Jorn had skirted around the edges of the room ever since he entered, trying to remain as inconspicuous and hidden as possible as he clung to the shadows cast by the pale light. It took a while for his eyes to grow accustomed to the dim room; despite the bright flare of light from the projector and the presence of several lights that dotted the walls of the large room, it was considerably darker than the pure whiteness of the outside. He scowled. It's difficult to avoid the prejudiced notion that all this was turning to be a great farce. A castle, ill lit rooms, macabre decorations and a lady handing out written single-line introductions? It'd be the perfect setting for a horror movie or a some sort of fanatical cultist meeting.
In fact, Jorn had kept his eyes peeled for any hidden cameras, even tapping the stone bricks of the walls with his knuckles to check its authenticity as he walked along. He would not come so far, abandoning everything he once was just to be caught in an elaborate prank or some sort of freaky reality show. His eyes glanced back at the small group that had assembled there. Three girls and another guy. One of the girls looked to be rather young to be out here by herself, betrayed by her shy demeanor and adolescent looks. The others...well, he guessed that none of them gathered here so far were older than him. Only the lady that welcomed them from the doorway, Katherine, seemed mature enough.
And for a moment there, Jorn felt a pang of fear that this could just be some deceptive mail sent around to gather young, naive, deluded fools for kidnapping or something far horrible. After all, such cases, although uncommon, were not unheard of. Instinctively, Jorn took a step back and reached for his bowie knife, the familiar contours of its hilt reassuring him as he gripped it tightly, his eyes darting back and forth for any signs of treachery and danger.
Repose yourself, foolish mortal. You are where you should be.The voice did little to assuage his mounting anxiety but he turned his gaze towards the projector as the hostess started to write.
Katherine said
I have done a lot of research and I believe I have some answers for you. We have somehow been chosen to be the recipients of demons. I'm not sure how or why yet. There are a total of 12 of us. By receiving a demon, we have become immortal.
Jorn stared dumbly at the words for a while until their meaning sunk in. His expression changed from indifference to astonishment to incredulity to anger before settling into a visage of rumination, his brow furrowed in a mask of deep thought and concentration. But inside, his mind raced. 'I knew this was some weird cultist worship! Demons?! This is not the medieval times where we burnt witches at stakes and hid from the dark for fear of some mythical beast and demons. This is the age of science, of technology! Not of flying carpets and lamp genies!' as Jorn thought to himself.
Aah, you can deny its veritas all you want but you know deep within, that which is or isn't...He could hear the others talking, asking questions about it as if it was the most natural thing to do. His frown never left his face as he continued looking as Katherine answered their questions respectively but jolted to full awareness when he saw mention of his name. His name. How did she..?
"Wait, wait, wait...hold on a second, Katherine. You'd actually expect me to believe that I have a...demon? Living inside of me?" asked Jorn skeptically.
You cannot doubt the veritas of the words spoken yet unsaid. Mea nomen est Morbi, otherwise known as Disease. A pleasure to finally be properly acquainted.A shout escaped his lips unbidden.
"Shut it!" Suddenly realizing his outburst, he waved his hands apologetically,
"No, no, I didn't mean you, Katherine, sorry about that. Nevertheless, this is the age of science. I'm not so prone to flights of fancy and delusions as to so easily accept having a demon inside of me just to explain there recent incidences that happened to me. I mean, it could just be a genetic mutation, right? Something our level of science hasn't been able to figure out yet, right?" Yet even as he said it, he heard the hollowness and anxiety of his words, words meant for himself to try to waylay and avoid accepting the cold, hard reality presented to him. Turning to the others, Jorn more pleaded than asked,
"Come on, you guys. Are you really serious about believing all this? Demons? Immortality? I mean, sure I healed up rather fast but I still bled like a stuck pig when I cut myself up. This all can't be true, right?" Jorn's voice quivered at the end of his sentence as he looked at each of them, hoping for someone to suddenly burst out in laughter and assure him it was all a joke.