serious for a second until he smirked. I smirked back and shook my head. “Whatever.”
That night I slept in the spare bedroom again, though I didn’t sleep very well. I was still shaken by the demon who attacked me at the lockup and thanks to the weed, I was aware of every sound coming from outside the cabin, so whatever sleep I had was shallow and fitful. I lay for most of the night thinking about my mom, about how she was trapped in Hell, about the terrible experiences she must be going through. It wasn’t my fault she was there, but I resolved that I would find a way to save her soul, whatever it took. It seemed I had also inherited her savior complex. That went for Josh too. I would save him, even if it meant sacrificing myself in the process. I would do what I had to. We had looked out for each other our whole lives. I wasn’t about to stop now.
Chapter 8
The next morning, Frank made us breakfast of bacon and eggs that I devoured because I hadn’t eaten in about two days. Then he took us outside to the front of the cabin, to the edge of the trees where the punching bag was hung. The early morning sun was shining brightly and there was a breeze that gave me goose bumps. The air up on the mountainside was clear and crisp and much more breathable than the dank air in Mercy City down below. I wore a pair of my mom’s black jeans along with combat boots and a black long-sleeved top. Frank said the resemblance to my mom was uncanny. I was getting kind of tired of hearing that, to the point were I felt overshadowed by her, even though she wasn’t around.
Frank was dressed in the same faded blue jeans he had on the day before, as well as a light-colored shirt that was only buttoned half way. With his unruly hair and beard growth, he looked like he had been dragged through a hedge backwards. “It normally takes years to get a real handle on your powers,” he explained as we stood beside the punching bag. “We don’t have years, so you’re going to have to pick up as much as you can as quickly as you can. The rest you can learn on the job.”
“On the job?”
“Yeah, I have a few cases I’m working on. If I think you’re ready, I’ll take you with me so you can get some experience.”
“I already have experience,” I said. “I was attacked by a demon last night.”
Frank looked surprised and a little miffed. “You never told me that.”
“I told you demons were after me. Anyway, it didn’t go so well. It could have killed me if it wanted. The old guy at the lockup saved me.”
“Hector?”
“Yeah, the creepy old guy, always wants to see my tits.” Frank laughed at that. “He shot the demon and it disappeared. Can they like, teleport or something?”
He was still chuckling to himself over Hector asking to see my tits. “Yeah,” he said. “They can, which makes them hard to fight sometimes.”
“I gathered that.”
“Okay, so listen. Your powers are latent, but you still have to bring them to the surface through training. It takes some people longer than others. If you’re anything like your mom you should be fine.”
Mom again .
“Let’s do it then.” I started bouncing up and down like I was getting ready to run a marathon.
“What are you doing?”
“Warming up.” I was swinging my arms around the way they used to make us do in gym class back in high school.
Frank shook his head. “Forget warming up. You’ll get plenty warm once we start. You go from cold, always. What are you going to do, tell the demons to hold it till you’re ready?”
I stopped jumping around. “No.”
“Well then, start hitting the bag, hand strikes only first.”
I took a few breaths, stood in front of the heavy bag, and started hitting it with my fists, single shots at first and then combinations, trying my best to hit the leather as hard as I could. “That’s it,” Frank coaxed. “Remember—body weight, that’s what counts, not speed but power. Do as much damage as you can
That night I slept in the spare bedroom again, though I didn’t sleep very well. I was still shaken by the demon who attacked me at the lockup and thanks to the weed, I was aware of every sound coming from outside the cabin, so whatever sleep I had was shallow and fitful. I lay for most of the night thinking about my mom, about how she was trapped in Hell, about the terrible experiences she must be going through. It wasn’t my fault she was there, but I resolved that I would find a way to save her soul, whatever it took. It seemed I had also inherited her savior complex. That went for Josh too. I would save him, even if it meant sacrificing myself in the process. I would do what I had to. We had looked out for each other our whole lives. I wasn’t about to stop now.
Chapter 8
The next morning, Frank made us breakfast of bacon and eggs that I devoured because I hadn’t eaten in about two days. Then he took us outside to the front of the cabin, to the edge of the trees where the punching bag was hung. The early morning sun was shining brightly and there was a breeze that gave me goose bumps. The air up on the mountainside was clear and crisp and much more breathable than the dank air in Mercy City down below. I wore a pair of my mom’s black jeans along with combat boots and a black long-sleeved top. Frank said the resemblance to my mom was uncanny. I was getting kind of tired of hearing that, to the point were I felt overshadowed by her, even though she wasn’t around.
Frank was dressed in the same faded blue jeans he had on the day before, as well as a light-colored shirt that was only buttoned half way. With his unruly hair and beard growth, he looked like he had been dragged through a hedge backwards. “It normally takes years to get a real handle on your powers,” he explained as we stood beside the punching bag. “We don’t have years, so you’re going to have to pick up as much as you can as quickly as you can. The rest you can learn on the job.”
“On the job?”
“Yeah, I have a few cases I’m working on. If I think you’re ready, I’ll take you with me so you can get some experience.”
“I already have experience,” I said. “I was attacked by a demon last night.”
Frank looked surprised and a little miffed. “You never told me that.”
“I told you demons were after me. Anyway, it didn’t go so well. It could have killed me if it wanted. The old guy at the lockup saved me.”
“Hector?”
“Yeah, the creepy old guy, always wants to see my tits.” Frank laughed at that. “He shot the demon and it disappeared. Can they like, teleport or something?”
He was still chuckling to himself over Hector asking to see my tits. “Yeah,” he said. “They can, which makes them hard to fight sometimes.”
“I gathered that.”
“Okay, so listen. Your powers are latent, but you still have to bring them to the surface through training. It takes some people longer than others. If you’re anything like your mom you should be fine.”
Mom again .
“Let’s do it then.” I started bouncing up and down like I was getting ready to run a marathon.
“What are you doing?”
“Warming up.” I was swinging my arms around the way they used to make us do in gym class back in high school.
Frank shook his head. “Forget warming up. You’ll get plenty warm once we start. You go from cold, always. What are you going to do, tell the demons to hold it till you’re ready?”
I stopped jumping around. “No.”
“Well then, start hitting the bag, hand strikes only first.”
I took a few breaths, stood in front of the heavy bag, and started hitting it with my fists, single shots at first and then combinations, trying my best to hit the leather as hard as I could. “That’s it,” Frank coaxed. “Remember—body weight, that’s what counts, not speed but power. Do as much damage as you can
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