Authors: John Conroe
Thanksgiving was fast approaching (which Gramps was coming down for) and the skies stayed mostly gunmetal gray. I was helping Chet with setting up a new piece of equipment that was
supposed to
measure neutrinos. He was working on particle physics
,
a direction first hinted at by Dr. Singh,
Olivia appeared in the doorway, excited and bearing news.
“The Inspector just called. He and Fran have confirmed a demonic haunting in the Bronx.”
She handed me a slip of paper with the address on it, then stepped back a little breathless. It took me a second to realize that she was watching me for a reaction. I turned to Chet and he was doing the same thing.
“What? It’s just a demon,” I said.
Chet snorted. “Just a demon he says. You hear that ‘Liv, ‘just a demon’? Dude, this is our first chance to see you in action.”
“Whoa there cowboy. No one is going in with me. It doesn’t work that way,” I said.
“Yeah, but you can wear that new Chris Cam I put together. And I can send my little robot in to measure EMF, radiation, and all kinda stuff!”
“Yeah, I suppose.”
Sooner than I anticipated we were at the scene. The entire team was assembled and as Chet wired me up for video and sound, Fran and Roma gave me the run down.
“Family just moved in,” he pointed to a black couple holding two kids. “Landlord offered them a hell of a deal on rent. They were no sooner in, when all hell broke loose. Both kids scratched, bedroom doors shutting themselves and resisting all efforts to open them, you know, that kinda thing.”
Roma was almost as excited as Chet, who was now sending his little tracked remote controlled robot in with a complete sensor suite.
“Fran, tell him what you sensed.”
“It’s mean, maybe a six on the scale,” her voice dropped to a whisper. “And I think it knows you are here.”
“Good. Makes things easier. Did you get a name?” I asked, in a normal voice.
She nodded and handed m
e a slip of paper with the word
magottus
on it
.
I grimaced at the name.
“What’s the matter, is it a bad one?” Fran asked.
“Nah, its name sounds like squished maggots! Can’t these things every sound normal?” I smiled to let her see I was joking. “Alright, let me chat with the kids a minute and let’s get this party started!”
The boys were four and six, and quick to jump in with names for the mountain lion fetish I pulled from my rollout bag. The four-year old was in favor of ‘Big Kitty’ but the six-year old
was heavily lobbying for ‘Alex’ after the lion character in
Madagasca
r. I tried for a compromise.
“How about ‘Big Alex’?” I asked.
Something in my voice must have conveyed my diminishing patience, because the both agreed.
“All right. I’m heading in. Don’t get too comfortable, this shouldn’t take long.”
As I climbed the steps I could feel a chill emanating from the house, a chill that had nothing to do with the deepening gloom of the November evening. A hostile presence awaited me within. Suddenly, I felt another presence arriving behind
me, to the high pitched howl of
a German motorcycle, and turning, I looked at the lithe form riding it. She pulled off her helmet and her electric blue eyes sparked in the darkness. From the corner of my eye, I could see the team looking at her in surprise. But her gaze never strayed from mine. I smiled and winked, then spoke softly, knowing she would hear me above the noises of the city.
“Don’t go anywhere, I’ll be right back.”
For the first time in my life, as I did what I was born to do, I had friends behind me and a girl waiting for me. I smiled to myself as I walked through the open door.
“Hey Magottus! Get your greeeeasy ass out here!”
The door slammed itself behind me.
The End
Look for Chris and Tanya in book 2, Demon Driven.
271