The Terra-Belle Demon, Chapter 26

I went up to the front desk and waited for the hawkish librarian to lift her eyes up from examining a large pile of books. She never did, so I casually queried, “Doing some speed reading?”

Without raising her head to meet my gaze, she informed me, “I’m checking this material for bed bugs.”

“Oh!” I wasn’t sure how to react to this tidbit, and I was sorry I made the enquiry! She didn’t seem particularly receptive to my presence, but she could obviously hear me, so I asked her, “Do you have any books about the early nineteen hundreds?”

“We have lots of books about the twentieth century. Could you be more specific?” she questioned as she continued her work.

Okay, so my request sounded kind of dumb, but did she need to be so rude about it? Why did she have such an attitude about my solicitation for her assistance? Was she upset I ruined her enjoyable activity of searching for creepy-crawlies in her literature? I forced myself to ignore her unfriendly demeanor though since she would be the quickest way to find what I was searching for, and to save time, I swallowed my pride and petitioned her, “Can you tell me where to find stuff about Terra Belle’s history?”

With her peepers remaining locked in on her task, she directed me, “Go to the non-fiction section. It’s the third row from the left.” 

I appreciatively regarded her, “Thank you!” She sort of sniffed as a reaction to my gratitude, but she didn’t glance up. I wanted to see how committed she was to this overly preoccupied act, so I smoothly verbalized, “Don’t overdue it! You’ll check out!” She nearly dropped the novel in her hand, and when she stared at me in disbelief, I laughed and walked away.

After scouring through lots of shelving, I finally zeroed in on the exact spot the publications I needed were located in. I wondered where to begin, and I espied a title that seemed promising. “Who’s Who in Terra Belle’s Past?” I read aloud.

Casper’s voice rang out from the other side of the aisle, “You won’t be in there!”

“Well, obviously!” I shook my noggin in aggravation over his pathetic attempt to insult me. “I’m not here checking to see if my name’s mentioned in any of these pages! Who would do that?”

“No one I know…” Casper’s sight darted wildly after he delivered that line. It was obvious that he was fibbing, but before I could remark on that, he more confidently stated, “You won’t ever get an honor like that! Your reign is over!”

I let out an angry sigh, and then I relented, “Alright, go ahead and give whatever explanation you have on why you think you’re better than me, but make it fast! I’ve got things to do.”

He appeared poised to utter some of his usual nonsense that he frequently delivered as he sought to bring me down, but to my surprise, he shrugged and perused the political tomes adjacent to him. “I don’t need to. It’s been established already.”

“What do you mean?” I eyed him suspiciously.

“Last semester, all I heard in the halls was chatter about how wonderful you are and what a hero you were,” Casper relayed to me. “Not anymore! The discourse changed to concern over your well-being. Everyone’s saying you’ve cracked!”

My temper began to flare. It was hard enough to have gotten subjected to terrible rumors about my sanity, but it infuriated me that he was actually getting some pleasure off of my misery! Him, out of all people, too! “You know that all of that is a lie!”

Casper rebutted, “Undoubtedly! But what am I supposed to do, throw myself under the bus with you?” I seethed at that, and then he added, “You’re not doing anything to help yourself dispel this gossip! You’ve been behaving so oddly lately! Like, right now! Why are you researching anything on this topic? You’re a business teacher, people will think you’re strange for studying outside of your realm!”

He was absolutely correct, but I wasn’t about to admit that! “And you’re not gonna try to give them a proper rationale for it, are you? You could say I’m gathering facts on economic trends of yesteryear, but you won’t ‘cause you want to be king! Well, newsflash, your subjects still aren’t worshipping you, so you’re being an a-hole for no reason!” I stormed out of the area prior to him saying another word.

A group of teens was loudly whispering about their biology paper, and while I briefly found it intriguing to hear feedback about Aleck’s homework, it was starting to get irritating because it was making me lose concentration on my reading. I could see a section on the Karro family, but it didn’t appear to issue any facts that Ellie didn’t already reveal to me. It was difficult to certify this conclusion though since those kids became too noisy with their quiet talk! I scanned a blurb about Damon’s great-nephew causing a scandal with the woman he chose to marry, but I didn’t grasp the full story due to the cacophony at the neighboring table. I wound up yielding to my distraction when I heard a girl suggest, “We should use something I got to help us cheat…” As a service to my friend, I felt I needed to get the scoop here, but the juveniles must have sensed my scrutiny- they took a brief glimpse of me, and the girl changed her tune, “Never mind!”

I returned to the lore in my hands, but then a student stood before my position and politely addressed me, “Mister Fenmore?”

“Yes, Peter?” I couldn’t fathom what he needed, but I sincerely doubted this conversation would prove to be anything but tedious. I would have loved to have had one normal interaction with him, but thus far, it had yet to transpire!

“Could you go over this and say if it looks right,” he requisitioned.

I emitted an exasperated exhale, but I accepted the paper he furnished. When I scanned it, my visage contorted into a pronounced frown. “Peter, this is a take-home quiz for your American Literature class!”

Peter confirmed, “Yeah, totally! I figured that since she’s your fiancé and all, you’d have the answers…”

“If I did, do you really imagine I’d aid your effort to plagiarize homework issued by another faculty member?” I challenged him.

“But it’s super hard!” Peter whined. “She purposely asks stuff that you’d only know if you read the textbook!”

I shot back, “Then why don’t you read it?”

Peter objected, “But I only have an hour here since my dad had to use his car and mine’s still in the shop!” I ogled at him sternly, and, for once, he took a hint. “Fine! I’ll use my hour to learn that play!”

He stomped off, and as vexing as that exchange had been, I was glad I could revert to my previous endeavor. I went over a single sentence, and another individual in khaki pants roosted themselves by my side. I lost my patience and snapped, “No! I didn’t come here to swindle other teachers!” When I got a gander at who was there, a lump rose up into my throat!

Manual seemed slightly off-put by my comment, and I grimaced. I reckoned he would fire me for my curtness, but to my astonishment, he genially articulated, “Well, that’s good to know!” This alleviated me, but then he entreated me, “Connor, let’s go into that study and rap!”

My first reaction was to get dumbfounded- there was an empty study room and those youths chose to bring their raucous covertness into the main quarters? They gawked at us, so I assured them, “He didn’t mean the musical kind!” It suddenly registered to me what he meant, and I started to panic! This was it, he reached his final straw and planned to terminate me! I logically esteemed that he was unlikely to do so in a locale that was so unofficial and that if he did want to fire me, he would’ve required that I visit his office, but still, I developed a sinking sensation following him into that site!

Manuel shut the door, and I stood rigidly waiting for the inevitable misfortune he was set to deliver. Manuel invited me, “Have a seat!”

“I lost my ability to relax!” I reported.

“Okay… I brought some chocolate…” He offered me a pumpkin-shaped bar, but I showed no inclination to take it, so he told me, “You’re not in trouble!”

I didn’t believe him. “…but…?”

Manuel looked as though he was going to argue with that, but when he beheld my thoroughly nonplussed expression, he admitted, “A lot of the staff has come to me with concerns. They’ve described a heightened moodiness, numerous bouts of nervousness, talking to yourself…”

“So, you believe I’m crazy now too?” I sorely spat. I folded my arms resentfully in anticipation of my probable dismissal, and I could scarcely comprehend that the devilish dunce managed to get me canned! I found some solace in getting myself removed from a region where a slew of innocent children could become collateral damage, but mostly, I got furious that I was getting taken away from my second family and where I finally felt like I truly belonged! It wasn’t fair!

“No,” Manuel affirmed. I truly didn’t view his assertion as authentic, so he insisted, “I’m being honest! I have a degree in psychology, so I know the difference between someone who’s mentally imbalanced and someone who isn’t. I don’t think you’re crazy…” I felt rather vindicated to hear that someone validated my accurate status, but I also forecasted another “but” coming. “…but…” There it was! “… I do think you’re extremely stressed. I don’t want this to interfere with your career! You’re an outstanding educator, everyone says so!”

I catechized, “Everyone?”

Manuel corrected himself, “Almost. Roxy had some interesting complaints, but Roxy is… different!” It soothed me to learn that my lessons were held with high respect, but I persisted in expecting some sort of awful catch to this meeting. “I cannot ignore your unusual actions though. It would make all of us feel better, yourself included, if you saw a therapist. You’ll get the support you need, and I’ll have something to tell people who contact me about this.”

It bothered me to add another chore to my already heavy load, but if it would get everybody to hush, I decreed this concept worth exploring. “Alright.”

“Excellent!” Manuel beamed. “Email me a copy of your appointment when you make it. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“Uh…” I wished I could call upon him to lend a hand in fighting Damon and his clandestine accomplice, but currently, Manuel didn’t judge me as unbalanced, and I desired to keep it like that! Alternatively, I stated, “Can you convince my mom that Phoebe and I don’t need an engagement party?”

Manuel chortled, “Are you kidding? You should have seen the size of my engagement party! Relatives from other countries flew in, and all of a sudden, there weren’t any vacancies in any of the hotels near this city!” I winced at that idea, and I had the rare thought that my situation could have been worse! Manuel gave me a supportive pat on the arm, and he bade me, “Take care, buddy!”

He exited the vicinity, and I took a minute to absorb what just occurred. I wasn’t savoring the burden of lessening my possible leisure hours in the future, but at least I no longer had the anxiety of getting sacked. As I prepared to vacate the premises, I got a notification on my phone. “Oh, please don’t be something annoying!” I prayed as I surveyed my screen…

To my delight, it was an update from Classbook! “Dear Connor, we’re pleased to announce that we’ve ruled in your favor! The Conduit appears to have broken our community standards against fraud based on a clearly bogus claim of giving buyers the ability to perform magic…” Hey, it wasn’t like I could allege that they were selling real wands that originated from the depths of Hell! “Due to the safety of minors being involved, we’re permanently shutting down this marketplace shop! … At last, some good news!” I rejoiced. I was set to celebrate until I noticed their disclaimer. “Please be advised that we don’t have the ability to force users to relinquish their purchases, so whatever is already out in circulation may wind up staying there… Well, that’s spectacular! How many suckers bought from this prick?”

“Did someone say ‘suck’ and ‘prick?’” Mara silkily posed to me as she entered the chamber.

“Oh, jeez! Don’t do that!” I hollered from the shock of her abrupt appearance. Once my agitation simmered down, I became perplexed why Phoebe’s sister showed up in this specific locale. “What on earth are you doing here?”

