“Pretty fair after dumping Cal Poly.” Jerry took a swig from the flask and passed it to Stan again. Janis stayed huddled next to him watching the propane flames in the low light patio corner. “How the heck is your face? You haven’t even mentioned it. We’ve all been waiting for you to bring it up. Now that I’ve had a couple hits from the flask I’m getting impatient. Spill it.”
Janis piled on. “Yeah, Dempsey, what the hell? You wouldn’t talk about it in the van. Now you’re clamming up out here.”
Connie, who was arm in arm with Stan on the side of the whitened scar, peeked around at him too. “Does it hurt?”
Mike seemed startled as if he had forgotten all about it. He put the tongs down he’d just turned the hotdogs with and felt the raised white line down his face. “Nope. Ever since I pressed the towel doused in holy water on it, it’s felt great. It burned before I put the compress on. The holy water closed it right up. There must be a supernatural tint to it. How about it, D?”
Demon burped before spitting out his confirmation. “Arf!”
“Okay, I guess we won’t have to stake you like a vampire,” Gail joked. She touched his hairline which was white for an inch surrounding the tip where the claw mark ended. “This is so funky.”
“The scar’s not funky,” Laura said. “Maybe you should have a plastic surgeon look at it.”
Mike picked his tongs back up and shook his head. “I don’t think so. I never planned on being a male model anyway.”
His reply drew laughter.
Janis glanced at Laura standing slightly behind Mike. “Besides, Gail would still do him, right girlfriend?”
“In a heartbeat.” Gail sighed and leaned her head on Mike’s shoulder, drawing more laughter.
Laura grimaced back at Janis. “I don’t think it’s a joking matter. And what the hell was that thing you used to poke the Haunt at the end with?”
“Yeah, Mike, we didn’t get a chance to see it before you dropped it in the garbage bag with your clothes,” Denny said, sipping his beer allowed by his Father with a mixture of distaste and enthusiasm. The beer also worked to calm the confusion from Joanie standing as far away as possible from him.
“It’s an iron pike I sharpened at the shop and made a handle for. Father Ramirez blessed it for me. I hadn’t planned on using it quite like that though. It saved my life. I didn’t even know if it would work or not. It’s from an episode of ‘Being Human’, where they used an iron fireplace tool to disperse a ghost.”
“Oh that’s wonderful - experimenting with Hollywood props in a life or death situation.” Laura slapped Mike’s shoulder. “Not very smart.”
“If he hadn’t had it, he wouldn’t be swigging from that flask,” Jerry pointed out.
Denny quickly hit a key on his iPad, and the ‘Wicked Witch of the West’ theme began playing, eliciting loud laughter and a loud gasp of annoyance from Laura.
“Denny!”
“Sorry Laura… I couldn’t stop myself. It’s the beer.”
Joanie came over to stand next to Laura. “The Worm’s getting to be a real comedian. He thinks he’s one of the boys now so everything out of his mouth is golden.”
Mike passed the flask on and stared at Joanie questioningly. “What the hell, Sis? First off, Denny is one of the boys. Secondly, we’re going to get you your own theme song pretty soon. Considering your mood swings maybe the theme from the ‘Exorcist’.”
“C’mon inside, Joanie.” Laura put a comforting arm around Joanie’s shoulders. “It’s getting cold and annoying out here. C’mon D, I’ll let you watch ‘Family Guy’ and drink your beer in the bedroom.”
Demon leaped up, with his empty beer bowl in his mouth and pranced toward the patio door. Joanie giggled appreciatively as she accompanied Laura to the door. When they were inside, Stan passed the flask to Denny.
Denny took a gulp, eyes watering, and followed it quickly with a swig of beer before passing the flask back. “Thanks… I think.”
“You’ll thank me in a minute when it gets down to your toes,” Stan replied. “I guess we better all have a pike on us from now on. Once the things get that close, we wouldn’t have much else to get their attention with.”
“I want one sword length.” Janis held her hands apart, indicating about eighteen inches. “I could of poked Casper right in his eye last night without him breathing down my throat.”
