by Paul Seiple
“He didn’t disappear,” Debbie said. “Aura took the body.”
“Of course she did,” Noah said.
He rubbed his forehead with the palm of his hand and walked away. Jaime went with him.
“I know it’s hard to take in,” she said.
“Hard to take in? I’ve seen a witch pulled a shadow from a kid and watched his body disappear. And that’s all within the last thirty minutes,” Noah said.
The hood of the bus opened. No one was near the bus. Smoke bellowed from the engine.
“I guess this is normal, too?” Noah asked.
“There’s nothing normal about this, Noah, but it’s very real. There are things in this world that you can’t arrest,” Jaime said.
Debbie walked towards Noah. “Here’s what’s going to happen… when I wake the passengers, they’re only going to remember the accident. There will be no recollection of the violence.”
“Except that there are five dead people,” Noah said. “How do you explain that?”
“Unfortunately, we can’t bring them back to life,” Mason said.
“Casualties are an ongoing product of the war against evil,” Don said.
“We will do our best to comfort the families,” Debbie said. “But, Don’s right. I wish it didn’t have to be this way. Right now, we need to protect those people…” Debbie pointed to the passengers. “… and do everything in our power to make sure more people aren’t infected.”
Noah ran his fingers through his hair again and walked away. Jaime took a step toward him, but Debbie stopped her.
“Let him go. He needs to figure this out on his own,” Debbie said.
Thirty-Six
Sam grew dizzy, watching the speed of Jack’s fingers as he swiped through the phone.
“How did you learn all this? I can’t even find Candy Crush on my phone,” Sam said.
Jack gave Sam a look of irritation. “Give me your phone.”
“No way. You’ll probably put something like a key fogger on it,” Sam said.
“It’s called a key logger, and I don’t care what type of porn an old man is into,” Jack said.
“You’re a little too young to be talking like that,” Sam said.
“I can complete advanced level college courses in a week. I don’t need you to question my age.”
“He’s right. He just turned in his dissertation for a phd in mathematics,” Pamela said.
“She means my doctoral thesis,” Jack said. He snatched Sam’s phone from the arm of a recliner.
“Hey,” Sam said.
“Relax. The latest OS update lumps all your apps into folders. Developers seem to think they know what’s best for everyone,” Jack said. He handed the phone back to Sam.
“What do you do?” Sam asked.
“I put the game on your home screen so you can access it easier without asking for someone’s help,” Jack said.
“Thank God,” Derek said.
Sam opened the game. “Thanks, kid.”
“No problem. Even an average twelve-year-old can do that,” Jack said. He returned his attention to his own phone and swiped at a blurring pace.
“What’s he doing?” Derek asked.
“I’m fully capable of answering questions,” Jack said. “I sent Julian a direct message with a link to a post about chaos magic. I embedded a logger in the link so now I can trace his every move.”
“I told you he could do something like that,” Sam said, without taking his eyes off his phone.
“I stole 300,000 dollars' worth of bitcoin. Or course, I’m capable of that,” Jack said. “OK, he’s at his apartment at the moment. I’m not sure how long he’ll stay there. He’s pretty frantic.”
“I’ll call Don,” Lanky said.
Mason read through his emails. Don stretched his back against the door frame. Jaime listened to voice mails. Kim and Terrence excused themselves for a quick walk and a bit of fresh air. Remi was passed out on the couch.
“This is just another day for ya’ll, huh?” Noah asked.
“You get used to it,” Debbie said as she waved burning sage around the room.
“I don’t think I could ever get used to a demon stalking me,” Noah said.
“Son, demons are always closer than you think,” Mason said.
“Yeah, I’ll stick to real world crime,” Noah said.
“Sometimes we’re not given that choice,” Debbie said.
“So those people will never remember what happened on that bus?” Noah asked.
“No. It’s not even part of their memory any longer,” Debbie said. “Look, I know it’s weird, but it’s for the best. Not everyone needs to know about what lurks in the shadows. I’m not even sure you need to know.”
“Are you going to wipe my mind when this is over?" Noah asked.
“Do you want me to?” Debbie asked.
Don’s phone rang before Noah could answer.
“Lanky. Tell me you have some good news,” Don said.
The smile flashing across Don’s face told everyone else there was good news.
“We found him. He’s back at his apartment,” Don said.
“Let’s go,” Mason said, putting his laptop back into his bag.
“I’ll get Kim and Terrence,” Remi said, sitting up.
“Wait, do we even have a plan? This kid has a demon inside of him and can pass it on to others,” Noah said.
“This is not our first demon, son,” Mason said, patting Noah on his shoulder.
“You can sit this one out if you want to,” Jaime said.
“I’ve never quit a case. I will not start now, but if I get possessed…”
“Don’t let Paulsen touch you, and you’ll be fine,” Debbie said.
Thirty-Seven
Julian Paulsen slammed his phone down against the couch.
“Fucking trolls. I hate them. That link was bullshit.”
The burning in his cheeks was nearly unbearably. Julian felt as though he were boiling from the inside. It wasn’t heat in the normal sense. It was as if he was being cooked alive.
