“Why didn’t you tell me that a demon attacked you in your house?” Max asked Ian as they walked down the streets. 

“I guessed that Logan would tell you and Kyle at the same time, and he’s better at explaining that kind of stuff than me,” Ian said plainly and directly to Max. 

“Okay,” Max said as they continued their walk to college. Their walks together were usually silent, Max didn’t mind it but sometimes he felt like Ian wanted to be more approachable but didn’t know how. 

“See you later,” Max said before he and Ian went separate ways. Ian just nodded and went straight to class. Max watched Ian until he was out of his sight and went to the administration building. Once in, he went to his office, if you could even call it that, it was more like a big storage room. 

“Perks of being an administrative assistant,” he said to himself before the phone started to ring. “Good morning, how can I help you?” Max said forcing a smile, although the person couldn’t see him it made him sound nicer.

Max spent the morning shorting through documents and files, as well as answering phone calls and emails. When the hour to have his lunch finally arrived he sighed in relief. 

“Can you take these documents to the Dean’s office?” A woman in her mid fifties said to Max before he could leave his office. 

“I’ll do it after my lunch,” Max said, leaving the documents on his table. The woman simply nodded in acknowledgement before leaving. 

Max grabbed his lunch from his bag and headed to the library, he knew that Ian would be there. 

“Hello,” Max said to Ian from behind, making Ian jump a bit on his chair. 

“Don’t do that,” Ian said, annoyed, in a low tone of voice as Max sat beside him. 

“Sorry,” Max said teasingly to Ian as he started to eat his lunch. 

“How did you even know where I was?” Ian asked Max, he didn’t tell him where he’d be. 

“I just guessed,” Max said as he winked at Ian. In reality Max simply checked Ian’s schedule before leaving and then guessed that he’d be at the library, he’s always there when he has free time.

“Do you have to eat here? You are leaving crumbs everywhere,” Ian said, annoyed, as he moved his books away from Max. “Can you even eat here?” Ian said as he looked nastily at Max.

“I wouldn’t have to eat here if you spent more time outside,” Max complained to Ian. 

“Don’t you have colleagues to have lunch with?” Ian asked Max, he didn’t know why he insisted on spending time with him.

“Almost all of them are way older than me, having lunch with them is boring,” Max said to Ian as he rested his head on his hand. “And what about you?” Max asked Ian.

“What about me?” Ian answered without looking up from the book that he was reading. 

“Don’t you have classmates to have lunch with or something?” Max asked curiously.

“No,” Ian said bluntly, still without taking his eyes out from the book that he was reading. 

Max didn’t comment on it and finished eating his lunch in silence. “Doesn’t he get lonely?” Max wondered to himself as Ian typed on his laptop. 

“I have to go,” Max said once his lunch break was over. “See you later,” Max said, leaving before Ian could give any kind of response. 

“Bye,” Ian said, but Max wasn’t close enough to hear him.

***

When Max reached his office he saw the pile of documents that he had left before on his table. “I have to take this to my dad,” he thought to himself as he sat on his chair. He was tired and he still had half of his shift to go through. His job is not very demanding but in the last five days he has been more and more tired every day that goes by. 

Probably it was because he went from boring office worker to demon hunter in five days, he thought that his life looked like it came straight from a fantasy book. He sighed tired once more before grabbing the documents and went to his dad’s office. 

When he arrived he saw the door open and the office empty. “He must be still having his lunch,” he thought as he left the pile of documents on the desk. 

Just as he was about to leave he saw on a bookshelf a box that was an exact copy of the one in Logan’s painting. “Could it be?” Max thought to himself but quickly discarded the idea. There was no way that the box was in his dad’s office. As Max walked back to his office he stopped when he was almost there and went back to his dad’s office. 

“A picture won’t hurt anyone,” Max thought as he took a picture of the box and sent it to Logan. Max only had time to go back to his office before Logan started to call him.

“Where is it?” Logan asked as soon as Max picked up.

“In my dad’s office,” Max answered. “Are you sure it is the same?” Max asked Logan, it just seemed too unreal for it to be there out of all places. 

“It has to be the same one,” Logan said to Max. 

“If you say so,” Max said with an unsure tone of voice but Logan was the one who knew more so if he said that it is the box then it is, 

“Can you take it?” Logan asked Max, Max could hear Kyle in the background as Logan talked with him. 

“I’ll have to ask my dad, I’m not sure,” Max said with a wavering voice. He didn’t want to take anything from his father's office and bother him.

“Ask? We are not going to keep it,” Logan said. “We borrow it,” Logan said, emphasizing the word borrow. “And if it’s what we are looking for we keep whatever it has inside and if it is not we put it back in its place,” Logan explained to Max.

“Okay,” Max agreed to Logan’s plan, it didn’t seem too risky.

“When can I go?” Logan asked excitedly. 

“By six I should be done,” Max said to Logan as he looked at his schedule.

“I’ll be there,” Logan said. Max could hear Kyle saying ‘Me too’ in the background before Logan hung up.

