by Dean Floyd
It was hard to think, hard to move. Somehow I still had my sword at my side. I tried to rise but didn’t need to. The she-demon leapt onto the roof and pulled me up so she could rip out my heart. She looked different somehow. She was no longer the cute, deathly white twenty-something that she was earlier. And it wasn’t just the glowing red eyes. She looked older and stronger, like a woman in her prime who does CrossFit.
The skirt of her white dress fluttered in a chilling wind that swept around us. She held me by my A-shirt aiming to throw me again. I was weak but I wasn’t going down that easy. I put both my legs on her stomach and kicked away with all my might, ripping out of my shirt in the process. Hitting the roof, I rolled to my feet and unsheathed my sword in one quick motion. Thank goodness I had practiced that in Kendo class.
I raised the katana high, poised to attack. But nothing happened. I expected my newfound power to trigger again. That would have looked cool. But nothing of the sort happened. Maybe it had to recharge? If I was in a videogame I’d be able to see my magic bar. There's an idea for the new Apple watch.
I sought to conjure that feeling again, attempting to tap into the force that had filled me but it wasn’t there. Forget it, I thought. Keep fighting.
Switching to offense, I slashed at the Banshee. Her claws emerged and she defended most of my slices just fine. Moonlight gleamed off my blade and I kept up a flurry of attacks that I’d put to muscle memory when practicing with my kata. Wax on, wax off.
Her face betrayed her slight fear. She didn’t expect this much of a fight. I leapt high and brought my blade down in a vicious arc, scoring a slash. I grinned as the blade gleamed crimson. Her red eyes glared at me and grew brighter as she opened her mouth inhumanly wide again and inhaled. I had seen this attack before and sidestepped as she screamed.
I did not have time to cover my ears which proved almost fatal. I’d never seen or heard a real explosion but I imagine this was similar. Though I was out of the direct path of her sonic scream, the sound waves still hit my eardrums.
I tripped and fell, rolling down the rooftop. The roof tiles scraped my exposed back, chest, and shoulders like sandpaper. Gravity pulled me downward and I wrecked part of the drain pipe as I fell to the front lawn. The house wasn’t very tall but the wind was knocked out of me. I lay there on the lawn which was now cold and wet, the night dew aggravating scrapes along my entire back. My ears were ringing and my hand sought desperately for the sword but it was nowhere within reach.
I soon discovered that the Banshee held it. She threw the sword straight at me, intending to bury my own weapon in my chest. I barely rolled out of the way in time as the blade was planted firmly in the grass all the way up to the hilt. She lunged off of the roof and landed with nimble grace.
I stood up as she kicked me square in the chest. I tumbled back into the old giant oak tree which stopped me like a brick wall. Good old oak tree. Had it not been there I would have hit the soft grass. The bark of the oak scraped into my back even deeper than the roof but I was sort of numb now; my brain received too many pain signals.
She clawed at me and somehow I dodged, leaving the oak with scars. She attacked with her other hand and I dodged again but she caught me across the chest this time. The cuts weren’t deep but my blood was very red. Taking a moment, she licked some of my blood from her claws. She was enjoying this. She was toying with me like a cat cornering a mouse. I’m gonna die.
The front door opened and Mom stepped onto the porch. “Sean?” she screamed. Tain was at her side in an instant, bless his canine heart. He huddled low to the ground and bared his teeth at the monster. A vicious growl rose in his throat as he foamed at the mouth.
The Banshee faced Mom and Tain. Mom froze, a look of terror on her face. Move Mom, I thought. Get back inside! In moments of danger some people fight, others flee. My mom was the frozen type.
The Banshee raised her clawed hand, advancing on my mom. Tain jumped in the way, latching his jaw firmly on her arm. She shook her arm violently until Tain was sent sprawling. He yelped and then lay still.
“No!” I screamed.
I didn’t summon or even think about it. One second I lay against the oak tree feeling like I was about to die, and suddenly my left arm was glowing with raw emerald energy. Celtic knots began to form around my hand. I forgot about the pain of dying. I needed to protect my family because when push comes to shove that's what men do. Real men protect innocent people if they can help it. And I had Luck and steel to aid me.
