Monsterhood and Other Growing Pains
by Allison Hawkins
“I don't think I've ever had this much fun in Jericho!”
A woman and a man were walking through the intersection of Main Street and Spruce Lane. They had just come from Bailey's tavern, where lights still glowed in the windows and the faint sound of music and voices could be heard. The street was empty, except for them. The woman was smiling, and the man stepped forward in a dorky swagger.
“Well, our nightlife isn't as exciting as Chicago, I guess, but you know what they say about sticking with the locals if you want to really discover what a small town has to offer,” he said, giving a funny nod of his head.
She raised her eyebrows. “I'll keep that in mind.” She shivered just slightly.
“Here, take my jacket,” said the man, draping it around her shoulders. She eyed the sheriff's department logo before looking back at him. “Thanks,” she said softly. “You know, Bill, I've had a really good time tonight.”
He was obviously trying to look suave, but it came out awkwardly as he said “I have too.”
“Really, since I've been here, no one's ever really taken time to -”
“They should,” he said with a shy smile. “You're really – I've never met anyone like – I'm really glad you came to town.”
Her face fell for a moment, and he grimaced. “Well, I mean, not glad for the reason you had to come, just...” he shifted his feet. “Hey, do you want to see the office?” He motioned towards town hall.
She looked at him questioningly. “Is there a lot of exciting paperwork in there or something?”
He chuckled. “Well, that, and you can see where we keep the guns, where we throw all the suspects we round up...”
She was grinning. He touched her hand. “Come on, Corey. The night is young! And I have the keys.” He dangled a shiny ring. She laughed and linked her arm with his.
As they were walking towards the front steps of town hall, a figure jumped out from the alley and blocked their path. It wore raggedy clothes and stood with a humanlike posture, but its scaly blue skin, bright orange pustules, and row of spiky horns were very non-human.
Each of the humans let out a surprised shriek. The creature advanced towards them, raising its clawed hands. The couple clutched at each other and shrunk back. “Prepare to feel my wrath!” growled the creature.
“Now there's a line with a little dust on it,” said another voice. The two humans spun around. There, behind them, stood a young girl, her arms crossed in front of her chest, surveying the scene. “Can't you guys ever come up with anything original?”
“Behold, my power!” shouted the creature, raising his fists.
“Guess not,” said the girl with a shrug. As the lovebirds dove out of the way, the creature and girl raced towards each other, colliding in a tangle of punches and kicks. The creature's wrath seemed indeed powerful, but the girl was more than a match for him, ducking, rolling, jumping and attacking. At last, she got the upper hand and descended upon him with a well aimed chop to the throat. The creature slumped over and didn't move again. The girl stood, adjusting her stylish denim jacket. She raised a hand that was now covered in a sticky substance that was neon green in colour. “Gross,” she muttered.
“Wha – what was that?” asked Bill, who was now scrambling to his feet alongside his date.
The girl surveyed the dead creature with a shrug. “Some kind of demon, I'm guessing.”
“Some – some kind?” repeated Corey, her eyes wide.
“The kind that bleeds neon green,” said the girl with a quick nod of her head. “I don't know. But it's gone.” She began to walk away.
“Hey, wait,” said Bill quickly, stepping forward. “Ali, I just wanted to say -”
“Don't mention it,” said Ali in a casual tone. She continued to walk away from town hall, the bar, and the shaken couple, a small smirk on her face.
As she walked through the darkness, winding along the empty streets of Jericho, she wondered to herself about the demon – what it was and why it had been there. She wondered too what other kinds of things she might expect to run into on her walk that night. Then a nagging feeling took over as she wondered to herself whether or not the bright green blood would come out of her jacket. She would ask her mom for laundry advice.
These kinds of questions weren't things she'd wondered about in her previous life. It had only been very recently that she'd learned to ask them at all. Before her life in Jericho, she'd been a normal girl, living out a mostly normal life in Baltimore.
Even when she'd first moved to Jericho just before the bombings of twenty-three cities and the destruction of her hometown, things had been pretty normal. Well, as normal as they could be, in all that.
She'd been a normal girl from a kind of weird, but kind of normal family. She got annoyed when her parents treated her like a kid, she liked getting out of the house and exploring things, and she was excited when she got invited to a party at Skylar Stevens's house.
Skylar was like teen royalty at her new school, she heard, and because school hadn't actually been in session at all since she'd moved, Ali was excited to finally meet some people her own age. The night of Skylar's party, she wore her newest jeans and made her escape, telling her mom she was just going for a walk around the neighbourhood. Skylar was a kind of a snob, but her party had cool music and Ali had fun, eating processed snacks and talking to a cute boy named Mark by the punch bowl.
It was a drag, but a totally normal drag, when a couple of cops showed up to bust up the party. It was more embarrassing that Ali's father was among them, and ordered her to go home, but thankfully, no one else seemed to notice their conversation and Ali made her exit quickly, hoping to avoid any further glances. Her dad was a hard-ass but thankfully he didn't do anything really embarrassing like insist on escorting her home himself.
As she walked along the streets towards her new neighbourhood, she wondered if maybe her dad remembered his days as a teenager and somehow recalled the extreme agony a parental lecture in public could provoke. She kicked a stray soda can as she walked and thought to herself that it probably wasn't that. More likely he didn't want her to reveal how they knew each other, or make anyone look at either of them too much. He liked to be secretive. Her dad was weird that way. Even at home, he was big on keeping secrets, like his reason for moving there, or that locked room in the attic. Sometimes it seemed really unfair of him, treating his family members like everyone else he kept in the dark out there, but there was no way that self reflection on how unreasonable he had been was the reason he had let her walk home alone. There had to be a reason he didn't want people to notice them fighting.
She was pulled out of her thoughts suddenly by a movement she saw out of the corner of her eye. She spun around. She was halfway up Murray street and she couldn't see anyone else around. But she was getting a really weird feeling, and she spun around again.
He'd made no sound at all and she couldn't explain how he'd snuck up on her so quickly, but there, a few feet away from her, stood a man with a strange look on his face. He was grinning, licking his lips, and his eyes had almost a...she would call it a hungry look, she realized as she felt a shiver go up her spine. He lurched towards her and her senses went into overdrive. Nothing else had to happen – she knew what to do. She took off running.
As she heard her pursuer's footsteps pounding behind her, Ali ran faster than she'd ever run in her life. Faster than anyone could usually run, she thought, as the buildings blurred by. If she weren't so afraid for her life, she might've been excited at this strange new development. She pushed herself faster and faster, but as she raced off of the pavement and onto the grass at the end of the street, she felt a hand grabbing onto her from behind. She tumbled to the ground, twisting and turning but willing herself to jump to her feet again, all the while struggling against her attacker.
He seemed especially, perhaps superhumanly, strong as he tried to wrestle her to the ground again, and she used every ounce of strength she had to keep up. Some of her karate from those Saturday mornings she'd spent as a kid came back to her, and though she was sure her sensei would've frowned at her sloppy form, she felt a small jolt of hope each time a kick or punch connected with her enemy. He fought and then he seemed, if it were possible, to grow tireder, more desperate, but she was fighting for her life and each moment was more desperate than the last. His fanged teeth gleamed in the moonlight and made no sense, in the small part of her mind that was observing rather than fighting.
She could feel her lip bleeding and her muscles beginning to protest, but she pushed herself further. She had to keep fighting. Keep pushing his teeth away, breaking his grip, keeping herself out of his grasp. How was she supposed to end this? He slammed her to the ground and she looked up, briefly wondering if it was about to end.
“Ali!” She was shocked to hear a voice. Her father's voice. She glanced to the side. His familiar silhouette had appeared somewhere nearby. For a split second she assumed he would dash towards her and save the day, and she was surprised when instead of running, he threw an object towards her.
Scrambling sideways, she reached out and caught the wooden stake. She glanced at it for a second, and then looked up at the attacker hurtling towards her. She raised the stake and slammed it into his chest.