“Jan’s right,” Gail agreed. “We could swipe at them then too if we had to.”
“Do you think your Dad will let you stay in Demon Inc, Jan?”
“He ain’t votin’ me off the island, Con. We’re making enough money to put ourselves through college and get a place of our own. What about your folks?”
Connie shrugged. “They’re pissed because I won’t quit, and I told them exactly what you said… but in a nice way. The one I’m worried about is Denny. His parents can forbid him to keep in Demon Inc. What about it, Den?”
“I ex… explained it to them in the living room after the meeting.” The slight slur in his voice drew chuckles from his companions. “I told them because of Demon Inc I have friends… I never had… and instead of being scared all the time at school I’m a rock star. I’m not giving it up no matter what they say. I have an idea too about defense. We need light weight shields laced with thin iron strips and an electrical charge going through them.”
Connie hugged him. “That’s great, Denny! We’d be like the ‘300’ Spartans if we get bull rushed. Want Jan, Gail, and I to talk Joanie into being nice again? I noticed you’ve been demoted to worm status once more by the temptress, Joanie.”
Denny shook his head no and drank another gulp of beer, enjoying his first buzz. “She’s mad because I won’t let her… tell me what to do anymore. I’m going to sneak the ‘Exorcist’ theme onto her iPad… next time we have a study group. Her friends Mandy, Danielle, and Melissa don’t call me Worm.”
“You dog, you.” Janis shook her finger at him while the others laughed. “That study group you’ve been tutoring up in Joanie’s bedroom will have to be suspended until further notice, mister. At least until you lose this ‘player’ attitude of yours.”
Jerry glanced around into Janis’s face. “You know, babe, I’d be careful about barking orders at the weapons master. You could be staring a Casper in the face pulling the trigger on a misfiring Haunt killer.”
Janis’s face blanked for a moment, her mouth dropping open slightly, illustrating she felt the beer only slightly less than Denny. “Just kidding, Denny. You go on and study group those young vixens anytime you want.”
Although everyone else was amused at Janis’s quick turnaround, Denny shook his head with serious intent. “No way I ever pull a stunt like that, Jan… no way.”
Stan immediately grabbed Denny’s shoulder reassuringly. “You need to lighten up, Den, especially when we have Jan on the ropes.”
Denny brightened. “Oh… sorry, Jer. Good one.”
“No… it was not a good one!” Janis smacked the back of Jerry’s head. “For a moment I had a vision of me as a Haunt.”
Jerry hugged her. “I guess it would be a good idea to always back the weapons master, babe… don’t ya’ think?”
“Hey, everything’s cooked,” Mike announced as he put separate groupings of hotdogs, burgers, and cheese topped burgers into a large serving dish before closing its lid. “Let’s get some food before we do something stupid and get our beer ration taken away.”
Chapter Five
Adult Entanglements
Joanie glanced over at her Brother as he drove them to school with Denny in the backseat, working on his laptop computer. “Mike, you better be ready to answer some questions about your face today. You look scary. That white patch of stubble and the white scar make you look like one of those mobsters in the movies.”
“My guess is everyone in school’s already seen the clips of the battles on YouTube. They tallied nearly five hundred thousand hits already between them and going up exponentially,” De
nny said. “I bet SciFi will be ecstatic with those numbers. Mr. Corbett and I only put together the battles in trailer type format, advertising them for the network over Halloween. With their promos going we may rack up the biggest cable audience ever.”
“Yeah, I saw you left the part with me taking the swipe across my face in. It looks like I died because you two ended the trailer right there,” Mike replied. “The students and teachers will think I’m a Haunt. Anyway, I brought you both early with me because I’ll go take a meeting with Ms. Franz so she’s in the loop.”
Joanie giggled. “Don’t change the subject. You really are marked. Doesn’t it bother you?”
Mike stayed silent as he turned into the Arroyo High School parking lot. He looked over and grinned after stopping the car. “I don’t know, Sis. I have a dark thing going on right now where I just don’t care. I’m comfortable now. We took on an army of Haunts two nights straight and won. The holy water healed the scar and left a reminder. So what? What the heck will some strange looks from high school students mean? Right, Denny?”
