Demonspawn (6 page)

No sooner did the words leave my mouth when
Alicia hugged Tom's neck and kissed him.

“Aww,” Cindy said. “We're gonna have serious
girl talk later.”

“Hey, where the hell is your man? You giving
me a hard time about slow dancing. I haven't seen you two dance at
all yet.”

She shrugged. “Don't know where he is. He
said he had to take care of something. Then ran off on that stupid
cell phone of his.”

It wasn't so much what she said, but how she
said it. I knew something was up.

“Everything okay with you two?”

She hesitated and wouldn't look at me. “I
don't think so.”

“You want to talk about it?”

“No.”

That was all I needed to hear. We sat in
silence for a minute or so.

“Alex, I'm being serious here. Are you gonna
dance with someone tonight or not?”

That came out of nowhere. I gave her a
confused look.

“I don't think I'll lose much sleep if I
don't, Cindy.”

“Well, remember when your Mom called
yesterday and I answered the phone?”

I nodded. No big deal there. Mom usually
called a few times a week when she was away. And Cindy was over the
house a lot. She talked to Mom just as much as I did.

“She told me that if you weren't coming with
a date, that I had to make sure you danced with someone and get
some pictures.”

“What? Will
she
lose sleep or
something?”

She shrugged defensively. “Hey, don't look at
me. I'm just repeating what she said.”

I shook my head. I'd have to give Mom a hard
time when she got back.

“So, look. I talked it over with Daryl. He's
cool with us dancing one song.”

I wrinkled my face. “What? Are you kidding
me?”

“Don't look so disgusted. I was the first
person you danced with anyway. Remember?”

I did remember. We were seven years old, in
her backyard. Cindy wanted to practice so she could ask Danny
Thompson to the dance.

“Yeah. I still have nightmares about it
sometimes.”

“Oh, you're so damn funny. Come on, this
song's half over. I want to at least say we danced a little so your
Mom won't kill me.”

I reluctantly let her grab my hand and pull
me forward. I knew if I didn't give in she'd bug me about it
forever. She led me over near Alicia. I felt awkward as hell. I'm
not much of a slow dancer anyway. Plus Cindy was my best friend who
had a boyfriend.

“Come on,” she said as she put a hand on my
shoulder. “White boys can at least slow dance, can't they?”

“I'm sure a lot of them can.”

“Jesus, Alex. You've done this before.”

She grabbed my hands and put them on her
hips. Then she wrapped her hands around my neck. I made sure to
stand as far away as I possibly could.

“You take my breath away.”

“Huh? What?”

“That's the song that played in my backyard.
When we first danced.”

I smiled. “Oh yeah. I remember. Your father
sneaked up behind you while I tried not to laugh. Then he scared
you and you cried like a little girl.”

“I
was
a little girl, you
asshole.”

Alicia and Tom made their way closer to us. I
didn't even see them till she spoke.

“Be careful, Cindy,” she said. “I don't think
Alex has touched a girl in a while. He might try to hump your leg
or something.”

“I'm sorry, did we break up your
tonsil-hockey game?” I said.

Alicia's face turned red. Tom tried not to
laugh. His shyness seemed to be gone.

Then Alicia did something weird. I saw her
eyes go to Cindy, then back to me, then she smiled. I wasn't sure I
wanted to know what was going on in that blond head of hers.

I saw something out of the corner of my eye
that caught my attention. Someone was waving near the doors that
led back into the school away from the gym. When they saw I was
looking at them, they waved more frantically, then started
motioning for me.

I squinted to see who it was. I felt my heart
beat faster. I could start to see some features I recognized. Long
brown hair, wearing long blue-jeans and a blue blouse. She was
wearing the exact same clothes from when I'd first met her.

It was Susan.

I just froze. For a second I doubted what I
was seeing. But when she realized that I saw her, I could see
Susan's motions getting more frustrated. Finally, she pointed right
at me, then gestured for me to follow her. She disappeared through
the doors and took a right out of eyesight down the hall.

Cindy was talking to me.

“Hello? Alex? I'm right here. Damn, no wonder
you can't get a girlfriend.”

