The Demon Rolmar (3 page)

“OK.” He started throwing random books off the shelf. “That’s much better,” he said, admiring the mess he made. “I bid you farewell, great one,” Itakir said before disappearing.

Rolmar thought about how tired he was feeling, but decided to stay awhile longer. When he had finished he made an invisible exit.

.

C
HAPTER
5

A
dam sat straight up in bed. He wiped the sweat from his brow and reached over to retrieve his glasses from his nightstand.
Did that really happen last night? No, it couldn’t have. I must have dreamt the whole thing.
He laughed a little and let his body flop back onto the bed.

“What are you laughing at delusional boy?” John said as he entered the room with a crooked smile on his face. He was wearing jeans and a faded, plaid shirt.

“I’m not delusional,” Adam murmured as he buried his face in a pillow.

“You were going on and on last night about a demon and the end of the world. I couldn’t believe some of the things you were saying. Are you OK? Maybe you should see a doctor.” Adam heard everything up to the word demon. The rest of it sounded like the static between radio stations. He was in his own world now, completely tuned out.

“Snap out of it,” John said, actually snapping his fingers in front of Adam’s face. Adam sobered a little and shook his head. John slapped him on the back and said, “You’ll be fine buddy. A couple more days of rest and you’ll be good as new.”

Adam started shaking his head vigorously. “I’m not fine. It was real,” he whispered. The volume of his own voice frightened him.

John ran his fingers through his dark-brown hair. “You really should see a doctor. Talk to someone.”

Adam just bowed his head. “I’m alone on this one.”

“Hey, don’t you have a math test today?”

“Yeah, thanks for reminding me.”

“You’ve got fifteen minutes, so hurry.”

“Oh, crap!”

He jumped out of bed and put his sneakers on. Adam grabbed his backpack and ran out the door. The campus itself wasn’t far from Adam’s apartment. He jumped in his green Honda Accord, turned on the engine, and drove off in a hurry.

When Adam arrived on campus he was able to find a parking spot quickly.
Luck must be on my side today. Maybe a quick run will clear my head a little
.
Nothing like some adrenaline to pick my spirits up.
Adam bolted across campus at a breakneck speed. He threw open the door to the math and science building and was panting by the time he climbed the stairs to the third floor. The door of the classroom was closed.
Great.
Adam quietly slipped into the classroom and silently found a seat near the back. The professor handed him an exam on the way in, but gave Adam a disapproving look. He half fell, half slipped into the chair.
Well, I can’t complain. These problems aren’t as hard as I thought they would be
.

Adam had been a wiz at math for as long as he could remember, so it seemed like the logical choice for his major. Adam didn’t notice that everyone else in the class was struggling with the exam problems. He quickly moved through the problems and handed in his test after only fifteen minutes.

“See ya, Professor Camen,” Adam said, and gave the teacher a quick wave as he left the classroom.

Professor Camen ignored this and grumbled something to himself.

After exiting the building he noticed that it was raining.
Oh, great.
He quickly crossed the quad to the tutoring center. Adam shivered before walking into the center.

“Hey, Zel,” he said.

“What happened to you? What’s with the pajama pants?”

“Don’t ask.” He pulled up a metal chair next to Zelia and started unzipping his backpack.

Zelia adjusted her glasses and pulled her red ringlets back into a ponytail. “How did you make out with the chem homework?”

“Not too well. I had nightmares all last night.”

“Sorry to hear it. Are you all right?” Zelia’s large, blue eyes looked concerned.

“I guess I’m all right. Thanks for your concern. I’ll tell you all about the crazy night I had later.”

“This stuff should really be a breeze for you. You’re a math major.”

“Yeah, I know. For some reason chemistry just doesn’t click with my brain, but advanced equations do. Oh well.” Adam shrugged and opened his textbook to the problem set that had been assigned.

Zelia sharpened a pencil and gathered a stack of scrap paper. “Ok, let’s start from the top.”

.

C
HAPTER
6

T
he name “Kamikaze” blinked on and off a garish yellow. “I don’t know if I can do this,” Adam said. He looked doubtfully at his stomach and immediately regretted ingesting three chili dogs earlier in the evening.

