Demons LLC (Damned and Cursed Book 7) (25 page)

"Guys!"
 
Alex raised his voice.
 
"I don't care about who is cheating on who in the bathroom!"

The subtle background noise in the diner suddenly went quiet.
 
Everyone froze as all eyes went to Alex.
 
Like usual, he'd forgotten he was talking to ghosts.
 
Some patrons were amused, while others were concerned, even afraid.
 
To make matters worse, the woman from the bathroom had walked out, and stood not far from Alex's booth.

He wasn't prepared for the slap.
 
The woman stepped forward and swung as hard as she could, catching him flush across the cheek.
 
Alex reeled back across the seat and held up an arm to block another swing.

"Who the hell do you think you're talking to?" she shouted.
 
"Who the fuck are you?!"

A man at the counter turned and wrapped his arms around the woman.
 
He apparently knew her, as he addressed her by name, Tonya, and told her to calm down.
 
Alex fished a twenty-dollar bill out of his wallet and dropped it on the table.
 
He didn't care about change, didn't care about finishing his meal.
 
All he wanted to do was get in his truck and leave.

He was heading for the exit when the oblivious boyfriend in question rose from his seat and reached the door first.
 
He closed it shut, and rose to his full height, about a head taller than Alex.
 
The look in his eye was unmistakable.

"You have something you want to say about my girlfriend?" he snarled.

Two more men stood up behind him.
 
Alex turned to see Tonya with her hands on her hips, a sly smile on her face.
 
Two men stood at her side.
 
Alex realized that everyone in the diner knew each other.

"Derek, c'mon now," a waitress said.
 
"If you and your buddies are looking for a fight, take it outside."

"He called me a whore, Derek!" Tonya shouted.

"Alex," Kylie said.
 
"I don't like this."

He ignored her, like he should have done while he was eating.

"Look, I didn't say anything about anybody."

"Oh, is that right?" Derek said, pushing him with one hand.
 
"That ain't true.
 
We've all been watching you talk to yourself over there, and now you've got eyes for my lady.
 
I don't like loonies checking out my stuff."

The group of men forming a loose circle around Alex now numbered five.
 
Alex looked at all of them, stunned.
 
In a matter of seconds he'd gone from eating lunch to surrounded by defenders of Tonya's honor.
 
Ironically, the lucky man who enjoyed her company five minutes ago slithered out of the woman's bathroom and left through a side exit.
 
Alex tried to point at him, but had his hand slapped away.

"Outside, fellas," another waiter shouted.

"I think you'd better apologize," Derek said.

"Sure," Alex said, looking over his shoulder.
 
"I'm sorry."

"Where are you from?" Derek asked.

For the first time, Alex grew angry.
 
Obviously, these men were looking for a fight.
 
He wouldn't give it to them.
 
He had more important things to think about.

"None of your business.
 
What does that have to do with—?"

Alex didn't see the attack coming.
 
One of the men behind him slammed a plate into his head, sending shattered porcelain across the diner.
 
There were startled shouts and gasps from the bystanders, but they did nothing.
 
Alex dropped to one knee, and that's when the five men piled on.
 
They kicked, stomped, and punched.
 
Most of the blows were glancing, but a few struck home.
 
His nose was broken, and the tip of a boot slammed into his ribs.
 
He tried to cover his head, and felt blood on his face.

Through the mass of limbs striking him, he saw two pairs of hands, reaching
through
his attackers.
 
Kylie and Nate were trying to help, as if they were still alive.

"Leave him alone!
 
Get off!" Kylie shouted.

One man pulled Alex's arms away from his face, so Derek could get a clear shot.
 
Derek took advantage, and punched him in the jaw.

That was the moment Alex lost control.

The beating didn't stop when the lights went out.
 
It took one of the fluorescent lights exploding above their heads to make the mob back up.
 
Another bulb exploded, and then another.

"Oh, no," Alex said, pulling himself to his hands and knees.
 
"No.
 
No no no."

The shadows in the corners of the diner grew as the darkness spread, like cancer.

Kylie and Nate leaned next to Alex.
 
He spit up blood on the floor.
 
His body felt mangled, like he'd been hit by a car.

More lights exploded.
 
A woman ran for the front door, but it wouldn't open.
 
The shadows continued to stretch across the walls.

The horrific noises were next.
 
The moaning, the growling.
 
A twisted, demonic laugh echoed through the diner.

Alex closed his eyes, trying to concentrate.
 
He tried to blank his mind, focus on closing the gateway.
 
But all he could feel was pain, even with the fear growing around him.
 
It was agony just to breathe.

"Go back," he said.
 
"You don't belong here."

The darkness responded with countless voices that blended together.

"Masterrrr…."

"Go back!"

He stood and leaned on the empty table next to him.
 
The patrons cowered in their booths, hid under tables.
 
They whimpered and moved away from the encroaching shadows.

"We'll kill them for you, Masterrrr…."

Derek and his friends had pushed a family out from under a table to take their place.
 
A waitress slowly backed up near the cash register.
 
She didn't see the twisted, clawed talon reaching for her from the wall.
 
Alex was already moving, but he couldn't move quickly.
 
He half-stumbled, half-walked toward her just as the talon wrapped its fingers in the waitress's hair.

She screamed as the demon yanked her head back.
 
Alex grabbed the demon's arm.
 
It immediately let go, and the collective voice changed to that of a painful howl.
 