Moments of clarity were becoming more scarce. The rage had taken over his body. Everything pissed him off.
“I gotta figure this out,” he said.
“The only way to satiate the beast inside is to pass it along.”
Julian wanted to punch the old lady, relaxing in a recliner and watching television.
“Why don’t you just shut the hell up?”
The old woman muted the television. “Why don’t you just shut the hell up?”
“Oh, so now you’re being childish, repeating whatever I say?" Julian asked.
“I am you, Julian,” the old lady said.
Julian pounded the palm of his hand against his forehead.
“Who’s being a child now?” the old woman asked.
“Can I get one moment of peace?” Julian asked, as he stood up and went to the bathroom to pee.
“Nope,” the old woman said, standing beside the shower.
He saw her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Julian shattered the glass with his fist. A piece broke off into his knuckles, sending drops of blood all over the white linoleum floor.
“Pass it along. You’ll feel better,” the old woman said.
Julian wrapped a towel around his hand and looked into the broken mirror. His reflection was distorted in the cracked glass. He laughed. The mirror didn’t need to be in pieces to tell him it was a representation of his life.
Julian was falling apart.
A knock on the door brought Julian back to reality.
“Pass it along,” the old woman said again.
“Let me do the talking… at least at first," Noah said.
Everyone else backed up.
“Julian Paulsen, I’m Detective Noah Wright. I need you to open the door.”
“Cops,” Julian said. “What the hell am I going to do?”
“Show them your rage,” the old woman said.
Another knock.
&nbs
p; “I’m not going away,” Noah said.
“For Christ’s sake, he’s practically begging for it,” the old woman said.
The fire inside Julian burned hotter. It felt as though flames raced up his throat. He dry-heaved. A dark plume exploded from his mouth and splattered against the wall. He fell to his knees.
The shadow took on a human shape. Julian tingled as if a jolt of electricity hit him.
“Answer the goddamn door.”
The words were deep, forceful, and rattled Julian to his core. He knew better than to disobey the True Self.
“Paulsen, this is the last time I’m going to ask you.” Noah said.
The door swung open. Julian grabbed Noah’s wrists.
“No,” Jaime said.
“Come on in, detective,” Julian said. He threw Noah into the apartment and slammed the door.
Noah tumbled and hit his head against the corner of a television stand. He reached for his gun, but Julian blocked his hand.
“No guns in a fistfight.” Julian tossed the revolver across the room and punched Noah in the nose. His eyes watered, making it hard to see Julian.
Julian grabbed Noah by the arm and lifted him to his feet before slamming him against a wall. Noah’s head smacked hard enough to break the drywall. He briefly lost consciousness.
“What are you hiding, detective?” Julian asked.
“He touched him,” Jaime said, turning the knob. The door was locked.
“Watch out,” Terrence said. He kicked the door just beside the knob. It splintered and swung open.
“Be careful,” Kim said to Terrence.
Terrence entered the room with his gun drawn. Julian towered over Noah, who was just coming back around.
“Step away from him. Don’t make me shoot you,” Terrence said.
Julian faced Terrence. His pupils were shiny black. He smiled. Julian’s mouth was full of darkness. He started toward Terrence.
“Shooting him will do no good,” Debbie said, moving into the apartment. “If he dies, the True Self will try to enter the closest person… and that’s you.”
“You probably should have told me that before I broke the door down,” Terrence said.
“How many times do I have to tell you, bullets don’t work on demons,” Debbie said.
Noah struggled to his feet. He grabbed a lamp and broke it over Julian’s head. Julian dropped to a knee. Noah grabbed him by the shoulders and rammed him into a wall. Noah held his forearm against Julian’s throat. He pressed harder, knowing that at any moment he could crush Julian’s windpipe. It felt good. That scared Noah.
Julian smiled as blood trickled from his nose. “Ah, you’re a rager too, aren’t you, detective?”
Noah pressed harder against Julian’s neck.
“Fight it, Noah,” Debbie said. “If you kill him, the True Self can enter you.”
“He touched me. It’s already in me,” Noah said.
“A projection of it is in you. If you kill Julian, the elemental will transfer to you. Back off,” Debbie said.
Noah loosened his hold on Julian. It gave Julian the opportunity to break free. He shoved Noah to the side and lunged at Terrence.
“Look out, Terrence,” Kim said, entering the apartment.
An end table elevated a few feet from the floor. It smashed against Julian’s face as Terrence dove out of harm’s way. Julian fell back. Debbie chanted and held her palms toward Julian. His arms and legs pressed against the floor.
“What are you doing to me, witch?” Julian asked. It was no longer his voice.
“Practicing protection,” Debbie said.
Julian struggled, but the invisible restraints were too strong. Pressure against his chest felt like an elephant tap dancing on him. Breathing became difficult as a lump lodged in his throat.
“You’re killing me,” Julian said.
“You killed yourself when you summoned the True Self,” Debbie said. “I’m freeing your soul.”
Noah sat with his back against the wall, in awe of what was happening. He felt something crawling on the skin of his forearm. He looked down to see black lines just beneath the surface, climbing his arm. An anger that Noah had never felt wrapped around him. He looked at Terrence and imagined ripped his beating heart from his chest.