“Come on, don’t be a baby,” Zelia replied. “Although…I don’t think we studied enough for our chemistry exam that’s tomorrow. Maybe coming to this amusement park wasn’t such a good idea.”

Adam’s roommate couldn’t resist teasing Zelia. “Why are you worried?” John said. “I’m sure you’ll ace it, being the resident chemistry guru on campus that you are. And maybe Adam could get the answers from that alien.”

Adam glared at his lanky friend. “You shouldn’t joke about that.”

“Don’t worry Adam, I’m sure the whole story you were going on about last night was just a dream or some drug-induced trip,” he said. John slapped him on the back and then proceeded to mess up Adam’s sandy-colored hair.

“I don’t use drugs. I never have,” Adam managed to say after doubling over and almost heaving up the partially digested food in his stomach. “Don’t do that again.”

“I guess you and carny food should never mix.”

“Thank you for that brilliant insight, John. Better watch out, though. I may not be able to control the direction of my vomit if I up-chuck over here.”

Raising his hands, John apologized and took two obligatory steps back, remembering the price of his designer sneakers.

“My stomach is as volatile as Professor Heartlet’s miniature Yorkshire,” Adam said. John and Zelia both gave a chuckle as they thought of the poofy-haired biology professor. The eccentric professor had a perpetual wide-eyed expression on his face and could usually be seen walking around campus tightly clutching his disgruntled dog.

“That guy is really crazy,” John chimed in. “Every time I walk by he becomes possessive of that dog and clutches it even tighter.”

“Yeah, it’s as if he thinks someone will take away his precious Yippie. Remember that time when Yippie escaped?” Zelia said as she ate a piece of cotton candy. “I have never seen that guy act more hare-brained than on that day.”

“That guy really is missing a few marbles,” John remarked as he took a bite of his own fibrous snack.

Still clutching his stomach, Adam managed to say, “Everyone in Professor Heartlet’s 10 a.m. class was excited because class was cancelled that day. I thought I saw him hyperventilating in the halls a few hours later.”

After finishing the last bite of his cotton candy John said, “Thank goodness that dog was found. I hate to think of what would have happened to the poor guy if he didn’t get his dog back.”

As the ride came to a stop, John looked at Adam. “He obviously won’t be going. You coming Zel?”

“No, standing next to Adam all this time has made me change my mind.”

“Suit yourselves.”

“Enjoy your ride,” Zelia said.

“Oh, I will. You guys are no fun.”

The attendant opened the gate that led up to the ride. John found an empty cabin, and after the attendant came around to lower the security bar, the ride started. The machine lurched to life in an abrupt motion and then began to slowly build momentum.

Adam and Zelia watched John’s cabin twist and tumble as the whole machine sought out an inverted path. Throughout the ride, John kept a wide grin plastered on his face. Screams and laughter could be heard from the other cabins as they pitched and rocked.

John was really having a blast.
They missed out this time
. John thought about some of the other rides he had been on and decided this was probably one of the best; nothing could really compare to the feeling that comes over a passenger when they experience that all too familiar surge of motion as the Kamikaze changes directions. This was definitely worth the four bucks.

As the ride slowed down and eventually came to a stop, John seemed pleased enough. Adam and Zelia watched as he sprinted down the platform to meet them.

“Aren’t you the least bit sick?” Adam asked.

“Not really. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever been sea-sick. Hey, maybe we could take on the carousel next,” he remarked sarcastically. “If—of course—it’s not too much for you guys.”

Zelia batted him over the head with her cotton candy and motioned for them to start walking again. “Come on, let’s try some of the games.” John rubbed his head and made a grimace, but followed along.

Adam walked over to a stand. “The water-pistol game looks like fun, but that line is so long.”

“There’s an empty booth,” Zelia said, pointing to the stacked-bottle game.

John looked disappointed. “Great, this is the easiest one. Where’s the challenge in that?”

The others ignored him and stepped up.

“One game for a dollar,” a scrappy kid said in a squeaky voice.

