Free The Demon Rolmar by A. Griffin Page B

don’t you?”

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    C HAPTER 11
    T he air was crisp outside, and gave the promise of winter. The demon referenced Adam’s thoughts and found Adam’s school in no time. Rolmar ruminated on what sort of form he would take and finally decided to take the form of a fifty-year-old man. He pictured in his mind what appropriate attire for a day like this would be. Hmm, perhaps a suit and an overcoat would do. This should help me to fit in nicely with the earthlings.
    The demon wasn’t entirely disappointed by the appearance of the campus; it had some sprawling acreage and in general had an interesting layout from above. Many of the buildings were contemporary in design and had obviously been built after the dorms, which had a more gothic feel to them.
    A large oak tree provided ample coverage for the demon who alighted gently in an invisible state. He peered invisibly from behind the tree at the many students who went about their way, hustling and bustling through the main quad. After a few moments, he transformed into his new guise.
    At first he walked the campus aimlessly and took in all the sights. The way everyone moved about fascinated him. They seem to be in such a hurry. This is so much different from the way Pentarians behave. Our lives are much slower in pace. He likened the movement of the people to scurrying ants.
    The demon walked toward the math and science building and paused when he saw a young man near the entrance. The youth was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt and was obviously regretting his choice of clothing on that morning. He rubbed his hands together briskly and then pulled a cigarette from his pocket.
    The student addressed Rolmar, “Hey, do you have a light?”
    Rolmar was slightly puzzled by the question at first. Then he referenced Adam’s thoughts again and was able to understand. “Sure,” the demon replied. He conjured a lighter inside his pocket, removed the object, and handed it to the young man.
    “Thanks,” the young man said. “Sure is cold outside. Wish I had worn a coat today.” He handed the lighter back to Rolmar and then took a long drag of his cigarette.
    What a strange habit. How disgusting.
    “Are you new here?” the youth asked.
    “You could say that I’m new to this place.”
    “Just hired, huh? What do you teach?”
    “Advanced Math,” he replied.
    “Wow, I guess I won’t be in any of your classes this semester. I’m only a freshman.”
    “How fresh are you?” the demon inquired, not understanding what the term meant.
    “Huh? What do you mean?”
    “Nothing,” Rolmar replied.
    “Well, I gotta go. See ya.”
    The demon could only utter, “Hmm.”
    As the student walked away he thought, What a strange, old man. I’m glad I don’t have any classes with him. Rolmar read his mind and became infuriated.
    You’ll probably die from cancer in fifty years. Why not get it over with now? Hmm, maybe I should just kill them all . Why should I spare any of them? They all have such short life spans anyway. The student went to douse his cigarette in a public ashtray, but the demon made it fly into the air.
    The guy was surprised. “What? Whoa.”
    The cigarette landed on some papers that someone had carelessly left on the grass. The paper went up in flames immediately.
    “Oh no!” the youth shouted and ran to try to put it out. The fire grew very large in a matter of seconds. He backed away quickly, and turned to run. Rolmar watched and smiled slightly. The demon turned invisible and made the fire spread to the math and science building. The flames moved at an unnatural pace and engulfed the entire building.
    People began to evacuate and were running to safety outside the building. The demon thought that the people looked like ants more than ever. Rolmar smiled again and went inside the structure to further torment the students. Inside, the hallways blazed, and the stairs were blocked by fire as well. A woman stood at the bottom of the stairs and tried to reach for her