“What have I got myself into?” Max thought out loud as he plopped down in his chair.

***

As six passed by and the last of Max’s coworkers left the building, Max went outside to wait for Logan and Kyle that should be arriving soon. After a few minutes he saw Kyle’s motorbike pulling into the parking lot and Logan’s car following him behind. 

“Hi,” Logan said to Max once he was next to him. “Where is it?” Logan asked Max, referring to the box. 

“We have to go grab it,” Max said, gesturing inside the building. 

“Let’s go,” Logan said as he followed Max inside. “You coming?” Logan asked Kyle, who stayed on the door. 

“I’ll stay out here,” he said as he lit up a cigarette.

“We won’t be long,” Logan said before closing the door. “So this is where you work,” Logan said to Max as he looked around.

“Yes,” Max said, he hadn’t spent any time one on one with Logan until now.

“I don’t know how you do it, sometimes I have to do a bit of paperwork for the coffee shop and it stresses me out,” Logan said with a laugh.

“I mostly just organize things,” Max explained as he stopped in front of a door. “Here is it,” Max said as he opened the door and led Logan inside. 

“Is it okay if I just take it?” Logan asked once he spotted the box.

“Yeah, go ahead,” Max answered as he looked at Logan. “Does it have something inside?” Max asked once Logan had the box in his hands. 

“It doesn’t look like it,” Logan said as he shook the box. “Is surprisingly light,”

“Well, let’s go,” Max said as he pushed Logan outside of his father’s office and closed the door. “Once you are done with the box can I put it back?” Max asked Logan as they went outside where Kyle was. 

“Yeah, I’ll just take whatever is inside if there’s something and then I’ll give it back,” Logan said with a smile.

Just as they were going to turn a corner an arrow flew right next to their heads and got stuck in the wall. 

“What was th-?” Max said surprised before Logan put his hand over his mouth and dragged him out of the trajectory of the arrow. 

“Are you hurt?” Logan asked Max in a whisper, still with his hand over his mouth.

Max shook his head to say no, after that Logan lifted his hand so Max could talk.

“Was that someone?” Max asked Logan, fear visible in his voice. 

“Yes, looks like someone isn’t so happy about us getting the box,” Logan said before peeking from the corner. “I can’t see anyone,” Logan said as he went to where the arrow was stuck and grabbed it. 

“What are you doing?” Max asked as he and Logan ran down the corridor to leave the building. 

“I’m taking it with me,” he said in between breaths.

Just as they were to open the door a couple more arrows flew in their direction. Logan and Max looked at them with wide eyes and quickly opened the door and dragged Kyle towards the parking lot.

“What is wrong with you two?” Kyle asked Max and Logan once they were outside and he saw them panting.  

“Just follow me,” Logan said, trying to catch his breath. “Ian?” Logan said once he realized he was there too. 

“Hey,” Ian said to him and Max. 

“Just get in my car, you too Max and you,” Logan said pointing at Kyle at the end. “Just follow me,” 

Any of them questioned Logan and did as he said.

“Where are we going?” Ian asked from the co-pilot seat on Logan’s car.

“I have no idea,” Logan said as he drove towards the outskirts of the town. From time to time he looked in the rearview mirror to see if Kyle was behind him on his motorbike and if someone was following them.

After more than twenty minutes driving Logan stopped in an empty parking lot on the outside of the town. Logan, Max and Ian left Logan’s car to meet with Kyle outside. 

“Why are we here? And why were you driving like a maniac?” Kyle asked, confused, to Logan.

“Do you have a cigarette?” Logan asked Kyle, surprising his three friends. 

“SInce when do you smoke?” Kyle asked, taken aback. 

“Since I’m stressed,” Logan said in a harsh tone. When Kyle saw his worried and concerned face he decided to stop asking him things and gave him a cigarette and the lighter. 

“Thanks,” Logan said a bit more relaxed after he started to smoke the cigarette and handed Kyle his lighter.

“So? What happened?” Ian asked to a still stressed Logan.

“What happened? What happened?” Logan kept repeating as he smoked the cigarette and massaged with his free hand one of his temples to clear his thoughts. “What happened?” Logan said exasperatedly as smoke came out of his mouth.

Logan wasn’t asking anyone in particular, he just couldn’t process what just happened.

“You have another?” Logan asked Kyle as he tossed the cigarette butt to the ground and stepped on it. 

Once again Kyle was surprised by Logan’s behavior but gave the cigarette box and lighter to Logan anyway. “Keep it until you are done,” Kyle said as he handed them to Logan.

Logan just nodded in appreciation and lit up another cigarette. 

“What’s wrong with him?” Ian asked Kyle, he would’ve asked Max but he seemed as out of it as Logan.

“I don’t know,” Kyle said as he saw smoke coming out of Logan’s mouth.

“Okay, so we got the box,” Logan said after several minutes of smoking as he lit up his third cigarette. 

***

"He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday."

Psalm 91:4-6