Demonica (17 page)

25

The Mysterious Eli Jacobson

When I finally came to, I was in the cafeteria. Ironically, I was starving.

Blinking, I absorbed my surroundings. I realized I was sprawled across one of the tables. My head was tilted to the glaring daylight pouring through the wall-expansive windows, forcing me to squint. I glanced down to find a letterman jacket draped over my upper half as a blanket.

“Morning,” said Eli’s voice.

My head rolled to find Eli sitting on the opposite bench. In the back of my mind, I still remembered what Lillith said about him—that he was immune to her power.

What was he?

I didn’t know if I was just sleep-drunk or what, but for some reason, he looked more attractive than ever. From the lean, muscular-cut body beneath his tight t-shirt to his solid jawline, everything about him seemed statuesque and beautiful and utterly fuckable.

Wow. Seriously, Monica? Why was I so damn horny?

I shook my head as if that might chill my vagina the hell out. My gaze refocused to Eli’s strong, smooth neck. To the cross dangling from it. Whatever he was, he couldn’t possibly be evil.

Could he?

I glanced back down at Eli’s letterman jacket laid over me. Certain details of last night resurfaced in my mind.

I had fought that entire battle naked.

Embarrassment turned my face into a frying pan. My gaze whipped back up, trying for inconspicuousness, but seriously, conspicuous as shit. Beneath the letterman jacket, I slid my arms over my body. My fingers grazed cloth. I released a very audible sigh of relief. I wasn’t wearing very much, but at least I was covered in all the important places.

With that settled, a part of me wanted to just roll over and fall back asleep. I deserved as much, right? Killing two Demons at once?

I had to fight against the overwhelming lethargy just to motivate myself to sit up. Propping myself upright, Eli’s letterman jacket slid off my body, revealing a red and black cheerleading outfit. Lillith’s, I assumed. Made sense. Fortunately, she turned to ash before she had a chance to bleed all over it.

Still disgusting. But better than nude.

“Uh…morning,” I said.

As I made eye-contact with him, the details of last night unclouded.

Zoey!” I exclaimed. “Where’s Zoey?”

“Huh? Zoey’s just off talking to Levi and some of the others.” Eli met me with a confused look. However, his misperception slowly shifted to realization. He bit his lip uncomfortably. “Kelly’s dead.”

My stomach churned. Of course she was dead. If Zoey was still alive, she had to be.

“Zoey told me what happened,” said Eli. “That Kelly started freaking out with that zombie virus. That she killed Devon and that other kid. Zoey told us she had to kill her.”

Zoey was such a good liar, it made me nervous sometimes.

“I saw her body,” he continued, “Zoey…she used a hammer.”

And now I wanted to throw up.

Death. So much death. I was in this mental abyss. The emptiness was pulling me down, sucking me into a pit that was cold, so cold. It was all I could do just to breathe, and even that ached.

The unusual silence in the cafeteria caused me to look around. The room was almost completely empty. I spotted about a half-dozen students sulking alone or with a friend in random places. I heard a couple rummaging in the kitchen area. Everyone else was gone.

“Where’d everyone go?” I asked.

“Gone,” said Eli. “After the attack, those…
things
wandered off. The police are gone. People started leaving this morning. At least the people who aren’t scared to leave. Can’t say I blame ‘em.” Eli chuckled and grimaced at the same time. “Some quarantine, huh?”

“Yeah…” I said.

My stomach apparently had more to say. It gurgled obnoxiously.

Eli chuckled. “Hungry?”

That one word seemed to bring me back to life. “Starving!”

***

To say I ate like a pig would be doing a great disservice to pigs everywhere.

I ate like a
drove
of those fat little pork chops.