She heard herself gasping as the snarling man turned into ashes around her. She jumped to her feet, brushing it off, and then remembered to look over at her father. He stared at her in silence for a moment. She started to say something indignant but he spoke. “Guess you have some questions.”
She could only nod, heaving a big sigh as her father held out his arm and she went to walk alongside him. It took the rest of the walk home for her dad to explain the family legacy she had now inherited.
“So it was your job, you had this job, killing vampires? And other things?” she asked, clarifying what she'd already been told as she sat down at the picnic table in their backyard. “All this time? But you never told us. Even though you knew we might have to do it too?”
He shifted his weight. “I didn't know if you or Sam were going to get it too. Didn't want to burden you if I didn't have to.”
She nodded slowly. “How do you know? I mean, that it's me? Maybe it's an accident. Maybe I'm normal after all.”
He smiled, though his eyes were serious. “You fought a full-on hungry vampire. Killed him on your first try. I know it's not an accident. It's your gift.”
She folded her arms across her chest, shaking her head. “But what if I don't want it? What if I can't? I don't even know -”
He moved to sit beside her. For the first time that night, his face lost that hard, calculating look. “You will. After some training, some practice, you will know. And, I bet you'll be great.”
She stared at him, trying to keep the hardness in her own face, but suddenly she felt her lip trembling. “Dad, I...” Her voice shook and it surprised her. It surprised her too when her father put an arm across her shoulders, gently patting her arm.
“I'll be here. I'll be helping you.” He kissed her on the forehead. She took a resigned breath.
Her father kept his word and started training her the next day. She relearned all the combat techniques she'd once practiced as a kid, and a few new ones. It was weird, doing these strange activities with the mysterious father who'd been away for so long. Another strange new addition was the weapons, which were kept in that mysterious room in the attic. There were different kinds for different kinds of enemies, and she learned how to use them and how to spot them.
“Crossbow,” he would say, holding it out to her.
“Vampire,” she answered.
“Rifle,” he said, adding “Loaded with -”
“- rock salt,” she nodded. “Ghosts and other things that are non...non-”
“Corporeal,” he said, with a grim smile. “Axe.”
She raised her eyebrows and lifted the heavy object. “Everything.” He raised his eyebrows. “Uh, everything corporeal?”
He smiled, and he seemed actually happy this time.
He took her hunting at night. She used her new skills to take out other strange creatures. It was surprising how many there were. “Why are they all here?” she asked one night as they walked through a field, patrolling the town for evil creatures.
“I think they're attracted here,” he answered.
“What's so great about this town?” She wrinkled her nose. “Doesn't everything taste like corn?”
“Maybe it wasn't always so popular,” he said. “After the bombs, a lot of places changed so much, they're unrecognizable. My guess is, some places changed in a different way.”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“I think the energy of this place changed. Something shifted, and it's become a gateway. There's some kind of dimensional portal operating here, allowing evil creatures in and attracting others. I haven't pinpointed where this portal originates yet, but-”
“But it's our job to stop them?”
He nodded.
“Okay,” she said. They walked along in silence for a few minutes. “I'm glad we're doing this, Dad,” she said quietly. “It's hard, but I'm glad you're here to help.”
He stared straight ahead, with a look she recognized. Her smile disappeared and she let some of the steel back into her voice. “Are you going to be here? For good?” She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.
She wondered if he almost looked sad. He'd always been excellent at hiding his real, softer edges under the steel ones, but maybe he was getting softer all around in his old age. “Long as I can be,” he said finally.
She stared ahead, her hands in her pockets and her face still for an eternity before she answered, “Okay.”
The girl with the strange new birthright settled into a routine after a while. The work she did at night got to be not so bad. It was better than the days, at least. Daytime was so boring in a town without power and communications, and she would never admit it, but she missed school. Without it, she had nowhere to get away from her mother's silent questions, no way to escape the chores, babysitting, and frequent family game nights she had to endure with their new friends, the Taylors. She had no one, really, to talk to, for the first time in her life. She was used to the secret codes and weird looks that replaced talking a lot of the time in her own house, but she'd never been forced to rely on just that. She'd never had trouble making friends in Baltimore.
At least her new calling gave her a place to blow off steam. Everything she couldn't say during the day, she could shout at retreating vampires, or put into deadly blows aimed at demons and monsters. Sometimes, it gave her a chance to interact with the people in town too, in different ways than they did at town meetings or in line for food rations.
Once, she followed Jake, the mayor's prodigal son, and a strange brunette he'd been flirting with into an alleyway. She'd looked away the best she could during the embarrassing small talk, waiting for the vamp to make her move. When Ali saw fangs, she swooped in. After a quick tussle, she staked the demon date. The mayor's son had been thrown to the ground, and he stared up at her, first in awe, and then in confusion. Without a word, she'd turned, whistling as she walked home. She'd remember that look, every time he would give a speech to rally the troops or convince them to cut their rations or something, from then on.
One night, she found herself out at one of the farms, battling forces even she hadn't expected to encounter there. As she jumped and delivered a swift mid-air kick right at the feelers of the advancing cockroach, she heard Stanley, the farmer, shouting behind her, “There's more of them, coming this way! It must've laid eggs!”
She groaned, brushing herself off and going in for another round with the insect, which was roughly the size of a pickup truck. She was pretty sure she'd twisted something in the driveway earlier when she'd fought off a horrible clown that had reminded her so much of the worst parade her dad had ever taken her to back in Baltimore. This overgrown bug was shrieking but still fighting and she didn't look forward to facing the others she could hear scurrying across the cornfield.
Behind her, she could hear Mimi, Stanley's girlfriend, screaming still. She didn't need to turn around to know that she was still clinging to the porch railing.
“We have to burn it!” Stanley shouted. Ali glanced quickly to the side. The farmer was racing back and forth on the porch, his arms going wild, the look on his face crazed. “The barn. There's some gas still in there. I'll be back!”
“No, wait,” Ali tried to protest, as the insect sent her flying backwards again. She couldn't quite explain why, but she felt there was something else they had to do. She didn't have to chase after the farmer, though, because he was back in a moment, walking backwards. “They're dead,” he said in a quiet voice.
“Who?” squealed his girlfriend, not taking her eyes off the giant cockroach.
“E-everyone,” stuttered Stanley. “I couldn't do anything. It's my fault, and they're coming to get back at me!”
Ali had been about to charge the insect, but she turned to look at the farmer. “Wait, what?”
“Everyone,” he repeated, his voice trembling. “Just like I was -”
“Just like you were afraid of!” shouted Ali. “That's it!” She grinned. Mimi shrieked. Stanley started to shout back in the direction of the barn, “I did my best! Please, you have to understand!”
“You guys!” shouted Ali, backing up rather than kicking the creature again. “You have to face them. Face what you're afraid of.”
“What?” shrieked Mimi, clinging to the post even tighter. “Are you crazy?”
“Bonnie!” shouted Stanley. “I can't see her anywhere. Bonnie!”
Ali sighed, and swung a punch at the cockroach before it could get closer. “Try to face your fears. I think it's some kind of nightmare spawner, or fear monster or something trying to get to you with what scares you. Just stop and take a look at them. Think about how silly it is.” She motioned up at the giant cockroach.
“What's that supposed to do? It's still making dents in the lawn!” shouted Mimi.
“I don't know, but I have this feeling it'll do something,” explained Ali. She looked over at Stanley, who was still alternating between shouting apologies at the dead and shouting for his sister. “I'll find her, you deal with your demons. What's her name, Bonnie?” She looked around again, and shouted “Bonnie!”
Stanley gestured wildly. “No, no, she's deaf. She can't hear you. If we can't see her, we'll never find her.”