I grabbed her hand and looked at Alicia. She
was in the middle of a kissing session with Tom. I decided to leave
her alone.

“Whoa. What's up?” Cindy said.

I didn't say anything. I led her across the
floor toward where I saw Susan. We stepped through the open doors
into the hallway.

“What's going on?”

“I need to make sure I'm not crazy.”

“You've always been crazy.”

I looked in the direction I saw Susan
walking. I caught a glimpse of a foot disappearing around the
corner at the end of the hall.

“Come on.”

I let go of her hand and jogged. Cindy tried
to keep up, but her shoes weren't exactly made for running. Her
heels echoed in the empty school hallway. A feeling of dread crept
over me. I was chasing a ghost in an empty school. Cindy's shoes
being the only sound made everything more creepy.

I made it to the end of the hall first. I
turned to see the door leading upstairs to the second floor just
coming to a close, about ten feet away.

“Alex? Where the hell are we going?”

I slowly opened the door leading upstairs
while Cindy stood a few feet behind me. I was cautious, like
something could jump out at me at any second. The stairwell was
dimly lit. There was a window at the top that let in a lot of light
during the day, but not now.

“Alex? Any day now.”

I looked at my best friend. She had her arms
impatiently crossed in front of her.

“Do you trust me?”

She didn't hesitate. “Alex, we've known each
other since we were five. What do you think? Tell me what the hell
is going on.”

I thought about the absurdity of what I saw.
A woman, a
ghost
, waving at me across the school gym floor
where two hundred couples danced.

“I'm not sure I trust myself right now.”

I walked up the stairs. I heard Cindy take a
deep breath behind me and follow me. My own footsteps sounded
ominous in the hallway. Cindy's heels sounded just the same. I felt
her grab my hand from behind.

We made it to the door guarding the upstairs.
It creaked as I pushed it open slowly. The lights were off on the
second floor. I guess no one felt the need to turn them on,
considering the dance was in the gym.

“Christ. Who knew school could be so scary,”
Cindy whispered behind me.

There was some light coming from our left. I
turned and felt my breath get caught in my chest.

Susan stood there, about halfway down the
hall. She was looking into the only lit classroom on the floor.

Cindy poked her head out under mine. We both
were looking in the same direction, but we weren't seeing the same
thing.

“Wow. Miss Munroe teaching Spanish late
tonight?”

“You don't see her, do you?”

“See who?”

I didn't respond, as there was no need to.
The only thing Cindy saw was light from a classroom spilling out
into the hallway. I saw that, plus a woman who was dead, murdered
by her husband who had been possessed by a demon.

Susan turned her head toward me. She smiled,
but I could see there was no happiness in it. She gestured with her
head toward the classroom.

Then she was gone.

“Let's go see what's up,” Cindy said, and
took a step in front of me.

“Whoa, whoa.” I grabbed her shoulders to stop
her. Then I took the lead.

“Wow, Alex. You're my hero.”

We walked toward the classroom, moving as
quietly as we could. As we drew closer we could hear some sounds.
It took me a moment to recognize it as moaning. I heard some
rubbing, then what sounded like a belt coming off.

Cindy smiled. “Looks like someone couldn't
wait till the dance was over. Let's see who it is.”

Somehow, deep down, I knew who at least one
of them was. I tried to reach out and stop Cindy, but I was too
late. As her face went into the light I watched her amused smile
turn to shock and horror.

She stood up and stormed into the room.

“What the fuck is this?!”

I was a step behind her. I already had an
idea of what I'd see. Daryl was sitting in Miss Munroe's chair. His
shirt was unbuttoned and his belt on the floor. Straddling his lap
was Tiffany Sears, a senior whose reputation with the guys was well
known. Her dress was pulled up to her hips, revealing white
panties, and one strap was off. I can only imagine what the scene
would be like if we came five minutes later.

“Cindy!” Daryl said. His eyes said it all. He
quickly forced Tiffany off his lap. She straightened her dress.
“Look, I can explain-”

“Can't anyone get any privacy anymore?”
Tiffany said.

I didn't even have the chance to be stunned
before Cindy gave Tiffany a look that could kill.