Eli attempted to be a gentleman and cook me breakfast. Things did get that far. The moment I entered the kitchen, my stomach took over. The damage was a breakfast burrito, cookies, peanut butter on celery, pizza, potato chips, a chimichanga, and French fries, which I washed down with three small cartons of chocolate milk. I sat cross-legged on the kitchen’s stainless steel counter with two half-emptied lunch trays on either side of me. Eli watched like some stupefied driver observing a car wreck on the side of the road.

I burped loudly, and then covered my mouth, only slightly embarrassed. “Excuse me,” I mumbled. I patted my belly which still didn’t feel full. “You probably think I’m a pig.”

“Wha—? Uh, no, I, uh…” Eli stammered awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. “I’ve just never seen a girl eat so much.” The moment he said it, he cringed. “I mean—I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant. I meant to say…that…it…I…”

Eli’s face was on fire, and I couldn’t help but find it extremely amusing, and even sort of cute.

“It’s fine,” I said. “I don’t know what’s gotten into me. I guess all this craziness is spiking my metabolism.”

I tried to laugh. Eli face was an empty slate.

“Is everything okay?” I asked.

Eli paused and then shook his head. “No. Not really.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

“It’s just…all this killing. Kelly killing Devon. Zoey killing Kelly. We’re kids for crying out loud. We go to school together. Kids killing kids like this… It’s just messed up.”

“Yeah. It sucks. It sucks balls.”

Eli shifted uncomfortably. And then he added, “I know Zoey and I were never officially dating to begin with…but I might as well tell you that she and I have called this whole thing off. Whatever it was.”

I raised a concerned eyebrow. “Really?”

“It’s just easier not having emotional connections,” he said. “With this quarantine gone, we both need to head our separate ways anyway. We all have our families to go to.”

He had a point. We couldn’t very well travel in a group, trying to find our families one by one, could we? It was sad though. Eli and Zoey seemed oddly cute together.

“I guess so,” I said. I slid off the stainless steel counter. Approaching silently, I wrapped my arms around him and buried my head against his chest. I think my reaction surprised us both, but neither of us showed it. “I’m sorry though.”

After a long moment of silence, Eli added, “Zoey also mentioned she told you that I like you.”

My eyes widened. “She did?”

“She felt bad and wanted to apologize,” said Eli. “And I guess I wanted to apologize to you. And to thank you.”

“There’s nothing to apologize about,” I said. I could believe Zoey said that! “And thank me for what?”

“For not making it awkward. For still being my friend. I think it would have been really easy for you to just avoid me.”

Eli hesitantly hugged me back.

“I’m glad you didn’t,” he said. “I guess… I just…” He struggled for words that didn’t seem to come.

I was tired of Eli talking.

What happened next, I couldn’t explain. The warmth of Eli’s body against mine filled with me with a jolt of restless energy. And then my body seemed to act on its own accord.

Lifting myself on my toes, I kissed Eli.

It was a small kiss, but enough to catch Eli off guard. He blinked, as if unsure what had just happened. I didn’t wait for a response. Placing my hands on his shoulders, I gently pushed him against the counter. Leaning over him, I slid my hands up his hard chest. My face hovered over his curious expression. This time we both moved in. Our lips locked. I relished the feel of our bodies melding together. His rich earthy masculine scent. It reminded me of…

Dante?

I gasped, breaking free of Eli’s lips. The hell? What was I doing?

Backing away from Eli, I probably looked like some wild and scared animal. I bumped into the adjacent counter. Meanwhile, Eli staggered to his feet looking more baffled than ever.

“I...I’m sorry,” I said. “I don’t know what I’m doing. I just…I’ve got to go.”

I took off in a powerwalk, wanting so badly to just disappear.

“Monica!” Eli called out, although his tone was filled with more uncertainty and confusion than anything. I didn’t dare look back.

***

I found Zoey all too easily. We nearly collided as I veered into the gymnasium.

“Whoa, somebody’s in a hurry,” said Zoey. She then eyed my cheerleader attire and added with a smirk, “Nice outfit.”

