Oct. 12

Tending to someone who couldn’t tend to himself was hard enough. For Hunter, it wasn’t hard to tell he completely stopped caring for himself. He wore the same clothes from the day of his last hunt. His hair was unkempt, the gel failing, letting his hair fall to his face. He was just getting used to eating or drinking again but surely hasn’t left Caleb’s side since the burning. Lucky for Caleb, his nose was seared shut, he didn’t have to take in his caretakers’ odor.

“Are you sure you don’t need anything Hunt? Some clothes? Maybe a shower?”

Reyes was there, also trying to persuade him, in hope for all our nostrils. “Yeah man, I’m here, Lin’s here. We can hold down the fort for now.”

He attempted a smile. “No no, I should be here if Caleb needs anything.” Caleb’s condition had begun showing signs of improvement. He was still weak, unable to talk or hold himself up. Yesterday he was able to stand long enough to go to make it to the bathroom.

Then, this afternoon, he was able to pick up a pencil, regaining his ability to write. I hoped for a sign for a new hunt, or maybe a hint on where to find the Cerberus. He finished his message and sat back on his chair, whimpering in pain as he moved. I picked up the note and read it out loud. ‘Chillidogs’

He shrugged in apology, then shuffled back to his bed. Was he serious right now? Was there nothing else he knew? He had been in bed all week, but not even an glimpse of more demon spawns.

I huffed in frustration. “Alright, I’ll be right back. Hunter come’on, you need the sunlight.”

“But-” Before he could protest, I dragged him out of the room. Reyes took the bedside seat, waving us away. There was a sadness in Reyes’ face. I felt like he wanted to talk to Caleb about something, alone.

Hunter whined as he stepped into the sunlight. “What gives! Lin! What if Caleb needs me!”

I scoffed at him, “Reyes can take care of Caleb if anything happens! Besides, Hearty’s is too long of a walk and you can drive.”

He pulled back his wrist, massaging it as if I could possibly have hurt him. “Fine.” He spoke coldly. His sneakers clicked down the stairs as he walked ahead in anger.

The drive through town was tense with quiet. I wouldn’t dare touch the radio knobs when Hunter was this cheesed. What should I say, that he doesn’t need to be at his friends hand-and-foot? How none of this is his fault. How we need him to stop this danger threat monster before it destroys the town.

“So,” I looked back to him again. His face didn’t show anger anymore. It was just back to passive sadness. “What happened back there… I’m sorry.” Hunter’s breath was innate, back to his normal demeanor.

I swallowed my anger at him, “Just… tell me what's going on. What brought this up?” He bit his lip, hesitating to talk. “Oh, is it because of the crush?”

“No! No!” He breathed in tightly. “If it was anyone, I’d try my best to make sure they were well taken care of. Still… Still, there was a time I promised Caleb I would never let anything bad happen to him again. I- I failed him.” There was a long set of silence again. I tried to hold my mouth shut, but I couldn’t help release a laugh in response. He looked at me shocked, “What! It’s not funny!”

I wheezed, trying to contain my cackle. “I’m sorry! It’s just… thats a pretty unrealistic standard. You know we hunt demons for a living right?”

“You don’t get it…”

I eased my seat. “Come on man, of course, I get it. You want to protect someone special close to you. It’s just, accidents like this happen. Caleb’s going to be alright! Besides, if any of us get corrupted…” I had a flash of memory, random instances of my life. Seeing countless allies forcibly turn malicious. No, I couldn’t falter right now. “If anything bad happens, it’s no one’s fault.”

He clenched the steering wheel tightly, but his charming old smile returned to his face. “Thanks… I needed this.”

“No worries. Now-” Out of the window I saw the big figure of the Hearty Hamburger Boy clown. “Let’s get that chilli cheese dog!”

We got out of the car to a surprising sight. As I stepped outside, I could feel a dark invisible presence looming over us. The powerful aura had encapsulated the region around the restaurant. The worst part, everyone around us, the employees, the customers, even the guy in the big Hearty Boy clown costume, were all passed out on the ground. I worried for the worst, running over to the first person I saw. Luckily, as I checked on the person, I could feel a subtle heartbeat.

I breathed in relief, turning to my partner, “It’s okay. Their all just sleeping.”

In an instant, Hunter’s face became flush. “This… this is just like what happened at school last year, do you think-” His eyes darted above me, “DUCK!” He tackled me painfully to the ground.

Above us, a black figure jumped from down the food stand’s roof to the ground I was just standing. Before we stood a medium-sized black wolf. It seemed like a normal animal at first, until I stared into it’s familiar, amber eyes. “It’s the Cerberus…” Who knew it could transform to a less grizzly state in the daytime? Was Caleb’s silly request actually a foretelling of the beasts next attack?

The beast snarled at us, barking with aggression. Even in it’s more compact state, I knew without hesitation it could rip your neck out with one quick movement. Hunter and I scooted away, but it hobbled over, coming closer to us.

Right before it could shine its menacing fangs, the barks of our savior came towards us. Dashing over, the black doberman Mia charged the wolf, throwing it off to the side. My eyes glistened with happiness to see old man McCyrus running over to us. “Seems like you kids need some help?”

“McCyrus! Glad to see you!” We picked ourselves up, running to his aid. Mia, the hunter-dog growled with intent to attack, but so did the disguised Cerberus. They both stood in a stand-off, ready to charge at any moment. Just when it looked like both beasts would make a move, the Cerberus groaned, scampering away into a set of bushes.

Hunter looked shaken up again, but he’ll pull through. It’s not like this wasn’t norm for him by now, “Thanks, Cyrus. That’s the second time I was face close to those jaws.

“Looks like it’s gone for now at least… You're right Linda, we’re going to have to be full on deck to fight that thing.”

I wiped the dirt off my clothes. “So does that mean… you’ll help us?”

He let out a small chuckle, “Well seeing there’s no other choice. Guess I’m going to need my mask.”