Chapter 20

Sigh... What's wrong with you, Baby?

"Well, Kaysi, for starters, keep an eye out for danger. Or more specifically, stay on your guard."

"What? Why?" Beck blurted.

Baby crossed her arms, her expression serious. "Because of what happened last night. That demon bird you fought off—it’s still out there. You wounded it pretty badly, nearly tearing its arm clean off. And wounded things? They get reckless. Dangerous. Especially when they’re angry."

I swallowed hard. I remembered the feel of its skin tearing under my strike, the roar it let out, and how it vanished into the night.

Baby continued, "Thankfully, this new tech will alert us to any nearby demonic activity. I just wanted to give you all a heads-up."

"After school, should we return to the site of the fire?. Maybe we could see if we can find any clues. Beck asked. 

"No. Even if the police have finished investigating, the entire area has been sealed off and declared unstable. For now, just stay alert. Trust your instincts, and if anything feels even slightly off, call each other immediately." Micah informed us.

"When we leave school today, let's take a path different from our usual route," I suggested.

"Great idea," Micah nodded. "We can’t afford to let that thing track us again."

Once at school, Beck's friend Josh walked up to us as we stood in the hall talking. 

"Hey guys, how's it going? Josh asked. "I wanted to let you guys know that my dad's got some business out of town. His work is supposed to be short-term, and I won't be back until the last couple of weeks at the end of school." 

"What?! We just got back from spring break!" Beck said in disbelief. "You’ll be gone until the end of the school year?"

"Yeah, but I’ll be back in time for finals. I’ll be doing virtual classes from wherever we end up."

"Aww... Oh okay... I see... I sure am going to miss you." Beck said in a shallow tone. 

Josh smiled. "Don’t sound so sad. It’s just temporary."

He paused and then asked, "Are you guys okay, though? I heard you talking about taking a different route home. Did something happen?"

I jumped into the conversation. "No, we'll be fine. We have some errands to take care of. I said, not wanting for him to get hurt in the middle if an attack were to happen." 

"Alright. Let’s sit together at lunch today, yeah? One last time before I go."

Okay, that sounds like a plan, Beck said.

As he walked away, I turned to her with a sly grin. "Girl, you have such a crush on him." I teased.

"N..oo..." She stuttered, "I am just going to miss him, okay?"

For the most part, we had some of our classes together. In the classes we didn't have together, we would walk as close to each other's classrooms as possible, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. 

We tried to maintain a normal routine throughout the day. Most of our classes were together, and when they weren’t, we’d walk each other as close as we could between periods, eyes peeled for anything unusual. Having Baby around as our substitute teacher helped. Maybe it was the crowd of students that kept whatever might be stalking us at bay, or perhaps the demon didn’t want to draw attention. Either way, school felt like a temporary bubble of safety.

After the final bell went off, Baby spoke. "Hey, Beck and Kaysi, I forgot to mention that it was my job after school today to clean the Home classroom. Unfortunately, it takes me about an hour to do everything." 

"We’ll help," I said. "If we split the chores between the three of us, we could finish in 15 or 20 minutes. Like our shifts at work."

Micah lived closest to the school and was the first to be dropped off. I lived midway down our usual path, while Beck's house was farthest. We followed the same order as always, just taking different side streets and detours.

Instead of cutting through the park, Beck and I took the longer route around it. It wasn’t ideal, but there weren’t many options left if we wanted to stay unpredictable.

We go in the same order per person, but take different streets and paths along the way. 

Soon after dropping off Micah, Beck decided that we would take the longer route around the park instead of going through it. There weren't many other paths we could have taken to get to my house, which was close by, at one turn, and the end of the road. 

We only had a few short blocks before arriving at my house; so far, things have been quiet there. 

As we neared my block, Beck sighed with relief. "Wow. Maybe we're off the hook."

Just then, a fire truck screamed around the corner and flew down my street.

"Did I speak too soon? That’s your street—they’re heading toward your place!" Beck cried.

My stomach dropped. "Oh...no...my mom and Baby should be home by now! I have to check!"

"No, you're not. I'm going to be right there with you in case that thing tries to come back." Beck said firmly.

We ran. Halfway down the block, a second fire truck raced past us. Smoke billowed into the sky ahead. As we got closer, the horror became clear—two buildings were on fire. One had already collapsed into charred rubble. The other was barely standing, flames devouring its frame.

The first building caught on fire, and the embers ignited our home. 

"No... no no no..." I told Beck. I am going ahead. I sprinted toward the site, heart pounding. My mom—my dog.

A firefighter caught me before I could get too close. "You can’t go in there! It’s not safe!"

"My mom was inside! My dog! I have to get them!"

"No ma’am, we’ve cleared the building. Your mother wasn’t inside. And your dog’s over there—she jumped from an upstairs window. She's getting oxygen and being checked for minor injuries. She’s okay, surprisingly." He told us.

Relief crashed over me like a wave, leaving me dizzy. "Thank you. I need to call my mom."

I called her; it rang, but there was no answer. I tried again—still nothing.

"Does she work somewhere nearby?" The firefighter suggested. 

"Yes, I'll try to call there, too." 

I called. A woman answered at her work, and they told me that she had not worked there for a couple of days. 

"What?" I knew she was having trouble with work, but this was supposed to be her new job. Why was she not there, and why was she not home either? I thought.

"How old are you?" an officer asked, stepping in. "What grade are you in?"

"I am 16 years old and a second-year sophomore in high school." 

He nodded. "Since we can’t reach your mother, we’ll have to place you into foster care temporarily until we're able to make contact with her." 

"Wait!" Beck said quickly. "Her family and ours are close—we can take her in. We’ve got space, and I know her mom would be okay with it."

"I understand that, but only family can take her since she is a juvenile, or if she has permission from a standing guardian or other family member." 

I grabbed my phone. "My brother—he moved out, but he’s family. I’ll call him."

That'll be fine as long as he approves it. 

My brother answered on the third ring. After a brief explanation, he agreed to speak with the officer. He told me he’d come down soon and that, for now, I should go with Beck.

The officer approved it. I gathered up Baby, still dazed and soot-covered, and we headed to Beck’s house.

Beck’s mom met us at the door and pulled me into a hug. "You’re staying with us, honey. For as long as you need."

Afterward, Beck brought me straight to her room upstairs and started a bubble bath for me, then gave me a towel. 

"Hey, we'll talk about the situation in a little while. Honestly, there's nothing more we can do. I set out some of my pajamas for you and drew you a bath. Go get cleaned up and relax. I'll be out here when you're done." Beck said with care in her voice. 

"Honestly, I'm fine; the thing that bugs me the most is what caused the fire in the first place. Was it just an odd coincidence? Or was that demon behind this?" 

Thinking out loud. "I can't tell and can't get a story out of Baby yet because she is still resting and exhausted."

"Don’t overthink it," Beck said gently, nudging me toward the bathroom. "We’ll figure it out later."

For now, all I could do was breathe.

I hadn’t expected something to happen today—but I should have known better. Not everything that burns down leaves a visible trail.

What burns up once can still burn and reignite again.