Crossing the yard in a few wide steps I retrieved my sword with my right hand and yelled at the Banshee, stopping her in her tracks. “Don’t... you... touch her!”
The conviction in my own voice gave even me goosebumps. I snarled in rage and as she turned to face me I stabbed her in the gut, pushing the blade as far in as I could. The she-demon looked down at the sword in shock. I didn’t pause as I dipped my left shoulder and drew an uppercut that would have made Conor McGregor proud. I connected with her jaw and power erupted from my fist, sending the Banshee skyward over the bushes and into our neighbor's yard.
Mom's gaze followed the flying monster to me, her eyes widening. My power fizzled out and my fist returned to normal. That was short-lived.
I grabbed my mom by the hand. “We have to go,” I said. “Get Aiden and my car keys quick. They’re in my backpack.”
I bolted to the side of the house to retrieve the Mossberg. I was pretty sure I’d dealt the deathblow, but you never know. I ran to the front yard to find that Mom and Aiden weren’t there. What’s taking them so long? I ran inside and called out to my family.
Aiden was in the kitchen, his hands covering his mouth. He was in a t-shirt and sweatpants.
“Put your shoes on, kid. We’re leaving.” He ran to grab his shoes. Mom frantically searched through my backpack. She saw me standing there and explained, “I can’t find the keys.” I took the backpack from her. “Grab your purse and let's get the heck out of here.”
They gathered their things and returned. Mom was behind me with her purse and Aiden was behind, carrying a bat.
“Good thinking. That might come in handy,” I said. I fetched the keys from my backpack, on the porch under the moonlight. Next to my car, Tain rose on all fours and shook himself off. I love that dog. He’s made of tougher stuff.
“We’re all good,” I said. “Let’s go.”
I didn’t know where we were heading, but we needed to leave and catch our breath. Mom closed the door and we all piled in the Mustang. As I was getting in the car, leaves of the bush shook behind me. Tain snarled. Mom looked past me and screamed.
I fired up the Mustang. No time for seat belts! I threw it in reverse and mashed on the gas pedal. I gathered speed, then cranked the steering wheel and whipped the 'Stang around like a boss. I threw it into gear and drove off.
Another terrible scream echoed behind us and the back window of my car cracked as if a large rock hit it but didn’t shatter.
Chapter 5
Monsters Are Real
Mom was pale as a ghost and she held the handle above her door. Aiden had a mixed look of awestruck wonder and pure terror as he held onto Tain. The situation was insane but we escaped.
I felt relief wash over me and sighed. It was done. For now. The house was probably ruined but the monster lady was behind us now.
“Is everyone okay?” I asked.
“Are we okay?” my mom asked. “Are we OKAY? What was that woman?”
I took a deep breath. “I don’t know. A Banshee I guess,” I said it quietly.
“Like from Irish mythology?” asked Aiden.
I nodded.
“Her eyes were glowing, and so was your...” my mom trailed off.
“Yeah... about that,” I started but didn’t really know what to say. Hey Mom, I have super powers now. Okay, not super powers, magic. Same diff. Yeah, right. Even in my head it sounded stupid. It got awkwardly quiet real fast.
“When this settles over tomorrow, I’m going t
o call...”
“You’re not calling anyone, Mom. Okay? This is over. Not the cops, not the psych hospital. No one.”
My mom’s mouth hung open.
“I don’t mean to be so harsh, Mom. There’s monsters out there. That’s the reality.”
She rolled her eyes. “I know there’s monsters. Serial killers, rapists, murderers, thieves.”
“No, Mom. I mean actual monsters. Demons. And apparently Banshees.”
“Don’t say that in front of Aiden.”
“It’s okay Mom,” he interjected. “I’m not scared.”
“Yeah see, Mom? He’s old enough.”
“No,” she said. “He is old enough to not believe in monsters. There are no monsters.”
“Then what do you call that thing back there, Mom? It was trying to kill us.”
