CHAPTER EIGHT

“So tell me again why we’re going to Lower Wacker Drive?” asked Zeek. “You do know it will be night any moment now.”

“I told you. You aren’t prepared for battle.”

“What does that even mean?”

“It means if you go up against a fugitive with your current arsenal, you’ll be dead within the first few seconds. You need weapons.”

“But why Lower Wacker Drive? And at night time? It’s insane.”

“Because that’s where the supplier is.”

“I’ve got an idea,” he said enthusiastically. “Let’s make our own weapons! I’m sure we could do something with some salt shakers, maybe some sticky tape. I could tape them to the sides of my head and spin in circles. What do you think?”

“Okay, cough it up. What’s your beef with Lower Wacker?”

“Nothing. Nothing at all. No beef whatsoever with the dark tunnel. Not one little itsy bit. I just love—”

“Whatever!” she snapped, shoulders bunching.

“It’s filled with homeless people!” Zeek exploded. “There! I said it. You happy now? The tunnel is filled with homeless people and when night falls, they gather there like frigg’n zombies.”

“What’s homeless people got to do with anything?”

“I’m hobophobic, all right?” He turned away, ashamed.

“Hobo-what?”

“Hobophobic. I have a phobia of homeless people. I know it’s mean, but I can’t help it. They scare the bajesus out of me.”

“You hunt ghosts for a living and you’re afraid of homeless people?”

“I can’t vacuum homeless people, Bess . . . although. Hey, do you think—”

“No,” she said flatly. “I really don’t.”

Zeek ejected the cassette tape and flipped it over, shoving it back in and stabbing the play button with his thumb. Highway to Hell began playing and he banged his head along to the intro.

“What did Death tell you about the fugitives?” asked Bess, interrupting the song.

“Ah, that they escaped from hell.”

“What else?”

“That if I don’t help return them to their rightful place in eternal hellfire, the deaths they cause are on me.” Zeek turned the music down and stuck his finger in the air. “Which, for the record, I think is absolute turkey.”

“You mean baloney?”

“Whatever.”

“You have a responsibility, Zeek. It’s like if a nurse sees someone having a heart attack and walks away. Or a policeman sees a handbag thief and turns the other cheek. You have a responsibility to help the living, because you’re the only one who can.”

Zeek thought about that. “I don’t think it’s the same thing.”

“No?”

“No. Let’s just say, theoretically, that if I was eating a Double Decker Taco Supreme on a park bench in Millennium Park, watching the attractive women in their skintight athletic gear running past—”

“Theoretically?” interrupted Bess, an eyebrow cocked.

“Yeah, theoretically. And the super pretty one with pink yoga pants runs past and a ghost starts chasing her around, sure I’ll jump in.”

“What’s your point?”

“Well this is more like a cop in a coffee shop eating donuts, and the bag snatcher is in another part of town.”

“It doesn’t matter what it is. Death told you to do it, so what choice have you got?”

“Yeah, well, Death’s a douche.” Zeek turned the stereo up. “He should be chasing these things down, not me.” Zeek pressed a thumb into his chest.

“But he chose you, so get over it.”

“Shh, it’s the chorus!” Zeek jacked up the volume, and started singing, “Highway to hell.”

“This is important. You’re not playing little league anymore. These things aren’t like any spirit you have dealt with bef— will you turn that blasted thing off.”

Zeek turned it off and glared at her.

“Thank you,” she said. “Now listen, because this is important. These spirits are strong, their souls strengthened in the depths of hellfire. The way steel is forged in fire.”

“You mean like Conan the Barbarian on the wheel of pain?”

“I don’t know who that is.”

“I’ll pretend you didn’t just say that.”

“Think of the souls like a far more potent version of anything you’ve dealt with before. They’re stronger, faster, and some of the more deadly ones can be seen by the living.”

Zeek whistled. “You ever taken one down before?”

“No. But it’s not the first time one of these things has escaped from hell. History created a name for them and that name became myth. You may have heard of them before.” Bess turned to him, serious. “Some people know them as demons.”

Zeek swallowed.

“Hence, why you need weapons,” she continued. “A crowbar just isn’t going to cut it. Not against these things.”

“You haven’t seen me work. I’m like Casey Jones.”

“Who?”

“You know, Casey Jones, from Ninja Turtles? In the first movie, Casey Jones takes down Raphael with a cricket bat. He takes down a ninja, with a cricket bat.”

“What’s your point?”

“My point is my cricket bat is a crowbar, and even though I don’t know ninja, I get the job done.”

“I believe it’s ninjutsu.”

“Whatever.”

Spots of rain formed on the windshield and Zeek flicked on the wipers. The left wiper was getting stuck half way up the glass, making piercing screeching sounds.

“So, you work for Death, huh?” he asked.

“That’s right.”

“How do you get a job like that anyway?”

Bess didn’t reply, instead looking out the window.

“Was there much competition?” he continued. “Did you have to take a medical? Urine sample was it?”

Bess turned a darkening glare on Zeek. “It’s my business, okay?”

“Your business? You mean like a lawn mowing round? You charge by the hour?”

Bess pressed closer to him, and as Zeek turned to look at her, he backed away from the fury in her dark eyes. “Listen up, ’cause I’m only going to say this once. This here,” she pointed between them, “is strictly a business relationship. My business is my business, got it?”

Zeek nodded in a hurry.

Bess retreated back into her seat, folding her arms, and returned her gaze out the window.

“Must have been quite  the interview.”

Bess’s entire body tensed, her jaw pulsating. “Has anyone ever told you how irritating you are?”

“My ex-girlfriend said I was like an insect under her skin. I asked if she meant a love beetle. She ran out screaming.” Zeek sighed. “I guess the love beetle bit her too hard, Bess. Just too damn hard.”

Thanks for reading, and remember, if you can't wait, the entire book is on Amazon with 16 colored illustrations!

Cheers! Billy