Page 46 of Hot Ghoul Summer

Chapter Thirteen: Boom

Boom!

“What the bloody fuck?” I stumble upright, leaving Molly’s warm, naked body.

She sits up, too, body flushed and a little swollen from a marathon of lovemaking. The house was very... accommodating, providing a snack tray and a bottle of slippery goodness anytime we finished. Apparently, the house is a fan of repeat performances.

“What’s happening?” Molly jumps up and immediately sits back down. A cascade of shimmering cum coats her thighs and trails down her legs.

“I’ll take care of it, whatever it is.”

“Someone’s screaming!” Molly gasps, running for the bathroom.

I look out the window. Two black SUVs are barely visible at the end of Silverlake Way, and Number 30’s fence is on fire.

“Musketeer!” I roar.

A hellhound with three heads and a trio of snarling, snapping jaws rushes to my side.

“We have to intervene. Paperwork be damned.” And I might be, too...

WIPED OFF AND IN A clean terrycloth romper (I’d look cute if I wasn’t terrified), I rush downstairs. There will be time to shower later if the world hasn’t ended. “Toby? Toby?”

No answer.

I run to the front door and open it, but something like an invisible wall slams down when I try to cross the threshold.

Still, I can see what’s happening from the open door. Clouds of smoke billow across the narrow, secluded street, and flames lick fences and lawns. One car is engulfed in fire. I’m guessing that was the boom we heard.

Black SUVs prowl past.

Why set the fire and stick around?

To catch whoever comes running out.

To catch me.

But this house and its property sit serene, untouched, unable to be found. I don’t know if the fire will eventually cross the invisible boundaries that make this place safe and hidden from the rest of the world.

Right now, families are pouring into the street, moms hugging coughing kids to their chests, dads screaming into cell phones as they grapple with fire extinguishers. An elderly couple is standing in the street, looking at the fiery shell of their car.

“Toby! Let me out!” I kick the door and shout. “I’m a nurse, damn it! I can help!”

But I’m helpless. Safe, but helpless.

What if someone dies out there because of me?

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