Page 95 of Twisted
“It’s my job to make you food,” he says, sounding robotic, and then quickly turns to start cooking.I get a bottle of sparkling water from the fridge and sit at the island counter.I brought the files from the M.E.to look over and wait a beat before opening them up, though I don’t think it matters if Alan sees anything.I would bet money he’s been held spellbound to forget anything of interest he sees while at work.
“Morning.”Devon comes into the kitchen and goes right for a cup of coffee.“You’re up early, considering.”
“Considering I was out almost all night?I know.”I flip open a notebook, prepared to take notes.“I couldn’t sleep.I’ll run and workout later, then maybe nap.Why are you up?”
“I had an early appointment.Sometimes I run errands for Xavier and Theo during the day.”
“Ahh, makes sense.”
“What the hell are those?”he asks, coming over to the counter.
“Official records from the coroner’s office about some of the most recent victims.”
He takes a seat next to me and looks at the file I have open, grimacing at the crime scene photo.“This guy was only twenty-five?”
“Yeah.”I scan the report and jot down his birthday so I can compare it to the others.Sometimes, demons can go after very specific things, but I’m doubtful I’ll find any connections other than these bodies were easy targets to possess.“I’m guessing years of heavy drug use didn’t help, but all those wrinkles and gray hairs were definitely due to the you-know-what.”
“The virus,” he says in a way that lets me know he’s talking in code but knows what I’m actually referring to.“It does that to a person?”
“Not all the time.The longer they’re infected, the more outside damage it does.This is more typical,” I tell him and go through another file.“Liquefied from the inside out.”
“Gross.”
“Yeah.You can usually smell these guys before you see them.”I wrinkle my nose.“Makes you realize just how stinky a zombie apocalypse would really be.”
Devon takes a slow sip of coffee.“What are you doing?”He eyes the notebook.
“Looking for any sort of similarities or connections that could help clue me in on why a group of, uh, viruses would go after people like this.”
“Are you finding any?”
I shake my head.“No.There is nothing other than just convenience.But I can’t shake the feeling I’m missing something obvious.”
“Let me take a look.”Devon slides the files over, and we line them up in chronological death order.“So the first five were all found close by each other.”
“My next step was to mark up a map,” I tell him.“I’m not as familiar with this area.”
“Good thing I am.”He playfully elbows me and smiles and then pulls out his phone, looking from the files to the map several times.“This is a little interesting, maybe?”
“What is it?”
“Blackwood Avenue is typically the, uh, most populated spot for the homeless.But it’s almost like the people wandered away from it.Look at this.”He spends a minute or so dropping pins on the map where each body was found.They were near Blackwood Avenue, as if they were solicited from the campsite.But to do what?
“So what would you do next?”he asks.“As a hunter.”
“I would go to the area, talk to people, and see what I could find out.”I raise an eyebrow.“You sound interested.”
“This is interesting.”
“If we’re dealing with demons, there is a chance you’ll get covered in blood,” I say right as Alan comes back into the kitchen.He doesn’t even react to my words, letting me know he definitely has been held spellbound a bunch of times.
Once my food is ready, Devon and I move to the garden so we can keep talking about demons.Nina came into the kitchen a few times, and while she’s also been held spellbound, it’s not to the same degree as Alan.
“Do you like hunting demons?”Devon asks me.
“I do.Maybe you can argue it’s because it’s all I know, but I get a sense of purpose and satisfaction from making the world a better place.”And it’s fun to be able to kill…but I only have admitted that to Xavier.Because he’s a pro atwe listen and we don’t judgewhen it comes to maiming and murder.
“Could you teach me how to hunt demons?”
