Waking up in the morning is difficult for some people. Others jump right out of bed ready to start their day. But then again, those others don’t have a strange girl crying in the corner of the room.

    My name is Hayworth. I’m trying to survive the burdens of high school just like everyone else. I’m bullied because I confided in who I thought was a friend, but she decided to betray me and spread my secret to the entire school.

    What’s my secret? Glad you asked. I have nightmares that become reality upon wakening. I know it sounds confusing, but my nightmares feel so vivid that I believe what I see is real. I’ve seen doctors who all believe I experience night terrors or hallucinations, but brain scans and analyses couldn’t find anything wrong. I’m not a religious person, but I decided to seek help from a local minister and priest since modern medicine cannot explain my condition.

    It feels like seeking aid from the church has worsened my problem. Now, instead of seeing the young girl whenever I wake up from a nightmare, I see her constantly throughout the day, always in a darkened, secluded section of a room. Her overall appearance remains the same. She has short, dark brown hair and brown eyes. However, her eyes are rather strange as they like to change color to red for brief seconds before reverting back to their natural color. Her face is covered in dirt like it hasn’t been washed in some time. Bruises cover her entire body that is visible to the naked eye; cuts, scrapes, and scars cover the remaining portion of her body. She wears a white tank top that has splashes of blood on it.  Her shorts are red, so identifying any blood on them is rather difficult. Ligature marks are visible on her wrists and ankles. Her feet show numerous cuts and scrapes.

    After seeking out priest Michael of the local church, he recommends, “Why don’t you sleep here tonight? That way if something happens we can observe you.”

    “Something always happens,” I reply. “Maybe I can finally get some answers.”

    Michael leads me into one of the upstairs guest rooms at the back of the church. I walk through the door to see a rather plain room with white walls. The headboard of the bed sits against the left wall with a nightstand beside it. A desk rests opposite the bed. A bookshelf sits in the back of the room filled with an assortment of religious books. Crosses cover the room, at least one on every wall. Pictures of previous ministers and priests sit on the desk and nightstand. The room does not have carpet, but hardwood, polished flooring. There is only one window in the room. Sunlight would be shining through it, but it is nighttime. It feels like you would need sunglasses to be in this room during the day time.

    “It’s pretty late. You should probably go ahead and get some rest. If anything should happen, Minister Randy and I will be here to intervene. You have nothing to worry about.”

    “Thank you. I appreciate it,” I reply. Michael nods and walks out of the room.

    “Yeah, we appreciate it,” a girl in the corner of the room says. Her voice sounds otherworldly, shaky, much like television static.

    I jump, startled. An immediate chill runs over my body. I turn around to see the young girl sitting in a corner of the room. She’s sitting down with her knees against her chest, her arms around them tightly. Her head rests on top of her knee caps. New bruises, cuts, and scrapes can be seen on her skin. “It’s been years and now you talk?” I ask, walking cautiously towards her.

    She grips the top of her head tight and cries out in pain. She looks up to reveal her eyes rapidly changing color from brown to a dark red. The color alteration keeps repeating. Bloody tears build in her eyes. Her body shakes all over like she suffers the side effects of a high grade fever. Red colored sweat drips down her face. She manages to stand up on her own, shaking, no sturdiness or steadiness in her balance. She takes a couple disoriented steps towards the center of the room, leaving bloody footprints in her wake. “Please… Hurry,” she pleads. She starts to hug me, but vanishes before my eyes. I look over to the corner of the room where she appeared. She’s gone.

    There is only one way I can help her. After turning out the light, I jump into bed and shut my eyes.

    A few moments later, I feel myself wake up but my eyes remain shut. It is incredibly hot, much hotter than an average summer day. Something isn’t right.

    I try to move my hand to wipe the sweat off my face, but I can’t. I open my eyes to see a tight chain wrapped around my wrists. I panic. I look over to my other wrist and see the same type of chain. Both of my ankles are bound as well. My heart rate sky rockets.

    “This is real,” I hear a voice say.

    I turn my head to the right. The same girl that I see constantly is bound by her wrists and ankles in the same way I am. “What’s your name?” I ask.

    “Vanessa,” she says quietly. Her head stays lowered. I can’t get a real glimpse of her face.

    “Look at me,” I demand.

    She shakes her head. “No.”

    “Where are we?”

    “Deep down, you already know the answer to that.”

    I scan my surroundings and see a blood red sky. An unusual eeriness fills the air. Horrid screams can be heard coming from all directions. Vanessa and I are chained to a wall, but we aren’t the only ones here. I turn to my left and see another boy. He’s unconscious. Past him are more victims. I can’t count them all. There are too many. Some of the others have permanent red eyes. The eye color isn’t alternating. “Why do some of them have red eyes?” I ask.