“All I saw was a woman with bloodshot eyes. Obviously a druggie,” said Mom. “People can do crazy things when they have drugs pumping through their bodies.”
“Drugs? Come on, Mom. Still living after I shanked her with my whole katana?”
“Perhaps,” Mom began, “she was on PCP.”
We were on Highway 12 now and we had just passed everything from a Black Bear Diner to Jack in the Crack and Popeye’s Chicken. I was reminded of my mortality. Backyard brawls really work up my appetite.
“I know,” interrupted Aiden. “She was a zombie. That’s why she didn’t die.”
“Zombies aren't real,” I said. Actually, all preconceived notions of reality had just been shattered so maybe they were real. “But demons are. As real as you and me. They prey on weak-willed people. People like us. Just weaker. And when they advance they move onto stronger willed people until they’re ready to possess anyone.”
I took a second to look her in the eyes. “What if monsters are real, Mom? What if we assumed man was at the top of the food chain? We’ve created weapons since the Stone Age. We’ve hunted the most dangerous prey and come out on top. Lions and tigers and bears. But what if we’ve gotten complacent? We have guns now and nuclear warfare. We have drones.
“But what if we’re not the only sentient beings on top? We're not even on top. There is always a bigger predator. ” I was talking faster and faster, like a conspiracy theorist hopped up on caffeine.
“What are you talking about?” Mom asked.
“What am I talking about? I’m talking about what’s going on. Open your eyes. The thing that attacked us looked like a woman but sure didn’t act like one. She was dang near unstoppable.” I looked at Aiden, trying to get some support. He looked like he agreed with me, but I could tell he was suppressing a confused look.
“Come on! Demons, monsters. Things that raise the hair on our necks in the dark.”
They still looked confused. I eyed my mom. “I never told anyone this but the night that Anna passed away...”
“Enough!” My mom said. She was furious. I knew I had gone too far. I bit my lower lip.
We sat in silence for a few moments. I spoke up again, “A while back something happened to me and I noticed that I have these abilities, this power now.”
“Like Spiderman?” asked Aiden.
I glared at him. “Anyways. I noticed that I can sense these things. These predators in disguise.”
Mom looked at me like I was troubled.
“Hear me out, please. So as I was saying, I started sensing these faux people and the feelings wouldn’t go away so I had to do something about it. I‘ve been trained in martial arts. I figured, what the heck? Why not follow the feeling one time and see where it leads.”
“Well look where we are now,” said my mom.
“Look Mom, I get it if you don’t want to believe me but...”
“I believe you,” said Aiden.
“I don’t need you to believe!” I yelled. “I need Mom to believe me.”
It got really quiet. I’d gone too far again and hurt his feelings. He blinked a few times. Oh don’t cry little buddy. But the damage was already done. He looked out the window, not wanting me to see his eyes water.
The clock read close to eleven thirty. Geez, this night was never going to end. I just wanted to get home, crawl into bed, and fall asleep for a few hours. I was going to have to call in sick to work tomorrow.
Mom spoke up, “So what if these things are real? You expect me to sleep at night knowing that you’re out there following your gut and brushing up against death? You’re going to get yourself killed. I can’t lose another child. I already lost your sister. Your brother barely visits. Your father...”
That was the straw that broke the camel's back. She started crying.
“Awe Mom. Geez.” But I knew it was good for her. It was late. If I were in my mom’s shoes I would probably think that I was losing it. Except for all of the supernatural screams and glowing eyes. That part would have given me pause. But my mom was tired, emotionally drained and probably coming down off of an adrenaline rush. Now came floods of different emotions.
“I’m sorry, Mom. You’re not gonna lose me. I’m trying to save the family, not tear it apart.”
She was weeping. I wasn’t sure how to respond. I didn’t have any experience of what to do after you’d just stabbed a monster and uppercut them with a magic fist.
We passed some housing on the right side of the highway. I pulled up to a red light and stopped in the right lane. In my rearview I saw a pickup truck pulling up to the stop light in the left lane next to me. My Banshee senses went off and my stomach dropped.