Ali swung around one of the porch posts, landing both her feet into the creature's side. “That sounds like...” she dusted herself off and backed up, suddenly looking around carefully. A movement had caught her eye. A big metal bucket that had been sitting on the porch lifted off the ground, seemingly moving of its own accord. As Ali watched, it danced its way over to the cockroach, hovered near it for a moment, and then bounced off of its back with a loud metal ring. Ali stared at the spot where the bucket had hovered, and waved her arms before saying slowly and carefully, “I can see you.”
A teenage girl suddenly materialized on the spot where there had seemingly been only air. She looked surprised at first, but quickly sent Ali a smile. She ran onto the porch and stood by her brother's side, signing something rapidly to him and glancing off in the same direction he was looking.
With new determination, Ali aimed a quick punch at the insect and then ran up onto the porch, crouching beside the cowering woman. “Mimi,” she whispered. “What do you normally do when you see a cockroach?”
Staring down at the ground, Mimi whispered “Usually, scream and jump.”
It was coming closer, but Ali gripped Mimi's shoulder. “But what could you do? If it was a regular cockroach and it was bothering you?”
“S-step on it, I guess,” said Mimi.
Ali nodded. Now for the hard part. “Imagine stepping on it.” Mimi started to protest. “I know it's huge,” said Ali. “But just picture stepping on it. You can do it. Stand up.”
It took more frantic prodding, and Stanley and Bonnie coming to stand beside her, and the pinchers of the insect were a few feet away when Mimi finally stood, held her head high, and glared at the insect.
The insect swirled around with a jerky motion a few times, taking the shape again of a zombie, back to a cockroach, and one screaming clown, before it sunk down into the ground and suddenly a row of strange little orange creatures was running through the grass.
Ali shrugged and ran after them. Confused enough to not be hiding behind the big things that scared their victims, they would be easy enough to take out. When she came back from the corn field a few moments later, wiping off her hands, the farm's inhabitants were gathered on their porch. Bonnie stepped forward and smiled. “Thank you,” she said.
Ali nodded. “Nice hit with the bucket.”
Bonnie nodded and said “Thanks.”
Ali smiled as she walked away. She wasn't sure how, but she felt she'd made a connection with Bonnie Richmond. The fear of becoming invisible, being not seen by those closest to you, was scary indeed. Almost as much as horrible clowns. She wondered to herself if she had, perhaps, made one of her first friends. Bonnie, after all, now knew what she was capable of, so it was nice to think she wouldn't have to hide her secret evil-fighting identity. She resolved that she would try to reach out to this potential friend, sooner or later.
Her plans to start socializing more were derailed later that night. That night, things really hit a new level of weird. Ali was walking home with a light bounce in her step when she noticed a strange figure in the yard, staring up at the sky through a telescope. Ducking down, she crawled through the bushes to get a better look. It was the strangest sight. The creature wore human clothing and had a human-like figure, but even in the dim lighting she could tell there was something very different about it. Its skin wasn't solid like a regular human's, but strangely translucent, and instead of veins and tissues, it seemed like flames of fire bloomed under the creature's skin. It turned and she saw its face was sharp and defined and its eyes glowed. She rose up slowly, facing it head on. It seemed to notice her, as it shifted its weight and put one hand on its hip. Then it spoke. “Hi, baby girl.”
Ali later thought that she must have jumped ten feet. She backed up, stumbling over her words and the hedges. “What? What did you say?”
“Oh,” said the figure, looking down and back at her. “You can see, can't you? It's a bit of a shock the first time.”
“What?” she sputtered again. “Dad? Is that really...you?”
“Afraid so,” he said. He held out his arms. “Do you want to come inside? I figure you'll have more questions.”
“Yeah,” she said, hearing her voice shake for the first time in weeks. “What – what happened?” She had almost said “What are you?” but her father's voice, posture, and even that maroon shirt, were so familiar she knew she shouldn't ask so rudely.
“I don't really know,” he said. “It's how I've always been, I think, though of course I didn't know it myself until I was around your age. Everyone else can't see, and I don't notice myself much most of the time.”
“What do you mean?” she asked. “How?” How could he miss his veins of fire and the eerie glowing eyes when he was looking in the mirror every morning?
“I only look like this once in a while. I'm not sure why, but it happens when something in the air changes. Kind of like how some animals know when a storm's on its way.”
“And people don't notice? How?” she asked, putting her hands on her hips.
“They can't see,” he said, in that calm voice he used when he wanted other people to calm down. She wasn't going to, though. She backed up half a foot. “I look the same as usual to them, far as I can tell.”
“You sure? No one's ever seen?” she asked.
“Well, your mother's seen once or twice,” he said. “Once in a while she sees it in my reflection.” He sighed, folding his arms in front of her. “It was a bit of a shock the first time, but she's always been able to see me for who I really am. She loves me, and she loves you, so you don't have to worry about -”
“Wait,” she said. She couldn't keep the panic out of her voice now. “It's going to happen to me too, isn't it?” She was having a hard time breathing. “This is what will happen to me, right?”
He looked at her a long moment before he answered. “Yes. It's part of who we are. It's why we're able to do what we do. The strength, the skills, the senses, and this, are all part of – ”
“Part of who we are,” she mumbled. She stared down. Her t-shirt, jacket, and jeans looked the same. Her feet and her arms were familiar. She willed herself not to imagine them changing but she couldn't. She looked back at him. “So what are we?”
He shrugged. “I don't know. I've never been given a name for it.”
She crossed her arms, looking down at her feet again. “I can think of one,” she whispered. She raised her voice then, asking “So are we good or bad?”
“No such thing,” he smirked.
She rolled her eyes. “What are we then?”
“We're not defined by words,” he said, speaking in a louder, more definite tone than before. He must have really wanted it to sink in. “It's what we do that matters. And you and I, we have a power to do things no one else can. We can change things. It's a burden, and I am sorry that you have been given this burden, but you also have power. That power might be what gets you through this. It could help your mother, your brother, and a lot of innocent people.”
“People...that will never know,” she said.
He nodded, smiling. Hoping, she knew, that she was starting to come around.
“I need to think,” she said.
He nodded again, less smiley. She turned away and started walking again, still feeling those glowing eyes watching her.
She walked back along their street, by the houses full of sleeping people who would never know what she really was. She could never show anyone who she really was. A monster.
She could save them. She wouldn't get to know them. Her new hopes for reaching out to the other young people in town, hoping that her defeat of the nightmare monster at the farm had given them some kind of common ground, seemed like the plot of some long forgotten movie she had slept partway through.
She was surprised, a short time later, when it was Bonnie who reached out to her, asking her to come help with another scary situation. Ali stared at herself reflected in shop windows as they walked, double checking that her skin wasn't taking on a fiery tint. She tried to keep things business-like as they arrived at the intersection at the edge of town where the old truck was parked.
“So you've already figured out how this happened?” Ali asked, putting her hands on her hips and surveying the scene.
Dale Turner was standing in a tense position, a grim look on his face, but his ears were turning pink. “I – I just made a few wishes.”
“With this,” added Bonnie, helpfully holding up a big, weathered old book. “He said he got it at a trading post somewhere.” The girls looked at him with raised eyebrows.
“I just...thought I could make things better,” he said, sheepishly at first but then putting on a hard expression.
“So this -” Ali began, gesturing at the young woman before them who stood still, frozen like a statue.
Dale looked away. “I wished her parents were back. And they came back, only – they were wrong. They weren't...alive.” He glanced towards the nearby field, where two figures lay crumpled on the ground. “I...” his voice shook, but again he tried to make it hard. “I couldn't stand for her to see them like that. She shouldn't have to. She's already had to go through so much.”
“So you made another wish?” asked Ali. Bonnie waved a hand in front of the statue-girl's face. Her glass-like eyes didn't move.
“She doesn't feel anything now,” said Dale, his last words giving way to a sob.
Ali sighed. She was irritated that he'd meddled in such obviously dangerous things, but she couldn't help but think of the times she'd wished she knew what happened to Cindy, her best friend, or the times she hoped Sam would accept their hundredth reading of that Scooby Do book rather than continue asking questions about their missing loved ones.