Joanie immediately whipped around in her seat pointing warningly. “Don’t even bother, Worm, you groupie.”
Denny stared straight into Joanie’s eyes. “It was the greatest, Mike. No one can take that weekend away from us. One thing you won’t have to worry about: the football team. Remember the guy you bounced around when Brad thought he could bring his pals along for a putdown? Tony Conterro has nothing but good things to say about you since then. He’s even embraced the nickname you gave him when you laid him out: Sasquatch. The scar is the bomb. One other thing – I bet Mandy won’t mind my groupie status.”
Joanie gasped as her brother cracked up. Inside, she’d been reeling since picking Denny up that morning, because of their harsh parting on Saturday night. Her attraction to him grew every time she was near him, and she hated how much seeing him with her best friends in the study group bothered her. “I’m outta here.”
Denny watched her slam Mike’s Chevy door and stride toward the school building with a pensive look. When he glanced at Mike, he saw the grin spread on his friend’s face. “Think I should retreat to my slave status?”
“You want relationship advice from me? What the heck would you take my advice for… if I had any?”
Denny closed his notebook computer, patting it with both hands. “I don’t know, partner. You have one gorgeous redhead stalking your every step and a beautiful blonde announcing she’d do you in a heartbeat. I figure those facts rate some respect.”
“You mean the redhead that is pregnant with another man’s kid, and the blonde daughter of a man who is our agent and video choreographer?”
“Well yeah… there’s that.” Denny leaned back, clasping his hands behind his head. “I respect your opinion, Mike. Joanie’s your sister and-”
“Joanie’s no dummy,” Mike interrupted him with a wave of his hand. “She’s a teenager. No, I don’t think you should knuckle under to her worm status, but I sense you know that already. The change in you over the last few weeks is amazing, brother. I know you care for Joanie. Don’t let the dance bother you. Hell, even I’ve noticed her friends’ interest in you. It’s all part of this goofy high school scene, Den. When you look death in the eye, it’s hard to tone regular crap down from day to day.”
Denny jutted forward, his head shaking from side to side. “Oh man, Mike, you’re right. I’m trying to splice all this crap together. Maybe I soldier on without letting my geek past keep screwing me up.”
Mike nodded. “Good start. If it doesn’t work, change it. What the hell can happen that you haven’t already faced with Haunts trying to rip you apart?”
Denny held out his hand over the seat which Mike gripped with a grin. “Thanks, brother, you’re the best.”
“No way, weapons master. C’mon. Let’s go to school and see what everyday life has in store for us. I may even do a little playacting with my new scar. How’s this, Den?”
Denny looked over the seat at his friend and his smile disappeared. “Mike… I think you may want to keep that one under wraps for the time being. You know… save it for when you want to scare the crap out of a serial killer without even saying a word.”
Mike laughed, opening his door and slipping out as Denny did the same. “That good, huh? I admit it. I practiced in the mirror this morning.”
Denny jogged up next to him on the sidewalk. “Don’t do that in Ms. Franz’s office. She’ll expel you on the spot once she gets out from under her desk. Do you have any ideas on why the holy water closed the wound but left the scar?”
Mike shrugged. “Don’t know. Don’t care. All I’m thinking is we have something that will close up wounds if the Haunts rip one of us.”
“Do you go to church, Mike?”
“I do now.”
When the teens entered the office, the secretary gasped and dropped her coffee cup. It shattered on the floor. She remained upright, clenched fists at her mouth, a look of terror on her face. Mary Ansel was in her middle thirties, attractive, dark hair, and a figure that had all the teenage boys dropping by the office with any excuse they could dream up. Mike and Denny looked at each other. Denny nodded with a grin.
“Told you.”
“Mi…Mike Rawlins?”
“It’s me, Ms. Ansel. Sorry we startled you.”
“Your face! I saw the movie trailer on YouTube last night. I saw that thing strike you. You…you should be dead… I mean… I-”
“It’s okay, Ms. Ansel. We’re all fine. I got him before he finished me. I figured Denny and I better come by and talk to Ms. Franz. Our video manager left the trailer tease a little on the tense side.”
