Silently, the succubus stared at Scott. The light of the candles had vanished - they had melted down to bubbling puddles of wax in the commotion - and that same invisible explosion that knocked back the teen had thrown the electric lantern to the floor. As it rolled, the bright electronic light it cast moved along with it. Slowly, shadow began to envelop the demon on the other side of the room.

"Um..." Scott was at a loss for words. He shifted up, back still against the wall... he tried to control his breathing. "Uh..."

"Take your time." the succubus's voice was smooth, but deep... melodic, was that the word?

Scott tried to stand up, but his legs were shaky. His feet giving way, he fell to the ground again... the lantern was in his range now, so he snatched it up. Holding it towards the succubus, he could see her more clearly now. He hadn't noticed it before, but odd black horns protruded from the sides of her head, thick, short but curved upwards, and covered in lines of ridges like a ram's. The inhuman features didn't end there: her fingernails were long and pointed like claws, her eyes were milky and pupilless, and flicking around behind her legs was a long, thin tail, its sharp tip in the shape of a spade.

Despite all that... God, was she hot!

The teen didn't know whether to be creeped out or amazed.

Raising a dainty hand to her mouth, the succubus yawned.

"So... are you just going to sit there, or...?" she asked, tapping a foot. Behind those long, claw-tipped fingers, Scott could see that her teeth were sharpened to points. If she wanted to, she could take a bite right out of him.

"Uh..." Scott still couldn't quite get a grip on talking yet. He spied the bell across the room, and hastily crawled over to it. The succubus watched on in bemusement. He snatched it up, gripping it tightly, as if it was all that protected him.

Taking a deep breath, Scott stood up, bell in hand... then ran away as fast as he could, clambering down the ladder when he got to it. All the while he was hyperventilating, and in his rush his foot missed a rung.

Shi-shit!

Though he was quickly able to recover, he still had to gasp for air, swallowing lungfuls. Sweat was running down his forehead now, his eyes wide as he clutched to the tree. The lantern and bell had slipped from his hands, falling to the ground right next to where he had left the hammer. 

Wait... the hammer!

Moving slowly and carefully now, driven by a cold fear, Scott climbed the rest of the way to the ground. All of the fallen boards laid strewn on the dewy grass - he gathered them all up, tucking each plank under his arm. The nails once embedded into them weren't far away, and Scott made sure to get them too. Finally, he grabbed the hammer, and headed back up. He tried his best to ignore the succubus's piercing gaze when he reached the entrance. As he lifted up a board and placed it over the doorway, the succubus spoke again.

"Really?" she said. "Just gonna trap me in here?"

Scott kept his mouth tight, biting his tongue until it almost bled. Thoughts had started to flood his head, a torrent coming from all angles.

There's a demon in my treehouse... there's a demon in my treehouse! Jesus, how am I gonna explain this to mom?

Wait, if demons are real, then... then... God is real too! And Heaven! And Hell!

Oh God, I'm sorry for jacking off so much! I don't want to go to Hell when I die!

Bam! He began to nail the first board in. It was tough to do, given all the other planks under his arm and his wobbly footing on the old ladder rung. But he tried to keep it as quiet as possible. Waking up Mona, on top of all this other shit... he'd probably drop dead from the stress.

I'll just close this up, and never open it, and... and, and just never open it!

"Why'd you summon me if you were just gonna spaz out, huh?" she said with crossed arms. As he worked, Scott tried to ignore the demon's words. "Really rude thing to do to a girl." she gave him a cute pout.

Bam! Bam! Bam! The pounding of his hammer against the wood just barely drowned out his thoughts. By the time he had gotten two more boards up, the succubus spoke again.

She blew some air out through her plump lips. "Come on. You're not just gonna keep me in here forever, are you?..."

Scott froze, mid-hammer swing.

The demoness rose up, straightening out her back so she was at full height - she had to be six foot, maybe higher, Scott tried to judge from a distance. In any case, she had a solid head on him.