    “Those who have red eyes have succumbed to the darkness. They’ve accepted this place as their new home usually in order for the torture to stop.” She brings her head up and looks at me. Like earlier, her eyes shift between brown and red.

    I look her straight in the eyes. “Don’t you dare give in.”

    She looks away. “I’m not as strong as you think, Hayworth.”

    “You’ve been haunting me for years. So, logic says you’ve had to hold on for that long right? That means you are strong.” I try to reach for her hand and then realize I’m still chained. “But I have to ask, why did you choose me? You could have reached out to anyone. And you reached out to a complete stranger.”

    “You’re the only one that---”

    “Oh this is adorable,” a voice interrupts.

    I turn to see another human walking towards us. He’s dressed in a suit. But something is different about him. He has bright red eyes. His skin is extremely pale. He’s outlined in a strange, misty black aura. “And who are you? A sad excuse for a vampire?” I taunt.

    “I’m the demon Seren,” he says with a bow. “I run this particular ward. Vanessa has never spoken a single word since being here. And now, you pop up out of nowhere and she speaks without a second thought. Just who are you?”

    “The name is Hayworth.”

    Seren pulls out a list and scans through it. “You’re name isn’t on my list. How did you get here?”

    I shrug. “Magic.”

    Seren walks up and punches me in the stomach. “My list is never wrong. I’ll ask one more time, how did you get in here?”

    I wince and look over at Vanessa whose pleading eyes beg me to answer his question so the inevitable torture won’t occur. Little does she know I’m the most stubborn guy on the planet.

    “I honestly have no idea. For the longest time I thought these were nightmares.”

    Seren pulls out a sharp instrument. “Oh no dear boy, this is the real deal. Allow me to demonstrate.” He places the sharp instrument on my chest and presses hard, letting it run across my skin. My screams now combine with the other screams that fill the air. I bite my lip, clench my fists. I have a high pain tolerance. But that doesn’t mean I won’t scream or wince when pain is inflicted to me. My clothing does little to dampen the pain. My chest, legs, arms, hands, everything is fair game to him.

    “STOP IT!” Vanessa pleads. “Torture me instead! Not him. Please…”

    My screams resonate throughout the church. Minister Randy and priest Michael come running into the room. The air in the guest room is thick, making it hard to breathe. Randy turns on a lamp sitting on the desk. Blood soaks the bed. Michael pulls back the bed sheet to reveal cuts and stab wounds all over my body. A dark blue and black bruise appears on my stomach.

    Both of them gasp in shock at the sight of my body. “How is he still alive…?” Minister Randy asks.

    “I don’t believe it… He’s… Wow. We need to help him and fast,” Michael replies. Randy nods and hurries out of the room to fetch a book that has been locked away for centuries.

    A pile of blood has pooled on the floor beneath my feet. Some of my cuts are deeper than others. My high pain tolerance enables me to ignore some of the pain. I start to hyperventilate.

    Seren wipes off the blade with a towel from his pocket. “Still not talking are you?” he asks. “What is your deal anyway?”

    I don’t answer. I’m busy focusing to redirect my pain to make it less severe.           “Hayworth… Why?” Vanessa asks.

    I turn and look at her. “To save you.”

    Vanessa’s eyes stop alternating colors and revert to their original brown state. Normal tears build in her eyes and fall down her cheeks. Meanwhile, Seren laughs manically.    “Save her?! You can’t even save yourself!”

    In the guest room, Michael starts reciting an ancient hymn from a centuries old book. Randy does not recognize it and asks, “Which hymn is that?”

    “The Hymn of the Savior.”

    A shocked look emerges on Randy’s face. “You don’t mean…”

    I feel a power start to build within me. All the surrounding suffering fills me with energy. With each scream or cry of help, I feel stronger. I lock eyes with Seren’s torturous, demented gaze. My eyes start to alternate between my normal green color and a bright golden-yellow. My irises become brighter and brighter until looking into them causes blindness. “What are you doing?!” Seren shouts.

    I pull on the chains and shatter them. I kick my ankles out and free them from the shackles. My eyes stay a permanent, bright golden-yellow. The wounds covering my body start to disappear. Now, Seren’s demonic screams fill the air. Hearing a demon scream is rather terrifying. It sounds like a loud, thunderous roar that blocks out all other sound.

    I walk over and remove Vanessa’s shackles. I place my hand on her cheek. She becomes outlined in a heavenly light and starts to ascend into the air. A hole opens up in the blood red sky, allowing a bright light to shine into the chaos. I watch Vanessa pass through it.

    After receiving word of the disturbance, multiple demonic entities show up to assist Seren. Vastly outnumbered, I close my eyes and force myself to wake up.

