Jonah Havensby by Bob Bannon

the bullet cracked it, but also lodged in it.
    The man raised the gun again and zzzip she was in front of the magazine rack just as he fired at the spot where she had been at the back of the store.
    “Be right back.” The devil said to her with that steely smile.
    His tail seemed to move on its own. It grew longer and coiled around the fluorescent hanging light above them. He lifted off the floor and swung in an arc, turning himself toward the gunman who was still on the floor.
    He landed with a foot on either side of the man, his devilish face right in front of the man’s face. Causing the man to make a gurgled noise that was either fear, or surprise, but most likely both. The tail swung wild and its spike dug into the hand holding the gun. It immediately clanked to the floor as the man yelped in pain.
    “Didn’t anyone ever teach you not to point things at pretty ladies?” The devil said in the man’s face.
    “I...” was the only thing the man could say. The devil reared up and punched the man square in the face. Jenna heard the man’s head hit the floor hard.
    The devil was back in front of her in the next second. His fingers traced the edge of the shelf of the magazine rack. He began drumming them while he looked deep into her eyes.
    “So,” he began, “you think I could get your number, or, well, something. You know. Hero is supposed to get the girl and all.”
    She could only stare at his perfectly white teeth as he tried to put on a smile that seemed to say ‘aw shucks’.
    Just then, the gunman stirred on the floor and was mumbling something in pain. His nose had certainly been broken and it looked like his hand was bleeding.
    The spiked tail flew out again, seemingly of its own accord, wrapped itself around one end of a shelving unit full of goods just to the left of the man and toppled the entire thing, cans and all, right on top of the guy. He was certainly down for good this time. The tail returned to its normal length.
    Sirens rang out somewhere up the street. Mister Nolan had obviously pushed the alarm.
    “Gotta go, gorgeous. Maybe next time, then?” The devil said with a smirk and a raised eyebrow that wasn’t there. And then he was gone out the front door.
    Mister Nolan had reappeared behind the glass and had watched the entire exchange. She was just about to say something when the devil was back in the next breath, standing at the register.
    He snagged a large bag of popcorn from the row of bags in front of the counter with his tail and held it up. “Hey, pops. You mind?” he said pointing at the bag.
    Mister Nolan looked at Jenna, looked at the bag, looked at the Red Devil and shrugged.
    The devil turned back to Jenna and he shrugged too. “I love popcorn. What’re ya gonna do? Am I right?” And then he was gone again.
    This time, she hesitated a moment longer, unsure he wouldn’t be back. A moment ticked by, then two. She finally said, “You saw that, right?”
    “Ummm..Yup,” was what Mister Nolan said.
    VIII
    Jonah woke up in his nest of furniture covers and the electric blanket. He could tell it was another one of the late days from the placement of the sun on the floor. He braced himself for the pain, and the pain came.
    He curled up in a ball and tried not to cry. As always, it shot straight through his left eye and bored its way through. He gripped the sides of the blanket and waited for it to pass. Squeezing his eyes shut seemed to always help.
    This was one of the rough ones. He hadn’t seen the clock when he opened his eyes, but he was sure it was a while before he could open them again. As it subsided to a dull ache in the back of his brain, he bolted up and went to the bathroom for a drink of water.
    When he came back into the office, he noticed the backpack, which he hadn’t brought in last night, was on the roll top desk. It was unzipped and the notebook containing the mysterious notes had been opened. He moved toward it.
    Written in yet another handwriting, on a