The Invocation

by Carl Alves

  “But there was an accident here. Not to mention, I beat this guy up pretty good. We can’t flee the scene.”

  “Sure, we can, Jake. This is a no-win situation. What can we possibly tell the police? If we bring up Cotter, they’ll think we’re crazy and throw us in jail. This guy looks out of it. He won’t remember any of it. He won’t even know he’s been in an accident. We’ll go to my place, get my car, I’ll follow you in your car, and we’ll abandon it somewhere. I’ll drive you home, and tomorrow you’ll report it stolen. Got it?”

  Jake stood in place and pressed his closed fist against his forehead, trying to think this thing through.

  “Listen, Jake, I’m not in favor of breaking the law. In fact, I’ve never done it before, but we have to act quickly, and this is our only way out.”

  Jake rubbed his face. He hated doing what he was about to do, but June was right. The situation would be impossible to explain. The man by the car would have a sore arm and some bruises but was otherwise uninjured. Jake’s car was damaged but still drivable. It wasn’t worth more than a few hundred dollars anyway.

  Jake nodded. “Okay. Let’s go.”

  Without saying another word, they rushed into the car and started driving. Jake took back roads on the way to June’s house, praying they wouldn’t find any police on the road.

  “I can’t believe we’re doing this,” Jake said.

  “It’s awful, but it’s beats the alternative. Are you okay with dumping your car?”

  Jake waved his hand. “That’s the least of my concerns. Now that I have some cash, I was going to get rid of this clunker. It’s broken down on me a half-dozen times, anyway.” Jake turned toward her. “Do you know how much trouble we’ll be in if we get caught?”

  “We’re not going to get caught.”

  Jake pulled up to June’s house.

  “All right. I’ll get my car and meet you at the bottom of the street. Where are we going to ditch your car?”

  Jake said, “I know a place. Follow me.”

  He waited for June to pull up with her car. As they drove slowly down the road, Jake’s heart raced. There was a lot next to an abandoned building in Norristown that had most of its windows broken. It was not the kind of place he would normally visit, but these were hardly normal circumstances.

  He pulled the car into the parking lot. There was nobody around except a vagrant on the opposite side of the street. The man appeared to be speaking to himself. A car drove down the street but paid no mind to Jake.

  Jake drove alongside a building and parked the car. After killing the engine, he debated whether or not to leave the keys behind. After a moment’s hesitation, he decided to take them.

  June left the passenger door open for him. He got inside, and she immediately drove away.

  Jake said, “This is nuts.”

  “What we’re doing now, or the fact that earlier tonight you got into a life and death fight with an evil spirit?”

  “The entire situation.”

  For a while, neither of them said spoke. When they were near Jake’s house, June put her hand on top of his. “It’s going to be okay.”

  Jake stared out the window at the dark houses that they were passing. “Is it? Let’s be honest. This may be out of our league. From what we know about Cotter, he can switch in and out of people with no problem. Hell, he can even take possession of a dog. We’ll never know who he is and what he looks like until it’s too late. And it’s not like I can ignore him. Apparently, he has it in for me.”

  “We’ll figure this out, Jake.”

  June pulled her car in front of his house. She leaned in and kissed him. “It’s going to be okay. Call me tomorrow.”

  Jake nodded. “I will.”

  ***

  Jake was a wreck the following day. He filed a police report for his missing car, claiming it had been on his street the night before. He felt horrible about the lie as he filed the report but kept telling himself it beat the alternative—the truth. That option was a dead-end.

  He was listless in training, just going through the motions with no intensity to any of his actions, something Joe picked up on right away. As Jake’s sparring partner tagged him with repeated strikes, Joe yelled from the corner of the cage, “Get your hands up. You’re dropping your guard too low.”

  Jake’s sparring partner nailed him with two jabs, followed by a low kick to his leg.

  From the corner, Renken barked out instructions. “What’s wrong with you? Get your head into the game, Jake. You come out like this against Santos, and he’ll eat you for breakfast.”