“Have you found a way to reverse it?” she asked.
“It needs more than one person,” he said, pointing to a page in the book.
The three of them joined hands and chanted, and soon the girl in front of them gasped for air, her eyes wide and teary. She looked at Dale, and spun around, walking in the opposite direction of the bodies.
“Skylar!” he called after her.
She ignored him, but after a few steps, sunk down in the grass, sobbing. Glancing at Ali, Bonnie took off after Skylar, crouching beside her and carefully touching her shoulder.
Ali turned to Dale. “Come on. We're going to bury them.” She motioned towards the bodies. The parents. With a small sigh, he nodded, and they began to walk over.
Later, the four teenagers stood staring down at the mound of earth. Ali felt a strange sense of separateness, even though she stood so close to them, as the other three shed tears over the parents. They thanked her, and she began walking home.
She was supposed to continue patrolling the town for other signs of evil, but she felt a need to stop into the house and check on her own parents. It was because of this that she noticed the strange figure slipping in her back door just as she was crossing the lawn. She couldn't make out who it was and his back was turned, but she caught sight of a veiny, thorny looking hand. A hand that didn't look human. It wasn't familiar, and she knew it wasn't her father.
She raced inside, shouting for her family members as she crossed the hall, hoping she could prevent the worst. “Mom!” she shouted as she came into the kitchen.
Three faces looked up at her. Her father, her mother, and a stranger whose scaly face matched the hand she'd seen. On the table in front of them were maps and blueprints. She stared at the mug of tea in her mother's hands, the relaxed way the stranger leaned back in his chair, and then at the pointed look her father was giving her. “Ali, I want you to meet an old friend of mine,” he began.
A wave of worry was gripping her, though she wasn't certain why. “Friend? So what, is there like a club you can join or something?”
The adults glanced back and forth quickly. Ali's mother looked guiltily at the table when Ali stared questioningly at her. She looked back at her father, who stood up. “Outside?” he asked.
Ali stalked out to the back porch and waited for her father, not turning around as she heard him come out the door.
“Ali, some demons aren't our enemies,” he began, in that calm, reasonable tone he always tried to use.
“Yeah? How long have you been buddies with that one?” she asked. “Did you meet at Monsters Anonymous or was there a karaoke night?”
“We go back awhile,” he said carefully. “When I was first -”
“You're going, aren't you?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. “You have something more important to do. Somewhere else you have to go now.” She recognized the signs. She had never known her father fought evil creatures or that he sometimes looked more like an ogre than a prince. But she could tell when one of his 'commitments' to one of his old friends was about to change everything.
He came up beside her, reaching for her arm but then dropping his arm to his side. “There is no place more important to me than where you, your mother, and brother are. You are the most important -”
“That's not going to stop you from leaving, is it?” she asked, finally turning to look at him.
He shook his head slowly. “No.” He looked at her and she could feel, this time, that he was sorry. “There's – there's something I have to do. Something I have to help him with.”
“Fine,” she said. They stared at each other, unsmiling, and she gave her father a stiff hug. “I'll take care of things.”
She started to walk away, stepping off the porch.
“Ali.” Her father's voice stopped her. “Do you want to come in? I don't have much time, and your mother would probably -” She didn't interrupt, but he couldn't seem to finish.
She shrugged. “I have to keep patrolling,” she said. “Dangerous things in town after dark.”
He stared at her for a few moments, but then gave a single, definite nod. “Okay. Good.”
She turned and kept walking, along deserted streets, through neighbourhoods. She came to a familiar spot, a field at the edge of town, and stopped, eyeing the grass, the lone tree, and the almost full moon in the sky. She aimed a kick at a fence post. It hit the ground and left a dent. She let out a sigh.
She kept silent about her father's absence. During the day she kept herself busy as ever, helping with the chores, going to school for the first time, and making sure no one else cried too much either.
Sam wanted to talk. Sometimes she let him, and sat quietly lost in thought as he yammered on. Sometimes she directed him to his crayons. She was glad he seemed to be making friends with some of the other kids. Having playmates would occupy him and keep him from getting lost. One night, she walked along the darkening street while listening to the Taylors' youngest child, Sally, chattering away about bunnies while Sam and Woody, Sally's brother, walked ahead of them, playfully fighting over a soccer ball. “Boys, behave!” shouted Ali, only half paying attention as Sally continued, “And I think if I had one that was black and white with floppy ears, I would call that one Lucy after Lucy from Charlie Brown.”
Ali sighed and nodded along. The babysitting gig was a drag but at least it got her away from the Taylors' house where her mother and Margaret would chat, play cards, and inevitably get into some weird, coded on one side dialogue about her dad's absence. “Yeah, yeah, that's really...” she looked down at Sally, who was smiling up at her. Just then, a movement ahead caught her eye. The boys' soccer ball bounced to the ground as both of them stood, frozen. A vampire had jumped out of nowhere and was advancing on them.
“Wait here a sec,” she said to Sally, before turning and running towards the vampire that was grabbing Sam's arm. She pushed the vampire to the ground so hard that both of them rolled. The vamp was a good fighter, but so was she, and they took turns knocking each other to the ground. She was so focused on the fight that she was only vaguely aware of the children's voices, cheering her on. And then she heard a high, piercing scream. She glanced up.
Another vampire had come out of nowhere and was only a few feet away from Sally. The little girl had listened to Ali and stayed far back from the fight. Now she started running, but only got a few steps before tripping.
Ali quickly pulled out a stake and destroyed the vampire she'd been fighting, and, swearing out loud, began sprinting towards Sally and the other one.
Sally was on the ground, instinctively covering her face with her arms, and the vamp (dressed in a horribly ugly orange jacket) hadn't reached her yet, but was swooping in. Ali pushed herself harder, desperately trying to run faster. She was almost there, but the vamp was inches from the kid.
Suddenly, taking them all by surprise, a large, snarling blur of fur and fangs leapt out from behind Sally, knocking the attacker to the ground. Ali slowed her running slightly to take in the situation as she neared it. The animal that now pinned the vampire to the ground with its massive paws appeared to be a wolf, its grey coat and sharp incisors gleaming in the moonlight. It growled and snarled and lashed at the vampire, soon biting its throat. Ali had carefully stepped around the fighting pair, picking Sally up off the ground and keeping an arm around her shoulders. She was still tense, ready to defend the kids from the wolf if the vampire was just an appetizer.
As the vampire turned to ashes though, and the wolf stepped away from its prey, its snarling features softened. Its big brown eyes stared at them. Beside her, Ali could hear a small gasp of surprise. Sally was staring back at the wolf, smiling almost as though she knew it. The wolf looked from her, over to the boys who were standing quietly now, before taking off into the night.
The kids talked excitedly the whole way home about their encounter. Ali couldn't remember Sam ever staring at her with so much admiration, and he kept repeating “That was so cool! I didn't know you could do that!” When they arrived at the Taylors' house, the mothers were both there to greet them. Neither seemed too surprised, and though they expressed relief that everyone was okay, Ali had a strange feeling when she realized she herself wasn't that surprised. Her own mother sat on the couch, her arms wrapped around a protesting Sam, but after seeing Woody and Sally had hung up their jackets, Margaret was offering to make tea. Ali offered to help and followed her into the kitchen.
“So, that was some fight, huh?” asked Margaret, passing a mug to Ali. She raised an eyebrow, and there was a twinkle in her brown eyes.
Ali had gotten too familiar with the creatures of the night not to know one staring her in the face. “It was you, wasn't it?”
Margaret nodded.
“You can control it?” asked Ali.
“Well, it's been a long time now,” said Margaret with a smile. “Almost fifteen years. Long before the kids were born.”
“Do they know?” asked Ali, fiddling with the edge of a tea towel.
“We don't talk about it with them, but I think they do, on some level.”
