Two days later, Sunny waited at a corner a few blocks from where Benji lived, her backpack filled with assorted meat. Never had she imagined that meat would be so expensive with the allowance June gave her each week. She struggled to imagine how Ren and June could afford such luxuries.

As her heart pounded against her chest with anticipation, she rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet, hoping it would help alleviate the stress she felt in her veins. It did little to abate it.

“C’mon, Benji,” Sunny quietly whined to herself. “I can’t do this without you.”

Seconds later, Benji appeared at the opposite end of the street, a backpack over one shoulder and his signature Halloween basket curled around the bend of his arm. He offered a gentle wave as he jogged his way over to her. Sunny could feel the tension in her shoulders subside, and she breathed a sigh of relief as he approached.

“Wait long?” Benji asked.

“Nope!” Sunny shook her head. “Was your dad okay about our sleepover?”

Benji’s gaze veered. “Yeah. He seemed to buy it, at least.” He shrugged. “I don’t think he’ll look into it.” He lowered his voice. “It’s still taking some getting used to, having a dad and all. It’s hard not to feel like he just decided to show up when it was convenient for him.” He wrung his hands. “Sorry.”

Sunny knew better than to pry when it came to Benji’s father. Benji had just met his dad months ago, so the two were still struggling to build a relationship. Regardless of the matter, his dad seemed to trust Ren and June, so Sunny tried not to think about it too much, as she would quickly spiral down into thoughts about her own dad.

“Don’t be. Let’s go over the plan,” Sunny said, hoping to change the subject.

Benji smiled wryly. “Yeah.”

Sunny and Benji weren’t dumb enough to put their plan into action so close to Benji’s home. Moving a mile down the street, Sunny and Benji came to a portion of the neighborhood where the city met the forest. Hiding in an alleyway across the border, the two children kneeled and set their backpacks against the wall.

“How much did you get?” Sunny asked, unzipping her pack.

“Not much,” Benji groaned. “Dad doesn’t cook a lot, so there wasn’t a bunch in there that was too great.” He procured a box of frozen Salisbury steak.

Sunny gagged. “Still eat that stuff?”

Benji’s stare veered away from Sunny. “S-Sometimes. I-I don’t think it’s that bad though.” He flushed, and Sunny smiled. “Or is it?”

“If you like it, you like it,” Sunny said easily. “I hate it. June cooked it once, and my stomach hurt the whole night.”

“So… June doesn’t cook it anymore, is that right?” Benji’s tone bordered on the edge of uncertainty and accusation as if he was always afraid of making claims that might offend someone. He scratched the back of his neck. “Unless I’m, uh, projecting? Is that what they call it?”

Sunny smiled. “You’re not projecting. I don’t think so, anyway.” She flipped her backpack upside down and poured the contents onto the ground. “I’m pretty proud of my haul.”

“Uhh.” Benji frowned. “You… you don’t think this was overdoing it?”

“Overdoing it?” Sunny tilted her head.

A week’s worth of food was resting on the ground. Expensive ribeye cuts, bone-in pork chop, chicken, and even some fish could be seen among the pile.

“Well… not my house, but I’d be wondering where all the food is if I just opened my fridge and saw all the meat was gone.” Benji seemed nervous. His fingers tightened around the rim of his bag, and his stare was intense. “What if they find out?”

“They won’t! Really, you’re worrying too much. Ren and June won’t think anything of it.”

Benji didn’t seem convinced but nodded his head. “If you say so.”

“So here’s the plan,” she said, wanting to get started as soon as possible. “We’re going to leave some food over there,” Sunny said, pointing at the forest’s border. “The Lurker is going to come out, and we’re going to snatch him up in a trap!” Sunny emphasized her remark by pounding the bottom of one fist against her palm. “Then we’ll pleesate him, and I’ll avenge Papa.”

Benji’s eyes wandered. “Uh, okay. But, isn’t it, uhm, placate? What’s pleesate?”

Sunny’s face turned beet-red. “O-O-Of course, I knew that! Yes, placate! J-Just slip of the tongue, ehehe.” Sunny bowed her head forward and looked away. “A-Anyway! That’s it. That’s the plan.”

A soft laugh escaped Benji’s lips. “You still didn’t explain what you meant by the claw marks and other stuff.”

Sunny played with a strand of her hair, curling it around her pointer finger.

“When… my papa’s accident happened, they found a bunch liquid that was black and had a rainbow of colors if you looked at it the right way.” She drew a deep breath. “The same stuff Ren found when I and him hunted down the one Lurker. I know you know that, but the same claw marks were on the trucks delivering meat to Sigg’s bar. I saw them.” The two locked eyes. “All of the same events line up, Benji. It can’t be a coincidence.”

Benji held his stare for a time before speaking. “And you think we can trap this thing?” He sighed. “I dunno, Sunny. I, uh, kinda think this might be a bad idea.” Benji crossed his legs and wrapped his arms around his Halloween basket. “I wanna help, but you don’t think it’s best to tell Ren and June instead?”

“Ren has no reason to find these things. He would want to help me, I know he would! But there’s a lot going on, and after our last Lurker involvement, he’s been more… well, careful.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Benji mumbled.

“Please, Benji!” Sunny clapped her hands together and bowed her head as if she were in prayer. “I need you for this! With your ability, I know things will work out!”

“Hey, hey, easy there,” he said with a nervous laugh, “I’m not going anywhere. Just wanna make sure you think this is the right thing to do.”

Sunny raised her head. “Without a doubt.”

“Then I’ll stick around. We can take on one Lurker.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Sunny started to pick up one package after the next, their contents still ice-cold to the touch. As she stood up, Benji grabbed her by the rim of her jacket.

“Wait. Let’s try and cook ‘em.”

Sunny frowned. “But all the attacks were on frozen shipments.”

“Yeah, but those are rare if you think about it. There are thousands of trucks driving around, so we need a way to stick out from the rest,” Benji argued. “If we cook the meat, then maybe they’ll come to us instead of them.”

Sunny wasn’t convinced, but what harm could it do? “But we don’t have a grill or anything.”

Benji smirked and tapped at his cheekbone. Oftentimes, Benji used his Jitter to freeze things, but it was just as helpful in heating situations up when the time called for it.

“Are you sure?” Sunny asked. Chlorine Eyes, as Benji liked to call it, was best used in short bursts. It was potent, able to drastically alter an area’s core temperature within seconds. Like most Jitters, it had a nasty side effect to it as well. The side effect was a sensitive subject to Benji, and Sunny didn’t like to push him. All she knew was that it was difficult for him to deal with. He often spent the time afterward crying. “I don’t want you to unless you have to.”

Benji shrugged. “It won’t do anything major if I’m quick about it. Let’s tear open the packages and cook it at the forest’s edge.”

“Okay! Let’s do it!” 

After all of the meat was unpackaged and set at the forest’s edge, they retreated to the alleyway. Benji pointed at the meat from across the street and within seconds, the smell of barbecued meat filled the air.