I was so completely restless and riled up that it took every ounce of willpower just to stand still. Glancing down at my scantily clad body, I said, “I guess I have you to thank for that, huh?”

“Well, I suppose I could’ve just left you naked, you little skank. Where you off to?”

“Just trying to find you. Glad you’re still alive.”

“You too,” said Zoey. Her smile vanished. “But…Kelly…I…”

“I know. She’s dead. I figured you had to kill her. Eli told me.”

“Eli?” said Zoey. And then there was that look in her eyes that whispered fear. “I didn’t tell Eli.”

“What?”

“I haven’t told anyone,” said Zoey. “How did Eli even talk to you?”

“What do you mean? You left me with him, didn’t you?”

Zoey shook her head. “I left you with Levi.”

“Eli said you were off talking to Levi.”

“Yeah, like hours ago! I left you with Levi
because
I was having doubts about Eli. After what Lillith said about not being able to mind-control him…I mean, can you say ‘red flag?’ Honestly, what do we
really
know about him? He moved here like two months ago, right? Isn’t that when the killings started happening? But if you woke up to Eli…oh god. I hope he didn’t do anything to Levi.”

“You don’t think he’s a Demon, do you? I mean, why would Asmodeus try to mind-control him if he was?”

“I don’t know
what
he is,” said Zoey. “But if he lied to you,
and
he somehow knows about what we did last night,
and
Asmodeus’s powers don’t work on him…”

“Shit. Well when you put it that way…”

“Let’s just keep moving.”

Zoey broke into a speed walk down the hall. I scrambled to keep pace.

“So I have some good news and some bad news,” said Zoey. “Which would you like first?”

“Great,” I said. Was too much to hope for that the good news would make up for the bad news? Um. Yeah. Yeah, it was. Best just to rip that bad news band-aid right off. “Hit me with the bad news.”

Zoey grimaced. “Follow me.”

26

The Other Witch

Zoey led me to Principal Marion’s office. The door was cracked open.

“She’s gone?” I said. I honestly wasn’t surprised. Everyone else was gone. Why would the Demon stay?

“Yep. Gone. But it gets a lot weirder than that.”

“How?”

Zoey placed a hand on the doorknob. “Would you like to see for yourself?”

“I’m going to regret this, aren’t I?”

“Well, it
is
the bad news.”

Zoey didn’t crack even the slightest smile. This was bad. She entered the dark room, and I followed with quiet steps.

That’s when the stench nailed me with an uppercut to the nostrils. The smell of rot overpowered my ability to breathe. I desperately covered my nose and mouth, fight the urge to gag.

Not that I was a regular in the principal’s office, but in these past five days, the place had undergone a severe makeover. Less prim and proper. More séance central.

All of the windows had been blocked out with heavy black curtains. The only light came from dozens of flickering candles. They littered every elevated flat surface. The walls were painted in peculiar triangular shapes, pentacles, and eerie emblematic eyes. I observed one particular looping symbol up close and wiped it with a single finger.

The residue was red. Blood.

Zoey gestured for me to follow her deeper into the office. I reluctantly complied. We did not travel far before she came to a quick halt. I took one step further and my foot connected with something. I nearly tripped. My arms wavered for balance, and I barely managed to catch myself and stagger back. But not before catching an all-too-vivid glance at the ground.

It was a human body—robed entirely in black with the long hood pulled over its face.

My gaze pulled back, adjusting to the darkness. There were several bodies. Nearly a dozen. Their bloodied, black-robed corpses were arranged in a circle, touching head to foot.

“Zoey…what is this?” I asked.

“It’s a Blood Gate. Black magic at its worst. By using human sacrifices forming a circle, the blood and magic create a one-way teleportation gateway. This is how Principal Marion…I mean…whatever the hell her name is… This is how she got out.”

“Good lord.”

“The number of sacrifices determines the distance you can travel. Explains why she talked all of the teachers into separating themselves from the students. And the way they’re dressed, I’d say she or Lillith mind-controlled them.”