Ali nodded. “And Jimmy? I guess he'd have to know.” She glanced at Margaret, who nodded. “But isn't it kind of...”
“Jimmy's always been there for me,” said Margaret. “He's a good guy, and he can always see the good in other people, even in their darkest moments.”
Ali nodded, processing this information. She looked over at the were-wolf woman, wondering how to ask. “I don't have to...you're only like that when your kids...I don't have to worry, do I?” She sent her an apologetic but businesslike look.
Margaret smiled, but shook her head. “It's okay. And no, I've lived here very peacefully for a long time.” She gave Ali an appraising look. “There are lots of us with secrets, but some of us use them to protect people.”
Ali gave her a hint of a smile, though she was sure it didn't reach her eyes. It was hard to stop worrying about the massive secrets piling up in her life.
Margaret slid a mug of tea in front of her. “If you ever need any help, just ask,” she said, taking a sip of her own tea and sitting down.
Ali peered thoughtfully into her tea. She hadn't expected her first offer of help from someone who really understood what she was up against each night to be from one of her mother's friends. But it was nice to have someone understand. At least part of it. “Thanks,” she whispered.
Margaret nodded, and her smile turned into a serious look. “You know something's coming, right? Something big?”
Ali stayed silent. She could only bring herself to nod slightly, because she felt all of a sudden that she knew this was true, had known for a long time, but was also just realizing it.
“I don't know what, but I can feel it,” continued Margaret. “I think any of us with...special senses probably can.”
“I think you're right,” said Ali. They shared a worried look for a moment. “Do you have any ideas?”
Margaret looked thoughtful. “I think the best thing we can do is stick together. You can come to me, if you need backup, but I think we should also look to our friends. They might be able to help.”
Other friends. Ali nodded slowly. In Baltimore, if she'd had a big problem, there were a bunch of people she knew she could drop in on. She looked back at Margaret, whose soft but fierce smile now seemed obviously and completely reminiscent of the wolf. She returned her smile.
Over the next few weeks, Ali continued with her work and continued visiting Margaret Taylor, having chats over tea and sometimes talking about strategies. She also began taking Margaret's advice, and trying to reach out to the friends she was beginning to make. For the first time, she was beginning to find her life in Jericho fun, when she spent evenings hanging out with Bonnie and her boyfriend Sean, and Dale and the reanimated and mostly coping Skylar. Sometimes they even tagged along as she “solved problems,” as she called it, and sometimes they even helped. She was careful, all the time, not to let them catch on to too much of her secret, and grateful that they didn't ask a lot of questions as they were faced with the strange events that kept happening after dark.
“Wow, that's a really big troll!” said Sean one night as they all stared at the creature Ali had most recently taken down, after its rampage through the medical centre, an attack that left no one dead but several ceilings damaged and one doctor cowering in a supply closet.
Ali nodded with grim satisfaction. “You know, something even bigger's coming.”
The others looked at her. She shared the theory she and her father had discussed, about shifts in the earth and an inter-dimensional portal opening up in town. They accepted the news pretty well. It made sense, considering the things they'd seen.
“But what's going to happen?” asked Skylar, glancing over as Bonnie coaxed Dr. Dhuwalia to drink some tea. “Is it something you can fight? Or we can fight?”
“I don't know,” said Ali. “I'll have to figure it out.”
“We can try to ask around,” said Dale, who'd gotten an unfortunate amount of troll drool on his sleeve. “Find out if anyone else in the area knows.”
“I don't know if this is the kind of information that's getting traded out there,” said Ali with a chuckle, but when she saw their serious faces looking back at her, she shrugged. “It's worth trying I guess.”
It seemed word didn't travel as quickly among the concerned citizens of the area as it did the shady and the slimy. Several weeks later, the teens still didn't have any answers.
“Other than, 'something big is coming,'” said Dale. “That's all I could get out of that fortune-telling guy.”
“Shh,” said Sean. “It's supposed to be a stakeout.”
“There she is!” whispered Skylar. Under the cover of darkness, Heather Lisinski was exiting town hall. As she walked around the corner, heading to the back parking lot, the teens followed. As their footsteps started to sound, echoing through the alley between town hall and Bailey's, the teacher-turned-administrator turned around. Dale and Bonnie sped up and got ahead of her, where they stopped and planted their feet. She turned around again and Skylar and Sean were standing behind her. Ali stepped between them and walked right up to Heather.
“Guys,” asked Heather, with a bit of a laugh like she was trying to keep things casual, though she glanced nervously between them. “What is this? Some kind of ambush?”
“We're trying to prevent one,” said Ali. “Can we go somewhere and talk?”
Heather folded her arms and shifted her weight from foot to foot, as if she was trying to make herself appear to take up more space. “I'm fine here.”
“Sure?” asked Ali, glancing around at their less than cheery surroundings. “We could go somewhere with lights, or couches. We really just want to help.”
“You're trying to help me?” asked Heather, raising her eyebrows. “Look, I don't know what you've heard, but I'm doing just fine.”
“We need to talk to you about something,” said Ali. “And we're going to help. But we can't let you leave.”
Heather dropped her arms, but the look she was fixing on them now was far less indulgent. She set her jaw, but didn't say anything.
“That is what you're doing, isn't it?” asked Ali, raising her own eyebrows and stepping closer. “Leaving? Right from work, right at the end of the day, so no one will notice til it's too late?” Heather looked as though she was searching for something to say. “Please, just hear us out,” said Ali, keeping eye contact.
“Fine,” said Heather after an eternity. “We can go to their store.” She motioned over at Dale and Skylar.
“You can't leave town with him,” said Ali, a few minutes later, as they sat or stood in various places around the small back room of Dale and Skylar's store. She was perched on the edge of the desk, one leg crossed over another. Heather had taken a seat in one of the two office chairs, her hands folded in her lap. “He isn't who you think he is,” Ali continued.
Heather looked confused and surprised, but she said firmly, “He's a good man.”
“Only problem with that argument,” began Skylar. “Is he isn't a man at all, is he?”
“I don't know what you're talking about,” said Heather.
“Maybe he hasn't shown you his true face,” said Ali, shooting Skylar somewhat of a cautioning look, and shuddering in her mind at the thought of her own secret face. “But I promise you, he's dangerous.”
“He wouldn't do anything to hurt me,” said Heather, shaking her head. “I don't know why I have to justify myself to...you guys don't have to worry about it.”
“I do,” said Ali. “It's sort of my job.”
“And we all care, Miss Lisinski,” cut in Sean, who was leaning against the door.
“Well, that's very nice of you,” began Heather, with a resigned but patient look on her face. “But -”
“But he's a demon!” cut in Skylar. The others all glanced at her. “We don't have time to tiptoe around it!” she protested.
“You kids have been through a lot,” said Heather. “And so have I. I know all about the dangerous guys we have around here. I've been through my fair share of ups and downs. I think I can decide these things for myself.”
“Look, I'm sorry things have been so bad,” began Ali, standing up. “But I have to tell you what we know. He isn't going to take you to Missouri. He lives in a hell dimension and he came here looking for his queen.”
The look on Heather's face clearly demonstrated that this was still too much to swallow. “Not that it's any of your business,” she said, standing up herself. “But we're in love.”
“You probably are,” said Ali. “But do you know what it's like to be queen of the fire-eating demons? They're all waiting for you to show up and teach them how to take care of themselves. Sort of a Wendy among the Lost Boys type situation.”
Heather smirked. “Seriously? I'm not exactly the 'joy of housekeeping' type.”
Ali shrugged. “They need someone to teach them how to fix their motorcycles.” She sighed. “Can you please just try one thing, and if we're wrong, we'll leave you alone?”
Heather glanced warily between the teens, before giving a reluctant nod. “What is it?”
“How do you think he knew to come here?” asked Dale in Ali's ear later, as they sat in the cover of darkness, watching with binoculars again.
“I don't know, maybe the energy of everything else going on attracted him,” she suggested.