When John didn’t produce any cash, Zelia removed a black-studded wallet from her purse and handed the attendant three dollars. “You are so cheap,” she said, and batted John over the head again.

“Hey, I already had my requisite beating for the day,” John said indignantly.

“Beatings can come at any time. You should remember that,” she said, punctuating each word with a jab to his stomach.

“Indentured servitude sure is rough,” John remarked.

“Enough, you guys,” Adam said as he threw a ball at the stacked bottles.

“A miss…what a pro,” John said before hurling a ball at his own set of bottles. He knocked over the top one.

Adam was starting to feel better and had a hearty laugh at John’s expense. “Well, it’s your turn, Zel.”

“Hold on a sec, brilliance can’t be rushed,” she said. After a moment, she threw her ball and knocked over all three bottles.

“We have a winner. Which prize would you like, Miss?”

“Hmm, let’s see.” Zelia scanned the rows of stuffed animals. There was a yellow bear with a gingham bow tie that stood out from the rest. “I’ll take that yellow bear.”

“Here you are, Miss.”

“Oh, it’s not for me.”

The attendant looked a little confused.

“It’s for him,” she said, pointing to John.

The attendant promptly handed the plush creature to John.

“To ease your servitude,” she said before walking toward the bumper cars. Adam and John followed behind.

“We better hurry before that line over there gets too long,” Adam said.

They sprinted over to the bumper cars. After a while they noticed that the line wasn’t moving, and people were starting to become vocal. A tourist with an oversized rabbit tucked under his arm said, “Hey, what gives? I’ve been waiting.” A worker came over and informed everyone that there was something wrong with the power. Before the man with the stuffed animal could utter another protest, a loud, metallic sound caused everyone to turn around.

They all watched as the carousel came to a halt. One by one, each ride stopped moving until the amusement park was totally still. Then the lights began to flicker on and off. Everyone began to panic and started moving toward the exits.

“What’s going on?” John said.

Adam looked worried. “I don’t know. We had better leave, though.”

Crowds were gathering near the exits, but no one could leave. In the back of Adam’s mind was a sneaking suspicion that the events of last night did actually happen, and the demon was responsible for the power outage. Adam pushed these thoughts away as he moved in to get a closer look. The large, metal fences that were usually open during the day were now locked, and heavy padlocks were secured onto each of them.

“Hey, why is this locked?” someone shouted.

“Don’t worry about it. Let me through.” A gray-haired employee dressed in faded overalls made his way through the crowd to evaluate the situation. “Don’t know why this is locked, doesn’t make any sense. Hey Chris, bring me a bolt cutter,” he shouted to a ruddy-faced boy who couldn’t have been more than sixteen.

“Sure thing, Tom,” Chris said as he ran off to find one. A few minutes later he returned with the bolt cutters and handed them to the other employee.

“Thanks.” Without hesitation he snapped the lock, and it fell to the ground with a heavy clank. “No big deal,” he said. He went to push the gates open, but they wouldn’t budge. “Give me a hand here, Chris.” Both men pushed on the gate with no success. Some people from the crowd lent their strength to the effort, but to no avail.

“Let’s try one more time, guys.”

In a final effort, ten people pushed their weight against the stubborn gates. And still, the gates did not move. Now some members of the crowd were scratching their heads and looking puzzled—others began to look anxious.

“There’s got to be another—”Adam started, but was cut off mid-sentence as the mayhem continued to unfold. A loud, metallic creak that hung in the air for several seconds made everyone turn toward the Ferris wheel. Then the bolts that secured the ride to its platform started shooting into the air. This sounded like a nail gun gone haywire.

Adam turned frantically to Tom. “Is there another exit?” he asked.

“There’s a southern entrance for employees only. Come on!” he shouted as he waved the crowd on. Tom started running, and everyone followed. The lights flickered on and off in the park. Zelia was running as fast as she could. It seemed as though her sneakers couldn’t carry her quickly enough, though. Then she noticed that Adam wasn’t with the rest of the group.
Where is he?
She chanced a backward glance and saw an unmoving Adam staring at the Ferris wheel. Zelia ran back toward Adam, who was not at a safe distance from the doomed machine.