The Terra-Belle Demon, Chapter 25

After I let out an involuntary yelp, Phoebe queried, “Are you alright over there?”

“Everything’s fine!” I lied as I stood face to face with a mosquito the size of my head. I have no clue what a mosquito’s noggin is supposed to look like, but I was fairly certain they didn’t have two bulging eyes and a mouth that could produce a sinister smile! It stared at me in an evil delight, and while I found it pretty creepy, my fear didn’t stem from its menacing appearance- I grew terrified that Phoebe would catch sight of it! It filled me with apprehension to picture the psychological damage it could do to her while she suffered from her memory loss, and I couldn’t figure out the best method to obliterate this threat…

“You don’t sound fine!” Phoebe denoted.

I think that this creature could sense what was causing me dread because it began to ascend toward the fence! Luckily, I positioned a broom within arm’s reach! I grabbed it and informed Phoebe, “I just gotta… smoosh this bug!”

Phoebe asked, “Why? It’s already outside, why not leave it?”

The giant mosquito nodded in agreement with her, and I ignored it as I let Phoebe know, “This one’s real bad, it has to go!”

“Hmm… I gotta see this!” Phoebe commented.

“No!” I pled with her, but she was nearly outside of the gate already. I used the broom like a baseball bat, and I smacked it into some nearby bushes in the small grove of trees that bordered our dwelling. It disappeared into the foliage when she popped into view, but I could see it moving, so it was plain to tell that I wouldn’t be able to shield her from viewing it for very much longer. I panicked for a moment…

Her cellphone rang, and mercifully, it was somebody that she felt willing to speak with! “Oh hi, Mom!” She returned to the backyard, and I became alleviated… for a second! I assumed that she would take this call inside of the house, but instead, she sat down on our cheap patio furniture and chatted, “No, I haven’t had a chance to check out  the alterations you made to that dress…”

As she conversed with Miriam, the giant mosquito made another bid to breach our perimeter. I missed it, but it backpedaled a little. I heard Phoebe assess, “Mom, it’s not done!” The giant mosquito went for it several more times as Phoebe carried on. “It’s still too long! You were the one who told me that I tripped over it in the shop! I don’t wanna walk down the aisle and fall flat on my face!”

My heart raced furiously as it managed to hover over our fence! I quickly peeked inside and prayed it didn’t give her an aneurysm or something, but Phoebe somewhat irately gestured towards the sky at that exact instance. “Of course, Connor would still marry me if my image got a little messed up! But I don’t wanna say my vows with my makeup smeared or a broken nose or whatever!”

I hit it sideways, and it tumbled out of her range prior to her discovering this insane insect. I did my utmost to deliver a deadly blow, but it was almost impossible for me to come into contact with it! I got out of breath, and to my surprise, so did the giant mosquito! I posed to it, “You have lungs?” It shrugged, and we resumed battle.

Phoebe argued with Miriam, “No, Mom! I’m not saying that you’re doing a bad job! It looks great! You can’t even spot the burn marks! How did the dress get singed again?”

That enquiry distracted me momentarily. I got so worried that Miriam would spill the beans about the supernatural element that got her gown scorched that I paused my pursuit. The giant mosquito took advantage of this and zoomed in her direction, but I was able to catch it by its tail. I thought that this would give me an edge on this nuisance, but I was wrong! It fluttered over my body significantly high, and I couldn’t get anywhere close to where I could issue a fatal blow. As it struggled to break free of my grip, I pushed my mind to unearth a solution to this conundrum!

“Ouch!” I cried out as Jett hopped from a post to my arm. She climbed up my limb, and the giant mosquito bugged out (Sorry, I couldn’t help myself!), so I reckoned this was a valid fix for this problem! Jett pounced on it, and the pair wound up rolling around on the ground. When their activity ceased, Jett emerged victoriously! “Good kitty! You saved us!”

“She saved us from what?” Phoebe inquired.

Preceding my ability to reply, six more giant mosquitos popped out of the shrubbery! I was stunned, but my priority was my future wife, so I forced myself to calmly relay to her, “Nothing!” Actually, it didn’t give a calm impression whatsoever, but Phoebe resumed her interaction with Miriam, so I had several minutes to manufacture another excuse! Meanwhile…

Jett scurried off with her tail fizzed out, so I got left alone to deal with these pesty adversaries. Initially, I utilized the broom, but I wore myself out rather quickly doing that! I caught my breath by the hose’s storage, and I beheld them swiftly darting toward my fiancé! I was about to succumb to the notion of my inevitable loss when it suddenly occurred to me that the remedy laid directly below me! I rapidly turned the nozzle on and aimed the blast of water at their wings. Success! One by one, they plummeted to the floor! They still showed signs of life though, and my liquid weapon wasn’t doing the trick! “You’re not drowning? I thought you all had lungs!” They shrugged,, and I growled. If I halted this counterattack to dispose of the critters the old-fashioned way, surely, one or more of them would have gotten up to ambush Phoebe! So, now what?

“Oh! You found my pets!” A young boy who bore an uncanny likeness to my neighbor, Rowan, gazed at the giant mosquitos in a guilty manner.

“Your pets?” I repeated his characterization of these monsters incredulously. “Rhys…! Why?”

Rhys sheepishly shuffled in the dirt. “Well, Papa wouldn’t let us get another animal after how much effort it took to care for our gerbils, so…”

I petitioned him, “Out of all of the pets you could’ve conjured, why the heck would you..?” I mulled that over briefly, and then I changed my tune, “You know what, that isn’t important! Your new companions are going to Mosquito Heaven… Or something below that…”

“Uh-huh!” Rhys agreed with my pronouncement. “I saw that they were a mistake from… well, everything about them! That’s why I brought this out!”

“Natural Ned’s Insect Canceller?” I read the label on the bottle that he furnished quizzically.

Rhys explained, “Papa doesn’t like to kill bugs, but he bought this in case something poisonous infested our property. Do these guys have poison?”

I grabbed the fluid from him and asserted, “They’re deadly, so close enough!” 

To be frank, I wasn’t totally certain a container with the kindest-looking hippie depicted on it would prove itself as an effective bug killer, but it was worth a shot! I drizzled a generous amount on each of the mosquitos, and I crossed my fingers that it wasn’t a massive mistake to trust the recommendation of a ten-year-old! I prepared to resume my incessant spritzing, but to my astonishment, the substance prevailed! We both watched the creatures to verify their status, and we both let out a huge exhale in assuagement when it was certifiably over!

“Huh! Natural Ned knows his stuff!” I tossed the nearly empty vessel to Rhys, and I expressed, “I hope it wasn’t too expensive!”

“I’m pretty positive it was So was this stick!” Rhys drew a wand out of his pocket. He espied my startled visage, and he justified himself, “The dude said it was a charm! Papa has all sorts of crystals and lucky trinkets, I wanted to surprise him!”

With furrowed brows, I probed, “You pictured him enjoying his place getting filled with giant, murderous mosquitos?”

Rhys refuted, “I needed to test drive it! I didn’t want them to hurt anyone! This thing’s evil I’m gonna go see if I can get a refund for it!”

“Who is this bozo who sold it to you?” Once again, I did everything I could to convey casualness, but it was hard for me to buy my own tone! I was on the precipice of gaining major progress in my mission against that devilish dunce, and it was too laborious to stifle my eagerness to get to the bottom of this!

“Uh…” Rhys hesitated, which I presumed stemmed from my overzealousness. I made a mental note to work on my acting skills more, and then he eventually elucidated, “I didn’t get his name, but his shop was called The Conduit. Whatever that means!”

He went by the guise of The Conduit? Why didn’t I think to search for the obvious factor here? I was almost going to ask him some follow-ups, but then Rowan shouted, “Rhys! If you don’t go inside immediately, we’re gonna do some serious reflecting!”

Rhys’s eyes widened, and he zipped into his abode. I found his punishment far less daunting than he did, but I supposed that I had no idea how intense those reflections were. I shook that concept out of my brain, and I refocused on the critical tip-off I just received! At last, I possessed a path to the buffoon who dared to align themselves with Damon! I hardly knew where to begin, but I was thrilled to dive in! I pulled out my cellphone, and then…

“Oof!” Phoebe exclaimed from near the gate. I swiveled around, and I was aghast to see that my girlfriend had fallen into the muddy aftermath of the mosquito invasion! I hurried over to assist her back to her feet, but she already picked herself up. She glanced around at the wet soot as well as the soil stains on the fence, and she concluded, “I hope whatever bug offended you was worth all of the extra work you’re gonna have to do!”

“It was!” I grinned broadly knowing I was divulging an absolute fact to her for once.

Phoebe smiled, but then she ogled the garments she was wearing in disgust. “Ugh! I need to go wash these! And take a shower!”

I apologized, “Sorry! If it makes a difference, you’re still beautiful even with dingy clothes!”

“Aw! I’m not mad! This stuff’ll wash out! We have good detergent.” She nearly planted a peck on me, but she refrained. “Uh, you probably won’t wanna get all grimy…”

“Come here!” I pulled her in and smooched her on the lips. She beamed at me prior to returning to our domicile, and my heart fluttered. The saga with the mosquitos slipped my mind- today seemed like it would turn out great for me!

A familiar female’s speech articulated, “Ha! I see I’ve caught you at the perfect opportunity!”

I was so overtaken by alarm that I almost slipped in that same muck! Seriously, she couldn’t have been here! She only visited me at this address in my nightmares! I slowly shifted to her vicinity hoping I would prove my anxiety wrong, but I didn’t! To my horror, she was there in the flesh- Lilith!

Lilith triumphantly smirked at me as she primped her fresh hairdo and smoothed out her scantily-clad outfit. She pursed her lips, and then she sneered, “You got a little something on your…” She indicated to her lips and cheeks.

“Thank you for that! Now you can crawl back to whatever hole you crawled out of!” I spat. I didn’t have any inkling why she chose to haunt my yard right then, but I sincerely didn’t care! I was in no mood for drama, and I desired her to desert from my periphery more than anything!

“Fine! It’s only across the street!” She snickered when she espied the appalled expression I developed, and then she carried on, “Yes, I inherited my second husband’s estates! His seventy-year-old children were pissed, but I simply had to settle my roots here for a while so you could view the tasty morsel you missed out on forever!” She cackled in delight, and prior to my reaction unfolding, debris flew onto her! She spotted Jett burying something, and then she seethed, “You’re gonna pay for my dry cleaning bills!”