Ms. Ansel came around the counter to inspect Mike’s face, before pointing at the principal’s office. “Just knock before you go in. I’ll clean up my mess. I’m glad you kids are all okay. Seeing your face means all this crap I’ve been hearing is true, and those video clips are the real deal.”
“We’re working on getting rid of the things,” Mike replied. “Sorry about your cup.”
“Don’t be. Go on now and see Ms. Franz. I’ll let her know you’re coming to the door. I think she believes you’re dead too. I showed her the YouTube video this morning.”
“Thank you.” Mike led Denny over to the principal’s door as he heard Ms. Ansel announce the two of them. The door popped open without them knocking.
“I’m sure glad to see you two!” Ms. Franz grabbed Mike’s arm and pulled him inside. “C’mon, Mr. Stossle, you too. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph… look at you.”
Ms. Franz grabbed Mike’s chin like his Mom had done Saturday night. She turned it side to side, staring up speculatively in the fluorescent lights of her office. “Well… no ‘Gentleman’s Quarterly’ covers for you, Mr. Rawlins.”
She released him and gestured at the chairs in front of her desk. “Have a seat. What can I get for you besides the number of a good plastic surgeon?”
Mike and Denny were both already chuckling over the magazine cover reference. “We came by so in case you got any reports of me walking around with monster makeup, you’d know it was a misunderstanding.”
“Good idea. I saw you too, Mr. Stossle. Have you joined Mike’s goofy crew hunting down these… what do you call them?”
“Haunts. Yes, ma’am.”
“Denny’s our weapons creator,” Mike explained. “Those weapons you saw us use are Denny’s invention. Without him, we’d be dead.”
“Why in hell aren’t the government agencies taking over this Haunt hunting?”
“I think it’s because exposure has been limited to previously haunted places where these spirits can control spirits already there. The government, if it’s aware of us at all, probably believes if they admit any truth to what’s happening out here they’ll have people clamoring for protection and freaking out every time a board creaks in their house. We do have some police officers on our side.”
“Does Halloween actually have some kind of spike in spiri
t behavior like Hollywood likes to profess?”
Denny got a nod from Mike and took the question. “No ma’am, we don’t think so, but with the increase of actual spirits attacking us as happened this past weekend, we’re not sure. Mike’s first encounter with a Haunt, and Demon’s appearance happened on a Halloween. The encounter may have had more to do with the Haunts testing their power to enter our dimension rather than the day of Halloween itself.”
“But that still means there could be kids in danger because of seeking out these rumored haunted places.”
Mike and Denny exchanged startled looks.
“Yes, ma’am, that is a distinct possibility,” Denny replied. “We hadn’t considered that.”
“I’ll get started putting out a bulletin to parents about keeping track of their kids on Halloween. May I refer to your encounters, and the proof on YouTube?”
“Of course, Ms. Franz,” Mike replied immediately. “I’ll let our agent Mr. Corbett know. We definitely want to prevent any injury or loss of life. That’s for sure. If you hear any rumors through the school about any haunted house excursions or Raves, let us know. We’ll follow up on all of them, or as many as is possible.”
Ms. Franz smiled. “Thank you. From seeing the looks on your faces I can tell this reality show crap ain’t your first priority. I will alert you to anything I hear, see, or read. I won’t ever refer to you two as kids, ever again. It’s almost time for class so let’s keep in touch.”
“I’ll have our office contact you with all our phone and web addresses, Ms. Franz,” Mike replied. “You know her. She’s a graduate from here, Laura Fahrenbach.”
“Sure, I know Laura very well. Excellent student.” Ms. Franz stood up and gave the teens a little wave. “I wish you both well in this, and if I can help you in any way concerning your classes here, please contact me.”
Mike nodded and eased out of his chair. “We will, Ms. Franz. Thank you for the Halloween reminder. We will definitely stay on guard for anything we can do.”
Denny followed Mike toward the office door. “Thanks for keeping an open mind on all this, ma’am.”
Demon Inc (The Mike Rawlins Series Book 2) Page 6