Demons LLC (Damned and Cursed Book 7) (2 page)

"Yeah, before I stopped at the store.
 
But now I'm afraid it's going to send me to Australia instead."

"Hold on.
 
Let me look it up here, and you can write it down."

Alex waited patiently while he listened to Cindy moving about the house.
 
She shouted at Alicia to get her feet off the sofa.
 
Eventually, he could hear her fingers typing away in the home office.

"Okay, write this down."

"Hold on, let me get a pencil."

"Write it down using the phone."

A smile touched his lips.
 
He wanted to play, just for a moment.

"But I'm using the phone."

"You can take notes on the phone and talk at the same time."

"Won't that break it?"

"Sweetie, if you make me drive out there—"

"I'm kidding.
 
Hold on.
 
Do you feel the little stylus in my hand?
 
I'm writing it down."

He jotted the notes as neat as the smartphone would allow.
 
This was what he needed.
 
Simple directions.
 
Left at this street.
 
Right at that street.
 
No recalculating or rerouting.

"Okay, you good?" she asked.

"Yeah.
 
What would I do without you?"

"You wouldn't have survived kindergarten.
 
You think you'll be long?"

"I shouldn't be.
 
I'll drive back as fast as I can."

"Just be safe.
 
If you get here early enough, maybe there will be a surprise waiting."

Alicia responded in the background with a single word.

"Gross!"

Alex smiled.
 
Assuming the side job ended with little drama, there was no other way he'd rather end the night.

"I like the sound of that.
 
Let me get going, so I can get home, and get going again."

"Oooh.
 
I like how you think.
 
I'll see you soon, sexy."

They said their goodbyes.
 
Alex followed Cindy's notes, and low and behold, turned down the street he was looking for within ten minutes.

It was nearly a two-hour drive just to get across the border between Maryland and Pennsylvania, and arrive at his destination.
 
A seemingly normal, everyday street in a small Pennsylvania suburb.
 
First Avenue.
 
Alex smiled to himself as he slowly drove, glancing at the houses and looking for numbers above the doors.
 
How many tales of the supernatural started on First Avenue?

He had to circle the block once, as parking was a challenge all by itself.
 
Luck was on his side.
 
A group of teenagers ran from a house, laughing and shouting at each other.
 
They piled into a Honda Civic and drove off, in a mad rush to get somewhere.
 
Alex slipped into their spot.
 
He was directly across the street from the location of his latest side job.
 
714 First Avenue.

"You've now arrived at your destination," Alex said, mimicking his best smartphone accent.

He didn't get out of the truck right away.
 
Taking deep breaths, he wanted to inhale the scent of normal just a little longer.
 
His nerves were starting to dance, even though he could honestly say he had some experience now.

The hairs standing on the back of his neck weren't helping matters.

It wasn't only the supernatural details that were making his stomach bubble, but the human side as well.
 
There was a family inside 714 First Avenue.
 
A husband, wife, and a son and daughter, if Alex remembered the voicemail correctly.
 
Beside that family was something they couldn't deal with on a normal level.
 
Normal was beyond them now.
 
Alex would go in, solve the problem, and then he'd leave, collecting a check on the way out.
 
That was also an issue he wasn't completely comfortable with yet.
 
He wanted to help any family he could, but it was a job.
 
He needed money.

Alex studied the neighborhood.
 
He was stalling for time; he was aware of this.
 
But he did marvel at the scenery.
 
Halloween was only a few days away, and the front yards reflected that.
 
Pumpkins, leaves, scary decorations, all littered the houses.
 
People drove past, parking in their driveways, getting the mail, waving at neighbors.
 
A young boy, probably fifteen or so, sat on the street corner by himself.
 
He made eye contact with Alex once, who simply smiled in return.

He laughed to himself.
 
It was never like in the movies.
 
The most haunted places weren't huge, deteriorating mansions, cut off from the rest of the world.
 
They weren't surrounded by large, iron gates that creaked eerily when they opened.
 
Sometimes, the scariest places were in the middle of the block, and had a driveway.
 
Even after a simple stroll through the living room, the average person wouldn't think anything was wrong.

Luckily, Alex was far from average.

Sighing aloud, he grabbed his smartphone and looked for the recording app.
 
The phone chimed in response as it loaded.
 
He searched the neighborhood to make sure no one watched him.
 
It was Cindy's idea for him to document any job he went on.
 
It was a good idea, as were all of Cindy's ideas, but he didn't feel comfortable recording his voice.
 
The only person watching him was the boy on the corner, who was suddenly standing up and looking in his direction.

"Okay, it's five minutes past six o'clock at night.
 
I've just arrived at 714 First Avenue."
 
He paused to study the house.
 
"The place looks normal enough.
 
Looks like they don't celebrate Halloween, but I guess if they're having supernatural issues, I can't blame them.
 
I don't see anything obviously weird going on.
 
But…I
do
sense something."
 
Alex noticed the boy approaching on the sidewalk.
 
He didn't think anything of it.
 
"What it is, and whether it's in the house or not, I don't know yet."

He stopped the recording as the boy drew closer.
 
His life was odd enough without a passerby listening to the unusual things he told his phone.

The boy continued to stare as he walked, making Alex uncomfortable.
 
He gave a half-smile and a polite nod, hoping the acknowledgment would make the boy look away.

Alex was taken aback when the boy stopped next to the truck, right next to the passenger's window.
 