I retorted, “Fine! But don’t forget the last time you aimed to extort money from me- the judge laughed at your alimony request and ordered you to hand over cash to me!” She snarled at me, but she didn’t utter another word. As she stomped to her habitation, I roared with amusement! Soon though, I frowned. How much more trouble would befall upon me?

The Terra-Belle Demon, Ch. 24

“That’s the most important aspect of this process!” I declared as I stood before the mostly apathetic audience that comprised my first-period class. “Asking open-ended questions allows you to really get to know the candidate for the position you’re hiring for. If they only give you yes or no answers, it’ll be harder for you to gauge their personality. You need to dig a little deeper to recruit the best people to your business.”

“So, Principal Palillo gave closed questions to our new secretary?” Yurei inquired.

I wanted to snicker at that, but I had to maintain a certain level of professionalism here, so I gently wagged my finger at her. “That’s not very nice!”

Yurei objected, “But this morning I went into the office to give an absence request for Thanksgiving, and I saw Mister Ravana tangled up in telephone wire! Like he was seriously trapped in it!”

That image caused me to shake my head, but I also felt thankful that I didn’t have to be the one to get him out of a jam for once! I couldn’t broadcast my misgivings about my colleague to these kids though, so I ignored her comment and continued with my lecture, “Personality questions are important, but remember to delve into subjects related to the job…”

I espied Ismeray doodling in her notebook, but I knew the next part of my lesson would get her attention! I needed to figure out if she was behind the sale of Damon’s wands from Hell, and I certainly couldn’t have a private conversation with her about it! She was rarely alone nowadays, and I couldn’t isolate her in detention since she never broke any rules (as far as I could tell!), so the only possible avenue for this subject to get broached seemed to be to casually mention it in my lecture. At least I hoped I could avoid my nerves and keep it casual! I took a deep breath, and then I explained, “For example, if you wanted to run a successful witch and wizard school, you would wanna ensure that you hire someone who’s talented with magic!” Yes! She perked up at that reference! I reached the juncture to discover her role in this episode! I found it difficult to act aloofly at that second, but I did my utmost to convey that as I probed, “Ismeray, what kinds of wand-work questions would you use in this scenario?”

As I awaited her response, my heart beat wildly. I was more than ready to get a solid lad in this mystery, and while I possessed no clue on how I would proceed if she was the culprit, I would’ve been elated to have gained some momentum in my quest to eradicate this town of that dumb demon’s presence! To my dismay, she reported, “I dunno! We don’t use wands in my coven.”

“You don’t?” I strove to hide my disappointment right then. Not that I would’ve been pleased to have a pupil getting used as a pawn for that devilish jerk’s ploy, I simply would’ve been elated to have moved forward in this debacle! Now, I would have to return to square one!

“No!” Ismeray confirmed. “Wands can enhance certain spells, but if the wand wasn’t fashioned by someone you trust, then you don’t really know what curses are interlaced inside of it. Only a fool would dabble with those!”

I wondered if she knew that her sister previously owned a wand when she said that, but I didn’t want to bring up personal issues in my classroom. Prior to me continuing this discourse, Peter protested, “Hey! I sold a wand recently! I would’ve been more of a fool if I let that cash just pass me by! Am I right, Mister Fenmore?”

It alarmed me to hear that he passed that perilous apparatus to someone else! I still didn’t want the children to see my angst over this topic though, so I nonchalantly queried, “That depends… Who did you sell the wand to?”

“I don’t know!” Peter scratched his scale contemplatively. “It was definitely a guy though! A young dude who… Or maybe it was that old lady… Why does that matter?”

“Why does that matter?” Roxy dramatically arose from her seat and went on a soapbox. “It matters ‘cause you had a piece of my beloved in your hands, and you selfishly took away my chance to help him with his noble fight! DIRTBAG!”

I never saw a group of teens so still or quiet! No one appeared to understand what she meant, and I imagine they were too afraid to seek clarification from her! I understood what she was referring to, and I still became slightly terrified of her! I wanted to call our hall monitor to escort her out of there, but I feared that paging Sam would infuriate her already volatile temper! I needed to do something, but what?

Fortunately, I was saved by the bell! Her peers, especially Peter, dashed into the hall as swiftly as possible, and I didn’t blame them! I would’ve fled from the area myself if it wasn’t my turf! I assumed that Roxy would stay inside and holler some more, or she may have merely glared profusely. Either scenario wasn’t very palatable for me, and I bristled at the concept of dealing with her deranged confrontation! To my surprise, she did neither! She gathered her belongings and huffed out of my sight! “Huh…!” I watched her vanish from my periphery in case she decided to produce some sort of revenge against me, but she traveled away from this sector fairly briskly! It didn’t really make sense to me, but I wasn’t going to turn down a bit of tranquility! I kicked back as I waited for the next batch of adolescents, and I verbalized my abatement, “Finally! Some peace!”

Yeah, I definitely jinxed that! As if on cue, I heard a cacophony of screams from down the foyer! I snapped out of my repose, and I groaned, “Why now?” I  dreaded this matchup, but I also was kind of glad to get the daily assault over with! I considered that perhaps the student behind this incident would provide me with some evidence that would lead to that dastardly dunce’s accomplice, or, at the very minimum, it sounded like there were dozens of witnesses in this instance, which I would have been grateful for so that perhaps my best friends would finally believe my claims about the nightmare transpiring in our borough!

I mentally prepared myself to encounter another bizarre beast charged up to do battle, but what was present didn’t fit that criterion whatsoever! Well, maybe the bizarre part! Sam had apparently tackled someone, and when I got a closer gander, that person was Brantley! “You can’t do this!” Brantley rather gravelly articulated.

“Oh, yes I can!” Sam refuted. “Since you’re breaking the law, I have the right to detain you!”

“I wasn’t breaking any laws!” Brantley argued. “I came to visit my girlfriend at her place of employment! Does that make me a criminal?”

Preceding Sam’s follow-up to that, I informed him, “He doesn’t have a girlfriend! He’s stalking mine!”

Brantley contended, “I’m not stalking her! I trail her on occasion and watch her from afar- big difference!”

“Not really, bruh!” a boy witnessing this spectacle put in.

“I’m aggressively courting her ‘cause I’m determined to win her back!” Brantley avidly asserted.

A girl in the throng remarked, “You’re creepy!”

Brantley raved, “None of you are romantic!”

“What are you doing on this floor?” I catechized. “The future Missus Fenmore is downstairs!”

“This meddler was patrolling in front of the entryway, so I figured I could sneak around,” Brantley elucidated. “You’re awful, you freakin’ meddler!”

Sam brushed that off, “I’ve received worse insults than that! Let’s go!” The bell rang, and the youths in that locale panicked slightly. “It’s alright, I won’t issue a tardy for this!” They exhaled in alleviation, and Same began to cart his captor from the campus.

Brantley craned his neck back and beseeched the bystanders, “Tell Miss Caracy I love her!”

I instructed the juveniles, “Don’t do that!” Brantley gave me a piercing scowl, and it reminded me of the glower Damon would display after a supreme loss. I hadn’t contemplated it until that minute, but Brantley did arrive at the hospital awfully fast after Phoebe got injured by one of Damon’s monsters! Was he the conduit? I craved to reflect on this for a lengthy stint, but I noticed my second-period class was gawking at me in confusion! Oops! I raced to my chambers, and I had to table that notion so that this lesson would go smoothly!

That afternoon, I blasted a classic rock station as I wiped down my backyard fence, but I was hardly paying attention to either of those things! I was obsessed with the disturbing idea of Brantley possibly being the conduit- I always found him annoying, but he seemed like he was too imbecilic to ever become a threat to my household. Were there signs I missed? I replayed our interactions over and over again, and I couldn’t pinpoint anything, but I wasn’t searching for evidence in the past. I almost hoped that he would make another pathetic appearance to win my fiancé once more that day so I could grill him for the truth in this supernatural situation…

“Hey, babe!” Phoebe greeted me as she emerged from the sliding glass door.

“Bah!” I yelled as I jumped from the fright of her abrupt entrance. I was so lost in rumination that I didn’t see her coming! I felt dumb over that reaction to my beloved, and I strove to recover from this slipup by joking, “And by that, I mean hey gorgeous!”

She gave me a kiss, and then she curiously glimpsed at my current undertaking. “You’re washing the gate? But you don’t even like washing our shower walls!”

I filled her in, “I’m not enjoying this! My mom said they gotta be clean before Saturday so they can tape up the decorations. And it’s not like I don’t like cleaning the shower, I just find it too hard! We had a maid in the penthouse, and now I feel like I should’ve given her a raise!”

Phoebe giggled at my bout of humor, and then she bemoaned, “Oh man, I forgot that we agreed to do the engagement party the night after Homecoming! Why did we think that was a halfway decent plan?”

“My mom promised there’d be booze,” I reminded her.

“That’ll help!” Phoebe affirmed as she picked up the other sponge and joined me in my scouring endeavor. “At least we can get both over with this week! It’s been awful! The deejay opted to break his contract with us ‘cause he heard rumors that our school was haunted! Can you believe that?”

I didn’t know how to reply to that honestly. “Uh…” Technically, we did have a ghost there previously, but that phase of Damon’s existence was very short-lived. His Hellian form took over this semester, but I didn’t esteem that could be deemed as a haunting. Perhaps a possession? In any case, I wasn’t going to mention any otherworldliness until she got her memory restored, so I grew mystified as to what to tell her until another frequent unpleasantness returned to my brain. “Well, we did have a disturbance from the past invade Rosemary King today!”

Phoebe shuddered. “I heard about that… from everyone who showed up! Holy smokes, that’s so embarrassing! And do you know how hard it is to talk about Arthur Miller when something like that occurs?”

“I can imagine!” I was completely serious. In the spring, we had a giant dragon invade the quad during lunch, and the last two periods were impossible to carry on with our educational agenda! Since her ex got inserted into the conversation, I decided to touch on his potential connection with the occult. “What did that jagoff picture he was gonna accomplish by trespassing onto the grounds anyways? Was he gonna, like, cast a romance spell or something?”

“A romance spell?” Phoebe echoed with captivation. My anticipation skyrocketed- I felt positive that she was going to confirm my theory that he dabbled in the dark arts, but instead, she stated, “Brantley wouldn’t even let me have a good luck charm! He claimed it was worshipping false idols. He was such a bore! I keep forgetting why I stayed with that idiot for so long!”

I grinned at her quip, but it was arduous to not get disappointed by this development. I supposed that he could have switched his mentality at any time, but it didn’t seem promising for me theory. To mask my ill contention, I went to the other side of the fence with the intention of washing it. After walking into that portion of my property, I spotted something in the bushes that caused my eyes to go wide…

The Terra-Belle Demon, Chapter 23

George politely greeted me, “Good afternoon, Mister Fenmoe! How can I help you?”

I gawked at him in disbelief. He was acting like this whole experience was so typical, but it is not typical to have an enterprise that claims to have the ability to solve all of your problems for five dollars! I had so many questions swirling around in my head, but this situation presented so much lunacy that my brain locked up! All I could do was sputter, “Why…? What…? You…! Huh?”

“Ah! I can see you’re skeptical!” George observed.

“Skeptical is an understatement!” I asserted. “Please tell me what you’re doing is legal!”

George inquired, “Oh, do I need a permit to run this business?”

I replied, “No! Well, yes! Technically, you would in order to make it legitimate, but I have my doubts about the legitimacy of…. whatever this is!” 

“Yeah, I know! It seems too good to be true,” George acknowledged. “But I’m not greedy- five bucks for this service is ‘cause I truly care!”

“Maybe the five bucks will solve your problems, but how do you expect to solve anything without any tools?”

George refuted, “I have a tool! Would you like to see it?”

I gazed at him hesitantly. “That’s not a codeword for anything, is it?”

“No! It’s a real tool, and it will solve all your problems!” George insisted. “Would you like to see it?”

“Show me!” I didn’t care much for whatever game he was playing, but my curiosity was too intensified to not participate in his antics.

George held out one of his palms and demanded, “Five dollars, please!”

I clicked my tongue in annoyance. “Why would I give you any money if I have no proof that you can do anything more than scam me? What, I give you five dollars, and suddenly, my wishes will come true? So, you’re a genie who wants to make a profit or something?” The subject of magic instantly illuminated me on what this tool may have been! I scrambled to get my wallet out, and I frowned at its contents. “How about you solve a small problem for one clam?”

“Fine!” George agreed. He put my money in his jar, and then he reached into his pocket. I prayed that he possessed an object that did not remotely resemble what I feared it was- I would have rather lost the last of my cash than deal with anything supernatural! To my dismay, he produced a wand! He genially regarded me, “Now, I know what you’re thinking…”

“I really can’t imagine that you do!” I responded. 

George didn’t address my assertion and went on, “This looks like a mere child’s toy, but that’s wrong! It has the ability to create great-!”

I interrupted him, “Where did you get this? Was it a Classbook post?”
“No. I’ve seen them in flashsales, but I never had the opportunity to buy one,” George relayed to me. “I was out practicing pitches in my backyard when my ball flew over the fence. I went down to the creek toget it, and I saw that this had washed ashore. Who would throw away a product like this?”

“Only an idiot would do something so dumb!” I grumbled as I regretted my decision to chuck Cassie’s wand into the water. Why didn’t I consider this as a possibility?

George concurred, “Exactly! But their loss is my gain! I can assist so many folks in need with this! Speaking of which, what would you like me to do for you?”

I firmly declared, “I would like you to give me that wand!”

“Forget it! I’m not giving this up!” George refused while holding the wand protectively. “It can do real spells, you know!”

“I know!” I bitterly recalled several instances where I could verify that as fact.

George misinterpreted my tone, “You don’t believe me! Alright, you want proof? I’ll show you proof!” I expected him to perform a hex, but instead, he called out, “Rakey! Come here for a minute!”

If I had to make a bet on what creature Rakey was, I would’ve lost big time! Never in a million years would I have predicted that I would encounter a giant, walking pumpkin! All of its limbs were made of vines except for its left arm, which was a rake. It bore a malicious smile as it trudged towards us, and I deemed it prudent to take immediate action, but my startlement only allowed me to muster a weak peep, “Why?”

“Isn’t he neat?” George beamed at him with pride.

“There are a lot of adjectives I have for him, but ‘neat’ isn’t one of them!” I riposted.

George proclaimed, “He is evidence that this wand’s power is real!”

As he inched closer to our proximity, my gut urged me to prepare a defense forthwith, but I couldn’t resist asking, “Exactly what problem does that monstrosity solve?”

“Rakey is my new raker,” George answered. “My mom wanted me to quit practicing and rake the leaves, so I manifested a friend to do it for me.”

“I’ve got bad news for you, bud! Rakey is not your friend,” I let him know.

George disagreed, “Of course he is! Look at him, he’s smiling! He’s happy to see me! Aw, he wants a hug!”

Rakey raised his spikes in a threatening fashion, but George persisted in his position for an embrace! I pushed him out of harm’s way, and I did so at a crucial juncture- Rakey took a powerful swipe at George! He still grazed his back a little, so George cried out, “Ow! Bad Rakey!”

As Rakey advanced towards me, I yelled to George, “That wasn’t an accident! Rakey is evil!”

“What are you talking about?” George puzzled. “He plays a tad rough, but he’s designed to only do beneficial stuff for humankind!” He got up and beheld Rakey attempting to strike me, and he exclaimed, “Rakey! What are you doing?”

“That wand was designed todo malicious jinxes! Whatever you do with it, it’ll produce something destructive!” I explained to him as I evaded Rakey’s attacks.

George seemed very troubled by this revelation, but he didn’t appear willing to accept it yet. “But… he did such a great job on our lawn!”

I began to grow frustrated by his obstinate denial, so I vociferated, “Get used to clearing the leaves yourself! I’m not getting raked to death by a giant pumpkin!” I pivoted in different directions in order to get a decent shot at Rakey, but his lengthy breadth kept me out of range. Trying to strategize while fighting for my life was difficult, and it didn’t occur to me that it could get even more complicated until…

“Connor! What the hell are you doing?” Ellie emerged from my vehicle and impatiently put her hands on her hips.

“Missus Wayan! We could use a hand!” George requested.

I notified him, “Her eyes are dilated.”

Rakey raced towards Ellie, so I grabbed his leg to hinder his movements, but he wound up dragging me along! “What do we do?” George fretted.

“Rakey’s gotta get killed!” I staunchly asserted.

“Who’s Rakey?” Ellie catechized.

George objected, “Are you sure? Can’t we persuade him to simply behave?”

I sped in front of Ellie and barred Rakey from wounding her. As he pursued me once more, I commanded Ellie, “Wait in the car!”

“Nuh-uh!” Ellie refused. “You’re up to something weird, aren’t you?”

“I can’t really deny that!” I professed. I then pondered out loud, “How do we destroy it?”

George suggested, “I could do another enchantment.”

I hollered, “No! You’ll only make it worse!”

“What exactly are you trying to get rid of here?” Ellie queried.

“That’s a really good question!” I affirmed as I swerved to avoid Rakey’s wrath. I directed George, “Distract it, and I’ll give it a good whack!”

George whimpered, “I don’t want to! I’m too scared!” Rakey shifted his focus to him after detecting his apprehension. “Oh, I guess I’m gonna do it anyways!”

Rakey propelled himself toward George, and I snuck up close to his noggin. I had seen Jack-O-Lanterns smashed quite frequently during the Halloween season, so I invoked the heavens that giving it a hardy punch would do the trick! I built up the force necessary to ensure my assault would end this creature’s perilous stint in Terra Belle, but prior to me laying a finger on Rakey…

“Connor!” Ellie snapped. Rakey swiveled himself to her direction, and I found myself dodging his blows as she scolded me, “Whatever nonsense you’re up to, hurry up and finish it! You were supposed to bring me home, not play pretend with a kid from my neighborhood!”

“Rakey! See what I’m doing over here! Whoo!” George did a series of dance moves in an effort to distract him.

His aspirations did nothing to persuade Rakey to cease his murderous intentions. Ellie strove to get me to heed her lecture, but I was too busy striving to stay alive! I couldn’t conjure any solutions, and all I could furnish to counter it was to beseech the universe that a sighted individual would happen upon our scene and join our side! I got cornered by a trunk and a tree, and I threw up my hands to shield my body from his weapon. He raised his armament, and I braced for the worst…

My lids were shut tight, and I anticipated feeling agony. Instead, I felt pieces of a hard, smooth surface crumble on me! I glanced up, and to my startlement, Ellie was standing over Rakey’s carcass with a disgusted expression and gobs of pulp on her fist! “Was that a pumpkin?” Ellie shrieked. 

“Sorta.” I breathed a sigh of relief, and then I laughed, “Were you aiming for my head?”

“Someone needed to stop you! You were getting hysterical! I think…” She ogled her mitts in perplexion. I became slightly optimistic at this spectacle- was she starting to believe me?

Our moment got interrupted by Roxy’s breathy voice broadcasting to us, “What… did… I… miss… this… time?”

I automatically reacted with a negation, “Nothing!” I instantaneously regretted that choice! I grew anxious that any consideration that Ellie pertained to my version of events had vanished with that repudiation, and I knocked on wood that Ellie could get persuaded to accept my honest account later on!

“You… lie!” Roxy braked her bike and stomped her foot in frustration. “You… ground… orange… vines!”

“How can you lie like that?” George accosted me.

A woman from an adjacent abode whom I could only presume was George’s mother bellowed, “George! What have you been doing out there?”

George fibbed, “Nothing!” Preceding his return to his domicile, he cracked the wand in half and tossed the remains into the gutter.

“Something did occur here!” Roxy ogled at the shards in an irate disappointment. She dove for the sticks and frantically did what she could to assemble them. “Quick! Tell me what spell he did so I can recreate it!”

“He summoned a million gold bars, but I rejected them ‘cause I took a vow of poverty when I went into the teaching profession!” I sardonically kidded.

Roxy howled in outrage over my pertness, but I already shut the door of my auto. As I drove off, Ellie posed to me, “Connor, what actually went on out there?”

I wasn’t certain if this was an invitation toact with total frankness or if she merely sought to confirm the popular theory of my waning sanity, so I probed, “What do you picture happened out there?”

Ellie mulled it over briefly, and then she concluded, “Regardless of what that was, you seriously need to see a therapist!” I sighed and contemplated what I could do to convince everyone of the reality of this paranormal circumstance…

The Terra-Belle Demon, Chapter 22

“Does it hurt?” the little boy worriedly queried his mother.

I glanced up from my phone and gazed across the small lobby. The lady sitting beneath a designer optic wear poster set down her magazine and gave him a quizzical stare. “It’s an eye exam- what makes your think pain will get involved?”

The boy somewhat anxiously conveyed to his mother, “Well, I was watching a MeTube video, and this guy-!” 

“Ugh! You and those videos! Why do I let you watch those endlessly so frequently?” The mother rubbed her temples in frustration. “Let me guess, this guy stuck something in his eye as part of some stupid stunt?” The boy nodded, so the mother asserted, “You’re gonna be fine ‘cause you didn’t stick anything in your eyes… Right?”

“No…” The boy shifted uncomfortably, and then he started to tear up a tad.

After making a noise of annoyance, the mother probed, “Why are you crying? There’s nothing to be afraid of here! Look at that man!” The mother indicated to me. “You don’t see him getting all weepy over his visit!”

I opened my mouth and nearly revealed that I was actually just waiting for a friend, but after observing the boy’s quelled disposition, I refrained from speaking. I continued pursuing my phone activity, but I soon grew weary of that. I scrolled through hundreds of Classbook ads, and I didn’t discover a single magic wand! A part of me grew hopeful that the conduit had a change of heart about assisting Damon in his diabolical scheme, but that would’ve been way too convenient for me and therefore was implausible. I sighed and took a break from my device. I wondered if the youngsters purchasing these commodities were using a different app, but I had no clue how I would find out what that might have been since it would have been awkward to randomly question my students what they use! I had begun to speculate if I could work it into my lesson plan somehow when I spotted a local periodical- could the conduit have posted his ware in a non-traditional spot? Or at least not traditional by today’s standards! I reached for it, and…

“Ouch!” I cried out after the publication gave me a paper cut. The sting seemed unusually venomous, and I strove to maintain a brave face, but I couldn’t help but sob slightly. What hurt worse is when I recalled that Elara specifically mentioned an app! The boy glimpsed at me in concern, so I immediately sprang up and went to the clerk. “Excuse me, do you have a bandage for my finger?” I made certain to heighten my volume enough so that the boy would recognize that my blubbering had nothing to do with the medical procedure he was about to go through. I didn’t really need to treat my small wound, but I felt responsible for this boy’s well-being now!

“I just have these dragon ones- is that okay?” the clerk verified with me.

Remembering the beast I had dealt with yesterday, I wanted to say no, but it’s not like I could tell her that! “Yes, fine!” 

She handed it to me, and then she reassured me, “The doctor is finishing up with his last patient, so you should be up shortly.”

“I’m not here for me. I’m someone’s ride,” I informed her in a low voice.

“Really? When was the last time you got a checkup?” The clerk peered into my peepers.

I politely declined, “I don’t need it!” She didn’t seem to believe me, and after mulling it over for a moment, I realized it had been a few since I did an ocular appointment. “Alright, what’s your next opening?”

A doctor opened the door next to the clerk and guided his patient, “Here you are, Missus Wayan! This must be your husband!”

“Husband? Do I look like a cougar to you?” Ellie barked at him. The doctor made an uncomfortable expression, and Ellie huffed, “Don’t give me that look!”

“How did you know?” the doctor inquired.

I replied, “We’re teachers- we have a sixth sense for it!” I received Ellie, and I complimented her, “Those sunglasses really suit you!”

Ellie riposted, “Don’t lie! They make me appear like Stevie Wonder!” I wanted to argue with that, but it was pretty accurate! Obviously, Ellie could tell I was stifling a snicker since she snapped, “Let’s go!”

As I drove through the city, I couldn’t stop thinking about where those kids got their wands. I could have searched every selling app and website ad, but there had to be a more direct approach in narrowing it down! I doubted that Damon would opt to use any random person as his conduit, there had to have been a more personal reason for his choice! But who else did he have a connection to? He got into a relationship once after his transformation, but Martha had a heart attack and returned to her husband. Roxy would have been willing to do it, but I suspected that Damon would deem her as incapable of pulling off such an intricate arrangement. It wasn’t often I said this, but he wasn’t wrong there! His family all died a century ago, so who else would’ve been significant enough for that otherworldly jerk to choose for a task so important to him?

I glanced over to Ellie, and I wistfully wished that she was more prone to act cooperatively in this matter! Her lore of history might have been invaluable for this venture, but I was fairly positive she would shoot me down if I even attempted to bring it up to her. Still, I had to give it a shot, didn’t I? I couldn’t let this opportunity pass me by and live with the regret of my indecision! I chewed on the most logical icebreaker to this conversation, and I finally landed on something that was halfway decent. I craned my neck to her direction, but prior to me getting to utter a single word, Ellie cut me off, “Nope!”

“You don’t even know what I was gonna say!” I protested.

“Yes, I do!” Ellie disagreed. “You were gonna ask me something about Damon, weren’t you?”

I lied, “No!” Ellie’s visage contorted to display her disbelief at my claim, so I expanded on my statement, “Well, it was related to him. Specifically, it was about his relations…”

Ellie pressed me, “Why do you wanna know about that?” 

“Uh…” I wracked my brain to unearth a rationale that didn’t involve the truth of his reappearance but also didn’t entail me sputtering a major fib. As we passed by a thicket of trees, I espied an abandoned abode that sort of reminded me of the one across the street from me. Well, what was located there preceding that absolutely awful McMansion’s construction! I recollected a bit of background on that joint, and I concocted a totally plausible motive for me to interrogate her about that place’s past! “Damon’s sister used to live in that house opposite of mine. Ferneus told us her husband died of diarrhea and that she went mad after Damon disappeared, but that’s all I know about her! I’m curious what went on in that hovel during her duration there.”

“No, you’re not!” Ellie disputed. “You’re doing research on that prick ‘cause you believe he resurfaced!”

I countered, “What makes you think I’m not interested in learning about the story of what occurred in my neighborhood back in the day?”

Ellie argued, “You all tune out whenever I speak about the historical events of Terra Belle! It was just last week you guys started tuning out about my anecdote saying this town’s name came from a spelling error by the original post office. See, you’re tuning me out right now!”

“I’m concentrating on the road!” I wasn’t being completely deceptive there! She was mostly correct, but I wasn’t going to admit that to her! I was determined to sell her on the idea of divulging some much-needed data to me, so I catechized, “Oh, come on! I’m giving you an opening to discuss something you love! How can you turn it down?”

“There’s gotta be a catch!” Ellie warily concluded. 

I posed to her, “What if there is no catch and I’m simply showing some kindness to a buddy who’s not feeling her best?”

Ellie laughed, “I don’t buy that, but if it’ll shut you up, I’ll tell you what I know.” I waited with bated breath! Finally, I was going to get the answers I so desperately sought! I felt so convinced that she was about to give me the key to solving this whole drama that I pulled over by a wooded area and paid the utmost attention to what she revealed. “His sister, Adalia, married the owner of a successful store in Philadelphia. The oldest brother, Edlin, inherited the textile factory their father ran. Edlin cut both of his siblings off from the wealth the factory generated, but they most likely didn’t care since Adalia was already taken care of by her husband and Damon already had a trust fund he relied on.”

“Damon was a trust fund brat?” I chuckled. “That makes sense!”

“Yup!” Ellie agreed, and then she went on, “Well, after Tobin died, Adalia relied on Damon financially, and I imagine they grew very close personally too ‘cause she changed her last name from Huxley back to Karro.”

I put in, “Well, she learned magic and opened a portal to the Netherworld just to find him, so yeah, they were probably close!”

Ellie went on, “The historical records corroborate that. Adalia became known as the Widow Karro after Damon disappeared. Edlin obviously didn’t care about his sister’s mental demise ‘cause he could’ve easily afforded her medical management all along, but he gained even more wealth after he turned the textile factory into a spaghetti sauce manufacturer. It’s crazy- Piacere Mio started with his family!”

“Wow! Do you reckon Edlin purposely switched to a garlic product after Damon’s vampire transformation?” I pondered.

“It’s hard to say! There was no evidence Damon and Edlin ever made contact again, so it was probably a coincidence,” Ellie determined.

This was all very interesting, but it didn’t really satisfy my hunch of who that devilish dastard would choose as his conduit. He possessed as strong bond with his sister, but that wouldn’t have assisted him in the present… unless… “Did the Widow Karro ever remarry? Did she have kids? What happened to her? You know, aside from going nuts and manifesting an avenue to the undead…”

Ellie reported, “She spent the rest of her days as a loony spinster, and she was found dead in her bedroom at eighty-eight.”

“That’s it?” I couldn’t suppress the disappointment that erupted as a result of this lack of leads. My instincts truly persuaded me that I had reached a breakthrough, and yet I couldn’t distinguish anything from this adage that may have aided me in stopping that moronic fiend’s plot! I became slightly embittered by this setback, especially since I could have dropped Ellie off by now and gone home to engage in some productive activity!

“What were you expecting?” Ellie enquired.

I didn’t want to evoke any outrage from her by revealing my participation in the mission of the supernatural dilemma that none of my acquaintances accepted as fact, so I quickly articulated a rejoinder, “I dunno! Something other than some whack-a-do from yesteryear might be haunting a property near mine!”

Ellie chortled, and then she warned me, “Since I gave you this information, I better not hear any more talk about that creep! If you say his name one more time, I swear I’ll bop you! ‘Kay?’

Evidently, she wanted me to promise I would swear off my quest against that demonic dope, but I couldn’t do that! I strove to generate a response that would quell her, but prior to that transpiring, I saw a young man emerge from a nearby dwelling with a folding table. He taped a sign to the front that read: George Solves All of Your Problems for Five Dollars. This intrigued me enough that I articulated, “What’s this?”

“A bop is a hit,” Ellie filled me in like I was an idiot.

“Yeah, duh! I meant this student from Rosemary King with a strange business on his lawn.” I studied him for a minute, and he didn’t have anything with him except for a jar that he wrote “Payments here!” on. My interest piqued, I had to get to the bottom of this bizarreness! “I’ll return shortly,” I affirmed to Ellie as I emerged from my vehicle. As I approached Geroge, he had his hands folded neatly like everything was normal, but that couldn’t possibly have been true!

The Terra-Belle Demon, Chapter 21

“There you are!” Aleck exclaimed in relief. “I was beginning to think you weren’t coming! I told my wife I’d be home in time for her book club meeting.”

“Oh, you’re wife is a big reader, huh?” I conversed as I grabbed a sponge and started scrubbing green muck off of a messy desk.

Aleck shrugged. “I guess so. But she promised to bring the refreshments this week, which really means wine. I doubt she’d be half as interested in discussing literature if she weren’t slightly buzzed!”

I chuckled, and then I remarked, “Tell her not to get her drinks at the Village by The Arioch! At the price I paid, I expected it to be fused with gold dust or something!”

“Oh, I forgot you were there! How’s Mara doing?” Aleck asked.

“I dunno! I try not to give her too much thought!” I answered with a shudder.

Aleck commented, “Yeah, me either! When I’m at work, I can’t bring her to mind ‘cause… Well… you know!”

I bitterly expressed, “It’s not as much fun live! Trust me! Especially when you’re in a committed relationship!”

“Have you brought up what she did to Phoebe yet?” Aleck petitioned me.

“I forgot,” I responded to him. “I have so much other stuff to deal with that it slipped my memory! Sure, that was probably on purpose on my part, but really, who could have a clear rationale as they deal with a pesky mother grilling about engagement party details, a student stalking you, and an ex obsessing over your fiance on top of everything else!”

Aleck noted, “That’s a lot to deal with! Have you considered talking to a psychiatrist?”

I irately inquired, “Have you been chatting with Mrithan?”

“Uh, I try to avoid him,” Aleck replied. “Why?”

“He called me into the front office to give me a list of shrinks in the area.” I really didn’t want to reveal this to him, or anyone else, but the cat was already out of the bag. (By the way, I never understood that phrase- who puts a cat in a bag?) I felt a little embarrassed that my situation caused people to truly believe I needed assistance with my mentality, but really, my dread in that instance stemmed from Aleck’s agreement with that premise!

To my surprise, Aleck made a stunned face at that revelation. “That man has no business questioning anyone’s sanity!” We both laughed, and then Aleck advised me, “If you ever do wanna go that route, check out Doctor Cifarelli. He’s done wonders for my family! I speak to him twice a month, and Astrid goes whenever she needs a refill on antidepressants.”

I posed to him, “Isn’t it kinda dangerous to mix thoe with her book club ‘refreshments?’”

Aleck threw his hands up to indicate his lack of insight on that concept. “If it was that bad, I imagine she would’ve been a goner by now!” Prior to either of us having the opportunity to continue this conversation, Aleck got a ping on his cellphone. He glanced at it, and he grumbled, “Dude, this guy’s ridiculous! He’s insisting he can’t go lower than a hundred for his gaming mouse! They sell it at BuyBest for that amount, so if I wanted to pay that much for it, I wouldn’t be shopping for it used! Duh!”

The topic of online sales intrigued me. Yes, I made several purchases on the internet, but my curiosity arose when it came to what teenagers may use to purchase items, especially commodities as potentially dangerous as a magic wand! Obviously, Aleck had at least twenty years on the demographic I sought more information on, but he was tech-savvy like the youths who unwittingly obtained a weapon that originated from the depths of Hell! He also had a kid around their age, so he seemed like the ideal individual together pieces that could help solve this supernatural puzzle once and for all! “What app are you using?”

“Classbook Marketplace,” Aleck let me know.

“Huh? Classbook has a marketplace?” I reacted in astonishment.

Aleck questioned me, “You didn’t know that?”

I sarcastically shot back, “No! I use it frequently! Clearly!”

“Well, it’s a great way to shop locally,” Aleck educated me. “But you gotta be careful- sometimes, you get some real weirdos on there!”

“Speaking of weirdos…” I didn’t observe any faults in that descriptor- besides the fact that the web is full of strange characters, I knew Damon’s conduit was selling perilous merchandise to the youths connected to this school. I was glad to have an opening to this arena so I could delve into this cryptic conundrum! “Have you seen anyone selling magic wands on there?”

Aleck grimaced slightly, and then he apprised me, “I’m fairly certain that Classbook has rules against that sort of paraphernalia, but that doesn’t mean a few troublemakers haven’t found a loophole. Still, dude, don’t get a used one! If you and Phoebe are in the market for that, I can send you the address of an adult bookstore that has decently priced ones!”

I corrected him, “I don’t mean those magic wands! I don’t mean a toy of any sort! I mean someone selling authentic twigs that do spell work.”

“Why do you need that?” Aleck eyeballed me suspiciously.

“I don’t,” I asserted. “I noticed more and more teens getting them, so I wanted to get to the bottom of it.”

Alck didn’t appear to believe me, so he warily regarded me, “I don’t really search in any sections that would sell items like that, but I suppose a person could post something like that if they wanted to.” A moment of silence ensued, and then Aleck appealed to me, “Don’t get one!”

As I cleaned with one hand and pulled out my phone with the other, I assured him, “I’m not going to!”

“You’re on Classbook Marketplace now!” Aleck glanced over my shoulder and discerned.

“I don’t wanna buy one!” I reiterated. “I wanna stop the weirdo who sells them from letting his or her merchandise into the hands of minors.”

Aleck probed, “Why? They’re props- totally harmless!”

I disagreed, “They’re not totally harmless! Some of these things have the potential to do a ton of harm! And don’t even act like enchantments don’t exist! Don’t you recall the jinx done against me last semester?”

“Yeah, you still have the curtains from Babelsama’s portal,” Aleck confirmed.

“Oh, right! That was a big one! I was thinking of the hex Roxy did against Jett to give her the ability to talk like a human! I keep having nightmares about that experience!” I shuddered again.

Aleck debated, “Fine, so the magical realm exists. But that doesn’t signify that anyone is using it for indecent intentions! Hold on, is all this ‘cause you believe Damon returned?”

I almost certified his hypothesis, but I knew I wouldn’t gain much ground if I got him riled. Instead, I brought up, “Ismeray’s coven has gotten increasingly popular. She claims she wants to spread proper knowledge of it, but not every child will use it for peaceful plans! We’ve seen how this crap can go very wrong when somebody with a sadistic plo sinks their claws into it, so what’s stopping an evildoer from wreaking havoc with GASM?”

“With what?” Aleck puzzled.

“That’s the current name of Ismeray’s organization,” I filled him in.

Aleck accosted me, “So, you don’t believe that Damon is back?”

I didn’t want to lie to him, but I also didn’t view it in my best interest to persist with my proclamations about his return. I strove to satiate both competing sides, “Damon is a Hellian, and he belongs in that realm! Meanwhile, the safety of our students will always be my top priority! That and deciding on an engagement cake from my mom’s caterer. Did you know that engagement cakes even existed? I definitely didn’t!”

The change of subject should have persuaded him to drop the otherworldly discourse, but apparently, something in my tone gave away my true position on that issue since Aleck demanded, “Say these exact words- I don’t believe Damon is back!”

“Do you gotta hear it in that exact order?” I recognized that I couldn’t repeat that phrase because it was a total fib, but I also couldn’t unearth anything that would satisfy his request without compromising my honesty. I had hoped that my little quip might ease the tension of my unwillingness to comply, but based on his aggravated expression, it didn’t appear very successful!

“I need to go get some water to take this headache pill!” Aleck grabbed a small bottle of medicine and stormed out. I felt a twinge of guilt for causing him that physical discomfort, but I wasn’t willing to act deceptively to alter that outcome. As I resumed my scrubbing, I reckoned that he would see that I was correct soon enough!

Seconds later, I heard the door become ajar once more, so I kidded, “Boy, that was fast! I know, that’s what she said!”

Peter enquired, “Who’s she?”

I nearly hit my skull on the desk when I realized that he was the one at the entryway! I was mortified, but I consoled myself knowing that my joke went over his head. To prevent him from investigating it any further, I catechized, “Peter! What brings you here?”

“Well, my car’s in the shop, so I had to take my dad’s SUV…” Peter relayed to me.

“I meant this class,” I clarified while endeavoring to conceal my irritation at his airheadedness.

Peter expounded, “Oh! I was in Debate Club, and I found this object that I’ve seen sell for serious cash online. I wanted to see if it was authentic before I put it on the market, and I was hoping Mister Thales could help me identify what wood it’s made of.”

My eyes grew wide after he pulled this trinket out of his backpack- it was a magic wand! “Be careful with that!” I warned him.

“Listen, it’s totally valuable, but it’s not delicate!” Peter spun it around with his fingers.

“Quit doing that!” I beseeched him. “That can do more damage than you’d guess it would!”

Peter guffawed at that idea, “No, it can’t! It’s a well-crafted curio, but it’s not real!” He aimed it at a chair and mockingly commanded, “Create me a dragon that spouts pudding!” My heart pounded as I anticipated this new adversary, but nothing occurred initially. “See? Totally harmless!” Peter chortled as he exited, and for a brief minute, I became optimistic that he uncharacteristically was the voice of wisdom here…

Green sparks swirled around the spot he inadvertently cast his spell, and I swiftly did a search for how to slay those beasts! As short serpent with scaly wings materialized, and it let out a shriek preceding a pile of green glob zooming out of its mouth! I used a textbook as a shield, and I momentarily glanced up from my device to scrutinize the substance it spewed. “Pistachio pudding? Interesting!”

The dragon came into my periphery and glared, and I very uninterestedly balked at it, “Oh, please! You’re hardly the scariest creature I’ve dealt with! You’re not even the first dragon!” That recollection struck me with inspiration. I couldn’t recall what mixture Aleck threw together that combusted within that mystical animal, but I figured no chemical would be healthy for it, so when it unhinged its jaws to release another projectile, I grabbed the cleaning fluid and poured it down its throat.

I prayed this move would at least slow it down! It halted its movements for a few seconds, and it obtained a frown of strained confusion. I speculated whether or not I should locate another tool to finish it off,, and then suddenly, it exploded! “Wow! That wasn’t even a volatile liquid!” It seemed odd to me, but I opted to drop it and simply bask in the victory of this brisk battle.

Aleck reappeared and announced, “I feel loads better already!” He beheld all of the pistachio pudding leftover from this encounter, and he cried out, “What did you do?”

“You won’t believe it, but I saved this place from disaster!” I retrieved my belongings and departed. Hey, he wouldn’t have to endure that mess for long- it was going to disappear fairly shortly just as Cassie’s blindfold did! I was getting tired of getting flack from people following my selfless actions against an enemy they refuse to acknowledge! I was furious, but then I passed a window and espied Damon’s livid visage. At that juncture, I remembered why I was doing this in the first place! I vowed to persist in this effort, but because this saga hadn’t exactly been fun, I swore I would discover the key to bringing this to a resolution as fast as possible!

The Terra-Belle Demon, Chapter 20

I frantically searched through my car and questioned, “Where are they?”

Phoebe inquired, “What are you looking for?”

“What do I always wear before I drive?” I replied while I continued my frenzied foraging.

“Oh, right! You put them in the compartment made for them that you didn’t realize you had ‘til I pointed it out a few days ago.” Phoebe retrieved them for me. “I can’t believe you forgot about that already!”

I countered her, “Well, I can’t believe you forgot what I need to wear to hit the road!”

Phoebe argued, “You don’t need your aviators! You just wanna pretend to be Tom Cruise!”

“Uh, I don’t wanna be Tom Cruise- I wanna be his character in Top Gun!” I differed as I put my eyewear on. Seconds later, even though I was concentrating on reversing, I could still see that she was rolling her eyes. “Hey! Who wouldn’t wanna be Maverick?”

“For the record, I didn’t forget that,” Phoebe steered the conversation back to the original topic. “It’s that you simply… Well, you were acting strange all weekend, so you could’ve been needing any random thing today!”

Her comment made a lump rise to the back of my throat! I truly believed I had been pretty discrete, but apparently, I slipped up and let my supernatural entanglements become obvious to her! My apprehension instantly convinced me that she would want to leave me for the abnormal behavior, so I braced myself for the worst and prayed I could convince her not to go. “What do you mean? I haven’t been acting strange!”

Phoebe refuted that, “Seriously? Yesterday, you burst into the house scrambling for something silver. I gave you my watch, and when you came back, you seemed super relieved even though you lost my watch! You don’t think that’s strange?”

“Nope!” I strove to maintain credibility for my version of how it went missing, “I told you, the robber had a particular demand! He was strange!”

“What about on Saturday when we went to the mall?” Phoebe brought up. “You came out of this shoe store with this green slime on your sleeves, and you smelled like burnt sage!”

I probed, “Is it my fault the sore was badly kempt?”

Phoebe petitioned me, “Why did you and Cassie return from the creek with her so convinced that she had a real wand?”

“I thought we were supposed to encourage kids’ imaginations!” I quarreled as I felt beads of sweat starting to form all over.

“People at work say you’re beginning to crack,” Phoebe informed me.

Trying to hide my panic, I asked her, “Do you share that view?”

My tenseness heightened as she hesitated. Was this it? Was this the moment she planned on walking out of the relationship forever? I kicked myself for not doing more exercises to retrieve her lost memory- if I had, perhaps she would’ve recalled our past dealings with Damon by now, and I wouldn’t have had to worry so much! I parked in the faculty lot, and I fully expected her to flee from my vehicle and never resurface in my life again! Instead, she asserted, “Of course not!” A flood of relief washed through me until she added, “But sometimes I wonder if you’ve got something you’re keeping secret from me…”

I chided myself for choosing to lie to her rather than be honest and have her possibly side with our peers! I knew there’d be consequences for my deception! As much as I despised fibbing to my fiancé, I was in too deep to stop now. So, with immense regret, I responded, “Everything’s gonna feel like a secret to you since your memory of me is a bit sparse! You’ve forgotten what an oddball I am!”

“But you’re my oddball!” She leaned in and gave me a kiss. Aside from our very first smooch, this was probably the most exciting embrace I got from her! The aftermath of my interactions with monsters didn’t deter her, and she fully accepted me with my quirks and all! I was so grateful that she chose to stay with me despite everything! I couldn’t figure out why, but I wasn’t going to bicker with this fortunate circumstance! “You have something to do while I’m working on the Homecoming committee?”

“I’m gonna help Aleck after some lab,” I reported to her. “Don’t ask me what it is- I didn’t understand it even after he explained it twice!”

Phoebe giggled, “Alright. See you after school, oddball!” She gave me another peck, and I sauntered to my classroom feeling like, for once, I was going to have a great day!

After sixth period, I cleaned up my papers and gathered my belongings while humming a merry tune. The pupils of all my classes were relatively well-behaved, and the staff didn’t seem so gossipy. Other than burning my tongue on my lunch and Roxy continuing to glare at me every chance she got, the day went by pretty swimmingly Right when I was starting to think that my luck was finally beginning to turn around, a straggling student approached me and queried, “Mister Fenmore, can you tell me how to get to GASM?”

“That’s really something you should be discussing with your parents!” I uncomfortably articulated. Why had he opted to canvass me for information like that? I cringed picturing myself explaining why I needed to fill out an incident report with Manuel- it would have been so awkward to dole out those details!

“They wouldn’t know where Ismeray holds her coven meetings either!” he repined.

Comprehension dawned on me upon him saying that. “Oh! Her and her name changes! Uh, no, I’m not aware of where she does that. It’s considered a religious organization, so she wouldn’t be allowed to hold it on campus.”

He didn’t appear pleased by my response, but he still graciously accepted it, “Thanks anyways.”

After the boy left, I took a deep breath to cleanse my brain of these negative emotions. It had been a simple misunderstanding, and yet the knowledge of this err in judgment did nothing to soothe my jangled nerves. I grew anxious that this served as a harbinger of ill luck destined to befall on me, but I didn’t understand why- that reasoning bore no logic to it! I shook my head to rid myself of this notion, and I exited my classroom trying to convince myself that the rest of my shift had gone great, so my evening should fare equally as well. I mused that perhaps I might attain the ability to persuade Aleck to believe me about that villainous pest, and then…

“Roxy!” I gasped as soon as I set foot in the hallway. I had become accustomed to her stalking in general, but usually, she tailed me at more of a distance. I noted this to her, “You’re not really putting any effort in your obsessive tracking anymore, are you?”

“I’m not stalking you right now!” Roxy disputed. She beheld my disbelieving expression, and she clarified, “Not right now I’m not! I was finishing another visit to Principal Palillo’s office, and the new secretary sent me to get you.”

This development caused me to groan. I figured that he must have landed himself into another absurd debacle, and I truly possessed no desire to assist him at that juncture. Besides it becoming extremely cumbersome, it also would take precious minutes away from my span with Aleck. If he finished cleaning up his space prior to me being through aiding Mrithan, I would lose my shot at gaining an ally in my paranormal pastime! A part of me suspected that Roxy had orchestrated this with the specific purpose of subverting from my crusade against her would-be paramore, but I doubted that she contained enough wits to pull off a plan that clever. “Thank you, Roxy.” I headed towards the front of Rosemary King, and I sensed her trotting in that direction too. I sharply addressed her, “Shouldn’t you be getting home before your parents freak out?”

Roxy assured me, “Nah! They’re fine! Principal Palillo was just speaking to Mom. She knows I’m alive and stuff.” I groaned at her insistent presence, and I vacated the vicinity.

Along my route, I did my utmost not to look upset since I was aware of Roxy’s attention on me, but my disquiet had grown exponentially.. Her weird connection with that demon reminded me that he hadn’t sprung an attack in the last twenty-four hours or so. I briefly touched on that idea earlier, but I supposed that the atmosphere was too pleasant for his liking. Conditions altered slightly though, and my optimism over my luck ebbed significantly. As I reached my destination, I let out an exasperated exhale and knocked on wood that my hunch would get proven incorrect.

“Assistance, please!” Mrithan called out to me while his tie was still stuck in the copy machine.

“You’re lucky I didn’t go home early!” I remarked as I commenced in untangling him from the mechanisms within the unit.

Mrithan agreed, “I am, indeed! I appreciate this!”

I lied, “No problem!” I managed to free him, so I assumed it was safe for me to leave. “Well, I’ve got some stuff to do, so try and stay out of trouble, ‘kay?”

“Wait!” Mrithan politely directed me. “I have some papers for you.” He went to the front desk and grabbed a small stack of documents.

“What’s this?” I wondered after he handed the material to me.

Mrithan explained, “They’re merely resources for you so you can do your job better. They’re pretty standard…”

I observed, “This is a list of mental health professionals in the Terra Belle region!”

“Yes…” Mrithan made an embarrassed face and went on, “Like I said, standard. Standard HR protocols…” I gazed at him in disbelief, so he changed his tune, “Alright, so a few of our employees came to Manuel with concerns, so Manuel had me give these to you. But I wouldn’t take it too personally! He did the same thing to me for some reason…” He positioned himself dangerously close to the copier, and he somewhat melodramatically jumped away from it.

“Oh, jeez! So everyone here thinks I’m crazy?” I exclaimed. I previously recognized that many individuals got a less than stellar impression of my recent behavior, but I didn’t esteem that the rumors had risen to this level! It drove me insane because none of my antics stemmed from my own volition, but what aggravated my sanity even further was that I couldn’t reveal to anyone the true cause of my out-of-ordinary actions!

Mrithan consoled me, “Not crazy, my friend! Being a teacher can be tough, especially in your first year, so the school wanted to make sure you got all of the support you need! We’re like a family here- anyone who needs a hand gets it!”

He raised his arm up in order to display a soothing gesture, and his swift swing accidentally knocked into the table next to him. I probably should have checked on him or at last thanked him for his care for my wellbeing, but I was too infuriated by the whole scenario to say another word to him. I stormed out, and as I stared into the quad, I grew more determined than ever to solve the mystery of how that dastardly devil attained the ability to influence the community like this!

I had gotten so lost in my ruminations that I temporarily forgot where I was standing! I heard a small roar of a crowd in the distance, and I curiously glanced out at the source of the sound. “What was that?”

“Ismeray’s coven,” Corvina stated as she passed by me. “They were begging me to join them, and I’m, like, no way! I have band practice! I’m not giving up my music! It’s the only thing that keeps my mind off of missing Hudd! I wish my jerk boyfriend didn’t have to go to college in New York! Fine, so he got a football scholarship, but if he stayed in Terra Belle, he could’ve had my body! … For hand holding!”

“Right!” I didn’t buy her claim, but I didn’t want to give that picture any further contemplation. Especially right then- I needed to get to the bottom of this issue! “So, how do all these people practice magic? Do all of them have wands?”

Corvina shrugged. “I dunno! I don’t mess around with that crap anymore! It’s not fun! I’m still finding bits of sand in my guitar!” As she traveled to the theatre, she held her instrument upside-down, and a little pile of debris fell out.

I rubbed my chin pensively. Ismeray claimed she formed this organization to promote proper spell work, but I pondered if she was being frank there. Or perhaps she was being authentic, but not everyone in her group was… I lamented that I couldn’t take a trip there to find out immediately, but I hoped that Aleck could provide me with other clues to solving this enigma.