He closed his eyes and forced the pain aside as the waitress clung to him.

"Listen to me," he said.
 
"Listen to Master.
 
Leave, now."

Slowly, the darkness shrank back into the walls.
 
The howling and moaning faded, and the stench that accompanied a demonic gateway disappeared.
 
The lights that weren't broken came to life.

Alex said nothing else.
 
No parting words, no threats, no requests for an apology.
 
He opened the door, now unlocked, and didn't look back as he kept his gaze focused on his truck.
 
The pain was still there.
 
Everything ached.

Kylie and Nate were behind him, keeping two steps back.

"What the
hell
was that?" Nate asked.

Kylie sniffled.
 
"I've never been so scared in all my life."

Alex waited until his companions were settled in the truck before he drove away.
 
His own emotions were out of control, wrestling with the pain he was in.
 
He didn't know what part of him hurt worse.

"Shit, Alex," Nate said.
 
"You're bleeding like crazy, man."

Putting a hand to his head, he pulled it away to reveal a palm of crimson.
 
He parked on the shoulder and stepped out of the truck.
 
Kylie and Nate followed while Alex leaned against the tailgate.

"We need to call a hospital," Kylie said.

Nate waved his hands, more animated than usual.

"I guess, but damn, I don't know.
 
We don't even have an idea what road we're on."
 
He approached Alex and tried to put a hand on his shoulder.
 
"Alex, listen.
 
Get your phone from the glove compartment, and call 911.
 
Do you hear me?
 
You look pretty beat up."

"That was the stupidest thing I've ever done," Alex said.

Nate signaled for Kylie.
 
"Uh, I'm going to need some help here.
 
He might be in shock or something."

Kylie squatted so she could look up into Alex's eyes.

"You're hurt.
 
You need to get to a hospital."
 
She glanced at Nate.
 
"Can you teleport around?
 
Figure out what road we're on?
 
I'll stay with him."

"I can try.
 
I'll head back to the diner, see if we missed any signs."

"Don't bother," Alex said.

He opened the glove compartment, but didn't reach for the phone.
 
Instead, he grabbed the lighter his friend Josh from work left behind.
 
He'd been meaning to throw it out, but was glad he didn't.

"I could have done anything," Alex said.
 
He looked at himself in the passenger's side mirror.
 
His face was a mess, covered in blood, his nose crooked.
 
His left eye was red, and the cheek swollen.
 
"It all happened so fast.
 
I just wasn't thinking.
 
I could have vanished and walked through the wall.
 
But no, I lost it.
 
I opened up a demonic gateway."

"You can do that?" Kylie asked.
 
When he didn't answer, she looked at Nate.
 
"He can do that?"

Nate shrugged.

"I'm sorry," Alex said.
 
"I didn't mean for you guys to see that."

"It's okay," Kylie said, doing her best to rub his back.
 
"It was my fault.
 
I keep talking to you like I'm alive, and I'm not."

"It's not your fault."

Nate stepped forward.
 
"Dude, you have to get your phone.
 
Call someone."

Alex said nothing.
 
He just smiled as he grabbed one of the bags containing his clothes.
 
He pulled his shirt away from his chest to see how much blood he'd shed.
 
It was safe to say it wasn't worth trying to save his clothes.

Kylie and Nate glanced at each other as Alex walked away from the road, into the field.
 
They kept pace and followed.
 
The grass was tall, nearly up to Alex's waist.

"Dude," Nate said.
 
"Where are you going?
 
I would say you're taking us to the field to shoot us, but that wouldn't do you much good."

They walked for another minute or so until Alex finally turned around.
 
They'd crossed several hills through the field, and couldn't even see the truck or road.
 
It was the perfect spot for what he had in mind.

"Okay, guys.
 
If you don't mind, you need to turn around for this part."

Nate shrugged at Kylie before they turned their backs.
 
Alex tossed his bag aside and took a deep breath.
 
It took several attempts to remove his shirt.
 
He was sure he had some broken ribs.
 
Balling up his bloody shirt, he dropped it on the ground.

He was halfway through slipping out of his jeans when Kylie turned her head.

"Kylie!" Nate said.
 
"Are you peeking?"

"Well, I'm sorry!
 
But a cute guy is pulling his clothes off behind us.
 
A little peek is okay."

"Alex is married!"

"Oh, please, I'm not trying to marry him.
 
And has that ever stopped you?
 
How many married women have you accidentally seen naked?
 
You're all about the peeking, aren't you?"

Nate stuttered.
 
"T-This isn't about me!"

"Whatever.
 
I never want to hear talk about naked women again."

"Fine.
 
You know, I'm more than just—"

The rapidly-spreading flames interrupted their argument.
 
Kylie and Nate whirled to see Alex, fully nude, watching the fire he'd started.
 
He tossed his shoes, the only item spared, aside as his clothes charred.
 
It didn't take long for the fire to spread to an old log nearby.

"Uh, Alex?" Kylie said.
 
"What are you doing?"

"Whoa, this shit is dangerous," Nate said, watching the flames.
 
"This isn't very smart, dude."

Alex said nothing as he waited patiently.
 
He touched the top of his head.
 
The blood had stopped, at least.
 
Now it was time to take care of his injuries.

"Your side," Kylie said.
 
Alex's ribs were black and purple.
 
"Please, you've
got
to call a doctor."

The flames had grown into a full blaze.
 
If he let it go too much longer there was a good chance it would spread further.
 
He took a step forward.