Terrence got to his feet with help from Kim.
“You OK?” she asked.
Terrence nodded.
Noah sprung to his feet and ran at Terrence. Kim shoved Terrence away. Another small table flew and connected with Noah’s head. He crumpled at Kim’s feet.
Debbie never turned her attention away from Julian, who was convulsing from the pain of the True Self ravaging his body. His heart thumped against his chest. Julian’s arms and legs went numb. His gut was on fire from the parasite burrowing deeper inside of him.
“Get Terrence out of here. Get everyone away from the apartment,” Debbie said.
Kim helped Terrence to his feet.
“What about Noah?” Jaime asked from the hall.
“He can’t leave,” Remi said, cupping Jaime’s elbow and pulling her from the doorway.
Once Kim and Terrence were outside of the apartment. The door slammed shut. It sealed as if Terrence had never splintered it.
“It’s just you and me now,” Debbie said.
Julian’s neck flesh bubbled from the heat. The inside of his mouth boiled as the True Self exited his body. The room went black, making it impossible to see.
“I lost my sight so that I could see this,” Debbie said.
“What are you babbling about, witch?”
“Oh, nothing.” Debbie saw the shadow climb the wall beside her. “Are we going to play hide-and-seek now?”
Arms reached through the shadow. The True Self grabbed at Debbie. A shock hit the shadow. It dispersed into tiny pieces before forming again on the opposite side of the room.
“Did you think I would be dumb enough not to conjure a protection spell?” Debbie asked. “It’s over. You cannot enter me.”
The True Self paced against the wall like a caged tiger. Debbie saw its every move in the darkness.
“You bitch.”
“Don’t lose your cool,” Debbie said.
The True Self rushed her again with the same results when it hit her protection shield. Tiny particles rose to the ceiling. The shadow formed above Debbie like the blackest cloud.
A small green orb lit the room before Aura took the shape of a human.
“Nice work,” Aura said.
“Be careful. It’s a little pissed,” Debbie said.
“Probably has issues with women in charge,” Aura said.
The True Self dove into Aura.
“Oh, no, don’t do that,” Debbie said.
Aura winked and disappeared. The darkness faded as if someone flipped a light switch. Debbie glanced at Julian’s lifeless body. She felt empathy, but the kid did it to himself.
Noah coughed, drawing her attention. Debbie bent to a knee next to Noah. “How do you feel?” she asked.
“Like a truck ran over me and backed up to finish the job,” Noah said.
“Yeah, that’s called the demon hangover,” Debbie said.
Noah looked at his arm. The dark lines were fading. “So, it’s no longer inside of me?”
“It’s gone. Everyone who was infected who we hadn’t found yet should be fine. Maybe a headache for a bit though.”
“And those that died?”
“They died, Noah. There is no coming back from death,” Debbie said.
Noah focused on Julian’s body as he lay face down on the floor. Darkness was like no evil Noah had ever encountered. He was relieved the True Self was no longer a threat, but scared to death of what still lurked in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
“Let’s get you out of here and to a doctor,” Debbie said, helping Noah to his feet. “Your nose is a scary sight.”
“What about him?”
“That’s Don’s area of expertise,” D
ebbie said.
Thirty-Eight
Lanky read through Sam’s journal while Derek jotted notes about what happened in the car. Sam flipped through the channels, trying to find the Tarheels game.
“I can’t believe Don was too cheap to spring for the sports package,” Sam said.
Lanky closed the journal. “Tell me again why you think this Adam Brightside case has anything to do with what happened at your house?”
“It has nothing to do with it. Derek is trying to sneak some more of that sensationalized crap into one of my stories,” Sam said.
“On the drive here, the radio went haywire. Sam turned it off. It turned itself back on to a song called ‘Mr. Brightside’,” Derek said.
Lanky looked at Sam.
“Hey, I’m not saying that isn’t a little coincidental,” Sam said.
“So, they found Brightside in a hot tub in an abandoned hotel?” Lanky asked.
“Yeah, a boutique hotel called The Nerve. Squatters took it over. I figured it was a drug deal gone south. Brightside wasn’t the first body found at that place. But I didn’t need to be a medical examiner to figure out the cause of the death when I saw the slash across his neck,” Sam said.
“What made the case so hard to solve?” Lanky asked.
“You’d be surprised, but Sam had quite a few cold cases,” Derek said.
“Hey, stick to the made-up stories, Gallagher,” Sam said. He turned to Lanky. “I couldn’t find much about Brightside. To be honest, I doubt it’s his real name. His license claimed he was from Rock Hill, South Carolina, but the address was a bust. A family had lived at that address for twenty years and had never heard of Brightside. Any lead led to a dead end. And no one reported him missing.”
“I can’t believe there’s no strawberry jelly in this house,” Jack said, walking into the room with a plate and an open-faced sandwich. "How am I supposed to eat a peanut butter and jelly without the jelly? I don’t have to be a genius to explain that jelly is the key ingredient in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.”
“Grape jelly,” Sam said. “No one puts strawberry jelly on peanut butter.”
“You’re a neanderthal,” Jack said.