  Jake tried to do as his coach instructed, but he was a step too slow. As he swung a wide right hook, his sparring partner dropped him with a short counter. More stunned than hurt from the punch, Jake struggled to his feet.

  Joe entered the cage and waved his hands. “Enough. Enough already. You’re getting your ass handed to you. Your head ain’t in the game.” Renken got in his face. “If you don’t start concentrating out there, I swear to you, I’m going to pull you out of this fight. Paulo Santos is a killer. What’s wrong with you?”

  Through cloudy eyes, Jake looked up at his coach. “I’m fine.”

  Renken shook his head. “No, you’re not. Take off your gloves, hit the showers, and see me in my office.”

  Jake hung his head low and nodded. He was getting smacked around, even with his sparring partner going easy on him. Another sparring partner might not have been so forgiving.

  Jake couldn’t take his mind off the insanity of the previous evening. The fight against Cotter, the attack by the dog, the whole car fiasco, all weighed on his mind.

  His body aching, he removed his sparring gear and made his way to the showers, but the hot water did little to clear his mind. Not exactly in the mood to chat, he walked to Renken’s office, avoiding eye contact with others in the gym.

  He waited in the office for five minutes before Renken arrived.

  Jake looked up at him. “Look, I know I was fighting like shit out there.”

  Renken sat behind his desk. “That’s all you have to say.”

  Jake shrugged. “I’m having an off day.”

  Renken stared into his eyes. “Don’t bullshit me. I’ve known you since you were a kid. When you’re out here, you’re intense. You’re a perfectionist. I don’t even know what that garbage was out there today. It wasn’t the Jake I know. That was somebody else in your body.”

  Jake blinked several times. He took a deep breath to regain his composure. He did not say anything. He just wanted to go home.

  “What’s wrong, Jake?” Joe leaned in toward him, his face softening

  from his previous intense stare.

  Jake waved his hand. “I’m fine.”

  “No, you’re not. What’s going on? Problems at home with your mom?”

  Jake shook his head.

  “Have a fight with your girlfriend? I know how that can mess with your head.”

  “No. Me and June, we’re good. More than good. She’s the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time.”

  “You come in with a big bandage on your shoulder and your hand wrapped up, injuries you didn’t have yesterday when you left. You get your car stolen.” Renken walked around his office. “I don’t like how Adam Fallon showed up at your house after he killed those people. You can’t be hanging around people like that. They’re bad news.”

  “I wasn’t hanging around Adam. He showed up at my house. The police tracked him down there.”

  Renken’s eyes blazed with intensity. “Listen, Jake, this isn’t about your fight. Of course, I’m going to do everything I can to prepare you to beat Santos. I’ve been trying to get a regimen of quality sparring partners to work with you, mimic his style and what not, but that’s whatever. I care about you.”

  “I know.”

  “You’re like a son to me, Jake, and Goddamn it, I’m not going to lose you like I lost Chris.”

  Jake looked away. Joe almost never talked a
bout his son, who died six years ago from a heroin overdose, about the same age as Jake was now. He remembered how despondent his trainer had been. He had been worried that Joe was going to commit suicide, but like a rock, he managed to pull through.

  “Look, this isn’t about fighting. Sure, I want you to fulfill your dreams and make it as a big-time fighter, and I’ll be there to help you. Hell, someday you’ll probably leave here to go to a bigger camp and get better training, and I won’t stand in your way. You becoming a champion, that’s not what I care about. I want you to become a good man, a solid citizen, someone your sister can be proud of. The rest of it don’t matter. So, if you’re hanging around the wrong crowd—”

  “I’m not hanging around the wrong crowd. I wouldn’t do that to my mom or June. I wouldn’t do that to you, and I sure as hell wouldn’t do that to Kenna. Trust me, I learned a lesson of a lifetime in prison.”

  “It ate me up every one of those days you spent inside. I kept asking myself what I could have done differently to have stopped you from going down the wrong path and prevent you from getting involved with all of that. It killed me.”