“You're in a fucking school classroom,
bitch!”

“Don't you call me a bitch!”

Tiffany slapped Cindy with an open palm.
Daryl started to get out of his sex-chair. I managed to take a step
forward before Cindy struck back, although it wasn't with an open
palm. She punched Tiffany square under the eye. Tiffany reeled back
a few steps and fell on her ass.

I was surprised to see Daryl raise his fist.
He had a dangerous look in his eye, and he was looking at
Cindy.

He never had a chance to swing, although I
believe that's exactly what he was gonna do. I was in front of
Cindy faster than I would have thought possible. I had a hand
around Daryl's throat and the other locked around his wrist. Daryl
was a few inches taller than me and could easily have broken my
grip. But he didn't. Seeing him raise his fist to my best friend
made my mind go blank. His knees actually buckled before he
stumbled back into the chair.

“I don't need this,” Tiffany said. She
climbed to her feet and stormed out of the room.

“Come back here!” Cindy was only a few steps
behind her.

I stood there staring at Daryl. I was furious
for only a few seconds longer. Then I noticed the look Daryl was
giving me as he rubbed his neck.

He was terrified.

His face had a look like he'd just seen a
monster. And he was staring right at me. What did I do exactly?
Just force him to sit down? Or did he see something about me that
the girls missed?

He finally recovered enough to get out of the
chair. He circled around me to the door, but never took his eyes
off me. I was just scared from the look he gave me. I couldn't move
myself.

“Wait, Cindy!” he said. “We have to
talk!”

Daryl ran out of the classroom. I was ready
to follow when I felt a hand grab my shoulder. I spun to see
Susan.

“Don't, Alex,” she said. “Cindy will be
alright.”

I was speechless for a moment. Susan was
amused by my reaction. She smiled, then shrugged sheepishly.

“Stop staring at me like that,” she said.
“It's making me feel weird.”

It was another ten seconds before I could
talk.

“What in the
hell
is going on?”

“We've been watching you, just like I said I
would. You saved me. And I couldn't really leave without paying you
back somehow.”

I gestured around the classroom. “This is
payback?”

“Well, we saw your friend was heading for
trouble. We figured you'd want to know.”

Actually I
was
grateful. The last
thing I ever want to see is Cindy with a broken heart. It was a
good thing to get what kind of guy Daryl was out in the open before
their relationship went crazy-far.

I nodded. “Thank you. Very much.”

She smiled. “After what you did for us. Least
we could do.”

“We. Who is
we
?”

As soon as I asked the question there was a
familiar voice from the corner of the room behind me.

“Hi, Alex.”

I turned to see Richard leaning against the
wall near the classroom door. That sight in itself freaked me out.
He was a ghost, right? How could he lean against a wall? He was
dressed in the same clothes as the last time I saw him, which was
when he was trying to stab his wife.

“Alex, this is my husband, Richard.”

I was afraid for a second. But then Richard
smiled, and I could tell right away he wasn't what I dealt with in
Tammy's house.

“Nice to meet you,” I said.

Richard extended his hand. I shook it. Then
he looked at Susan.

“Honey, it's almost time for us to go.”

“Are we out of time already?”

“Afraid so.”

She sighed, then leaned forward to hug me. It
caught me off guard.

“You're gonna do a lot of great things, Alex.
You take care.”

I didn't know what to say. “Uh, you too?”

Susan laughed. “Cindy is out on the football
field. You go take care of her.”

“How do you know-?”

Before I could finish, she was gone. She did
the two second fade-out routine once again. I turned around,
knowing what I'd see. Sure enough, Richard was gone too.

I stood there for a moment, alone in the
classroom in silence. My mind was still processing what just
happened. Like last time, I wasn't sure I could handle it just yet.
So I forced myself to think about the only thing that mattered at
that moment.

Cindy.

I left the classroom and walked back down the
dark stairs. I didn't go through the school gym. I took a side door
and walked across the campus to the football field. I could see a
dressed-up couple on the bleachers on the opposite side of the
field, sharing some time together, and a familiar female with her
back to me on the nearest side all by herself.