“Adam, come on!” Zelia shouted at him.
He must be in shock.
“What are you doing?” His eyes looked a little dazed. She grabbed his hand and started running again.

When the group was safely away from the ride, several people turned to see the behemoth fall. For a moment the metal giant teetered—its enormous weight swaying—then finally gravity took over, and it fell to the ground. Its metal skeleton twisted and created a deafening resonance that rose in the air and enveloped the crowd.

Zelia walked over to Adam, “Are you all right?”

“Yeah.”

John’s dark-blue eyes showed concern. “You looked like you were out of it.”

“I guess so. I was just a little stunned,” Adam said.

John patted him on the back. “I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

Adam could feel his heart racing, and his thoughts were starting to become frenzied again.
What if it’s him again? I can’t face him alone, but maybe together we might have a chance.
The lights went out completely. Adam couldn’t see anything—not even the outline of his own hand. He felt something on his shoulder and leapt into the air.

“It’s just me, Adam,” Zel said. She didn’t sound too upset, and it gave Adam a little bit of courage.

Suddenly, the whole park lit up in an almost-blinding light. They all looked away at first, but the intensity gradually faded until the brightness was tolerable to their eyes. In front of the crowd stood the high demon of Pentar. Adam rubbed his eyes and felt his stomach drop. He looked over at John, who stared unblinkingly at the demon.

“Still believe that it was a drug-induced trip?”

John’s body had begun to shake, and he could not speak. His eyes reflected the intense fear turning in the pit of his stomach.

Rolmar took a bow, and everyone moved a few steps back.

Adam felt emboldened and asked the demon, “Why are you here?”

“After a performance, isn’t it customary for a performer to receive applause?” Rolmar answered.

Adam was furious. “This isn’t a joke,” he said. “You’re playing with people’s lives here like it’s a game!”

“Exactly. You can keep your applause. It’s a shame that I can’t say the same thing about your lives.”

Adam was stunned.
How am I going to get my friends out of here?

Rolmar’s gaze fell upon Adam again, and Adam froze. The demon smiled slightly, showing just a hint of teeth. Adam felt a pain inside deeper than anything he had ever felt before, as if his soul had been singed. With some amusement the demon said, “Have you forgotten already that I can read your thoughts?”

Adam shut his eyes tightly and tried not to think.

“How noble of you to think of the safety of your friends before yourself. Perhaps they should be the first to go,” he said, and turned his attention to Zelia and John, who were both shaking.

Adam moved in front of them. “No, they’ve done nothing wrong.”

The demon was growing impatient. “Such a valiant act, but I grow weary of your bravado.”

Rolmar turned to another part of the crowd. They all looked at a wide-eyed Adam, expecting him to know what to do. The people were then propelled into the air by some unseen force. Adam couldn’t believe how fast they moved; he could only follow their aerial path for a few moments before they vanished into the distance.

A great guilt washed over him, and he couldn’t shake it off.
This is my fault.
The horror and shock that consumed Adam made him stagger and fall to his knees.
They’re gone.
Adam was almost oblivious to what was going on around him. More people were rising slowly.
What’s going on?
He longed to reach out and pull them down, but something inside him warned him not to. They too suffered the same fate, and disappeared into the air.

The silence in the air was palpable. A deep-seeded need was boiling over inside of Adam. John and Zelia had to live—not only because they were his friends but because of that stillness in the air. It unnerved him. Would that same stillness be present when humanity had been annihilated? Adam turned to his friends in desperation; he breathed the word run and simultaneously thought,
I will throw stones at the demon’s eyes
. Praying that the distraction would work, he stood and walked toward the demon with one hand behind his back.

“Come to slay Goliath?” Rolmar uttered. Adam continued to walk toward the demon. Out of the corner of his eye he saw his friends escape through the crowd and to a nearby building. “You show great courage in the face of imminent doom, and for that fact alone I will spare you once more.” Adam’s relief lasted for a few short seconds before the rest of the crowd took to the air like bullets and vanished.