was a fair-skinned boy, presumably of American descent, no older than seventeen. His hair was a chocolate brown, messy and in his face. His effeminate features lit up as he smiled innocently. “I’ve been waiting for you.�
Kanasaki fell to floor, unconscious.

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