Symphony of the Universe Short: A Demon's Tale (Part VII)
This story is meant to take place directly before the events of
Symphony of the Universe : Book One
check out the website Symphony of the Universe
for more information
Rodin was feeling pretty thirsty at the moment. Most people employed at a bar never have to worry about being thirsty. But the key words that make this sentence incorrect are people and employed.
See people have a lifespan of 60 years, give or take, depending on various factors. True, some unfortunate souls will expire before their time. Others go on for great lengths of time, some making it past 100 years or so.
Demons don't work this way. They are created by various means, some are born, some are spawned, some are corrupted, morphed into demons though they were once something else. If a demon is born or created in an infantile state they will mature until adulthood (although contracts have made exceptions, trapping a demon in a particular body which quits aging sooner) and then that is it. The usual means can destroy the bodies which demons inhabit, but the demons themselves live on and on and on. This is one of many things which makes demons different from people.
Now people can be employed, unemployed, underemployed and so on and so on. If a person is employed and they are told by their superior that they are to do something harmful to themselves or to others, there are channels they can go to, places they can turn to report unethical or illegal activity. They can also terminate their own employment if they so wish. There are some circumstances in which this is not true. But generally speaking, most people in civilian employ operate this way.
A simple example of this is that if a persons boss tells the employed person to eat glass. A typical civilian would either assume this was a joke or tell the boss to shove the glass where the sun doesn't shine. Demons do not operate that way. If a demonic superior informs their subordinates to eat glass, the proper response from a demon is to graciously thank their superior for the opportunity and begin to dine.
So it didn't really matter overtly that Rodin was thirsty. Morukai had told him to stand at the door so at the door was where he stood. Rodin glanced back over his shoulder. The bar wasn't very far away. Behind the bar was a water cooler. Rodin knew that, but he didn't move.
He was thinking about racing over behind the bar, maybe for just a drop and then running back to his post. But he didn't move.
How long was he going to have to stay in the doorway, checking everyone who came in? That was up to Morukai. How long had Rodin been standing there? Rodin started to think about that. How long? He glanced at the clock on the wall and started to calculate it up. 11 hours and 23 minutes. Was Morukai ever going to send someone else to watch the door? Maybe sometime this year? Certainly there were other things Rodin could be doing besides standing there.
11 hours and 24 minutes now. Rodin had made the mistake of clock watching, now each and every second was ticking in his head. Besides there wasn't anyone coming in or out of Skull Island. People seldom show up uninvited and once invited they usually only leave through the back door.
Rodin started thinking about the number of times he had to lift and toss corpses out the back door and into the large dumpster out back. If Morukai didn't think the loud booming sound when a body hit the side of the dumpster was so funny maybe Rodin wouldn't have to do that task as much. Rodin was beginning to think about how much he would prefer lifting things and throwing them to standing still in one place for a long period of time.
Then suddenly Rodin noticed a car pulling into the parking lot at great speed. Rodin blinked because he had not seen a bright pink vehicle before, and certainly not a tiger striped one. At first he wasn't sure what he was seeing. Then twin boys, both young adults, jumped out of the vehicle. Rodin had never heard of Adam Ant, so he was confused by their attire. They looked sort of like tin soldiers to him, but ruffled soldiers.
"What kind of army had ruffles on their uniforms?" Rodin thought.
Then with considerable grunting and effort, a woman also emerged from the vehicle. Rodin instantly recognized all of them as demons, even though they were disguising themselves as humans. But these were not demons he already knew, and therefore he was on guard.
Queen Bea forced herself up in front of the boys and planted herself directly in front of Rodin. Rodin was nearly 7 feet tall, and Queen Bea was around 5 feet tall (but several feet wide, at least). Rodin also had considerable muscle definition, as a life of severe physical labor can do for you. He had pitch black skin and shiny silver eyes as well as very sharp angular features. Rodin was also used to people being frightened of him. That was why he was the right person to be at the door of Skull Island, and bounce the unwanted away.
Queen Bea however, was not the least bit intimidated by Rodin. She glowered up at him.
"Go and fetch your master." she said.
Rodin was used to slouching, being almost 7 feet tall, slouching was preferable to hitting his head on the various fixtures and palm trees which were part of Skull Island's decor. Now if Morukai had told him to go and fetch, as a dog, he would have obeyed at once. But as Queen Bea was not his superior, he decided to respond by straightening up to his rather impressive height.
The twin boys understandably cowered behind Queen Bea. She pulled out her raven feathered fan and fanned herself with one hand.
"I'm here to see Morukai, he'll see me." Queen Bea said. "I have news for him, frightful, delightful news."
Rodin says. "Is he expecting you?"
Queen Bea yawned. "Why don't you ask him, big boy?"
Rodin blinked back a bit of confusion then he said. "He is not expecting you."
With a subtle gesture from her fan, Queen Bea directed the twin boys to spring into action. Both of them ran into the bar. Rodin yelled for another servant to hold Queen Bea at the door and took off after the twins, who were already knocking over tables and causing havoc.