Title: The Devil’s Dance
Source:  #MenageMonday! Challenge Week 2×17
Word count:  250 words

“Damien?” I asked as I entered the small lecture hall. Damien didn’t answer, his frantic scribbling transported him a million miles away.

“Damien,” I whispered, placing my hand on his thin shoulder.

Glazed eyes scanned my face, but he didn’t see me. He returned to his work, scrubbing a variable he replaced with a function. Confusion etched his face as he paused, then looked at me. This time, he blinked and rubbed a chalk flecked hand across his face.

“What time is it?”

“Nine. Have you been here all night?”

“I was home. Sleeping. I had the answer. Now, it’s not working.” Damien said waving his hands.

“It was probably just a dream,” I said as I tried to decipher the gibberish he had written.

“No,” Damien yelled. His eyes danced, alternating between me and the board. Dilated pupils made his blue eyes look black.

“It was her. She told me how I get her. How I save her.” Damien’s voice cracked as he spoke, and he ran his tongue over cracked, parched lips.

“You mean the girl with the two little horns?”

“Yes. She pointed them at me. I saw the answer on the banner, between her horns.”

“Is this it?” I asked motioning at the equations.

“Yes. I mean, no. Not quite. I just have to remember.”

He leaned against the desk and buried his face in his hands.

I draped my arm around his shoulder, aware of his dilemma. Damien had found the devil in the details.

__________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer