Oct. 8

How could anyone think about quadratic formula on such a crucial day like this? I watched the wall clock tick second by second, bored out of my mind. The math teacher had spent almost a half hour talking about the importance of four times AC, but I stopped paying attention after she said good morning.

I stared a few rows down from my seat. Algebra 2 was one of the few classes I had with Caleb, but throughout most of it, he spent sleeping. Sure enough, like always his head was nestled in his armpit, snoring quietly enough for the teach not to care. He looked peaceful as he slept, without a care in the world.

I wish I could’ve been the same yesterday. Ever since my conversation with Reyes, I couldn’t help worry about the fate of my friends. Being undead, you didn’t have to worry much about death. You had to worry about something much worse, succumbing to the darkness and becoming a demon of the Hallowed Month. I tossed and turned all night, thinking about my friends, about Caleb.

Last night, I was up texting our other friend and Hunter Lin. She told me about the hunt she partook in with Reyes and Grace. How they had to deal with those sneaky exploding jack o’ lanterns. The thought brought me back to last year when we narrowly stopped the same demons from blowing up the high school. Just another time we nearly missed losing our lives. Mortality stressed me out. I dug my fingers in my scalp, trying to physically stop these thoughts.

“Hey, dude?” I looked up to see Caleb standing over me. With my stress, I didn’t realize class was over. Around us, all the other students were packing up, leaving for the day. Caleb smirked, crusted drool running down the edge of his mouth, “You want to grab some food?”

I slowly came back to reality. Reyes told me I couldn’t tell him, but it pained me not to tell him of his possible fate. I wavered a smile, “Sure.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me up from the desk. I wanted to say there was linger before he took back his hand, but maybe that was just some wishful thinking.

There was a pizza shop across the street from our school. As we entered the little store, we were met by a line of other kids just getting off class. After a while, we were seated at a small table for two, but with the restaurant in an uproar rowdy, it was hard to hold a conversation.

An obvious thing about me: when I feel anxious or have some deep looming thoughts in my head, I tap. My fingers bounced on the table as we waited for the pizza to arrive. I looked around at the other groups of people. Laughing, talking, or just staring at their phones as a group. They were all so carefree. My mind raced.

“Something on your mind?” I looked back to my friend. He had a curious smile on his face, his brow furrowed.

“I’m fine.” My fingers moved subconsciously, tapping furiously like I was typing on a keyboard.

“Really?” He pulled a pencil from his pant pocket. “Well, I’ve been confused on something for a while. Could I get your thoughts on something?” His faced turned plain in wonder.

“I’m all ears. By the way, you shouldn’t keep pencils in your pockets, you could hurt yourself.”

He ignored my motherly pester, setting the pencil on the table. “So, is it just me, or is it weird?”

“What’s weird?”

“Last year was the worst Halloween Month. The demons were changing, forming monsters we’ve never seen. The attacks were relentless, to the point that there were attacks even in the day. Heck, the flipping witch itself manifested and almost ended us!” I swear if anyone could hear him, they might’ve thought we were crazy. Luckily, our talk was as drowned out like any other in the crowded pizzeria. “But now,” Caleb continued with a hush, “Now it seems so tame. Sure we’ve had a few slip-ups, a couple close calls. But there hasn’t been anything out of the normal realm of possibility.”

“Maybe it’s the wrath getting weaker? Reyes did put an end to it last year.”

“No matter how devastating the wrath was, it’s malevolence never had shown signs of weakness. It all stayed fairly constant until last year.”

“Was it an outlier?” I couldn’t believe I just used a statistics term to describe demon slaying.

“That’s the thing. I think something bad is coming. Something even worse. I feel the evil brewing underground, but for now nothing.”

“Caleb.”

“I feel it but still! They’ve been pulling such weak tricks! Reyes hasn’t even had any visions. That's strange right?”

I felt a pit in my stomach. I clenched my teeth, afraid I might tell him the grave secret.

He took a sip of his coke to cool off, “I don’t know man, whatever happens, happens. I’m just telling you I don’t think this is the end.” He took a pause. “Do you think… this will ever end?”

The question was despairing enough, but the way he suddenly lost the twinkle in his eyes made me sad. It was a funny question, to say the least. We’ve all been through the crisis of immortality, but he was right. Were we stuck in this loop forever? Will we ever be free from the witch’s curse?

The somber mood was cut short with the joy of pizza. A nice waiter came strolling to our table and set down a pineapple pizza and a basket of buffalo wings. The sorta-cute waiter flashed a smile. “Hope you enjoy your food!”

As he walked away, I graciously replied, “You too!” not realizing what I said until after. As my face changed a slight shade of pink, I heard Caleb snort slyly.

“Thanks, bud, sorry I’ll stop talking about dumb things.” He sniffled, wiping his face with a napkin. “I’m glad I have others like Reyes and you to count on.” His face perked up, holding a sincere smile.

My heart twinged with ecstasy. At that moment, it felt like it was just him and me in the world again. I hadn’t felt this way ever since last year, back in the barn. Was this the perfect moment to tell him how I felt, “Hey...Caleb.”

He looked up at his pizza, smiling at me. “Yeah, Hunt?”

His eyes stared into my soul. I felt my heart raced and I could feel my leg bouncing in anxiety. “N...Nevermind.” He looked at me in confusion, then shrugged it off.

As he went back to scarfing down pizza, I took a silent breath. I don’t know why I doubted. It was Caleb; I’ve known him for years now since I became a hunter. Still, there was a little voice inside of me telling me to wait. Was it my fear, or my conscience.

Whatever the case, it wasn’t the time. I had to focus on tonight. I had to save his life.

-

It was nearing ten. The moonlight was far into the air, and we were far into our ghastly forms. I pat my hair in the mirror as it faded into a dark red. The color etched me with a sense of pain. Red, the color of passion, anger. The color of love. “Let’s go Caleb.”

“Okay bud!” He locked his apartment door, then slipped on his Batter mask. We got into his car and sped off to the other side of town. The tone of late night radio played as I stayed silent in thought. Caleb tried to play a tune by slapping it out on the steering wheel, but god knows what song he was attempting to mimic. “So Hunter, ever thought about love?”

My eyes widened to the size of oranges. Luckily I was wearing my wolf mask to hide my expression. I tried to hide any emotion, “What makes you say that?”

“I don’t know. I guess homecoming dance brought feelings?” He loosened his grip on the wheel as we cruised on the empty street. “I don’t know, I asked Lin and she said huntsmen don’t usually choose to fall in love. Stuff about outliving any human, and tragic ending and blah blah blah.”

I shrugged it off, “Well maybe if it wasn’t with someone mortal, there'd be a different story?”

He turned his head slightly over to me. I tried to act nonchalant, staring out the window at the stores we passed. “Ooo, does Sanguine have a crush on a fellow hunter? Who is it? Jasmine? Linda?”

You.

I pushed his hand away playfully, “It’s whatever. Hey, we’re here take a left.” He pulled his hand back. I could tell he knew he had struck a nerve with me. Hopefully, he didn’t catch on why though.

We took position outside of the pub. It was your standard late night bar. The neon pink sign read in big letters ‘Gregor’s Pub: Bar, Slots, and Spirits.’ The windows were tinted black, so I couldn’t see if anyone was inside, but knowing the adults in this town we would be fine for tonight. For some reason, the adults were adept at knowing where hunts would be, subconsciously choosing to abandon the area. It made it convenient for us at least.

I decided to summon my weapon before anything happened. I forced my scooper to form in my hands, gripping it tightly. With my weapon in my hands, I felt a rush of energy. I felt like I could run a mile in a second if needed.

“Good idea!” Caleb followed suit and took up his bat. He held it out like a katana, focusing on the rounded end until it became laced with spikes. “Alright baddies, let’s see what you got!”

With perfect timing, the ground enveloped in tremors. The leafy tendrils sprouted from the ground, growing around the pub. We stood back, watching as the evil plant constricted the building. Surely that wouldn’t be good for its infrastructure. Right in front of the bars entranceway, the stems began to form three orange figures. After sprouting the roots receded into the earth, repairing the ground as it left.

I was cautious of my friend, holding him back with my spear. “Stay back.”

Like previous encounters with these pumpkins, the black ooze began to spew from their stems, enveloping their body until they became one solid matter. Then like a chrysalis, the pumpkins formed into monsters. This time, three hellhounds stood before us. They looked like three black hounds, but decaying like zombies. Foam frothed in their maw as they growled angrily at us.

I decided to take the first move. With one move, I launched myself at the middle hound. I barred my scooper into it’s a chest, throwing it into the air. It landed a few yards away, bouncing on the blacktop before getting up.

Bad idea, because now I was in the middle of the two others. They snapped at me with their ravenous teeth. One tried to pounce, but I caught it in between the shaft of my weapon.

The second one tried to sneak attack while my back was turned, but my partner was there to counter, “Oh no you don’t fido!” Caleb struck the beast, driving a hearty amount of spikes into it. The beast yelped like a hurt animal, but truly it didn’t have any feelings.

We tossed both dogs aside, as they fell to the ground stunned, we devised a plan of attack. We began with the hellhound that took Batter’s spikes. I raised his fidgetting neck with my scooper. In a quick motion, Caleb swung his bat, taking its head like an executioner. It howled powerfully before falling still. We left it to dissolve to the ground, switching to the one I threw down. Its mouth foamed with embers as he engulfed himself in flames. We stepped back, watching in caution for its next movement. Thankfully for us, the fire dissipated as fast as it burst. I charged, ripping a gash in its void body. A skewering hit with Caleb’s bat and it rolled over dead next to the parked car we came with.

Two down, one to go. Seeing the two others motionless on the ground must’ve only enraged it. The fur on it’s back lifted off his body, forming into bristles. The claws on its paws extended into knives. It bellowed an unnatural growl, then came to attack.

Narrowly dodging, I skidded off to the side. “Help!” I looked back to see BAtter on the ground, holding the demon off with the end of his club.

“Hold on bud!” I picked myself up, hurrying over to his aid. With a sweeping motion, I took a swipe into the beast and it collapsed to the ground.

My friend sat there, heaving in deep breaths. I grabbed him by the arm, like he did this morning, picking him from the asphalt. We looked around to examine the area. The three demons lay on the ground, unmoving. He pat down his clothes, “Well that’s all over with.” Was that really it? All Reyes was worried about was a slip up with a hellhound? Caleb began walking back to his car. “See that what’s I was talking about. Absolutely nothing special.”

Something didn’t feel right. We slew the monsters, we finished the hunt. But why were they- I turned around to a horrid sight. The two of the hellhounds have once changed forms. Now they hovered in the air as long sharp spears, both facing their third ally. Facing Caleb.

“Watch out!” This is what Reyes must’ve meant. Just as Caleb turned to see the danger the two spears shot through the air towards him. “No!” I summoned all my power and with a powerful step, shot through the air. My body propelled at breakneck speed. It all happened in an instance.

I opened my eyes for a brief moment to find, miraculously, Caleb and I safely tumbling on the ground. I groaned, feeling the gashes on my arms and legs. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah…” He rubbed the back of his head, feeling for any blood or concussions. He stared up and paralyzed in fear. He pointed in terror at the visage of the three demons forming into one entity.

Before us now stood one massive creature. An amalgamation of the three hellhounds. Three slobbering heads, one massive body, and six eyes glaring daggers at both of us. It bellowed out a unified howl, emminating power.

I trembled in fear. My half-broken body unmoving at the sight of the new danger. Before I could even react, the middle head widened his maw, and a column of flames hurtled towards me. The last thing I heard was an enraged cry.