As the truck pulled up to the light, I saw the Banshee leap from her hiding place in the truck bed and fly through the air. My sword was no longer in her gut because it pierced the roof of my car and slid down right between my mom and I. Everyone in the car screamed and I mashed on the gas, blowing through the red light.
Chapter 6
Big Rig vs Banshee
My mind was racing. As best as I could I swerved the car between the two lanes of the highway, trying to lose the Banshee but she held on fast. The good thing was if she held onto the sword it meant that she couldn’t remove it and try to stab us again. What do I do?
A turn off was up ahead on the right hand side. I remembered that next to the AM PM gas station was an empty lot full of gravel and dead brown grass that truckers sometimes used to turn out for the night. “Hold on everyone.”
I slowed down and entered the turn, then mashed on the gas and yanked the wheel to the right, pulling off of the asphalt and into the gravel. The g-force made all of our stomachs drop as the tires screamed in protest. In my side mirror I saw the Banshee fly off and roll several feet before hitting the gravel. I slammed on the breaks and whipped the car a complete 180 degrees, facing the she-devil and the highway. Thick dust lingered in the air.
“Sean, what are you doing? Keep driving!” said Mom.
I shook my head, “She’ll just keep catching us.” I opened my door, stood on the frame and retrieved my katana. She put a hole in my car! My baby! Ducking back into the car I handed the sword to Aiden. “Careful with that.”
The Banshee lay partially in the weeds but she was recovering. I kept revving the engine with my other foot on the brake as I ejected the Boston CD. I had Aiden pass me my CD binder and selected Metallica Ride the Lightning and put on For Whom the Bell Tolls. Boston is feel-good. Metallica is throw-down.
The Banshee staggered to stand and I let off the brakes and accelerated. The ‘Stang leapt into action and everyone screamed. Even Tain barked. But I had a plan. When you're in the driver seat and you're doing something crazy, it’s okay because you're still in control. Although, I’m sure everyone else was terrified.
Flipping on the high-beams, I blinded the she-demon. We smashed into the monster with a disgusting sound. She was halfway on the hood but her legs dragged under the car. She punctured more holes in the hood with her clawed hands. The engine grew louder as I increased the speed. One second she was there and the next she lost her grip and slipped. I felt vibrations under my feet as w
e ran her over but I heard more claws on metal and my heart sank.
Tain growled, looking out my back window. “She’s holding on still!” yelled Aiden.
She had indeed slid underneath and held onto the trunk like Indiana Jones. In the rearview my eyes locked onto hers and I almost felt searing hatred. I would lose her on a wild turn again.
I spun the car around in a donut to shake her but she had sunk her claws into my trunk. I looked at Aiden through my rearview mirror, his eyes widened. It was time for something drastic.
Exiting the donut, I drove back towards Highway 12 again passing the AM PM. Up ahead the light was green. If I turned right I could barrel down the highway and eventually she’d fall off. I sped up to 55 mph. 60 mph. 65 mph. I’d have to be careful of highway patrol out here though. In these backwoods suburbs like Suisun they have nothing better to do than issue speeding tickets.
“Slow down,” said Mom. “You won't make the turn. We’ll die!”
“I've gotta take this light.” As I spoke it turned yellow. Bob Saget! I was approaching too fast to slow down in time but not fast enough to run a red light. Running through it could lead to a full-on, massive car pileup.
The light turned red. I had about a millisecond to decide. No one crossed the intersection because no one was there. As soon as I trip it the light will turn green, I thought. It has to.
“Hold tight. Say your prayers.” Just then, the fast riff of the song kicked in and James Hetfield belted out, “For whom the bell tollllllllllls!”
“Yeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhaaaaa!” I screamed.
As we neared the intersection however, I discovered I'd misjudged the intersection’s absence of cars. To my left was a big rig. He was in the first lane, closest to my ‘Stang. If I shot past him and got into the second lane we’d be off to Vallejo. I wasn’t going fast though. He already had a green light and was blowing full steam ahead.
Behind me the Banshee eyed the big rig. I cracked a wicked smile. We both knew what was coming. “That’s right, b-,”