“Maybe he heard Jericho was a good place to look for a queen. All the hot chicks,” said Sean from the back. Ali didn't need to turn around to know Bonnie was swatting his arm.
“There. He's there,” whispered Skylar.
All five teens watched as the suave, sophisticated looking dark and handsome stranger walked up to Heather, who was waiting by her car. Ali found herself reaching, resting her hand on the door handle, just waiting. The pair conversed for a few moments, and the teacher's body language was nervous but not entirely suspicious.
“Oh, just do it already,” complained Sean. “Shut up,” warned Dale.
With a furtive glance around, Heather finally threw the vial of liquid she had been concealing right at her paramour. He stepped back in surprise, and with a flash of light, he transformed from a well groomed man into a taller, hairier figure with horns sticking out of his head and orange, glistening skin.
“Now!” shouted Skylar at the others, for Ali had already flung open her door and began running towards the pair.
Heather jumped backwards, letting out a small scream. The demon roared in anger at being unmasked, and took a deep breath. Ali dove and knocked Heather out of the way as the place where she had been standing received a dosing of flame. She began to fight the demon as her friends arrived. Sean pulled Heather to her feet and away from the fight as Dale and Bonnie circled the fighting pair with crossbows. The demon fought well and his fire-breathing managed to make the friends scatter a few times. At one point, Ali's sleeve caught fire and she yelped. Skylar aimed her fire extinguisher and the flames that had burned her arm were gone. Ali was really angry now, and she ran at the demon, catching his arms and pulling them behind his back. “Now!” she screamed, holding him in place as he tried to jerk away. “Shoot him now!”
Bonnie and Dale shot at the same time and two arrows pierced the demon in the chest. He let out a roar and burst into flames.
Heather, who was leaning against her car, stared wide-eyed at the teenagers as they brushed off their hands and straightened their clothes. “I...” she stammered. Her eyes were nearly teary now. “I thought he loved me.”
“He probably did, in his own twisted way,” said Ali. Her face softened. “I'm sorry,” she said.
“No, I should be thanking you,” said Heather, nodding around to all of them. “That was his real face, and if you hadn't warned me...”
“Hey, if you hadn't unmasked him,” said Ali. “That took guts.”
Heather smiled, but sighed. “It's just so embarrassing. Dating around here really sucks.”
Ali nodded with a grim smile. “I wouldn't know.”
Heather started to get into her car. “Hey, um, one question,” said Ali. “Did he, you know, when you were having those moonlit walks and sharing bowls of noodles...did he say anything about how he decided to come here?”
Heather frowned, thinking. “He said a friend had told him about this place. Someone in town. I don't know who. Well, it's been an adventure. Stay safe guys!”
They nodded and waved as she started the car.
“Huh,” said Dale as Heather drove away from the circle of teens. “So, it's not so much a 'what's bringing them to town?'”
Skylar added, “It's a who?”
Ali shrugged. “We'll see.”
The sightings and encounters with strange things continued, and seemed to be happening closer together. In between, she and her new sometimes-colleagues looked for leads, but it was difficult to uncover useful information. There were so many strange but perfectly human adults in town, hiding secrets but not summoning forces of evil. And then of course, so many of them kept getting into predicaments themselves and needing rescuing.
They were still talking amongst themselves, but not making much progress, the day she found herself in a stand-off in a small garage on the outskirts of town.
“Mr. Green – Eric!” she shouted. “We are going to work this out. But you have to let the mayor go!”
“I ain't letting him go!” shouted the bearded man. He had the mayor in a tight grip and was holding a gun against his temple. Gray Anderson had his eyes squeezed shut, and was whispering something under his breath. “He's the one who took my Lilah!”
“I don't know what he's talking about,” muttered Gray. “You're crazy!” he shouted up at the gun-wielding Green.
“You do know! You know where she is,” shouted Eric. He waved his gun at the room in general. “Delilah and I were going to get away together, but he took her before she could meet me. He's gonna pay!”
Ali sighed and ran her hand through her hair. “Okay, look buddy, you're not...who did you say you are?” She sent a glance back at Dale and Skylar, who were leafing rapidly through one of their books.
“Jeb,” said Eric, tightening his grip on the mayor, who winced.
“Well, you're the deputy mayor and this man is Gray Anderson, your boss, so you really shouldn't be threatening violence towards him,” said Ali in an even tone.
“He ain't who he says he is!” shouted Eric. “Something about him ain't right!”
“Okay, another issue, but your name is Eric Green, you are not Jeb,” continued Ali.
“Well, maybe he is,” came Skylar's voice from behind them. Ali looked back. “Sure it's Eric. But I think it makes the most sense if we consider he has been, well, possessed.”
“Well, what do we do?” asked Ali.
Skylar pointed at the page. “He's probably got some unfinished business he has to complete.”
“Well, since his unfinished business seems to be killing the mayor,” Dale paused for a moment to smirk, but then continued. “Can't we do an exorcism or something?”
“We might not have the time,” said Ali, turning back to the pair struggling in front of her.
“Jeb?” she said carefully, raising her hands in front of her in a peaceful gesture. “How can we fix this?”
“Won't be fixed til I make him pay!” shouted Jeb-Eric. “He took her away. Nothin'll be right til I give him what's comin' to him.” He was near tears and the arm holding the gun was wavering.
“Look,” said Ali slowly. “You don't seem like you want to hurt anyone. Why would we still be here, if you just wanted to hurt this man? What do you think you really want?”
Jeb-Eric sniffled. “Only thing that'd make me happy was if Lilah was here.” He stared down at the mayor. “Is she okay? What'd you do?”
“I don't know!” whimpered Gray. “Would you tell him I have no idea what the hell he's talking about!”
“Okay, guys,” cautioned Ali, stepping slightly closer to them. Both seemed to be getting more restless.
“Don't you know what he's capable of?” shouted Jeb-Eric. “This man's a monster!”
“Did you turn up anything about this guy?” asked Ali, looking over at the researchers and trying not to look guilty. She hoped no one had seen her flinch at the possessed man's word choice. “Is he from around here?”
“Possibly,” said Dale. “Bonnie's looking into it.”
“Could be he just found his way here through the portal,” added Skylar.
“Wherever that is,” smirked Dale.
“Could you loosen your grip a little?” Gray was asking. The deputy mayor responded by pushing the mayor further into the ground. “Shut your mouth, you low down dirty snake.”
“For Christ's sake, Eric,” growled Gray.
“Jeb?” asked a voice in the doorway. Mary Bailey stood there, with Bonnie beside her. She was smiling and teary eyed. Bonnie looked slightly queasy.
“Lilah!” called Jeb-Eric. He dropped the gun and the mayor in a quick movement. Gray scrambled towards the gun, but Ali picked it up before he could reach it.
The possessed lovers met in the middle of the room, and reached for each other's hands.
“Lilah, I thought somethin' awful'd happened, when you didn't meet me by the tradin' post, and I couldn't find ya anywhere,” said Jeb-Eric, brushing his hand through her hair.
“I wanted to be with you, Jeb,” said Lilah-Mary in a teary voice. “I tried so hard, darlin', I just got lost along the way.” She sobbed and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Lost, for so long.”
“Don't matter, now,” said Jeb-Eric, pulling her closer. “I've found you now.” The lovers leaned in for a long kiss.
Bonnie rolled her eyes. “I found her.”
The other spectators averted their eyes or tried to hide their smirking as the lovers continued their tight embrace. They stepped away from each other, suddenly wearing confused expressions.
“Mary? What are we...” Eric glanced around the room.
Mary was smoothing her hair back and looking around at the spectators. “Last thing I remember, I was...did I leave the bar unattended?”
“I'm sure it'll survive,” grumbled Gray, who was finally getting to his feet.
“You guys don't remember anything?” asked Ali, preventing the pair from leaving before giving her answers. “No moment before, or anything weird happening today?”
“Not especially,” said Eric as Mary shook her head.
