The Demon Conspiracy (20 page)

Jon had been to Sunnyside, too, earlier that
afternoon. Angie had taken him to see Dr. Sanderlyn, who spoke with
Jon for an hour before determining that nothing was wrong with him.
Even so, they set up a second appointment for the week after
Thanksgiving.

No, Travis wasn’t
Sunnyside
crazy, not at
all. He was
bored
crazy. He wanted to play with some friends, but they all
lived too far away to walk to their houses, which meant Angie would
have to take him. His best friend in the whole world was Mathew
Dunlop, but he hardly ever got to play with Mathew. He decided to
let Angie know how he felt. He sat beside her in a rocking chair on
the front porch.

“Angie, I’m going crazy.”

She looked at him and rubbed his hair.
“You’d better not be. We’ve got enough crazy people in this
house.”

“But Dr. Sanderlyn said Jon wasn’t
crazy.”

“Dr. Sanderlyn doesn’t know as much about
Jon as I do. Everybody who knew Jon before the cave trip has
noticed changes in the way he acts. I tried to explain it to
Sanderlyn, but he didn’t get it. Honestly, I think he was
psychoanalyzing me instead of Jon.”

“What’s sykoanzulizing?”

“Psy-cho-an-alyzing. It’s just doctor talk.
They like big words. It basically means they study your mind.” She
took in the view in front of the house and sighed contentedly.
Travis liked the feelings she was having, all warm and fluid. She
went on. “I love fall. Look at all the different colors in the
leaves. You know, it’s so nice outside, I think we’ll eat on the
deck tonight. We won’t get many more days like this before winter.
Do you and Kelly like hamburgers and hotdogs?”

“Yes!” cried Travis emphatically. “With
cheese?”

“Absolutely. I’ll call you when dinner is
ready.

Hours later Travis heard his stomach growl,
so he wandered out on the deck where he found Angie cooking burgers
and dogs on the charcoal grill. She had already set up dinnerware
on the picnic table and the smell of all that food made Travis’
mouth water. He was starved as usual. He leaned against Angie.

“Angie, I’m bored.”

“Not crazy anymore? That’s good. Are you
bored or just hungry?” Angie flipped a row of burgers, one after
the other. Flames shot up as juice from the patties spewed over hot
coals. The grill was situated next to the outside wall of the
house, allowing the smoke to be drawn up and away from where they
were standing.

“Both. There’s nothin’ to do.”

“Why don’t you find Kelly? I’m sure you guys
can come up with something to keep you busy. You could play a
game.”

Travis swiped a pickle from the relish tray
and popped it in his mouth. It crunched all sweet and juicy.
“Maybe.”

He moped through the house and up the stairs
into Kelly’s room, but she was talking on the phone with her new
friend, Melissa.

“Go find Jon,” said Kelly, waving him
off.

Travis left disappointed. He could usually
count on Kelly to come up with something fun to do. He stopped in
the hall. The door to his room was closed, so he tried to open it,
but it was locked. Jon was most likely inside practicing magic,
which was mostly the only thing he did anymore. He didn’t bother to
knock, Jon had gotten too weird lately, kind of scary, too.

Travis hung his head and
went back downstairs. He thought about watching TV, but nothing was
on. He went out on the front porch and sat in one of the five
rocking chairs Angie had bought so they could all rock together. As
he rocked back and forth he imagined the thrill of going on an
adventure, but that only reminded him how bored he still was. He
wanted
real
excitement and he wanted it
now
!

That’s when he heard the distant rumbling of
powerful engines. At first they were far away and the noise only
made him curious. But they got closer and became louder and louder.
Whatever made the noise was definitely coming this way. Travis sat
up, alarmed. The noise was so loud it was getting scary.

Angie came out on the porch and stood at the
top of the stairs. Surprisingly, Chris also showed up, looking very
nervous, Travis could feel it. Chris had gotten so protective of
the secrecy of his product in the basement that the family rarely
saw him anymore. He’d gotten mean, too. Angie was cautiously calm,
so Travis moved closer to her.

“What is that noise?” asked Chris, his eyes
darting fearfully from Angie to the road. Travis could barely hear
him.

“I think we’re going to have a visitor,”
shouted Angie. “I almost forgot.”

“Forgot what?” Travis practically screamed
as he covered his ears. This was louder than the stupid fire alarm
at school!

A moment later, Jon and Kelly joined them.
Jon stood off by himself levitating the tennis ball. Kelly went to
the end of the driveway and looked up the road. She ran back.

She yelled excitedly. “Bikers! Like fifty of
‘em!”

She’d no sooner said it, when a long line of
motorcycles rolled down the street into the cul-de-sac. The noise
was deafening and powerful. Travis swallowed hard.

Angie turned to her husband. “I can’t
believe she came.”

“Who?” asked Chris. “They better stay out of
the basement.”

Angie shook her head at his narrow train of
thought. “I finally get to meet her.”

Dozens of bikers made the loop around the
cul-de-sac, then found places to park in the road, the driveway,
and all over the yard of the vacant house next door. Luckily, most
of the bikers eventually put their powerful machines into a
sputtering idle. Even so, one of them gunned an engine now and
then. The sudden, earsplitting blasts made Travis jump halfway out
of his skin.

Travis shivered and
grabbed the back of his neck—
ghost
fingers
! In his mind bikers were
dangerous. These bikers didn’t act threatening, but their mirror
shades, Nazi looking helmets and dark leather jackets were
disturbing.

One of the riders, a husky woman with broad
shoulders, parked her bike in the driveway behind the minivan and
turned off the motor. She stepped off the bike, removed her helmet,
and adjusted a rag tied over her head as she strutted toward the
house. She wore a black leather jacket and faded blue jeans.

A huge, bearded man on the lead bike called
out to her. “Later, Matilda!”

The woman turned and waved. “See ya, Jake!
You blokes take care!”

Travis saw a picture of an
evil-looking devil on the back of her jacket with the words
Satan’s Sidekicks
printed underneath. A second later the bike noise blasted the
air again as the powerful machines roared back up the street.
Travis kept his hands over his ears until the last one was gone and
it was quiet again. For a while the silence seemed to make his ears
ring.

It’s a good thing there
aren’t any neighbors,
thought Kelly to
Travis.
They’re so loud!
Right now Travis didn’t care about neighbors. He
was too worried about this stranger named Matilda. Who was she? Why
was she here? He decided maybe being bored wasn’t so bad after
all.

The woman turned and faced them again.
“G’day, Angie,” she said in a thick, Australian accent. “It’s been
a while.”

“A lifetime,” said Angie coldly. “So you
made it.”

“Looks like it.”

“You’re early. We didn’t expect to see you
for another month. This is my husband, Chris McCormick.”

Matilda offered to shake his hand, but Chris
stood there stupidly. Angie nudged him. “Shake hands.”

Chris reached out and took Matilda’s hand.
She squeezed hard. He tried to pull away, but she wouldn’t let go.
It wasn’t until he grimaced in pain that she released him. Chris
rubbed his throbbing hand. “That hurt. You stay out of my basement.
You stay away from my product!” He turned and retreated into the
house. Matilda was baffled by his response, but she felt good that
he was weaker than her.

Travis sensed the woman was trying to
conceal a deep sense of hurt, but mostly from herself. As
hard-nosed as she seemed on the outside, he could tell she had
delicate feelings. She might have been fooling everyone else, but
she wasn’t fooling him.

Matilda’s gaze went from face to face as if
sizing them up for a fight. She settled on Travis, who was
practically glued to Angie’s side. Angie was utterly calm; he could
feel it. But this biker lady had him shaking.

“Hello, li’l mate,” she said warmly. “How’s
it going?”

That was weird. She seemed friendly. Travis
nodded slightly.

“It’s okay, Travis,” said Angie. “Everyone,
I’d like you to meet Matilda Price. My birth mother.”

KELLY

“I’m not looking to stay long,” said
Matilda, sounding humble and embarrassed. “I’m hoping to reconnect
with you, that’s all.”

“I’m not looking for you
to stay long either.” Angie was curt, cold as ice. “And I wouldn’t
call it
re
connecting, Matilda, since we’ve never connected to begin
with.”

I looked at Travis, who shrugged. I couldn’t
tell if Angie liked her mom or not, but it sure didn’t seem like
it. The two women were alone in the living room, while the rest of
us had gone some place else to give them privacy. Chris had escaped
to the basement, and I do mean escaped. He’d only just met Angie’s
mother, but he was pretty upset about that handshake.

Travis and I were in the den pretending to
watch TV, but we were really spying on Matilda Price. Jon sat in a
rocking chair on the front porch throwing the tennis ball into the
yard and making it come back to him without moving a muscle. I
think he couldn’t have cared less about Matilda.

“I want to show you I’ve changed, Angie. I
came to listen to whatever you want to say to me. I deserve yer
worst. I’ve never been a mother to you.”

“No, you haven’t. It’s
only the third time you’ve ever seen me, if you count being born.
Do you remember when you came to my high-school graduation? At
first I didn’t want you anywhere near me. But then I thought, she’s
my mother, I need to meet her. Before long I got brave and thought
we were going to finally meet that day. But we never even talked.
You took off on that damn motorcycle without saying hello
or
goodbye!”

“I couldn’t. I didn’t want to go, but I
couldn’t face you either.” Neither of them spoke for several
moments, which I guess you’d call an awkward silence. Heck, I felt
awkward and I wasn’t even involved.

“Why are you here? Why shouldn’t I just tell
you to leave right now?” Angie meant it like an ultimatum.

“You’d be right to tell me to leave. But
hear me out first, please. I can’t explain it, but I got feelings,
you know? Like you might need my help.”

“I…
we
don’t need your help. I’ve been
just fine for forty-one years, and I’ll be fine for the next
forty-one—
without
you.”

“Angie, I was a dipstick parent and never
pretended to be otherwise. But I’m through with that. I want to be
as good a parent to you as I can with the time we have left. I’ll
do whatever it takes.”

“It’s too late. In my
heart you’ll never be my mother.
Never
.”

“I understand that, really I do. But you’re
the only living rellie I’ve got. I just hope we can be
friends.”

“Friends don’t get on their motorcycle at a
whim and just leave.” Angie sounded bitter, but I knew she was
afraid. I mean, who’d want to waste her time getting to know
someone who might just run off again and stay gone for decades?

“I won’t do it again.
I
have
changed,
you’ll see that for yourself. I’m no bludger, I’ll get a job right
off and start by paying for my room and board for whatever time
you’ll let me stay here. That is, if you have any room. I didn’t
know you had kids.”

“How could you know
anything
about me?
Unlike you, I can’t physically have children of my own. Also unlike
you, I’ve always
wanted
them. Chris and I see them as precious gifts, not
inconveniences. We wanted children any way we could get them. We’re
foster parents, Matilda.”

“Foster parents? That’s noble. So what about
these kids? Are they any trouble?”

“Trouble?” Angie’s tone
instantly went from angry jilted daughter to loving mom.
“They’re
wonderful
. We’re so lucky. They’ve only been with us a couple months,
but I already feel a connection, like they belong.”

Travis and I exchanged happy looks. It’s
always great to hear when someone likes you, especially someone you
care about.

“That’s great.” Matilda sounded sincere.
“You have so much love to give to them. I can tell, even if I don’t
know you. You see, Angie? What we just did, that’s all I’m hoping
for by being here.”

“What did we do?”

“We had a moment together, you know? You
talked about the kids and how much you care for them. All this time
I assumed they were your own children. Don’t you understand? That’s
the kind of girl talk I’m hoping for. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there
for you at any time in your life. Crikey, I’m really sorry I left
you at graduation: that was a stupid mistake. And I know it sounds
selfish, but I’m sorry for me, too. I’ve only gotten to know you
for twenty minutes and already realize I’ve lost a lifetime by not
staying around.” Matilda sniffled.

She’s crying?
I thought to Travis.