“Why didn’t she just walk out of here like everyone else?”

“Well, judging from the smell—” Zoey made a gaging face. “—I’d say these poor bastards have been dead for a while. She probably created the Blood Gate the first or second day of the quarantine.”

“Let’s get out of here,” I said. “Before I puke on a dead body.”

We hastily exited the death room. Zoey proceeded to take the lead down the hallway as my struggled to process everything.

“So Principal Marion has been gone this whole time,” I said.

“Yep.”

“But she’s a Demon. I mean, there’s no way she’d be afraid of the police and their guns, right? Dante said the only thing that can kill a Demon is the Demon Dagger.”

“My thoughts exactly. Which leads me to believe that whoever was responsible for the quarantine set up some sort of barrier to keep the Demons in as well. One of the primary points of the Blood Gate is to penetrate supernatural defenses and barriers, so it makes sense.”

“Wait. Are you saying those sketchy government dudes
trapped
the Demons in here? Like…using magic and shit?”

“There are a lot of things that strike me as fishy. First off, Demons like Lillith and Bubba choosing to stay here in a quarantined school with surveillance cameras watching them twenty-four seven. Second, the quarantine lasting as long as it did with nobody coming in here to test for the virus. Mr. Garrison and the nurse were showing full symptoms of the virus within the first twelve hours. And then four days of waiting, and…nothing. It just doesn’t make any sense.”

She was right. This whole situation was fishy. But dwelling on unanswerable questions wasn’t going to get us anywhere. “So what’s the good news?”

Zoey offered a reluctant smile. “We have another Demon lead. Yay.”

“What? Who? And, like, how?”

“I was talking to Levi earlier. He told me he saw something weird. Like, weirder than zombies, obviously. Something that involves one of our classmates. He said I’d think he was crazy if he told me, so he wants to show us the pictures he took. If that doesn’t sound like a Demon lead, I don’t know what does.”

“He took pictures?”

It’s Levi. Of course he took pictures.

“So where are they?”

Zoey reached into her pocket, removing a slip of paper. “235 Crestwood Drive. It’s just a couple blocks from here. Levi develops all his photos at home because…yeah, he’s Levi. So he left early to get them ready for us. God, I just hope he’s still alive. Between Eli and all the zombies out there…”

“Wait. You mean…?”

Zoey came to a halt, and it wasn’t until now that I realized where we were walking. The buzzing flies should have been an indicator. We were standing at the main entryway, stacked with corpses.

“Yes, we’re gonna have to traverse a couple blocks through Zombieland,” said Zoey. “You ready for this?”

My mind faltered. Dozens of unspoken concerns were suddenly popping up.

“What about our families?” I asked.

“They’ll be fine,” she said.

Just like that. Like these were special vegetarian zombies and we had nothing to worry about.

“You don’t know that. Zombies could be eating their brains right now.”

“You’re just going to have to trust me on this one. Right now, the most important thing that we can be doing is hunting down and killing these Demons.”

“Trust you?” I said. I eyed her skeptically. “Zoey, you’re not telling me something. What?”

Zoey sighed. Her eyes fixed to the side. “There’s a witch that I’ve been communicating with since I’ve been in here. She’s watching over both of our families. I trust her with my life.”

“A witch?” I said. “Zoey, we’ve already established that your stupid coven leader, or whatever the hell she is, is being led by a Demon! You may trust her with
your
life, but I don’t trust her with shit.”

“Well you should.”

“Well I don’t!”

Zoey sighed. She fidgeted with her hands, and her gaze shifted to the floor. Not a comforting sign.

“Monica,” she said. “If I tell you who she is, you have to promise me you won’t freak out.”

Oh god. “Why would I freak out?” I asked, even though I
really
didn’t want to know anymore.

Zoey’s gaze met mine. “It’s your mom.”