“The ghosts – Jeb and whatever – they probably just latched onto the first couple they could find,” suggested Skylar. She and Dale shared a nervous glance.
“And they left 'cause they got closure,” nodded Ali. She glanced at the adults. “Right?”
“I think so. He's definitely gone,” said Eric.
Mary nodded, sharing a sideways look with Eric, then put on a business-like expression. “And I really need to get back to the bar.”
Eric nodded, taking her hand. “I'll help you.”
As they began to walk out, Gray protested “That's it? Don't you think we're going to have to fill out some kind of workplace incident report?”
“Oh, let them go,” said Bonnie with a sigh. “Lilah was a big over-sharer,” she said with an eye roll.
Margaret laughed as Ali recounted her latest encounters with the paranormal over tea. “The spirits are getting especially restless these days,” she said.
Ali sighed. It had been funny to tell the story, but there was something troubling about the ghosts' urgency. “Like they needed to latch onto some humans while they still could,” she said quietly.
Margaret leaned back in her chair. “I still think it's funny they picked those two, of all people, when there are so many hormonal young people waltzing around town. No offence.”
Ali nodded, staring at her mug, thinking. “I wish they could've explained to us. Why now, and where. Why do these ghosts always have to have their own agenda?”
Margaret chuckled. Noticing Ali's serious expression, she made her own serious face. “You'll figure this out. In time. You're working so hard.”
Ali smiled embarrassedly. “I don't have a choice.”
Margaret gave her a knowing look. “Everything's a choice. We're all proud of you, you know. Of all your efforts.”
Ali fidgeted. “If I could just figure out where to concentrate my efforts.” She leaned back again, watching as Margaret fidgeted with her wedding ring, and she recalled again the stranded Jeb and Lilah who'd conveniently hitched a ride with the deputy mayor and bartender. “Hey,” she said. “The others thought the portal's entrance was probably where the ghosts came from. That they probably latched onto the first pair of lovers they could find.”
Margaret nodded slowly.
“What if they were also the first people they could find?” asked Ali. “Maybe it was really close to where they both were. Mary said she'd left the bar unattended.”
Realization was dawning on Margaret's face. “You may as well check it out.”
“Think they're going to let me randomly look around?” asked Ali.
Margaret considered for a moment. “Maybe Jimmy can help you out. It could be town related business.”
Ali was skeptical, but the next day she stood in the midst of the sheriff's station at town hall. As Jimmy looked through a file, she glanced out the window. The Bailey's wall was only a few feet away, and from here, there seemed to be nothing sinister about the bar. Still, she was getting a growing sense of foreboding.
“Well, if you want to know about the bar's history, it's been renovated a few times,” said Jimmy. “But the original foundation goes back to the nineteenth century.”
Ali glanced at the blueprints. “What about down there?”
“The basement?” asked Jimmy. “I went down there, one time after the bombs, to check things out in case we needed more storage for the shelter. Some parts were bricked off but Mary said it goes on further than you can see. You know, the original plans might have more of a detailed map.”
Ali nodded. If she was going to venture down there, it would be good to have some kind of plan for where she should be looking.
“It's up in the records room,” said Jimmy. “I don't think the mayor will mind.”
She wasn't so sure about that, as she saw Gray Anderson leaning back from his desk, staring at them from within his office, as they walked by in the upstairs hallway. The man gave her a suspicious look that could've sent shivers down the spine of someone less used to fighting slimy creatures and spooks.
Inside the musty record room, she could feel her pulse beating excitedly. She hoped that they weren't barking up the wrong tree, but she wasn't very worried. Something told her that something was about to happen.
“Here, look at this,” said Jimmy, spreading out a very old looking floor plan. “It's like a total maze down there. I didn't know about those tunnels.” He pointed at some basement plans that clearly extended beyond the Bailey's frame.
“Jimmy,” asked Ali, whipping her head suddenly to the side. “Do you hear that?”
“What?” asked Jimmy, momentarily stopping the rustling of papers.
“What's in there?” she asked in an apprehensive voice.
“That?” he asked. “Just a storage closet, I think. Mayor probably keeps office stuff in there.”
“Office stuff that rattles?” she asked. She began inching towards the door.
“Uh, not to be a worrier or anything, but you might want to take it slowly and think about this -” began Jimmy.
Ali gave the door a swift kick. The lock broke and it swung open. A bedraggled man with his arms tied behind his back and a piece of duct tape on his mouth slumped to the floor in front of them. Ali knelt to carefully pull off the tape.
“I don't understand,” stammered Jimmy. “If – if you're in there, Gray, who's...”
“I'm sorry,” mumbled the mayor from his spot on the floor, just as a shadow fell across the doorway.
“Well, I think we can assume he's not the mayor,” said Ali, folding her arms and looking at the Gray Anderson-lookalike who was now in the doorway and towering taller, his eyes gleaming more ominously, than the businessman ever had.
“My name is unknown to you, but my purpose soon will be!” boomed the mayor-lookalike. He seemed to be growing, raising up towards the ceiling as he spoke. “I have been calling them here for weeks, preparing for the day.”
“What, is there a holiday or something?” asked Ali. “'Cause if so, I think you guys really owe me a present, for the number of times you've ruined my clothes.”
“Insolent one!” shouted the non-mayor, waving a hand and knocking Ali and Jimmy backwards. “The door is open, but once the old ones begin to reach out of it, it will become bigger and bigger, feeding on this town and all who come near it, until the barriers between worlds split wide apart! And then there will be no waiting, no crowding, and you won't be able to stop us.”
“Impressive,” said Ali, considering her foe and stepping forward. “But you know what they say, can't know 'til I try.” She swung her fist towards the non-mayor, but was distracted by the rumbling sound that suddenly filled the hall. The ground itself seemed to shake.
“It has begun!” shouted the demon, whose face had also begun to shift. He began to look less like Gray Anderson and more like a reptile crammed into a business suit, with his glowing red eyes, massive scales, and flickering tongue. “The world you humans have created for us, the wastelands and the cowering people we will find all over the countryside, is far better than any we could have dreamt up! Soon we will end your reign and ours will be the only one remembered. There is nothing you can do now!” he shouted. Shrieks and shouts began to echo from other parts of the building.
Ali glanced sideways at Jimmy. “Get out. Get everyone out,” she whispered.
Jimmy nodded, and edged his way out of the room. The creature wasn't even paying him any attention. His eyes were locked with Ali's.
She swung first, connecting with his face with a loud sickening crack. He roared, but her fist stung and she stepped back. He charged and knocked her to her feet, but she rolled out of the way and jumped up again.
He made a strange sound. She realized after a moment that he was laughing. “I sensed one was coming,” he said. “So it's you, is it? You're what this town offers as my match?”
She felt a strange sensation. A tingling, and a rush like she was standing in a wind, though they were inside. Her eyesight was sharpening, with everything suddenly appearing more intense. She felt as though her bones and muscles were swelling.
The creature was staring at her with interest. “I may as well make an offer,” he said. “You join me, and I'll give you free reign. Whatever you want, you can have, after we take the power from these lower life forms.”
“What?” she asked. A horrible realization was dawning on her. She glanced down at her own arm. She could see through it. She could see fire. A panic ran through her, but she tried not to let it show. “No! This is my town, and I'm going to protect it, and I'm not making any deals, so...so screw you!”
The creature's eyes widened, and she imagined if he had eyebrows he would be raising them. “These people you so sweetly want to protect – do they know what you are?”
She took a step, and another. She wasn't going to let him throw her off. She tackled him. He was the strongest creature she had ever fought, and she gasped as he tossed her effortlessly against the wall. “It – doesn't – matter,” she muttered, kicking at his legs and throwing him off balance for a moment.
He staggered forwards and bent right over her, grabbing onto her jacket collar. She winced. She didn't know what kind of diet the reptile creature had been surviving on but his breath was pretty pungent. She stared back at his beady eyes. “Oh no?” he whispered. He glanced at the window. “Have they even seen your real face?”