The Terra-Belle Demon, Chapter 19

I had a feeling that this girl’s disappearance had everything to do with Damon’s appearance! Of course, I didn’t dare to voice that opinion- if my good friend didn’t believe that dastardly demon returned to Terra Belle, I doubted that this random lady would take my word on it! As Ginger questioned her about checking in every corner of her house, I visually scanned the backyard for clues to Cassie and/or her captor’s location. In the corner behind me, I saw an unlatched gate, so I asked the two women, “Did anyone look out there?”

Ginger answered, “They’re not supposed to go out there… So, naturally, that’s where she must be! Ugh, she better not have traveled too far down the creek! I don’t have time to do a long search!”

“I’ll go, Ginger,” I volunteered. I would’ve gladly taken her along so she could see proof of that fiend’s existence with her own eyes, but since she was hosting this shindig, it didn’t feel right to force her to venture too far outside of the venue. “Don’t let our food burn!”

“Oh yeah!” Ginger raced back to the grill.

Cassie’s mother told me, “I’ll go with you!” She clutched her lower abdomen and then changed her tune, “I’ll catch up with you!” As she ran into Ginger and Brielle’s dwelling, she shouted, “Was there garlic in that dip?”

I wanted to snicker at that humours occurrence, but I felt rather disappointed that I couldn’t offer witness testimony as evidence of my supernatural allegations! Also, it would have been nice to have had a partner in this battle against… whatever Damon believed was a significant adversary for me! I took a deep breath, mentally prepared myself to square up against another bizarre beast, and exited the property.

A small hill with nearly dead grass led to a wooded area with a narrow creek bordering all of the residential quarters in this neighborhood. I briefly wondered how Ginger afforded water-front property on our measly salary, but mostly, I concentrated on treading carefully. Not only so I wouldn’t lose my balance, but I also didn’t want to get ambushed! As I got closer to the thicket, I spotted a shapely mass in a treetop. Since I couldn’t distinguish whether this being was friend or foe, I simply stopped beneath the greenery and firmly addressed it, “Alright, you can come down now!”

“No! I can’t!” an adolescent female, whom I presumed was Cassie, refused to comply.

“Why not?” I inquired while glancing around for something nefarious lurking in the shadows. 

Cassie replied, “My vision is blocked! If I could see anything, I would go back to the barbecue! This whole laying down in the branches thing got real boring real fast!”

I peered amongst the leaves, but all I could see was the back of her head, so I queried, “Are there twigs blocking your view or something?”

“No! I was hiding here, and then, all of a sudden, I felt something warm on my eyes!” she described.

“Oh god, we’re dealing with something gross! I just know it!” I muttered. I recognized that I was going to have to brave the bushes to reach her, but that concept caused me significant disquiet. There wasn’t much room to flee in that position, and clearly, my opponent did this by design. I sighed and crossed my fingers that I could free this kid faster than this enemy could move! When I obtained a full scope of her visage, I espied the culprit to her temporary blindness- a large pile of mossy muck! “Who did this to you?” I couldn’t resist catechizing.

Cassie shrugged. “No clue! I heard a weird whooshing sound, and when I turned in the direction it was coming from, I lost sight of everything.”

I pronouncedly frowned at this premise- whatever manifested into this borough either could perform magic or possessed athletic skills far superior to mine! I cast that concept out of my thoughts and directed Cassie, “Okay, I’m gonna have you roll to your left. You’re gonna fall a bit, but don’t worry ‘cause I’m right here to catch you!”

“Okay,” Cassie acquiesced. “Ready?”

“Go!” I urged her.

The very instant she began tumbling down, I heard a strange wind noise! Its buzz grew steadily louder, so I instinctively ducked. Cassie had already proceeded to tumble though, and she landed on  top of my shoulders! I got pinned to the ground, and, seconds later, I detected the movement of several pairs of feet speeding towards us! I ordered, “Scoot off of me!”

Neither Cassie nor I were facing the direction that they originated from, but we could both sense three colossal figures standing beside us. Cassie canvassed me, “Are those monsters? Did I really do magic?”

“I dunno! Why don’t you get up so I can see?” I strongly recommended to her.

“No wonder no one ever found me!” Cassie gushed. “I mean, I wanted to win this round of Hide ‘n Seek, but I didn’t-!”

A husky male’s voice with a British accent observed, “He’s not blindfolded! So, should we still seize him?”

Cassie prattled on, “I thought a prop would help me do better in Stockades and Spitfires, but the app never mentioned that I’d be able to do real spells!”

“What app was that?” I probed. My interest in the origin of these cursed objects caused me to momentarily foget the precarious predicament I was in!

“He seems immobilized, so shouldn’t we just grab him?” an English female pondered.

I barked, “Get up!”

Cassie assessed, “They seem pretty docile, so what’s the rush?”

“Don’t fret- he’s not gonna live to tell the tale!” a Cornwall-dialected bloke affirmed.

“I’m so sorry!” Cassie apologized as she flopped off of me.

If I hadn’t been in so much of a hurry, I would’ve upbraided her for allowing her chattiness to put me into such a dire circumstance! I stood up, and although my curiosity was begging for me to peek at those strangers’ images, I readied myself to grab Cassie and zoom out of this locale to elude whatever mayhem they had in store for us. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to budge an inch because a robust force enveloped my body! I couldn’t feel anything but a firm grip on my torso, and I didn’t understand why until I got swiveled around…

Three reptilian entities stood in front of me! They were easily ten feet tall, and they wore seventeenth-century frock! The middle one was suspending me with a gilded scepter, and the other two leered at me from behind him, which was oddly enough the most shocking part for me. Honestly, I never would’ve guessed that their kind had gotten that ability bestowed upon them! The British male petitioned his peers, “How shall we do it? A flame strike?”

“No! That’d be too quick and painless!” the English female differed. “If we unleash a cloudkill, we could-.”

“Excuse me, but I’m in charge here!” the Cornwall bloke bellowed. “You know the consequences of disrespecting me…”

His words lit a spark of inspiration within me! I couldn’t outmatch their abilities, but I now possessed a pathway toget underneath their skin! (Not literally!) I shook off all of my scared emotions and conveyed an attitude of absolute impertinance, “Wow, I didn’t realize they had characters from the United Kingdom in this American game!”

The British male shot back, “Hey! This isn’t a game! This is real life!”

“Psh!” I scoffed. “If this was reality, then why would I be seeing pirate dragons? That’s too ridiculous to be true!”

“My lairs are dragons?” Cassie incredulously gasped.

The English female corrected her, “We’re Lizardfolks.”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, brother! Out of all of the deadly creatures in Stockades and Spitfires, they sent the lizards to do the job?”

“Do not slander me lad!” the Cornwall bloke yelled. “If you haven’t noticed, we were gifted with powers that-!”

“Boring!” I yawned.

The British male ogled me with wide peepers. “Boring? You’re in the midst of magical peril, you can’t possibly find this scenario uninteresting!”

I refuted that, “Eh! It’s not the first instance I’ve gone through this, and it’s hardly the most intimidating! Seriously, last week I battled a freaking radioactive bunny! Now that was impressive!”

“You want some excitement? Oh, we’ll give you some” the English female avowed.

“Yeah, right!” I jeered at her. “How much damage can you really do when you’re the product of the imagination of a thirteen-year-old girl?”

The Cornwall bloke’s noggin was starting to turn red and bulge slightly as he seethed, “You watch your mouth!”

“Ooh, you’re so tough! I don’t wanna mess with the giant geckos who attacked an unarmed school teacher! Not pathetic at all!” I badgered them.

“Cut it out!” the Cornwall bloke hollered as the three reptiles’ rage became visibly more evident.

I mocked the trio, “Shouldn’t you guys be out there trying to sell car insurance?”

The Cornwall bloke vociferated, “We’re not geckos!”

“That’s hardly the worst insult I delivered to you all!” I snidely remarked. “Apparently, you three are ugly and dumb!”

“That’s it! We’re done!” the Cornwall bloke screeched.

I apathetically responded, “Are you really?” The Lizardfolks got to a boiling point, and one by one, their craniums exploded! “Oh, I suppose you are!”

The scepter burst last, and it splintered into many smaller pieces. I noticed a shard somewhat resembled a wand, and I instinctively grabbed it. Preceding the mud lifting from Cassie’s vision, I seized the wand from her pocket. I managed to replace the purloined commodity before Cassie regained her sight, and fortunately, she didn’t seem to have perceived my thievery because she glanced around in avid anticipation. “Where did they go?”

“Same place they came from,” I asserted as I hurled the real wand into the creek.

“OMG- did you have a wand too?” Cassie fervently enquired.

I lied, “Nope! It was a barbecue skewer.” I paused and then added, “Speaking of which, your mom is probably worried sick about you!”

Cassie commented, “I doubt it! I saw her eating ranch dip, and I’m pretty positive there’s garlic in that!”

I countered, “She can do two things at once! Get going!”

When we reentered Ginger and Brielle’s backyard, Ginger let out a breath of relief. “Oh, thank goodness! I thought something drastic happened to you two!”

“How drastic?” I challenged her.

“Typical earthly chaos,” Ginger firmly spouted.

Cassie’s mother emerged from the abode, and she emitted a voluminous exhale of alleviation. “Cassie! Don’t you ever vanish like that again!” She then gave her daughter an enamorous squeeze.

Brielle brought up, “Well, since no one got murdered or anything, let’s get back to the celebrations!”

“You got it, birthday girl!” Ginger merrily went over to the grill and announced, “The food’s done! Some of it is… extra crispy!” She held up a rather charred burger.

“Give it here!” Ellie’s husband instructed.

Ginger seemed surprised by this, and Ellie elucidated, “Victor actually prefers his meat slightly burnt!”

As everyone cheerfully sat at the picnic table, Cassie proclaimed, “Mom, did you know my S and S wand is authentic? I created three Lizardfolks with it!”

“Congratulations!” her mother articulated without any enthusiasm.

“No! I’m serious! Watch!” Cassie withdrew the stick from her pocket and waved it around…

Her mother gently commanded her, “Put that away while you’re eating, honey!”

Cassie grew despondent by these results, and she bemoaned, “It worked a few minutes ago!”

“I’m sure it did!” her mother lackadaisically stated.

“What’s the true story of what occurred out there?” Phoebe whispered to me as Cassie and her mom bickered. I bit my lip, and, once again, I toyed with the same old conundrum- should I lie to the woman I love, or should I give her the honest account and risk getting branded a lunatic?