Looking behind him, he looked to see if there was a naked woman or monster he was unaware of.
 
Seeing neither, Alex turned back.

Now that he stood closer, Alex could see more detail about the boy.
 
His guess of fifteen was probably very close.
 
Tall, light brown hair, dull green eyes.
 
A pair of jeans and a long-sleeved gray shirt with a picture of an alien's head on it.
 
He seemed a little frail; his clothes hung loosely.
 
If he ran the down the sidewalk there was a good chance his jeans would slide off.

He stared at Alex through the glass, an intense look of curiosity on his face.

"Yeah?" Alex called.
 
The boy jumped back as Alex rolled down the window.
 
"Do you need something?
 
Is everything okay?"

The boy literally jumped a step back.
 
His jaw hung low as his lips moved up and down.
 
Almost ten seconds passed before he was able to speak.

"You…you can see me?"

Alex finally understood.
 
He could sense the presence of ghosts and demons easily.
 
It was a part of who he was.
 
But knowing who those ghosts were out in the world was a different story.
 
To him, they looked like everyone else.
 
Only the obvious ones stood out, like a man or woman wearing sixteenth century clothing.

He nodded.
 
"Yeah, I can see you."

The boy was still hesitant.
 
"Not like a busted TV or something, all blurry, but actually
see
me?"

Alex moved his hands up and down, gesturing to the boy's feet and head.
 
He wasn't sure how else to make his point.

"Yes.
 
I can actually see you."

The boy couldn't keep the smile off his face.
 
"Holy shit!
 
This is unreal!
 
Wait…you are alive, right?"

"I'm alive."
 
He knocked on the dashboard to hopefully help illustrate.
 
"Unless ghosts have learned how to drive."

"Damn!
 
This is pretty awesome!"

The boy turned to one side, lifted a leg up, and slid through the passenger's side door.
 
Alex shifted uncomfortably as the uninvited guest settled in next to him.

"Whoa," Alex said.
 
"Actually, I'm kind of working here—"

"I've seen psychics before, but not like you.
 
Most of them are so generic.
 
They just run around going
I sense a presence here
.
 
There was one that actually saw me, I think, for like two seconds.
 
But that was it.
 
After that, nothing.
 
She was cute, though.
 
But…man, me and you, we're really having a conversation."

Alex rolled his eyes as he glanced out the window to the house.

"Yeah.
 
We're really having a conversation.
 
Listen, I'd love to talk, but—"

"Were you born psychic?
 
Or was it something that came along when you grew up?"

Alex tried to be annoyed, but couldn't.
 
The boy was chatty, maybe irritating, but Alex already liked him.
 
His friendliness was catching.

"I was bitten by a genetically altered ghost."

The boy's brow furrowed in confusion.
 
He moved his lips, repeating the words, and Alex laughed quietly.

"Oh!" he said.
 
"You talking about Spider-man?
 
I saw the latest in the theater.
 
I guess it wasn't bad, but not something I'd pay for.
 
If I couldn't just walk inside any theater I wanted, I wouldn't have even bothered.
 
Just last week I saw—"

"Whoa!" Alex said, holding a hand up.
 
He took a breath to gather his composure, something he'd wish the passenger would do.
 
It was a shame ghosts didn't breathe.
 
"My name's Alex.
 
You got a name?"

"Ah, sorry.
 
I know I'm running my mouth.
 
It's just been a while since I've talked to anyone, and the first time since dying that I've talked to a live person.
 
I'm Nathan, but everyone calls me Nate.
 
Or, they used to call me Nate."

"Nice to meet you, Nate.
 
I don't mean to cut you off, but I'm actually in the middle…."

Alex trailed off as the opportunity in front of him smacked him across the face.
 
How many times would he be able to interview a ghost before a case?

"Go on," Nate pressed.
 
"In the middle of what?"

"Say, you don't happen to be haunting any of these houses, are you?"

Nate scowled as he shook his head.
 
"Nah, man.
 
I don't usually go into any houses.
 
That's like a violation of privacy, ya know?
 
Even if I did, I don't have enough hate and anger, or even sadness to generate the energy to move anything around."

Alex nodded thoughtfully.
 
He wasn't sure how long Nate had been a ghost, but he knew enough about the basic mechanics of a haunting.
 
It wasn't difficult for a ghost to haunt a house, as long as they had the proper motivation.

Nate continued to speak as Alex watched the house.

"There is one thing that I do though," he said.
 
"There's this gorgeous woman that jogs every morning.
 
Lives on the last house on the block.
 
I guess the weather's still pretty good.
 
It's not like I can feel it.
 
Anyway, she runs in these little tight black shorts and a tank top.
 
Red hair flopping all around.
 
If a lawyer cornered me, I'd admit I follow her on her little jogs."

"Yeah, the weather hasn't turned yet," Alex said.
 
"A little warm for fall."
 
He shook his head and faced Nate as his words sunk in.
 
"Wait, you won't go into any houses, but you'll stalk a woman?"

"Whoa, I wouldn't call it stalking.
 
I just exercise with her.
 
That's all."
 
Nate gestured out the window.
 
"And we'd better be quiet.
 
That guy over there is giving you a goofy look."

Alex turned to see a man walking his dog, his eyes locked on the truck.
 
Grabbing his phone innocently, Alex watched the man and dog continue down the street.
 
Alex was used to the odd glances.
 
There were times it seemed he talked to ghosts more than people.