She couldn't help it. She looked sideways, at her reflection in the window. The face, familiar and suddenly different, sharp and glowing, stared back at her. She gasped. Just then, the creature's rough arms pulled her up. He flung her backwards and with a huge crash, she found herself falling through the breaking window, falling down to the pavement of the parking lot behind town hall.
She hit the ground hard. Moaning, she moved amidst the shards of broken glass. She could feel her muscles working and it seemed nothing was damaged too badly. Still, she couldn't quite bring herself to get up for a few moments. She stared up at the sky through her sharpened vision, and found it clouding with tears.
“Ali! Hey, Ali!” came a voice suddenly. Before she knew what was happening, a pair of hands was grabbing her by the arms. She glanced up at Emily Sullivan, who was leaning over her, a look of panic on her face. “Are you okay?” asked Miss Sullivan. “Wait, stupid question, of course you're not okay. Just – just try not to move and we'll get a stretcher here as soon as –”
“No,” said Ali, sitting up quickly and pulling herself back from her teacher. She brushed Emily's arms away. She didn't want her to look at her, or to touch her and discover how different she was. She stood, brushing the glass off of her clothes. “No, I'm fine.” She started to back up.
Emily was staring in shock, but she stepped towards Ali. “Let me help you. Please, it'll be okay.”
“No, you can't!” said Ali, staggering into a run. She didn't know where she was going, only that she wanted to get away from her teacher's gaze.
“Why?” shouted Emily after her.
Because I'm a monster, she thought to herself as she ran, swiping at her eyes.
There was a chaotic crowd gathering on Spruce Lane in front of town hall. She only vaguely registered the screams and mayhem. She only wanted to get past the people. She kept from looking at any of them, thinking if she didn't make eye contact they'd be less likely to notice. She was shocked when someone grabbed onto her, just as she was about the dash around the side of the Cyberjolt cafe. “Mom!” she shouted.
“Ali, what is going on?” cried her mother. She gripped Ali's arms. Ali wanted to keep running, but couldn't bring herself to shake her off. “I have to go,” she said. “Before they see!”
“Before they -” Her mother had been looking at her in confusion but she suddenly nodded. “You see yourself differently,” she said quickly. “Like your father.” She looked at her again. “Come on.”
Mother led daughter into the alley, away from the crowd. She stared at her. Ali felt her words coming out in a jumble. “The mayor is a monster! Well, he's not the real mayor. He was keeping the real mayor hostage, so when I found Gray Anderson, this reptile thing that was pretending to be him showed his true colours. I told Jimmy to get away while I fought him, and then I felt myself changing! He could see it, Mom.”
Her mother sighed, but gave her a serious smile. “I know it must feel strange, but Ali, you look the same to me. You'll look the same to – wait, Jimmy was there?”
Ali nodded.
“Is he okay?” asked her mother.
Ali took a breath. “I don't know. I think he would've had time.” She glanced around the corner. Searching the faces, she finally spotted him, helping to haul an injured Jake Green through a broken window. “It's bad out there,” she said.
Beside her, her mother nodded. There was something funny in the look on her face. Like she was resigning herself to something. “Looks like they'll need you.”
Ali ran a hand through her hair. “Do they really need someone like me? What if they find out?”
The screams were hard to ignore by now. Her mother put a hand on her shoulder. “They'll see you for who you're meant to be.”
Ali took a breath, telling herself not to cry. “What if I can't do this?”
Her mother's grip on her shoulder tightened. She looked over at the panicked crowd and back at Ali. “You know, I wanted a normal life for you and your brother. Even though I knew, with your father, our chances weren't...and me and him, I wouldn't have had that any other way...” she looked down, and back at Ali. “I knew this day would come. No one is going to fight that battle alone. And you have a chance to do some real good out there. But it's your choice. If you want to leave, we can get your brother and get as far away from here as we can. If you want to help, you can choose it.”
Ali glanced towards the screams. The choices were all bad and in some ways it seemed like they weren't really choices at all. Still, hearing it from her mother made it seem realer. “I have to try,” she said.
Her mother smiled, a small, slightly scared, partly proud smile. “I'll help,” she said.
Moments later, the two of them ran towards the frightened crowd. People were trying to treat those who had escaped from town hall; they were all covered in some kind of tar-like substance and some had nasty burns. Others were organizing weapons. Jake Green was hopping around on one leg. “Do we have a full headcount from town hall?”
Eric Green, who seemed to have lost most of his beard to the burning tar, was waving his arms frantically. “You, pile those here!”
“Nobody go any closer! The stuff's still oozing out the door!” shouted Bill Kohler.
“Ali!” it was Skylar. She and Dale were supervising the loading of guns with salt. “We're getting the weapons ready.”
“You with us?” asked Dale.
They were looking at her, but no one else was. Everyone else was in a panic, dashing around and trying to organize. She nodded quickly.
A loud exploding sound came from the bar. Ali noticed its windows were completely black. “Stanley and Mimi are in there,” said Bonnie, who had come up beside her. Her face was panicked. “No one can get in and no one's heard from the people in there.”
Ali reached for one of the weapons Sean was handing out. “Well, let's get going.”
The fighters were organizing quickly, the volunteer medics pulling everyone else back. Ali glanced at her friends and shot them a quick smile before facing the building again, which was making an ominous groaning sound.
There was silence. Then, all at once, the remaining windows of both buildings shattered. As the ghouls and monsters began to spill out, the townspeople ran forward.
“All that and she left you hanging there?” asked Heather. The two teachers were walking along Mulberry street and the sun was low in the October sky. “Right at the start of the epic battle?”
Emily nodded.
“No telling who's going to survive, no sequel with all the secrets explained and who marries who and stuff?” continued Heather.
“Nope,” said Emily with a smirk. She shifted her bag to her other shoulder. “Though maybe I made it. I'm not even sure if I was supposed to be there for the big fight.”
Heather giggled. “I guess that'd be too awkward, putting your teacher in. Was I in it?”
Emily considered her friend for a moment. “Uh, not sure. Don't tell anyone I told you about it.”
“Secret's safe with me,” grinned Heather. “Least she really gave you your money's worth, right? You wanted her to bring Halloween to Jericho...she brought pretty much everything.”
Emily smirked. “Well, there weren't any fairies. Or creepy twins.”
“At least there's that,” said Heather.
They turned onto Elgin Street. Their shadows stretched ahead of them on the sidewalk.
“I think it's a good thing you're doing,” said Heather, glancing at her friend. “It's kind of a weird process and all, but I think it's good how you're sticking with it. Trying to help these kids.”
“Thanks,” said Emily. She chuckled. “Though of course, they're not kids.”
“Oh, of course,” said Heather, adopting the same tone, and they both smiled. “Oh, look,” she grinned. “Mr. Messy survived!” She pointed to the carved pumpkin sitting out on her front porch. “See, we don't have quite the problem with juvenile delinquents some people might have us believe.”
Emily laughed. “You've made it to Halloween, Mr. Messy. Congratulations.”
Heather smiled as she pulled out her key. “Still standing. Like us all.”
Inside the house, Emily moved around the familiar space of her friend's kitchen, putting together a pre-party snack as Heather put away her work things. “I'm going to take a quick shower. Wash the dodge ball game off before the party,” said Heather. “You want anything?”
“I'm good,” said Emily, settling into her usual seat on the living room couch as her friend puttered around and then made her way to the bathroom. She glanced at her work bag.
It wasn't quite like working after hours if she was enjoying herself, was it? She'd been trying to make a concentrated effort not to fill every hour with working lately, after she'd realized how little downtime she'd allowed herself the last month, but surely it would be fine to read one more of the stories. The last one had been entertaining. She reached into her bag and fished out the two remaining stories. Closing her eyes, she dropped one onto the table and then looked down at the one in her hands. Dale's.