Irene found the situation kind of amusing, even though it was dangerous to be a driver for his target. Being an Uber driver for a demon would be the title of some mediocre short story on the web. However, seeing how the world was going. He would suspect the author of that short to call the story something else to be unique and to subvert the reader in some way. Like calling the short something like “Night Life” or something uncreative. Might even be pretentious and make a self-deprecating joke about it within the text of the story. Something Irene despised in modern media, always going meta or trying to deconstruct the narrative to make some sort of point he couldn’t understand.

  He looked in his rearview mirror, keeping a close eye on the demon as he slowly drove to her apartment. ‘Enjoyed your night?’ He said, trying to strike up a conversation to understand what sort of demon he was dealing with.

  To his surprise, she chuckled. ‘It was fun. The DJ played some awful music, but tonight was fun.’

  ‘What made tonight special? Met anyone interesting?’

  ‘People? No, I usually go there for the thrill of the dance and prefer to avoid people.’ Her smile died down as she looked back at the night. ‘It is the energy, you know? The way people can happily dance in the room without fear.

  Okay, not a xenophile. That is good at least. Irene thought to himself. ‘So you just came to dance?’

  Al’Gazel nodded along. ‘More or less. Where I came from, it wasn’t usually safe to dance.’

  ‘Really?’ Irene responded, trying to see if he could cause the demon woman to slip up. ‘Where did you come from? If you don’t mind me asking.’

  ‘Not at all. I’m from Europe. Hungary is a beautiful country, but not the most ideal spot to live. If you know what I mean.’

  ‘No, I do. Oh, I know what you mean perfectly. I came from Russia myself, born and raised in Iskitim. A rough place no kid should be raised in.’

  ‘Why did you leave home?’

  Irene paused for a moment. His time in his home and his childhood weren’t something he liked to talk about with others, not since it had a lot of ties with the Order and them rescuing him, which led to his recruitment into their organisation. Instead, he chose the safe option and decided to tell a white lie.

  ‘The city isn’t safe for me or my people. Still isn’t, after all of those years later. Iskitim, as well as many areas of Russia, had its own problems with minorities. There, they hated the Roma.’ He snickered as he glanced at the scar on his left knuckle. A wound he got when he got in a brawl with an older kid and won. ‘Got in a handful of fights during school for who I was. But that couldn’t last forever. At some point, you have to leave the place that doesn’t welcome you. Even if it was your home.’

  Al’Gazel pondered what Irene said and decided to share a bit about herself. ‘I left my home for the same reason. It was like Hell on Earth, literally. Where I was from, people became savage. I saw things no little girl should’ve seen and had to do regrettable things to survive there. I suppose there are places we are not meant to belong, so I decided to go here to escape it all, which is also why I like going to clubs.’

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  ‘To be safe?’

  ‘To be… I dunno. Human? I wanted to do things I never had a chance to do in my childhood. It was just a good escape, and it felt safe. Sure, there are creeps here and there, but it is far safer than where I came from.’

  Irene raised a brow, seeing that the demon woman was well equipped with prompts and plausible answers to give to help herself blend in with humanity. Indicating that she wasn’t just an ordinary desperate demon escaping Hell, but someone who clearly had an education and some wealth to prepare her to blend in with wider humanity. Though the disguise was a hint, it wouldn’t hurt to acquire further evidence to confirm his speculation. As it could also mean the demon he would be facing was effective in the arts of Demonic Magic.

  ‘So why the States? Surely there are better places than here?’

  ‘Same reason you are here, I suppose,’ Al’Gazel responded with a snort. ‘It was the earliest flight out of my home and the furthest. You could say I made a good life here, at least a lot better than the place I came from.’

  ‘A fair point. However, the only reason I came here is because it was the enemies of the Soviet Union.’

  The demon woman laughed. ‘Really? You came here because of old rivalries?’

  Irene shrugged, trying to be nonchalant with his light joke. ‘I don’t know about you, but I hate Russia. I hate how I grew up and how the place, the people, and the government treated me. Let me tell you that there is nothing good there, and most young people born there would often leave to study or work. There is nothing in Russia besides constant misery and stubborn nationalistic pride of a golden era that never existed in the first place. America, the United fucking States. Now here there is a future, even if it has a lot of problems.’

  ‘So it boils down to hate?’

  ‘Don’t you also hate where you came from? Even though it is where you were born, that place drove you out. Your home, your fellow countrymen!’ Irene stopped himself before continuing on his rant, calming down as he reminded himself that the woman was the person he was meant to kill, not deal with ideal chatter. ‘I was 13 when I left my home. I haven’t returned there for about two decades, and I don’t intend on coming back. It is also best not to have regrets about leaving. Instead, understand what made you leave in the first place.’

  The woman responded with a single nod as Irene pulled up at the front of her apartment complex. He let out a sigh before ushering her out of his car. ‘Anyway, we are here now. So, um, it was good talking to you.’

  ‘It was a pleasure, John. Hopefully, we can talk again one day.’

  His stomach turned. Seeing the human in front of him, but had to think back to the fact that she was a demon. A wolf in sheep’s clothing. Without saying goodbye or anything, he got back in his car and drove away to a spot to park and wait for his teammate.

  Yet as he waited, the stinging sensation of doubt clung to his mind. But as it formed, so did his resolve. He was an operator of the Order Horrifica, a member of the Hell Blasters. Slayer of humanity’s foes! Even if they had their reasons to be on Earth.