"Here's my proposition: come in here and break the circle. You're the only person who can, y'know." there was a beckoning pull in her voice. "I'll fly off, and you'll never see me again. 'Less you want to."

The teen finally managed to speak. "I... I don't know..."

"Come on..." she said. There was something about her that was just magnetic.

Just then, Scott felt something on his back... someone had just turned a light on! Scrambling, he spun around. Sure enough, brightness was spilling out of one of the neighbor's windows, on level with and facing directly at Scott. It was like a spotlight had been focused on him, and it made his heartbeat spike.

"Wh-whoa-"

In his shock, Scott had totally lost his footing. Waving his arms, he dropped everything he was holding in an attempt to regain his balance - but it wasn't enough. Along with the hammer and two last wooden boards, Scott plummeted to the ground below. It felt like both forever and an instant, air whipping by his ears as he fell.

The teen landed feet first, his legs bent, but rolled over onto his back as soon as he hit the ground. Jagged, intense pain radiated out from one of his ankles, which he gripped tightly. "Fuck..." he groaned, trying to sit up. It was too hard, so he just laid there, grimacing.

A minute or two passed. From where he laid on the ground, he could see the neighbor's back door open, a few figures rushing out. Before he knew it, most of the Zhao family was in his backyard, Charlie aiming a flashlight at his face. He rose a hand to shield his eyes from the beam.

"Scott?" it was Nic, who crouched down to his side. She was almost unrecogizable without her makeup on. "Are you okay? I didn't mean to scare you..."

"Yeah, I'm..." Scott coughed, pushing himself up against the side of the tree. He took register of everyone that was there... Nic, one of her older sisters, Charlie, and what looked their dad. They were all in their pajamas. "I'm fine."

His eyes moved up to the entrance of the treehouse. It was only half closed...

Oh God, what if they see her in there? I need to get them out of here!

Pushing the hand Scott had there away, Nic was examing his ankle with both hands. "It looks like you twisted it."

"Yeah, it..." using the back of the tree to support himself, Scott tried to stand. It took all the willpower and effort in his body.

"I can get you some ice, or..." Nic's voice trailed off as she watched Scott's agonizing attempts to raise himself up. "I don't really think..."

"No!" Scott wasn't able to keep his pain in when he finally got all the way to his feet. Holy shit, did it hurt! He bit his lip, trying to ignore the fire in his ankle. "Hnng... No, no, no I'm good, I have... I have ice. Thanks."

"What were you doing?" her dad asked. "It's late."

Charlie moved the flashlight up to the side of the treehouse. Scott wanted to move to stop him, but, he doubted he could move at all.

"It's, uh, I was fixing something." he stammered.

"Fixing what?" Nic was craning her neck up, looking at the treehouse.

"There's a..." Scott needed to think of something fast! "A hole, in the treehouse."

For a second, everyone paused.

"Isn't that just the way in?" asked Nic.

"Yesssss..." Scott said. "But, uh, we had it boarded up, because there's lead paint and asbestos and shit-" when he remembered there was a kid in the audience, he censored himself. "Stuff, stuff in there. You know, don't want Mona getting like... cancer, or anything. The boards fell, and so I was putting the boards back up."

"Oh... okay." Nic said. Her eyes were still on the entrance. "Are you going to be alright?"

"Yep!" Scott made his way to where the hammer had fallen, scooping it up along with the bell and the lantern that had fallen previously. "Just... fine."

"I think there's something in your treehouse." said Charlie.

"No there isn't!" Scott's voice cracked loudly when he said that.

Without another word, he hobbled off at top speed, which wasn't very fast. The bell jingled the whole way, and when he got close to the back sliding door, he finished the last stretch by hopping on one foot. He didn't look back as he fumbled to open the door, but he was sure everyone was staring at him.

"Goodnight!" he called out, before stumbling inside and slamming the door shut behind him.

Great. If Nic didn't already think I was weird, she sure does now...