The Broken String - Ch2

     The demon stared down at Miykul, who was trying his best to hold in his scream for help.
     “I’ll be more specific. Robert Gillian?” The demon asked once again. Miykul gasped. The demon chuckled and grinned. “Ah, so I figure you are. He did tell me a lot about one of his sons being a wimp.”
     “He would never say a-anything like that!” Miykul snapped at the red beast. Tears were pouring down his face like they were last night. ‘Be strong, kid. Be strong.’ Miykul shook his head and shut his eyes. “You know nothing about my father!” All the demon did was cackle at the young one’s words.
     “I do know he was murdered 15 years from tomorrow...And that all you can do is cry all day about it. Wah wah wah.” The demon pretended to cry like Miykul was. All Miykul did was glare with more tears joining in the never-ending pour.
     “Shut up! If you think you’re tough, why don’t you and I face off in a guitar battle? You name the song, and we’ll play it. First person to mess up is the loser.”
     “And if I win?” The demon bent down and smirked at Miykul.
     “I..If you win.....You can own my soul and make me forget completely how to use a guitar.” He shivered as he spoke. ‘What are you thinking? Johnny will kill you!’
     “Now, what if you win, boy? Which I highly doubt. Nobody beats me.” The demon tilted his head to the side.
     “...You’ll bring my father back to life.” Miykul looked at him, face red with embarrassment as the demon laughed even harder.
     “Okay, fine. But only ‘cause you’re trying.” The demon snapped his fingers and a bright red fender guitar appeared in his hands. Miykul wiped tears off of his face as he walked over to his guitar case and opened it, revealing his special black fender. He picked it up and walked back to the demon.
     “Song?”
     “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.” Miykul flinched a bit and sighed, then tuned his guitar to the right key.  “One..two...three...go!” The two began playing the guitar part of this exact song. As Miykul played, he felt his heart begin to race with fear of losing. ‘You can do it, Miyk..Believe in yourself...’ The demon looked over at Miykul and snorted, yet smirked evilly.
     Minutes passed, and the two soon arrived to the difficult part of the song. Miykul grinned and began to play and pull the whammy bar to bend a few notes. The demon mumbled something under his breath, and out of nowhere a string on Miykul’s guitar snapped in two pieces. Miykul gasped and paused playing, completely confused and lost.
     “Looks like you lose!” The demon’s guitar vanished and soon he grabbed Miykul by the neck. His eyes began glowing red, as well as the claws that were dug deep into Miykul’s thin neck. Miykul winced and coughed for air and he tried prying his hand off, not knowing memories were being secretly removed from his brain. All of those memories of starting his guitar business were nothing but ashes.
     Seconds passed, and soon the demon finished his duty and let go, scratching Miykul across his face to knock him out. “Sweet dreams, kid.” The demon laughed and then vanished into smoke. The smoke brushed against the metal fire detectors and set off one of the sprinklers (No alarms went off.). The water poured on Miykul’s bloody face and neck, forming a large red puddle around his body.

     “Hey, are you ready to go?” Johnny opened the door and looked around, expecting to see his brother watching television or playing on his fender. The sound of the sprinkler finally turning off caught his attention. “Taking another shower?” Johnny called out, then walked over to the bathroom and knocked on the door. There was no answer. “...Miyk?” Johnny opened the door and his eyes widened with shock to see his brother, bloody, cold and wet, lying on the floor motionless.
     “Miyk!!” Johnny kneeled next to Miykul and very gently turned him over so he was lying on his back, and then he leaned over to listen for breathing. He sighed of relief to hear gentle breaths come out of Miykul’s mouth. Johnny then stood up and searched for the first-aid kit. He bent down and checked in the cabinet, and gladly found it in the way back. Johnny gently pulled the kit out and then began tending to Miykul’s wounds. As he did, he began to wonder how these wounds appeared on him. Nobody was around...Right?
     Miykul began to cough lightly after a few moments of cleaning the wounds, and then he winced and grabbed Johnny’s wrist in pain. He then opened his teary eyes and looked over at Johnny.
     “Hey, I know it stings, but you need to let me clean your cuts or they’ll get worse,” Johnny said gently, “I’ll be careful.” Miykul looked worried as he gently released his grip and rested his hand back on the wet floor. Johnny carefully patted the antibiotics against the last wound he had to clean, and then brushed the rest of the blood off. Afterwards, Johnny tossed the bloody tissues into the garbage, and then kneeled back down by Miykul.
     “Now, what happened?” Johnny asked, moving Miykul’s bangs away to prevent any stinging feeling to the scratches on his cheek.
     “There’s...something I need to remember...” Miykul began. “But I don’t know what.”