  “I didn’t plan that robbery. I was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  Renken nodded. “I know that now. I never really believed you were behind it. It didn’t make sense, but you never denied the charges. Your defense was pathetic. And if something like that’s happening again—”

  “It’s not like that.”

  “Then what is it? Something’s not right with you.”

  Jake ran his fingers through his hair. “Trust me. If this was something you could help me with, I would turn to you. You’ve always been there for me, and I appreciate it. But you can’t help me.”

  Renken folded his arms. “Why not?”

  Jake was at a loss for words. He waved his hands. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

  “Try me.”

  Jake sighed. Renken was such a straight shooter. There was no way he would believe this story about Cotter. He would think Jake was losing it and want to pull him out of his fight with Paulo Santos.

  “Look, I know I looked like a pile of shit out there sparring today, but I’ll be ready come fight night. I’m not going to piss away an opportunity like this.”

  “It’s not about fight night. It’s about you, Jake.”

  “I’m fine.”

  Joe threw his hands in the air. “Fine. I’m sorry you feel you can’t talk to me about this, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to turn my back on you. If you change your mind, I’m here. I won’t judge you or anything. I just want what’s best for you, and I’ll do anything I possibly can to help you. You need to know that.”

  “I do.” It was going to be on him to stop Cotter, and this was going to be the fight of his life.

  Chapter XXIX

  Kenna’s face was solemn as Jake told her about his encounter with Cotter. He expected hysterics, but she sat stoically, not saying a word.

  “It was really Cotter?” Kenna asked.

  Jake nodded. “He admitted to it. Apparently, he has a grudge against me, so like it or not, I can’t ignore him.

  Kenna’s lower lip quivered. “Is he going to kill you?”

  There was no point sugar coating it. Kenna needed to be aware of the danger they faced. “I’m sure he’ll try, but I’m going to make it hard for him.”

  Suddenly, Kenna clung to Jake for dear life. “No! I don’t want you to die. I can’t lose you.”

  Jake kissed the top of her head. “I’m going to beat Cotter, and I’m not going to let him hurt you. That’s a promise.”

  Tears formed in Kenna’s eyes. “I’m not worried about me. I’m worried about you. You don’t know how horrible it was without you. I can’t do it again.”

  Jake gently grabbed Kenna’s arms and held her back. “Look, we can’t change what happened. All we can do is stop Cotter. That means we have to talk to Mia again.”

  Kenna nodded.

  “This time, I want to have June with us. She’s super smart. She’ll be able to help us figure out a plan.”

  “I like June,” Kenna said. “I think you make a great couple.”

  Jake smiled. “I think we make a good couple, too. Bring your friends tomorrow after school. I’ll bring June.”

  Kenna nodded. “I’m really sorry.”

  “Sorry about what?”

  “All of this. It’s all my fault.”

  “Kenna, it’s not your fault. I know you wouldn’t purposely do anything destructive like that.”

  After Kenna left the room, Jake went back to visualizing his last encounter with Cotter and what he would do differently the next time they met.

  ***

  When Jake told June about contacting Mia, she told him she would skip her class to be there. Jake felt bad about it, but this was serious business. Cotter was playing for keeps.

  Jake picked her up from class and brought her to his home. They arrived before Kenna and her friends.

  Jake fixed June a glass of iced tea. These days, he was strictly drinking water or black coffee. A week and a half out from his fight, he was only seven pounds over his contracted weight and wasn’t sweating shedding the remaining pounds.

  “You ever use a Ouija board?”

  June nodded. “Sure, but it was just silly kid’s stuff. We didn’t communicate with an actual entity. We were just pushing the disc around the board and making things up.”

  “Same here. You know, I’ve always been ambivalent about the whole life after death concept. I’m not overly religious. My dad used to take us to church before he died. But mom’s not so much into it, and I suppose neither am I. Damn, if this isn’t proof of life after death, then I don’t know what is. Kind of eye opening.”