    I rise up in my bed and scream at the top of my lungs. My eyes remain closed. “Hayworth!” Priest Michael yells, placing his hands on my shoulders and shaking me. “It’s alright, you’re back. You’re safe.”

    I open my eyes. A golden color tints the entirety of my vision.

    Priest Michael looks into my golden-yellow irises. “I believe Minister Randy and I know what you are.”

    I turn and look at him. “And what would that be?”

    “You’re a Savior.” Michael answers.

    “A what?” I question.

    Minister Randy walks over to the bookshelf and scans the numerous selections of books. He runs his finger along each spine. “Saviors are a special kind of individual who can cross into hell while still alive. They do not have to die to enter hell’s domain. As the name suggests, you are destined to save those wrongfully convicted during Judgment. However, a Savior hasn’t appeared for many, many years.”

    “How many years are we talking here?” I ask.

    “Centuries,” Michael answers.

    “Those who have been wrongly convicted during Judgment died before their natural cycle could come to an end. If a Savior manages to rescue one, he or she will return to the natural world to live out the remainder of life,” says Randy, reading from an open book in his hand.

    I pause. “So wait, Vanessa is alive?”

    He closes the book. “If she ascended, then yes. She will return to the place of her death which could technically be anywhere in the world.”

    I start to get out of bed. My t-shirt is ripped. My dark brown hair is gelled with blood, possibly not even my own. I look down at my jeans; they are covered in blood in addition to my feet. Now I’m the one leaving behind bloody footprints when I walk. Michael speaks up, “It’s best not to try and find her. You need to leave her be. If she seeks you out then so be it, but do not actively seek her. Do you understand?”

   “Why not? Is there written rules to being a Savior?”

   “Probably,” Randy answers. “But they’ve more than likely been lost to time. If you and Vanessa do meet, you will reveal yourself. There are organizations that seek out Saviors like you. And more than likely they already know of your existence. Vanessa is evidence of that.”

    “I… Felt something with her. My life has sucked up until this point. I’ve got to find her.”

    Michael sighs. “You won’t have time. Your life is about to get far too busy saving others in the same method you saved Vanessa. Innocent souls will seek you out and request your assistance.”

    I put my shoes on and storm out of the guest room. They can wait. Finding Vanessa is more important. Even if I do expose myself, if these so called organizations already know who I am, then what’s the point in hiding? Besides, love is all about taking risk. And trust me, Vanessa is more than worth the risk.

    I walk outside the church. It’s still dark outside, so it must be the middle of the night. I start heading towards the parking lot when I spot movement out of my peripheral vision. I turn, nothing is there.

    “Help me…” a voice says. I whirl in the direction of the voice and see a boy in the streetlight. He’s dripping with blood, painting the parking lot a dark shade of red.

    “I saw you help her. Why didn’t you help us?” another voice says. I whirl in the opposite direction. A blond boy stares back at me.

    “Please…”

    “Save us.”

    “Can’t you hear my screams?”

    “What are you waiting for?!”

    Overwhelmed, I squeeze my eyes shut and crouch down on my knees, placing my hands over my ears. It does little to block out the voices. I lean over, trying not to lose my mind. I open my eyes and see a pair of feet staring up at me. They are soaked in blood; blood even acting as nail polish for her toes. I look up to see a girl my age. My golden-yellow eyes stare into her constant red eyes. They remain red and do not alternate with her natural color, whichever color that may be. She is tall as me and dressed in white basketball shorts that fall to her knees. A white tank top covers her upper body. Her physique is athletic and fit, like an all-around sports player. Cuts, scrapes, and bruises cover her entire visible skin. She has long light brown hair positioned over her right shoulder with traces of a dark red substance intermingled. Her skin is naturally tan.

    “You will help us,” she demands. She places one of her hands on the back of my head and pulls. At the same time, she brings her knee up and smashes it into my face with incredible force. I fall back and lose consciousness.

    The heat feels familiar. I can’t move. I’m chained and bound in a tighter and stricter method than before. Screams fill the blood red sky. The thick air makes it hard to breathe. I look around and see demons torturing innocent souls. They laugh hysterically while doing it.

    I scream and struggle to break free. “Would you relax over there?” a girl says. I turn to my left to see the girl who kneed me in the face. She’s chained to the wall next to me. “You are at your strongest inside this domain. So you need not fear anything in here. You only need to worry about yourself in the present.”

    “Thank you, Miss I like to knee people,” I retort.

    She smirks. “My name is Krissi. There’s no time for introductions. You best get on with the saving.”

    I manage to break all of my binds before the demons realize what is happening. My eyes glow bright. I grin and run towards the demons at full speed. “Let’s have some fun.”