  “Well, I’ve never had a problem in believing in life after death,” June said. “After all, I had that ghost in my house I was telling you about. A little religion might be good for your soul, no pun intended.”

  Jake shrugged. “Maybe you’re right.”

  June peaked out the window. “Here they come. This is wild. I’ve never spoken to a dead person before, well except for Cotter the other night. What was it like communicating with Mia?”

  Jake paused. “Strange. The air felt electric. I don’t necessarily want to say I felt a presence, but I certainly felt something.”

  “Hmm. Well, I guess I’ll see for myself. I have to say, I’m a bit nervous.”

  Jake arched his brows. “Why? It can’t be worse than going face to face with Cotter.”

  Kenna opened the door, and she and her friends entered the house. The normally talkative group was unusually quiet.

  “You okay?” Jake asked.

  Kenna nodded. “I think so. I told them about your fight with Cotter.”

  Ben stepped up to him. “We’re real sorry he tried to kill you. We didn’t mean for this to happen.”

  Cordy hugged Jake. “It’s all our fault.”

  Kenna joined in on the hug.

  “It’s okay, guys. I’m still standing. I’m not afraid of Cotter. He’s nothing more than a thug and a bully. I’ve dealt with bullies before, and I’ve dealt with thugs in prison. We’re gonna stop this guy. It’s just a matter of figuring out how.”

  Jake tried to put on a brave face for the kids, but he wasn’t feeling it. The truth was, Cotter scared the shit out of him, and he had no clue how to stop him.

  After they broke the embrace, June put her hand on Kenna’s shoulder. “I have an important question for you and Ben. On the day Cotter came through the Ouija board, did either of you have a black out, kind of like Carlos had.”

  Ben shook his head.

  Kenna’s brow furrowed. “Well, um, I don’t know. I’m not sure what happened. It was like something smashed into me and knocked me over.”

  “You were on the floor,” Cordy said. “You were, like, out of it for a little bit.”

  “Yeah, then when you got up, that’s when Carlos started acting all mean,”
Ben said.

  Carlos put his hands in his pockets. “I said I was sorry.”

  “I don’t think that was you, but I’ll get to that later. Go back for a minute. So, Kenna, this force hit you, then what happened?”

  “She fell back into me,” Carlos said. “I remember because, like, I wasn’t expecting it. I think I tried to catch her, but she just knocked me backward.”

  June put her finger to her lip. She turned toward Jake. “That must have been what happened. Cotter went into Kenna. When she made contact with Carlos, he transferred into him. His possession of her sister was so brief that her fugue state lasted momentarily. He possessed Carlos for a longer period of time, which is why he was out of it walking around in a daze for longer. Adam was possessed for an even longer period of time.”

  Kenna looked up at June, and then Jake, with a lost look on her face. “Wh-what are you talking about?”

  June bent down so she was at eye level with Kenna. She put her hands on Kenna’s shoulders. “I think that once Cotter broke into our world, he’s been able to take over people’s bodies, and then transfer to other people.”

  “What do you mean?

  “When Carlos was being mean to the rest of you, it wasn’t Carlos. I believe what happened was that Cotter first transferred into you and briefly possessed you. My guess is that when you bumped into Carlos, Cotter transferred into Carlos and took possession of him. Then when Carlos went upstairs, he must have somehow transferred into Adam.”

  Carlos trembled. He looked like he was going to burst at the seams. “You mean he was inside of me.” Carlos shook his head furiously. No. No. No.”

  Jake clutched his shoulder. “It’s all right, man. It’s over now.”

  This hardly seemed to console Carlos, who was hyperventilating, tears streaming down his face.

  “That’s why Adam’s in jail right now,” Kenna said in a measured voice. “He didn’t actually do those things. It was Cotter who did them.”

  Jake nodded. “That’s what we think.”

  “That sucks,” Cordy said.

  “That pretty much sums up this whole situation,” Jake said. “It’s time to talk to Mia.”

  “Right,” Kenna said. “Let’s go downstairs.”